I-inkâbal

The i-Inkâbal (Kú."Northern Invaders") were a people of Southernesse's great east-continent, descending from an alliance of many different various origins who between TA 1079 and 1129 conquered most of the larger coastal settlements of Southernesse and destroyed girt-by-the-sea, forcing much of the original population to flee inland. The Northern invaders themselves originally had no identity as a single people but were ruled by different mighty warlords.In times however the newly conquered domains became united under one single ruler who had conquered his competitors and slowly merged into what became a single culture, the i-Khúr (Kú."Masters"),as they called themselves, though to other peoples they remained to be known as the "Northern Invaders".Even if the empire under one single ruler was a short-lived one and they soon again split up into competing city-states, they still kept up the identity of the "i-Khúr", the Masters", superior to all other, neighbouring cultures, be it Girtfolk or Old One.

Appearance

The i-khúr did not much resembled the inlander's gold settlers, Seabrighters or galley-slaves, being the descendants of Haradrim invaders and conquered girtfolk and so were unrelated to the Old ones.They tended to be of lighter skin, taller and of less heavy built.They used to adorn themselves with complicated facepaint , scarifications and tatoos, yet they had to the most part adapted the more sophisticated style of dressing of the conquered Girtlanders.

Culture

Though savage conquerers the i-khúr had shown to be able administrators of their conquered land and soon became tradesmen and wealthy planters.Their society was deeply patriarchial and mannish prowess was highly praised, yet also their women did take part in armed conflict and, although disadvantaged in inheriting, owning goods or political decisions, were eagerly proud and agressive in demeanor, even towards males.

Language

The i-khúr spoke a dialect of Kiltanaic they had adopted from the conquered Girtfolk, but it was heavily influenced by other languages, notably Saric and Ansith, hinting towards the origins of the original northern invaders ancestors in southwestern Far Harad, the bay of Ormal and the southern Archipelago.Towards outsiders they also used kùrúdfarî.

Religion

Although the northern invaders had brought their own tribal cults with them they could not eradicate the myriad superstitious cults of Girtland, in fact the religious beliefs of the conquered populance proved stronger and so within many generations the descendants of the conquerers and the conquered classes became a single culture with all the older cults including the Blood-drinker, Cat-, Efnysyen-, Elementalist-, Goddess-, Necromantic -, Nisyen-, one-person-, Sun sword-, triple goddess- , Ulmic- and knife-dancing-cults.The invader's older beliefs survived in what was known as the "Island-cult", in which ancestral deities and spirits of war and of the sea were worshiped on island -sanctuaries off the coast.

Warcraft

The Northern invaders had been technologically inferior to the native girtlanders, they had won by sheer numbers and ferocity and even if after their conquest they adapted many of the conquered customs, they yet did not manage to rise to the same technological level the girtlanders had known in their golden age.They still were sufficent smiths, but after the conquest heavier armor and many advanced steel-forging techniques became forgotten.I-Khúr warriors fought lightly clad, only a few used leather or tortoise-shell armour and though they knew of metallurgy, they only used it to forge, quite efficient, longblades and spear and arrow points.

Notes

Largely inspired by: Middle-Earth Down Under: An Antipodean Campaign by Norman Talbot (Department of English, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia) ©1994 Norman Talbot; first published in Other Hands 4.