Barbarians

Biodata

Background and History

Tribal society and consolidation

The Barbarians are not a single uniform nation. Their tribes practice specialized labor, including farming, weaving, and smelting, though most are known primarily for warfare. Their settlements require clothing, tools, iron knives, and arrows rather than relying solely on hunting or raiding. 6

Tribal politics are shaped by violent annexation. Victorious tribes commonly absorb defeated enemies, allowing former rivals to become members of the same tribe; this adaptability also makes some Barbarian warriors willing to sell their service to stronger tribes after their own communities decline. 25 981 Smaller tribes around the Great Fish River were progressively destroyed or absorbed as conflicts intensified across the wasteland. 29

The former Barbarian Tribal Alliance had once coordinated resistance against southern expansion, but it collapsed as large tribes consolidated the grasslands facing the Northern Frontier. Smaller tribes were annexed, massacred, or driven away, while the Iron Bone Tribe defeated the Iron Hoof and Blood Scorpion rearguards and emerged as the dominant military power in the region. 831 832 This former alliance was distinct from the Tribal Alliance of the fertile Skyline Grassland, which remained a separate political force and later faced the prospect of intensified internal struggles. 1046 1085

The Northlands Wasteland stretches from the Sunset Mountains to the Endless Sea and covers at least seventeen or eighteen million square kilometers. Its enormous size means that the tribes confronting Vela’s Northern Frontier represent only part of the wider Barbarian population. 5 The ancestral lands of most major tribes facing Vela lie north of the Shattered Ice River, regarded as the mother river of their grasslands. The territory between that river and the Great Fish River was largely inhabited by small and medium-sized tribes after earlier noble expansion made it less secure. 1049

During the later campaign, the Barbarian population along Vela’s northern frontier was estimated at no more than 1.5 million, compared with a historical peak of fewer than three million. By contrast, the alliance of fertile Skyline Grassland was said to have more than ten million people. 1046

Earlier conflicts with Northern Frontier nobles

Warfare between the Barbarians and Northern Frontier nobles had continued for more than a century, shaping the border territories’ strongly military-oriented society. Before the Iron Birch Family established a decisive advantage, newly founded noble territories could be destroyed by Barbarian counterattacks, sometimes eliminating entire families. Successive Iron Birch border counts brought the northern nobles together and gradually secured the frontier. 372 847

Count Colt regularly conducted cavalry raids into the grasslands in spring and autumn. He also controlled tribes that supplied soldiers, horses, and livestock, and some Barbarian cavalrymen served among his Iron Knights. 2 25

During the previous Count Iron Birch’s reign, a King of Barbarians invaded the Three Counties of the Northern Frontier with 100,000 cavalry. Agents induced him to divide his army, allowing Count Iron Birch’s Iron Knights to raid his camp. The king was defeated and killed, and the devastated Iron Bone Tribe withdrew northward. The victory became the subject of a children’s picture book known to Victor from childhood. 66

The later Barbarian Tribal Grand Alliance selected Durham County as its first target because the county had expanded beyond the Great Fish River and occupied more than 10,000 square kilometers on its northern bank. Nearby tribes had suffered heavy losses in their prolonged struggle against Durham’s nobles. 60 At Hot Water Fortress, Victor’s rear attack and Benjamin’s frontal cavalry assault killed Val and routed the besieging forces. Further fighting culminated in another major Northern Frontier victory before the alliance could organize its full southern invasion. 70 71 72 85 831

Contact with Two Rivers County

Victor’s early campaigns subdued Barbarian camps and captured herders, whom he intended to use as controlled labor rather than kill in battle. 24 Two Rivers County later incorporated Barbarian cavalry into its military structure, with Barbarian squad leaders being promoted and trained in the Common Tongue to improve battlefield responsiveness. 44

Some early conflicts involved tribes already serving other nobles. The Horseshoe Tribe’s outpost was subdued by Ron and Jack, and its captives revealed that Viscount John had ordered the tribe to interfere with Two Rivers Territory’s development. 47 In another encounter, Victor and Ron ambushed Iron Bone cavalry pursuing Luda’s caravan; the pursuers fled after Ron killed their commander. 133

Submission did not always lead to the destruction of tribal communities. Luda’s tribe later numbered about 3,000 people, had ample food, and broadly supported settling down and farming under his leadership. Victor accepted this as evidence that Luda’s submission was genuine. 381 Luda and Gansen also established a garrison of more than 600 men at Supply Station Number Three, for which Victor promised additional armor. 388

