The Aklaq
Proud, savage and still untamed, the Aklaq clans roam and settle the darkest corners of the wilderness, relying on strength and stubbornness to fight the monsters and bloodthirsty powers which surround them. But at what cost ?
The nomadic Aklaq have lived the lands of Raeth since its history started being recorded. They descend directly from populations enslaved by the Ancient Giants in the South, and after the latter's fall, they rejected civilization entirely, scattered in loosely organized tribes, and took to the mountains. They are to this day a blend between humans and minor giantkind, interbred to produce a breed which is taller, stronger and hardier than civilised humans - 'softskins' as they are known to the Aklaq. Honorable, welcoming, yet fiercely territorial, the Aklaq now divide themselves in clans sharing common beliefs and philosophies.
An adult Aklaq is massive, heritage of their giant-kind genetics. Ranging between 2.1 and 2.6 meters, with average weights of 130 to 150kg, they tower over the human settlers - not to mention the dwarves and halflings. Their very tough skin, more akin to animal hide, is also peculiar - again a heritage from lesser giants - and colored from white to muted brown, mostly a palette of pale grays. Their eyes were correspondingly light, blue or green for the most part - the Mana-attuned ones, the shamans, have very dark eyes as the result of some physiological reaction to the Tapestry. In contrast, most have very dark hair, usually braided.
Aklaq consider tattoos as sacred and will adorn their arms with small runes to reflect their life achievements, victories, and powerful prey slain, starting from the hands and working their way to the shoulders. High Chiefs and white-haired veterans would sometimes have symbols over their chest, a mark of rare strength.
An exception is made for shamans, whose position as revered spiritual leaders is reflected by series of totemic symbols tattooed on their face or their necks - they also were the only allowed to wear blue ink, while warriors and hunters were limited to gray and black.
While not inherently aggressive, the Aklaq are fiercely territorial and will defend their home to the death.
With each other, the Aklaq would obey two core rules. The first one is the Rule of Strength, which channels their spirit of competitiveness and encourages healthy rivalries. Keeping track of their accomplishments, and spinning tales and songs about them, the warriors and trackers are inspired to out-do each other, and compare their successes. Sometimes a challenge would be made formal, and the winner could ascend in the ranks, all the way to tribe chief.
The second is their Rule of Honor. They are not codified but range from not fighting a disarmed or grounded opponent in a duel, to not stealing, to providing assistance to others in danger - each of which has different punishments : shunning, temporarily being cast out, being spat on by the rest of the tribe, the more serious being maiming and banishment - being cut off from the tribe means losing one's identity entirely. Death was never a punishment, as Aklaq hold each other's life as sacred whatever one might have done. Other rules made little sense to outsiders : for instance, the Sabertooth clan's rules state that an Aklaq slaying am animal only to leave it to rot afterwards (without even looting a trophy) is to be shunned for a duration of six tendays. Many human rangers would end up baffled at the sight of an Aklaq distracting himself from a fight with a pack of direwolves only to rip out the canines of the animals slain so far as a mark of respect, willingly exposing himself to bites and attacks, even embracing them.
While the Aklaq in Upper Raeth, the "Sun Children" as they define themselves, have now all but disappeared below the demonic incursions first, then the ensuing natural disasters, and finally pushed further and further away by the grinding wheels of Human and Dwarven industry, the clans in Lower Raeth (or Thokla-ik, "Warm Home", in their tongue) still thrive, following the herds of migratory animals and limiting their interactions with the newly settled Enclaves to the bare minimum.
They have split in five main clans, to which the dozens of tribes pledge allegiance :
The Elk tribe is the most settled of the Aklaq, as they can stay for years in the same location before moving. They also have the most diplomatic contacts with softskins, and are the rare Aklaq who also tend their own crops. While peaceful and generally well-disposed to outsiders, their stable settlements are nonetheless fiercely defended and undesired intruders are swiftly dealt with - even the Sabertooth tribe is afraid of provoking Elks in their home settlement. Their caravans are visible from a distance, and they stick to the plains which saw their birth south of the God's Teeth mountains. The Elks are also renowned traders and will happily sell or barter their excess furs and materials with other tribes rather than hoarding them. Even outsiders can be invited to their 'markets'. They are very attuned to the magic of the land and are the second tribe for the number of shamans, which are more akin to Clerics than the more Druid-like representatives of other tribes.
