Meat Shield
2007-04-04, 01:30 PM
Keepers of the Tale
"Many generations ago, we were a civilized people. We created great works of art and craftsmanship. Our universities were the first in the world to study and control magic. Our children ran and played in long fields of grass, and danced beneath the trees of our ancestors.
But then came the Yujung, and their cruel dwarven mercenaries. They drove us from our homes, slayed the slow, burned our homes, and defiled our lands. Our ancestors and our spirit-friends wailed in pity and misery over their children's pain.
Those that survived took what they could and went north, into the mountains and beyond. The tale since then has been of unending cold and struggle. But through the strength of our ancestors and assistance of our spirit-allies, we have survived, and now await our return to our home. Our TRUE home." - Utuqaq, Elder Keeper of the Tale
The Keepers of the Tale are an Omeshik organization that have made it their solemn responsibility to preserve Omeshik history and culture in spite of being forced out of their ancestral homelands. The ancient Omeshik covered the territory south of the Vartesiat Mountains between the Taliesin River to the west and the ocean to the east. The Yujung and their dwarven mercenaries invaded some time in the past, the reasons for which are lost to antiquity. With the survivors being driven over the mountains to the cruel Silvery Wastes, to most the previous achievements of Omeshik society became secondary to mere survival.
The Keepers of the Tale have two main functions in Omeshik society. The first is as law-bringers, story-tellers, news-spreaders, and other duties that would be needed by a population that is dispersed across a frozen tundra and cold mountainous region for much of the year. The Keepers in this function are much like the real world 'bards' of Middle Ages Europe (not the base PC class!). They travel from village to village, spreading knowledge and teaching culture and history to the younger generations, ensuring that the noble history of the Omeshik will not perish in spite of Yujung barbarism. These Keepers are always welcomed into any village, and given room and warm food without reservation.
The other function of the Keepers is less well known to the Omeshik at large - that of protecting the ancestral lands and artifacts of the Omeshik from any that would despoil them. These agents travel deep into Yujung territory, guarding the ancient sites that house the spirits of their ancestors and other friendly natural spirits. They hunt down artifacts that belonged to the Omeshik before the Great Migration for return to their proper owners. They harry the Yujung invaders, believing that the more Yujung blood they spill, they sooner they can lead the Omeshik home.
"Many generations ago, we were a civilized people. We created great works of art and craftsmanship. Our universities were the first in the world to study and control magic. Our children ran and played in long fields of grass, and danced beneath the trees of our ancestors.
But then came the Yujung, and their cruel dwarven mercenaries. They drove us from our homes, slayed the slow, burned our homes, and defiled our lands. Our ancestors and our spirit-friends wailed in pity and misery over their children's pain.
Those that survived took what they could and went north, into the mountains and beyond. The tale since then has been of unending cold and struggle. But through the strength of our ancestors and assistance of our spirit-allies, we have survived, and now await our return to our home. Our TRUE home." - Utuqaq, Elder Keeper of the Tale
The Keepers of the Tale are an Omeshik organization that have made it their solemn responsibility to preserve Omeshik history and culture in spite of being forced out of their ancestral homelands. The ancient Omeshik covered the territory south of the Vartesiat Mountains between the Taliesin River to the west and the ocean to the east. The Yujung and their dwarven mercenaries invaded some time in the past, the reasons for which are lost to antiquity. With the survivors being driven over the mountains to the cruel Silvery Wastes, to most the previous achievements of Omeshik society became secondary to mere survival.
The Keepers of the Tale have two main functions in Omeshik society. The first is as law-bringers, story-tellers, news-spreaders, and other duties that would be needed by a population that is dispersed across a frozen tundra and cold mountainous region for much of the year. The Keepers in this function are much like the real world 'bards' of Middle Ages Europe (not the base PC class!). They travel from village to village, spreading knowledge and teaching culture and history to the younger generations, ensuring that the noble history of the Omeshik will not perish in spite of Yujung barbarism. These Keepers are always welcomed into any village, and given room and warm food without reservation.
The other function of the Keepers is less well known to the Omeshik at large - that of protecting the ancestral lands and artifacts of the Omeshik from any that would despoil them. These agents travel deep into Yujung territory, guarding the ancient sites that house the spirits of their ancestors and other friendly natural spirits. They hunt down artifacts that belonged to the Omeshik before the Great Migration for return to their proper owners. They harry the Yujung invaders, believing that the more Yujung blood they spill, they sooner they can lead the Omeshik home.