The Imara (Tribe)
References
Overview
The Imara are a culture of mount (The Imar) and rider (The Imarin) located in the Ixchal Wilds, and while small in number, these nomadic people are ever in search of Talifan, a supposedly ancient city the Imara once called home, lost forever after a cataclysmic event so long ago that history has forgotten.
The Imar and Imarin
The Imar mounts of the Imara are large, green or brown (occasionally Imar are born with more expressive colors) long-tailed lizards resembling the Rainforest Basilisk Lizards of the rainforests of Earth, with a break in their back spines large enough to bear a rider comfortably. Imar imprint on their rider, usually the first person they make contact with, and in the process the rider, the Imarin, is created. Thus an Imarin may be of any species or identification if they are capable of riding an Imar; thus many Imarin are refugees who were lucky enough to have found the Imara while lost in the jungle. Imar only mate with an Imar partner who has their own Imarin, and are capable of undergoing a sex change to better suit the match for non-traditional pairings or simply to match the identified gender of their Imarin. Imar possess a low form of sentience, capable of complex emotions but unable to speak or communicate except in sounds and body language.The Imara often rescue defenseless peoples of the jungle both out of compassion as well as for the practical purpose of finding new riders.
The Imara are fierce warriors, owing to the natural advantage of having a thick-scaled, large lizard for a mount, as well as the advantages mounted combat brings in general. Imar are well adapted to the jungle trees of the Ixchal Wilds, able to hop from tree to tree with ease. Small webbings between their toes allow them to cushion falls somewhat, although it’s far from flight. Instead, Imar usually depend on their claws for climbing trees and arboreal movement. As they are nomadic, their technology is not particularly advanced however, typically wielding spears and javelins, with the occasional stone machete for slicing through dense jungle. As any rider may become Imarin, so too are the warriors of the Imara comprised of all types, shapes, and sizes of rider.
Warriors only comprise a small number of the Imara, however. More numerous are the Foragers and Scouts, who work hand in hand to procure food for the tribe by finding food sources or going on hunts for the tribe. Scouts usually have smaller, faster Imar, and often pave the way for the rest of the tribe. The tribe has its fair share of weavers to make clothes, usually from jungle reeds and other available materials, and there are a few ‘armorers’ too–they cannot manufacture anything more than stone spears and javelins, but they generally know how to maintain more advanced equipment as well. Imara Armorers can use the shed skin of Imar to craft scaly armor for the warriors, however, granting them the same protection as their mounts. Every so often the Imara will come across materials like obsidian, crafting spear tips and arrowheads from them to create more potent weapons.
Culture
Culturally the Imara prescribe to a way of thinking called "Harmony," which is a philosophical doctrine which views the world as a series of combinations, such as the combination of Imar and Imarin to form the Imara people. All things are viewed as having two parts, with two sides to every issue, and a problem for every solution. Imar will often spend hours speaking at length about the duality of everything, including the goings-on of neighboring lands as they hear news from wandering merchants. Any drastic new change to the tribe must first go through the rigor of being tested under “Harmony,” with its duality examined and both its positives and negatives assessed.
The Imara are not literate, instead passing down a detailed oral tradition, with several “seers” of the tribe who keep oral records of the tribe’s history, as well as managing its members. At any given time there are usually five of them in total, so if one seer forgets something, another might remember it for him.
Imar and Imarin often work together to create music. Imarin musicians often vocalize alongside their Imar mounts, creating a haunting throat-singing sound that intimidates foes or captivates those lucky enough to hear them while passing through the Wilds. Sometimes Imarin make drums out of the shed skin of their Imar, which is often played alongside the vocalizations.
Owing to living in the jungle, when the Imara celebrate they often take many local flowers and other flora to create paints of various colors, decorating their bodies often to entertain or intimidate others.
Goals
When not trying to simply survive, the Imara seek to find Talifan, a mythical ancient city that their oral tradition remembers as their original homeland, which they were driven out of long ago. It was after being driven out that they met the Imar, who helped them to survive in the Ixchal Wilds. They are beset by two main enemies: a tribe of Naga known as the Violet Serpents, and a tribe of Lizardmen known as the Yellow Crests. The Violet Serpents see the Imara as potential sacrifices for their dark deity, and harass them with magic while flying through the trees. The Yellow Crests are ground-based, and often wait until nightfall to ambush the Imara in order to capture them and their mounts to eat as food. This makes Imara sentries some of the most respected and skilled members of the tribe, responsible for safeguarding the tribe night and day from these potential threats.
Roles:
High Chief: A half inherited, half elected position, often surrendered to another before the current Chief’s death.
Chief: One of the tribe’s influential members, chosen by either the Imara themselves or the current High Chief. There is no limit to the number of Chiefs at a given time, but to become one requires a great feat or other major contributions to the tribe.
Seers: Few in number, they keep the tribe’s history through an oral tradition, as well as give guidance to those of the tribe who seek it. They advise the High Chief alongside the other Chiefs.
Warriors: Typically the strongest of the tribe with the largest Imar, they are capable fighters with spear, javelin, and occasionally bow.
Scouts: These smaller, faster Imara search for potential feeding spots, as well as clearing paths for the rest of the tribe when traveling.
Foragers: Hunters and gatherers both, these comprise most of the tribe and procure food and water.
Weavers: These Imara typically have the smallest Imar, who help to create clothing and other useful items for day-to-day life.
Armorers: These Imara are responsible for creating simple weapons for the tribe, as well as using the shed skin of the Imar to create scaly armor for Imarin Warriors.
Musicians: Seldom few Imara are ever so gifted in music that they are allowed to simply create music, but from time to time exceptions are made. Imara musicians typically play music for a large portion of the day, helping to motivate and invigorate the rest of the tribe with their daily tasks.
Current Members:
Thun’Tal: High Chief
Current Threads:
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