Rombeni
Rombeni
Religion
Traditions
+15% National Manpower Modifier
-0.03 Monthly War Exhaustion
Under The Gnollish ClawDistantly related to the Irsukuba people of West Sarhal, the famously tall Echenka people were nomadic pastoralists that came to inhabit a vast area from the Rakkazi Highlands in the west to the Keygas River in the east. The Echenka shared their homelands with the Fieldstalker Gnolls and their societies were intricately linked, though the exact relationship between human and gnoll varied from place to place. Under the Xhazobkult they were often the primary slaves of the gnolls, while under the Kvangahga packs they were more akin to serfs, forming a subjugated class of labourers below the gnolls, though were not property and had certain rights. This close contact over the centuries with the gnolls led to a degree of cultural exchange, with the Echenka taking a liberal approach to concepts of gender and synthesising many gnollish beliefs and legends into their own faiths. Perhaps the most significant impact was a greater familiarity with, and as a result, a lessened fear of the large predatory humanoids.
+50% Female Advisor Chance
yes May Recruit Female Generals
-10% Shock Damage Received
In The Shadow Of The SwampFor millennia the Echenka dwelt along the border of the vile morass known as the Shadow Swamp, coming into contact with the entities that dwelt within and being subtly manipulated by them. As a result their belief systems often venerated spirits of a darker nature and their shaman's dabbled in sinister magics. Centuries ago a number of Echenka tribes followed these dark spirits into the swamps where they settled its western reaches, coexisting with the trollish inhabitants of Yezel Mora and serving their hag masters.
+2 Tolerance of Heretics
Meat, Milk and BloodWhether roaming the savannah or stalking through the swamps, the Echenka rely on their herd animals as their primary food source. They believe that consuming mainly animal products is the secret to their great height, and prefer not to eat vegetable matter which they see as unclean things that must be purified by their herd animals. As such the animals the Echenka keep are seen as sacred, they must be cared for to a high standard and their slaughter must obey intricate rituals passed from butcher to butcher, the role of which is inherited through specific bloodlines in the tribe.
+10% Production Efficiency
Ghost SpeakersPerhaps due to the influence of the gnolls or the Shadow Swamp, the Echenka relationship with their dead would be considered unorthodox by many humans. Foregoing the concept of an afterlife, the Echenka believe that their honoured dead remain adjacent to the land of the living and can be readily contacted and interacted with. Echenka shamans will often invite spirits both fair and foul to inhabit their bodies and speak through them, sharing their wisdom and the mysteries of the dead. Particularly powerful shamans are even able to summon the spirits, manifesting spectres to harm their enemies or aid their allies. While spirits are deeply respected, dead bodies are seen as little more than waste products and happily handed over to their gnollish compatriots for consumption, or utilised by the necromantic shamans as free temporary labour for the tribe.
+0.5 Yearly Army Tradition
The Hexblood QueenIn 1512 AA the league of Haraagtseda was struck from within by a substantial revolt of the Echenka people instigated by an enigmatic sorceress in league with the hags of Yezel Mora. Luola Keracrim "The Hexblood Queen", as she came to be known, had been exiled from her tribe in southern Haraagtseda for killing a gnoll in a heated dispute. Her flight from home led her south into the Shadow Swamp where she was found by the hags of Yezel Mora, who recognised the potential of this angry young woman to act as their agent. A pact was struck in the darkness of the swamp, Luola was granted a portion of the hags power, becoming a powerful enchantment and illusion mage. Planning to spread chaos and bloodshed, the hags encouraged her to return home and use her new gifts to convince the Echenka to rise up against the gnolls that kept their people subservient. These rebellious Echenka would call their state Rombeni, "Land of the Pact".
+1 Monarch Diplomatic Skill
Gnoll Pelt FashionsDuring their brief period of independence, it became popular amongst the warriors of Rombeni to don gnoll pelts over their armour and decorate themselves with the fangs and claws of their slain foes. So popular in fact that a cottage industry sprang up as tanners and hunters worked to meet demand, many attempting to pass off ordinary hyena pelts as authentic gnoll-hide taken in battle.
+10% National Tax Modifier
Paid For In BloodWhile Rombeni was ultimately crushed and Luola slain, the impact of the Hexblood War was wide reaching in Haraagtsedi society, leading to a series of reforms aimed at quelling public unrest that enshrined the legal rights of the Echenka people. These new laws stated that any Echenka from outside of Haraagtseda that entered the country as a slave must be freed, and that anyone who succeeded at the Trial of the Reforged Chain would win full citizenship not just for themselves, but for all their descendants as well. In an unintended way, Luola's rebellion secured a better life for the Echenka people for centuries to come.
+1 Yearly Prestige
Ambition
-5 Years of Separatism
History
TBD
Strategy
TBD