WIP — The Ritual of Life

The most feared and brutal of all the raider tribes, the Eaters of the Dead are cannibals. They hunt people to kidnap and use them for food. It is usually far prefered to be killed by one's own hand than be captured by the Eaters. Since they see other people as little more than food and toys, they treat their prisoners accordingly. It is not uncommon with torture, mutilation and even rape among the Eaters.

History

Traditions

Structure

Territory

Technology

While some people banded together to build something together and survive together, others preyed upon their fellow Kykr . The Eaters of the Dead sprung from a particularly desperate bunch, who found themselves with more people than they could possibly feed in the desperate days following The Cataclysm . Forced to eat their dead to survive, a weird and twisted religion arose around these survivors.It is speculated that the Eaters hail from survivors of a Kharamôran transport with religious dignitaries from the southernthat was crippled and went down in the Dead Tongue during The Cataclysm . Their religious beliefs and the utter desperation they found themselves in, twisted their outlook on life.Perhaps driven insane by hunger and atrocities, the Eaters of today are religious fantastics who believe they are the chosen of the gods and it is through their rituals of eating others that they gain the favor of the gods. They believe that they "absorb" the life force of others by eating their flesh and organs.The Eaters are trained in physical combat from the day they can stand on their own two legs. Well trained, physically fit and utterly without fear, the Eaters are a fearsome and horrible foe to anyone who is not an Eater.In spite of their name, the Eaters do eat other things than the flesh of sapients. They grow their own crops in the fields near their caves and and mushrooms inside the caves. They even hold livestock for when they cannot find enough sapients to butcher. For all their rituals however they do consume exclusively flesh of sapients.The Eaters are divided into sub-tribes, called Ezla, from the ancient Qaj word for "unity". Each Ezla has a tribal leader, known as a Makza or shaman, usually a woman of great influence, and a warchief, Kudro, who is the military leader of the tribe. Both of these rule side by side and are equal to one another. They are however not usually a romantic couple, but serve their tribe separately. They may each choose a mate from the tribe, but usually do not.The Kaba is the highest military authority among the Eaters and he is the warchief of the tribes. His word is absolute and he answers only to the Kazra, the high shaman of the tribes. The ultimate theological authority, speaking directly as the voice of the gods. Both the Kaba and Kazra pick their successors from members of the many tribes and train them as their replacements. Tradition has it that the Kaba is a man and the Kazra a woman, but there is no rule that says that is the way it has to be. It's just become that way through tradition.The Eaters of the Dead reside in the Dead Tongue , named so after themselves. The area is remote and located in the north, nestled south of the Næka mountains. The Eaters are kept from spreading further into the Shadowmark by thein the southeast, Fusion City in the south and the Stainless Concord in the west. Without these organizations keeping them in check, the Eaters could overrun the Shadowmark with their numbers and great ferocity.Eaters traditionally fight with bows, spears and shields, but they are not beyond looting, stealing and raiding from others. It isn't uncommon to find some particularly powerful Eaters sporting advanced military armor and firearms. They are known to scavenge the ruins of old for equipment.