WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK 0053 0053
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Chapter 3: RACES & REALMS
• Krikis hope to capture human babies and imprison
them in hives, turning them into half-insect monsters!
• Some Red Krikis hives interconnect; an experimental
hive mind linking five queens and their hives resulted
in the creation of a massive near-Daragkark Krikis
queen who currently spawns giant Krikis warriors with
wings to assault even more humans from above.
Makadan
On Khitus, many recognize the human Makadan tribe
as good fighters who can be counted on when the odds
are long and times are desperate. Attite rivals consider
them overly boastful and more interested in exaggerating their exploits than conveying the true story. Most
Makadan believe few others can match, let alone exceed, their tribe’s martial prowess.
Appearance
To nonhumans, Makadan are unremarkable among
their race. They tend to have fair to dark brown skin,
with golden or grey eyes, wide and flat noses, and black
or brown hair. Both men and women wear pants with
light tunics, all in a wide variance of colors, and adorn
themselves with jewelry of precious stones and bone.
The Makadan wear sandals made primarily from lizard-hide leathers, strapped high up the thigh and over
the knee. Robes, generally dyed in solid colors, signify
military and civilian rank. Tattoos also commonly mark
family affiliations and ranks.
Most Makadan soldiers wield either the pike or long
spear—the shtuka and shtukeel in their own tongue.
Even those of peaceful professions carry a hozh, a narrow long knife used for every imaginable purpose in and
out of combat. In battle, Makadan employ any appropriate armor and shields, though full plate armor remains
extremely rare, especially in these metal-challenged
days. Outsiders often call the Makadan -mounted cavalry “lancers,” though they more often wield and throw
javelins (“shtukal”) as a weapon of choice. Most Makadan
armor their mounts with leather and light chain. A
Makadan camp is always busy with warriors always tending their weaponry and mumbling portions of the Kod.
Despite their fearsome, martial reputations, Makadans
attract those looking for salable goods, as they always
have things to trade. Their trade specialties include pivosh, a dark beer, and kozha, a supple, durable leather
still tinted the green or yellow hue of the lizard from
which it was taken.
History
The Makadan settled in what is now the eastern region
of the Old Countries and were among the first to settle
permanently in some places. Their original cities were
rubble or dust long before the coming of the Dragon
Kings, though their tales and myths endured to the present day. Legend holds that the original Makadan city,
Pogreban, was dug deep into the ground and reached
the gemstones at the world’s core, so it is expected that
Makadan carry tiny gemstones in their purses or woven
into their clothing.
Over time, Makadan culture shifted away from a dual
scholarly and trading focus to one of martial strength
and warfare. While many assume this grew from the rising warfare since the departure of the Daragkarik, these
developments started centuries before and only emerged
into sunlight with the world’s more aggressive changes.
What it was that spurred this shift in Makadan culture is
unknown outside of the tribe, for it is part of Kod.
Kod
Makadan fighters immerse themselves in Kod, the
Warrior Code, today as they have for more than twenty
generations. This is an oral tradition that is never discussed outside the tribe. Young warriors must prove
themselves worthy of the Kod by slaying wild animals
in close combat and in dire situations where the battle’s
outcome is actually in question. Gender matters little to
the Kod and, surprisingly, physical strength also matters
less than most expect.
The core of Kod lies in recognizing one’s foes and their
frailties, understanding one’s own strengths, and pitting the latter against the former. Thus, there are cultural weapons standard for a Makadan, but Kod teaches
each warrior to seek out the weapon that best utilizes
one’s strength and hone ability with that. Any warrior
who embraces his Kod weapon while participating in a
Rite of Vindicta gains great praise. Woe to the warrior
who lets his Kod weapons succumb to the pernicious
Iron Virus.
The green-clad Bokata (see below) embrace the Kod
in all ways, but also embrace the terminology and structure of an older warrior caste from ancient Makadan
days; their embracing the shtukeel alone demands that
their majority be of greater height and body strength
than many others for whom Kod also lies sacred.
Kod also provides some of the only ways for Makadan
to rise above their birth stations and ranks. Success and
martial ability let a man or woman rise to positions of
great influence within the military and society at large.
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