Tribes
Previous: Stella Nova of Old
Our ancestors, then, were six tribes. Five made their homes in the great southern continent of Maja; one dwelled in a land far to the east of the Kaluran continent. The six peoples, although widely different in culture, venerated a common pantheon. Each worshiped one particular god above the rest. The gods each favored a particular tribe over all the others, and lent their favor and attributes to those who followed their teachings.
The pantheon comprised the god of nobility and war, Anduiras (also head of the pantheon the god of the woods and streams, Reynir; the goddess of commerce and fortune, Brenna; the lord of moon and magic, Vorynn; the lady of the seas, Masela; the queen of the sun, Basaia; and the face of evil, Dyrosh the Shadow.
The tribe that followed Anduiras called themselves the Andu; they later came to be known as the Avonlaer. They were a warlike and vigorous people who took the lead in the war to claim Cerilia. (My distant ancestors were, of course, Andu, although I regret that I cannot trace my genealogy more than three generations past Traederic Dosiere.)
The tribe that followed Reynir was called the Rjuven; they were a people who revered nature. They eventually called their lands Rjurik. The Brechts venerated Brenna, and cultivated sharp wits and nimble fingers. Believe it or not, the Vos were once diviners and illusionists who sought truth in magic. The last of the five Adurian tribes, the Masetians, have vanished entirely from Cerilia. They were sailors who followed the goddess Masela, braving the stormy seas. No tribe dedicated itself to the evil Dyrosh.
Although these tribes, at first clustered in the northern portion of Aduria, had their share of squabbles with each other, their true enemy lay in the decadent southern empires of Aduria. Our oldest myths describe how the Shadow led the Adurian emperors along paths of corruption and destruction. Thus, when these empires turned their attentions to the tribes in the history of northern lands, the leaders of the Five Tribes knew it was time to flee into the realms dominated by the elven folk and the monsters—into Cerilia.
Next: Flight from Shadow
Our ancestors, then, were six tribes. Five made their homes in the great southern continent of Maja; one dwelled in a land far to the east of the Kaluran continent. The six peoples, although widely different in culture, venerated a common pantheon. Each worshiped one particular god above the rest. The gods each favored a particular tribe over all the others, and lent their favor and attributes to those who followed their teachings.
The pantheon comprised the god of nobility and war, Anduiras (also head of the pantheon the god of the woods and streams, Reynir; the goddess of commerce and fortune, Brenna; the lord of moon and magic, Vorynn; the lady of the seas, Masela; the queen of the sun, Basaia; and the face of evil, Dyrosh the Shadow.
The tribe that followed Anduiras called themselves the Andu; they later came to be known as the Avonlaer. They were a warlike and vigorous people who took the lead in the war to claim Cerilia. (My distant ancestors were, of course, Andu, although I regret that I cannot trace my genealogy more than three generations past Traederic Dosiere.)
The tribe that followed Reynir was called the Rjuven; they were a people who revered nature. They eventually called their lands Rjurik. The Brechts venerated Brenna, and cultivated sharp wits and nimble fingers. Believe it or not, the Vos were once diviners and illusionists who sought truth in magic. The last of the five Adurian tribes, the Masetians, have vanished entirely from Cerilia. They were sailors who followed the goddess Masela, braving the stormy seas. No tribe dedicated itself to the evil Dyrosh.
Although these tribes, at first clustered in the northern portion of Aduria, had their share of squabbles with each other, their true enemy lay in the decadent southern empires of Aduria. Our oldest myths describe how the Shadow led the Adurian emperors along paths of corruption and destruction. Thus, when these empires turned their attentions to the tribes in the history of northern lands, the leaders of the Five Tribes knew it was time to flee into the realms dominated by the elven folk and the monsters—into Cerilia.
Next: Flight from Shadow
