Brief History of the Howling Plains

The histories of the Itān clans are relatively under documented compared to the literate societies of the Shenraq. An unkind characterisation of Itān history would be to put resource disputes at the centre of all events. These disputes commonly evolved into vendettas, revenge killings, counter-revenge killings, and on occasions outright war between multiple clans. Wars within the major tribes is the most common form of conflict, usually spinning around inheritance rights, resource competition, or rivalries concerning the affection of others. Major wars across tribes were much less common, though there have been a handful of cross-tribal conflicts that have resulted in historical animosity between mostly the Eastern and Western tribes which lasted well into the days of the Tempest.

The most well-known and historic event of significance is what is known to posterity as the Tempest: the conquest of the Jade Kin Empire and the Usmiqimo Oases Confederate by the Itān. The conquest was, for the conquered, a period of immense brutality and cultural trauma, the consequences of which were to have ramifications generations after the matter. For the Itān, it was a moment of glory and empowerment. It was a breaking free from deeply ingrained historical suspicion of one another.

While there are many theories as to why the Tempest was so one sided, one theory puts credence at the foot of a new technology that the Itān alone had access to: earth blood. The Itān had figured out that the ingestion of earth blood via the consumption of raw animal marrow made them incredibly physically powerful. It was the help of this technology that enabled the Itān to conquor at an impossible pace and ferociousness.

Before the Tempest the Itān lived relatively unchanged lives of animal rearing, migration, and raiding Jade Kin and Usmiqimo frontier cities. Life on the harsh Howling Plains tended not to allow the development of material goods that lasted the test of time. Material culture was centred around textiles and leather work, much more biodegradable than the stone and metal stuffs of the Jade Kin and Usmiqimo. After the Tempest, however, Itān civilisation changed drastically. Many Western and Eastern tribe clans became extraordinarily wealthy from the spoils of the Tempest. The Itān began incorporating elements of their subjugated cultures into their own. Many Itān settled in Jade Kin and Usmiqimo lands, giving rise to a unique hybrid culture. These cultures could be observed most strongly in the conquered lands, but also in the heart land of the Itān tribes. The Northern tribes were relatively less-well off after the conquest compared to the Western and Eastern tribes, but their access to Jade Clan and Usmi technologies increased, generally increasing the standard of living compared to pre-Conquest days.

The formation of the Dynasty of Harmonious Union was the most drastic of events for the entire Shenraq, with major consequences for both the conquered and the conquerors. On the one hand, the Itān and their offspring had access to the material wealth of the Jade Kin and Usmiqimo, and gave birth to the hybrid culture aforementioned. On the other hand, some Itān were fretful that their culture was being willfully lost by the ignorance and slothful tendencies of living in the conquered lands. Compounding this fear was the consequence of generational consumptions of earth blood. The rate at which children born with physical deformities increased steadily post-Tempest. This was particularly noticeable in the families that took, or continue to take, earth blood. Many descendants would grow into adulthood and be afflicted with what came to be called the Wasting Illness.