Northern Shek

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The Northern Shek consist of a handful of loosely affiliated tribes with no true leader. During the height of the Shek Kingdom warriors who were defeated in battle had their horns removed and were cast out. These outcasts later formed what are now known as the Northern Shek. In the years since the fall of the Shek Kingdom the Northern Shek's horns and stature have diminished. Although their nomadic lifestyle has led to an affinity with animals and survival.

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Physical Description

More human in shape than their southern kin, Northern Shek are clad in thick bone plating and tinted in the cool hues of blue and purple. Hairless and broad, they stand with a medium to large frame, weighing between 150 and 250 pounds.

Personality

Among the friendliest folk in Kenshi, Northern Shek often find their place in bars, brothels, and other halls of laughter and smoke. Though their competitive spirit burns quietly, it still shows in grand hunts and feasts that shake the hills with song. Yet, for all their warmth, they are slow to rise in another’s defense, a hesitation that has seen many shackled in chains. When roused to violence, however, the Northern Shek reveal a strength that borders on monstrous, swift, and utterly brutal.

Ideology

Cast out by their blood and scorned by the world, the Northern Shek walk through life with the weight of betrayal on their backs. Among their scattered tribes, an old saying endures,

"Take everything you are given,
give nothing back."

For many, this creed is not mere bitterness, but survival itself, shaping a people drawn to the ruthless promises of Procurism. Yet a stubborn few still cling to the old ways, seeking honor through the lost words of the Code of Kral, dreaming of redemption in a world that has long turned its back.

Relations

Shaped by the open road and the hunger for kinship, Northern Shek find welcome in nearly every corner of Kenshi. Nomads by blood and generous by nature, they drift in caravans and bands, bringing laughter, labor, and songs of ancient hunts. Yet the cruelties of the land harden some hearts, driving a few into the shadows of banditry and betrayal, names like Kharg the Brand are whispered as warnings that even the brightest fires can fall to ash.

Key Attribute: Empathy
Race Talent: Shek Hospitality

Racial Traits

Scarred
Each lasting injury hardens the body, granting resistance to future pain.

Names

Shek names are often simple and only one word like Gruk, Haru or Yuko. The Northern Shek however are known to add extravagent titles to their names.

Gruk the Magnificent,
Haru Smasher of Spiders,
some reaching absurd lengths.

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