LeviathanTempest:TannanClan

Tanninim

[Picture: The Symbol of Tannin: A hanging piece of cloth, coarsely woven. The edges fray and resemble used fishing nets. The centre piece of the cloth depicts four snakes in a circle, each eating the body of the next one.]

[Picture: Central. A young man in dress Navy uniform. He is currently pulling off his dress jacket, revealing a t-shirt on which several weapons have been strapped with medical sticking tape. All of the weapons are variations on harpoons and pointy metallic sticks, including a piece of sharpened rebar. The man is blonde, with a crew-cut and thin-rimmed glasses. His left hand has a crustacean-like look, with each knuckle articulated with the next like the segments on a lobster’s body. He is smiling, looking down towards the ground.]

Morphology

The Tanninim have taken upon themselves the mantle of judges - they cultivate an air of aggressive purity of purpose and clarity of thought. Blessed with the mastery of the Tribe's natural weapons, the Tanninim have drifted into positions of violent control and dominion, and this is the viewpoint through which most of the rest of the Tribe sees them. Some work against this, attempting to stress the non-intrusive benefits of the strain's vision, but the natural distrust that Leviathans harbor for one another does not make recuperating from a negative image easy.

Progenitor

The Tanninim claim a beast called Tannin as their Progenitor, a figure who they claim is echoed in the Leviathan of the bible and in medieval images of the mouth of Hell. Tannin is proclaimed in Tribal myth as the devourer of sinners and of the foes of the Tribe, whose watchful, glowing eyes see through deceit and treachery.

Genetics

The heritage of Tannan favours direct descent. Father to son, mother to daughter. The Tannamim do not favour the sometimes bizarre leaps through cousins or nephews sometimes seen in other Strains. Age seems to play a part, with the first-born being the most likely to inherit, the second-born being second most likely and continuing down the chain. Gender also plays a part, with the current carrier more likely to pass the birthright to a child of his or her own gender. Even parental favouritism plays a part. Since who exactly is carrying the heritage in the many generations without a Leviathan is essentially unknowable the Tannanim are only rarely aware of their tendency towards direct descent.

When a Tannanim claims his birthright he usually does so alone. In the rare case that two or more Tannanim are born they will be immediate relatives: Two brothers, a mother and daughter or something along those lines. What's more there will be a clear chain of authority between the two. It might be that one was older, or that one one was the parental favourite and the other was the least liked, or just that one is more popular in school. Even when it doesn’t make sense they both know instinctively who is in charge and why. Whether they accept these instincts is another question but in these early days when genetics and not choice govern which aspects of the Tribe's powers they hold the lesser of the two would be strongly advised to avoid direct confrontation. Tannanim have one other unique trait, up to several months before they begin to develop their powers a Tannanim develops one minor trait such as eye colour or a small verbal tic that is identical to their most recent Leviathan ancestor. Any who knew that ancestor personally might recognise this trait as an early warning of a new Leviathan to be, other Tannanim, Gibborim – or the ancestor himself if he still lives – find this especially easy. To them it's instinct.

Puberty

One moment he's fine, the next he feels his skin begin to itch. Within moments he's on fire and he knows he needs water. The first time even a drink can restore him and for a few days normality returns. From this point the attacks become more frequent and the cures more demanding until nothing short of immersion in natural running water will do. With time or tutoring he will learn that to prevent these attacks with control, both over his surroundings and over himself. Some favour rigid rules and routines that they enforce on all around them, or at least try too; the Wake helps. Others choose to seek authority but refrain from using it and some find control in isolation. Regardless the young Tannanim eventually applies this doctrine to themselves, mastering their body through iron self discipline and beginning the quest for Tranquillity.

The ascension of a Tannanim can be a disaster for his human family. No one likes to suddenly find another claiming dominion over them. Among families unaware of the tribe some accept, they play along simply because they see it as a medical necessity, in most other cases the sheer desperation the fledgeling can feel around preventing their painful episodes can escalate to violence. While the Strain is usually late to their physical powers nothing accelerates a Tannanim's development like combat, the family either has to call the police and hope their clawed son won't be shot on sight (plenty do make the call) or surrender to a more dangerous foe. When the family knows what's coming the usual response is the frenzied clean ups seen in organisations awaiting an important inspection, or for the entire family to run for the hills.

Evolution

The average Tanninim's True Form betrays no weakness, combining broad, unblinking eyes with rows of dangerous natural weapons, hundreds of teeth or dozens of poisonous spurs. They cut an impressive and intimidating figure as they traverse the Depths, and their fearsome reputation hardly seems unwarranted in the face of these displays.

Ecology

Family

The Tanninim's focus on analysis and correction leads them to impose similar pickiness on families they lead - many such families are remarkably small, either as a result of actual interference from the family's mystical bloodline or simply as a function of tradition. Those families that preserve these traditions are likely to strike outsiders as backwards or puritanical, and most do keep a heavy rein on their members - for their protection, they might claim, though few of the touched families recall what it is they are truly protecting themselves against. Being raised in such an environment does little to aid many Tanninim in avoiding the stereotype of inquisitorial zeal that they are painted with.

Lahmasu

The Tanninim proudly call their Lahmasu brethren the Gibborim, or "mighty." The natural armament of the Tribe comes to the fore in this lineage, which have often been set to defend long-lost ruins or police unwitting families. Most Gibborim are fierce in combat and armed to - or with - the teeth. Those that find sponsorship in a Cult are often drilled into even more dangerous precision, serving as the cult's martial arm.

Cults

The Tanninim are often taught by their fellows to routinely drill their cults for weakness and excise any such problems unhesitatingly. As a result, and as a byproduct of the strain's ability to judge and terrify, their Cults tend to be small but remarkably disciplined. Most function with remarkable precision to fulfill the wishes of their deity, unflinchingly placing themselves in the line of fire.

Vestiges

Predation, Awareness, Might, Vitality

Symbols and Associations

The Sea of Kalah, the Red Sea, the vice of Wrath.

Concepts

Internal affairs officer, editor, televangelist, deep-woods survivalist, professional fisherman

Quote

"You think you’ve been pretty much invisible, don’t you? Well I’ve been keeping tabs on you since you showed up, and guess what: I am not amused. Now I’m not an unreasonable man. We can find a suitable arrangement, and we’ll stay here until we do. No, don’t get up. You’ll be more comfortable here on the floor."

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