Pawnee
The Pawnee are a collection of Indigenous Native Americans and Simvan who have chosen to disavow all forms of technology, preferring to live as hunter-gatherers. They occupy the northern areas of the Barony of Hope existing in a tenuous nonaggression agreement with them and the Barony of Wilmington. Pawnee territory extends farther north extending into the magic zone of Montana,
Their numbers are few but they are quite powerful spiritually and are rumored to have a very close relationship with the spirit realm. The fact that Simvan are counted among their members is a cause of discussion throughout the land, since Simvan and Native Americans are typically hated enemies of each other.
History
The story of the Pawnee begins as with most other groups of native americans, (what would be called native americans before the cataclysm, that is). When the biosphere ruptured during the great cataclysm releasing magic energy onto the world, the connection of the peoples to the spirit realm turned from barely heard whispers to impossible to ignore shouts. All the peoples felt a pull guiding them together. Those with affinity to the earth were pulled to the mountains and called themselves Ute. Others were pulled elsewhere. A number felt guided to the northwestern plains, where they could set up a farming lifestyle and seasonally hunt the vast herds of buffalo and wild cattle. These call themselves the Pawnee.
During a great battle between the Simvan Redleg and Pawnee tribes, both forces were quite bloodied. The Pawnee had the upper hand and the destruction of the Redlegs was all but assured. It became a running battle as the Pawnee warriors chased down the Redleg tribe in an attempt to destroy them totally. However, a group of demons fell upon the Pawnee home tribe, overpowering the token defense that was left behind and slaughtered nearly all the inhabitants. One of the survivors, a young brave known as Lone Cloud raced to find the warparty to deliver the news. He was chased the entire way by the demons, but arrived in time to relay the news. The warparty stopped chasing the Simvan, who took the opportunity to regroup and fortify their position. Then the demons attacked, not discriminating Pawnee from Simvan. The two tribes, recognizing a greater foe, were able to communicate with each other, form a truce, and stage a counterattack that managed to fight off the demons. But the demons also did not give up. Over the next several months, the demons continued to attack the two tribes, preventing them from going their separate ways since neither tribe had the strength to defend itself alone. Having earned the respect of each other as only fierce competitors can, they agreed to cease hostilities until they could finally overcome the demon threats. Over the course of months, the two tribes learned to work with each other and after years, eventually began to incorporate the best characteristics of the other. They eventually drove the demons back over the Serpent Spine Mountains. That was a hundred years ago. To this day they still claim that they are together only out of convenience and they each continue to threaten to absolve their cooperation at the drop of a hat; but their mutual respect and bilateral cultural appropriation assures they will continue to live together for the foreseeable future.
During a great battle between the Simvan Redleg and Pawnee tribes, both forces were quite bloodied. The Pawnee had the upper hand and the destruction of the Redlegs was all but assured. It became a running battle as the Pawnee warriors chased down the Redleg tribe in an attempt to destroy them totally. However, a group of demons fell upon the Pawnee home tribe, overpowering the token defense that was left behind and slaughtered nearly all the inhabitants. One of the survivors, a young brave known as Lone Cloud raced to find the warparty to deliver the news. He was chased the entire way by the demons, but arrived in time to relay the news. The warparty stopped chasing the Simvan, who took the opportunity to regroup and fortify their position. Then the demons attacked, not discriminating Pawnee from Simvan. The two tribes, recognizing a greater foe, were able to communicate with each other, form a truce, and stage a counterattack that managed to fight off the demons. But the demons also did not give up. Over the next several months, the demons continued to attack the two tribes, preventing them from going their separate ways since neither tribe had the strength to defend itself alone. Having earned the respect of each other as only fierce competitors can, they agreed to cease hostilities until they could finally overcome the demon threats. Over the course of months, the two tribes learned to work with each other and after years, eventually began to incorporate the best characteristics of the other. They eventually drove the demons back over the Serpent Spine Mountains. That was a hundred years ago. To this day they still claim that they are together only out of convenience and they each continue to threaten to absolve their cooperation at the drop of a hat; but their mutual respect and bilateral cultural appropriation assures they will continue to live together for the foreseeable future.
Military
Every able-bodied male is a warrior. The Simvan make up the heavy cavalry while the Humans make up the light cavalry and often prefer to fight on foot. Up to 3,000 warriors can be mustered if needed.
Foreign Relations
The horde of demons came from the rift in the center of The Glow. They now call the Montana Magic Zone their home even as they continue to get periodic reinforcements from the rift. While they continue to blood themselves upon the Pawnee whenever they get a chance just for fun; they are primarily now a mercenary company known as Demon Barry's Mercenaries. It rhymes. Their leader, a diminutive yet cunning demon called Barreruuk has advertised their services across North America and even to Atlantis.
The Pawnee have no desire to improve relations with any other nations or peoples. They are happy bartering with others as they need to, but refrain from any diplomatic advances. In this regard they make no difference between the technological states, the magical states or even other native peoples like the Ute and Osawkee. They have a grudging respect for their most hated rivals, the Demons and the 1st Apocalyptic Cavalry.
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