Creature:Manehune

"Most creatures where born of the land, with dirt and gravel between their toes, and mountains above their heads. Not the Togunda. Our kind where born, it is said, with nothing but ships beneath our boots, the great skies above us, and the great oceans stretching beyond us. To the Journey we took, traveling far and wide, settling, mining, trading and then moving on. When we found the Mendel, we found those who could understand our ways, and, better yet, could live beside us in honor. Though we have no home, we have bonds of brotherhood here that will not die soon."

- Togunda Elder recounting the tales of their race to youngsters.

The Togunda are a sea-going race of Dwarves or Dwarven-like beings, that, unlike most, do not inhabit great mountain or underground holds, but, rather, come from the seas, it is said that, long ago, their island home in the Great North, what they call an Empire of Crystal, and a City of Legends, was taken from them by a lord of shadow and evil, and wiped their memories clean, forcing them to travel southwards and outwards. Thus, with no where left to go, the Togunda traveled on great, mighty ships, ironclad vessels with mighty canons. They would stop at various islands, gathering resources, settling for a few moments, before moving onwards.

For ages, the ancient race stubbornly refused to settle down, not until a sign from the Gods told them too. After hundreds of years of war, mining and trade, the Togunda witnessed a great eclipise before going into battle with a savage race they call "The Sea People". After narrowly winning, the Togunda would come into contact with a great Mendel fleet, which, while rustic and simple, was none the less strong. The Mendel Warriors greeted them, having fought the Sea Peoples themselves, and offered to become allies with the Togunda. The Togunda leaders lead their people ashore for the first time in many years, and meet with the Mendel High King and his Clan Lords, agreeing to join the United Tribes, swearing their fleets and warriors to the Mendel cause.

Since that day, Mendel Fleets of the Emerald Armada have been boosted by Togunda Iron-ships, and their warriors march alongside the brutal yet respectable Togunda warriors and their Ragatora lords. Togunda also act as Merchants, and commonly organize special under-water mining operations into the deep sea. Their trade networks are many and strong, giving the Mendel access to trade markets they would not normally have.

Beginnings
It is said the Togunda do not remember their exact history or where they came from, only their ancestors and great legends speak of a mighty City of Legends, they once lived and ruled over, and divided among the Six Tribes to rule in peace and harmony with all. As Dwarfs, or at least, Dwarf-like people, they came to not only mine mineral wealth, but to observe the natural world around them, in the skies and stars. Philosophers, merchants and warriors, it was said the golden age of the Togunda's Crystal Empire of Legend would have no end. Such hubris, however, would be repaid, when a Spirit of Shadow, envious of their city, seized it for himself, exiling the Togunda and wiping their memories, where a storm there after consumed the city. The Togunda, knowing little of the city they left behind, other their names, clan heritage and ancestry, left for the south and outwards, the six tribes' mighty fleets traversing the fickle seas for better lands. It is unknown if this legend is one of the last fragments of their memories, or a legend spread by their elders.

They would, as a sea people, mine in the deepest oceans, their stocky bodies adapted for land and sea, and able to travel into the deepest trenches of the ocean to mine for minerals, or hunt sea beasts for food for the tribes. Their skill at gathering fish for their fleets and minerals to keep themselves affluent once they found a new home, allowed them to acre vast resources, more then they could ever hope to use. As such, Togunda, as they traveled further and further, traded their vast resources to others, seeking new foods, spices and other materials to build and repair, sometimes forming temporary colonies, before leaving them behind for new lands.

This is not to say it was always peaceful. At times, the Togunda would come to fight with other races, other races seeing them as beggars and leeches, as the Togunda developed a habit of sending their youngest members out of the Tribes and Clans to seek life with others, and study them, find work, and put their stone-carving, mining and tool-making skills to work with other races, and gain their trust. As such, some came to see the Togunda as leeches, stealing jobs from their own people. During one time, when the Togunda stopped at a island-city called Kaprani, a young member named Wetepu and his friends left the Tribe of Air to seek out a trade. A mob gathered in Kaprani, demanding they leave, and Wetepu, like any good Togunda worth his weight in Sea-Salt, refused, and, driven to fantasism, the mob killed Wetepu's friends, and put out one of his eyes. Escaping to the fleet, he told them of what had come to pass. While peaceful, Wetepu put aside these thoughts of peaceful co-existence, and took up Axe and armor, going ashore with a massive throng of warriors, and declaring he would hunt for those that had killed his friends. The fight escalated, more Togunda arriving, as the natives of Kaprani poured their own armed forces to keeping the Togunda back. By time the fighting was over, much of Kaprani was in ruins, and the Togunda left, Wetepu gathering his comrades, and leaving.

