Flamespeakers of Tong Deum

The Flamespeakers of Tong Deum are a monastic order of skalds, monks and shamans, originating on the mountainous, arctic plane of Pitravat. It is primarily a dwarven order, but all races are welcome save for the Pitravatish frost giants, who are ancient enemies of the Flamespeakers.

Flamespeaking is considerably similar to other martial arts that involve projection of one's own primal energies through mental discipline and mind-state alteration; given its ancient age, some historians believe it is one of the root ancestors of these techniques.

Description

See also: Dreadnoughts & Flamespeakers Image Gallery (External)

or: Yamabushi Image Gallery (External)

Beliefs

The teachings of Tong Deum centre primarily around enlightenment through "Ignition of the Soul", through a combination of meditation, skaldry, storytelling, physical cultivation and practice of primal magic. Fire is revered as a source of warmth, life, bravery and community. They are an inclusivist religion, happy for others (including non-dwarves) to achieve Ignition of the Soul, and incorporate their beliefs into their music and storytelling.

Abilities

True to their name, practicioners of Tong Deum are often able to breathe fire, through a mastery of one's own internal, primal energies, similar to the kijutsu or senjutsu of monks on other planes. Though this bears a similarity to abilities possessed by many draconic cults, their relation to dragons seems minor to nonexistent. (Though dragons are native to Pitravat, the plane is part of the Eridún Crux—the core hub of the Daybreak Empire—and the refusal of Pitravatish dragons to submit to Dawnsgleam's rule has resulted in severe disciplinary measures that have shrunk their population and territory drastically.)

In addition to their iconic ability, the methods involve other unarmed techniques similar to most martial arts, with a blend of physical and spiritual cultivation. It increases resistance to not only fire but light, making it especially useful for subterranean races (e.g. dwarves, drow, wayangs, shar) to live more comfortably among surface societies. Some schools of Tong Deum teach this technique specifically to cthonic diasporas to help them integrate, though more conservative schools frown on this.

The Flamespeakers are ancient enemies of the frost giants of Pitravat, and as such some subschools of Tong Deum focus on giant-slaying. These particular methods are obviously considered obsolete in most off-plane schools, though some conservative Masters still insist on its inclusion.

Notable Members

1. Galadnock mac-Kenzie, the dwarven Insurgent God of travel, stories, music, fire and surfacers on the plane of Materia.
2. V'Shaat al-Avra, student of Galadnock mac-Kenzie. The two planeswalkers would eventually start a band of planar guides and information dealers known as the Sagasingers. al-Avra would later adapt the techniques of Tong Deum into her own martial art, often called Senjutsu
3. The later Insurgent God Laila By-the-Sea, who is herself a goddess of minstrelsy and travel, amongst other things
4. Hrafnagaldr Fistpoetry, a dwarven monk and early member of the Material Sagasingers who later became one of the most storied members of the Dragon Knights of Tallarax
5. Ashina Shuyin, an early emperor of the proto-Ashina clan in what is now the Maraian Commonwealth

Profile: A Meranthic human practitioner.
Illus. SNK Design Team

Type

Religious, Monastic Order

Laila By-the-Sea, goddess of wandering, music and beauty, was a Master of Tong Deum in mortal life.