Kith is the largest territory controlled by the Kithkin one of the ancient races created by the Sha’rek’ta. It is a land of vast prairie and gentle sweeping hills dominated by the kitkin tribes.

represent both a single race and a cultural identity. Unlike the other mortal races, the kithkin have maintained the same culture for their race. There are other “catmen” races found upon the southern continent, but the kithkin consider them distant relatives at best — not true kithkin.

• Capitol: None
• Languages:

  • Kithi
  • Irillian
  • Janic
• Religion: Ancestor
• Demonym: Kith'ar
• Government: Tribal/Clan
• Area: xxxk sq. km
• Population: | xx million
• Currency: None (Barter)

The kithkin have held these lands since the Age of Legends.

Those who lived in these times were changed by the power, but the kitkin who lived upon the open prairie resisted its poisonous effects. During this time there were thirteen kithkin clans, each lead by a powerful spirit talker. These spirit talkers wielded powerful spiritual weapons forged in the fire of their ancestors. As the power waned and Gelin’s army marched against the Black Gates, the kithkin never retreated. They mounted quick attacks against his flanks bleeding his army for every mile they traveled. However, Gelin’s army was so large that even the loss of a hundred thousand men was of little concern to him.

The spirit talkers gathered together outside of the famed City of Light. They knew their people could not resist the might of Gelin’s army. However, each spirit talker had talked to their ancestors and knew the day would come when their strength was needed. The City of Light must be protected until that time came.

To conserve their strength for the future, twelve of the shaman took their clans deep into the plains to rebuild their strength against this future catastrophe. The thirteenth spirit talker would protect the City of Light until their powerful leaders could complete the spell to defend the city. This “lost clan” was never seen again, as they rushed into battle against Gelin, while the City of Light disappeared forever.

The other prides lived among the grasses and in the land of their ancestors. There was little in the plains to attract Gelin’s attention after the City of Light disappeared, so he returned to conquering the world — thinking he destroyed the kithkin in that last pitched battle.

The kithkin lived in peace for many years until the arrival of the Carthins. As this ragged group pushed their way over the eastern mountains the kithkin gave before them. They had lost much of their strength over the years and couldn’t resist the Carthin advance. However, this proved very beneficial as later generations regained the warrior spirit that ran strong in their ancestors — they now bloody themselves against the Carthins, and any others that seek to claim their territory.

See Also: Nation

The main language of Irill is Irillian

Once the Kithkin lands covered the entire plains between the two great mountains and bordered by the large seas to the north and south. The only place they didn’t claim was the area now called Chrysalis, it is considered a foul-smelling place — not a place to live.

Now the Kithkin lands are the plains from the southern trade route south to the sea. Chrysalis marks their western border and the Shifting Sands their east. Although they claim the Shifting Sands as their hunting grounds, only the zeti can truly call the land theirs.

Unlike the northern lands, the southern plains are more bountiful both in terms of farming and hunting. The northern plains are harsh steppes with numerous large outcroppings of rocks, while the southern lands are gentle hills covered with tall grass and dotted with several small trees. While there is nothing that a western would considered even a small grove, the few trees found upon the land is more than adequate for the needs of the land’s inhabitants.

Every tribe has their own secret spirit mounds, where the ancestors live. It is located somewhere within their lands although only the spirit talker knows its exact location. In this place, each clan has several totems dedicated to their ancestors and the great feats they have preformed. This place exists both on the astral plane and the mortal plane, reachable only by those able to walk between these two places.

The kithkin do not really have any form of economy as exists in other nations. Instead, most things are the property of the pride and given to anyone that needs it. This communal property makes the most of what little a pride typically owns. This is especially true of those things not made by kithkin. Instead the pride trades their property for equal goods. These can be anything from a weaver’s shuttlecock to steel spear tips, while they offer leather goods and ancient items found in the Shifting Sands.

However, the pride does give gifts to that kithkin that exemplify the honor of the pride. Upon their death, a kithkin may give their gifts to those they feel would bring honor to their memory. If there is no such kithkin, then the gift is either returned to the pride or the kithkin may take the gift with them when they live with the ancestors.

The kithkin do not believe in gods; although when missionaries from other religions visit their lands they tolerate their funny stories in exchange for gifts. Instead, the kithkin know that their actions are guided by the wisdom of their ancestors. Only the kithkin judged worthy by the ancestors would join them in the afterlife. All other spirits are swallowed by the great black void at the far edge of the world.

