Empire of the Spear (Red Sails)

Empire of the Spear

The Empire of the Spear are a tribe of Arrakanza (Bru-Kin) who, at least by the standards of other arrakanza, have "gone soft" and taken up a civilized lifestyle. They build permanent towns, villages and cities, and have taken up farming and the domestication of livestock, rather than embracing the freedom of their ancestral nomadism.

Of course, by anyone else's standards, the Empire of the Spear is still a horror-show of savagery. The Empire of the Spear is still fond of gaunts, and other violent traditions of the arrakanza. While they accept other races into their lands, such immigrants are always treated as a lesser class of citizen, with fewer rights and often open disdain. Only the most sadistic and crazy non-arrakanza tend to thrive in this environment, as only they can establish themselves as worthy.

The Empire is the newest player in the race for the empyrean vault, having only expanded into the Silath Tyr region in the last two years. Their towns and villages span the western-most coastline of the Northern Sea, and are largely captured from Fontaigne or native settlers. Most of the original inhabitants of these cities, towns, and villages are now dead, of course, though a few demonstrated enough prowess to impress the war leaders. These were allowed to live among the arrakanza, and given a place among the tribe.

Populace

The people of the Spear are nearly all Bru-Kin, though a few other races are present. Without exception, however, the non-Bru-Kin of the Empire are either completely psychopathic, having found a place where their violent tendencies can be freely expressed, or quietly desperate, looking for a way to escape the Empire without being killed.

The Empire of the Spear sees itself as a massive army, so leaving the Empire is viewed as a kind of desertion, and ruthlessly punished. Of course, as armies go, it is madly disorganized, with little hierarchy or defined leadership. Each individual fights as an individual, rather than part of a unit. As a result, well-trained armies have managed some profound victories against the Empire of the Spear, until they were overwhelmed by sheer numbers. And never make the mistake that these individual fighters are inferior. They spend their lives fighting — from the time they can lift a weapon, they are taught to kill. The value of life is very low in the Empire (and they're having a sale!).

The leaders of the Empire, such as they are, have learned that the Alden will trade for slaves, so they have recently started capturing people instead of simply murdering everyone. This has led to vast pens of humanoids, being held until the next caravan or ship can be launched to send to Carcassus or some other meeting point with the Alden slavers.

Culture

The arrakanza culture is well known for its brutality. Very few arrakanza are good-looking in any classical sense, since nearly all carry nasty scars in one form or another. Among this culture, such horrifying scars and wounds are seen as badges of honor, and are more attractive than well-kept hair, fashionable dress, or any of the other frippery that passes for charisma in the mewling lands (their term for all those lands not yet conquered).

The Empire celebrates many holidays, most commemorating some great battle (whether victorious or not) in the recent past. Others simply celebrate life, or give praise to Grinner (the Grinning God of Battle). These celebrations are usually drunken affairs, which include dancing, contests of strength, and games of chance (most of which involve knives). The great numbers of people in the Empire of the Spear can be attributed to the amount of partying they do; a lot of children are born at these events.

The farming, blacksmithing, leather tanning, and all of the other menial tasks of operating a civilization, are usually left to the foreigners among the Spear. Very few arrakanza would soften their callouses to do such labor, even if it make their own lives better in the doing. Only fighting and war are jobs for true arrakanza, after all, so all the other labors need to be outsourced. This is the true innovation of the Empire of the Spear — the use of other humanoids (non-Bru-Kin) to build their civilization, while the arrakanza are left to improve their warrior skills, party, and plan.

Honor is a peculiar notion in the Spear, though it is also extremely important. Few outsiders truly understand what an arrakanza considers honorable or dishonorable, which leads to many a confused look when a charging horde suddenly stops before even the first blade is crossed, and walks away from an otherwise helpless village. However, anyone who has witnessed a gaunt, or played in their games, can easily see that some code of honor drives every action they take. Leadership of the Empire seems entirely derived from one's current honor within the Spear. Given how frequently it changes, one can safely infer that honor is very fluid, easily lost and perhaps easily gained, though the exact causes are largely inscrutable to outsiders.

Magic and Technology

Magic exists within the Spear, and it is not restricted to some noble class, though it is quite rare. Usually, their sorcerers are treated as councilors and advisers, even if they are still very young. It is believed that their attunement to magic gives them greater vision and wisdom, perhaps whispered to them by their ancestors, or the Grinning God himself. Very few arrakanza have the focus or education to become wizards. Instead, those with arcane potential nearly always become sorcerers or bards (called skalds).

It is not unheard of for arrakanza to kill children who exhibit magic, rather than allowing them to grow into their power. This is perhaps why the Spear has so few magic-users.

Technology is largely unheard of within the Spear. Even simple devices, like ploughs and mills, are seen as worthless inventions, unless they have some obvious military applications. Ships and stirrups, for example, are given great accolades, though it is rare that the Empire has citizens who are capable of fashioning such things (and certainly none among the arrakanza). Those who can are accorded considerable respect, even though they are not warriors. The same is true of any weapon and armorsmiths. Such individuals live reasonably comfortable lives, as long as they continue to provide for the Spear's ambitions.

Notable Figures

• Latham: One of the few arrakanza who has maintained enough honor to lead the Spear for more than a few months. Latham has been among the leadership for nearly 10 years. He has only one scar, across the knuckles of his right hand, and is missing the pinky-finger of that hand, presumably from the same cut. Despite this, he is not much to look at, with a heavy brow, too much hair, and a dour expression. He is surprisingly smart, and even more capable as a fighter (there's a reason he has so few scars).
• Niles: A dwarf armorsmith, who has lived among the Spear for his entire adult life. He is famous for his ability to create good-quality armor in very little time. He enjoys a lifestyle that would be envied by many noblemen, save that he lives among savages.