il-Sarrum Kwadwo
Akarans have been scavenging the World Torn Apart for well over half a century. For much of that time, scavenger rings that’ve met misfortune were essentially left stranded with no sanctuary wherein to rest, nor friends to ease the cruelty. Thus Tarnak’s Council of Jade & Progress established the outposts, built them through blood and through sweat, and the first of which, that grand Dal Ashta, has bloomed mighty indeed.
It is the il-Sarrum who master these outposts. The term il-Sarrum is Deep Tarnaki; il is a modifier, making it so that the noun that comes next is watching or presiding over something. Sarrum is an older word, referencing the generals of those far away outposts who resisted the depredations of the old Kanuman Empire and the slave-armies of Mur. Thus, the il-Sarrum are steward-generals charged by the Council to ensure that their outposts remain stable, continue to grow, and always provide aid to scavenger rings that need it.
Know the il-Sarrum by their signets — intricate rings of shardstone and bronze and lesser gems worn on the index that mark these people as extensions of the Council’s authority. The gemwork represents the two worlds of Torn and Akara, and symbolizes their intertwining.
Dal Ashta’s il-Sarrum has served their position for many a year now. Kwadwo was a supremely skilled bloodcutter in years before, when they themselves scavenged Torn with contemporaries such as Samua & the Rudthar. Now they are the monotone, even-keeled master of what one day will be all Akara’s home, should the Cataclysm lose its cruelty and finally end.
You can learn about Kwadwo a bit in Scavenger: Nomads of Uncharted Worlds. In Torn & Beyond, they will be one of the first people that player scavenger rings meet. They will interrogate the scavengers on what they are doing in the World Torn Apart. They will ask who the scavengers are aligned with, ask what the scavengers seek after, and for how long the ring plans to be in Torn. It is not an aggressive or ill-spirited questioning; Kwadwo, though monotone, has a compassionate heart...but too they know firmness is needed when dealing with daredevils whose powers surpass any logic or reason.
See that creature by Kwadwo’s feet. It is one that will become a fast friend of yours in many a way throughout Torn & Beyond. The garuar (guh-rawhr) are a tiny, Torn-native alien, something similar to a reptile mayhaps, though its translucent flesh and six legs speak to its otherworldly nature. They’re docile things, which Kwadwo likes, and so they keep one as a pet, though Kwadwo doesn’t have enough good cheer to come up with a name for it.
Garuar are not only easy pets but also an important staple for scavenger rings. Their flesh has a peculiar restorative property to it. A meal of graruar makes the muscles feel well-knitted, eases away the fatigue, lets blood more easily clog the cuts and other wounds scavengers are so prone to collecting. Garuar is scavenger slang for good meal, but originally Ribbish for unpainted scale.
Learn more about Kwadwo, Dal Ashta, the outposts, and their il-Sarrums, and our other Torn-natives in our upcoming book, Torn & Beyond!
