Whether it is a sword that cuts like the wind, armor that can withstand the breath of a dragon, or a chair that doesn’t creak when an ogre sits in it people expect to see the Sjuntra craftmark on it somewhere. These haughty perfectionists produce food for the tables of kings, swords for heroes, and palaces for merchant-princes.
Personality: The Sjuntra are possessed of extraordinary powers of concentration. These stubborn people can perform one task for hours on end, ignoring need for food, drink, or sleep, in the pursuit of material perfection. They are extraordinarily competitive, desiring to do everything better than their peers and making contests out of everything. They also possess a racial aptitude for all of the crafts, which is where most of their competitiveness manifests itself. To match their competitiveness they are also extremely greedy, they see all of life as a race for money and other material possessions and whoever dies with the most money wins. They tend to rub everyone around them the wrong way, because of their arrogance and competition. However no one can deny that they get things done.
Physical Description: Standing slightly taller than the average human the Sjuntra have long pointed ears. They also have slightly slanted eyes and olive skin. Their hair can be black, brown, slightly green, or slightly blue. They take great pride in their fine facial hair, often wearing it in funny points or braids. Their fingers are long and nimble. Their eyes tend to be the same colors as their hair.
Alignment: Sjuntra tend towards the chaotic and neutral, with their persistent greediness.
Effects of War: At the beginning of the war the Sjuntra were suffering a grand renaissance. Their craftholds spread across the world, and they were one of the few Dagati races allowed to own land on the Sorvanni homeland of Hakon. When the Kaeda changed the Sjuntra were originally left alone, even the Jzega (with their vast numbers) were more threatening than these sneering artisans. In fact some Sjuntra went to work for the vast Kaelra war machine, making weapons, armor, wagons, saddles, tackle and the other detritus of an invasion force. These Sjuntra became symbols of the collaborators and were frequently targeted for rebel attacks, leading to more Sjuntra anger against the underground. Only one important Sjuntra spoke out, or acted against the Kaelra. Master Tailor Sefran, a wealthy trader who made ready-to-wear garments somehow found a powerful wizard to perform a fell sorcery. Somehow Sefran managed to have all of his craftmarks, which were sewn into garments all over the continent, turned into small glyphs of warding whose detonation criterion was to be within 5 feet of a Kaelra. In a single instant there were hundreds of small explosions, as Kaelra were severely hurt or maimed by innocent civilians unwittingly turned into incendiary devices in one of the more ruthless acts of the resistance. Sefran himself walked into the Governer’s Manse wearing his own clothes and killed the Kaelran overseer of the Orodrim city of Selicut (his base of operations). It took months of work by the Kaelra’s Dagati servants to find and dispose of all the cursed garments. However this act in no way changed the opinions of the majority of Sjuntra, except possibly to decry the resistance’s tactics, and most of them continued about their daily lives.
The Sjuntra ended the war with money, and little good will. However few could afford to ignore their mastery, as a race, of almost any profession worth having. Thus many Sjuntra were grudgingly allowed aboard the refugee ships. Those without such skills (few people really need Master Haberdashers) built their own ships and attempted to reach the New World themselves. They staffed these ships with the best crew and captains, all anxious to reach the New World themselves Many of these ships foundered, but enough reached the New World that the race was in no danger of extinction.
Sjuntra Lands: The Sjuntra rule have significant enclaves in the Northern Isles, where they rule a collection of islands called the Seafarer’s League. There are also large numbers of them in New Wessmark, however this is the exception rather than the rule. They do not usually collect in the cities of other races. They also have a few craftholds along the north coast, to the east of New Wessmark. There are also moving Sjuntra craftholds (a phenomena which did not exist in the Old World) that exist on ships or caravans. These Sjuntra families will move into a new area, docking their ships or stopping their wagons outside a town, and then produce as many of whatever they make as the town can buy. Then they will move along to the next stop.
Religion: The Sjuntra worship Lenlorac the Crafter. They believe that each flawless item they create brings them further to understanding their god and devote all their works to him. Sjuntra try to outdo each other and the other races in the extravagance of the shrines and temples they build and their piety.
Language: Lecetraite, The Sjuntra language is rife with flourishes and rills, odd rules of grammar, and strange spellings. However at its heart it’s a simple language, dealing with the simple things that artisans must know and handle. Craftsmen, who often train under Sjuntra masters (or train under those who trained under Sjuntra masters) often understand Lecetraite, and speak it amongst themselves.
Names:
Accent: Italian
Adventurers: Sjuntra tend not to be make good adventurers. Those who become adventurers are the ones who rebelled against the craft into which they were trained. Often these are fighters or monks, since the dedication and training that makes the Sjuntra so capable is often channeled, in rebellious youth, into more violent pursuits. However sometimes they become wizards, a class many Sjuntra take up in order to make magical items. In such cases the youth is often venturing out to gain some experience before he can make truly noteworthy items. Of course, like all the other races, Sjuntra have some of their youth trained as clerics.
Notable Rituals: The Mastercrafting – Before a Sjuntra youth can be considered an adult and a master he must craft an item of surpassing excellence. When a journeyman is willing to attempt this ritual he must amass as much raw material as he wishes (not very much on his low wages) and then he is locked in a room with the tools of his trade and his materials. Food and water are passed to him under the door, and he may not come forth without producing a masterwork item or admitting failure. If he fails then no official stigma accrues to him but he is regarded as headstrong and foolish for attempting a work beyond his skills. Those who fail the test must wait one year to try again. If he succeeds then he becomes a master, the item becomes the very first to receive his craftseal, and the item is donated to the church as a thanks to Lenlorac for his success. Few Sjuntra journeymen know this, and almost no outsiders, but the very first masterwork item of a Sjuntra is usually an item of some small magical power, called a tenebraello by the Sjuntra. Its not a boot of fiend-smiting of course, but it usually has enough value to be useful. Many of the minor magical items that are sold are actually the first attempts of a Sjuntra. In years past these items used to be hoarded and sold by greedy masters, but following the war these items are now donated to the church, which surreptitiously sells it (or keeps the best ones for its own use) and uses the funds to help Sjuntra in need. This is one of the reasons why Sjuntra tithe very little. It is said that the more powerful the tenebraello, the more successful its crafter will be in life.
Sjuntra Racial Traits