Tuskites
"If I yield, it is because the world cracked, not me." -Ashad of the Emberwalk, 27th Warchief of the Crimson Crescent.
The Tuskites are not merely another race of The Folklands we call home, they are its granite memory, its storm-forged guardians, and its immovable scars. Standing two heads above the imposing Orcish, rivaling even the mighty Giants in stature, they are carved of muscle, hide, and defiance. Thick tusks, cracked gray skin, and trunks that can break a man’s spine in a single swing mark them as unmistakable on the battlefield. Where other races bend with time, Tuskites endure. Where other peoples fracture under empire, Tuskites refuse to kneel. They have always fought, and they have always remembered. Long before The Fall, which damned the world to The Great Schism's destruction, their tribes warred endlessly even in this era of peace and progress, not for conquest but for, honor, feuds between dozens of tribes so ancient no one recalls their spark. Yet while their wars with each other never ended, their wars with outsiders never began in earnest, because no invader ever truly lasted in their deserts. Not the Dwarfish fortresses of Old Kathar, not the raiding Humans during the Schism, not even the hungry Orcish warclans seeking to claim their coasts. Each time, the Tuskites broke them against the dunes. Their control of the southern coasts has been unbroken for centuries, the ports and harbors fortified by stone citadels built wtop bones of great beasts, their navies of brass-bound warships designed for endurance as-well-as elegance.
Those who dare approach the southern shores for conquest find them guarded by colossal horns that blare across the waters, summoning whole tribes to the fight within hours; Even ones who despise eachother in all regards, for each tribe agrees on but one thing and one thing only, southern Kathar is the Tuskite's to claim. The Schism shattered nations and erased empires, the Fall which started it did the same, but the Tuskites endured it with almost casual indifference. They fought each other even as the world collapsed, but none dared exploit their distraction. The coasts remained in their grip not because of treaties, but because every attempt to pry them free ended in slaughter. Their desert-born resilience, mastery of water-hoarding, brass-smithing, and longmarch endurance, ensured their survival while neighboring kingdoms starved. Even now, when the rest of Kathar is carved up by Orcish syndicates and beast-folk freeholds, the Tuskites hold the south with bloody certainty, their unity fractured only within, never without. To strip a Tuskite’s ivory is to invite war with their entire tribe. To threaten their coast is to summon retribution that can level armies. Their splintered nature is deceptive, though they may feud endlessly over territory, pride, or blood-debt, they will converge like a thunderstorm against any foreign hand that dares to test their dominion. The southern coasts of Kathar are not simply their homeland. They are their tusks: sacred, indestructible, and lethal when broken against.
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
- Yamira.
- Salith.
- Oruza.
- Kenra.
- Nahari.
Masculine names
- Ashad.
- Durnan.
- Khalok.
- Mervan.
- Rhazir.
Unisex names
- Turik.
- Vaashem.
- Jali, Khaed.
- Rumin.
Family names
Tuskites do not share surnames in the traditional sense. Instead, they use tribal or ancestral titles based on lineage or legendary deeds. Examples include:
- of the Emberwalk.
- Dune-Breaker.
- Stone-Wound.
- Daughter of Shal.
- Born Under Red Sun.
Other names
- Sandborn (neutral).
- Ivorybloods (honorific, rare).
- Trunks (derogatory).
- Greyhides (colloquial).
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Tuskites speak Kathari, a guttural, poetic tongue of deep vowels, extended consonants, and slow cadence. Each tribe adds its own rhythm or idiom. Phrases:
- “Lath en varak.” “The stone remembers.”
- “A tusk once cracked cannot mend.”
- “Speak only what you can carry to your grave.”
