Annu-Weylinth
Overview
One of the most noteworthy of the Warlands’ human tribes, the Annu-Weylinth - the Anointed of Weylinth - found that the Night of Fire interfered little with their nomadic lifestyle or their regular raids on other tribes. Indeed, the vast changes wrought by the Night of Fire were considered evidence of the divine power of the tribe’s patron deity for as their tribal name suggests, they are devout worshippers of Weylinth the Moon Viper, serpent goddess of change. Such is their long-standing worship that many scholars of the Before believed that it is from this tribe that the worship of Weylinth in the Mohzaik pantheon originated.
Inhabiting the sun-blasted dunes of the southern Warlands, the Annu-Weylinth survive by virtue of travel from oasis to oasis, by leading an almost nocturnal existence, by raiding neighboring tribes and other outsiders where necessary. In-keeping with their reverence for a serpent goddess of the night, the tribe favors speed and stealth in its endeavors, sneaking into camps at night to steal, erupting from beneath the sands to ambush the unwary. Despite this, few who know of the tribe would dare name them cowards, for the warriors of the Annu-Weylinth are justly famed for their speed and grace, and for the sinuous deftness with which they wield their traditional slim-bladed, highly-curved shortswords in each hand.
The shallow white tents of the tribe lay low to the ground, camouflaged by swept sand. Though they travel the dunes, they eschew the use of the camel as a mount, considering it a lowly creature useful only as a beast of burden, a source of milk and cheese, and an occasional source of meat and hide. The Anointed are proud to stride the desert afoot.

Appearance and Garb
A striking and handsome people, the Annu-Weylinth arm slender and long-limbed, with dusky skin, black eyes, and glossy black hair, though this latter trait is seen only among the women of the tribe, the men taking care to shave all traces of hair from their body, face, and head. Even the women are thoroughly shorn, maintaining only a single long braid of hair from the back of their otherwise bald pate, admired all the more as it grows longer and more serpentine. This cultural depiliation is considered attractive, clean, and respectful of Weylinth, bringing the tribal member closer in body to the serpent goddess. The skin is frequently massaged with oil to lend it suppleness and a golden sheen.
As curious as their removal of hair from the body is to outsiders, what many recall just as vividly are the ritual scars with which the warriors and shamans of the Anointed decorate their bodies. Each scar is a small semi-circular incision into which white ash is rubbed, healing to form a thumbnail-sized, raised, gray-white scar reminiscent of a snake’s scale. These are made repeatedly on the cheeks, across the eyebrow ridges in lieu of hair, on the forehead, across the chest and shoulders, and down the center of the back, creating what looks like patches of small white scales from a short distance away.
The Annu-Weylinth wear baggy pants of heavy white fabric that fit tight at the ankle, and open vests of similar fabric, these garments being worn by both genders. Sandals or supple leather boots protect the feet, snakeskin being commonly used for the latter. A leather belt is worn for practical purposes, and a broad and colorful embroidered sash for decorative and individualistic reasons. Warriors and shamans may also wear vests, belts, and bracers of snakeskin to differentiate them from the common members of the tribe.
The shamans that govern the tribe, each is a primalist of the viper totem, are all recognizable because of their jewelry, for they use their powers to tame the sand snakes that symbolize Weylinth, wearing them as living bracelets and necklaces.

Traditions
The men and women of the tribe who wish to become warriors or shamans must submit to the Kiss of Weylinth, a test of their courage and dedication, as well as being considered a symbol of the acceptance or rejection of the supplicant by the goddess. The test is straightforward: the candidate must stand unflinching while they are bitten by a sand snake, and must survive the perilous venom. Those strong enough to survive the venom may train as warriors; those completely unaffected by the venom may be trained as warriors or shamans. Those who fail are buried with no ceremony.
Every full moon, the warriors of the tribe perform the Dance of Seven Coils, an entrancing ritual dance and mock combat during which they sway and move in continuous graceful motion, their paths tracing rippling circles in the sands, the moonlight glittering on their oiled naked forms and paired fang-like shortswords and knives.

Anyone interested in more?

cheers!
Colin

Is that a rhetorical question?

Lay it on us, O Prolific Primate!

Hullo, Colin,



That *was* a rhetorical question, wasn't it, Col? Of course we want more!

Nope, not a rhetorical question; in the absence of feedback I had no idea what people thought of it, whether it was of use or interest to anyone, etc.

cheers!
Colin

I'd enjoy seeing more - I liked reading about the Annu-Weylinth a lot, and would be intrigued to see more of your Warland tribes

Well, after a while one runs out of superlatives to use for commenting on your stuff.

Personally, I wanted to finish reading through the book and absorbing the information within before attempting to review any new material. You should by no means interpet my silence as lack of interest.

Seriously, keep it coming!

Hullo, Colin,



Sorry for being so flippant in my response, Colin, but after a while, I tend to run out of superlatives for all the material that you create for various game systems. I've been relatively ill for the last couple of weeks with the bug that I picked up at GenCon, and to be honest, am still reading through the hardcover of the book. I liked what you did with the Annu-Weylinth a lot, since I personally have no real interest to start with in creating stuff for the Warlands right off the bat, so it's neat to see what someone else wants to do with that region of Scondera.

Yes, yes! If you have more, lay it on us! This is the sort of stuff that makes a game rich: a creative and active fanbase!

Wow, that was beautiful. Wish I had gotten to read this before. Hope you are still creating.