Swiftclaws
Lanky in build, with long arms, large foreclaws, and a ridge of spines from the brow to the nape of the neck.
Tribal legends speak of being blessed by Mehz-Qua and Tlal-Cueh to be able to climb the tallest trees and hunt, cultivate, and live at all levels of the forest.
Nomadic, with a single permanent settlement at
Xhar-Toleel, built up around the grand temple-pyramid dedicated to Tlal-Cueh.
Headman was
Tlek-Tulassk; head shaman was
Qua-Ektil, who served as the mouthpiece for the new god,
Emerald Fye. Two of the elder hunters who might be worth speaking with are Yerux-Cua and Chron-Tluqa; both were respected in my time, but the last decade and a half may have changed things.
Stonescales
Brutes, most of them, but rather sweet-tempered ones, judging by those I’ve met. Uniformly large, with thick scales of a variety of hues and small eyes. Few are great thinkers, but they have the Skywatchers to do that.
They live with the Skywatchers in golden Qrai-Tilan and its surrounding settlements, on the westerly edge of the Terraloque.
The Skywatchers provide the intellect, and the Stonescales lend their brawn and steadying influence. An unusual arrangement, but the tablets say that it’s worked for at least two thousand years.
What passes for leadership changes every few years; the most recent ones I can recall are Xique-Tec, Tlon-Mokke, and Qrezde-Kor. Even ex-chieftains seemed to be held in great respect, so if any of those remain alive, they might be worth speaking with.
Skywatchers
The Skywatchers are small, frenetic, and eternally inquisitive, if the ones I’ve spoken to are any indication. Barely two thirds a Swiftclaw’s size, they make up for their lack of physical strength with a notable talent for mechanics and magic. They worshipped Mehz-Tili, Xiuh-Tec, and Tlal-Cueh equally, though the shamans with the most power belonged to Mehz-Tili, as Qrai-Tilan is built around a temple-pyramid dedicated to her.
They held a council of important tribe members, rather than having a single chief, relying on the Stonescale chief to keep their council’s fractiousness under control. The only name I can recall the traders speaking of in recent years was Hal-Gixqua, supposedly a great druid and then-leader of the Tlal-Cueh sect within Qrai-Tilan.
Ripfangs
The Ripfangs are fractious, if such a word can apply to an entire clan. They agitate for change, whatever their situation, whether they be the lowliest brave seeking advancement or adventure, or the chieftain seeking advantage against another tribe. Their nature is to grasp, and to push boundaries, even those best left alone.
They stand tall, and have a respectable amount of muscle to them, though less than a Stonescale. They usually sport a distinctive frill of feathers on the backs of their heads, though hue and styling vary considerably.
Their main city is Cro-Akkan, located at the headwaters of the Atzinti River, just a few miles east of an old elvish ruin called Othron Cal’en. They keep many longhouses scattered throughout their territory, and braves move between them regularly in search of prey.
They primarily worship Mehz-Qua, though Mehz-Tili and Xhiuh-Tec are also featured in their rituals.
The last time I visited, the chieftainess was Yi-Tech, and their huntmaster was Maht-Krexi. The herbalist Xechen-Paq was a friend - if he is still in Cro-Akkan, remind him of me, and give him my regards.
Flamebearers
Aggressive, frequently pompous, and universally pyromaniac. They worshipped the flame aspect of Xiuh-Tec, and showed their devotion by burning their scales in flame-like designs.
Their most distinctive physical features, besides their scars, are their long necks and the ring of black scales around their eyes.
Their chief, Pyremaster Gexca-Kue, was constantly sending messengers complaining about something to Tlek-Tulassk in the years before I left. I doubt he’s still in charge, though - they have a remarkably fast turnover in Pyremasters.
Their primary settlement is on a southern tributary of the Atzinti River, called
Hicahl-Azoc, and a number of smaller villages are scattered throughout their lands.
Deepwalkers
Short and burly. They vary in color from amber to deep brown. The scales on their heads and shoulders are thick, and they have no cranial spines or feathers to speak of.
Deepwalkers are were nearly cult-like in their devotion to Xiuh-Tec, and claim that their skill in digging and the secrets of shaping stone and metal are gifts granted by the god himself.
