ASAWNE KUBORA 1

he Asawne Kubora tribal range lies between the River

Denia and the Scarlet Ribbon making them near
neighbours of both the Earl of Tormau and the Warriors of
Mameka, at Bedenes. The tribe has suffered regular raids
by the Warriors for a generation but took revenge in 718,
harrying the Agrikans as they retreated from their failure to
take Kustan.

ORIGINS & HISTORY

Tribal myth says the tribes that became the Asawne first settled on the
banks of the Denia in the time of Nebran, when the Corani legions were
finally pushed back across the river in 480. The Asawne, like the Uld, made
their peace with the surviving Corani around Emesa establishing a mutually
beneficial trading relationship.
More than a century later Hugai Lynnaeus, a minor Corani landowner
fleeing the persecution of the Theocracy of Tekhos, approached the Asawne
Kubora through Emesan intermediaries. The Kubora had no sympathy for
the Morgathian regime and supported Hugai as he slowly eroded its support
around Tormau. Together with a band of renegade outlaws, Asawne and
Suyari warriors and Emesans who had not forgotten the skills of the legion,
Hugai took Tormau in 588. He swore friendship to the Kuboran tribes that
had aided him, a pact that saved his successor Henail when Arlun swept
south in 629. Convinced by the Asawne that he could trust the holder of
Caer Tormau, Arlun sealed his pact with clan Lynnaeus by marrying
Henails daughter.
The Asawne stayed on good terms with the Lynnaeus when Arlun died
even though they returned to the forest disenchanted with the civilised life
he had offered them. Though Rethem descended into blood and war the
tribe continued to trade with Tormau and has offered logging rights in
return for metal wares and weapons.
Today the young men of the Asawne Kubora make up more than a
quarter of the Kuboran mercenaries maintained by Denyl, Earl of Tormau,
and may well fight beside a Lynnaeus against despotism once more.

The Asawne Clans

The four clans of the Asawne Kubora,
like most Kuboran clans, adopt the name
of their current Hanuhn or Druhn,
whichever is longest established. The
clans are spread evenly through the
tribes range but only the clan of Hanuhn
Gomas Straight Arrow maintains a fixed
village throughout the year. The clans of
Derel the Tall; Arain Half Deer and
Roncan, called Tree Strong are more
seasonally nomadic, settling only during
the Autumn, Winter and early Spring.
Arain is the Asawne Druhn and can field
a warband of some 80 warriors in their
prime, along with nearly 20 youths to
support them. However conflict is more
often on a smaller scale, between hunting
bands setting and clearing trap lines or in
pursuit of deer and wild cattle. When
hunters are away the Hearth Guard of
older warriors protects the villages and
camps; though Kuboran women will fight
to the death in defence of their children.
Clan Roncan hosts a small lodge of the
Uthriem Roliri at the western end of the
tribal range. The Kubora have no special
respect for Siem but have welcomed the
Brotherhood of the Forest and their plan
to disrupt the activities of miners
sponsored by the Warriors of Mameka in
the hills east of Emesa Hundred.
The Asawne recognise Gomas as their
primary leader. He fears that his tribe will
be caught between a civil war in the
south and intertribal conflict to the north
fuelled by the rivalry of Ryler Iorzu and
Arbrega Obodu.

Clan:
Gomas
Derel
Arain
Roncan
Total

Population
122
91
100
87
400

Warband
37
27
30
26
120

WRITER
Alun Rees
MAPS
Alun Rees
CONTRIBUTORS
Dan Bell
Neil Thompson
Playtesters at HarnCon 8 &
IviniaCon 2
HrnWorld

