Skree, the

Skree, the ETHNICITY — A violent people group. The Skree come from the → Kathian Mountains, sometimes referred to as the wilderness of the high county. They are a violent group of people who at various times send campaigns out for the sake of harvesting slaves from the eastern and southern regions of → Ausrost and → Carde. The Skree are cannibals, and a portion of their slaves are used for food (much like cattle with other people groups) while others are sold. The Skree’s harvest season, a period of eight weeks believed to fall on the weeks leading up to → Sauingrey (the Skree’s most sacred day of the year), involves the sacrificial offering of one Skree warrior (male or female) per day. Considered a high honor to be chosen for the offering, the chosen Skree’s body is eaten by their kinsmen. The Skree’s home base and temple are in the heart of the → Mountain of the Dragon, found in the uppermost range of the Kathian Mountains. Because their homeland is almost unreachable by the → folken of the southern lands, due primarily to the treacherous northern mountains, the → Barren, or → Lost Lake, and the ferocity of the Skree themselves, not much is known about daily Skree life in the Kathians other than their reputation for being merciless murderers and slave traders. However, the Skree are believed to descend from the followers of the → Dragon Gothro (a mythological deity figure believing to have come to this world following the witch → Dal-Reeahs) and are believed to continue serving him still. The Skree’s two sigils include the burning of a fine powder specific to the Kathian Mountains that release billows of thick red smoke into the sky, known as the → Red Death, and the wailing of the → Criers, Skree chosen at birth and subjected to a series of mutilations to the larynx to give them the ability to screech in an inhuman and unnatural way. By these means, and through the small amount of information known about the Skree and the legends surrounding them, the Skree instill fear in others. The Skree are albino and shave most of their hair, which is so light blond it appears white. The men often wear long pointed beards or goatees, the women (who fight alongside the men) often have a single braid growing from the base of their skull. During campaigns, they smear intricate patterns on their bodies with the Red Death powder, their skin layered with heavy scars due to the burning nature of the caustic powder, and use slivers of bone to pierce themselves on their ears, face, chest, and torso, leaving only their arms and legs unadorned. They fight naked to the waist, even in winter and even the women. Many sharpen some or all of their teeth into points. The desired effect is for the very sight of them to instill poignant fear in their beholders even as their sigils and reputation have much the same effect. The Skree’s weapons usually consist of broad knives, for close fighting, and spears, about four feet, with a sharp blade fixed to one end and a hook on the other.