They have three settlements; Krahz-Tueh and Xal-Ton in the hills under the cliffs, and Tche-Accoa in the confluence of the small rivers that dominate their territory. Tche-Accoa is built around a massive black stone temple-pyramid dedicated to Xiuh-Tec.
They have two leaders - a Copperchief and a Stonechief; the Stonechief, Zen-Hechta, was supposedly on his deathbed when I left Xhar-Toleel, but the Copperchief Noc-Zonda was said to be young and healthy, so she is likely still there.
Horntails
Riverfolk; their floating city of
Nactec-Xu is built partly into the Atzinti River. Their tails are broad, and their feet and hands slightly webbed, letting them swim almost as well as a fish. Traders and pilgrims arrived every year in the summer and autumn to exchange news and goods with Xhar-Toleel.
They were devotees of Mehz-Tili and Tlal-Toc, and believed themselves the most connected to the Siath’Kresh traditions. Throughout recorded history, they have tended to be the voice of reason in any tribal debate.
When I left Xhar-Toleel, their chieftain was a woman named Xeh-Xiltec, advised by the traditional hunter/historian pairing of Zun-Quait and Uza-Ten. The trader who most frequently visited Xhar-Toleel was named Hach-Tetli, though he was elderly sixteen years ago and may have passed on.
Shadecloaks
A reclusive group; they are supposed to be the best night-hunters in the Terraloque. I’ve never met one, but they are supposed to have dappled dark brown and green scales, large topaz eyes, and thin tails.
They live on the eastern coast, north of the Atzinti River’s mouth, within the densest part of the jungle. They are said to be like the Swiftclaws, more nomads than builders, and have no permanent settlement, only a handful of shrines to Mehz-Qua that they visit regularly.
A dragon by the name of Briadox was said to lair somewhere in Shadecloak territory, as of seventy years ago; I have never met him, but I was warned that he was old, powerful, and deadly. Tread carefully.
Blackspines
The Blackspine tribe is mentioned frequently in the tablets, but details on the tribe itself are patchy and contradictory. Some would pass through Xhar-Toleel every decade or so, and I met some when I stopped by Cro-Akkan, but they were tight-lipped whenever the conversation moved on to their tribe. I know they have a city called Mau-Chenqo in the northwestern jungle, and that they consider it their duty as a tribe to look after the temple-pyramid of Xol-Til, dedicated to Xol, but beyond that I cannot say much about their society.
Physically, they are of moderate size and frame, with a uniform deep emerald green color to their scales. Their namesake spines grow long and sharp, in either a thick crown atop the head for the males or a dense ridge from the brow to the small of the back for the females.
Another thing: the bone dragon Rhaiatar claims part of the tribe’s territory as her own. I visited once, some seventy years back, bearing gifts and swearing to guest-right; she was territorial and fiercely protective of her privacy, though fortunately we parted ways without violence. She was at least three centuries my senior, and I would strongly advise caution if you venture into the area.
Marshfoots
So called because their territory extends into the marsh to the north of the Terraloque. Like the Horntails, they are supposed to have small webs between their digits, proper fins atop their heads and down their spine, and broad tails for swimming. Unlike the Horntails, their feet are enormous, and they are said to be able to walk on water - though I doubt that last bit. I recall one tablet saying they have grey-green scales, but beyond these traits I cannot say what they look like.
The histories imply that they tend to act xenophobically towards the other tribes, and intensely resent any intrusion into their territory.
They claimed to have the blessing of Tlal-Toc, gifting them knowledge of and passage through the waterways of the Terraloque and the marsh.
Stormcallers
One visited when I was a wyrmling; he had a nearly skeletal physique, with notably hooked foreclaws and broad fins on elbows and tail. His scales were deep grey on his dorsal side and a pale silver on his belly and throat. Based on the limited descriptions I can recall reading, he seems a reasonably accurate representation of the tribe as a whole.
Before the gods died, the Stormcallers were dedicated - fanatically so, if the texts are to be believed - to Tlal-Toc. Every single instance of a high-shaman of Tlal-Toc that I can recall reading of was a Stormcaller. What has happened to them since the Fall, I do not know.
They live near the shore in the north of the Terraloque, and are supposed to have two primary settlements: Ix-Tia, on the coast, and Toca-Qol, deeper in the jungle, built around a temple-pyramid dedicated to Tlal-Toc.
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