A. Rees, N. Robin Crossby & Columbia Games Inc., 2009

ASAWNE KUBORA 2
The Warband of Clan Gomas

CLAN GOMAS
The village of the Asawne Hanuhn, Gomas, called Straight Arrow, is
home to 19 households and almost the same number of unmarried warriors.
The extended households occupy larger round-houses but by tradition the
unmarried warriors live separately from their fathers household in smaller
huts around the periphery of the villages stockaded redoubt. There they act
as the first line of warning and defence against attack from the forest.
Within the villages protective ditch and bank boundary are well tended
vegetable plots that supplement meat gained from the hunt. They comprise
orderly rows of beans and gourds and some cereals, from which a portion of
seed is collected annually for sowing the following year. During most days
in the growing and harvest seasons the able bodied women and their
daughters are to be found tending these plots, watched over by the clans
Hearth Guard. This is as organised as Kuboran agriculture gets and the only
skill gained during its sojourn in civilisation with Arlun that is still valued.
Across the stream on which one flank of the stockade rests is the cleared
forest in which the clans semi-domesticated cattle graze. Hogs forage
beyond the ditches of the vegetable plots. Both are watched over by the
younger boys who will raise the alarm and run to fetch the Hearth Guard if
danger threatens.
As the Asawne, like even the most settled Kubora, practice no crop
rotation the yield from their cultivation can decline quickly. Then the village
is moved onto the cattle grazing area where their dung has improved the
fertility and cultivation begins afresh. All along this stretch of the Denia
abandoned village sites can be found dating back to Arluns invasion and
the Asawne return. They sit in clearings that have been absorbed back into
the wilderness. The most recent previous site is in what is now the cattle
grazing and was abandoned about 5 years ago. The foundations of
roundhouses can still be found there.
Nearer the river is a stout 5 wooden palisade on a bank above a flooded
ditch. The palisade has two gates: the main one to the southwest and a
smaller stranger gate to the north.
In time of attack the clan will seek shelter within this palisaded redoubt.
If sorely pressed the warriors would buy time for the women, children and
the old to escape onto the river.
Hanuhn Gomas Straight Arrow
STR

11

EYE

12

INT

15

END

12

STA

11

HRG

12

AUR

15

MOV

11

DEX

12

SML

12

WIL

15

Ini

73

AGL

11

VOI

12

MOR

15

Dge

55

Skills
Awareness
Foraging
Oratory
Ritual (Kuboran)
Survival
Tracking
Combat
Unarmed 63/1b
Strike Locations
Standard

70
45
78
105
73
67

Climbing
Jumping
Physician
Rivercraft
Swimming
Weatherlore
Hand Axe 76/6e
Dagger 67/5p

55
65
59
53
66
78

Folklore (Kuboran)
Mental Conflict
Rhetoric
Stealth
Throwing
Psionics (Foresight)

88
79
76
75
77
65

Javelin 62/7p
Round Shield 77/2b

Armour
Cloth Coif / Cowl / Hood +2; Cloth Tunic, l-s
+2; Leather Vest +3; Cloth Hose / Leggings +2;
Leather Shoes +2

A. Rees, N. Robin Crossby & Columbia Games Inc., 2009

The Druhn of clan Gomas is Rytog the

Blade and as well as being the clans war
leader he also oversees the clans
hunting. However, as his sobriquet
indicates, this big man lives for the
opportunity to lead his clan in war. He
relies heavily on Acurdin the Guide,
who knows the clans range better than
anyone else living, to help deploy the
warriors for the hunt. Some say Acurdin
knows where every animal and bird
nests, burrows or roosts. Certainly the
trap lines he sets have a remarkably high
success rate. Rytog doesnt fear Acurdin,
realising that the thoughtful younger man
is more likely to succeed Gomas than
him.
There are usually hunting parties of
between 10 and 15 warriors as far as a
day away from the village. The others
remain within an hour or so of the
village, able to return quickly if the
Hearth Guard calls for them with the
villages signal drums. It is the older men
of the Guard who routinely oversee the
grazing beyond the ditch and the river
approach.
Those youths old enough to be given
duties beyond cattle watching will be
divided between the hunters and the
Hearth Guard depending on their skills,
talent and how close they are to their
Dynoldeb (manhood) ceremony.
However close they are to that important
rite of passage they remain armed only
with short bows and knives until they
earn the right to bear the arms of a man.
Because Gomas Striaght Arrow is the
tribal Hanuhn the other clans send a
much lauded warrior to form his honour
guard of 4 warriors. They live in his
round-house as members of his
household and travel everywhere with
him. Unusually the warrior from clan
Derel is meinirhyfel; a woman who has
put aside her femaleness and chosen the
path of the warrior and hunter. Sytari is
an attractive woman in her 20s who
Acurdin The Guide wishes to marry.
Unfortunately to earn the privilege of
courting any meinirhyfel the man must
subdue her in combat. That is something
Acurdin is none too sure he could
achieve. Instead he pays Syarti careful
respect as a fellow hunter and looks for
any sign from her that his advances wuld
be welcomed.

