The Frontier is built upon the legends that permeate the land and the stories of folk heroes are well trodden ground. Outlaws, lawmen and adventurers have etched their name, just as the folk heroes of the kamuni dominate their culture.
For those men and women who’re celebrated among the kamuni are called ishran - champions who have performed feats of bravery, guile or deeds that are worth remembering. Their stories have been preserved in the songs of the clans as inspiration and warning.
Kiasha
Kamuni history is scarred with difficulty and fighting to preserve their way of life. When the frontiersmen arrived, the land was slowly taken from them until it spilt over into war and rebellion. Three uprisings have happened, with the kamuni losing a part of themselves after each upheaval.
But the warriors who fought to protect their tribes live on and a name that’s celebrated from the Second Uprising is Kiasha. The daughter of a clan chieftain, she fought during the Battle In The Valley, a place that has since become known as The Valley of Sorrows.
Known for her beauty and fighting prowess, Kiasha slayed thirty frontiersmen soldiers before succumbing to wounds.
Synio
Long before the frontiersmen came, long before the order of Questers began, kamuni needed to survive in a land of monsters. To do that, hunters were chosen from their tribes and given weapons infused with the magic of their people. These hunters protected the tribe against the monsters and dark creatures that would prey upon them.
One of the most famous hunters was Synio, who carried a mystical spear made to kill demons. At a time when the veil between worlds was thin, Synio stood guard to defend against the demons that slipped through the cracks.
He rose to become the chief of his clan and his spear was passed down through his children until it was lost or stolen. The Spear of Synio remains one of the most coveted and powerful weapons in The Frontier.
Lygos and Kairen
When remembering their ancestors, kamuni think of The Spirit Road, a pathway and plane their spirits will roam for eternity. To commune with their ancestors, kamuni take part in rituals that let them see brief glimpses into The Spirit Road, but they must never linger, for only the dead may walk on the plane.
Two brothers, Lygos and Kairen, defied this taboo. Lygos, the elder brother and leader of the clan had watched his wife Asani die from poison and he couldn’t live without her. Kairen, his younger brother and the future chief, couldn’t stand to see Lygos lose himself to grief and so they called on the magic of their people to forge two knives to help them walk between worlds - The Blood Blades, formed from their own essence.
One dagger could open a gateway into The Spirit Road and the other could keep Lygos and Kairen whole. They ventured into the plane and brought Asani back. All was well for a time, until The Blood Blades started to drive the brothers insane.
In a fit of madness, Lygos murdered his wife and brother with his Blade, dooming them to be cut off from their ancestors and roam The Frontier as twisted spirits. Regretting his actions, Lygos arranged for the Blood Blades to be sealed away. But not before taking his life with his own blade and joining Kairen and Asani in their fates.
The story of the brothers is a cautionary tale. A story that even ishran are fallible and prone to jealousy, pride and arrogance. But they are remembered all the same.
Itsano
Music is a sacred pillar of kamuni culture and the purest representation of that are battle conductors. A name synonymous with battle conductors is Itsano, a kamuni known to walk his own path and try to broker peace between his people and the frontiersmen where he could.
He was also known to be a travelling companion of the Quester Clay McNab, also known as The Hammer of The Witches. Their friendship was a peculiar one, exactly the kind of material troubadors live to sing about.