Bhakkari Tribelands

A forested region inhabited by many tribes of druidic humans, soul-bonding themselves to aspects of nature within the lands in order to survive their neighbors. The greater the bond the more power gained from it, eventually granting the human access to primal magics and transformations related to their bond. (Therianthropes, Elemental Mages, Herbomancy, etc.)

The Bhakkari must protect the totem of nature they are bound to. If they bind themselves to a flame they must prevent that flame being extinguished, their animal being killed, their plant dying, their boulder crumbling, etc. If their totem is destroyed their power is lost and a part of their soul lost with it, leaving them in a permanent state of intense depression and memory loss.

## History

The forest of the Bhakkari have been inhabited for millennia. The mild and peaceful forest of the region, rich in hunting animals and wild fruit trees, make for a very attractive spot for the populations near it, especially taking into account the nightmarish bogs of the north and the desserts and badlands of the west and south. This made the region a hotly contested place for nomadic tribes that moved from said areas to the forest, which led to hundreds of years of constant fighting. Over time, though, many of the tribes ended up joining together through marriages and conquests, until a near singular culture was born: the Bhakkari.

The Bhakkari were the dominant culture in the area, never really unifying into a singular nation, preferring to keep their nomadic ways. They learned how to live in harmony with the forest, using its energies to protect it from the expanding influence of the creatures of the northern bogs and swamps. Many of the monstrous beasts from the swamps tried to enter the Bhakkari forest in search for easy prey, threatening to destroy the natural equilibrium of the area. As such, the Bhakkari became great hunters, learning how to deal with every single monster that crossed the borders. However, the attacks began increasing in intensity over time, as if some force inside the swamps was pushing the abominations out. This is when the Khenomeric Empire first arrived to the region. The Khenomeric were a powerful empire based in magics, and quickly bonded with the Bhakkari over their mystical knowledge, though the Bhakkari never took the powers of the forest as far as the Khenomeri did with their magics. The region was also an important stepping stone for further expansion to the west and north of the continent, so the Khenomeric began establishing settlements and outposts in the area.

The khenomeri diplomats managed to convince the majority of Bhakkari tribes to join the empire willingly and peacefully, in exchange of help protecting the forest from the creatures up north. In 822 BBE, the khenomeric province of Bhakkarilands was born. It mostly took care of its own business, unlike the many other provinces in the empire that needed constant coaxing and pressure from the royal authorities (and later the Magoclergy) to keep their allegiance. Together, the Bhakkari and the Khenomeric army managed to push back the monsters from the swamps and bogs, and even managed to create fortresses, walls and posts in the swamps to keep a constant eye in the region. The khenomeri even manage to use their magical knowledge and their engineering to drain many of the swamps near the Bhakkarilands, allowing the mild forest to expand.

However, this was not going to last. After the Battle of Empires and the fall of the Magoclergy, the Bhakkarilands province was left more and more to its own destiny. The Bhakkari had their own magic at a time where magical powers were becoming more unpopular than ever in the previously highly magical Khenomeric Empire. This meant that the help that could arrive from the empire was in the form of foot soldiers, instead of the magical agents that had helped to keep the swamp monsters at bay. This meant that the swamps slowly retook the spaces previously gained by the forest, until they got back to their original extension. The chance of further expansion gone, the Khenomeric Empire needed to protect what they already had, and as such, even that military aid from the empire dried up. Eventually, the costs of maintaining the province was more than what the Khenomeric administration could afford, and it was decided that they needed to let the region go. The Bhakkarilands became independent once again, though the bonds between the Khenomeric Empire and the Bhakkari never really disappeared.

