Tenzin People

In the freezing mountains in the northern Great End's Peaks one can find the **Tenzin people**. These people live a simple life atop the snow covered plateaus where they build lonely villages. They are herders of yak and big goats, species that are larger than their southern relatives owned by the Otamlar. They play a game involving kicking a ball into a net, although many balls fall over the mountains and lost in the valleys below.

Even though they are split among many smaller tribes, the Tenzin Tsenpos (local rulers) build large monasteries that rival even the biggest palaces of many other nations.

The Otamlar consider them harmless pastoralists and monks, and when their paths cross near the centre of the mountain range they either ignore or assist each other.

## History

The Tenzin are cousins to both the Nogar, as well as the plains nomads that once roamed the central prairies and badlands of the Khenomeric Empire. However, culturally they are isolationist, sticking to the rugged northern foothills of the Great End Peaks.

For several millennia, the Khenomeric Empire and its various pretenders have alternated between ignoring the region, demanding tribute from it, and trying to govern it as a province. Although the Tenzin are generally considered pacifists, they regard protecting their secrets as a holy duty, so resist any occupation fiercely, to the point that the cost of occupying their land is far higher than what little taxes and resources can be squeezed from it.

Despite this attitude (or because of it) some mages took refuge here once the Khenomeric Empire began purging its magic users. Without its own magic users, the Khenomeric Empire had little chance of maintaining control of the region as the rocky foothills and low mountains were a disaster for an army that relied mostly on horse cavalry and raw numbers. The Khenomeric Empire still maintained a small garrison and a governor at their provincial capital in the lowlands, but the Tenzin saw the governor as more of an ambassador than a ruler. During periods of strength, Khenomeric patrols frequented some of the more accessible villages, but any attempt to persecute magic users or enter sacred spaces ended badly.

After the Khenomeric Empire collapsed, additional Khenomeric folk arrived in the Tenzin lands, both magic users and non-magic users. To this day, there is a Khenomeric “governor” who speaks on behalf of most of the non-magical Khenomeric people. The Khenomeric magic users and their followers keep to themselves to the point that few folk are aware they exist.

In recent times, the expansion of the Gnoll Empire has caused the Tenzin to become even more isolationist, though the new nearby Drunzig colony has opened it a bit.

## Government

The Tenzin have no central government. Each tribe is semi-nomadic, with one or more villages as a focal point for the herders of the tribe. The tribal leaders are known as tsenpos, which is generally a hereditary position, but the monks and the shamans are also quite powerful and can help balance out a weak leader.

The shamans are the wildest of the Tenzin, often travelling alone to the most extreme locations to commune with the animal spirits. The monks are the opposite, rarely travelling far from their massive monasteries.

The Khenomeric governor serves as a spokesperson for many of those of Khenomeric origin, but has little real power even over those he or she represents.

The Khenomeric magic users, witch covens, and sylvans only answer to themselves, though can be bargained with or asked for aid.

## Economy

Most Tenzin are herders, tending to their large goats and yaks. A few hardy grains, fruits, and vegetables can be grown in the lower valleys, but many tribes rely heavily on meat and milk for nutrients.

The Tenzin are a faithful people, and what little surplus food they have is usually given to the monks, and the laborers that have been maintaining and expanding their sprawling monasteries for millennia.

Although the mountains are relatively rich in minerals, the Tenzin don’t mine much, nor do they bother taxing the few caravans that pass through their borders.

Individual Tenzin sometimes trade rare pelts and horns to foreigners, though this is often done to finance exploration beyond the boundaries of their homeland rather than to receive foreign goods. Certain Tenzin have a long history of travelling the southeast as nomadic merchants (usually to satisfy wanderlust than for material gain). Once they travelled as far south as the south Khenomeric coast, and as far north as Anchovia, but it is now rare to see them outside Nogar and Otamlar due to rise of gnolls and fall of the Khenomeric remnants and Ketlovia.

## Foreign Relations

### **Otamlar**

Although the Otamlar may live in the same biome as the Tenzin, they are very different culturally and rarely interact. Despite this, there is a strong mutual respect, and almost no records of violence between the two peoples. The border between the two is poorly defined, and herders of the two cultures frequently encounter each other without incident. The two are each others main trading partners, but this means little as they produce most of the same goods and most “trades” are really just gift exchanges.

### **Gnoll Empire**

Gnolls sometimes raid the Tenzin for slaves or food, but generally have difficulty navigating the mazes of ravines and deep valleys of the foothills and are avoided by Tenzin herders.

### **Mountain of Ooze and Old Nogar**

Much of the land north and south of the Tenzin is essentially vacant, but the Tenzin have shown little interest in expanding beyond their traditional lands.

### **Novo Porto (Drunzigar)**

The Drunzig colony of Novo Porto has opened up some sea trade routes for Tenzin, though Drunzig aren’t popular within Tenzin itself as many are prospectors, slavers, or explorers looking for Tanzurutu and other rumored treasures in the mountains.

