The Ipedo Clan
Far below that of the realms of Nephinal, Mig, Teurhoemo, and the great Uppergrowth, below the misty Shroud, and residing beneath the great structure known as the Titan Fields, the small clan of Shroudlings known as the Ipedo are known throughout all of the lower levels of Moorod. They are the oldest and proudest of all the clans who live in the great grassland of the lowest level of the Room, the very floor of their entire universe. From behind a great palisade of dirt and sharpened woods, they live underneath the Titan Fields, in a great square cavern, defended from others and safe within their walls. But the Ipedo are far from cowards, and bravely stalk the grasses everyday, hunting dreerhorns and farming their crops, blessing the Great Spirit that they worship, and defending themselves against the cannibalistic Gonna'ragi and the arrogant Depards. Yet while living in such a world of harsh reality and cruel fates, the Ipedo clan embraces their life, and remain stalwart and strong to their traditions and culture. But as enemies press on from all sides, they must fight back. And their world will be forever changed with the arrival of a "spirit", one who will change the fate of the Shroud forever.
Structure
The Ipedo are ruled by a chief, not unlike that of other clans. The line of chiefs in a noble one, and each new chief is elected upon the passing of his father, and with the blessing of the elders and the Priest. The chief (and the very rare chieftess) wields great power, but must manage it wisely. He shares power with the elders, a group of the wisest and oldest members of the clan, who impart their wisdom of their leaders. And finally, the great Priest also balances power, being able, if necessary, to counter some of the chief's propositions. However, the Priest's main mission is to teach the clan about their legends and myths and history to the clan. He is aided with the Story-Men, who educate and teach the children of the village. Every night, the clan gathers around the Story Hall, and listen to a Story-Man recount a legend of their people, or his own life, or the tale of a great chief, etc. They also act as scribes, of a sort, carving out the ancient tales onto trees and stones, chiseling them in or using paints. The clan also has a very few and rare amount of Spirit-Gifted, or Gifted, whom they believe to have been blessed with the spirits to wield magic. These are trained by the Priest and his aides personally, chanting ancient spells to protect and grow. Below all of these are the clan folk themselves, who generally are allowed to govern themselves, as the individual families are governed by the head of the family, the father, and disputes are settled before the elders.
Public Agenda
The clan merely wishes to live in peace, and to live by a code of balance and peace. This is the code of the chief, who must honor his ancestors by ruling well, and honor his people by defending them, and honor the future generations by giving them a home to come to.
Assets
The clan has access to some fastwood trees, which, as the name suggests, grow at an incredible rate, within two weeks if conditions are good, and single night if magic is implemented. The Ipedo also have access to fruits and vegetables, carefully tended for and protected, giving them significantly healthier bodies than the Gonna'ragi. They also have special animals that they farm, and use everything they harvest, from the tiniest bone to the biggest meats, and can harvest certain stone tools and the extremely rare metals, though none know how to work ores and metals for shaping into tools.
Besides resources, the Ipedo are protected with a great outer palisade of thick dirt and sharpened wooden stakes that keep most rival clans out. Beyond that palisade are fields of crops and animals, pathways and moats, and a few buildings. A further defense lies within, a great moat, modest in size, leading to the most populated area, where thick walls of dirt and wood have stood against numerous tides. Another mass of defence are the numerous and strong hunting clans men that defend against their foes, who have held the line for as long as the Ipedo have lasted.
History
As everything in Moorod, the origin of the Ipedo clan is lost to time. Certainly their were other clans during the Black Age, and by most accounts that must have been when the Ipedo first emerged, perhaps around a thousand years ago. Some say they were a people scattered until a spirit that fell united them all, and became the first chief of the clan.
However it came to be, the clan, and the Shroud itself, has changed very little in its ways. They adhere to their ancient traditions, and remain as the same as ever, following their old ways and culture of nurturing and balancing the ways of the world, thriving even. That is not to say that many dark days have ever befallen the clan. The Story-Men have over a thousand laments of great wars and plagues, infighting and kin-slaying, dreaded monsters and famines, etc. The Ipedo have always been on the defensive, going out to hunt at day and then retreat in safety at night, being attacked and raided by other clans for their entire history of existence. Yet they never have been truly destroyed, and one day, as the Ipedo hope and believe and strive for, they will have proven themselves true to the Great Spirit, who will awaken and at long last end the penance that their ancestors caused.