HrnWorld

ASAWNE KUBORA 3
The Worship of Heneryne

VILLAGE OF CLAN GOMAS

1. Cattle Grazing
When the Corani came to Peran in the 5th century they brought hardy
Dunir Charred cattle with them. Their subsequent defeat and withdrawal left
many cattle to wander into the forest and now small herds graze the more
open areas of the Denia and Perath river valleys. The local tribes, including
the Asawne, have re-domesticated small numbers for the milk and cheese
the Kubora came to appreciate during the time of Arlun the Barbarians
invasion of the south, nearly a century ago.
The cattle are free to wander where they will but habit keeps them
within a few hundred paces of the ditch and bank. If they do wander it is
considered high adventure for the boys that watch them to hunt them in
the forest.

2. Hogs Copse
Over the last 5 years this cleared area has been allowed to run wild and
trees and shrubs have begun to cover it. The outlines of old vegetable plots
can still be seen and many of the plots still have food crops running wild
over them. It is therefore ideal foraging for the villages hogs. These are
semi-domesticated Peran boars and provide some of the best quality meat
reserved for feasts and celebrations. Meat for the daily pot is brought in by
the hunters.

3. Henerynes Glade
The goddess of the Kuboran Hearth is Kemlars wife and brings fertility,
health, good harvests and fine weather to those that honour her. All
Kuboran settlements have an area dedicated to her but few compare to the
glade that clan Gomas has established. Their sedentary life means that they
have used the same clearing for a generation. It consists of a cleared area
around a single ancient oak. It is here that sacrifices of flowers, food or
textiles are left for Heneryne and in return she smiles on those leaving
offering for her. The gifts of food and drink left by mothers to propitiate
Crador, or the Old Ones of the Forest, at certain times of the month are not
left here lest the goddess be disturbed by her mad son or the original
inhabitants of the Peran forest wilderness.
The only inhabitant is Relatan, the villages Crone. She is regularly
consulted by the womenfolk and is very skilled with herbs. Her often
noxious potions are believed capable of curing many ills. She is also
honoured by being able to invoke Heneryne in times of need, particularly in
her role as the villages mid-wife.
Henerynes Crone is usually the oldest unmarried woman or widow in
any clan and that is certainly true of Relatarn who chose never to marry.
Every Crone may choose a young woman as her apprentice so that were
she to die suddenly her lore would be preserved. 17 year old Fasiria has
fulfilled this role for 2 years but is considering whether she should accept an
offer of marriage made this winter by one of the younger warriors. Relatarn
considers her enormously talented and is seeking to influence her decision
having seen two previous apprentices waste themselves on a man.

There is no priesthood among the

Kubora to enforce any theological
consistency in the worship of their gods.
While most clans and all tribes will have
a shaman and a Crone who can call
upon the Kuboran trinity of Kemlar,
Heneryne and Crador the Blind there is
little uniformity of worship. The
individualistic Kubora are not suited to
formal religion and usually honour their
gods as they see fit. The role of the
Shaman is more about the practice of
Shuntul, and that of the Crone more
about mid-wifery and herblore than
organised worship. They oversee certain
rites but are not ordained clerics in any
sense that would be recognised in more
civilised lands.
Heneryne, though, is a complex goddess
with many aspects, some of which are
bloodthirsty and vengeful. She is known
to jealously guard her privileges and is
not above visiting those who would
ignore her needs with disease or
barrenness. She is also said to pursue
those that harm children or pregnant
women unto death wearing the body of a
Harnic Harpy.
Hence, Henerynes Glade is something
that every Kuboran settlement will
ensure is maintained. Few are as
established as that of Clan Gomas or the
intricate pattern of mounds and plantings
that constitute the Shawls of Kemlar a
few leagues east of Kustan. In smaller or
more transitory settlements the glade
may be no more than a ring of shrubs
within which offerings are left. When
travelling, women will put down a simple
ring of kindling in imitation of a glade
before laying a fire atop them and setting
camp. Even men will do this when away
from their village as without Henerynes
blessing no camp is likely to prosper: the
food will be tasteless; the nearest water
tainted; and prey will scent the danger
the hunters present.

By tradition the two must live apart from the village lest they are sullied
by too much contact with men. However it was Relatan who saw the signs
of declining harvests five years ago that others had yet to notice and
convinced Gomas they should move the village to its new site.

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A. Rees, N. Robin Crossby & Columbia Games Inc., 2009

ASAWNE KUBORA 4
4. Hunters Path

The Worship of Crador

By tradition hunters leaving the village hang small offerings of food or

simply trinkets in the form of game animals on the branches overhanging
this path. Their hope is that the forest will aid them in their quest for meat
for the table and bone and skins for utensils. The path divides repeatedly
within a league of the village until it disappears into the forest.

