(From Annalynne Tuckle's lesson plan for Iris Henrich)
THE TRIBALS
When early man first set out west from the relatively safe confines of The Alabaster City to slake his curiosity and thirst for opportunity, he found The Tribals already waiting for him.
These early explorers believed that if they were to encounter humanity out west it would be of the savage variety: animals wearing animal skin with spears as their only means of defense. Imagine their surprise when they found them with polished shoe leather, tailored suits, and repeating rifles of their own making slung across their backs. Now compound that shock with the discovery that these tribals lived in settlements of ornately carved stone and bronze with beautiful marble sculptures of men and women in various states of ecstatic suffering.
If these early explorers and settlers had treated The Tribals with the respect due to those who have mastered civilization, this world might be a very different place. Unfortunately, this was not to be. Envy is what drove these settlers to reject whatever Tribal kindnesses were offered, for the Tribals inhabited lands with fertile soil, bodies of water plentiful with fish, and hills that were rich in gold and silver. Envy. Nothing more. And thus began three-hundred years of bloody fighting known as THE STRUGGLE.
The Great Graces of The Alabaster City never officially endorsed war against the native population. But when the ranks of the SETTLER EXPEDITIONARY FORCES suddenly included members of the Sturmblade clan, everyone knew The Great Graces had given their tacit endorsement of the conflict for the Sturmblades do nothing without their masters’ say-so.
In the ensuing battles, heroes emerged on both sides. The greatest Tribal champion was a fifteen-year old acolyte named CYRIL ALEXANDER who was unusually gifted in the prayer and sorcery of his faith. During THE BATTLE OF SORROW FALLS, Cyril bested an entire Sturmblade cavalry regiment with a stone-plated rifle and a successful SACRAMENT OF ALL WOUNDS.
On the side of the Settlers, there were no more-feared combatants than the father and daughter pair of GRATTUS and LUSITANIA STURMBLADE. Quick, even by the demonic standards of Sturmblades, they could fell a dozen warriors and their horses before a man could reload his rifle. Lusitania was known among The Tribals as “DEATH TEATS” for it amused Grattus to make his daughter fight naked. For centuries afterwards Lusitania would become a desired sexual companion who men were willing to pay a fortune for. Many were eager to bed “The Struggle’s Great Whore” and Grattus was not about to let an income-generating asset go to waste.
One by one the great tribes fell before gunpowder and fang. All of these tribes are now found only in history books: THE TENPENNY HAWKS, THE OLIVE BULLETS, THE FIERCE SKIES, THE FAMILY FISTS, and many, many more. Still there was one tribe able to match the violence and horror of both settler and Sturmblade: THE RED GALLOP. Merchants by nature, The Red Gallops found themselves unnaturally gifted at warfare. They were strong in the True Faith (called THE ONE FAITH back then) and so were strong in magic. Under the leadership of their newly appointed FATHER, Cyril Alexander, they consolidated the surviving tribes under one banner and with the help of their ancient allies, The Skookum, were able to beat back the advance of the Expeditionary Forces all the way to the borders of The Alabaster City.
It was then that The Great Graces became directly involved. They sent one of their own, LUVART, to warn the Red Gallops away lest they face utter annihilation. The Red Gallops responded with a hail of gunfire. It had no effect whatsoever on Luvart and The Great Grace once again asked them to depart, a bemused smile upon his face. It was then that Father Cyril offered a prayer to the heavens then took a blade to his own hand and severed it. Father Cyril then ate his own hand. And with every bite, Luvart, this arrogant Great Grace, screamed in agony as large chunks of his glowing white body were ripped away and torrents of shimmering crimson launched high into the air. It is said that the entirety of Alabaster City shook to its very foundations when Luvart finally died.
With the death of this Great Grace, beings the tribe had heard were “invincible”, The Red Gallops planned a final assault on The Alabaster City itself to end this scourge of infidels once and for all. It was then that The Skookum announced that they had seen enough bloodshed and would no longer take part in the conflict. If The Red Gallops had simply let the Skookum depart their ranks they could have taken The Alabaster City. They still had an army that dwarfed any resistance the city could muster after all, and they had sorcery at their disposal capable of shredding a Great Grace. Yes, all they had to do to secure victory was keep their eye on the prize. But Father Cyril took The Skookum for traitors. Worse, he took them for HERETICS. And so on the outskirts of The Alabaster City, tribal fought Skookum in a bloody internecine battle that lasted three days. This marks the SCHISM between Tribal and Skookum.
The assault on The Alabaster City never happened. The Skookum disappeared into the wilderness and vowed to shun all men from that day forward. The Red Gallops retreated back into the Fertile Wastes with the corpse of Father Cyril draped over a painted horse. And surely in Whiter Jubilee, The Great Graces smiled. Never again would there be a large scale armed resistance to settlers and explorers.
The Red Gallops are nearly all that remains of the great tribes of old. Yet there are still those that endure. THE ANOINTED ANKLES are one such tribe. They make their home on the winding banks of the great CUT YOUR LOSSES RIVER some fifty miles east of Freedom Beat. THE DOLOROUS BLOWS are another. They can be found in the snowy foothills near The Orchard. And finally there are the CROAKING WALTERS of the GREAT SOUTHEAST. The Croaking Walters never took part in The Struggle as they have successfully prevented exploration and settlements in their part of The New World for the better part of three-thousand years. How they have been able to exert complete sovereignty over such a large territory has been an enduring mystery. That this tribe actually exists is known only because of a solo expedition undertaken by the only person to enter Croaking Walter territory and return: Harriet Sneed. What she discovered, however, Harriet never revealed. Not even to The Great Graces if the rumors from Ponder Academy are to be believed.
You ever chance upon a tribal you treat them the same as anyone else. Same as we treat Augustine. They’re just people, after all. But just like anyone else you chance upon, you don’t take your eyes off ‘em.
