The Landstradrus Tribe: A Guide

The Landstradrus Tribe: A Guide
W-W-Who goes there? State your b-b-business or I’ll c-c-call for help! Ahh! Don’t come any c-c-closer, you – you hooligan! You s-s-smell of Tortrombdo a-a-and Thundundra too! Guards! Hurry, a-a-arrest these travelers!
[Relax, Johan, there is no need to fret. These people are merely weary from walking across the glacier and wish to rest in our humble caves; I can read it in their minds as easily as I am speaking in your brain waves now. Go, calm yourself in the mud pools; I will lead them through our home.]
A-A-Adam?! Uh, s-s-sure, I’ll go now. Good l-l-luck…
[I do not need luck; I have Lord Terrarth’s blessing on my side. Hello, pilgrims. My name is Adam the Faithful, and I am the High Priest of Terra here in Landstradrus. That anxious little mud fish you just met was Johan the Nervous – appropriately named, that one, afflicted with a serious case of the stutters ever since he was a tadpole – and he is the Chronicler of our tribe. Oh? You have met the other Chroniclers? Then that makes my job far easier! Come, follow me; I shall tell you about our home so you can see how we are different from those ruffians who tussle across the ice…]
Basic Information: [Let me first explain where exactly you are: in short, you have stumbled into one of our mountain caves. Just to the north of the icy lands of Tortrombdo, our mountain rides low to the ground with various openings carved into the sides. Through long years of tireless work, we have connected each of these caves, creating long tunnels that intersect at the central hub where our tribe leader and co-leader live. We have even dug passages that go deep into the earth’s crust to provide a source of heat during the colder months, along with ones that pierce the ceiling, allowing the sky to peep down into our enclosed quarters.]
History: [Our tribe’s story begins with the birth of Kasper the Patient, a Gigalith who was formed out of the very rocks you walk on. He saw the potential of this earthen home, realized what kind of life could be supported in this mountain, and decided to form a village. But he had to wait for his villagers to form: so wait he did, sitting for millennia until his Pokémon were pressured into existence. By the time they were, however, Lagertha the Wise and Einar the Warrior had already arrived and begun fighting for their territory, and Kasper the Patient had no choice but to defend his land against the barbarians knocking on his doorstep.]
Religion: [I say ‘no choice’ because we are first and foremost a peaceful tribe… although that is unfortunately changing thanks to Ragnar’s rule… But I will discuss that later; allow me to tell you of our Lord Terrarth, the being that has decreed that we be compassionate to all, saints and sinners alike. Lord Terrarth is a creature of immense strength and charisma, usually taking the form of a bear so He might relate to us better. Even though He has the ability to crush us with a simple stop of His feet, He instead has chosen us to represent His will in this dark world, to act as His messengers. This is understandably hard to do when your neighbors insist on being… uncooperative… but that is why the priests exist: to reveal Lord Terrarth’s bidding.]
Culture: [As I have made clear, we are a peaceful community… usually. When Ragnar the Brute became our leader, we began to tilt towards more unethical measures (much to my displeasure), but the fact remains that we are more at ease than Thundundra and Tortrombdo. Welcoming of anyone from the outside, we do not hesitate to make travelers feel at home… so long as they work to make the tribe better. Because we do not rush headlong into battle every day, we have more time for pleasant forms of activity; storytelling, theater performances, and musical concerts are the first that come to mind.]
Naming System: [Hmm, I for one do not agree with our current naming system: I feel it is uncivilized to depend upon one aspect of a Pokémon’s life to determine their life-long name. But still, I too must bend to this naming system, and like the other tribes, our villagers are given monikers that describe them in one way or another. At least I got something that fit me well – ‘the Faithful’ certainly describes me to a tee – but I would like to see a better, more Terrarth-approved type of system employed instead. What would that be? I shall have to pray in order to determine that…]
Common Species: [Our villagers are primarily Rock, Ground, and Steel types; after all, we are surrounded by earth, and most of our villagers simply fall out of the wall, birthed to this world from Mother Earth herself. There are, of course, Psychic types as well: but they are few and far between, and they are instantly placed under my care, taught to be a priest of Lord Terrarth. We believe that the Psychic among us has a better chance to communicate to our God directly, their stronger and more developed minds able to comprehend the messages and wills of our Lord, and thus far our theory has been proven correct. As for those who come to our tribe, we call them ‘non-elementals,’ and they are given various jobs to assist the tribe, depending on their skills. Some dig in the tunnels alongside the miners; others hunt for food outside the mountain, a dangerous job with Thundundra and Tortrombdo about; and some help to ‘expand the tribe’s numbers,’ allowed to ‘visit’ the priests so our people might grow stronger. Do not worry, they do these tasks willingly – anything to assist the tribe who gave them shelter.]]
