Ryuutei

Written by Heart

Too long have we been shackled by our hatred, by old traditions, old fears, illogical decisions of the elders and ignorance of the world. No more. Today our traditions change, today we reclaim our clan’s dignity, and shed the failures of the past generations.

— Skyspear of Dra’Kun, Satori Ryuutei

The Ryuutei Clan are a clan of seven separate tribes known for their destructive force, military tactics, and bloodthirsty behavior. Naturals when it comes to hunting and war, and well known for having brutal and pragmatic views and culture.
Due to their distant Akemu heritage, all Ryuutei born into the tribes have elongated primary and secondary cuspids. Their hair tends to be dark colors in thick curls, with yellow or red eyes and unnatural physical power, resistance against heat and flame, and even by the standards of those holding mixed Giant-kin blood.
Many of the most recent generations are born from the rapid influx of various slaves and criminals, causing a surge of those with Faedran and Human blood mixing in with the innate Giant-kin and Ogre blood. Making the clan one of many hybrids in recent years.
Demography
What was once a purely Ogre clan with a few minor Giant-kin and the occasional human or elf has now rapidly expanded into a clan of numerous races. Many of the new generations are a mixture of Giant-Kin, Faedran and Human genetics.
Rankings Nameless: Those that have not yet earned their rank as an adult, they lack the adult piercings that the named have and lack any form of distinct names or aliases, not allowed to own land and are forced to live with their parents generally.
Named: An uncommon rank within the clan but not incredibly rare. This is considered the step from the bottom, these are Ryuutei that have managed to achieve proper adulthood and have been allowed to choose their own name. They are allowed to sit at the table during meetings, own land, build their own home, claim mates, and so forth. To become a named they must kill another warrior in unarmed combat completely naked, before eating the corpse and turning their bones into their first tools and weapons.
Seated: These are considered the council of the clan, there are a total of twenty-five seats. Each seat is ranked based on power, skill, and experience. The higher the number, the weaker the seat. This is a rank that mixes with the other ranks as generally the clan Champion and Clan Heads are both the number one or two Seated members of the clan.
Champion: Given to the mightiest warrior of the clan, the Champion is an honorary title that grants the individual no extra diplomatic power but does give them the ability to take control over seated, elders, and below during times of crisis.
Clan Head: The head of the clan and the step above the seated members of the clan, they hold large diplomatic power but can be overridden by votes of the elders and seated council if the situation requires it. The Clan Head is decided through combat as with all things in the clan.
(Color) Totem: A rare, honorary title gifted to the few individuals that have mastered a spell powerful enough to be tiered at 'Grand' or higher in power. The name is based on their element, the spells color and their individual combat style fitting that of the lion, tiger, or bear. Only a handful of Ryuutei have earned this title throughout the hundreds of years it has existed.
Elder: Retired Clan Heads and Champions, the Elders are old Ryuutei that have begun to deteriorate physically but hold high political sway in the clan with great power and skill.
Assets
The Ryuutei are one of the founding clans of the new Dra'Kun, and though the nation holds no concept of nobility, they have become one of the most respected for a reason. They hold several expanses of farmlands to the southern border of the nation, while maintaining a sprawling clan compound to house its numerous members. It also holds a large military bunker and housing within the capital itself for when members of the clan must visit the capital itself.
Culture
The Ryuutei have evolved and changed after Satori Ryuutei claimed leadership of the tribe, their brutal and harsh training has eased to become something more accessible and ease their limited birthrate that came with their Giant-kin ancestry. Due to the substantial risk associated with depopulation, in general, females are encouraged to remain as healers, defenders, crafters, and teachers of the home. They hold the most sway in discussions and are well-respected as lore keepers.
This is not to say they are not well-trained warriors however, as all members of the clan go through constant intensive physical training that often leads to fractured bones and lacerations. However, the training though harsh is never pushed to the point of lethality or maiming, though in the past this was most assuredly so. Despite this in battle women are often viewed as tacticians and defenders that maintain the safety and maintenance of the clan.
In comparison to this, males often become front-line fighters, hunters, explorers, farmers, miners, and cooks. Though neither of these sexes are required to take up these positions, it’s considered abnormal and frowned upon to deviate as it takes away from the force of the other side, as well as poses a risk of losing a valuable female to any number of dangers due to traveling outside the defenses of their home.
Neither of these sides hold a concept of superiority to the other, as both are viewed as highly valued aspects of the clan very similar to their Draconian Dynasty roots.
With the influx of population due to the clan’s new members, and many of those members being human or elf, the original common aspect of a male having multiple female partners the clan once held has shifted into something more commonly found as polyamorous family units. Strict sexuality holds little place within the clan. What was once a culture that frowned on same-sex partners due to the population issue has now changed into something far more open.