A later slave-catching expedition destroyed fourteen Barbarian tribes within roughly three hundred kilometers north of Two Rivers County. Three vassal Barbarian tribes remained and were expected to occupy the cleared territory as northern warning posts. 818

The appearance of a large coalition near Greenplain Territory initially prompted a military response. Intelligence identified the Iron Hoof and Blood Scorpion tribes among the displaced groups, accompanied by nearly 200,000 herders and poorly equipped warriors. 820 Their leaders subsequently sought allegiance, and Victor arranged to receive more than 100,000 tribespeople under a five-year labor agreement. Horne and Zaro helped supervise the crossing and maintain order. 826 832

Under this agreement, the leaders retained their livestock, possessions, and command of their armies, although those armies had to obey Victor’s overall direction. Two Rivers County promised to refit their troops and provided food, clothing, housing, and placements in vassal territories and newly opened lands. This negotiated relocation differed from the later distribution of wartime captives as slaves. 832 Victor subsequently planned to send Zaro’s 5,000 warriors to Durham County as part of a force of roughly 7,000 fighting troops. 840

Heshima's coalition

Under Great Chieftain Heshima, the Iron Bone Tribe mobilized much of the remaining grassland population. The campaign’s three camps held nearly 700,000 people, including troops, herders, laborers, families, and other noncombatants; Heshima’s main army alone exceeded 250,000 people, while another force of nearly 80,000 was sent toward Blue Lake Bay. 928

The coalition included Iron Bone Tribe elites, temporarily conscripted tribesmen, herders, slaves, and Faith Order forces. While the Iron Bone Tribe controlled the campaign politically, tribal units often retained their own chieftains and priorities, limiting coordination when their interests diverged. 928 1032

Faith Order assistance had strengthened the Iron Bone Tribe before the invasion. Its approximately 3,000 veteran cavalry and accompanying craftsmen improved the tribe’s military position, while skilled smiths produced steel blades and iron swords from the grasslands’ poor-quality iron. Advisers also helped some settlements reclaim land and plant rye and barley. 829 Keledu argued that this support had resolved the Steppe Barbarians’ principal weaknesses in weapons and siege equipment, making Heshima’s coalition more practically united than the Former Tribal Alliance. 942

The coalition nevertheless suffered from shortages and coercive internal politics. Heshima forced small and medium allied tribes to send their elite warriors into Two Rivers County to obtain supplies rather than risk Iron Bone troops directly. Resisting leaders were killed, and their people and flocks were seized. Jackson’s cavalry destroyed several raiding groups and brought prisoners back for interrogation. 910

Defeat, retreat, and captivity

The Border Fortress and Blue Lake Bay sieges inflicted severe losses on Barbarian auxiliary forces, particularly herders and slaves sent to fill trenches, build ramps, and storm walls. 916 924 Heshima later shifted toward more organized assaults using elite troops, shield carts, archers, siege equipment, and Faith Order support. 1010 1011

At Blue Lake Bay, Flowering Shells and Oil-Flame Bombs broke a major assault and undermined the attackers’ morale. Victor’s mobile force subsequently attacked the siege army with mortars and infantry, then used hand-thrown explosives against its remaining formations. The detached force was wiped out, and reports of the defeat alarmed Heshima’s commanders. 985 989 993 1003

At the Border Decisive Battle, mortar fire killed commanders, destroyed battle flags, and caused many small and medium tribal contingents to surrender or scatter. 1034 The emergence of large allied cavalry forces then closed off their remaining opportunities to escape. An army of nearly 100,000 Barbarians was defeated in a little over an hour, despite its killed and wounded amounting to less than one-fifth of its strength. 1035 Allied troops quickly occupied the main camp, which still contained more than 200,000 people. 1036

Afterward, the Iron Bone Tribe and Faith Order retreated rapidly through the grasslands, abandoning people and livestock unable to keep pace. 1039 The Expeditionary Army rescued abandoned tribespeople but maintained a deliberate pace, intending to coordinate with the Northern Alliance Army at the Shattered Ice River rather than provoke the retreating force into scattering across the grasslands. 1039 A Barbarian cavalry force of approximately 10,000 sent to disrupt the pursuit was also destroyed; explosive projectiles scattered its formations and frightened its horses. 1043 1045 1047

At the Shattered Ice River, Heshima and Keledu secured temporary bridgeheads and captured camps, but failed to open a safe escape route before the Expeditionary Army arrived. 1065 1075 1076 The Barbarians’ final attack encircled the expeditionary vanguard, apparently achieving Heshima’s tactical objective. Victor had deliberately allowed their troops to concentrate within mortar range, however, and rain-resistant shells shattered the massed army. Heshima killed himself, while Keledu sent Order Warriors to protect his successor and remained behind to face the consequences. The battle ended in a decisive allied victory. 1078