Economy: [Money is of no issue to us; it is the root of all evil, as you know, and the less temptation we can have, the better.]
Food: [Again, not a problem. Our people are made of rock, pressurized or otherwise, and eating for us is simply absorbing nutrients in the soil around us. The Psychics in our midst have more needs to fill, but usually soaking in the sunlight underneath the holes we’ve dug in the ceiling will satisfy them in no time. And the non-elementals eat whatever food the hunters manage to gather throughout the day.]
Architecture: [Pockets in the earthen walls provide homes for our tribe members. Those more “important” members of our community will create houses of packed mud to stand in the central hub of our village. As for the priests, we live in a secluded area of the caves, far away from the main village so that we may focus on our worship more clearly. Only I as the High Priest make the trip to the village proper to discuss spiritual matters with our leader.]
Fashion: [… What manner of devilry is ‘fashion’? Clothing? Only the vainest amongst us would be concerned about this. The only manner of clothes that is worn by our community is by the priests: I, for example, wear this collar bestowed with Lord Terrarth’s colors of brown and orange, and the priests in training wear medallions of the same colors until they are approved to become full-fledged members of the order.]
Ceremonies: [I make it seem that we are – pardon the expression – sticks in the mud, do I not? Well, we like to express ourselves in creative manners like anyone else. Plays about the legends of Terrarth and great feats of our ancestors are preformed on a monthly basis, primarily to teach the young of our village about our past. We also perform a number of musical numbers; some members of our tribe are very skilled at percussion instruments, as well as the horn and lute. The ceremony that I love the most is the annual Earth Praise, where the entire village gathers in the central hub to be cleansed of their sins and I perform a blessing bestowed upon me by Lord Terrarth Himself. It is good to see their contrite faces when they come before their mighty God.]
Important Figures:
-Ragnar the Brute, Recently Deceased Leader: A Shiny Rhyperior. Ability: Solid Rock. Moves: Drill Run, Hammer Arm, Dragon Rush, Dig.
[Our leader was… a difficult ‘mon. Stubborn and proud, he didn’t listen to my placations for peace, and although I prayed for him daily, it seems they were not enough as Ragnar has been murdered by Thundundra tribe members in our own mountain stronghold. My own opinions on the ‘mon aside, this unprovoked attack must be avenged. I will make sure that happens.]
-Vincent the Stoic, Interim Leader: An Aggron. Ability: Heavy Metal. Moves: Heavy Slam, Dragon Claw, Dig, Hyper Beam, Iron Defense, Block.
[Our co-leader – now interim leader – on the other hand is much more reasonable. Very good head on his shoulders, quite serious and clever; I could trust him to provide a voice of reality for our rash leader. Now that Ragnar is gone, he has evolved into an Aggron to stand tall for our tribe.]
-Adam the Faithful, High Priest of Terra: A Claydol. Ability: Levitate. Moves: AncientPower, Cosmic Power, Psyshock, Gyro Ball, Skill Swap.
[This is me, obviously… Have you noticed that almost all of our tribe members know Dig? This is because everyone must contribute to digging the tunnels, with the exception of the priests.]
-Johan the Nervous, Chronicler: A Stunfisk. Ability: Static. Moves: Dig, Endure, Discharge, Sludge Wave.
[Remember that jittery fellow from before? Yes, I for one am surprised he became our Chronicler, but he has done a good job so far (even with no hands). I suspect that he uses his electricity to write out his messages and notes – I have heard many a spark crackling from his room late at night – and his stutters melt away whenever we can convince him to sing at the concerts.]
-Magnus the Earthen, Heir to the Leadership: A Shiny Sandshrew. Ability: Sand Veil. Moves: Scratch, Dig, Sand Attack, and Flail.
[Magnus is merely an infant, only several days old. As such, he is not ready to rule the Landstradrus Tribe and Vincent will rule in his place until he is old enough. In the meantime, I shall guide him in his studies myself in order to prepare him for his future role in society; he appears to be quite a capable child, despite being so young, and I am sure he will be a capable ruler.]
