Hawokonians

The Hawokonians (Agian: Ἁϝοκωνοί; Tira Vellan: Αοκηνοί) were a confederation of related Grey tribes that flourished between the 8^th and 10^th centuries in the Kaskoron Plateau and area around Outhon's Finger. They were so named for their use of cinnabar as a dye in the clothing of their warriors. Τhey frequently interacted with the coastal states, trading mostly in ore, dye, animal products, and blackglass, while receiving coastal goods like pottery, olive oil, and wine. Famed warriors, they were often sought as mercenaries by the coastal states for their legendary ruthlessness and intimidating insectoid armour. Towards the end of their dominace, it appears that their once proud warrior nobility had become decadent through their trade with the Gold Coast, and their military might decayed. They were displaced by the Kitharoi, another Agian Grey tribe from the southwest, as rulers of the area around the late 10^th century.
Like many other Grey tribes, their warriors would often wear armour made of plates of the chitinous carapace of the local insectoid megafauna reinforced with resin. Also like other Grey tribes, they were well versed in the metallurgy of bronze and lead, but unique among the Grey tribes, and key to their success, they were the first peoples of the Grey to widely practise ironworking, having learned it from the coastal Tira Vellan peoples they traded with. This led to a wide array of materials used for weapons among the Hawokonians, including the traditional blackglass obsidian, bronze, as well as iron. Besides the traditional weapons of the spear and bow, the Hawakonians were famous for their scythe-like shortswords called "dirgaras", named after the claws of the dirgos which they resembled, which were designed to curve around an opponent's shield and slash at their sides.
All Hawokonian males would receive military training from age 14. Thus, soldiers would be levied from the populous when needed. Many, though, would perform well in battle and be eligible for promotion into the smaller warrior caste, becoming lifetime soldiers. In order to enter this caste, a prospective warrior would need to hunt and kill a kaiphon alone. If he succeede, he would have the kaiphon's carapace turned into a suit of armour, and wear it in battle as a display of their rank and to intimidate the enemy. These professional soldiers of the warrior caste were also often hired as mercenaries by the states of the Gold Coast in their wars with each other and against Skorbund raiders.
Earlier Hawokonian pottery depicts geometric and animal motifs common among other Agian peoples, but by the early 10th century their own pottery begins to mimic the red-figure style of coastal Tira Vellan pottery they had been importing for over a century.