Clan Ininzikzi

#### Ancient History of the Ininzikzi

One of the first groups to split of from Zanor's pilgrimage, the founders of Clan Ininzikzi, or the Hill-Splitters, were comprised of the more adventurous elements of the Zami'ite humans who, whilst still reverent towards Zanor and her kraal, were anxious to find a land of their own to roam and explore. They headed east in great number, and soon ran into the Marazaki river - whilst considering how to cross the wide, fast-flowing body of water, they met a Marazan lenk hunting party, an encounter which, due to difficulties in communication between the two sides, soon devolved into a series of skirmishes between the groups.

Eventually, Tlatoni Yolitaca, the ambitious chief of a large lenk tribe recently expelled from Atl'alchanto, approached the Zami'ites with only some hastily learned scraps of their Zamish and a lot of bravado on his side, and managed to cut a deal - he would negotiate amongst the lenks to allow the humans passage across the river, if they agreed to then escort him and his tribe into the continent beyond. The humans agreed, and Yolitaca, threatening to side with the humans and ignite civil war amongst the tribes, managed to persuade the other lenks to let him and them go peacefully, though not without leaving bad blood between the two groups of lenks that has yet to fade to this day.

The Ininzikzi and their unexpected lenk allies followed the Kremisi river inland, soon coming upon the green hills and vast deciduous forests of inner Nivena, where they replenished their supplies manyfold and began attempting to catch the wild horses native to the subcontinent - meanwhile, the lenks split off and, following ancient legend amongst their kind, travelled south, hopping between the numerous rivers of the green land until eventually they came across the Daias river, which they inhabit to the present day. The two groups would profit heavily off the verdant land in the following centuries, the Ininzikzi growing to a diverse, decentralised clan roaming over much of the continent, whilst the lenks of the Daias built cities on the Daia Straits at the river's head and grew to rival the combined tribes of the Marazaki in numbers.

#### Post-Crossing History

Although they never truly settled, the Ininzikzi became steadily less nomadic as time progressed, some adopting agricultural techniques of the neighbouring Odarezi whilst others merely came upon such excellent grazing land and hunting grounds that they could comfortably stay put for decades without fear of exhausting the local resources. As well as exploiting the resources of the surface, the clan became famous (and gamed their moniker) for mining and quarrying the hilly lands - though their mines never stretched deep, there was so much surface metal they managed to develop metal tools and weapons, with surplus to export, without ever settling into regular mining operations.

Much of the forging work was performed by the Daians, who in exchange for a steady supply of fine stone to build with and metals to work panned gold and fished for their human trading partners (it was partially this profitable trading relationship that caused the Daian lenks to develop along the mercantile lines they did). The Ininzikzi were for a great length of time a hale and hearty people, indisputably the strongest clan amongst the Zami'ites, and thus their continued dominance over the rich continent went undisputed (the other major inhabitants, the elves of Neldënórë, developed a grudging respect and eventually a trade agreement with the Ininzikzi along similar lines to the Daians after the firm boundaries of Thirdsister were settled between the two groups).

The first signs of trouble came with the arrival of Mortanite settlers in north Nivena, around the year 450 AL; initially judging the subcontinent over the Rend to be broadly uninhabited, these settlers were only lightly armed and thus little prepared for the powerful Zami'ite clan, which happened upon them a few weeks after their landing, and they began to set up preliminary coastal settlements. The Ininzikzi, more fascinated by the odd-looking humans with their strange tongue, clothes and architecture, did not react violently, allowing the settlers to complete the construction of a few northern cities and towns but preventing them from advancing further into the continent, whilst exchanging knowledge, first of their respective tongues and then histories and mythologies; it is through this early contact that the two sundered human peoples learned to converse once again.

When Tor Morta'an fell, the easternmost of these northern territories fell under the control of Clovayn, while Narymet gained those of the west - while both kingdoms wished to advance further into green Nivena, neither had the strength individually to challenge the Ininzikzi, and so this precarious relationship held, with only minor disruptions, for the next 350 years.