Each Kuboran tribe has its own view of

Crador. The Asawne throw small gifts
into the trees or river for him to find
when they have good luck as they prefer
to think he does not bring bad luck or
nightmares. Gomas believes that his
people should celebrate success but not
blame any other being for failure. This
code of self-reliance means Crador is less
important to clan Gomas than to almost
any other Kuboran clan. This is in
marked contrast to the view taken by
Gomas predecessor, Dirtak, who once
agreed to the sending of a gift upstream
to the Denal Kubora in the hope of
gaining Cradors favour. The young boy
selected by lot was never heard from
again. This was among the actions that
led to Gomas challenging Dirtak and
becoming Hanuhn.

5. The Village Redoubt

a. Strangers Beach
The Kubora have strict rules of hospitality and any visitor arriving at the
village who is not known and recognised as a friend must arrive here, either
by boat or by making themselves known to the village from the other side of
the stream and being invited to swim across. They will then be admitted
through the stranger gate which is otherwise kept barred. Those wearing
the earl of Tormaus colours are privileged to arrive by the dock near
Ardos trading post.

b. Trading Post
This is home to Ardo of Guil, the Earl of Tormaus trade representative
to the Asawne Kubora, and his Asawne common law wife, Nebra. She is
strangely devoted to him despite having lost all status within the clan
through her involvement with him.
The round-house is perhaps 20 feet across with the centre pole rising
almost 10 feet above the floor. Half the hut is crowded with bales of skins,
other products of the forest and trade goods of one kind or another, the
other has a low pallet and a table.
Ardo receives seasonal deliveries of trade goods from the Earl, including
much prized metal utensils and weapons handed over in return for Gomas
agreement to logging along some of the Denias tributaries just upstream
from Quyn manor. He is visited once during the Spring and Autumn
months, twice during the Summer but not at all during the Winter. Apart
from the woman he lives with he has made no friends among the Kubora
who view him as a pathetic example of southron manhood good only for the
trinkets, gifts and trade goods he dispenses. Behind his back the call him
the Leech.

c. Shuntul Lodge
The Kuboran practice of Shuntul is only open to warriors who have
completed the transition to manhood. A female who has chosen the way of
the warrior is counted a man for the purposes of the Shuntul ceremony. The
lodge is in the care of the clans Shaman, Dirtak. He was once the clans
Hanuhn and still harbours some ill will against Gomas despite the decade
since the complex debate and riddling contest that led to his loss of the role.
He is more traditional than Gomas and less willing to agree to change.

d. Hanuhns Round-house
Hanuhn Gomas Straight Arrow, Clanhead and one of the two chiefs of
the Asawne Kubora, lives here with his immediate household and the
warriors sent from other clans to protect him. There is a less than 20%
chance that Gomas is in residence during the Spring and Summer months as
he travels from clan to clan taking counsel; and giving advice or guidance to
other clanheads. He is never here during Larane when he and most of the
tribe travel to the Kuboran Moot at Kustan. He spends much more of the
Autumn in the village and almost all of the winter, though if his presence
was required at one of the other clan villages he would not hesitate to
attend.
A. Rees, N. Robin Crossby & Columbia Games Inc., 2009

Kuboran honour
While Rethemi view all Kubora as no
more predictable than dangerous wild
animals the tribes have complex rules of
honour. During the annual Moot warriors
recount their actions which are weighed
by their peers. This will determine how
the warrior and his household are viewed
through the year ahead. While strength
and success in the hunt or battle is
always valued so is hospitality and
generosity to the less fortunate. This
sometimes explains the unpredictability
with which strangers are received among
the Kubora. While killing and mutilating
an intruder is an act in keeping with
Kemlars wishes, offering a stranger
hospitality also carries honour.

Disturbing news
Kuboran shaman form an extended
network that transcends tribal and clan
boundaries. Hunting parties may
exchange messages from the Shaman
when they meet. In this way messages
flow, slowly, through the forest. The
inevitable transformation of a message
through repeated re-telling does not
seem to be of concern; it is the way that
the forest and its gods can bring clarity.
This informal network has recently
brought disturbing news to Dirtak which
he is considering sharing with his
Hanuhn. The message said that Crador
will rest. To a traditionalist like Dirtak
this means that the end of the world may
be near and it is time to settle debts and
complete Kemlars tests before the end of
times arrives.

HrnWorld