The Kol-Mak

The Kol-Mak are a new and warlike tribe of technologically primitive bandits, pirates, and smugglers inhabiting the former corporate mining colony of Zone 16½. They are lead by Gormaz Skigorsh Kol-Mak, the current warlord of the tribe.

## History

The Kol-Mak originated from several small tribes native to Zone 11, Zone 15, and Zone 16. Largely Speaking, these tribes were communities that have existed since the Beginning Times, and survived off what they could forage, farm, and eventually scavenge off the battlefields of the War of Gods.

After the War of Gods concluded, much of the farmable land bountiful forests the tribes survived off of were destroyed, and formerly peaceful tribes began turning to more aggressive and violent means to survive. Raids on other tribes and hijacking passing cargo transports became common place. These raids never really expanded beyond their local sphere of influence, as The Crandis Federation provided protection to many of the more high-value cities in the Northern Continent. It was during this time though that one of the more influential tribes, the Kol-Maks, began recruiting more and more neighboring tribes, and eventually became the largest community inhabiting the regions, with various settlements across the southern portion of the Northern Continent. Once The Crunch occurred, however, The Crandis Federation was no longer able to effectively provide protection to the high value targets, and in the chaos of the situation the Kol-Mak thrived, and profited greatly.

### Zone 16½ (Sebogrova)

Eventually, new and powerful warlord rose through the ranks of the Kol-Mak. His name was Gormaz Skigorsh Kol-Mak, and he had a grand vision for his people. He vowed to claim a home for them, where they could unite and prosper as one and no longer live in disconnected communities across the Northern Continent. His target was Zone 16½, a corporate mining colony owned by the Digg Bigg Mining Corporation (DB) that extracted and processed Zerium ore.

Gormaz led a small team of cutthroats into the facility, using a stolen DB cargo hover-barge loaded with hidden explosives. Once they were able to get the barge into the transport bay, they discreetly left the barge and sneaked into the mining grounds. Gormaz then detonated the explosives remotely, creating a diversion for their attack. Gormaz signaled the rest of his warband of roughly 1,000 men to storm the colony and wipe out everyone and everything that stood in their way.

The Kol-Mak seized Zone 16½, and spent the following months fending off DB counterattacks. But they held their ground, and the Digg Bigg Mining Corporation eventually gave up on the colony, deeming it too costly to reclaim. The Kol-Mak celebrated their victory, and began to settle the island. They named it Sebogrova, after a deity in their folklore (Sebog). They transformed the former mining facility into a fortress, and converted the mine shafts, shipping containers, and habitation modules into minor villages, businesses, and homes. The island had become the home of the Kol-Mak people, who used it as a base to raid nearby settlements such as Neo Miami, New Crunk City, Los Angelocos, and the border towns of Sky Texas. They would do this with modified hover transports of the old facility, and built a fleet of flying warships and speeders that terrorized the lands to this day.

## Trivia

* The Kol-Mak people are incredibly tribalistic, and there is a heavily enforced social caste system in place. Only those who have been on the most raids, acquired the most tech for the tribe, or organized the most successful and profitable heists have any real social standing.
* The Kol-Mak believe that technological advancement is the obligation of the weak, and the strong have the obligation to take it from them. They believe there is no honor in research. It is a point of pride to take from the cities and those who bring back new and useful technology for the tribe are held in great regard.
* There are usually designated members of warbands known as "Tech Hunters" who are trained to recognize and seize the most valuable technological resources without damaging them. Particularly computers, power cores, and anything with flying capacity.
* The Kol-Mak are heavily distrustful of outsiders, but understand they require them for supplies when convenient to trade, as well as providing gigs for their services. On Sebogrova outsiders are allowed only in designated ports without permission form the warlord himself, and any outsider found outside of these ports are usually captured.