There is now commonly a “House Head”, that then holds several partners all interwoven together of both genders. Though there are some that hold to preferences of a single gender as partners, it is considered less common within the clan as any new births within the family unit are to be cherished. Leading to many children now being born to multiple mothers and fathers raising them within the house.
Children are given “Titles” at birth that represents an aspect of their personality, the old system of numbering the children having been tossed away by Satori. Proper names are still viewed as sacred however, and must be earned through the naming ritual to enter adulthood.
Life is considered sacred within Ryuutei culture, and as such killing of any creature cannot be taken lightly. Should one kill a creature all resources of the body must be used properly. This comes from their ancient beliefs that led to the early tribal survival of the clan to begin with, and the traditions are still followed today. This rule includes the battlefield, and the Ryuutei like many Giant-kin are often seen as savages for their "Battlefield Feasts", being willing to cannibalize other humanoids that they have killed and use their bones for weaponry, their skin for material, and the leftovers for fertilizer in their farms.
The clan views a name and adulthood as something sacred. Instead, in order to become an adult, one must pass a test known as the “Naming Ritual”. This ritual has been severely simplified by Satori to step away from the particularly harsh and brutal original methods in which a naked child was sent into the woods to survive, alone, or die.
Now the clan instead requires that the child having reached the age of thirteen at the least in order to perform the ritual. At least three members of the clan holding names must approve of the ritual as well as its current head. After approval the named-to-be beings the ritual alongside their mentor, they spend the next ten days preparing their own tools and supplies with their mentor’s advice and observations but no directly assisting them.
Afterward, the nameless is sent into the frozen forestry chosen by the clan during the spring months. For the next thirty days they are expected to live off their preparations and the wilds around them, their mentor will shadow them and only intervene to save their life. Should they need to return in the midst of this time period they are encouraged to continue their studies and cannot attempt the ritual again for another year.
Should they complete this ritual be completed successfully, the nameless is able to choose their own name and be welcomed into the clan as a functional adult. Now able to claim mates, territory, bare children, participate in clan meetings, and claim an official profession within the clan.
Touching foreheads and cheeks is a way close friends and family show affection to one another. Akin to kissing in some cultures, though it doesn't have to be a romantic gesture.
Ryuutei do not have funerals. Instead, they hold great feasts and festivals. Combining mourning the deaths but also celebrating life. Exchanging stories and jokes, poems, and the dead's favorite foods. Bodies of their dead are eaten except for the neural tissue and other inedible parts, which are instead added to a mixture of the leftovers from the feast itself and any other scraps to be made into compost. It is then set aside to break down, and a few months later they hold what is called the "Planting". The clan gathers, burying the compost and remains into 'The Garden', to grant new life using their dead.
It is also common for the bones of the dead to be used to create tools and weaponry. Often chopsticks within a household are crafted from a grandmother's bones, or a shovel from a grandfather. A weapon from a dead father that died in battle, and so forth. Due to this infusion, the Ryuutei are common practitioners of Hag Arts to bind the energy of the dead to the items.
A universal law within the Ryuutei Clan, is that no matter your current standing or rank, you are allowed to challenge anyone within the clan for their own rank at any time. Anyone can be challenged at any time, and must accept the challenge or they forfeit their ranking. Duels are controlled by a majority vote, with each participant and one referee, and always hold the possibility of death at any time (though it is required to halt before killing, accidental deaths are quite common within the clan despite this).
Faith
Ryuutei faith is a bit different from normal belief sects. Due to their unique views on life and death, they believe in no gods, nor claim to know of an afterlife. As a whole, they are taught only to believe what they see as a pragmatic people. They do however have seven totems that are not worshipped but given high respect as guardians of the Clan.
Each represents one of the old seven families that make up the clan. The tiger, lion, bear, snake, bull, rat, and bird. Each being a powerful guardian spirit that are connected to the clan’s true Guardian Diety from the ancient days of the Dynasty, Ruutai.
Tendou: A lion of sun and light. Representing the queen of the hunt, bringer of food and warmth during winter. She holds an affinity for flames, heat, and light acting as the guardian deity against corruption and monsters of the depths.
Nala: The tiger of storms and rain. Representing the savagery and beauty of nature in the form of natural disasters as well as simple things such as rain and good weather. Her affinity is that of lightning, storms and water.
Sithis: The snake of survival and ruthlessness. Representing cleverness, bloodlust and the desire to survive through any issue. Often viewed as a symbol of the various clan rituals. He wields toxins and acids to break down and kill his enemies.
