Spawn of Ash [ADDED]

[Arthmodeus]

Spawn of Ash: A Comprehensive Guide to Vardenfell's Savages
by Cornelius Tavius
of the Imperial Archaeological Society

Special thanks to Sjorn the Scholarly for assisting me in my research. Without his brilliance, I would not be where I am right now.

Many have feared the barren, lawless, ashy wastes of Vardenfell Island, a colossal, blight-spewing volcano. Civilization is scarce and limited to Imperial outposts and minor forts. Yes, the Imperial Legion is very brave sending their men into these badlands dotted with cannibals, savages, unorthodox rituals, and the demon whom they all worship.

Within this chaos river, I have been able to sift through discord and unorthodoxy and find a slight trace of order in these barbarians. I have been able to discern that there are five "clans" residing within: 'Ahamusa', 'Saynab', 'Erabinemsin', 'Urchaliku', and 'Neveraline'. The 'Neveraline' "clan" seems to hold dominion over the four other "clans" and looks as if it possesses some religious importance. See, the "four" clans worship an entity known as 'Dragoth Oor'. This entity could be some form of a "god" to them.

They seem to revere a sort of "leader" known as an 'Ashkan'. This 'Ashkan' supposedly is supported by numerous 'Galukans'. The 'Galukans' carry out whatever the 'Ashkan' wishes (be it raping, murdering, or otherwise impeding on the peace of civilization).

The 'Ahamusas' roam Vardenfell's 'Bitter Coast', fiercely riding atop giant chitinous sea dogs called 'glyph racers' in reference to the magical sigils they paint on them. They frequently assault trade ships passing through the Inner Sea. This disruption of trade allows them to provide for the East Empire Company's "failures" through a prosperous smuggling activity; selling the stolen goods at high prices. Furthermore, they also provide fully illegal goods, most notably, drugs like Grief, Sojamma, and Moon Sugar from Elsweyr.

This note deserves special mention. All "clans" keep slaves, in defiance of Imperial Law. Most slaves are primitive beast folk from Elsweyr and Argonia, captured by raiders from Tear and sold throughout Morrowind on the black market, but any foreigner in Vardenfell is at a risk of being captured and used as a slave by the gruesome tribes. The aforementioned drugs are used to numb their slaves' spirit and keep them docile, unable to think about escaping their fate. When a slave becomes too old, too weak, or too clumsy to continue to serve, the cannibals usually eat him -- or worse, serve him as a pittance to their other slaves. It is rumored that the females among these barbarians also use slaves for erotic pursuits, and that sometimes a young fool, excited by the thought, will seek to be captured. As far as I've collected, these rumors are false, and propagated only to lure the unwise.

The 'Urchalikus' haunt the frozen wasteland at the Northern edge of Vardenfell. They wear fearsome armors made from parts of giant arthropods, and from parts of dwarven contraptions, giving them a look as monstrous as their dark, blackened soul. They are known to raid undefended settlements to capture infants and toddlers, whom they are believed to ritually sacrifice to 'Dragoth Oor', before roasting and eating their corpses.

The 'Erabinemsins' lurk in the archipelago of small islands that can be found east of the so-called "Azure Coast". There, they sometimes put on a pretense of civilization and politely send invitations to foreigners to come at their 'Ashkan's festival'; but this is a devious trap organized with the help of another scourge, the infamous aquatic monsters called Dreughs. When the guests arrive, the allied 'Erabinemsins' and Dreughs will attack, and the tentacled monsters of the depth get to feast on the fooled victims while the dark savages plunder the ship.

The 'Saynabs' plague the region of ash desert known to these savages as the "Morag Amar", which owe its name to the presence of the headquarters of the sinister Dark Brotherhood hidden somewhere there. This coterie of assassins is called 'Morag Tang,' "Dark Hands" in their crude language, while 'Morag Amar' means "Dark Heart." But this is tangential, as the 'Saynabs' are not always part of this gruesome death cult. Most of them are simply cannibalistic savages, who will attack imperial forts to seize all horses they can find -- it seems the noble animals are used for some unspeakable fertility rituals by these horrid primitives. As a result, knights prefer to avoid the region unless in great numbers, and this is why the Empire has not succeeded yet in destroying the Dark Brotherhood.

The 'Neveralines' are the most mysterious clan, the one which I have had the most trouble gathering information from. They hide in the numerous volcanic grottos adorning the cliffs of Vardenfell, and are believed to serve directly as the priests and bodyguards of 'Dragoth Oor.' They are practically never seen, as they do not attack foreigners outside of their claimed territory. Instead, the four other clans provide for their needs, sending them food and goods attached to gargantuan fleas called 'filth striders.' The huge and ugly creature seem easy enough to tame for these savages, despite them being able to suck all of an elephant's blood in less than a minute.

Vardenfell is a tremendously dangerous and barbaric place and I have risked having a horrible death by residing amongst these barbarians. I hope you have enjoyed my research and I sincerely must advise you to exercise extreme caution when traveling through Vardenfell.

[Haplo]

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