Tag: Howling Steel Chariots

#Lore24 – Entry #171 – Wild West Month #20 – The Humans who Dwell Beyond the Great Walls

As told by Kumiko Stalks-Amongst-the-Stars, shaman of the Midnight Panther tribe of Kerra-Kerra

Many are the Humans who Dwell Beyond the Great Walls, for it is they who first sought those walls for safety during the Great Uproar.  Few are the humans who dwell upon the Bitter Frontier, and perhaps it is better that they are not amongst us, for it is said that humans bring chaos and destruction wherever they go; this is not always true, but it is true more often than it is not.  They are a short lived people, so they do not long remember what it is they do, for they are always pushing forward to things “new and better,” even if these things are not so.

I have spoken to several humans who have ventured into the Bitter Frontier; these are usually peaceful enough, simply wishing to live for themselves and survive much as we of the Kerra-Kerra do, hunting and trapping and foraging, but often they search for the shiny gems and rocks that are so valued in the lands Beyond the Great Walls.  It seems to be that humans only grow troublesome when in great numbers, for they are easily swayed into taking actions which we consider foolhardy and destructive.  Unfortunately, their numbers are growing daily, and they are pushing beyond the Great Walls now, into the Bitter Frontier, leading the charge to “tame and civilize” our lands in the name of their “progress”.  Troubled times are ahead for the Kerra-Kerra, for our people have already had violent encounters with the humans, and more are coming daily as their Howling Steel Chariots and Bands of Wood and Steel are raided.

It would be wise to be cautious of any Humans who Dwell Beyond the Great Walls that you encounter upon the Bitter Frontier.  Those who have lived amongst us and proven themselves have told me that they care little for what their kind has started and will likely remain allies to us.  However, do not forget that one’s blood counts for much, and it is likely that even the friendly humans of the Bitter Frontier could one day become enemies if they are persuaded by a greater number of their kind.  I have been present to listen to some of the Humans who Dwell Beyond the Great Walls when they have made speeches about coming into the Bitter Frontier and have witnessed how well they can speak.  The words are often strange to the Kerra-Kerra, but they speak with passion and with authority, yet without depth of wisdom or experience.

For whatever troubles come, there is one thing we can be assured of:  the Bitter Frontier will not be tamed as easily as the humans believe; they will learn this lesson one way or another.

#Lore24 – Entry #162 – Wild West Month #10 – The Orc People of the Great Frigid North

As told by Kumiko Stalks-Amongst-the-Stars, shaman of the Midnight Panther tribe of Kerra-Kerra

To the north of the Plains Which Stretch Forever, where trees grow taller and taller, and the winters are harsher than even the worst we have experienced here, where some places are covered in snow and ice throughout the year, this is the region which the tribes of the Orc People have claimed as their domain.  There is much bounty to be had amongst the Frigid Tall Trees, but the dangers there are even greater than the middle regions of the Bitter Frontier that we inhabit.

The Orc People are a strong and powerful people, building strong homes of wood and stone found amongst the rugged and cold forests, and have opened some small parts of their lands to outsiders, in the form of walled cities used for trade and for expeditions into the wilderness, for the outsiders to look for the stones and Black Blood of the Land that they deem so valuable.  However, many of the Orc People have grown mistrustful of outsiders, keeping them out of their sacred territory with axe and bow and Thundering Weapons, leaving behind the mangled corpses of the foolish as warnings to others.  There is said to be a great Orc chief who gathers their tribes together, seeking to drive the outsiders from their lands, perhaps even to take over new lands.

In recent times, the Orc Peoples have begun to travel further south, into the Plains Which Stretch Forever and beyond, for trade and for hunting, but some have taken to attacking the Howling Steel Chariots used by the peoples from the Cities Beyond the Great Walls, for there is much wealth to be taken.  It is these bands of the Orc People that have joined with bands of the Red Fang tribe that have caused much strife for the tribes of the Kerra-Kerra, the Horse Peoples, and for those from Beyond the Great Walls who live within the Bitter Frontier. 