Snow lions as an animal are a rare sight in the southern reaches of the world nowadays, and scholars repute them to be extinct. Twice as large as normal lions, with white manes, an individual was strong enough to challenge a yeti in singular combat. They are now however a myth, and the totem of the self-proclaimed noblest Aklaq tribes. The Snow Lion clan envisions itself as the protectors of Thokla-ik, against threats within and outside the region itself. They shun the classic hit-and-run tactics of their brethren and would much rather face an enemy in open battle, even when the odds are overwhelmingly in their disfavor. They have made a specialty of hunting down and killing demons, and veteran warriors will often mark their status by wearing trophies of their kills on their gear ; the clan's high chieftain is famed for the Hezrou skull from which she fashioned her own helm. The clan is wary of strangers but not aggressive unless provoked and its warriors, despite their at times overflowing pride, are keen to interact with good-aligned creatures, in particular where new techniques and strategies can be learned.
The Great Worm tribes have always been, when not shunned, looked at with suspicion. Their totem animal, widely thought by the Settlers to be a metaphor for the Dragons which prowled the region in the old days, is instead what is now known to the Aklaq as the Tizheruk, gargantuan worms covered in rocky scales who dwelled at the roots of the mountains, and whose movements were said to push the land further and further into the sea. More than all other, the Worm tribes are at home in the mountains, and the strength of their connection to the land is so strong that it is rumored that every Worm is capable of feeling, if not using, the Tapestry. While the clan does have the highest number of Shamans, the above is a misrepresentation - encouraged by the very showy mystical tendencies of the Worm clansmen. They keep to themselves, and are looked upon for their curiosity not toward the ways of the ancestors, but toward the ways of the outsiders and of the Ancient Ones.
The Griffon clan is composed of mountain-dwelling tribes in the inaccessible peaks of the western ranges, for a simple reason : their entire way of life revolves around hyppogriffs, which are their hunting and fighting partners. Taming one such beast is the rite of passage for adulthood, with those who fail meeting an untimely end crashed at the bottom of a cliffside or dashed upon the unforgiving rock outcrops of the mountaisides. Griffon clansfolk are pragmatic, and fatalistic - their isolation and their philosophies revolve around the frailty of life, which they picture as a bird in flight. Despite their location, they entertain friendly relations with most other clans, with the notable exception of the Great Worm ; they frequently act as scouts for other tribes, patrolling from the skies to warn of possible threats, and roam the wilderness in search of enemies, be they prey or invader. They have an especially close bond with the Snow Lion tribes, with which they often fight in concert. The clan's main weakness lies in the lack of affinity of its members for magic. Only a handful of shaman are born per generation, for reasons unknown. Some argue that the mountain carries foul winds which hamper their contact with Akli, which softskins know as the Tapestry.
The members of the Drake clans pride themselves on their hunting prowess. They are warlike, highly territorial, and see the softskin Settlers as invaders to their lands, without going as far as open confrontation. The clan members prefer to keep to themselves, and usually wander the northern and northeastern reaches of Herkja's Fjord. They have a rigid calendar of savage trials to which the young ones, both male and female, are submitted to mark their coming of age. The first, when the children have seen eight winters, involves running a trail for five days in the woods deep into predator territory - any child who does not bring back a trophy from one of these predators and is content with making it to the end unscathed is branded a "runner" and relegated to menial tasks until he or she can regain the lost honor. The final coming of age trial sees the sixteen year old teens head in the high mountains in small groups of three or four to hunt down adult Yetis, the tribe's hereditary enemies. Only one usually comes back from these expeditions and is granted admission. The tribe is also well-known for its affinity with animal predators, and a high number of tribesmen tame and train wolves or wildcats. The shamans, in particular, have an entourage of beasts following and protecting them.