Captured Barbarians were placed in POW camps, screened for disease, and assigned to farms, ranches, mines, and construction projects. Warriors were detained separately due to the greater security risk they posed. 1039 James was initially responsible for managing nearly 400,000 prisoners, many wounded or weakened by prolonged malnutrition. Victor negotiated with the other nobles to accept prisoner losses of up to ten percent. 1038

Following the final campaign, more than 300,000 Barbarian tribespeople were divided among Northern Frontier nobles as spoils of war. 1080 Most of this final group were young, able-bodied men and women. Across the war, the Northern Alliance Army acquired more than 700,000 slaves, creating expectations of major disruption to the Raine Kingdom’s slave market. 1080

Postwar power vacuum

The destruction of Heshima’s coalition left the Northlands Wasteland in a power vacuum. Victor feared that defeated tribes from Skyline Grassland might move east to occupy the abandoned pastures, even though the region’s poverty, cold, and distance made it unattractive to most established tribes. 1085

Victor regarded migration as a plausible consequence of Skyline Grassland’s internal struggles, particularly if an ambitious chieftain challenged the Tribal Alliance’s authority. Because pastoral tribes could occupy grassland more quickly than agricultural settlers could reclaim and develop it, he sought advance intelligence on their movements rather than wait for new arrivals to establish themselves. 1085

Society and Culture

• Tribal annexation — Defeated tribes are often absorbed by their conquerors, making shifts from enemy to subordinate common within Barbarian society. 25
• Social hierarchy — Chieftains, Commanders of Ten Thousand, Legion Commanders, Centurions, elite warriors, herders, slaves, and laborers occupy sharply unequal positions. 916 938
• Expendable lower classes — Herders and slaves were repeatedly forced into siege work and frontal assaults, while elite warriors and cavalry were held back for decisive combat. 916 924 956
• Skilled production — Certain tribes specialize in smelting. They cultivate Iron Bean, a crop whose tubers can become low-quality, rust-resistant iron after winter planting and harvesting. 6
• Military reputation — Stories of Victor’s battlefield feats were deliberately spread across the grasslands because martial strength was especially intimidating and appealing to Barbarian audiences. 829
• Pasture-based settlement — Tribes generally remain on the same pastureland for long periods unless displaced by war or disaster. The wasteland’s aridity makes access to rivers and lakes especially important, and settlements cluster around well-watered grazing areas. 125
• Agricultural development — Grain cultivation was uncommon but not unknown. Faith Order advisers expanded the Iron Bone Tribe’s farming of rye and barley, while some large camps developed orderly streets, permanent brick and stone houses, smithies, weaving workshops, and cultivated fields. 829 848
• Household river transport — Sheepskin rafts are ordinary survival tools on the steppe. Households commonly possess one or two, and four lashed together can carry five or six people across a large river. 1055
• Wandering tribes and individual service — Impoverished tribes may abandon their ancestral lands and wander in search of a new home. Some warriors instead take their weapons, armor, and horses to stronger tribes and offer their service in exchange for incorporation. 981
• Language and integration — Barbarian languages are distinct from the Common Tongue. Victor arranged language instruction for himself and his commanders, while some tribal envoys could already speak fluent Common Tongue. 25 826
• Mixed ancestry and noble service — Barbarian ancestry was not incompatible with membership in Northern Frontier noble society. Baron Brown had Barbarian blood, and many of his subordinates were originally Barbarians, making Stream Territory experienced in training Barbarian slave warriors. 92
• Interpretation of unfamiliar weapons — Some herders and warriors understood explosive bombardment as witchcraft or divine punishment. Such beliefs contributed to panic, especially when coupled with officer losses and frightened warhorses. 949 1035

Military Organization and Tactics

Command structure

• Tribal chieftains commonly retain control of their own forces even within larger coalitions, creating divided loyalties and uneven battlefield coordination. 1032
• The Iron Bone Tribe fields elite standing troops and maintains personal formations such as Heshima’s Dire Wolf Guard. 928 949
• Commanders of Ten Thousand, Legion Commanders, Centurions, and lower-ranking officers direct formations of varying size. The loss of officers was especially damaging during the Border Fortress assaults. 938 939
• Battle-supervision troops and elite guards enforce discipline through threats and executions, especially against herders and slaves attempting to flee. 949 970
• The number of warriors under a chief determines much of that chief’s influence. After the Iron Bone Tribe departed the border, similarly sized tribes could not establish an absolute leader and sometimes sought to weaken rival contingents rather than cooperate fully. 1032
• Command discipline could fail even before a general rout. At Blue Lake Bay, front-line officers ignored Shikele’s withdrawal orders, forcing him to withdraw his own troops and leave the disobedient units behind. 975

