The Wildborn
The Wildborn: The Wildborn are deeply attuned to the primal energies unleashed by the Fracture. Eschewing both the rigid doctrines of the Devoted and the analytical mindset of the Techno-Priests, they instead foster a symbiotic relationship with the altered landscape. Their societies are more nomadic, moving with the seasons and the migrations of monstrous creatures that they have learned to coexist with; some Wildborn can even communicate with, train, or ride these beasts. Exposure to the surface has changed them; subtle mutations grant superior strength, heightened senses, and resilience against harsh environments. Tribal in structure, each group is led by chieftains and shamans who interpret the will of nature and enforce ancient laws. The Wildborn are expert trackers and hunters, revered for their ability to find water, food, and safe passage where others falter. Their attire is both practical and symbolic: pelts, feathers, and bone ornaments signify status and history, and many keep unusual pets or companions adopted from the wild. The Wildborn value freedom above all and act as mediators between civilisation and chaos, often negotiating peace or guiding those lost in the wastelands. With a fierce code of honour, they defend their territory but are willing to cooperate when the balance of the world is at stake.
Look and Feel
Wildborn: Wildborn attire is a celebration of the untamed spirit and the ancient bond with the land. Their clothes are crafted from coarse linen, leather, and animal pelts in deep greens, ochres, and earthy reds. Feathers, bones, and woven vines decorate shoulders and wrists. Wildborn cherish body art: swirling tattoos and bold face paint evoke tribal markings or stories of transformation. Jewellery is made from teeth, claws, or stones. Many wear cloaks or capes cut to resemble wings or leaves, and some adorn themselves with ritual charms believed to offer protection or channel primal energy. The overall effect is raw, organic, and unmistakably wild. Elves, Orcs, Hobbits, Were-creatures and such are much more common here. As some of the first to return to the surface they have been ravaged by the wild nature of the Fracture for longer.
Mutual Distrust Among the Major Factions
Since their return to the surface, the major factions of the Fracture world have found themselves locked in a web of mutual distrust. Border skirmishes, clashing ideologies, and bitter memories all fuel ongoing tensions. No faction stands alone; each holds reasons to mistrust and dislike the others, shaping the landscape with suspicion and rivalry.
The relationship between the Wildborn and the Devoted is one fraught with discord and unresolved grievances. The Wildborn fiercely oppose any attempt by the Devoted to exert control over natural spaces, regarding such intrusions as an affront to the sanctity of the earth. These tensions have, on more than one occasion, erupted into violence, particularly in battles over sacred groves; places both factions view as vital to their beliefs. To the Wildborn, the rituals and ceremonies conducted by the Devoted are perceived as disruptive, interfering with the natural order and leaving scars upon the land that are slow to heal. Such hostility has fostered a climate where every encounter is shadowed by the memory of past confrontations, and reconciliation seems a distant prospect.
The Wildborn’s dealings with the Techno-Priests are similarly antagonistic. Deeply distrustful of technology, the Wildborn believe that the innovations and machines wielded by the Techno-Priests corrupt the land and threaten the delicate balance of nature. This fundamental disagreement leads to frequent acts of sabotage, with Wildborn raiders targeting Techno-Priest installations and machinery in a bid to thwart what they see as reckless advancement. Border clashes are a regular occurrence, each faction quick to blame the other for environmental degradation and the ongoing instability in the region. The cycle of accusation and retaliation ensures that cooperation is virtually impossible, and the rift between the two groups continues to widen with every encounter.
Relations between the Wildborn and the Remnants are defined by mutual distrust and philosophical divergence. The Wildborn view the Remnants’ scavenging activities as disrespectful, a violation of the earth’s sanctity born from an obsession with recovery and adaptation rather than true harmony with nature. Disputes over resources are commonplace, with each group vying for control of the limited bounty offered by the fractured world. At the heart of their tension lies a profound disagreement: while the Remnants champion innovation and change as the keys to survival, the Wildborn cling to traditions that celebrate the enduring strength of the natural world. This ideological divide ensures that animosity endures, manifesting not only in rivalry over territory but in every interaction and negotiation.
