Ikaika

Beyond the Crystal Forest and deep inside the Shimmering Mountains, one finds the truly elusive Ikaika, a race that has through the generations perfected the ways of the shadows, and the art of silence.


 * "The Ikaika are stubborn and headstrong. They will never back down from a fight, nor will they ever go back on their word."

Origin
Originally human, the Ikaika stems, just like the Sibrahim, from survivors of The Great Human Expanse. Their ancestors fled from the raging Eidolith, running as far as humanly possible, but it was not enough.

Some time after their escape they were caught up by Yu'Jin, a cruel and devious Eidolith who took pleasure from misery and desperation. He chased and taunted them without end, laughing as they slept with one eye open, leering as they stuck to the shadows so that he had to search for them. For generations he altered them, little by little, so that they could keep challenging him in his twisted game of hide and seek. After several hundred years, there was little to no human resemblence left in the escapees. They had lost all that was left from their human ancestors, now resembling a large bipedal weasel, but Yu'Jin could not have foreseen the human ingenuity left inside them that would ultimately lead to his demise.

A small group, that called them self the Ikaika, or "Always Behind the One who Searches", began planning on how to escape the clutches of the deranged Eidolith. For years they trained while forging dangerous weapons designed to kill without making a noise. Their newfound expertise with poisons, and ranged delivery systems grew to such an extent, that they finally managed to wound Yu'Jin while he was hunting another group of escapees. His outrage and surprise made him level entire mountains trying to destroy the ones responsible, but he could not find them, partly because of the many alterations he had made to the escapees, but also because of their amazing ability to stay hidden. The Ikaika continued to hunt the Eidolith for days, harassing him just like he had once harassed them, until he was so weak he could not run anymore. Yu'Jin then fell to his knees, exhausted and afraid.

The leader of the Ikaika; Maharu stepped up to the weakened Eidolith and tore out his one eye, claiming ''"With one missing eye, you are no longer the watcher." ''He held it for all of his brethren to see. He then tore off Yu'Jin's right hand, claiming ''"Without your right hand, you are no longer the hunter". ''The Ikaika cheered and laughed at the fallen Eidolith. Maharu then proceeded to tear out Yu'Jin's heart, claiming ''"Without a heart, and a soul you are no longer our God". ''

The Ikaika then hid away from the rest of the escapees, deep inside the Shimmering Mountains where they founded their own society.

The Village in the Dark
After their hunter had fallen, the Ikaika searched the mountainsides for a safe haven. For years they scrounged what little they could to survive, and lost a great number of brethren to unknown diseases and to the exhaustion they had supressed during their hunt for Yu'Jin.

On the brink of utter destruction they found a giant cavern, hidden from sunlight and prying eyes. The Ikaika at once felt safe, and started to build their first home which they called Ikatanta, or "Behind the mountain". Within their numbers, they chose their eldest to lead them, naming them the Ikamannat, or ''"The Elders Behind our Young". ''

Ikatanta began as a simple camp inside a cave, but the Ikaika began to dig, and soon it became something else entirely.

Through generations the Ikaika transformed their home into a bastion of intricate caves and several clans devoted to hunt and kill Eidoloth.

The Founding of the Shadow Clans
In the beginning the Ikaika focused on striking from the dark, always searching for shadows in which to hide. One can say that their habit of hiding from a deranged God wouldn't shake easily, but as the Ikaika grew in numbers, and their little cave grew into a giant city it became obvious to them that this needed to change.

As the boundaries of their territory grew and the human part of them which needed to explore began emerging, the Ikamannat soon realized that by supressing this and the Ikaika's individuality, it would lead to an internal war, so they passed down a law which said that anyone who came of age would be required to travel for five Cycles, and then return with all their collected knowledge to improve the Ikaika society.

The Firstborn
Maharu's son, Anmaharu was the first of the Ikaika to travel Myrmidar, and thus the first one to return with new knowledge of the world beyond Ikatanta.

