The Yentu Tribes

As Norga-Krangrel has re-emerged as a power in the Young Kingdoms, all eyes have been on Korak and Ek'Kasel, whose military might has so far managed to constrain the hobgoblins to the Ek'Ridar River valley . . . or so they think. In fact, aside from successful raids for slaves and treasure into the Young Kingdoms, the burgeoning nation of the Krangi has also sustained its military buildup through attacks on the various peoples of the Elosi, seizure of mines in the desert, and maintenance of a trade route to Shrogga-pravaaz, City of Giants.

The Yentu ("Sojourner") Tribes are a loose confederation of Elosi who have fled the desert to find sanctuary north of the Ek'Ridar. Downriver of the more aggressive Ajin, the Yentu were granted a space to sojourn by the Gurin who reside in the southernmost reaches of the Kalokopeli Forest and who nominally--and with Mayor Gremply Slivers of Prompeldia's blessings--control and patrol those scrublands. They are closely watched (and watched over) by Gurin patrols, who are thought of as guardian spirits by the Yentu, who in return give offerings of the best of their goats and ceremonially invite the Gurin to participate in their festivals.

Each tribe has its own leader, usually the eldest and often a shaman. The Circle of Elders meet among the Pillars of Eridu at each turning of the season to discuss matters common to all, such as the defense of the nascent nation and trade with the outside world. The spokeswoman for the Circle to the outside world is Yasani, a sharp, middle-aged woman of incredible beauty and will (L F4 Ch17).

These lands were formerly occupied by the Brandobians, and before that, by a long-forgotten Elosi kingdom, and before that, the Dejy Empire. Consequently, they are dotted with ruins that run the gamut from rough stone walls to isolated pillars to great statues to the remnants of whole cities. The Yentu mostly avoid these, though some of the Elosi sites have become centers of worship.

The Yentu religion, as with all of the Elosi, is centered around Shardar the Fate Scribe, which many believe to be a hypostasis (personified attribute) of the Creator herself, and when Pelselond is a crescent, they offer bundles of herbs on bonfires in the hopes of obtaining a good fate. The cult of Shodaf the Traveller has always been popular among the nomads, as has Dofededejy the Storm Lord, though worship of the latter has become more lax since coming to these green lands. Some fear that this may bring the god's vengeance down on the tribes.

Stone Guardian Coast

No one knows who built the stone cherubim which guard the western side of the Elos Bay from Baneta to the Ek’Ridar River, though most scholars credit an ancient Dejy kingdom. The Dejy themselves deny this, claiming that the Guardians were old when they first explored these shores. If the Lathlani built these statues or know of their origin, they are silent on the subject.

Whether despite or because they don’t know their origin, the Stone Guardians have become pilgrimage sites for the Elos Dejy, and those of the Young Kingdoms, particularly the Chors of the Benatar River Valley, have been known to travel far to see them. They are particularly sacred to those who serve the Wave Crusher (the water corner of the Mother of the Elements)--water-based spells, such as conjure water elemental and water breathing are quintupled in range, duration, and strength here. When Fulakar attempted to conquer the Elos some five centuries ago, the shaman Manajhi stood atop the centermost Guardian and summoned a great tsunami that drowned the Kalamaran fleet. Ever since, Kalamaran ships have given this coastland a wide berth, preferring to sale out of sight of land.

Balance of the Four Corners

The Assembly of the Four Corners is commonly thought of as a nature cult, worshiping a deified Tellene in her four classical elements: Fire, Earth, Water, and Air, most commonly revered by the barbarous Dejy and Fhokki. However, there is an order whose worship and service to the Mother is far more cosmopolitan and sophisticated, and who have long been the leading force of the Balance in Tellene.

The Balance of the Four Corners originated in Mendarn in the 505th Year of the King in the aftermath of the disastrous destruction of Eastern Brandobia at the hands of Kruk-Ma-Kali. The sage Lannav Orspellin of Hirusven (later renamed Lnanvven in his honor), having lost several brothers and cousins in the east, withdrew to Mt. Brandal for two years to contemplate the reason from Brandobia catastrophic defeat. At the end of this period, he came to believe that the gods had turned on Brandobia because it had forsaken the balance between Law and Chaos, between Good and Evil, and had sought to subject all Tellene to its own Law. Thus, he reasoned, the gods raised up the Krangi to destroy Eastern Brandobia, lest the Brandobian Empire forever subject the world to its rule. Turning to the most ancient faiths of the Brandobians, he found in the Assembly of the Four Corners the teaching of balance in all things, and began gathering a small but wealthy following among the younger, disaffected nobleborn.

His philosophy was at first seen as seditious, and he and his followers were persecuted despite the fact that he predicted, quite correctly, that Kruk-Ma-Kali's kingdom would likewise fall within a dozen years. Lannav the Wise himself was sentenced to death, offered the chance to redeem his honor by falling on his own sword. He refused, but neither did he resist as King Vlendarin ran him through. Vlendarin himself died of choleric a year later, which was seen by the followers of the Balance as divine retribution.

Though later kings of Brandobia did not persecute the Balance as Vlendarin had, the cult nevertheless withdrew from the public eye. Eventually largely forgotten, and aided by some rich patrons, the Balance established a new base of operations in Prompeldia and various assemblies in nearly every major city in Tellene.

The Balance believes in just that: A balance between the four elements, between civilization and the wilderlands, between magic and the mundane, and between light and darkness. To that end, they work against the rise of any one power against its opposite: They have both preserved civilizations and brought them down.

As with other followers of the Mother of the Elements, Fundamentals provides the core canon and order of service for the Balance; however, they seek esoteric truths in it, holding that the "simple" interpretation is only for the common folk. Yulmanna the Sage's famous ten-volume commentary, the Zhakhrae e'Phandaes ("Enlightenments in Fundamentals") is highly sought-after by members of the Balance, though few are blessed to have a full set. One who has mastered the Zhakhrae, a Zhakhir ("Enlightened One") has the ability to cast augury once per day as long as they have access to a pure form of one of the four classical elements, as well as to detect unbalancing influences at will by concentrating for 1 full turn. (Simply being strongly aligned does not make one unbalancing; it takes a particular combination of alignment, power, influence, and perceived future threat to the Balance of powers to appear on a Zhakhir's radar.)

The current High Zhakhir of the Balance is Ilthan (N M11, I16, W15, Ch16), an aging Brandobian who claims no family name, and who lives in a tower east of the lands of the Yetu Tribes, north of Prompeldia. At the top of the tower, he maintains a spark of the Eternal Flame of Elandril, through which he can scry events all over Tellene as well as contact other agents of the Balance. Ilthan is a man of great humor and charisma, but with a ruthless streak a mile wide. Among wizards, he is considered to be the foremost candidate to be the next Master of the Two and Seventy Spells, as well as having composed several spells of his own. He is also a Red Keyholder in the Temple of Enchantments, having similar goals to theirs, and occasionally teaches  in the College of Magic in Bet Rogala, looking for potential disciples for the Balance.