Tribes of the Tan-ha

The Tribes of the Tan-ha are the denizens of the Ithis Mountains. They are groups of mountainous Elves, Orcs, and Bugbears. The various tribes that make up the Tan-ha have their differences, but they all serve the dragons that live in the mountains. The members of the tribes are fierce, rugged survivalists, living in the snowy peaks of the mountains, only venturing to the foothills to raid nearby villages. These people have strong ties to the great beasts of the mountains, like mammoths, saber-tooth tigers, and bears.
A nomadic people, the Tan-ha spend much of the year following prey beasts and raiding nearby villages, particularly those of The Path of Yalai. They harbor little desire for expansion or conquest, but they fiercely defend their community against intrusion, both physical and cultural.

Tribe Values

The past is with us. Shamans speak of "frozen memories," but every member of the Tan-ha lives simultaneously in the days of the ancestors and in the present. Clan roles are eternal, with each new generation assuming the ongoing mantle of a role: hunter, leader, whisperer, nurturer, slayer, and so on. Clan legends speak of these roles rather than named heroes.
Sleeping ancestors. Life is tough in the mountains. People die often. Burial is difficult in the rocky and often frozen lands of the mountains, especially in winter, and fuel for fire is scant, so the Tan-ha have developed a practical solution. When someone dies, the corpse is washed (or at least rubbed down with snow), then wrapped in a ceremonial cloth. The other family members carry the deceased to a special site consecrated to the ancestors, a crevasse in the great glacier. Amid prayers and offerings of aromatic smoke, the corpse is lowered into the chasm to sleep with the ancestors in the eternal ice.
The Endless Silence. Very rarely, a member of the Tan-ha might commit an offense that is unforgivable, such as cowardice in battle leading to the death of clan members, or acts of betrayal. Guilt is judged by the Dragonclaw, with the advice of the One Who Whispers Twice. The punishment for such heinous crimes is not just death, but utter removal from the clan's memory. The offender is drowned in a rushing mountain stream, and the corpse is swept away by the rapids to be devoured by wild beasts. That voice will never join those of the sleeping ancestors.
Whispering. Tan-ha magic is highly shamanistic, with a strong elemental flavor. Shamans call their magic "whispering" and speak of the frozen memories and even the frozen spirits of the ancestors. Many Tan-ha tribespeople have an elemental affinity that allows them to shape stone and ice to varying degrees. Those with the strongest talent construct fortified cave shelters and can manipulate the terrain in battle to hinder the enemy and strengthen their own position.
Magic among the Temur uses this belief in the frozen past. Shamans whisper to the cold air and the ice. Glaciers, especially those containing the remains of dragons, are considered the most sacred sites. A shaman performs a ritual, "the thaw," in which the shaman strips off his or her heavy clothing (other than the ceremonial headgear) and meditates on the ancestors. As the shaman slips deeper into trance, the shaman's body begins to glow and throw off heat. The skin is flushed, and the air nearby shimmers. The shaman begins to sink into the ice until he or she becomes encapsulated within a bubble of air; the melted ice re-freezes above, and the shaman's headgear rests on top like a turtle shell.
After a period of communing with the frozen memories, the shaman breaks open the icy capsule. Two beings emerge: the newly awakened shaman, and a barely visible double, seemingly made of clear ice, which encases him or her like a skin. The ice twin separates and stands guard, awaiting orders, as the shaman, now shivering and nearly dead from hypothermia, quickly dons the cast-off clothing. Although it physically resembles the shaman, the ice twin carries within it the awakened memories of a Tan-ha ancestor. When in battle, it can suddenly shatter to release the warrior spirit within. Once the fight is over, the awakened spirit dissipates to return to sleep in the frozen mountain.
The Wide Whisper. The clan's chief shaman is able to enter a trance communion with all of the other shamans, regardless of distance. Through this, the chief shaman exchanges information and, when a mighty summoning is needed, can lead a "wide whisper" that involves the whole group. Such powerful rituals can awaken a very ancient ancestor or raise up a mighty elemental spirit.
Awakening the bear. Certain Tan-ha warriors can enter a battle fury called "awakening the bear." Their companions stay far from the "awakened bears," since while in this state, they cannot distinguish friend from foe.
Test of Claws. The Tan-ha have retained their traditional wrestling matches as both a way to blow off steam and to measure one's strength against another. During the harshest winter months, when all the families gather in communal shelters, such ritual battles are common both as entertainment and as a way to stay in fighting form when other sorts of exercise aren't practical.
"Wandering bears." The Tan-ha are nomadic. They travel in small family groups, pursuing herd animals and settling temporarily in areas where food is plentiful in season, such as thickets of berry bushes or streams full of fish. In this, they resemble the bears they revere. Only in the harshest months of winter do they cease their wandering. Wandering tribespeople carry everything they need with them. Their fur-lined coats, mittens, and heavy hide boots are effectively houses they always inhabit. Lightweight shelters of scraped hide can be quickly set up to block wind and precipitation; dragon bones are readily available for use as tent poles. In areas of deep snow, they make use of sledges, which they haul themselves. These carry bundles of clothing, extra weapons, traps, dried food, and other supplies. Otherwise, they pack gear on their backs
Families within a family. Family is central to Tan-ha thinking, almost as important as it is as among the Houses of Kahel. The bonds within a family group and to the family leader are much stronger than those to an external leader. Each family group sees the others as siblings within the community and supports them in the same way (although one's own family always comes first). The First Father or Mother of the clan is considered to be the parent of all the families, and they owe fealty to the khan as they would their own parents. Every adult member of the clan is a formidable fighter, and children learn weapon-play early in life. Even a nursing mother is a ferocious opponent in battle, perhaps even more so than others since she carries her infant with her and will fight ceaselessly to protect it. Shamans are seen as living links to the ancestors who are frozen in time.
Isolated shamans: Tan-ha  whisperers are also sometimes known as the "weavers of the three destinies," referring to the past, the present (which they call "the now,"), and the future (called "the unwritten now"). They are far more aware of the continual and overlapping nature of time than ordinary tribesmembers, seeing the past and the various possible presents all at the same time. They wear enormous headpieces that completely shade their upper faces. From these they hang fetishes and charms made from carved bone, antlers, relics, and the like. The assemblage serves to focus the shaman's whispering; the more tokens, the more powerful the ritual. On the oldest shamans, such heavily decorated headgear bows the wearer's shoulders. Their eyes are never visible, symbolically reinforcing the idea that they whisper and listen to the ancestors and the elemental spirits, and see all times. They are by no means helpless; they move about unassisted and apparently are completely aware of their surroundings, although it's unknown to others whether this is magically assisted sight, augmented senses other than sight, or psychic sensitivity. The shamans do not explain themselves.