The Gray Wolf clan has become legend. The Comets and the first Abyssal scars opened during the Great Rebirth, a once-a-decade event which sees the gathering of all Aklaq clans under a banner of peace, for a month of celebrations to the Sun, life-giver and provider of warmth, whom the Aklaq believe to die and be created anew every ten years. As the celebrations were in full display, the plains of the gathering were ravaged by meteoric shards and a vanguard of thousands of minor demons charged the assembled tents.
It is then that the Gray Wolf families, camped closer to the invaders thus the first to be hit, rallied and set up a fierce circle of defenders at the very heart of the gathering, the castle-sized bonfire which would represent the sun's new birth. Against the protests of the other clans' elders who argued for a quick flight toward the mountains, the Gray Wolves, already decimated by the first attacks, decided to stay behind and buy time for the others to flee. A trial which seemed deemed to fail, considering the demon's fury and the distance between the festival grounds and the safe haven of the northern woods and mountains.
Sakari, the young chieftain of the Gray Wolf clans, counted on the demons' bloodlust and gambled on their thirst for destruction, which would mean they would not press onward until every defender would have fallen.
The Aklaq myths argue that in that moment Lutaag, the Aklaq's savage goddess of hunt and war, roared at the sight and granted her blessing to this rear guard, and bestowed Sakari himself with one of her mighty claws to wield as a weapon.
The few hundred survivors battled the demons for over a day and a night, each dead taking a dozen minor demons with him, and only after the sun set once again did the last handful of defenders allow themselves to die from their wounds and being butchered by the bloodthirsty invaders. Sakari himself is said to have used Lutaag's claw to slay two demon generals and a hundred of their minons.
The demons, according to plan, had all gathered to take turns at the defenders and ignored the fleeing clans. Scouts and groups of Exiles, those criminals seeking redemption, would stay behind to harry the demons across the plains to slow them down further, the combined efforts of all these brave souls enabling the bulk of the tribesmen to seek refuge in the mountains, where they would stay for the next century.
The Gray Wolf clan is now extinct - but its heroic sacrifice has granted its members a symbolic seat at every Aklaq's feasting table, and Sakari is revered as what civilised cultures would refer to as a demigod. Modern history debates this account, arguing of the many exaggerations of the tale - but nobody would dare contest it in an Aklaq's face.
Each tribe is structured in a similar fashion : a Chieftain is the tribe's representative and judge - the nome represents a rather undefined role which can range from the head of a large family to the leader of a hundred-strong warrior tribe. Chieftains have the ultimate authority and their decisions become law. The role is not hereditary, and each pretender has to not only prove his/her worth, but triumph over rivals, be it in a contest of strength or of wits. This also explains the frequent changes in the tribal hierarchies.
They are assisted by the tribe's Elders. On it, the former chieftains and the shamans - hence the title of "Elder" is not linked to an Aklaq's age but to his life and leadership experience.
Each clan is composed of a multitude of small tribes, kept together by a High Chief and his trusted advisors. These figures change rarely to ensure a clan's continuity - the clan's elders theorize that daily leadership over thousands is enough of a test of strength as it is.
Relationships with the outsiders have been flcutuating between open hostility and warm collaboration, with an average set to "aloof yet helpful". With the increasing threats to the region, the Aklaq have massed in force, as if preparing for war : the Settlers feel this is but a first display of aggression, and one that their already stretched-out defenses could not face, but the optimists feel that they are instead shoring up to defend their homelands from other threats, as of now unknown to them 'softskins'.
The Aklaq tribal society is hard to map out for an outsider as their tribes constantly shift and change with each wedding, birth, ascension of a new chieftain ... while each smaller tribe takes the name of the current Elder, an Aklaq will usually present him or herself by the belonging to one of the five main clannic groups.
Lutaag's Claws
Rumors in the Enclaves tell of a secretive Lodge of particularly ruthless Aklaq hunters handpicked by the shamans to carry out the "will of the gods". Tribe and clan is not relevant, and these "Claws of Lutaag" are tasked with hunting particularly dangerous or powerful creatures, or investigate events which the Elders perceive as major threats.