Culture and cultural heritage
Their long legacy as innovators of war and artistry intertwines seamlessly with their heritage. The halberd, attributed to the Tuskites, was originally forged not for mass battle but tribal honor duels, its reach symbolic of the long memory of vengeance. The scimitar, meanwhile, evolved from their early bronze sickle blades, later refined into curved elegance for mounted skirmishes. That Tuskites were also the first to refine brass, a metal they regard as sacred, the “Sun’s metal”, only adds weight to their claim as both warriors and smiths of distinction. The invention of the pocketwatch is a matter of pride, tied to their sacred beadwork and timekeeping rituals during solstice ceremonies. In their oldest tales, the desert itself was born from the breath of a dying god-elephant whose last trumpet carved the dunes and salted the winds. Tuskite storytellers known as Dust-Tongues memorize generations of lore and recite it under star-blanketed skies, their voices carrying across the sands like prayers. Some believe the beat of war drums echoes not in time, but in memory, every rhythm calling forth the spirits of those who fought before.
Shared customary codes and values
- Never forget a slight, but never harm a guest.
- Ivory is sacred; to harvest it is to defile your own kin.
- Suffering is not a punishment, but proof of survival.
- Hospitality is expected; betrayal is unforgivable.
Average technological level
Tuskites are advanced in, and considered the creators of brass-based metallurgy. They are also famed for their soneworking, and water preservation. They build fortified stone encampments, heatless forges, and air-cooled subterranean chambers. Firearms are rare but used with terrifying efficiency by select tribes.
Common Etiquette rules
- Remove weapons before speaking politics.
- Always offer water to a stranger.
- Never point a tusk (or finger) during speech, it is seen as a challenge.
- Arguments are often settled by ritual endurance, not combat.
Common Dress code
Tuskites wear robes, sashes, and armor adapted to the desert: layered cloth, hardened leather, and bronze inlays. Trunks are adorned with painted cords or carved rings. Tusks are polished or engraved with tribal sigils.
Art & Architecture
Tuskite beadwork is not mere decoration, it’s communication. Patterns woven into garments, banners, and even wall mosaics carry encoded messages about lineage, tribe, and past allegiances. Brass is featured prominently in both civic and spiritual spaces, polished to mirror-finish in some regions, left dulled and oxidized in others to symbolize age and endurance. Pocketwatches are often passed down generationally, their ticking seen as a heartbeat of legacy. Many tribal cities are built atop ancient bones, colossal fossilized beasts called Earth-Sworn, believed to be the first children of the desert gods. Palaces and watchtowers grow from these remains, their walls etched with starlit scripts only visible during desert eclipses. Some sacred dwellings are constructed with singing stone, which hums gently when the wind passes through its crevices, considered a sign that ancestors are watching.
Foods & Cuisine
They subsist on preserved meats, spiced legumes, hard breads, cactus wines, and root broths. Milk from desert animals is treasured. The Ashspice Stew, cooked in slow stone ovens, is a tribal delicacy. Food is often shared communally, eaten seated on woven mats beneath desert stars.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
In many tribes, presenting a halberd or scimitar forged in the old way is a rite of manhood. Similarly, young artisans must craft a functioning pocketwatch or complete a ceremonial beadwork tapestry to be considered full members of the artisan caste. Pocketwatches are often wound in silence during funerals, each tick a mark of what the deceased gave in time and labor.
- The Tusk-Binding: Adolescents undergo trials of endurance and memory. Upon completion, their tusks are engraved with their first tribal mark.
- The Longmarch: A seasonal pilgrimage where tribes trace the battle-paths of their ancestors.
- Ivory Mourning: When a loved one dies, their tusks are ritually wrapped and sealed in sacred salt. These are never sold or displayed, only entombed or carried by kin.
- The Silence Oath: A vow taken by warriors before major battle, during which they do not speak for three days.
- Spear-Rites: Public debates are resolved through ceremonial mock combat. Blood is never drawn; the loser yields, and their words are considered void.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
Newborns are anointed with warm oils, then given their first "Ear Stone", a carved bead worn on their left ear denoting the tribe and year. A Naming Drum is played by the eldest warrior in the tribe, who chants the child's purpose aloud.