Demography and Population
The Ipedo clan is spread out among a modest collection of individuals, one of the largest clans, with a good-sized population. Everyone in the clan resides with the village underneath, from behind their walls. The population is tight, with many buildings built together to hold the large families.
Beyond that, the average birth and death rate varies between years, but typically, more children are born than those that die, though infant mortality remains high.
Territories
The entirety of the Ipedo clan can be found within their village, their ancestral lands that the Ipedo have resided in for their entire known history. This has always been their home, and will remains so until the Ipedo clan is no more. Beyond that, the Ipedo range and hunt in the grasslands of the Shroud, but do not actually control it, as no clan does.
Military
The Ipedo has no real military, as such a concept is completely foreign to the tribes of the Shroud. Instead, all are expected to defend the village and the clan from any invaders and raiders, particularly the hunters. The hunters who gather and kill game are often trained to fight others who steal and raid them, and on rare occasions the entire village will train for a great raid against another clan, practicing the art of battle.
Religion
The Ipedo believe in their own unique religion and mythology, one centered around the powerful spirits that fight an endless war above, and the Great Spirit, who rests but will one day wake and restory humanity. Themes of acceptance and honor to others, traditions, the natural world, and the spirits are prevelant, as are ideas of harmony and tranquility and contentness also very common. These beliefs are very important to each member of the clan, and everything is tied together. The Priest and the Story-Men and other teachers represent the spirits, and commune with them and the world around them, teaching the people and keeping the clan with a very sacred balance. Disregard and disrepect for traditions and the central ways of life and the clan are all terrible within the sights of the Ipedo, and such plantent crimes are severly punished.
Foreign Relations
The Ipedo have always attempted to keep a friendly, if often neutral, relationship with their neighbors. Throughout their long history, their have been many clans that they had close ties with and deep friendships also, but many other clans were aggressive to them, so the Ipedo were thus aggressive back. In the current state of the Shroud, the Ipedo have generally hostile relations with the other clans. The Depards often raid them, but generally the two try to keep distance and trade goods now and then, but the Ipedo are ever weary of them. With the wild and barbaric Gonna'ragi, however, their is nothing to be done, as the cannibals are always attacking to steal of women to rape, children to rear in their evil ways, and men to eat. The Ipedo always face off from them, and have been constant war since before memory. The Ipedo regularly meet with the other clan leaders at the Spirit Tree, their most sacred site, where violence is forbidden.
Agriculture & Industry
Agriculture is one of the main facets of life for the Ipedo. They spend their entire lives tending to crops and livestock in the same manner as their forefathers, thriving off of their simple living, despite the continual oppressions from other clans. They farm crops such as springplant or quickwheat, and breed and butcher animals, such as pigs, goats, and cows. Besides this, the hunters go out everyday to hunt dreehorns, in a correct balance so as to not cause the extiction of one of their main food supplies.
Education
All the children of the Ipedo are educated with stories of the past and lessons they must learn by the Story-Men. The Story-Men regularly travel or stay with a certain group or family of the clan, and everynight the children clamor around them to hear a tale of ages before. The mother or elderly of each family are also seen as the ones who mush educate their children teaching them their own lessons they have learned through their long lives. And the fathers and men of the family are held responsible to train their boys and girls in a particular craft, which changes on the needs of the clan.
Education is virtually the same throughout the entire village, as all are trained and raised in the same ways. However, the Priest and the acolytes who train under him are given certain special initiations and education. They are taught how to commune with the spirits, and other secrets and ancient lore of the village, their mythology, and the Room itself.
Type
Geopolitical, Clan
Capital
Demonym
Ipedo
Leader
Government System
Tribalism
Power Structure
Autonomous area
Economic System
Barter system
Currency
None
Legislative Body
While the Ipedo have no true set of laws, they do have cultural codes and certain formalities that the chief oversees.
Judicial Body
The elders of the clan
Official State Religion
Location
Official Languages
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities
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