They take their name from their hunting goddess, and from the mystical weapons which she is said to bestow upon her chosen warriors, scimitars which could cut through a demon's hardest scales with the easy of a child drawing in the snow.
The Outcasts
While trading and interacting with softskins is not taboo, it is frowned upon by the Clans. Those Aklaq who indulge too much in their proximity with other humanoids will end up, after several warnings, being cast out and given the role of "carriers" intended as two-legged pack mules tasked with hoarding tradable goods and walking from town to town.
This role, loathed by most Aklaq, is envisioned as a punishment - but still, a few of them embrace it as a means to escape what they feel are the cloistered, limited confines of their tribe and explore the wider world.
Regardless of their affiliation, Aklaq tribesmen will fight together when faced with peril. They live their lives surrounded by permanent danger, amidst apex predators, natural hazards and winds of dark magic, and this shared bond is stronger than any infighting between tribes. When such unrest appears, resolution is usually swift and direct, in strict adoption to unwritten laws dating back millenia.
While an Aklaq's innate strength and skills honed over years of survival in the wilds could be more than enough to overcome most challenges faced by the 'softskins', their small numbers and the terrific losses sustained in the decades of the Cycle of Despair encouraged them to fall back to the hit and run, guerrilla strategies of their ancestors - the latter, mortal slaves in a world ruled by Giants and beings of raw elemental power, were always at a disadvantage and fought accordingly. The Aklaq of today do so as well, adapting.
The favorite strategies consist in small groups of trackers luring prey and targets in secluded spaces, cutting off their exits and picking them off in small groups, or one by one when needed. Aklaq will concentrate on a single target until it is out of the fight, with a special eye for any being who shows an aptitude for command or for magic. They wield slings with deadly efficiency, and while they shun traps they are fond of ambushes.
The Snow Lions and the Sabertooth clans disdain these tactics, seen as cowardly. The first will fight in rather organised battle lines, though each fighter is an adept at both ranged and melee combat, blurring conventional strategies, while they second favor headstrong charges, uncaring about damage sustained, with a predilection for unleashing their war animals in the frontline.
A lone Aklaq is however not to be underestimate, as many softskins have found out - even bare-handed, a humanoid half again as tall and twice as heavy as a regular human is a major threat : rangers have seen them wrestle arctic predators with their fists, a tale nobody in the Settled Lands takes lightly.
The Aklaq could be considered as a deeply animistic people, with a strong component of ancestor worship along with devotion to natural spirits. In addition, they have a handful of deities which they pray to, interestingly not connected between them as other pantheons can be. Additionally, the Aklaq have a very fatalistic approach to religion.
Each of their gods is a capricious, distant entity who refuses to listen to prayers, let alone answer them, and only bestows favors upon those they perceive as worthy. Devotion is not shown through muttering prayers like the softskins do, but through actions : if a God witnesses one's bravery or willpower, all the better - if not, so be it.
Anatomy and characteristics
An adult Aklaq is massive, heritage of their giant-kind genetics. Ranging between 2.1 and 2.6 meters, with average weights of 130 to 150kg, they tower over the human settlers - not to mention the dwarves and halflings. Their very tough skin, more akin to animal hide, is also peculiar - again a heritage from lesser giants - and colored from white to muted brown, mostly a palette of pale grays. Their eyes were correspondingly light, blue or green for the most part - the Mana-attuned ones, the shamans, have very dark eyes as the result of some physiological reaction to the Tapestry. In contrast, most have very dark hair, usually braided.
Ritual tattoos
Aklaq consider tattoos as sacred and will adorn their arms with small runes to reflect their life achievements, victories, and powerful prey slain, starting from the hands and working their way to the shoulders. High Chiefs and white-haired veterans would sometimes have symbols over their chest, a mark of rare strength.
An exception is made for shamans, whose position as revered spiritual leaders is reflected by series of totemic symbols tattooed on their face or their necks - they also were the only allowed to wear blue ink, while warriors and hunters were limited to gray and black.
Personalities
While not inherently aggressive, the Aklaq are fiercely territorial and will defend their home to the death.