In 2.426 ABE, the bogs and swamps entered in a period of turmoil. The region had been ruled by swamp ogres for a very long time, after they had seemingly gained their independence from the eldritch being living in the deepest part of the bog. However, this was seemingly an illusion, as the forces of the Bog Witch retook the swamps in but a few years, forcing tens of thousands of ogres outside of the bogs. The Bhakkari forest was suddenly invaded by an unremitting tide of ogres, and not even the magical powers of the bhakkari druids were enough to slow them down. The Khenomeric Empire sent military aid once again to the region to keep the tide from crossing to the empire, but this was not enough. Eventually, the Bhakkari just gave up, fearing that the war would raze the forest to the ground, and bunkered down in highly protected regions of the forest, letting the ogres advance unimpeded as long as they didn’t damage the forest further. This caused the ogre migration to reach the Khenomeric Empire, which put the entire nation on alert. The ogres would end up being the least of the khenomeri’s concerns, as the contact between the ogres and the gnoll would create a force that would sweep the empire from within. The Bhakkari saw it in horror, but could do nothing to stop it, as the forest was still under siege. By the time the Bhakkari had repelled all ogre forces coming in, the Khenomeric Empire was long gone, and a war against the gnoll was abound.

The Bhakkari had been hardened by war after years of fighting the ogres, but the hordes of gnolls were too much. The forest magic of the Bhakkari took down thousands of gnolls, but still they came. The dead gnoll bodies just ended up creating hyena gnolls that would lurk in the darkest corners of the woods, destroying the fauna of the region and causing havoc upon the Bhakkari’s hunting grounds. The wars with the gnolls reduced the forest to half of its original size by the time the gnolls decided to stop expanding. The Bhakkari haven’t forgotten the loss of the eastern forests, and have sworn vengeance upon the gnoll for the damage caused to the woods and for destroying their khenomeric allies. However, the Bhakkari are still too few in number to act against the ever strengthening Gnoll Empire, and too isolated to contact other nations that wish to see the Gnoll Empire gone.

## Society and culture

The Bhakkari share a lot of aspects from the people who tried to make the forests their home. Their language and ritual writing is a mix between tolbari, kinga and even some elements from the northern swamps. However, since starting their contacts with the khenomeri, they have adopted their language and writing for mundane use, reserving their traditional tongue for ritual and religious affairs. This can also be seen in their art, with a lot of khenomeric influence mixed in with their adoration of the forest.

The Bhakkari are nomadic hunter-gatherers, organized in tribal groups. Initially they formed smaller and more scattered groups, but the khenomeric influence made them congregate in bigger groups that get in contact with each other more frequently. The leaders of the groups are the druids, the oldest and more magically predisposed of the tribes. They are the ones who know how to commune with the forests and its spirits, and as such, they have a tremendous importance for the tribes. They decide the areas the tribe will occupy at certain times, the amount of foods they can take from each place to not disturb the equilibrium of the forest, they lead the praying to the forest spirits and to their ancestors, and they officiate the weddings between the youths. The magic of the druids is an ancient one, possibly before the ones used in the Khenomeric Empire, and it revolves near entirely around using the forest energies. The druids can sense the life energy of all living beings, and can use it for their ends. However, they are very sparse with it, since abusing it could mean disaster for the tapped plants and animals. The Bhakkari paint their ancient language all around the forest: rocks, caves, trees, even some wild animals will show their markings, shinning in the dark through mystical energies. Each Bhakkari tribe is sworn to defend one aspect of the forest, linking their own souls to it as the ultimate show of devotion. That allows them to tap into their energies, creating a symbiotic relation with the forest that mutually benefits them: the Bhakkari can get to live over multiple centuries like that, free of sickness and the ravages of time, and in exchange, the forest is protected from the monsters that could destroy it.

