Runequest Thursday #54 - Nakura Leg-taker, Daggerfang Knight of the Agamori!
For this post of Runequest Thursday, I want to introduce an NPC who will be showing up in the Brightwater campaign soon. In the past I have presented write-ups for inhabitants of Brightwater, Like Theudulf the Learned, or Sigin, the ex-Red-Moon Halberdier who has become the leader among the hired fighters of the settlement. I have also posted on the Tusk Riders and the Lunars, who are among the threats that Brightwater must weather.
Nakura Leg-Taker is son to Chaku Ironspear, the current chief of the Agamori, who inhabit the caves below Vilimir Falls and the Weis Cut. This places them directly on the seasonal migratory path of the other Praxian nomads, who flee the arid plains during the height of summer for the cooler, moister climate of points east.
The Brightwaters befriended the Agamori when they were able to free some fo their young hunters from the clutches of the Morokanth, who would have made them herdmen or food, a fate too horrible for the proud Agamori to contemplate. Since then, Agamori have served as mercenaries for Brightwater. The rescuees even devoting a season of their lives to the purpose for free, as token of their debt. And, when the Brightwater heroes must travel to Prax, they always make time to visit with their allies at the falls.
Nakura is returning from his most recent adventures, in which he traveled to Pavis and the Big Rubble, thence further north and west, to serve as a mercenary among the Satarite rebels against the Lunar Occupation. he was at several major engagements, including the failed rebellion of Kallyr Starbrow, and the running fights that have continued in its wake. he served the King of Colymar until the Lunar sympathizer, Blackmoor the Rabid seized control in South Sartar. When the Heortlanders began to raid, under the command of strange knights from the far west.Blackmoor turned to fight, But Nakura choose not to renew his contract and undertook the trek across Prax as the heat of Fire season began to wane. After weeks of travel, he has returned to his people, with stories and news of the wider world.
But wait. The Agamori, in RAW Glorantha, are modeled on the peoples of Africa, specifically the Zulu. Why do I have Nakura looking like more an Aztec. Well, I don' know much about the Zulu [a deficit I must correct] AND, more importantly, I do know a fair bit about Mesoamerica. And the various societies of 'Knights' based on totem animals like the eagle and the jaguar in Mesoamerican culture are cool and colorful.
So there.
Nakura is a Knight of the Daggerfangs, and the Agamori, in my Glorantha, are more like the Maya, Toltec, or Aztec, than they are the Zulu. I will make it up to the Zulu if the heroes visit Pamaltela.
Among my Agamori, who primarily still worship their creator Lodril, and most often Foundchild, as the Hunter. The Agamori are one of the lesser tribes of Prax [but don't try to tell them that], and do not herd beasts as most of the others do. They are hunters first and foremost, and have formed societies of knights based around the great hunting beasts of the natural world. The two greatest societies are those of the Daggerfand and the Eagle. I will do another post on Warrior Societies in future. For now, suffice to say that these societies among the Agamori play a role in social, cultural and military life. The members attempt to live according to the way of life they ascribe to their totem beast. Chaku Ironspear is a Daggerfang Knights, as is his son, Nakura.
As a Knight of the Daggerfangs, Nakura has access to some training that many Agamori do not. A secret of the various Knightly societies fo the Agamori is the process of imbuing magic into tattoos. Nakura has had the Spotted Skin of the Daggerfang applied to his arms and legs, reinforcing skin that is already far tougher than human. He has also learned a Feat of Arms from a master of the Worn Shield. He could be persuaded to teach this for suitable compensation.
Nakura is eager to stay active. He will do his father's bidding, protecting the tribe in troubled times But he will also travel. His world is larger now than the simple hunter existence of his people. He has seen things his father cannot dream of - and he wants to see, and do, more. Brightwater is a natural point of interest to him - as they seem to be ambitious, young, and standing against the Lunars, whoese excesses he witnessed first hand after the defeat of Starbrow.
In Kallyr' service, Nakura was gifted with a bound spirit, which he can use to store spell knowledge [if that becomes necessary] and as power for his spells. The spirit, Burning Eye, occasionally manifests as glowing eyes in the heagdress to which the spirit is bound.
Note: If you don't want to use this take on re-skinning the Agamori, feel free to use it in another way. In Glorantha, these people could easily be the favored children of another god, not unlike the Agamori is stature and some aspects of culture, but distinct.