-Tobias the Informative, Miner: A Diggersby. Ability: Cheek Pouch. Moves: Dig, Hammer Arm, Bulldoze, Rock Slide
[This rabbit does not know when to stop – and I mean that both in regards to his work and his manner of speaking. Tobias is a nice fellow, eager to lend a helping hand to his fellow ‘mon, as well as a confident and staunch believer in Lord Terrarth. As the non-official head of the miners who dig our tunnels deep in the mountain, Tobias takes his job seriously and will report any and all infraction to the leader of the Tribe (in this case Vincent as Magnus is too young to deal with such trifles).]
-Arnora the Lucky, Doctor: A Cherrim. Ability: Flower Gift. Moves: Heal Pulse, Lucky Chant, Dazzling Gleam, Sunny Day
[You will notice: Arnora is not of our usual species-typing. And you would be correct: she came to our tribe many moons ago, seeking shelter from the cold with her petals tucked tight. Once we warmed her up, she revealed herself to be a gifted healer, able to mend any wound with a flicker of her flowers. As such, she was given the surname ‘the Lucky’ – as she was lucky to live amongst the higher members of our society – and allowed to practice her doctoring among the people. Kind girl, if a little naïve to the plights of the non-elementals; she does not yet understand Lord Terrarth’s methods.]
-Ymir the Rock, Farmer: A Crustle. Ability: Sturdy. Moves: Sand Tomb, Dig, Rock Wrecker, X-Scissor
[Our primary source of food are the rocks that grow all around us, and farmers like Ymir are responsible for digging out that food source and giving it to the people. Ymir is one of our oldest members of the tribe, but he has been the leader of the farmers’ union for as long as he can remember (which is a long time as his mind is a steel trap). He is one of my favorite pupils, always asking me questions of the faith-nature whenever I visit the camp proper; should he ever have children this late in life, he would make a fine example.]
-Grimolfr the Terror, Captain of the Keeper of the Keys: A Klefki. Ability: Prankster. Moves: Fairy Lock, Flash Cannon, Crafty Shield, Foul Play, Iron Defense, Play Rough
[Because of our former leader’s pension for fighting, I had had no choice but to employ a kind of soldier to fight for peace: the Keeper of the Keys, an elite fighting force that can cut through opponents like butter. The current captain of these warriors is Grimolfr the Terror… and I am sure you can presume how he obtained that name… ‘Grim,’ as he is called amongst his platoon, is a surprisingly cheerful ‘mon, given his occupation. I suspect he takes great pleasure in taking the lives of other ‘mons, a bit more devilish than I would like as an agent of ultimate peace, and yet he is absolutely loyal to the cause (blindly, I might add), and really, what more could I want from a Klefki whose nature it is to be a trickster? None who come against him have survived – and I believe his last body count was well over a hundred, must be getting close to two hundred now – so his enemies best take him seriously.]
-Malena, Non-Elemental: A Pyroar. Ability: Rivalry. Moves: Flamethrower, Echoed Voice, Dig, Noble Roar
[Oh, yes, her. Malena’s story is a sad one. She too came to our tribe, looking for help, and after fulfilling her duty to the tribe, she had a daughter named Runa. They had been happy for awhile, but then Runa snuck into the priests’ chambers and killed her father, Daniel the Noble, a fine and loyal priest. As a result, we had no choice but to banish her from the tribe, a mere child… and Malena has been inconsolable since. She spends her days moping in her cave, singing and sobbing softly to herself. Only one ‘mon, a Leafeon named Vivian, visits her, but all others keep their distance.]
Rival Tribes: [… I don’t like calling them our rivals. The Thundundra and Tortrombdo are merely lost souls, wandering in their pagan religions without any clue to their hell-bent paths. If we could only save them, then perhaps we could all live in peace and harmony with Lord Terrarth and His followers…
Well, I shall leave you now. Over there are our famous mud pools, perfect for soaking away your aches and pains, and those of you who are part or all Psychic may come with me to become priests of Terra, should you desire. I will not force it upon you… unless you decide to stay with us, of course, then you must…
May your path always be on good earth; blessings upon you!]
Signed,
Adam the Faithful
High Priest of Terra for Landstradrus
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Guide written by: Post-Lit
Original post: The Landstradrus Tribe: A Guide
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