The mutual distrust among factions shapes every encounter, negotiation, and alliance in the fractured world. Border conflicts, ideological clashes, and historical grievances ensure that unity remains elusive. For players and worldbuilders alike, these tensions add depth and challenge, making every choice and alliance fraught with consequence.
Elemental Affinity – Wind
In the fractured world, the elemental affinities of each nation are not simply mystical connections—they are living, breathing influences, shaping every facet of daily existence, architecture, and belief. Where one steps, the echoes of elemental power linger, weaving together the landscape and the soul of the people who dwell there.
To the West, the Wildborn roam across plains lush with grass and crowned by forests of towering, twisted trees. Their lives are woven into the very breath of the world, moving with a grace and speed that mirrors the untamed wind. The Wildborn’s affinity for air is mirrored in their ever-changing homeland: breezes carry the seeds of peculiar flowers, birds wheel overhead in seamless formation, and no two days are ever the same. Their rituals are celebrations of movement and freedom; held in sacred groves or atop wind-swept hills, where the air sings with a thousand voices. Dancers leap and turn, mimicking the flight of birds, the sway of grass, or the tumble of autumn leaves, their motions binding the tribe to the world’s shifting currents. Prayers, spoken in soft tones, drift on the wind toward distant spirits, while shamans adorned in feathers and carrying wind-chimes commune with invisible forces. Even their magic is ephemeral, woven from smoke and breeze, believed to restore balance and ensure harmony between the land and its guardians. For the Wildborn, to live is to move with the wind; to embrace change, cherish tradition, and protect the beauty that flourishes in the open air.
Wildborn and The Sacred Totem
The Wildborn are a fiercely independent people, their lives entwined with the untamed rhythms of the natural world. They do not look to the ancient relics venerated by the Techno-Priests or to the transcendent mysteries pursued by the Devoted. Instead, they invest their faith in the primal forces that animate all living things; sun and storm, root and stone, beast and river. Their every tradition is rooted in a profound respect for the cycles and spirits of nature, held together by an oral legacy steeped in earthy wisdom and reverence for the wild.
Central to Wildborn belief is the legend of the Sacred Totem. More than a monument, the Sacred Totem is believed to be a living nexus; an enormous, ancient tree or a towering stone encrusted with moss and runes; said to channel the heartbeat of the world itself. Tales tell of a time before the Fracture when the Sacred Totem radiated unbroken power, and every living thing thrived under its watchful presence. The Totem is seen as guardian, mediator, and wellspring, maintaining a delicate balance between the needs of the land and those who dwell within it. When the Totem thrummed with vitality, storms nourished rather than destroyed, predators hunted only what was needed, and sickness was rare.
Wildborn settlements are hidden throughout sprawling forests, atop craggy mountains, and along winding rivers; each village harmonizing with the land. Their dwellings are made from living wood, woven reeds, and stone, blending seamlessly into the environment to avoid disturbing sacred places. The heart of every community is the totem circle: a consecrated ground where great wooden effigies, adorned with feathers, animal bones, polished stones, and intricate carvings, stand as conduits to the Sacred Totem. These spaces are sites for rituals of harvest, healing, and celebration.
Shamans, both men and women, are revered as spiritual leaders, healers, and keepers of lore. Their bodies display elaborate tattoos of vines, claws, and celestial patterns; each one a story, a badge of trials survived, or a vision received. The tattoos themselves are considered sacred, believed to channel spiritual power and mark the shaman’s bond to the Sacred Totem. Through song, guttural chants, ecstatic dance, and offerings of berries, animal pelts, or sacred ash, shamans draw on the raw vitality of nature, invoking the Totem’s spirit to bless their people, heal wounds, and mend the blighted land left in the wake of the Fracture.