Amostia: The bird of winter and frost. They represent the beauty and danger of winter, as well as the fun associated with its celebrations based in snow, ice and cold affinities.
Rikōna: The rat of creativity and fertility. Representing intellect, creativity, art and returning the dead to the earth to grow life once more. Often holds an affinity for bones, blood, organic materials and Hag Arts.
Tetsu: The bull of strength and will. Representing willpower, individuality and great physical power she holds an affinity for metals and the earth.
Kohaku: The bear of hearth and nature. Representing parental devotion, patience and love of one's family. He is a spirit of plants and nature.
Ruutai: The original dragon for which the clan is named in respect. This ancient creature followed the Ryuutei after their banishment for thousands of years, protecting and guarding them through their nomadic years due to a debt owed to their ancestors. This great beast has recently perished within the past few thousand years and acts as a true Divine Power & Spirits now. Its last gift to the clan being an egg holding its child which she has granted to Nezu, Satori’s soulbond.
History
Thousands of years ago, the Ryuutei were just another fight-hungry tribe that held close ties to nature and the Akemu to the far east within ancient Senko during its founding, the feral descendants of Seiken Akemu. Their early beliefs stemming from their Giant-Kin culture held that one always ate what one killed, no matter what it may be. Due to this outlook, many other clans and tribes of the east viewed them as terrifying savages, often nicknaming them Oni alongside their Akemu ancestry.
Within Senko, as the country began to form, the Ryuutei were taken in as a high-status family of the Fire Caste due to their ferocious nature and combat abilities. Their powerful physical forms, latent magical energy, and natural skill at utilizing ki due to their closeness to their feral side made them powerful warriors. This noble status granted them land at the edge of the country, acting as a barrier against invaders through their brutal efficiency.
However, as with all things, eventually fear and prejudice from the segregation of being at the edge of the country won over any benefits they offered. Thousands of years after their rise to power, the fear that they had created through their legends led to revolts. The Dynasty banished them, and exiled them into the unclaimed lands and sea.
Escaping the land, they returned to their roots. Traveling as a nomadic clan kept their culture alive as their name continued to spread as savage warriors for hire. But with too many mouths to feed came conflict, and with conflict came separation as each of the seven tribes that made up the clan separated. Traveling in smaller groups for easier survival.
Eventually, the Lion Tribe would find itself within the country of Brittania. It would be at this point that the clan settled in the forsaken regions and began to make a name for themselves as a mercenary band against the enemies of the Ceridian Empire during the thousand-year blood war. As their achievements grew, Conlis officially enlisted them as citizens of the country. Despite not allowing them to settle anywhere but the forsaken lands and jungles. Kiyoshi, the head of the time was angered by this and asked for the ability to earn nobility and territory for his tribe. A concept that the tribe cared little for, but recognized was required to become true members of the nation.
Modred Blackmore told them to earn it with blood and victory. Assigning them tasks most would see as suicidal, or impossible. Group by group, the Lion Tribe performed them despite this. Dozens of their family fell, yet the country became awed as a select few returned every time. With every return, Modred grew warier. Having anticipated the Ogre to run themselves ragged and die. Not complete their missions, and earn the glory of battle as well as the respect of the soldiers for their desire to "help the kingdom" as they saw it.
This is the period Satori Ryuutei, the many to one day beyond the new founder of Dra'Kun made his name as the Orphanmaker and White Tiger. He would stride into the battlefield and return bloodied and victorious without fail. Yet each time, hatred grew in the young man's heart toward the Blackmore. This royal family used his family, and so many others, like sacrificial meat sacks. So when they finally "rewarded" them for their effort, Satori nearly struck the daughter of Modred that presented it. Turning, and leaving. He used the land they had been officially granted, along with their so-called "noble status" to begin helping others. Others, that had suffered due to Modred.
The family had once again regained their status by becoming an official Barony of Conlis, despite their foreign blood. Yet nothing had changed. Being used as supplementary warriors. A defensive barrier against Koldric and Muldia’s borders, against the bandits and beasts that now plagued the land. As the new head of the Clan, Satori began to work with his clan to create their new home through magic to bring bits of their own culture and country to the land.
The clan found itself growing. The other tribes reunited under Satori’s banner, and with them came others that heard of the fresh start the new barony was offering anyone willing to put in the effort. Escaped slaves, old soldiers, tired mercenaries, criminals that wished to earn a pardon, the forgotten within the alleys and mud of Conlis. Each took the clan’s trials, acclimated, learned, and grew, or died.
When Satori decided it was time to reclaim more than just his clan, but all clans of the surviving Giant-kin and Ogres, the Ryuutei followed their head to the frozen north.