#Lore24 – Entry #161 – Wild West Month #9 – The Horse People of the Plains Which Stretch Forever

As told by Kumiko Stalks-Amongst-the-Stars, shaman of the Midnight Panther tribe of Kerra-Kerra

Though they are called the Plains Which Stretch Forever, these lands are bordered in the east by the mighty River Before the Great Walls, and in the west by the Peaks Reaching to the Sky, and only take many weeks of travel to cross.  These lands are pleasant, yet as part of the Bitter Frontier, they hold their own dangers.  Powerful winds and storms frequently rage across them, and the Expanse of Calm Grasses that Kill have claimed many of the unwary.

Upon the Plains Which Stretch Forever roam the mighty Horse People, Equinari as they call themselves, for they of such size need the vastness of such a place to flourish.  It is here that their tribes roam free and trade with the Kerra-Kerra of the Sprinting Horse and Sly Fox tribes, working with our cousins to hunt the mighty herds of antelope and bison that travel the plains.  Their tribes rarely travel beyond the plains, though the borders of these lands, as with most of the Bitter Frontier, can change at the whim of the Great Spirits.

The Horse People are usually peaceful with our kind, though they often must fight with the Northern Orcs and the Travelers from the Cities Beyond the Great Walls who try to steal their ancestral lands or threaten their hunting.  One would be wise to reconsider any anger towards one of the Horse People, for they stand half again as tall as most others, and are built powerfully, like the plains bison.  Tales are many of those who have angered one of the Horse People who have been crushed beneath their mighty hooves or thrown as easily as if they were one of our spears.  Their shamans are powerful and friendly with the many spirits of the Plains Which Stretch Forever, and can call upon them to drive off those who would dare cross them if the offense is great enough.

For now, the Horse People tolerate the People from Beyond the Great Walls and their Bands of Wood and Steel that carry their Howling Steel Chariots to the far west, and have granted them passage through certain areas of the Plains, but I fear that soon there could be conflict, for they seek ever to expand and stretch the range that their Bands of Wood and Steel cover, and the Northern Orc tribes have taken to attacking these Chariots, for those aboard often carry much of great value.

The spirits and the visions of the Great Mother tell us to be wary, for such troubles will fall upon us sooner rather than later.

#Lore24 – Entry #157 – Wild West Month #5 – Life and Death Upon the Bitter Frontier

As told by Kumiko Stalks-Amongst-the-Stars, shaman of the Midnight Panther tribe of Kerra-Kerra

The Bitter Frontier is our life.  The Bitter Frontier is our death.  To live as a free people, we Kerra-Kerra must accept that freedom is first dangerous, but preferable to the life inside the Cities Beyond the Great Walls that lie in the direction of the sun’s rise.  Though filled with many dangers, the Bitter Frontier is where we live our lives, thriving in ways those not born of the wilds can never understand.

The Bitter Frontier’s bounty is plentiful until it is not.  If the spirits are not respected, then they will see to it that we suffer for our disrespect; when we revere them as they should be, our lives are simpler and filled with good hunting and good growth.  Some spirits may see to it that we suffer for our lack of action in defending them as well, for there are many of the peoples from the Cities Beyond the Great Walls who venture into the Bitter Frontier and now have many settlements in lands they have claimed from the Many Peoples who are both Kerra-Kerra and those who are not.  They do not understand our ways, and this leads to conflict, which upsets the natural order.

They seek what we do not, ripping stones they desire from the bowels of the earth itself, sucking the very lifeblood of the land to burn and turn the skies black with smoke, to expand their claims upon the land, attempting to bind it with their Bands of Wood and Steel so that their Howling Steel Chariots may travel swiftly across the Bitter Frontier.  They bring their Thundering Weapons to bear against us, killing us from afar, so it is with great reluctance that we have been forced to adopt their ways of killing, lest we ourselves be killed.

But hope still springs for the Kerra-Kerra, for the spirits hear our cries, and make cries of their own.  Those from the Cities Beyond the Great Walls are not welcome within the Bitter Frontier, and venture here at their own risk.  Many have been the Lesser Uproars of the spirits, sundering settlements that grow too large, scattering its peoples to the wind and ripping free their binding bands upon the earth, removing the precious things they seek to claim from within the shifting rock.  Entire landscapes have been changed by the fury of the spirits.

I fear that this will be an eternal struggle, for that is the nature of the Bitter Frontier.