Tribes of Amiens

The Tribes of Amiens, also known as the Amientes are a tribal people of Niedene descent. Their name comes from their God, Amiens, a god of honour and warriors. Normally they dwell the realms of Rathnir in groups known as tribes, of which there are currently seven. These seven tribes come together every year in the only fortified city of the Tribes of Amiens, the Holy Stronghold of Ambianis, to hold the Grand Gathering. The Amientes are generally warlike and react violently if someone breaks their complicated code of honour.

Hierarchy
The Tribes of Amiens are currently subdivided into 7 tribes, with each being led by a Chieftain. The number of tribes can vary, sometimes tribes go extinct in a war or other disaster; sometimes a big tribe splits up into various smaller ones. At the head of the tribe stands the Chieftain, his second in command always being the greatest warrior of that tribe. This position is determined each year at the Grand Gathering in a non-deadly contest. If a Chieftain dies either in battle or due to natural causes, will the First Warrior follow in their footsteps and become Chieftain. Both these functions can be held by a man or a woman, but they are often dominated by the men due to the physical advantage they hold.

Below the leaders of the tribe is everyone else, with great warriors being held in a higher regard than others. Other than that there is no class system, and everyone is equal under the guidance of Amiens.

Grand Gathering
The Grand Gathering is held every year at the Stronghold of Ambianis, lasting for exactly 2 weeks. Its main purpose is to celebrate the Arrival when Amiens guided the Amientes to this world. The Gathering is marked by festivities, friendly contests, and inter-tribe marriages. Inter-tribe marriages are promoted by the Chieftains to prevent inbreeding in the smaller tribes and to create a greater sense of unity. The two biggest events during the Grand Gathering are the Meeting of Chieftains at the end of the first week, and the celebration of The Offer of Amiens at the end of the second week.

The secretive Meeting between the Chieftains serves two primary functions: the choosing of a protector tribe and the annual Grand Raid. Each year, a protector tribe is chosen from the tribes to protect and maintain the Stronghold of Ambianis. The Chieftain of that tribe takes the role of Protector and will lead the Meeting next year. He will also be the person to perform the ritual at the end of the second week. For the second subject of their meeting, the Chieftains discuss with each other how they and their people have been wronged in the past year, and how various entities might have broken the Code of Honour. From these they choose the most severe, to then launch a massive raid on the culprit. For some, the chosen targets might seem random and arbitrarily chosen, but the Chieftains follow the Code of Honour in choosing their target.

God and Mythology
The god of the Amientes is Amiens, a warrior god that led them through a hellish dimension from their old, harsh world to the world they currently reside in. Upon entering the new world, he closed the portal by bounding it to himself. Although this closed the portal and held the demons back, it also turned him into a black statue that can still be seen at the centre of Ambianis. The Amientis believe that one day, when the world of Rathnir is broken, he will come out of his stasis and lead to another, more beautiful world. For this reason, they seek to protect Amiens, or what remains of him, for they fear that if anyone even moves the statue by a meter, the god will die

The Code of Honour and the warrior traditions are attributed to the first and unnamed Chieftain of the Amientes, also called the Prophet. It is said that he was the only one able to communicate with Amiens after the closing of the statue.

From the appearance of the statue, you can see that Amiens is a giant warrior, towering over normal humans. The Amientes also believe he holds the power of flight and inhuman strength, even for his already inhuman body.

Code of Honour
The Code of Honour is verbally transferred from a mother to her child and thus is not written down. But it is commonly known that some of the most grievous include failing to protect your guests as a host, killing your guest, killing members of your own tribe or family, and breaching the rules of an honour duel.