The Ethkari

The Ethkari are the last remaining humans who follow the Old Faith, an ancient religion that was thought to be purged during the Crusade. They are more or less exiled from the rest of human society due to their religious beliefs, and as a result are generally found in the northern outskirts of human civilization. They are masters of their land, making excellent hunters, farmers and herbalists. Their shamans and druids are widely considered to be the best in their craft, and many druids from other civilizations have sought them out in the hopes to learn their ways and gain their power. However, the Ethkari are elusive, and exert a significant amount of Gescræft energy to hide their lands from the outside world. As a result, the Ethkari have not been seen or heard from in millenia, leading the majority of Ethel to think of them as an "extinct" people.

Culture

Ethkari customs are older than written history, and as a result, the meanings and reasons for their rituals and traditions are understood only by those who were born within their fold. This is exacerbated by the exclusive use of Humatran as their language, making it nigh on impossible to communicate with them unless the language is learned from within. The Ethkari people are incredibly territorial as necessicary for their survival, and will use indescriminant lethal force to protect their lands and their loved ones. They are particularly hostile to other humans, who they believe pose an existential threat to the survival of their people. The Ethkari are a warlike people, with many of their customs revolving around war traditions and placing particular significance in their warrior class.
The Ethkari are unique among Gescræft weilders, primarily using instruments and their language to evoke powerful incantations of pure energy. In this way, it is asserted by most bard schools that the ancient Ethkari were the first to develop the methods of the bards, and thus ancient Ethkari society is widely studied within these schools in an attempt to understand and evoke their capabilities. However, the Ethakri's use of the Humatran language that allows for this power creates roadblocks since the language is lost to all who do not speak it. As a result it is currently unknown how to replicate its effects without the widely used methods of conjuring Gescræft energy.

History

Not much is known about the history of the Ethkari culture and people; only that their customs are much older than what remains of Ethel's written history. The Kingdom of Nordlund has suspicions that the elves and dwarves may have information as to their whereabouts and society, but the elves and dwarves are either keeping secrets or really do not know anything at all. They claim the latter, arguing that early humans were not of particular interest to dwarven and elvish chroniclers and really only became notable once they had begun to develop their own kingdoms and large scale organized religions.

All that appears to be known is that they were hunted to near extinction during Orin's Crusade for refusing to convert, but this is only according to legends and oral histories. Regardless, this is the official history espoused by the Church of Aelalin. They brand the Ethkari as dangerous heretics and users of corrupt Gescræft energies if, for whatever reason, the topic arises amid their fold. Otherwise, the Ethkari are rarely mentioned among the larger societies of the humans. In fact, most humans are completely unaware of their existence, or that they ever existed in the first place.

The Ethkari