Legends of Belariath

The Tribe History

Origins of the Tribe

There were once giants amongst men, or at least beings seen as giants to the mortal races of ancient times. Known as the Nephyth, they were spirit incarnate and appeared ten feet tall and exquisite. But in a time where Gods were coming into power, mortals and immortal races ascending, the Nephyth were fading in number… They saw their salvation in one of the lesser races, the Aztru – or the Tribe.

With deep spiritual beliefs and yet a savage side, they still respected nature and the ways of honor and in them, the Nephyth saw their salvation. Once acquiring the Aztru’s acceptance, for as a people the revered and respected the Nephyth, rituals of magic and shamanistic arcane brought the Nephyth and the Aztru spirits together as one.

So intense however, was this binding of two into one that it wrought incredible physical and mental affects on the Aztru. Most noticeable the bleaching of their dark hair to purest of white and their eyes to intense hues of red and yellow-gold; though occasionally other light, or vibrant hues were evident.

Already hardy and resilient, the Aztru also became much like the Nephyth in other aspects. Towering no less than six feet tall and no greater than nine feet in height, they gained the powerful bearing of their allies. Furthermore, because of the nature of the ritual that bound them, the spirits of all the Nephyth were cast like a net to converge upon the entirety of the Aztru people, spiritual energy merging rather than two different personalities.

This further joined the deeply spiritual and traditional Aztru, giving them a strong astral bond and dream-speaking ability.

For centuries the Aztru became a powerful, great people standing as those separate of the various races adopting and adhering to Gods – they instead remained loyal to the spirits of the world, far more eternal than those of mortal power transcending. Then… the Floating Continent of the Magi came. The presence of this turbulent force however, was not one the Aztru allowed to disturb them or their ways… until one of their people was lured to the service of Morpheous.

When the Aztru bound their souls with the Nephyth, they became a new, greater, unified people. The spirit of the Nephyth always lived on, ever expanding to welcome those newly born, tying spirit and body to the Tribe. Death of an Aztru was natural, but the spirit did not die, but instead returned to the Tribe and joined the unending cycle.

But when one Aztru left, lured by the power of the Magi and the wonder of the Floating Continent, something horrible happened. When the Aztru was made into a Magi, more than her body changed; her soul too was altered and became different… killing the Nephyth spirit woven into her very being.

The backlash of this Sundering swept through the Tribe, leaving a small, but devastating breech in their unity. The cognitive tranquility disrupted, a primal, instinctual savagery swelled forward, attempting to fill the gap left. In the wake of it, the Tribe split; having lost their bond of spiritual strength. Destroyed their connection and their astral dreamscapes constructed like great dream-cities in the astral.

To further find their footing, the Aztru separated into the Five Clans. The Spirit Clan seeking ever to find a way to balance the Tribe spirit, never forgetting the history that brought their people so low. The other four found one of the great elements and became the focal point of each; earth, air, fire and water.

In this way, there was balance, yet it lacked the once unbroken symmetry of the complete Nephyth strength. Even the great Spirit Clan is limited when searching and accessing the dreamscapes. Only immediate family and those undergoing a spiritual or blood bonding (Adoption) are able to speak in dream to one another.