This is the home of the ancestors for each pride. They are believed to exist partially within both the physical and spiritual, or astral, planes. Only the spirit talker can find the mounds of their ancestors and it never seems in the same spot twice. Some invaders have thought to attack the pride’s spirit mounds, forcing them to fight in the open, but nobody has ever found them without the ancestor’s approval.

The spirit talkers describe the place as a series of mounds, or rolling hills, topped with banners and gifts given to a pride’s most powerful ancestors before their passing. Exactly which ancestors visit with the spirit talker depends for what reason they were sought. Some ancestors are respected for pride, hunting, creating, and lineage. However, the wisdom of the ancestors is considered above all else - for their vision can pierce the veil of time and space.

There is nothing that would stop a kithkin from studying and mastering magic; however, there are few kithkin magicians. This is mostly due to the cultural stigma against magic, seen mostly as a foreign trick that weakens the spirit. Those few that due become magicians often find that their long time away from the pride makes them outcasts; although they would never be removed from the pride because they study magic, they find they no longer fit into society.

Some magicians have traveled their lands to study the kithkin. They typically bring many gifts and trade goods in exchange for living among them. These magicians believe that most kithkin can tap into some hidden magical talent. It seems completely innate and strictly limited to improving their already formidable skills. Those that display the most power are their spirit talkers, this gives rise to the belief that the ancestral lands are located upon the astral plane.

Kithkin refers to both the people that live upon the lands, and the name of the lands. Unlike the other uplifted races, the kithkin have kept their bond of family and racial unity. However, unlike the other races, the Kithkin prides don’t really recognize national boundaries and tend to migrate where the hunting is best. Therefore, the area referred to, as Kithkin is actually just their usual hunting grounds.

Like many of the kindred races, the kithkin are perfectly suited to living in their environment. The rolling hills covered with tall grass and scrub trees, with an occasional rocky outcrop, make Kithkin a place of serene beauty. It is here that the kithkin is at the peak of the food chain. Their short claws, predatory teeth, sharp senses, and tawny fur and thick mane make them the best predators found anywhere on the realms, while their mind may seem limited to hunters, they are not less intelligent than humans.

Each of the twelve clans has their own territory; although to outsiders it often seems a confusing tangled web of paths and hunting grounds. The Kithkin know when they have passed from their clan territory into another and will typically bring a gift to that clan for permission to walk or hunt their lands.

The territory claimed by the clans is further sub-divided into the area where a single pride lives. The pride is the smallest collection of kithkin, akin to human extended families or villages. A pride will rarely stay in the same place for more than a few months, preferring to move following the best herds. This constant nomadic life, with no way to move heavy goods, means the kithkin pride is typically a small collection of tents for the extremely young, elderly or spirit talker.

Unlike the other nations, Kithkin doesn’t recognize any form of bastard, as they have no formal marriage process. Instead, kithkin are free to choose their mates as they wish and may stay together for as long as they desire. The children are given a child’s name and then a surname that identifies the mother. Once the child becomes and adult, five to seven months, they earn their tribal name.

While each kithkin pride does have a chieftain and spirit talker, there is no one kithkin that rules the entire clan. Instead, the will of the clan is directed by the wisdom of the ancestors as spoken through the spirit talker. Not since the loss of the thirteenth clan has their ever been a single chieftain or spirit talker that spoke for all the clans.

The chieftain is the strongest male of the pride. Each spring, when the females enter their mating cycle, the males will begin a ritual of mock combat and hunting contests. The spirit talker of the pride will watch the events and declare who will be the chieftain for the upcoming year<

While the kithkin have no sexual bias within their society, most kithkin regard the chieftain as a male. Those prides that have female chieftains are often seen as having a weak bloodline and typically have several independent males join their pride over the year. This is because the male kithkin is more suited to combat and hunting than the female during this time of the year.

This is a kithkin touched by the hand of his ancestors. They can see them, talk to them, and ask for their council. A spirit talker is a position of great pride and responsibility within the pride. Only the spirit talker can reach the sacred burial sights where the ancestors sleep. Outsiders describe this place as somewhere between the physical and astral planes, part of both, but found in neither.

When two prides merge to become one, then so do the ancestors become one pride. If a pride become too large one of the spirit talkers will take some of the kithkin and start another pride. This is a difficult time as the new pride has no ancestors to guide them, but if they survive a few generations the pride will grow strong and prosper.

