Shattered Folk

The Shattered Folk are the remnant of the once-mighty empire of the Hundaei. Destroyed in their civil war of two millennia earlier and hunted by the vicious humanoids of The Haunted Steppes, the Shattered Folk now exist as scattered tribes that roam the vast steppes as nomads and herders. There are hundreds of tribes ranging in size from a few dozen members to thousands, and some are friendly with each other, though many more either war upon those they meet or simply flee. These tribes are generally ruled by a chief, sometimes through a hereditary lineage but equally often through egalitarian selection, depending on the individual tribe.
There is a still a strong culture of horse warriors among the tribes that runs back through their blood to the mighty hordes of the Hundaei, but they are now small and localized and lack the unity that once made them a powerful nation. When brought to battle, they prove to be brave and skilled horse warriors — after all, survival in The Haunted Steppes is no mean thing, and they have had generations to hone their skills in this hostile environment. Most Shattered Folk avoid contact with outsiders. However, the two largest confederations, the Elitan-i-pan of the western plains near the coast and Campacha in the south, recently began trading with merchants from Castorhage, Gtsang, Reme, and Foere, and some have even experimented with permanent settlements and agriculture.
Every 50 years, a number of families of Shattered Folk are chosen by lottery to move south of the Wizard’s Wall to The Plains of Reme. The majority of those choosing to relocate come from Campacha.
The Shattered Folk tend to be long-limbed and leanly muscled, with dark eyes (black being most common) and skin ranging from deep golden tones to chestnut brown.