トゥヌック
The Tunuk are a nation of proud and fierce survivalists. Hailing from the coldest and most inhospitable of Isles, they have triumphed over impossible odds through a culture of teamwork, persistence, and martial excellence. To defeat all obstacles, topple mighty beasts, and earn eternal glory for your descendants: to the Tunuk, this is what it means to be alive.
The Land of Beasts and Wonders
The Isle of Tunuk Nunaat is a beautiful but dangerous place. Its snow-capped mountain ranges are dotted with dangerous chasms and icefalls. In the pitch-black nights, the auroras and the distant stars are the only landmarks that can be seen for miles. And of course there are the Gargantuans: enormous primordial beasts of every shape and size who call the Isle their home.
The Tunuk have survived in this unforgiving environment through one simple maxim: if the rule is survival of the fittest, be the fittest. Bone spears and ballistae are the claws of the Tunuk, sharpened stakes and towering fortifications their hide. Through teamwork and savage force of will, they battle the Gargantuans to earn their place on the hunting grounds. The fur and meat of each fallen Gargantuan will sustain hundreds of people and become part of the Tunuk song of victory.
The Dance of the Clans
The Tunuk traditionally live in nomadic clans of about a dozen families each, following the migrations of Gargantuans and herding their livestock to new pastures. Each clan is led by a council of elders, who are history-keepers and policymakers. Beneath them are homemakers, hunters, weavers, artisans, dog breeders, cheesemakers… there are a hundred and one roles, often intersecting, all of which are vitally important in Tunuk tradition. Everyone has a part to play and nothing is allowed to go to waste.
Looking out across the unblemished tundra, it is easy to believe that it is uninhabited land. In reality, it is part of an intricate web of paths and boundaries that the clans have marked out over thousands of years. Come spring or summer, the clan caravans with their huskies and yak herds and colorful tents will spring up, just in time to hunt the Gargantuans that pass by, before moving on and leaving the snowy fields to recover until the next cycle.
In the first decades following the Confluence of Isles, the Tunuk way of life carried on as it always had. Most visitors were turned away by the harsh cold of Tunuk Nunaat, and that suited the Tunuk just fine. But even the mighty Tunuk are not immune to change. In recent years, warriors have moved away from communal spear-hunting and towards the deadly efficiency of imported guns, upsetting the balance of power that has held for millennia in the tundra. And more and more clans are disintegrating as young Tunuk abandon their traditional roles, drawn by the bustling port of Katimavit and the allure of the outside world.
The Sacred Bones of Ancestry
The Tunuk clans believe they have strong ties to their ancestors, connected through an unbroken lineage stretching all the way back to the first mythical Tunuk queen. This connection is not just a historical or genealogical one, but a spiritual one. By honoring the legacy of their ancestors, future generations can gain their favor and receive the blessing of all their accumulated power and wisdom.
Bones are sacred in Tunuk spirituality, for they represent the essence of a fallen animal or person. Every established clan or community has an effigy to the ancestors: a carefully crafted object made out of bones and precious items and kept inside a leather carrying case. A small offering made by a ship’s captain may be just a collection of chicken bones and colored glass beads in a pouch. A large one tended by a clan’s elders may be a huge moving tent pulled by yaks, made out of an ancient Gargantuan’s hide, housing a diorama of statues made out of intricately carved ivory and gems.
The Tools to Bring Gods Low
While the Tunuk travel light and carry few material resources with them, that does not mean they are simple or unsophisticated. The Tunuk elders and shamans have memorized an encyclopedic array of knowledge, accumulated over millennia, and are experts at making use of the limited resources available to them.
In their daily life, the Tunuk make use of bone tools, lightweight folding tents, and dog sleds that can have sails attached to them to quite literally move like the wind. Where possible, they trade for equipment from neighboring Isles, like steel axes, hunting rifles, and grappling hooks. When hunting Gargantuans, Tunuk clans will set up impressive mechanical traps with wooden ballistae, spring-loaded nets, and explosive charges to trigger avalanches or collapse cliffs.
Tunuk ships are tough behemoths that take after the Gargantuans of Tunuk Nunaat: their builders assume they will be battered by storms and tossed by sea monsters, and build them to last accordingly. They are oiled to preserve them against the elements, reinforced with concentric rings of steel and Gargantuan bone, covered in spikes to deter predators, and bristle with all kinds of weapons and hooks for every contingency.
Pathfinders of the Tunuk
Tunuk Pathfinders are something of an oddity within their culture. They are typically young people unable to find a place in the rigid hierarchy of their society, or concerned about the future of their ailing clan and striking out to create a new destiny. In the past, those who did not fit in were consigned to the snowy wilds of Tunuk Nunaat and either faded into obscurity or started their own clans. In modern times, the call of the sea — and the other Thirteen Lands and the New World — is far more appealing.
The New World represents a fresh frontier for Tunuk Pathfinders, free from the problems of their homeland and the crushing expectations of their elders. It is a place full of bounty where new clans can be forged and new legends can be written. For the enterprising Tunuk captain, nothing is better than defeating fantastic beasts from distant shores and engraving their legacy into the bones of history to be taught and honored for all time.
Symbols of the Tunuk
- War Paint: There is an immensely varied tradition of war paint among the Tunuk clans, created by artists trying to one-up each other and make ever more impressive warriors. Ever since the Confluence of Isles, these marks have become something of a Tunuk cultural symbol. Many overseas Tunuk put on war paint for formal occasions as well as hunts and battles.
- Effigy Banners: During inter-clan summits, the Tunuk clans represent themselves with banners made of precious metals, the fur and bones of Gargantuans, and other such wildly ornate materials that show off their members’ exploits. There is no standard national symbol representing all Tunuk, but a representative might display an animal skull or a nice fur as a nod to this tradition.