On his journey Anmaharu had found several shards whom other races referred to as Lithian Shards, remnants of the human prison that now functioned as conduits for raw Mana. He brought these shards back with him to his Father, and with his blessing began researching into how they could be used in the forging of weapons against the Eidoloth. He founded The Firstborn, a clan who's only goal was to find new ways in which to utilize these shards against their sworn enemies.

The founding of The Firstborn opened a whole new way of life for the Akiaki, where clans became the new way of their society.

The Sworn Blade [Gongara]
Foreigners

Known as "Hrmar" because that is what they sound like, talking nonsense like that. Largely considered to be less sane than Ikaika, but not completely without merits.

War

In clan battles the nobles tend to want to fight duels before the battle begins. This can be a lenghty, almost tournament style affair that can decide the battle before it even begins. Once battle finally commences the clan leader ("Kame") or one of his generals ("Waonga") draws up a strategy which the officers("Taiao") fulfill.

Ghost-warriors

This dishonourable, but effective style of fighting is only undertaken by peasant troops. The soldiers will paint themselves completely black, wear no armour save for clothing and wield only wooden or stone weapons that are painted black. The Ghost warriors strike at night, attacking the enemies in silence, not breaking a warcry even once, killing as many as they can before slipping away in the dark. This tactic is considered dishonourable to enact on other Ikaika

Lands

The lands of the ikaika are mostly hills, dark woods and lakes where giant bamboo-like reeds grow.

Their homes are made underground.

Physiology

Thick-limbed and robust. Common hair colours are white, black, gray and red.

Religion and beliefs

The Ikaika have no religion per se, but rather several strands of philosophy. Though they do believe in spirits, these are not worshipped as deities but can be appeased through ritual or sacrifice. According to their stories the spirits are mostly either hostile or act as tricksters.

Signs of a warrior: The sword and the scrotum.

Two things are required of the fighting elite of Ikaika: A sword and serious balls. They believe that the testicles hold the fighting spirit or mana of the warrior. Ikaki warriors therefore put great stock in armour that covers their mansacks, though any honourable Ikaika makes a point out of not aiming for the groin. To unman another warrior in such a way is to murder his very warrior-spirit, and this is considered a very evil thing to do.

Though it is a rare occourence indeed, there are records of Ikaika warriors flashing their sacks to intimidate enemies.

Also keep in mind that this does not mean that they flash their sacks a lot. To do so would be to declare hostility to those viewing and your intent to fight while exposing your most vurneable weak-spot at the same time.

The drinks of philosophy.

Out of every root that grows in the mud, and out of every berry on the bush, maybe even from frogs and worms, can the philosopher's drink be merged.

Drinking alcohol is an act that is considered to be medetative, and it helps remove the boundries of the body so the soul can act without interference from the heart and the mind.

Weapons

"The hrmar's weapons are brutal and clumsy, unlike ours which are made for precicion, speed and grace. Now take this club and quickly strike away those kneecaps gracefully."

Ikaika weapons are mostly derived from farming and hunting tools and only nobles are allowed to carry swords.



Resources

"Strike the earth!"

Being natural diggers, the Ikaika people have access to all the metals and stones of their hills. Though the iron quality is poor, they get lots of good copper which is a valuable trade commodity but also causes internal strife and tempt foreign intrusion.

The giant reeds are used for building materials, tools and to make paper.

The trees of the hills are not ideal for building materials, but usable.

Scavenging in the woods yield large bounties of acorns, nuts, mushrooms, berries, worms, frogs and herbs. The lakes are also good for frog hunting and contain lots of fish, eels, mountain-crabs and birds (who eat all the aforementioned critters).

The land is not great for farming, being both rocky and hilly, but in the muddy shores of the lakes several crops can be raised. Most common are:

>Cattails

>Rice

>Carrots

>Broccoli

>Radish

>Potato (if this exists)

Hunting.

Animals that are hunted include: Deer, wild goats, wild boars, bears, various small mammals (rabbits, squrriels, rodents and the like), foxes, weasels, monkeys, otters, raccoons, beavers and various wood and lakeland birds.