Below the druids, there is an extensive warrior caste. The strongest men and women of the tribes (but without magical acumen to speak of) are sworn to fight for the forest in the old fashioned way, though blade and blood. The weapons of the Bhakkari are short swords and lances, usually enchanted with magical runes to increase their damage output. Their weapons used to be made out of bronze, but the khenomeri brought to them knowledge of iron smelting, which became the new standard. Most warriors are trained into the ways of stealth, jumping from tree to tree, and hiding in the shadows to hunt down their enemies. After the contacts with the khenomeri, they introduced horses to the Bhakkari culture, which they adopted with relish. The bhakkari have bred a race of slender horses that are capable to gracefully move through the forest, giving the bhakkari warriors a great deal of mobility. They also developed a series of stirrups and saddles made from the enchanted roots of the deepest trees in the forest, which makes them near impossible to dismount. This means that the bhakkari riders are able to freely use their own hands while in battle without fear of holding on. The riders also have runes drawn on the horses, making them stealthier than usual, so that cavalry assaults become even harder to avoid.

Below the warrior cast, we find the hunters and gatherers, which form the foundation of their society. The Bhakkari were taught agriculture by the khenomeri, but it never caught on, unwilling to abandon their nomadic ways. As such, they depend on gathering food from the many fruit trees, fishing in the local ponds or hunting the abundant game in the forest. They do not stay in an area for too long, especially if the tribe is numerous, to avoid consuming the natural resources beyond a certain point.

## Religion

The Bhakkari follow a very animistic faith, praying to the spirits of the forest. The abilities of the Bhakkari druids to sense the life energy of all things means that they can see the flow of the circle of life, when one creature dies and feeds another in an endless circuit that keeps the forest going forever. The Bhakkari have plenty of rituals relating to the celebration of life, thanking their ancestors for every new birth within the tribes, or every disease cured. They also mourn death with dignity, seeing as the spirits never really leave the forest, but instead become one with it. As part of their cult to the forest, many individuals will dedicate themselves to take care of a singular aspect of the forest, becoming one with it through complex meditation and rituals. This allows them to sip into the natural energies of whatever they are protecting, increasing their strength and magic as long as they are near it. The defenders are also marked with hundreds of different runic symbols, meant to remind them of their duties and to help synchronizing with the forest.

## Foreign relations

The Bhakkari tribes are in an area that has been under attack for centuries, and as such, they have become very used to fighting their neighbors. The tolbari and kinga tribes have tried to take over the forest, but over time, their attempts simply fizzled out, and now relations are relatively decent. The bhakkari recognize that the biggest threat to the forest is the trickling of monsters and abominations that cross the borders of the bogs. The swamps and bogs of central Giantstep house an unimaginable number of horrific abominations, many of which could destroy the forest if they ever fully settled in there. As such, it is the sworn duty of the Bhakkari to hunt down every single monster that crosses from the swamp. This can range from mindless beasts to tribal fey to nomadic ogres; they are tasked to stop them all.

This was done quite successfully up until the great ogre migration after their defeat at the hands of the Bog Witch. The Bhakkari were overwhelmed, being unable to stop so many ogres at once, even with the mobilization of every single tribe and warrior, not to mention the khenomeric armies. They had to take the difficult choice of opening certain areas of the forest to trick the ogres into crossing them so that they would go away as quick as possible and causing as little damage as possible. And yet all of this was nothing compared to the damages they suffered at the hands of the gnoll.

The gnoll were an enemy unlike nothing they had seen before. Their numbers dwarfed those of the ogres, and even when killed they were still dangerous, as the maggots and hyena gnolls were a threat to the ecosystem, depopulating entire areas of the forest. The Bhakkari were forced to abandoned the southeastern part of the forest, which is now infested by gnoll, and the northern areas are frequently targeted by gnoll raids or by wild hyena gnolls. For this, and for the destruction of their traditional ally, the Khenomeric Empire, the Bhakkari have sworn an oath of eternal hatred and vengeance upon the gnoll, not resting until the entire race has been wiped out from Giantstep. Many skulls and bones of gnolls cover the trees of the Bhakkari forest, as both a warning and an eternal reminding of their task. They have also sworn to retake the rest of their forest, cleaning it from the presence of gnolls. However, the chances of successfully retaking the forest are slim to none, as their numbers are few in comparison to the teeming masses of the gnoll, and their geographical position means they can access very few allies to compensate.