With each other, the Aklaq would obey two core rules. The first one is the Rule of Strength, which channels their spirit of competitiveness and encourages healthy rivalries. Keeping track of their accomplishments, and spinning tales and songs about them, the warriors and trackers are inspired to out-do each other, and compare their successes. Sometimes a challenge would be made formal, and the winner could ascend in the ranks, all the way to tribe chief.
The second is their Rule of Honor. They are not codified but range from not fighting a disarmed or grounded opponent in a duel, to not stealing, to providing assistance to others in danger - each of which has different punishments : shunning, temporarily being cast out, being spat on by the rest of the tribe, the more serious being maiming and banishment - being cut off from the tribe means losing one's identity entirely. Death was never a punishment, as Aklaq hold each other's life as sacred whatever one might have done. Other rules made little sense to outsiders : for instance, the Sabertooth clan's rules state that an Aklaq slaying am animal only to leave it to rot afterwards (without even looting a trophy) is to be shunned for a duration of six tendays. Many human rangers would end up baffled at the sight of an Aklaq distracting himself from a fight with a pack of direwolves only to rip out the canines of the animals slain so far as a mark of respect, willingly exposing himself to bites and attacks, even embracing them.
I can't say I've ever seen or heard an Aklaq laugh, at least not when I was in range. The closest occurrence was a grin and what sounded like a chuckle from a Snow Lion having slaughtered a younger yeti with nothing but his Ullu, as he bathed in his own blood. His companions emitted the same sound, equally disturbing. I thought they had finally resolved to use. Still, I think it approximated the most to what we civilised humans call "laughing". For all that is holy, to this day I cannot fathom the reason for that sudden outburst, though.
The Southern Clans
While the Aklaq in Upper Raeth, the "Sun Children" as they define themselves, have now all but disappeared below the demonic incursions first, then the ensuing natural disasters, and finally pushed further and further away by the grinding wheels of Human and Dwarven industry, the clans in Lower Raeth (or Thokla-ik, "Warm Home", in their tongue) still thrive, following the herds of migratory animals and limiting their interactions with the newly settled Enclaves to the bare minimum.
They have split in five main clans, to which the dozens of tribes pledge allegiance :
Clan of the Red Elk
The Elk tribe is the most settled of the Aklaq, as they can stay for years in the same location before moving. They also have the most diplomatic contacts with softskins, and are the rare Aklaq who also tend their own crops. While peaceful and generally well-disposed to outsiders, their stable settlements are nonetheless fiercely defended and undesired intruders are swiftly dealt with - even the Sabertooth tribe is afraid of provoking Elks in their home settlement. Their caravans are visible from a distance, and they stick to the plains which saw their birth south of the God's Teeth mountains. The Elks are also renowned traders and will happily sell or barter their excess furs and materials with other tribes rather than hoarding them. Even outsiders can be invited to their 'markets'. They are very attuned to the magic of the land and are the second tribe for the number of shamans, which are more akin to Clerics than the more Druid-like representatives of other tribes.
Clan of the Snow Lion
Snow lions as an animal are a rare sight in the southern reaches of the world nowadays, and scholars repute them to be extinct. Twice as large as normal lions, with white manes, an individual was strong enough to challenge a yeti in singular combat. They are now however a myth, and the totem of the self-proclaimed noblest Aklaq tribes. The Snow Lion clan envisions itself as the protectors of Thokla-ik, against threats within and outside the region itself. They shun the classic hit-and-run tactics of their brethren and would much rather face an enemy in open battle, even when the odds are overwhelmingly in their disfavor. They have made a specialty of hunting down and killing demons, and veteran warriors will often mark their status by wearing trophies of their kills on their gear ; the clan's high chieftain is famed for the Hezrou skull from which she fashioned her own helm. The clan is wary of strangers but not aggressive unless provoked and its warriors, despite their at times overflowing pride, are keen to interact with good-aligned creatures, in particular where new techniques and strategies can be learned.
