Rondon Famiy
Malpighien Steppes Clan
A once powerful clan on the Malpighien Steppes, some twelve hundred years before the founding of Zennonaize Confederacy, the Rondon clan hailed from an era of small, walled holds and constant warfare. Like so many other clans, the Rondons hold, located along the shores of Yak Lake, was led by the eldest male and staffed by his children, their families, and the families of other men-at-arms, herdsmen, and craftsmen who were needed to keep a hold self sufficent, protected, and running on the grasslands. War between rival clans was constant as each often found it more expedient to increase their horse herds or provisions for the winter by taking them from their neighbor. Lawless gangs of bandits roamed the open places on the steppes, hunting antelope and buffalo along with the wild dogs and lions that rules these lands.
While the Rondons have faded from existance, their lineage wiped out in one of the aforementioned skirimishes that raged for nearly a millenium, they are forever remembered by history by the affluence they once had. At one point the clan grew so large that its leaders accumulated great power. To belong to the clan meant a steady livelihood and safe existance. To be excluded meant throwing oneself at the mercy of the wild. Given this power, the clan leaders made their non-blood relative members swear feality. Unlike other oaths, however, these oaths bound people and their children. As long as the clan leaders allowed them to live on and work the land, these serfs, as they were called, were bound in service. The neighboring clans, recognizing the potential power in these oaths, quickly followed suit until the majority of Human on the Malpighien Steppes were bound at serfs.