Sinpothiean

Kyst: They're stuck in their dark, brooding, violent nature. I've heard they make their pups fight too. Despicable, if you ask me. Tossing their young out on the battlefield, and for what? No one even knows what they're fighting over! Not even them!
Bodi: Be quiet, you idiot! What if Shadowslayer is around? Besides that's a rumor.
Kyst: Am I wrong? His species is too violent for it's own good, I mean, you've seen how he gets! Can we really trust the guy?
Bodhi: Come on, cut him some slack, he's doing his best given the circumstances. He left his home for this, he gave up everything including his culture to help us.
Kyst: Gave it up huh? He traded one war for another.

— Recruits resting at a camp in the Frontier

Sinpothieans, a proud and noble species that live in the swampy forests of Black Water Grove in tight nit communities. Trained to fight for their Pack and honor against the Kinpothieans from a young age and notorious for their foul moods and overly aggressive attitudes, they face ridicule and discrimination among their fellow Ethieans. One-on-one encounters sometimes leading to awkward conversations and job searches turning up empty.
Since the end of the Ethiean War the discrimination has blown out of control in spite of the fact that one of the most influential generals was a Sinpothiean named Shadowslayer. The dark colors, sharp fangs, and large web wings drawing parallels with the demons that ravaged the planet, leaving many unemployed and homeless.

Hierarchy

Sindarr

Geared toward fighting the communities of the Sinpothieans are built on strength, wit, and skill. Each Pack is led by its two most respected and capable members, responsible for maintaining their communities, overseeing training, and protecting the boarder. They hold no quarter in battle or against their own during training or when dealing with insubordination.

Sindear

Directly under the Sindarr are the elders, retired warriors, healers, and craftspeople. In the Dark Water Grove any who survive long enough to reach this status are revered as much as they are few in number, their experience in battle landing them places at the heads of Thains. They're also commonly found in schools, just as adept at imparting knowledge in a classroom as they are in a training room.

Hyokin

A title that translates as 'Kin killer', it's applied to all full fledged members of a Pack. These make up the bulk of the population and all are trained as warriors and deadly with or without their weapons. Many stay in the Thain they grew up in while others break away from their fellow childhood trainees to form new ones, either with more experienced Hyokin or to form specialized groups.
Many Hyokin will take on a second apprenticeship, learning to become a craftsperson in their spare time and others taking on the honorable role of healer.

Lykosin

The youngest members of society, Lykosin are warriors in training assigned to a Thain, or a small group of apprentices lead by a high ranking Hyokin that's been granted the honor of training a Pack's next generation. Lucky Thains are chosen by a Sindear when they see great potential in a group.

Customs

Naming

When a Sinpothiean pup is born they go nameless for the first five (Ethiean) years of their life, at this point the parents decided which of them they take after the most. Looking at how their personality is developing and quirks, they judge how they believe their child will grow and how they want them to be as a Hyokin. This forms the bases, the pup being bestowed a name derived from the more similar parent with an aspect of their hopes for them.
A ceremony is held at sundown on the eve of their birth day with the entire Pack, and sometimes even those of other Packs joining in. A great fire is built in a stone pit in the center of the community, loud fast paced music is played as food is enjoyed and celebratory fights are held.
As the sun sinks below the horizon everyone comes together and the Naming begins. The parent to gift to the name steps forward and delivers a short speech, usually rousing the crowd with praise for their child and all the hopes they have for them, before ending it with the announcement of the name as the last rays of sunlight disappear.
Loud howls are let loose, the sound ringing through the dark sky and the music jumps back to life as the crowd breaks back into a frenzy. The pup is congratulated throughout the night and is only referred to by name for the rest of the night.
As the sun raises the next morning the group come together one last time and the title of Lykosin is given to the pup and they are assigned to a Thain. The Thain comes forward and welcomes the newcomer, and with one last cheer the ceremony is over and everyone goes their separate ways.

From Lykosin to Hyokin

Once a trainee is recognized by their mentor and the Sindarr as ready to join the Hyokin they are sent to a craftsperson to commission a weapon. The mentor will often recommend the same person they went to, as the quality of the weapon is important, if it should break beyond repair and they need to commission a new one they would be seen as inferior. The reputation of the craftsperson would also be lost, and they would never be called on again whether or not it was the fault of their work.
On occasion a Lykosin will choose to find a craftsperson themselves, traveling to other Packs in search of someone capable of making what they have in mind. Rarely do they travel outside of Dark Water in search of a weaponsmith, often being seen as untrustworthy and treated with suspicion.
With their weapon acquired they return home and a ceremony is held under the height of the moon, the whole Pack gathering together once more. The Lykosin offers their weapon to their mentor, who then offers it to the Sindarr who inspect the quality of it. The Sindarr then return the weapon, often remarking on its quality, and declare them a full fledged Hyokin. They then make a show of saying their good byes to their Thain and join the other Hyokin, the Pack raising their voices in a long drawn out cheer.

With Death Comes Honor

When a member of a Pack dies they come together to honor their fallen comrade one last time. Spreading the word throughout Dark Water so that those who knew them can join in the last rights. For eighteen hours, or one Ethiean day, the deceased is displayed for everyone to say their last farewells as their achievements are celebrated and aggrandized. Wild stories being shared and tales of their valor echoed into the skies. Then, when the sun has set below the horizon and dark has fallen, the family wraps the dead in a black or gray burial shroud and carries them in to woods. The exact location of the grave site is kept secret, allowing the departed to rest peacefully, undisturbed.
They are buried in a shallow grave deep in the forests and mark the location with their weapons, the handle or sword tips dug deep into the marshy ground. Feathers taken from their wings are tied to their weapons and with their final goodbye, the family leaves.

The Blood War

A long bloody history rests along the border of Dark Water Grove and Kinsee, the two species fighting each other over the course of eras. The original reason forgotten long ago and now the hatred between them fulled by the lives lost at each others hands. The Sinpothiean and Kinpothiean defended their lands relentlessly against each other, looking for any reason to raid the border towns and bring honor to their names. Blood seeped into the ground over the centuries soaking the minds of the two sides until they were blind to any reason, demonizing each other and seeing only blind murders on the other side.
The fighting slowed to a stand still, both sides merely watching and waiting for the other to move first. Full blown battles became small skirmishes in comparison, and raids all but disappeared, and the death count dwindled.
Then with the raise of Erebos, the fighting stopped altogether as he and is demons burned through the south and made his way towards their homes. After many arguments and pleas from Shadowslayer and Windertalon, the two sides joined the fight against Erebos, working together to stop the destruction of their world.
With the Ethiean War over the Sinpothiean and Kinpothiean have put aside their own fight. Drafting a peace treaty and ending the war once and for all, the tensions between them slowly unraveling.

Related Locations

• Dark Water Grove

Spoken Language
Pothiean - The native language of the area
Common
Veilan
Tokish
Important Members
Shadowslayer - The son of his Pack's Sindarr, he left Dark Water Grove with Windtalon, a Kinpothiean from Kinsee.
Both seen as traitors to their people they left their home to escape the endless fighting, only to end up joining Karenwatti and his resistance. They would both go on to become generals directly under Karenwatti and key players in the war against Erebos.