Clan of the Great Worm
The Great Worm tribes have always been, when not shunned, looked at with suspicion. Their totem animal, widely thought by the Settlers to be a metaphor for the Dragons which prowled the region in the old days, is instead what is now known to the Aklaq as the Tizheruk, gargantuan worms covered in rocky scales who dwelled at the roots of the mountains, and whose movements were said to push the land further and further into the sea. More than all other, the Worm tribes are at home in the mountains, and the strength of their connection to the land is so strong that it is rumored that every Worm is capable of feeling, if not using, the Tapestry. While the clan does have the highest number of Shamans, the above is a misrepresentation - encouraged by the very showy mystical tendencies of the Worm clansmen. They keep to themselves, and are looked upon for their curiosity not toward the ways of the ancestors, but toward the ways of the outsiders and of the Ancient Ones.
Clan of the Griffon
The Griffon clan is composed of mountain-dwelling tribes in the inaccessible peaks of the western ranges, for a simple reason : their entire way of life revolves around hyppogriffs, which are their hunting and fighting partners. Taming one such beast is the rite of passage for adulthood, with those who fail meeting an untimely end crashed at the bottom of a cliffside or dashed upon the unforgiving rock outcrops of the mountaisides. Griffon clansfolk are pragmatic, and fatalistic - their isolation and their philosophies revolve around the frailty of life, which they picture as a bird in flight. Despite their location, they entertain friendly relations with most other clans, with the notable exception of the Great Worm ; they frequently act as scouts for other tribes, patrolling from the skies to warn of possible threats, and roam the wilderness in search of enemies, be they prey or invader. They have an especially close bond with the Snow Lion tribes, with which they often fight in concert. The clan's main weakness lies in the lack of affinity of its members for magic. Only a handful of shaman are born per generation, for reasons unknown. Some argue that the mountain carries foul winds which hamper their contact with Akli, which softskins know as the Tapestry.
Clan of the Night Drale
The members of the Drake clans pride themselves on their hunting prowess. They are warlike, highly territorial, and see the softskin Settlers as invaders to their lands, without going as far as open confrontation. The clan members prefer to keep to themselves, and usually wander the northern and northeastern reaches of Herkja's Fjord. They have a rigid calendar of savage trials to which the young ones, both male and female, are submitted to mark their coming of age. The first, when the children have seen eight winters, involves running a trail for five days in the woods deep into predator territory - any child who does not bring back a trophy from one of these predators and is content with making it to the end unscathed is branded a "runner" and relegated to menial tasks until he or she can regain the lost honor. The final coming of age trial sees the sixteen year old teens head in the high mountains in small groups of three or four to hunt down adult Yetis, the tribe's hereditary enemies. Only one usually comes back from these expeditions and is granted admission. The tribe is also well-known for its affinity with animal predators, and a high number of tribesmen tame and train wolves or wildcats. The shamans, in particular, have an entourage of beasts following and protecting them.
Clan of the Gray Wolf (†)
The Gray Wolf clan has become legend. The Comets and the first Abyssal scars opened during the Great Rebirth, a once-a-decade event which sees the gathering of all Aklaq clans under a banner of peace, for a month of celebrations to the Sun, life-giver and provider of warmth, whom the Aklaq believe to die and be created anew every ten years. As the celebrations were in full display, the plains of the gathering were ravaged by meteoric shards and a vanguard of thousands of minor demons charged the assembled tents.
It is then that the Gray Wolf families, camped closer to the invaders thus the first to be hit, rallied and set up a fierce circle of defenders at the very heart of the gathering, the castle-sized bonfire which would represent the sun's new birth. Against the protests of the other clans' elders who argued for a quick flight toward the mountains, the Gray Wolves, already decimated by the first attacks, decided to stay behind and buy time for the others to flee. A trial which seemed deemed to fail, considering the demon's fury and the distance between the festival grounds and the safe haven of the northern woods and mountains.
Sakari, the young chieftain of the Gray Wolf clans, counted on the demons' bloodlust and gambled on their thirst for destruction, which would mean they would not press onward until every defender would have fallen.
The Aklaq myths argue that in that moment Lutaag, the Aklaq's savage goddess of hunt and war, roared at the sight and granted her blessing to this rear guard, and bestowed Sakari himself with one of her mighty claws to wield as a weapon.
