Ronso History
History
Twenty years after the Larsan Folly, the first rumors of one of the first mist-born races was within the high branches of the Salikawood northward from Nalbina. At first, they were merely considered a new breed of monster, perhaps an offshoot or mutation of the Cuar species that had replaced the Bombs who once had attempted to encroach into the territory. Those carasses that were taken were described as giant bipedal leonine beings, dusky-furred and ill-fit to conceal within the lush temperate forest greenery of the Wood. Unlike most monsters, the reports that came through began to mention much more hunter-tribe and pack behavior.
It was not until a chance encounter with a family who was attempting to move south from Archadia into Nalbina territory and then further south towards freer and rumor-fed more civilized lands that the truth came to be known. A group of a dozen families had banded together to make the journey, a mixture of mainly humes with a few bangaa mercenaries who were making the road south as well, and came on for a cut rate. One of the families lagged behind the group to gather some fruits for the seeds to grow or sell when their young son went missing. Fearing the worst, but too afraid to leave the main roads to search long, the family ended up returning to the camp with the others. That night, a hunting party of a half-dozen blue-furred Ronso appeared at the edge of the camp with a single tear-stained, and suddenly very happy little boy.
Only one of the Ronso understood enough to communicate. His name was Tahn'ha Ronso of what was now called the High Trees Tribe. While they had been raiding and feeding upon merchant caravans as they had been able, they discovered through this such things as language, custom, weapons and tools... and before the refugees left the Wood, a group of half-dozen Ronso travelled with them, spearclad barbarian warriors carrying with them baskets of pelts, herbs, and other woodland valuables for trade. Those half-dozen learned the tongues of the people after a season staying in Nalbina, and then returned to their lands. Unknown to others, those six spread to the other established tribes. From there began regular trade and commerce with the new-made wild barbarians of the northern highlands.
To date are known approximately a half-dozen known tribes of Ronso. The most well-known of course being the High Trees tribe of the Salikawood, followed closely by the Storm Rider tribe of the Mosphoran Highwastes. Along with those are the Mistwalker Tribe that dwell in the Nabreus Deadlands, the Black Cliffs Tribe of the Tchita Uplands, and finally the rather unknown Hawk Winds Tribe of the Cerobi Steppes. Each of them have relatively the same culture and attitude, and the division of territory seems to be based on populations, which cannot be counted, even by those who have befriended the disparate warrior tribes.
Description
Ronso range within six to eight feet tall as an average, the males showing bulk and musculature, while the females present as sleeker and more athletic, and have a general pelt coloration that comes in shades of blue, or a monochrome of black, grey, and a rare-shade of white. Their shape is that of an anthromorphic leonine form with a sleek and silky coat, a tail half as long as their own bodies, and tufted at the tip. Their heads have two prominent features concurrent to the age of the Ronso in question. The first of which of which is a horn that is anywhere from six to eighteen inches tall, the other being a mane that is usually anywhere from a deep blue-grey in youth to a stark silver-white of middle to old age.
Their mode of dress is often archaic seeming, mainly furs and leathers, often times leaving metals for decorative pieces, or the occasional and rare pieece of armor they might wear. More colorful accents come in rare dyed cloth, beads, and featherwork that can sometimes be intricate enough to rival even the printed fashions of more modern civilizations. Their manes are often worn with beads, cloth, and feathers as a means of decoration, and are often local to the tribe they come from. Braiding is common along both males and females, but topknots are usually only worn by male Ronso who have reached adulthood.
Culture
The first thing to understand about being a Ronso is that a Ronso's horn is his or her honor. The horn is where the woven bands of their achievement, special rings of forged metal that are awarded to a Ronso for moments of special glory, or to show the name of their mate. Sometimes merits can be engraved right onto the horn itself, usually towards the tip where tie sigil can be seen by all Ronso. As a Ronso grows, more accolades may be worn on their horn, telling their story to any other Ronso they meet. For graves crimes against the tribe, the greatest punishment any Ronso can receive is to have their horn cut. A cut horn cannot wear a Ronso's pride, and because of this their shame is known to all.
Ronso themselves maintain a very basic, and some consider, semi-feral tribal society. The strongest male hunter or warrior of the tribe wears the Chieftain's band, which often times sits at the base of the horn itself. The strongest female hunter often times wears a matching band, and while they are the strongest, they are only ever required to mate for ceremonial reasons, signifying the strength of the tribe, especially if the ceremony bears true. The word of those leaders is inviolate among that tribe, but often times the more elder Ronso are consulted and usually remain as a loose council that remains ready to provide advice.
