The world of Monrikal has many countries, many tribes, and countless peoples. The Saihok tribes are counted among the oldest of these peoples, having lived in the land of Anari’iáhka for millennia. And one of these tribes, the K’Sin Saihok, carved their names into history as the conquerors of Anari’iáhka under the K’Sin Father D’Kog. They drew over one hundred other tribes into their own, turning Anari’iáhka into the kingdom of the K’Sin Saihok.

But though they were able to conquer over one hundred tribes, there was one tribe who was able to not only resist the K’Sin Saihok, but defeat them.

Within the immense, ancient desert known only as Blazing Sun, the tribe known as the Nelánosuk’ten defeated the K’Sin Saihok in a great war that cemented their place in history as the only tribe that could not be conquered by the K’Sin Saihok. Where the Saihok have been hailed as great warriors, they did not know that the Nelánosuk’ten were just as great, and far more ruthless. The battle was quick, and the Saihok were forced to retreat.

And because of this, the Saihok, who came to conquer and populate the world at large, wrote the histories so that, while they had defeated the Saihok in that ancient war, they soon died off, never to be seen again.

They could not be farther from the truth.


While the world marched on in slow progress, as warriors fought first with stone then bronze then steel, and as Mages learned and created great magicks, the Nelánosuk’ten stayed within the desert that was known only as Blazing Sun. And while the world marched forward, the Nelánosuk’ten fell backwards. As El’k’toria and Idóni developed terrible magick and weapons to destroy their enemies, the Nelánosuk’ten strived to make themselves more like animals: they were able to accomplish basic tasks with their feet acting as hands; able to change the pitch of their voices to sound just like the sounds of beasts; their speed and strength was astounding; they were not afraid to do whatever it took to stay alive.

Further, their gods and spirits stayed in the primitive stages; they worshipped a god of the sun, and a god of the moon, along with countless spirits, many of which are found in everyday objects (as with all religions of Monrikal, it is impossible to say whether or not all that they believe in is real or fabrication, as countless gods and spirits do exist, and no one religion is the ultimate truth). Their gods of sun and moon play a special role in who is to lead the tribe – a man and a woman both head the tribe, as neither gender is raised higher than the other. The male tribal leader is named for the sun, and is chosen by his prowess in battle. Once a worthy candidate is found, he is sent into the desert for three cycles of the moon. If he returns, he has usually gone mad, which is precisely what they hope for: if he is mad, he has fully returned to the animalistic nature that the Nelánosuk’ten hope to obtain. The woman of the moon is a rudimentary Mage, and is so hailed for her skill with the ancient magicks that the Nelánosuk’ten command. Together, this man and this woman guide the tribe and judge over any matter that requires divine judgment.

…One aspect of Nelánosuk’ten culture that must be discussed is their rituals, which are, in essence, like any other ritual in Monrikal. The key difference, is that the Nelánosuk’ten practice cannibalism. This occurs in two ways: there are either rituals for the aid of the tribe, or rituals of revenge. In rituals to aid the tribe, a sacrifice is selected among the young adults, who are believed to be the healthiest of all age groups. The sacrifice is prepared weeks in advance, and it is considered a great honor to be sacrificed for the tribe. The full details of these rituals changes with each ritual, but each time, the sacrifice is ceremoniously killed, and his heart is shared between the tribe leaders; cups of blood are passed among the tribe so that all take part, and so all know that they are responsible for the betterment of the tribe.

Their rituals of revenge occur when someone has broken one of their divine laws. The worst of these is the murder of a tribe member, or of betrayal to the tribe. In these cases, the head is severed so that the “Thief”, as they are referred to, has lost their connection to the gods, and then their hands are cut off, torn in half, and eaten by the male tribal leader; this is done because the Nelánosuk’ten believe that after a person dies, they enter the world of After-Dark, where they are confronted by a number of great and powerful beasts. A good person is able to fight them off, and join the gods, but bad people, Thieves, cannot fight back, as they do not have hands with which to fight.

…Gender roles are quite concrete: women are medicine women (mages), and the men are warriors. The only exception is that a girl may have no talent with healing, and so becomes a warrior; men cannot become mages because, simply, they cannot. There has never been a Nelánosuk’ten man capable of using magick. Beyond that, no particular job is given to a particular gender. Child care is shared between the man and woman, hunting is done with both, and none of activities within the tribe exclude one gender. The basic commandment of being a Nelánosuk’ten is “be useful to the tribe”. And their definition of “useful” is very vague, as they do not wish to exclude any member of the tribe, as they are all a family.

…The Nelánosuk’ten may be our most primitive neighbors, but they are, rather, some of our greatest neighbors. In a world constantly filled with war, it must be noted that there has never been a conflict between two Nelánosuk’ten tribes. I believe that those who say they should learn from us are wrong; it is we who should learn from them.

-Excerpts from a book of Histories written by the scholar Y’otorak’sen