The few hundred survivors battled the demons for over a day and a night, each dead taking a dozen minor demons with him, and only after the sun set once again did the last handful of defenders allow themselves to die from their wounds and being butchered by the bloodthirsty invaders. Sakari himself is said to have used Lutaag's claw to slay two demon generals and a hundred of their minons.
The demons, according to plan, had all gathered to take turns at the defenders and ignored the fleeing clans. Scouts and groups of Exiles, those criminals seeking redemption, would stay behind to harry the demons across the plains to slow them down further, the combined efforts of all these brave souls enabling the bulk of the tribesmen to seek refuge in the mountains, where they would stay for the next century.
The Gray Wolf clan is now extinct - but its heroic sacrifice has granted its members a symbolic seat at every Aklaq's feasting table, and Sakari is revered as what civilised cultures would refer to as a demigod. Modern history debates this account, arguing of the many exaggerations of the tale - but nobody would dare contest it in an Aklaq's face.
The Northern Clans
The Sun Children were pushed further and further up North by the hasty yet bloody flight of the Demons' rear guard in year 192 C.D., and unwittingly caught in a pincer between the latter and Atheshi's hordes, replenished and eager for revenge after being beaten back across the sea over a decade prior. The few survivors of this disaster tried to resettle the lands after the Abyssal hordes retreated to their home plane, only to find the hostility of the human and dwarven societies, now bent on Mana-fueled technology and its enormous resource cost.
They could not cling for long to their ways, and most of them now had to find a place in the brutally efficient and conquering technological empire. Most are more or less reluctant bodyguards, soldiers or mercenaries. Aklaq auxiliaries are renowned for their ferocity in battle and their vicious strategies, and are often used as scouts and trackers - or less savory professions when the need for a quick, bloody killing arises.
Hierarchy and Structure
Each tribe is structured in a similar fashion : a Chieftain is the tribe's representative and judge - the nome represents a rather undefined role which can range from the head of a large family to the leader of a hundred-strong warrior tribe. Chieftains have the ultimate authority and their decisions become law. The role is not hereditary, and each pretender has to not only prove his/her worth, but triumph over rivals, be it in a contest of strength or of wits. This also explains the frequent changes in the tribal hierarchies.
They are assisted by the tribe's Elders. On it, the former chieftains and the shamans - hence the title of "Elder" is not linked to an Aklaq's age but to his life and leadership experience.
Each clan is composed of a multitude of small tribes, kept together by a High Chief and his trusted advisors. These figures change rarely to ensure a clan's continuity - the clan's elders theorize that daily leadership over thousands is enough of a test of strength as it is.
Relationships with the outsiders have been flcutuating between open hostility and warm collaboration, with an average set to "aloof yet helpful". With the increasing threats to the region, the Aklaq have massed in force, as if preparing for war : the Settlers feel this is but a first display of aggression, and one that their already stretched-out defenses could not face, but the optimists feel that they are instead shoring up to defend their homelands from other threats, as of now unknown to them 'softskins'.
The Aklaq tribal society is hard to map out for an outsider as their tribes constantly shift and change with each wedding, birth, ascension of a new chieftain ... while each smaller tribe takes the name of the current Elder, an Aklaq will usually present him or herself by the belonging to one of the five main clannic groups.
Organizations
Lutaag's Claws
Rumors in the Enclaves tell of a secretive Lodge of particularly ruthless Aklaq hunters handpicked by the shamans to carry out the "will of the gods". Tribe and clan is not relevant, and these "Claws of Lutaag" are tasked with hunting particularly dangerous or powerful creatures, or investigate events which the Elders perceive as major threats.
They take their name from their hunting goddess, and from the mystical weapons which she is said to bestow upon her chosen warriors, scimitars which could cut through a demon's hardest scales with the easy of a child drawing in the snow.
The Outcasts
While trading and interacting with softskins is not taboo, it is frowned upon by the Clans. Those Aklaq who indulge too much in their proximity with other humanoids will end up, after several warnings, being cast out and given the role of "carriers" intended as two-legged pack mules tasked with hoarding tradable goods and walking from town to town.
