The Tsingis - Mobile link
The Chosen Tribe of the Mask Maker:
A race of slender, winged trolls whose original tribe name has been lost, this tribe of trolls were known for the craftsmanship of their stone masonry and had long since vanished from troll history. The last known record of their tribe was in the southern most part of Africa where they had been hunted down by the forces of Orlagck the Oppressor, and turned to a mysterious figure known only as a "maker of masks". All records of them had been lost and their tribe presumably destroyed by the Maker of Masks... until they were discovered in the Forest of Knives, their tribe now known by title of their new homeland as the Tsingis.
According to Tsingis lore, they and their warrriors had refused to bow down to the Gumm-Gumm tribes Orlagk the Oppressor, and had thus been marked for extermination by the gummgumm warlord. The efforts successfully drove them to the brink of extinction until barely a handful of clans remained. On the eve of slaughter, the survivors were approached by a masked being who offered them a chance at survival in exchange for their help at a future time. The survivors accepted the bargain and for their willingness, received masks that transformed them into tyto masked owls. With their flock formed, the masked being joined them in tyto form and led them across the sea to the stony haven of the Madagascar badlands known as the Forest of Knives, the Tsingy mountains.
Upon finding a safe haven and a healthy white hearstone besides, the tribe asked a favor of the Mask Maker. They asked that before he restored them, that he would leave his mark on their troll forms to show their descendants to whom they should pay their homage and respects to for saving their tribe. The mask maker obliged and gave them both the color of his cloak on their wings and the shape of his mask in their faces. Now restored to their new forms, the tribe adopted a new name in honor of their new home and lives: the Tribe Tsingis.
From then on, they lived in Madagascar, burrowing deep into the mountain caves of the Tsingy stone forest so as to avoid human confrontation. However, despite their efforts, humans still encroached on their territories - specifically pirates and French privateers. In time, the privateers began to reach deeper into the Tsingy, leaving items such as cutlass and flintlocks. Useless without balls and gunpowder, the Tsingis abandoned the flintlocks but their blades were valuable and easily sharpened. So, with some practice and observation, the Tsingis learned to wield the cutlass in a manner befitting their kind and with them, drove away the human interlopers.
This did not go unnoticed by the Malagasy royals who decided to approach the winged trolls with friendship. According to the Tribe histories, the Tsingis and royal family created the royal martial art, Daimanga together as sign of camaraderie and a lasting tribute to their alliance. With that began the tribe tradition of exchanging goods, services, and other tokens of friendship as signs of an alliance. Whether this is true can neither be confirmed nor denied by historians as much of the old Malagasy royal histories were lost when they were conquered by humans from the land of France.
Having been unsuccessful in preventing the fall of their allies' rule, the Tsingis once again went into hiding, burrowing deep into the Tsingy mountains. They were later discovered by other trolls who migrated to the northern side of Madagascar where a second heartstone was found and made into a thriving trade community. Now the Tsingis continue to flourish in the trade-rich lands of Madagascar, sharing their traditions of hornshaw, cavern etchings, and the services of their merchants and Tsingis warriors.
But of all their tradition, there is one which remains sacred to the Tsingis: the reverence of the Mask Maker and the tribe Tompodakas — the tribe protectors, champions, and wielders of the Champion's Mask. For before the Maker of Masks left them, he created a mask to be worn by the tribe champion. Inside was special magics that would transform any who wore it into a great warrior: the Tompodaka, protector of the Tsingis Tribe.
It was to be passed on through the generations of the Tsingis to those found worthy of it's mantle. Any Tsingis who has come of age has right to the trial of the Mask. To pass, one must put on the mask and remember their name; for the only way to remember one’s name is to have formed bonds of love and loyalty among the tribe that would remind them of who they are. For none can take up the mantle of Tompodaka who do not love their tribe and prove it with their communal bonds.
Such are the ways of the Tsingis and the ways of their tribe in the East.
[Click here for more info on Tsingis & the Heartstone Hollows]