Cavalry and archery

• Many Barbarian tribes favor light cavalry in leather armor, generally using one horse per rider for high mobility. 49
• Elite riders are highly skilled horsemen and archers; during the attack on Victor’s temporary camp, sharpshooters struck Heavy Infantry through the breathing slits of their helmets. 1015
• Iron Bone Tribe core forces can fight effectively as infantry as well as cavalry, owing to specialized training developed through repeated grassland wars. 991
• Elite cavalry continued operating in small raiding groups after the main force’s defeat, using mobility to harass Two Rivers County’s border until they were eliminated near the end of the year. 1021
• Cavalry could be used to carry assault troops rapidly beneath fortress walls before the riders dismounted and climbed earthen ramps. This approach reduced exposure during the initial advance but did not protect troops once they entered the defenders’ prepared firing lanes. 937
• Expert archers from the Former Tribal Alliance served Two Rivers County with factory-made War Bows and deliberately targeted Iron Bone officers during their retreat. 939
• The distinction between elite warriors and ordinary herders was substantial. Hunting bows and light arrows used by herders often failed to penetrate armored infantry, even when fired in massed volleys. 138 989

Scouts and communications

• Eagle Tamers and trained war eagles enable reconnaissance, route-finding, communication between dispersed cavalry formations, and border infiltration. 1011 1012
• The Iron Bone Tribe used Eagle Tamers to guide thousands of cavalry through marshes and red-rock hills that Two Rivers County believed were secure natural barriers. 1012
• Captured officers, eagle trainers, and surviving war eagles allowed Victor’s intelligence personnel to reconstruct the infiltration route and learn that the cavalry operation was intended to occupy the fortress garrison. 1018
• Horns, large oxhide war drums, and tribal totem banners were used during major battlefield deployments and advances. 946

Siege warfare

• Barbarian armies constructed forward camps, earthen ramps, trench fills, ladders, siege towers, shield carts, catapults, and pontoon bridges. 908 924 1075
• Early assaults relied heavily on unarmed laborers to fill moats and trenches, producing enormous casualties with limited results. 916
• Faith Order craftsmen improved the coalition’s siege capabilities by supplying technical knowledge, siege equipment, catapults, armored equipment, and mass-produced ladders. 909 970 1016
• During the Shattered Ice River campaign, the Barbarians used sheepskin rafts, wooden rafts, shielded boats, and later pontoon bridges to move forces across the river. 1055 1067 1075
• After repeated losses, trench-filling parties dispersed into small groups to reduce their exposure to massed arrow fire, while cavalry stationed beyond missile range guarded against defender sorties. 924
• Elite assaults used dispersed formations, armor, shields, and shield carts to limit defensive fire. One such attack killed nearly 500 fortress defenders before fresh troops repelled it. 1011
• Later assaults assigned auxiliaries more systematic engineering tasks, including stabilizing ladders, arranging ropes, and leveling ground for siege towers. Experience also allowed attackers to identify defensive traps and reduce their effectiveness. 1018
• Heshima adapted to catapult-fired Flowering Shells by sending successive assault waves forward, exploiting their limited range and slow rate of fire. These attacks still failed against James’s heavily armored reserves. 1019
• River-crossing troops used thrown axes to disrupt defending pikemen, then boosted comrades over camp walls. Later waves brought long weapons and horses to reinforce captured positions. 1056 1057
• During a night crossing, Bazak’s vanguard seized a camp’s river-facing wall, set fires, and exaggerated the apparent size of the attack to confuse defenders. Captured grain, armor, and weapons then supported the main force’s entry. 1073

