Spottedskins

Spottedskins are a race of feral tribesmen who skulk the shores and inhabit the darkest reaches of the Emeraldine. The are by far the most violent and most despised of the tribes. They are named after the strange brindled pigment of their skin. They have no native term for themselves and some believe they do not even possess a language of their own.

Culture
The other races frequently warred with one another when issues of territory or stolen livestock arose but cessation of hostilities were known to occur and alliances were often formed for one purpose or another. With the Spottedskins there was never a question on whether they were friend or foe. Such was their savagery known that whenever encountered, the only outcome was a fight to the death or fleeing.

Communities usually consisted of ten to twenty members of a tribe that answered to a chief, who earned the title through combat. Their means of sustenance relied heavily on the raiding and pillaging of the villages of their neighbors. The Spottedskins never united all their tribes and so when the Velorians attempted to wipe them out many escaped to the outlying islands and the wilder parts of the land, existing like beasts. They have become scarce enough that some believe they only exist now in stories to frighten children. People who have combed the wilderness, however, often tell stories of seeing the Spottedskins, performing rituals of such repugnance like bestiality, cannibalism and making sacrifices to their grotesque gods.

The origin of these strange people is debated. A common theory is that they are descendants of shipwrecked slaver ships blown off course from the Black Continent. Those prone to superstition believe them to be actual demons who discovered a fissure deep in the earth and crept forth to prey on mortals.