Ito
Contents
The Ito[edit]
The Ito clan are a very high status clan who dominate large areas of Do Chaka and Pan Chaka. Before the establishment of the Tsolyani Imperium these provinces were ruled by the Ito as an independent kingdom, and they have been trying to re-esatblish this independence on and off for the last two thousand years. They are nothing if not tryers, but over the centuries they have slowly faded away, and now have little influence in any of the major cities of the west and are essentially 'country squires' with serious delusions of grandeur, indulged by their dependent peasants.
Names among the Ito[edit]
Like the Vriddi and Tlakotani clans, the Ito use no lineage names and no 'hi' prefix. They are all 'Ito', a word from an ancient Chakan language that allegedly means 'Priest'. This is an affectation that denotes extreme nobility and royal pretentions, though in fact most of the other very high clans wield more power and have more wealth and all included independent rulers during the rather misnamed 'Time Of No Kings'. The Ito only marry amongst themsleves, but do not seem to suffer any problems with inbreeding.
Ito and Sarku[edit]
The Ito claim that they were the very first people to worship the deity Sarku, back in the days of the Dragon Warriors, before even the incredibly ancient Bednjallan empire was founded, and certainly before he was worshipped in the Kraa Hills around the modern city of Ssa-Sarku. Needless to say the Kraa hill tribes dispute this, but among the scholar priests of Sarku it is known that the Tongue of the Lord of Worms is related to now extinct Chakan tribal dialects.
In the Chakas the Ito make large cash donations to the Temple of Sarku, but rarely actually attend themselves. They have their own house priests and worship at their own private shrines and the tombs dedicated to their ancestors. Outside the Chakas the Ito are more conventional in their relationship to their religion, holdng senior temple posts in Sarku tempes in many major cites. None however is part of the High Council of Sarku priests that sits in Ssa-Sarku, and none has risen to beyond Tsemel (Patriarch, or 16th circle+) in rank. Interested political observers suggest that this is a deliberate policy by the mainstream Sarku heirarchy to avoid having the Ito take over the whole temple.
The Ito support the Brotherhood of the Victory of the Worm, the less political wing of the religion, and allegedly give money to the dubious Brethren of the Amber Coiling. During the recent civil war their position was hard to fathom - they certainly were not wholeheartedly behind Dhich'une and his Copper Tomb faction, certainly dallied with the Royalist faction in return for promises of greater local autonomy and were quite definitely against Mirusiya, who evetually won and became Emperor, due to their hostility to Vimuhla and the Red Clans of western Tsolyanu.
Almost no Ito ever leaves the temple of Sarku. A few in Ssa-Sarku are members of Durritlamish as they have been memebrs of legions dedicated to that deity, one or two in Meku have tried to join Hru'u and Ksarul, but they were disowned by their clan and distrusted by their new temples.
The Lost Kingdom of the Ito[edit]
There are numerous legends of what the Chakas were like back when the Ito were undisputed monarchs. One persistent tale was that the population were sacrificed in huge numbers at the funerary temples erected in honour of deceased (or actually undead) Ito and the Empire intervened at the request of the oppressed population. Others suggest it was a golden age, when bureacracy, legalism and its attendant waste were kept to a minimum and you could rely on the wise and dedicated Ito nobles to make the best decisions for the people in their fief immediately.
Nowadays the Ito still exert considerable power, but a little more indirectly. They still own large estates, but they cannot exert the feudal dominance of the local poulation they used to. Instead they monopolise positions in the Palace of the Realm and see to it that their placemen hold all the junior posts. This enables them to bend the laws of the imperium somewhat - as long as the taxes assessed for thier districts come into the provincial capital no one much bothers about their corruption, though of course they have made sure their people do all the tax assessing.
The Ito and Mu'ugalavya[edit]
The Mu'ugs have at times conquered the Chakas and have helped the Ito stage uprisings. This does not mean they like the Ito, or that the Ito like them - there is a definite antipathy toward Vimuhla worshippers among the Ito - but they have interests that sometimes coincide. The last time the Mu'ugs ruled the Chakas they very much left the Ito to their own devices, knowing just how much trouble they could cause. The most recent invasion was not quite so hands off; the Mu'ugalavyani turned on their former allies with gusto and desecrated tombs with abandon, something they have never done before.
Manners among the Ito[edit]
The Ito outside the Chakas are fairly normal Tsolyani nobles, extravagant, arrogant, isolated, self-imndulgent dilletantes if they can get away with it, dabbling in finance and land management where they are forced to make a living.
Within the Chakas they are austere, understated people, extremely formal in their dealings with non-Ito, even those who are their social equals. They never party, never hunt, they wear sombre born clothing and elegant simple jewellery. They travel in small palanquins with few guards, and some even walk on their own two feet.
Their followers say this reflects their dedication to the people; they do not waste the resources of their lands in fripperies and display, they genuinely care for their subjects. Less kind souls say that the Ito are practising being dead and unemotional for their long sojourn in the grave which is all they really care about, or perhaps they are already dead and unemotional and are all Jajgi.
Ito tombs[edit]
In ancient times the Ito built extravagant pyramids of black basalt with mighty funerary temples adorned with giant statues of themselves. Since the loss of their kingdom they have been less ambitious, building mastabas, formalised copies of the country villas they occupy in life, but with black stone walls and roofs rather than whitewash and pantile. Ito priests spend a lot of time at these tombs carrying out long and complex rituals over their dead. The tombs are also guarded - it is a signal honour for a guard who served his master in life to become an M'rur and guard him in death also. Allegedly in ancient times when an Ito died his whole household, including slaves and livestock, would be sacrificed and recreated as undead and would live in the pyramid with him for eternity.
Notable Ito[edit]
Kego Ito[edit]
Kego is the current head of the Ito clan. He was until recently held under house arrest in Chene Ho, but was released by Eselne (say some) or escaped (say others) when Eselne left for Bey Su with his army to fight Dhich'une. Kego was greeted like a saviour by the people of the Ito ruled districts, they had had no such figurehead for generations, not since Kego's grandfather was arrested for plotting rebellion and taken into custody.
Kego's current location is unknown. He was last seen with the Ito forces who attempted to cut off Tumissa and the Red clans just prior to the Mu'ugalvyani invasion, but retreated with this force into the forests.
Mrido Ito[edit]
Kego's older brother, passed over as head of the clan when he escaped from custody as a teenager, but regarded as rightful head of the clan by some. Has lived a wild and adventurous life, travelling to Pelesar and Livyanu allegedly formenting rebellion against the Empire and plotting to re-establish the Ito kingdom. Led Ito forces in a disatrous battle against the Mu'ugalavyani, apparently still has an army of sorts hiding in the hills. The Red Clans in Tumissa regard him as very dangerous and want the new Emperor to order the Omnipotent Azure Legion to find and arrest him, though he has not actually committed any provable act of treason.
Kasso Ito[edit]
Head of the Ssa-Sarku Ito. Seen as loyal to the Imperium, he was one of the first Sarku worshippers to change sides when it became clear Dhich'une had been breaking all the concordats, and was no longer fit to be Emperor. Currently resident in Bey Su indulging in all kinds of politicking; beleived to be trying to persuade Mirusiya to put him in charge of the Sarku Temple and/or make him head of the Chakan Ito instead of Kego.