This role, loathed by most Aklaq, is envisioned as a punishment - but still, a few of them embrace it as a means to escape what they feel are the cloistered, limited confines of their tribe and explore the wider world.
Warfare
Regardless of their affiliation, Aklaq tribesmen will fight together when faced with peril. They live their lives surrounded by permanent danger, amidst apex predators, natural hazards and winds of dark magic, and this shared bond is stronger than any infighting between tribes. When such unrest appears, resolution is usually swift and direct, in strict adoption to unwritten laws dating back millenia.
While an Aklaq's innate strength and skills honed over years of survival in the wilds could be more than enough to overcome most challenges faced by the 'softskins', their small numbers and the terrific losses sustained in the decades of the Cycle of Despair encouraged them to fall back to the hit and run, guerrilla strategies of their ancestors - the latter, mortal slaves in a world ruled by Giants and beings of raw elemental power, were always at a disadvantage and fought accordingly. The Aklaq of today do so as well, adapting.
The favorite strategies consist in small groups of trackers luring prey and targets in secluded spaces, cutting off their exits and picking them off in small groups, or one by one when needed. Aklaq will concentrate on a single target until it is out of the fight, with a special eye for any being who shows an aptitude for command or for magic. They wield slings with deadly efficiency, and while they shun traps they are fond of ambushes.
The Snow Lions and the Sabertooth clans disdain these tactics, seen as cowardly. The first will fight in rather organised battle lines, though each fighter is an adept at both ranged and melee combat, blurring conventional strategies, while they second favor headstrong charges, uncaring about damage sustained, with a predilection for unleashing their war animals in the frontline.
A lone Aklaq is however not to be underestimate, as many softskins have found out - even bare-handed, a humanoid half again as tall and twice as heavy as a regular human is a major threat : rangers have seen them wrestle arctic predators with their fists, a tale nobody in the Settled Lands takes lightly.
Pantheon
The Aklaq could be considered as a deeply animistic people, with a strong component of ancestor worship along with devotion to natural spirits. In addition, they have a handful of deities which they pray to, interestingly not connected between them as other pantheons can be. Additionally, the Aklaq have a very fatalistic approach to religion.
Each of their gods is a capricious, distant entity who refuses to listen to prayers, let alone answer them, and only bestows favors upon those they perceive as worthy. Devotion is not shown through muttering prayers like the softskins do, but through actions : if a God witnesses one's bravery or willpower, all the better - if not, so be it.
The Ullu
In the weeks before welcoming a newborn in the tribe, his or her parents would craft an ivory knife and have it blessed by the tribe's shamans. The material had to come from the clan's namesake to symbolize the child's bond to the tribe : an elk's horn, a sabertooth's or a lion's fangs (the latter being in precious few numbers nowadays), a griffin's beak ...
This is the ullu, from the name of the god of the house. In addition to being a symbol, it also was an effective weapon as its ritualistic or druidic blessings would guarantee it would always stay sharp and intact. It was as much a mark of an Aklaq's identity as his clan or his tattoos.
Hence, a warrior breaking his ullu was thought to be cursed by the gods and shunned by his tribe when not outright exiled. A warrior who lost his ullu, even in the thick of battle, would be maimed or banished upon his return.
Settling Disputes
When grave offenses were committed, or a dispute could not be resolved with either the Rule of Strength or the Rule of Honor, the final decision would lie with the Kallak, a ritual duel between the contenders. The Kallak was fought with no weapons apart from one's Ullu and bare fists and feet. It was held in a ritually-drawn circle, blessed by the shamans, the K'all.
A kallak is the only instance where an Aklaq can kill another without facing consequences, which is why they were only rarely called - in fact, while the kallak could be finished when one of the contestants stepped out of the k'all with both feet, this was perceived as such a dishonor than permanent exile, even death woudl be preferable : they were fought with savagery, and resulted more often than not in permanent injury or death.
Outsiders were generally prohibited to participate in this sacred practice, unless special circumstances, approved by the Clan's High Chief, were met.
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