A Naru hunter.
Originally more active in the Commonwealth, the
Naru famously walked away due to the increasing political influence of their reviled enemies,
The Shan. They are the
easternmost humans on the
Maraian continent, with seminomadic territories straddling both sides of Asura's Wall, where they lead hard but honest lives, strongly in tune with the local ecology. Like the
Skylands Arakh Clans, they remember the safest methods of crossing the Wall and guard them fiercely. This knowledge may bring about a new renaissance for the Naru under the
Setsu Shōgunate, though Ermine diplomats may find thes remote tribes a tough nut to crack. As they are not Commonwealth, they have no official clan
Totem Kami.
Clan Status: None; defected from The Commonwealth
Totem: None as such, though the Moose, Arctic Fox and Hoary Marmot are particularly revered in their stories
Colours: Tribal patterns in various colours; leathers and animal skins common due to northern climate, often adorned with teeth, antlers and other animal parts; totem masks also common
First Kannushi: None; tribes are often matriarchal, led by elder bonecasters
Vassal Clans: None, though "Naru" is the name for a group of distinct but closely related clans
Reputation: Reclusive, wild, enigmatic, spiritual, naive, have the blood of hengeyōkai shapeshifters
Preferred classes: Ranger, barbarian, druid, witch (mountain, steppe, cave, tundra), ninja (greenstep)
Imagery: Naru Fashion & Scenery Image Gallery (External)The Naru are the easternmost culture in Marai, save for the Arakh clans of the Skylands, the the Ghost Elves of the Illusionary Islands and whatever intelligent creatures till dwell in the Mazes of Oloraan. "Naru" is actually a term for a wider union of closely-related but distinct clans, a name retained from when they briefly united to join the Commonwealth in the Second Age.
A fiercely independent people undesirous of Commonwealth interference in their culture, they were an official clan for a few centuries at the urging of the Mana and Saga clans, but defected in disgust at the increasing influence of the Shan. Even as an official clan, the Naru never felt at home in the Commonwealth, often drawing the ire of the more urbane clans for their staunch intolerance of subterfuge, double-talk and material greed.
The Skylands
Though the Skylands are under the strict protection of "The Great": Eight God-Chieftains of the Skylands Arakh, the Naru are afforded some leniency provided they stay in their territories on the western end of the continent. Nonetheless if any Naru stray too far into Arakh territory, they'll personally meet one of the Great, whereupon they'll either be slain or taken into servitude, depending on whether they take up arms against the God-Chieftain.
The Naru are one of three clans with
Ghost Elf ambassadors, the other two being the
Ermines and the
Great Ravens.
The Commonwealth of Marai
Including the Skylands to the east and the Kula'wongai to the Voidwest. Map covers Waking Materia's Lower Alpha and Upper Beta Quadrants.
A Naru tribeswoman.
The Shan-Setsu Cold War
Behind the scenes, the Naru have been valuable allies in
the Setsu's race to keep arakh artifacts out of the hands of
Shan rimespeakers, ensuring the Tengu are kept in check and maintaining a (relative) peace between the arakh and human clans. The Setsu cannot advertise this too strongly however, as the Naru are generally distrusted in the Commonwealth as shapeshifters and spritbinders. (Of course, all Highlander clans have witches or shamans able to borrow the skins of animals and speak to liminal souls... the Setsu & Shan just know to hide this from Lowlander superstition, and better yet employ it to their advantage.) That said, the Naru do seem to be born
yōkai-blooded even more often than other Maraians.
History
Scholarship suggests the First Age hero,
Hanaviri-no-Kishiki ("The Knight of Petals") may have been a Naru in his mortal life, prior to becoming the
Material God of aid, leadership and sacrifice,
the Field Marshal. It was the ancient Naru, Umeki and
Iyō clans that were the first to resist the march of the mighty armies of the
Lichlord and
Colonial God,
Io'a. Due to a string of defeats against Field Marshal's tenacious forces, Io'a was disowned by his
God-Emperor Inum'indiron'aravaut and forced to go renegade, representing one of the great political victories of the
Insurgent Gods.
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