Under the Chieftains are the Fangs and Claws of the tribe.
Fangs are the Hunters of each tribe, usually where the young males and females learn how to fight and survive, and how to fight with the traditional weapon of the Ronso, the Spear. Upon the taking of the first solo kill as a Hunter, a male Ronso receives his topknot from the Elder Fang, and a necklace with the tooth of the creature that was killed goes to either gender. Rank within the fangs is often told easily by the number of Fangs worn by the Ronso in question. A typical Hunter will wear three to six fangs, with the elders anywhere from nine to twelve, each fang representing a noteworthy kill awarded by the more elder Fangs. Leadership within the Fangs is often a meritocracy, younger Fangs deferring to older ones unless a Fang has proven himself with good leadership and cunning. Fangs are also responsible the gathering of other supplies such as herbs and fruits, and often times are where the craftsmen remain.
Claws are the warriors of the tribe, usually the ones who are stationed at key points outside the individual tribal territories to keep monster at bay and raiders from the lands, and are the ones who often themselves occasionally raid merchants and even the stray village. Claws are less numerous than Fangs as the elevation from Fang to Claw is often a ritual of great danger, and many who attempt it do not survive. The Claws of the Ronso however are much more militarist and disciplined compared to the loose-natured Fang. Rank is inviolate within the Claws, and the number of Claws worn is anywhere from one to five. One-claw are the recruits, who have just began learning the ways of their new life, whereas most will fall within the two and three-claw range. Four-Claw are often leaders within the troops, the equivalent of captains, while there is only one Five-Claw within any given Tribe, their warleader.
While males can achieve any rank within the Tribe, females may only become Elder Fangs, and it is very rare for one to be taken as a Claw. The differences within the gender of the Ronso seems to have nothing to do with ability, but rather is because of how their society functions. Females and males often times live seperately within the same tribal territory, the males often staying in loose groups that roam out and in from a central location of the tribe proper. Females, the young, and the elder males often live within the central tribal village, where most of the crafting and storage is done, and any of the craftsmen are kept safe to provide the necessary for the tribe itself. Since females do double duty as hunters and as the teachers and bearers of the young, their culture seems to dictate that the female chooses the male based on the male's achievements, and the male often times find themselves with multiple shared husbands based on their respective female's choice.
Young Ronso are taught to fight and live from the day they can first walk, their childhoods often times establishing a rather rough pecking order through fights for dominance that are loosely supervised by the overseeing elder males and females that are present. The young are raised by the central village proper, and often times they never know their true parents, since living is communal. Even a Ronso born from the Chieftains of the tribe is not treated with any special favor. A sickly or otherwise unhealthy seeming cub will often be cared for as long as is reasonable, but if they are seen as a burden to the tribe they can be left in the wild. If the child returns to the tribe they are accepted, but in this case it is rare. Those children that do often bear a mark of their ordeal, which is also seen as a mark of respect.
The young are taught three lessons that are key to the Ronso people. The first is their horn is their honor, and will never be used to hurt another. The second is to honor their place in the tribe. The third is that Ronso do not kill other Ronso.
The primary tool of the Ronso is their Spear. A Ronso's first spear is given to them the day they begin training to become a Fang, usually a light stone javelin that is good for stabbing and throwing, but caries minimal decoration. When they are considered old enough, they are taken to a craftsman or woman who lets them choose their own Spear from many that are made avaialble, usually newly made or previously used that have been returned to them. This spear is often the one used to make the first kill, and earn their Fang. Once a Ronso is seen as an adult, they are allowed to decorate their spear, trade for a new one, or otherwise have it shaped or otherwise personalized to themselves. Some spears even become famous enough to be named within the tribe. These are kept and used to tell stories to the young of the Ronso who have wielded it. Such weapons are often awarded to Fang and Claw of great merit to use for cermonies or to hunt specific creatures.
After the Spear, knives and greatbows are seen in use among Ronso, and with some great rarity, the axe. These are considered more tools than an actual weapon by most Ronso, and as such great feats performed with them are not always recognized by the tribe.
Ronso have their own language which they use among themselves, and can speak common tongues, however due to their more feline mouths, other languages come out short and tilted, often times with heavy growls and other wild sounds. This has lead to most Ronso simply addressing themselves as their name, and then 'Ronso'. However, when speaking to other Ronso, or to a trusted and honored outlander friend, they may use their full name, which is their given name, their tribe, and then their position. Fangs will call themselves Fangs, unless they have been awarded Elder Fang by the tribe, but Claws will always note their number of claws as their rank inside the tribe.
Back to Ronso