The Fall of Kaprani
The Togunda gathered a fearsome reputation after that, many coming to regard them as violent and scornful, though the Togunda constantly tried to be peaceable with others and work out their problems, though their infamous stubbornness, a very Dwarven trait, hamstrung them many a times. Wetepu rose to become leader of the Six Tribes, and continued to lead his people until his death. This would happen near the Sunset Isles, when a mighty Squid beast, with 13 Tentacles, laced with suckers that each housed a mouth, attacked the fleet. Wetepu dropped down from his ship, and wrestled the beast, chopping at it with his axe, until it ate him. His son, Kotupe, consumed with sadness and rage, swore to avenge his father and the losses of the Six tribes. With nothing but two axes in hand and his trousers, Kotupe went out into a small boat, and fought the mighty Squid, named Te-Wanke Mufranii. On the small boat, the Squid reached for him, but Kotupe dodged each tentacle, before burying his axes in it's head. Although weakened, it still would not die, and Kotupe took up his boat paddle, and fought the creature still, chopping off its tentacles with mighty strike after strike, until it had not one tentacle left. Kotupe continued his fight, bashing the creature repeatedly with his paddle, until it shattered, and the creature sank beneath the inky depths.

While many doubt its existence, due to none being seen in the Sunset Isles, the Togunda and Kotupe held to their believes, and many others, not wishing to challenge a Togunda to a battle of words, relent, letting them believe what they wish, no matter how absurd. Kotupe lead his people further south, into the Tropical Lands, where his people would meet their greatest challenge. A strange Togunda Priestess came to Kotupe, and told his people they must find land, or be snuffed out. Kotupe laughed grimly at such a statement, and said he would not believe such a thing until the Gods and Ancestors gave him such a sign. The priestess merely said he would get his sign soon enough, and left, disappearing from the sight of the rest of the Togunda.

War with the Sea People
The Togunda, as they began to travel along the Tropical Southlands, encountered a savage race of massive, muscle-bound beasts, called the Sea People in their tongue. The Togunda, aghast their repugnant slave-taking, butchery, murder and rape, attacked the brutes, hoping to protect the lands of others. The fighting was fierce, for while the Sea People lacked in technology, they seemed guided by the foul Magiks that the Togunda so loathed. Fighting was hard, with the Fleet of the Six taking many loses. At the height of the fighting, Kotupe saw a grand Solar Eclipse, forcing all fighters to look away. Protected by Runes of sight, Kotupe looked at the Eclipse, as a green and blue comet streaked down it's middle, seemingly bisecting the Blackened Sun, before crashing together in a mighty explosion. The Togunda won, with heavy loses, and Kotupe, taking it as a sign from the Gods and ancestors, traveled further on until, they meet a fleet of warriors who where also finishing their fight with the Sea People. The Togunda, despite being tired, helped, sinking what ships remained, and the Mendel greeted them, asking for perhaps a beginning of trade and alliance, knowing Dwarfs to be a dependable and honorable folk. Kotupe, instead, asked to be taken to the High King of their Clans.

The Mendel obliged, taking him and his warriors to the High King, and, after meeting with them, Kotupe agreed to join the Togunda with the Mendel, in exchange for trade, unity, oath-binding and other agreements, bringing them together. The Togunda, for the first time in many years, settled onto land, and their fleets empowered those of the Mendel fleet. Since then, the Togunda have been involved with the actions of the, being part of their trade caravens, their forging, and, especially, in war. Though Kotupe would pass on, the rigors of constant war too much for the old King, his nephew, Karaka Vrato, would become leader of the Togunda.

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