THE VARAJTUL The largest and most feared group of Wyld barbarians in Creation’s Northwest are called the Varajtul. Hardly anyone else knows their true name; the Varajtul do not talk to their food. Indeed, they speak only a language of their own, meant to imitate the howling and moaning of the winds. In their own tongue, they call themselves the Dream of Infinite Light. Varajtul average eight feet tall, with bodies covered in white, gray or light blue fur. They have narrow, yellow or blue eyes and mouths full of fangs. Their only clothing consists of cloaks woven from human hair, whose designs record the deeds and vision-quests of their ancestors; the frigid winds do not bother them. Their blood, however, is human enough. Most of the time, Varajtul hunt, fish and gather wild foods just as other Northern tribes. In battle, the Varajtul prefer spears with heads of bone or stone, but can use any human weapon. They often lay traps such as camouflaged pits, snow-filled trenches lined with spikes or nets trig- gered by trip lines. They value human meat for religious reasons as well as the taste. While Varajtul readily feed on their dead foes, they prefer to butcher captive warriors or shamans and roast them for a tribal feast. Most important of all for the Varajtul, captives can be taken to a Wyld pocket and ceremonially dissected with a blade of unmelting ice and eaten alive. This thaumaturgical procedure of their shamans calls the Wyld energies into the spilled blood to produce visions of the victim’s emotions, memories and desires—and, sometimes, a complete vision-quest performed in only one day. The Varajtul do not see themselves as savages: rather, they consider themselves the most spiritual folk of Creation. Only a few have spent enough time in Wyld pockets to assimilate. Most eat human flesh out of the sincere religious conviction that other tribes and races are no better than beasts.