Around firelit circles, elders and shamans recount stories from the time when the land flourished and the Sacred Totem’s presence could be felt in every breeze and rooted in every hill. These tales are not simply history, but living memory; reminders of the harmony that once existed and blueprints for its renewal. Shamans undertake vision quests, entering trance states through the use of ritual herbs or fasting, seeking the guidance of ancestral spirits or animal totems. Such journeys are perilous, fraught with spiritual and physical danger, but they are vital to the Wildborn’s mission of restoration.
Each act of healing; whether coaxing new growth from barren soil, tending to wounded animals, or dispelling curses that warp the land; is seen as evidence that the Sacred Totem’s power can be rekindled. Ceremonies marking the change of seasons, the return of migratory herds, or the rebirth of sacred groves are celebrated as sacred opportunities to strengthen the bond between the Wildborn and the primal forces.
The quest to revive the Sacred Totem is more than a spiritual calling for the Wildborn; it is their duty and destiny. They see themselves as guardians and stewards of a world in danger of slipping into ruin. Wildborn warriors and hunters defend sacred forests against intruders and seek to rebalance places where dark magic or blight has taken root. Children are raised with tales of courage, unity, and respect for every creature, instilling a deep ethic of responsibility toward all forms of life. The Wildborn believe that only by living in harmony with nature, and restoring what has been lost, can the world heal.
Until the Sacred Totem rises anew, pulsing with the energies of earth, sky, and water, the Wildborn persist in their ancient practices. They believe that one day, the harmony of old will be restored, the wounds of chaos will be mended, and the primal magic at the heart of the world will once again flow freely. The Wildborn endure, ceaseless in their rites and their fight to protect the delicate balance, certain that the path to true order is found through unity with nature’s indomitable spirit.
Rinna “Panther Warrior” of the Wildborn
Beneath the shattered emerald canopy, Rinna the Wildborn cat-like in appearance and grace ran, her breath sharp, heart pounding with the urgency of a hunt. The forest, once alive with birdsong and shimmering light, now groaned under the weight of a creeping blight. Vines writhed, bark blackened, and the forest pulsed with warning. Rinna delivered that warning to the Elders…
The Elders gathered at dusk to partake in a spirit quest, their eyes reflecting firelight and fear, as rumours swirled of a rival faction unearthing forbidden relics and awakening something ancient, something hungry. Death was coming for them.
On the night of the red moon as ordered by the Elders, Rinna and her closest kin tails wagging and hackles up threaded with expert ease and cat-like grace between twisted roots and haunted shadows, every step echoing with the spirits’ anxious whispers. Strange claw marks scored the stones; the air shimmered with unseen power they could sense the danger they could sense that something dangerous created by the power of the Fracture was close. Suddenly a monstrous shape burst from the dark shadows of the forest; half beast, half something else akin to a machine, its eyes burning with chaos. Rinna felt terror grip her, yet stood her ground. Channelling the lore of her ancestors, she unleashed a primal howl, rallying her fellow Panther Warrior kin. They wove the power of the Fracture and fought with fierce courage, fighting not just for survival, but for the balance at the heart of Fracture itself. The battle was fierce but ultimately Rinna and her kin won but at a great cost as many of Rinna’s kin laid dead or injured despite their fierce warrior talent….
At dawn, the blight retreated, the entity defeated; but the artefact’s power at the heart of the creature crackled with a faint power, Rinna thought she recognized this power as being the mechanical workings of the Remnants. Could the Remnants have sent this half machine against them or was this some other malign force? Rinna would take this artefact back to the Elders they would know what to do. This discovery promised new threats…
As time went on the legends would go on to speak of Rinna, who dared the darkness and through her wild leadership reshaped the fate of their world with both her heart and her howl. And so, the story of Fracture continues to grow; bold, wild, and endlessly alive.