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Ways of the Clan
What we lack in strength, we make up for in cunning. What we lack in cunning, we make up for in knowledge. What we lack in knowledge, we make up for in strength. We are vicious, warlike and considered savages by many of the peoples of the world. Skah! Do they not know the joy of defeating your enemies and smelling the burning of their cities? They are nothing but fir'khanim, weak and soulless. Cold to the touch as if they were already dead. We roam free over the sands, and the blood runs hot in our veins. We are the Shadowclan, emboldened by the first of the Great Signs and bound to the Sands, the Sun and the Dragon. Our inner fires will sustain us and help us to cleanse the world of all who are unworthy.
We call the deserts our home, for to live in the Greenlands is to make oneself soft and weak, as the fir'khanim. Young Irekei are tested from birth. Those who are not strong and quick enough to be worthy of The Dragon are left to the mercies of the wastelands. Pillaging and scavenging are part of every Irekei's life. The desert is a harsh teacher where few can survive without proper equipment. We have learned to make do with what we can gather from the land and from those who are weaker. To be called 'soft' is a great insult in Irekei culture, for it implies that the Irekei in question has taken on undesirable traits from the fir'khanim.
To betray your Clan is to betray yourself. To be cast from the Clan is the worst punishment imaginable to any Irekei. Such outcasts are known as vrek, and their khar'ika is dimmed; marked for any Irekei to see. They are shunned by all virakt and inevitably end up committing themselves to the Dragon deep within the Burning Sands. No markers are erected for them, and the scouring Skath, the fearsome desert wind, quickly reduces their bones to dust.
The desert is the Irekei. Its resources are ours. Its sands are ours. These are the testing grounds of our children, that they might live or die by the desert’s tests of strength and will. The desert is not for the fir’khanim, except to moisten with their blood. These lands are holy to us. We will allow no fir’khanim to gain a foothold in the desert, or even to walk upon the sands without our permission.
It is rumored that the Shadowclan keeps a 'Forbidden City' deep within the desert where fir'khanim are never allowed, it's true name never uttered where outsiders might overhear. Supposedly, some of the greatest works of Irekei artisans can be found there in the form of great murals and shrines to the Dragon. Similarly, it is only there that many secret Irekei arts and skills are taught.
Khan'jallakar:
Any war upon another Virakt shall be openly declared before any serious hostilities commence. Such is the way of our people. The fir'khanim , however, are not worthy of such respect.
Though not all follow it's path, within every Irekei beats a Warrior's heart. Deception, deceit and trickery are tools to be used against the fir'khanim. When you are fighting your brethren, stand tall and proud.
Returning to the Sands:
Given the nature of Irekei life, most of our people do not live to what would be considered old age. Those that do are often respected and venerated as they have proved themselves worthy through many generations. But, no Irekei wishes to die in their bed, and there comes a time when an ancient Irekei might consider themselves of no more use to the Clan. At such a point, they divest themselves of all belongings save a small knife and the clothes upon their back (and sometimes not even that). Relieved of the burden of wealth and responsibility, they walk out alone into the Deep Desert, never to be seen again. Such Irekei are much honored in tales and song and they are said to have 'Returned to the Sands'.
This custom continues to this day, despite the effects of the Great Stirring of the Dragon. Many Irekei philosophers and prophets say that those who never return to the Tree of the Dragon have their spirits plucked from the ether by the Terror of Terrors. Those that are worthy are consumed to forever be a part of Kryquo'Khalin while the others are cast into the Great Void.
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Joining the Virakt is a lifelong commitment. Those who leave and join other guilds are branded vrek and hunted unmercilessly. Other guilds that accept these traitors will find it very difficult to deal with the Irekei and may even find themselves subject to brutal raids.