In the southern part of the Great Continent of Secessia, far beyond the Holy Realm of Torium lies the Southern Tribeland, the place of a thousand tribes. The lands are so filled with unique tribes that, for Caeloni diplomats and merchants, it is nearly impossible nor worthwhile to develop strong social bonds with the people of the land. Therefore, communication and trade between northern kingdoms and the Southern Tribeland are simply not attempted at any significant rate.
As one scholar noted, “the Southern Tribes of Secessia may seem as numerous and similar to one another as a grains of sand at first glance, but, just like sand, when viewed at their most magnified level, the tribes are as different from one another as possible. It is therefore impertinent to assume that one can simply study the politics, history and social structures of the tribes. If one were to take time to chronicle the most current social landscape of the thousand tribes, it would be obsolete by the time the ink is dry.”
Still, the tribelands hold many mysteries and treasures that only a few cultures have made any progress in uncovering. Not all tribes are war-like, and there are certainly some have done occasional trading with merchants from the North, but the peril of trade is a real threat to anyone who is foolish or brave enough to travel there.
The most important historical facts about the tribelands that concern the kingdoms of Caelon are two things: 1) the First Son came from the South, which would have been the land where the tribes now reside and 2) Wa’rath the Conqueror was himself a chieftain of a very powerful tribe of the Tribelands.
What is not well documented and is a matter of great historical debate is where the tribes originated. While Torian custom holds that the entire world fell under the Fall of Man, when the demons came, there is some anecdotal evidence that some the tribes of the Southern Tribelands may have actually existed prior to the Reclamation.
If this information is true, then Torian dogma must be questioned by any reasonable historian. However, the official stance on this remains that no man was spared from the curse who was living outside of the White Walled City at the time of the Fall of Man. Anyone claiming otherwise does so at the risk of speaking heresy. If, as Torian scripture asserts, mankind instantaneously transformed into the demons of old at the speaking of the word, then how could these tribal cultures have retained their humanity?
Perhaps one day we will understand the truth, but the fact remains that no tribe has yet been found that will reliably tell the history of the land. Each of them have their own myths and legends that explains the natural phenomenons in the world, and thus, each of them is the unreliable narrator of their own history. It is therefore a puzzle that may simply never be solved.