Equipment

• Iron Bean weapons — Low-quality iron weapons made from Iron Bean are soft, wear down quickly, and require frequent recasting, though the metal resists rust. 6
• Bronze arms and armor — The Iron Bone Tribe formerly relied heavily on bronze equipment, which was inferior to fine iron armor and steel swords. 829
• Leather armor — Common among light cavalry and river-crossing assault troops because it is lighter and safer than iron armor in water. 49 1055
• Lamellar armor — Faith Order-made lamellar armor protected cavalry effectively from blades but was vulnerable to warhammers and battleaxes. 1016
• Cowhide shields and bow shields — Used during landings and sieges to reduce casualties from arrow fire. 1067
• Axes and curved blades — Barbarian assault troops used thrown hand axes to break pike formations before climbing camp walls for close combat. 1056
• Siege ladders and shield carts — Crude ladders could be produced in great numbers from wood and rope, while shield carts protected attackers advancing toward walls. 969 970
• Restricted noble-supplied equipment — Iron Birch vassal tribes were permitted to buy leather armor reinforced with iron plates, but were denied metal armor, chainmail, and plate armor. These restrictions helped shape their reliance on lightly equipped cavalry. 49
• Steel and iron upgrades — Faith Order smiths greatly improved the Iron Bone Tribe’s arms by making superior steel blades and iron swords from locally available low-quality iron. 829
• Bone arrowheads and improvised protection — Defeated Iron Hoof and Blood Scorpion warriors often lacked adequate equipment; some used bone arrowheads and fought in sheepskin coats because leather armor was scarce. 832
• Infantry assault armor — Some siege troops wore simple leather or iron-studded leather armor even when better protection was available, because heavier armor hindered climbing. 1019
• Iron breastplates — Elite light cavalry encountered during the pursuit wore leather armor reinforced with solid iron breastplates. These could stop the initial impact of thrown explosive projectiles, but not the lethal fragments released immediately afterward. 1043

Major Campaigns

Relationships

• Iron Bone Tribe — The dominant grassland tribe; it absorbed or subordinated other Barbarian groups and formed the core of Heshima’s coalition. 832 928
• Great Chieftain Heshima — Overall leader of the Iron Bone Tribe and the principal Barbarian invasion force; maintained discipline through personal authority, the Dire Wolf Guard, and harsh battlefield enforcement. He killed himself after the final mortar bombardment at the Shattered Ice River. 928 949 1078
• Faith Order — Allied military and technical force that supplied craftsmen, siege knowledge, weapons, catapults, and organized formations. Its advisers also helped introduce improved weapons production and expanded grain cultivation. 909 942 829
• Keledu — Faith Order apostle and Heshima’s politically neutral adviser; proposed tactical revisions, helped manage military disputes, and commanded major river-crossing operations. At the final defeat, he arranged protection for his successor and chose to remain behind to face the consequences. 955 1064 1065 1078
• Former Tribal Alliance — A former cooperative platform for Barbarian tribes that collapsed before the Iron Bone Tribe’s rise. Some former alliance warriors later served Two Rivers County and used their archery skills against the Iron Bone forces. 831 939
• Two Rivers County — Major enemy and captor; it also incorporated some surrendered Barbarians as vassals, cavalrymen, laborers, and eventual settlers. It received more than 100,000 displaced tribespeople through a negotiated five-year labor agreement before the invasion. 44 818 1039 832
• Northern Alliance Army — Opposed the Barbarian retreat and river crossings, later taking large numbers of Barbarian prisoners as war spoils. Its wartime acquisitions totaled more than 700,000 slaves. 1034 1080
• Iron Birch Family and Count Colt — Longstanding enemies who also maintained Barbarian vassals. Dozens of dependent tribes traded with northern nobles, supplied military resources, helped exclude independent tribes from the border, and sold captives into slavery. Their populations were generally capped at 8,000, with no more than about 1,000 able-bodied fighters. 2 25 46
• Iron Hoof Tribe, Blood Scorpion Tribe, Horne, and Zaro — Displaced opponents of the Iron Bone Tribe who sought protection and allegiance under the northern nobles. Their leaders cooperated with Two Rivers County’s relocation program while retaining possessions and military command under Victor’s overall authority. 820 826 832
• Luda — A submitted tribal leader whose people supported settlement and farming. His caravan maintained trade with northern forest tribes, and his community contributed to the garrison at Supply Station Number Three. 381 388
• Baron Brown and the Alfalfa Family — Maintained longstanding ties with Barbarian tribes. Brown had Barbarian ancestry and employed many former Barbarians, giving Stream Territory experience in assimilating and training slave warriors. 92
• Skyline Grassland Tribal Alliance — A separate, much larger Barbarian political grouping on fertile grasslands. Victor feared that its internal conflicts could produce defeated tribes that would migrate east into the Northlands power vacuum. 1046 1085
• Fas Kingdom and Raine Kingdom — Other major states facing extensive grassland frontiers. Their struggles against the Barbarians consumed a considerable portion of their national strength, preventing an overwhelming advantage comparable to the Northern Frontier nobles’ later position. 5 1046

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