The kithkin live in little fear of the their neighbors. Their warrior culture, natural hunting instincts, and intimate knowledge of the land make it nearly impossible to invade those lands they claim. Only the Carthin seem to be able to win a few battles against the kithkin in there own land however, for each patch of land the Carthins gain, they lose nearly an equal amount somewhere else along the border.

The Kithkin have little desire to follow a boundary that is drawn on a map, preferring instead to follow the needs of the pride and will of the ancestors. This has caused problems with their neighbors as they often find a pride has claimed lands within their nation for a few months before moving on.

Most Kithkin consider the Carthins to be comrades as well as competitors. The land the Carthins call home once belonged to the Kithkin; however, they gave up the land with little struggle. While this reduced the land where the Kithkin could hunt, the spirit talkers told the prides that it was the will of the ancestors that they should give up the northern lands.

While many did not listen to the shaman and fought against the invaders, most of the Kithkin limited their hunting grounds to the south. However, the Kithkin have an odd sort of understanding about national boundaries and it is not completely unknown to have a pride traveling through Carthin without even the Carthins knowing it.

The Kithkin like the Chrysalis merchants and often trade many ancient objects found in the Shifting Sands for the metal that is not found in their hunting lands. The Kithkin consider this a foolish trade as the ancient things are mostly junk, while a metal sword or spear tips are invaluable - but such is the way of humans.

While most prides may like the Chrysalin, they only travel their lands when required. The air smells bad to a Kithkin, so bad that Kithkin in some of their cities have been known to pass out from the stench of the area. This stench seems to follow their merchants around, so all trades are done far from hunting and living lands.

Not so much a single nation, but an area that is barred to all but the most skilled Kithkin. It is said that the sands are alive and usually hungry; however a skilled kithkin can get across the sands without being eaten. Aside form the treacherous nature of the land; there are also more living threats.

The Shifting Sands is the home of the Zeti, a race of lizardmen that have been known to outrun a kithkin. In addition, the Zeti are intelligent enough to use clubs and crude axes or spears, strong enough to crush a dwarf’s skull, and have displayed a natural sense for the sands. If the Zeti are not deadly enough there are also great sand wyrms, poisonous spiders, thunder sand, and hundreds of other dangers.

Twice the Turanians have attempted to move their army through the gaps in the Abjurer Mountains, called the Spirit Mountains by the Kithkin. The first battle costs the Kithkin dearly, as Kithkin and Carthin met them and did battle with the Turanian army. The cost in lives was devastating to both nations, but the Turanians were forced to withdraw.</p>

The second time a Turanian army moved through the gap the Kithkin and Carthins both pulled their people away from the main body of troops. Although there was some bloody fighting around areas that a sacred to either the Carthins or Kithkin, they mostly let the Turanians drive into Irillian territory. While the army was fighting the Irillians the two other nations attacked the Turanian supply caravans.

Caught in enemy territory without supplies and completely cut-off from home, the numerical superior army was forced to surrender to the Irillians. The Turanians have vowed to destroy Kithkin for the loss of its army, but they don’t have the strength to mount an offensive against both nations yet.

The kithkin don’t have a military of any sort; instead, kithkin is expected to defend the pride in times of trouble. All children, except those destined to become sprit talkers, are taught the javelin and spear while growing up. If they decide to become hunters then they will learn the use of the bow and special steel warclaws. Those prides lucky enough to have a sword or other weapon will make sure that their most skilled hunters understand their use &mdash; even though they only practice with them a few weeks of the year.

The chieftain is in command of the pride during battle although some chieftains name their best warrior as a “war chief” if they were not trained as hunters. The spirit talker is responsible for protecting those that cannot fight in the battle.

The other nations would consider the kithkin as skirmishers or irregular infantry. However, their natural ability often gives them an edge on most nations professional soldiers. For short distances they can run down opposing calvary, they easily ambush other people from the tall grass, and they have no cities that can be conquered to pacify the surrounding land.

This coupled with the fact that there are few resources found within their lands, means that the kithkin rarely go to war as a nation. Instead, prides fight roving bandits and hunters looking for a kithkin pelt to hang on their wall. More than one Irillian nobleman as lost his life when the hunter became prey. When the prides fight among themselves for good hunting grounds, an oasis, or a particularly desirable mate it is typically to first blood &mdash; a kithkin purposely killing another kithkin is considered a dark shame upon their ancestors.

The kithkin have no cities and even their largest pride is still mostly just a collection of tents and penned off areas. Instead, each of the twelve tribes is divided into various clans. Each clan often has several prides scattered about their territory, with many of these areas only used for a few months before they move on.