The World Of Khoras - Civilization - Nations

Description

Secambru is a wild region peopled by primitive tribes whose ways are considered barbaric and uncivilized based on the few tales brought back by ship captains from this land. The Secambru are a nomadic primitive race of giants that live as barbaric hunter/gatherers. They live close to nature, feeding off the land and following the herds that they hunt.

The Secambru are a powerful, muscular breed of giants. A typical secambru male stands about 10-12 feet tall and weighs close to 1,500 pounds. Their enormous strength makes them very dangerous in close combat. However, the secambru have limited mental development and limited technological skills.

Geography

For the most part, Secambru (as it is typically called) is a temperate region covered in savannah which are broken up by thick forests and hilly regions. The northern stretches are more hilly as the land raises up toward the Rahjan Mountains. The north and east are bordered by the Uras River and the Darijun Jungle beyond it. The south coastline borders the Henari Sea. There are several sites of giant-sized ruins that dot the landscape. These crumbling stone remnants hint at the strength and glory of the secambru race ages ago.

Notable Fauna and Flora

Secambru is a large region that supports a wide spectrum of fauna and flora. Packs of wolves hunt in the northern hills. Elk, mule deer and caribou herds roam the interior grasslands. Wild horses run free across the grasslands. River oxen and hippos can be found in the wetter regions in the east.

History

Centuries ago, the Kytohan Empire created a race of giants to obliterate the barbarian hordes of eastern Aggradar. This giant race were designed to be immensely powerful engines of destruction capable of tearing down the strongholds of barbarian chieftains, smash through walls and scale mountains. They wielded weapons the size of trees and rode the ocean in ships that dwarfed all other seagoing vessels. The secambru waged dozens of successful campaigns against the enemies of the Kytohan Empire. The secambru were treated brutally by the Kytohan military. There were slaves, property, and nothing more to the generals that commanded them.

When the Sundering rocked the world, the Kytohan Empire was devastated. Taking advantage of the military's weakened state, the secambru rose up against the masters in a slave uprising. A massive revolt began and in the weeks following the Sundering, the renegade secambru slew thousands of Kytohan citizens. This became known as the Giant Slayer War. Led by a charismatic leader named Kurnoth, the renegades stole a dozen of the huge giant sized war galleys and fled the Kytohan Empire, heading for deep sea.

During the trek, a great storm hit and two of the ships were lost. One sank and the other was thrown against the rocks and stranded. Months later the surviving ships landed in south eastern Qeshir. Amidst much bickering, the group splintered into several subgroups. One group traveled north into the Rahjan mountains. A second group traveled east toward the great volcano known as Mount Durrodis.

The majority of the giants settled in the grasslands of the southwest where they had landed. The group burned the great ships that had carried them there and vowed never to return to the slavery and suffering they had endured in distant Aggradar. Likewise, they abandoned metalworking, stonecraft and other practices that they had been forced to perform as slaves. For them, these were the tasks of slaves. They were now free and they wished to live free, free of the reminders of the past, free of the tasks that they had performed under the whip. They embraced nature and chose to live as primitive clans, hunting and gathering, living off what the land provided naturally.

As is the nature of the secambru, with each succeeding generation, the race grows smaller and weaker as the magic that created them slowly decays. The first generation of secambru were 60 feet tall and god-like in strength and stature. Over the centuries, they have de-evolved. Most secambru alive today are 10th to 12th generation. Twelfth generation are the most common and they are only 10-12 feet tall and 1,500 pounds. The intellect of these great giants is also lessened with each generation.

As slaves to the Kytohan Empire, writing was forbidden them and the secambru have never developed a written language. Hence, all history is passed down orally. Stories of the "great ones", the first few generations of secambru, have been passed down. Such tales form the backbone of their oral tradition. The secambru are proud of their history and strive to live up to the greatness of their ancestors.

