Orroyen Tribes
Demographics
64% elves, 12% half-elves, 10% humans, 14% other races
Born from a wandering colony fleeing the Calamity, these wood elves have not just survived within the jungles of Rifenmist —they have flourished. Learning the dangers of the surrounding lands, refining their hunting techniques, and maintaining a healthy arms-length relationship with outsiders, the Orroyen call the jungle their domain and protect it furiously.
The Orroyen tribes have no central government, and their membership shifts as different clans move through the region and encounter other tribes, sometimes trading members as they go. Elders are given the most oversight and respect among a traveling tribe, the eldest given the title of dura, and the duty of leading their tribe. Each nomadic group maintains a population of anywhere between a hundred and a thousand people. Temporary lodging is constructed at each resting point, called a tomenda.
Most Orroyen groups remain at a tomenda they’ve constructed for about two years, before depletion of resources or the arrival of dangerous creatures or soldiers forces them to move on. Countless abandoned tomenda can be found throughout the jungle, and Orroyen clans will frequently make camp in old tomenda made by a different tribe—it is considered a gift from the jungle.
To come into prominence within the tribe, or request admittance into the tribes as an ally or member, a hopeful entrant must complete a series of ceremonial trials. These trials change from dura to dura, but are designed to test strength of body and mind. It is not uncommon for those who attempt these trials to return maimed, or to not return at all, and many elders bear the marks and scars of their trials long past. Few outlanders from the north, known as orfindes to the Orroyen, have been allowed into any of the dozens of Orroyen tribes, and the elders have little intention of changing this, for they have heard distant tales of the ancient tyranny of Drassig and the supernatural horrors the people of northern Gwessar invite upon themselves.
Nevertheless, the Orroyen are practical, not prideful. They trade often with the Free Folk of Mornset , and sometimes even travel as far north as Byroden to trade rare goods. There, some Orroyen meet people from Syngorn or beyond and share stories of their lands. Love can bloom in these meetings of separate worlds, and sometime results in an orfinde being brought into an Orroyen clan. And sometimes curious Orroyen leave simply to see the world beyond the jungle.
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