#### The Second Crusade and Decline of the Clan

In the year 815 AL, however, following numerous failed attempts to negotiate the further transferal of land and to convert the Ininzikzi *en masse*, the Azurite Church declared the Second Crusade for Nivena; over the next few decades, army after army of spear-and-pitchfork-wielding peasants, bow-slinging men-at-arms and armoured knights crossed the Rend and poured every which way into the continent. The Ininzikzi horseriders were initially taken totally by surprise - although they were great in number and fairly well-armed with their mining operations and seasoned hunting parties, they were also unused to field combat or true combat in general, and too decentralised initially to organise a response; before they could the crusading armies had taken the whole north-west of the continent and were encamping and constructing fortresses using co-opted Ininzikzi quarries.

The clanfolk regrouped, and begun to push back the invaders in the east - however, the northern territory cities, once welcoming trade posts and sources of wonder for the Ininzikzi, now kept their enemies well-supplied and even assisted them in constructing new forts, which the Zami'ites simply did not have the food stores to besiege due to their nomadic lifestyle. Gradually, over the course of a lengthy war of attrition, the Ininzikzi were pushed out of the north, and then divided in twain after a brilliant, brutal offensive by the Knights Valiant through the centre of the subcontinent.

As losses mounted on both sides and more of their most valuable foraging land was captured, attempts were made by the Ininzikzi to emulate the fighting style of their enemy - old mines were expanded and fortified, becoming large underground citadels with multiple exits called Onomestthi from which the embattled clansfolk would ride out and raid nearby enemy camps. Although this tactic was employed too late to save their civilisation, it presented a significant problem for the crusading forces, stretched thin as they were - eventually, the Church decided to negotiate the surrender of the large pockets of clans warriors in disputed land, promising them significant pockets of Nivena in exchange for their conversion and allowing settlers access to the inner subcontinent.

Naturally, this guarantee was quickly watered down following the grudging surrender or the Ininzikzi, with settlers encroaching well into the promised lands identified by the treaty, and slowly the native Zami'ites of Nivena were dispersed and incorporated into the crusader kingdoms founded on the continent, particularly Catria and Lumina where they were at least granted near-equal citizenship and areas of common land on which to graze cattle.

#### Subjugation, Schism, and Survival

The Second Crusade more-or-less ended Clan Ininzikzi as an organised, recognised people, but their descendants continue to have a significant impact within the states of Nivena. Over the following years, many of the eastern Ininzikzi adapted well to the settled life they were forced into, and begun to rise in prominence within the kingdom of Lumina, which for its part mostly treated the conquered people as equals under the law - House Delezir, the current ruling house of the kingdom, is heavily descended from an Ininzikzi noble family, and its ascension to the Luminant Throne did much to reconcile the former nomads with their colonial invaders.

In Catria, however, the heathen practices and nomadic lifestyle stubbornly preserved by the majority of the Ininzikzi there led to them remaining a permanent outgroup, often viewed as more loyal to the neighbouring Odarezi than the kingdoms that ruled them. This meant that, along with the Odarezi, this group was particularly supportive of the Zamexite invasion of 1096, and contributed to Catria's speedy defeat in that war. Under the Zamexites, for nearly a century the Ininzikzi of the west were allowed to resurrect their vanished lifestyle in microcosm, riding across vast stretches of the continent foraging supplies, or more often terrorising the villages they came upon when none were in easy reach and thus acting as a helpful extension of the Kôgan's will to keep the countryside in line. A group of them were even formed into an elite guard for the Kôgan due to their fierce loyalty, the Black Shepherds, so named for their ability to corral humans like cattle with their fast mounts, long spears and quick-firing bows.

After the collapse of Zor Zamexi, the western Ininzikzi suffered greatly at the hands of the victorious Valiant Empire, as they suffer to this day - those who fought directly under the Kôgan were executed on the spot, while other alleged collaborators were stripped of their jobs, homes and possessions and forced outside the walls of the cities they called home, even as the Ininzikzi of the east were protected by Luminan authorities and have mostly retained their status under the empire. This has driven scores of both former warriors and civilian clansfolk to join the Sons of Zamiel, and they most likely make up the bulk of its rank-and-file - their ongoing partisan effort continues to inspire yet further retribution from Calicosi and Imperial authorities against the Zami'ite civilian population in the west. For this reason, the Myridea Valley and the Calico Hills continue to be the most restless and lawless lands of the empire, while the Shattered Coast is the most settled and peaceful outside Valia.