Coming of Age Rites
Young Tuskites must complete a Trial of Memory, reciting a hundred years of tribal history without error. Failure demands exile and return with a tale worth remembering.
Funerary and Memorial customs
The body is buried beneath standing stones, often alongside the engraved tusks of their ancestors. If a warrior dies in battle, their bones are burned and their tusks buried alone, with a carved record of their deeds left behind.
Common Taboos
- Selling or displaying ivory, even of fallen beasts.
- Refusing a guest shelter.
- Forgetting a tribal ancestor's name.
- Turning your back during a truth-oath.
- Breaking a Spear-Rite without formal apology.
Common Myths and Legends
- The First Walker: A colossal Tuskite said to have carved the rivers of Kathar with his tusks.
- The Moon-Trampler: A celestial beast said to war in the heavens when blood moons rise.
- The Seven-Sand Betrayer: A cautionary tale of a Tuskite who betrayed seven tribes and was flayed by wind for eternity.
- The Ivoryless King: A Tuskite born without tusks who became the wisest ruler of all.
- The Tusked Star: A star said to fall once every hundred years, glowing white like bone. It marks the child born beneath it as a future unifier, though such children often die young or vanish mysteriously.
- The Desert Without Sound: A cursed stretch of land said to be the graveyard of a god, where no voice echoes, and even memory fades. Those who walk it without singing are said to forget themselves forever.
- The Salt-Bride of the Storm: A tale of a Tuskite woman who wed the desert wind itself, and whose descendants are said to walk without leaving footprints and vanish when spoken of.
Historical figures
- Khalok Red-Dawn: Unified thirteen tribes for a single day during the Fall that later led the charge against invading Orcish warclans during the Schism.
- Yamira of the Salt Wall: Famously held a desert fortress alone for forty days and nights.
- Rumin Broken-Tusk: First to formalize desert trade pacts between rival tribes.
- Oruza Veil-Singer: A spiritual poet whose verses are still chanted in mournings all across Kathar.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Cracked but unbroken skin, long curved tusks, symmetrical tribal scars. Worn hands, calloused feet, and endurance marks (burns, brands) are respected as signs of lived truth.
Gender Ideals
Gender is secondary to duty. Some tribes assign roles by birth, others by strength, endurance, or legacy. What matters most is one’s conduct and contribution.
Courtship Ideals
Courtship begins with a challenge, physical, poetic, or tactical. Partnerships are often forged through long conversation or tests of patience. Gifts of stone or hidework are exchanged.
Relationship Ideals
Marriages are sacred and rare. Tribal bonds often supersede romantic ones. Love is considered most true when it endures hardship in silence.1
Interesting Facts & Folklore:
Idioms and Metaphors:
- Ivory boycotts are so strong, some Tuskites will starve rather than buy from ivory-trading shops.
- Ear Stones are worn for each major deed and life event, some elders wear dozens.
- Tuskites believe every desert storm is the breath of a god arguing with time itself.
- The constellation known as The Split Tusk is used to navigate at night, said to point toward the soul’s true desire if followed during a Longmarch.
- Some warriors wear Sand-Tongue Veils, face wrappings soaked in herbal oils, which allow them to speak across long distances through the wind during battle chants.
- Some tribes tattoo their trunks with oaths they must keep for life.
- It’s said that true Tuskites die standing, they are buried the same way.
- “Sand remembers every footprint.” No sin is ever truly buried.
- “He drinks from a cracked tusk.” A fool who repeats a broken tradition.
- “Let the stone weep before I do.” Expression of resilience.
- “She speaks with salt.” Someone who tells hard truths without kindness.
- “His Ear Stones rattle.” One who brags of deeds not done.
- “The dunes drink first” A warning that the desert takes from the careless before it gives to the wise.
- “Her tusks cast no shadow” Spoken of someone without hidden guilt or secrets.
- “His trunk is dry” Someone who has forgotten their origins or betrayed their ancestry.
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