Despite this, the secambru are a dying race. With each generation, they grow weaker. In a few hundred years, they will be the size of mortal men and, one day, will die out altogether. Perhaps because of the decline of their race, they have fallen to preying on each other. The central population of secambru has fragmented into dozens, if not hundreds, of rival tribes over the centuries and much bloodshed and war flares up between these tribes. Much of the last 500 years has been marred by bloody tribal warfare. With each passing decade, their culture becomes more barbaric and primitive. There has been no development here in terms of culture, language or scientific development. On the contrary, they have reverted to an almost stone age society.

Government

Secambru has no central government. The realm is home to dozens of separate secambru tribes each ruled by a barbarian chieftain. Government here only extends as far as a weapon's reach. The right to rule belongs to the strongest warrior. Typically, a chieftain will be at least one generation more "advanced" than those he rules. For instance, a typical secambru tribe will be mostly 11th and 12th generation giants. The chieftain that rules over them may be a 9th generation giant and rules because of his greater size, strength and intellect. He may have a number of subchieftains or lieutenants who are 10th generation. It is a clear hierarchy or pecking order based solely on strength. And here, strength is based on generation. This hierarchical structure is somewhat stable because the older "generations" are not only stronger, they also have longer life spans as well.

Legal System

Justice belongs to the strong. In any given tribe, brutality and raw physical power decide everything. Any dispute may result in a challenge and contest of strength or even duel to the death. In most cases, the strongest males get the most females and the spoils of war.

Because the generational hierarchy is absolute, it is almost a foregone conclusion that generational superiority decides everything. A 10th generation secambru always wins out over an 11th generation. In many cases, there will not even be a contest. A weaker generation will automatically give way to a greater generation.

Military

No formal military exists. Each tribe fights its own battles. Every man, woman and child may be called upon to fight during a tribal conflict. Whole tribes are sometimes wiped out. Because of their limited craft skills, secambru weapons and armor are very primitive. Weapons usually involve clubs or simple spiked bashing weapons made from wood, stone, bone or antler. Armor is limited to hide or boiled leather sewn together. Because of their great size, the skin from many animals must be sewn together to fashion a single suit of leather armor.

Economy

The concept of money is beyond these people. Trade and barter is the limit of their understanding. Trade is thus limited by what the locals can make and how far they can travel with it. Having not developed agriculture, not even grain serves as a viable form of currency. Most trade and barter occurs at "Gatherings", an informal social assembly that occurs whenever two or more tribes meet. Such "gatherings" involve trading, singing, feasting and dancing around a great central bonfire.

Culture

The secambru are as primitive as can be. Due to their cultural taboos which have formed due to their history, they have abandoned all technology. All craft skills are taboo. Metal working, stone craft, pottery, agriculture, ship building, mining and harvesting of trees have all been abandoned. Writing, literature and mathematics are unknown to them. The secambru are simply hunter/gatherers living off the land. If it can not be gathered in the forest or taken from a slain animal, then the secambru do not have it.

There are a number of caves that are used regularly by the tribes. As the tribes move from region to region following the herds, they move from cave to cave. When between caves, the tribes use primitive shelters made from branches and animal pelts.

The secambru have a very limited technology - they have no writing system, no mathematics and no metal working skills. They have not invented the bow or the stirrup. They are limited to animal pelts for armor. Their weapons are typically knives made from antlers, stone head clubs and bone-tipped wooden spears. Their craft skills include bone carvings, wood carvings, simple pottery and beadwork.

The lands are scattered with the ruins of ancient secambru towns and fortifications, but these shards of civilization are choked with vegetation now. The secambru consider these places tainted ground and it is forbidden to venture therein. The ruins remind them too much of their fall from grace.

The Generations of the Secambru Giants

The concept of "generation" is very important in this land. Every secambru giant knows what generation he or she is. Family lineage is, thus, very important. Most adult secambru today are 11th or 12th generation depending on their age. Some young are 13th generation. Most chieftains, shamans and subleaders are 10th or 9th generation.

Towns and Villages

The secambru are completely nomadic. As such, they build no permanent structures. They have no towns, villages or permanent settlements of any kind.

This page last updated Monday, October 08, 2007. Copyright 1990-2008 David M. Roomes.

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