Tribe Roles

The Dragonclaw: This is the official mantle of clan leadership, a title conferred through feats of battle, but which sometimes must be earned or defended in ritual challenge—usually a wrestling bout. The title can be held by anyone who can take it, regardless of age or gender.
First Father or First Mother: The highest-ranking member of the clan is considered the parent of all members. Sometimes, but not always, this role is also filled by the Dragonclaw. The First Father or Mother has no spouse, but travels with other families and shares their encampments.
The One Who Whispers Twice: Although Tan-ha shamans generally lead a hermetic existence, one is selected to be the clan advisor. This person, called the One Who Whispers Twice (once to the spirits and once to the Dragonclaw), must travel with the leader and his or her family instead of spending a life in solitary meditation, to guide the clan along the best path. This person provides military intelligence gleaned through magical divination and communication with spirits, warns of potential attacks, foresees the best grounds for hunting and raiding, and leads the summoning of ancestral troops in times of great need. He or she can initiate the Wide Whisper to consult with the other shamans when necessary.
The position is held for life. Whisperers don't compete to see who gets the job. Rather, it is seen as a sacrifice, giving up the pure life of communing with the spirits to deal with temporal issues. They convene at the sacred meeting place of the Dragon's Throat.
Each shaman whispers to one spirit, either elemental or ancestor, and the spirits decide on the most worthy choice. As compensation, the chosen one is able to commune psychically with not only other shamans, but with the frozen ancestors as they sleep (rather than first embodying them as ice doubles).
Hunt Caller: This person is responsible for the clan's pursuit of food animals, directing each family group to handle a particular area. He or she also commands raids against neighboring clans (typically Yalai) to seize supplies. The mantle of Hunt Caller can be held by anyone. It is earned rather than conferred, during the night of the Great Hunt. The hunter who brings back the greatest number of beasts, or the most formidable opponent, gains this title for the next year.
Tan-ha landslide: A favored Tan-ha battle tactic is to open with a downhill charge called the landslide, in which warriors ride battle sledges down the mountainside. Each sledge consists of a platform affixed to four or six two-handed, curved iron swords.
Warriors hurl spears or fire bows as they descend. Others wield something like the bang nakh (tiger claw) hand weapon, fashioned from bones, fangs, or carved dragon claws. After the initial impact with the enemy, the warriors leap off, flip the sledge over, and detach the swords from quick-release bindings to wade into melee. The Dragonclaw's chief lieutenant generally leads the charge beside the war leader.

Location

Ithis Mountains

Related Species

• Bugbear
• Elf
• Orc