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Romps and Reconstruction in Loka: Steam, Magic, and Mysteries in the Frozen Wasteland.

((Added as per request from Tora. Let me know if anything needs to be edited if its going too much or too far - thanks!))

The Hathir Tribe

Common, Public Knowledge:

To the common man, the word ‘Hathir’ is one that is occasionally listed as one of the smaller, lesser known Pasu tribes located somewhere in the Samudra desert. Those more knowledgeable and with access to a library would find the entry by their name suggesting a remote tribe with a high capability in Earth magic, immense strength and a picture-perfect memory. In some cases they may even find a few sketches of two-legged elephants towering over humans, though it is suspected this has been highly exagerrated and stylised. The tribe is currently missing and no further information is available pending contact.

For those that have Tylopo contacts:

Those that can actually speak to the few Tylopo traders that have come accross the remote tribe may hear many different stories. But almost all of them begin with the phrase “An Elephant never forgets”, complete with anecdotes of how the tribesmembers recognize each individual at first glance despite sometimes decades of time in-between.

These merchants have had a glimpse into their society - a largely matriarchal affair, with power centered around the elder Shamanesses of the tribe. They focus more on peaceful life and carefully tracking everything they can. They consider themselves to be the archivists of the world; neutral to its affairs and merely the parts and parcels of it that records the fates of what they can.

They also appear to have a mastery of Earth magic, albeit it one that appears far more complete and complex than that of the Faras. They went missing after a Druj attack on their encampment though, driving them deeper into the desert.

For those that have *really* close Tylopo contacts:

That that can get these Tylopo to divulge more information, through whatever means, may learn a bit more to this story.

The fact is that the Hathir are old. Not as old as the oldest other Pasu - but old enough. Furthermore, they are the only ones with immense number of records on virtually every subject imaginable. Harvest numbers, magic incidences, but most importantly: every Svarga artifact they have come accross. From dimensions to even in some cases magic flow, the Hathir have every detail they can understand catalogued, recorded and stored away in safety - not just in their minds but in the magically sealed vaults of their encampment.

For this reason, some merchants suspect the Durj assault was not a random coincidence at all and that it may have been the Azi Dahaka driving them there in order to get the spoils. Though trying to prove this - or the fact that such a tribe had access to any artifacts in the Samudra desert in the first place is a difficult affair in its own right. Still, its a sensitive enough topic to only be divulged under great risk or pressure.

Other details of the hathir are vague and at best inaccurate. Anecdotal stories of them being able to manipulate sand into whirlwinds that obscured all vision or to grow out a patch of mud into the misshapen semblence of a man or Druj and have it attack others. Even whispers of their ability to speak to their dead and fallen - though these are the wildest and probably most inaccurate stories of all.

This of course, does not even cover the legends that persist of how they treat their dead. Of a common burial ground full of the bones of those long lost - and also full of the rarest of ivory that cannot be found elsewhere.

Categories: Tribes