### **Dominion of Leng**

Some trade with Leng bypasses Novo Porto and instead involves Lengi ships visiting one of the handful of tiny fishing villages along the coast. These visits are very secretive, and usually involve trades and visits between the Lengi and Khenomeric magic users living in Tenzin lands, rather than the Tenzin themselves.

## Geography

The Tenzin people occupy the northern half of the Great End Peaks and their associated foothills. Although almost no one lives in the mountains themselves, the foothills and valleys are covered in hardy grasses suitable for grazing, and even a few hardy trees.

However, at least one valley deep in the mountains has an unnaturally warm and moist jungle climate...

## Demographics

### **Humans**

The indigenous humans are known as the Tenzin, or occasionally the Tenzinese. They are related to the Plains Nomads peoples and the people of Nogar. There is also some Khenomeric people of several races that settled here as the Empire collapsed. The most recent group are the Drunzig, but they are mostly merchants and explorers (and occasionally less savoury folk).

### **Sylvan**

The Sylvan are a rare and unusual race found in only a few sacred spaces deep in the mountains. They are likely related to yetis or furred trolls, though have probably been altered by the magic they guard, which appears to be demonic in nature.

### **Yakfolk**

A rare type of beastfolk, they were corrupted long ago by Gogotha and are now considered part demon as well.

## Religion

* **The Balance** – More of a philosophy than a religion, it is a pacifist creed that empathizes harmony with nature, others, and oneself. The majority of the monasteries are built and used by followers of The Balance, and most Tenzin have great respect for their teachings. Most followers of the Balance believe in reincarnation, and see the various gods and other powerful entities as just powerful spirits keeping each other in balance. However, it is not uncommon for followers of other religions to adopt some of the philosophy of The Balance.
* **Animal Spirit Shamans** – These nomadic shamans specialize in placating, befriending, and sometimes commanding the animal spirits of the Great End Peaks. Although not really a true religion, they have enough rites, rituals, and other odd customs to act like one more often than not. Shamans often adopt some of the personality traits of their allied animal spirits, adding even further to their mystique.
* **The Tanzurutu Valley Cult** – Arguably a hybrid of the monks of The Balance, and the Animal Spirit Shamans, this small, secretive group seeks to protect the Valley (which they consider to be sentient) from the outside world. They are officially a faction of The Balance, and have a great deal of influence over the Tenzin people due to their secretive links to the monasteries, but despite organizing themselves similar to other monks, their bizarre rituals and odd relation with the sylvan resembles more the behavior of a shaman. The sap of the massive tree in the Valley can potentially give the monks a number of abilities including extended life, rapid healing, and the ability to communicate with the sylvan.
* **Khenomeric Pantheon** – Some of the Khenomeric folk still worship their old gods (particularly the magic users), though many others have gradually converted to The Balance.
* **Gogotha** – A few sadistic witch covens can be found scattered among the mountains. They are served by the yakfolk, summoned demons, and various herders they have ensnared. They are unpopular with ordinary folk, but often pitch in against foreigners, so are generally left alone.

## Military

The Tenzin are generally a peaceful people with little need for a military. However, they aren’t complete pushovers in battle. Many are skilled archers, others have learned some martial arts from the monks, and others are veterans of the border skirmishes with the gnolls. The Khenomeric mages will sometimes help out in a fight, as do the shamans, and even the witch covens.

Up in the mountains where the main monasteries are (and the Tanzurutu Valley), the Tenzin are at their most dangerous, as few of their enemies are familiar with travelling and fighting in the mountains, and few enemies would come here anyways unless it is to do something the Tenzin consider sacrilegious. Those ambushed in the mountains face triggered avalanches, arrows from seemingly nowhere, and nighttime raids from sylans, witches, summoned animal spirits, or perhaps just murderous herders with kukris.

## Hidden City of Tanzurutu

There's a legend among the southeastern people of Giantstep that there's a city hidden in the Great End Peaks, the city of Tanzurutu. It's said that it houses a gemstone where the secret of immortality lies inside it. Many expeditions have been lost in these mountains, falling to their death or worse, being killed by Sylvans, demonic creatures who are said to be guarding the entrance to Tanzurutu.

Eventually, the legend of Tanzurutu fizzled out, turning into a myth. The Tenzin people, however, always knew that it had existed. The very first (and largest) monastery was built to protect the sole entrance to Tanzurutu. Inside the monastery there's a series of deadly traps and riddles.

Only the most important of the Tenzin monks are able to witness the beauty of Tanzurutu. Those have said that despite the mountains around it being frozen, the valley that houses Tanzurutu has an entirely different climate, being more tropical and green, hence why it's considered an earthly paradise for the Tenzin.

Those monks drink from the sap of a humongous tree in the middle of the city, which gives them the power to communicate with the Sylvan guardians and see glimpses of the future.

Although an ordinary Tenzin will never even set foot in any of these monasteries, it's still a considered a great crime to reveal the location or the existence of Tanzurutu to outsiders.