JTtheNinja.com - Peoples of Athanire
 

 

Peoples of Athanire
nemarunasin aþanirenai
marunuLIhaN li haniL a niL li

 

There are four main peoples of Athanire: the Tegirenai, the Vihal, the Crilatsecal, and the Gurdagun.


The Tegirenai – sain tegirenai

The Tegirenai, or Tigerians, are the people of Tegireserana. The average Tegire male is about 5′ 10″ tall. Females are shorter, about 5′ 5″ on average. They are easily distinguished from the other peoples by the bands of dark skin on their forearms, the "tiger's stripes," which appear in late adolescence. There is some variation in the patterns of these bands, with some being more like spots (the shugirenai or Jaguars), and some being faint or nonexistant, notably descendants of the ancient kingdom of Laonirenai ("Lions"), who were defeated by the Tegirenai in ages past.

They are notable for the development of highly-effective martial arts and for the use of a unique weapon, the Tegire sword. These swords are made of wood, hardened and sharpened through a process known only to a few, rendering them stronger than steel and sharp enough to slice through solid marble. This process of wood-strengthening is, by tradition and law, used only for Tegire swords, and most other tools, including farm implements and surgical tools, are made of metal.

Of the four peoples of Athanire, the Tegirenai are easily the most advanced in technology.


The Vihal – vihaL

The Vihal are perhaps closest to the Tegirenai, geographically and culturally. Though more common in earlier days, there is sometimes still intermarriage between the two people, and indeed some Vihal show faint stripes on their arms as testament to their heritage. Their language is a close relative to that of the Tegirenai, both descending from the ancient tongue of Avihalli.

The Vihal live in the woodlands to the northwest of the continent they share with the Tegirenai, living mostly as hunters and gatherers. They are specialists in archery and woodworking, but their most developed art is song. In the language of the Vihal, the word for "to speak" is the same as "to sing." The Vihal find no difference and consider all life an intricate and continuing song, breathed to life by a Creator and sustained in Him.


The Crilatsecal

The Crilatsecal, or "followers," live mainly on the plains of the land they call Rassa Atascat (our land), an island nation south of Tegireserana. They believe their ancestors came to their land by following a star with seven points, while fleeing from their unnamed enemies of years long past (thought to be ancestors of the Gurdagun). For this reason, they wear a seven-pointed star on their clothes, and they count in a base-7 numbering system.

They are master archers (though not quite as skillful as the Vihal) and artists. Their main forms of sustenance are farming and hunting. Their mortal enemies are the Gurdagun.


The Gurdagun – gurdagun

The Gurdagun, or "stones," inhabit Argungurd, a small archipelago of two islands to the southeast of Tegireserana, northwest of the Crilatsecal. Their culture might be compared to the Spartans of ancient Greece on Earth, worshiping combat and warfare. Strength is prized among them; the weak, both young and old, are removed from their society and left to die. They believe every problem can be solved through brute force.

Their language is hard and rough, like the Gurdagun themselves. They are not tall, except for a rare few, averaging 5′ 7″ in height for men and 5′ 3″ for women. Despite their stature, their bodies are trained to be as tough as the stones from which they take their name. It is believed that the Crilatsecal were fleeing from the ancestors of the Gurdagun, when they sailed to their island nation.

Despite a warlike history, often raiding along both nearby nations, it is more rare in recent times for them to attack the Tegirenai, due to a long history of defeat.


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