Starkmanir Tribe

The Starkmanir Tribe are one of the great seven Minmatar tribes. They were thought lost in the Minmatar Rebellion, until just prior to the Elder War when the Sisters of EVE announced they had discovered remnants of the tribe within the Ammatar Mandate.

Government

The Starkmanir Tribe, as of YC 113, doesn't have either a chief or much of an organized government despite being recognized as a tribe by the Minmatar Republic. The only leaders of the Starkmanir are led by individuals in the refugee camps or religious leaders.

Culture

The Starkmanir Tribe are one of the oldest of the Minmatar tribes, and their access to abundant and accessible resources meant they were traditionally the largest both in size and in power. Today little is known of their culture due to the Starkmanir Tribe settling on a planet subsequently destroyed and the Amarr tendency to destroy the culture of the peoples they conquer.

Today, generations of slavery have eroded much of their proud past. They have little to go on and they a face of great amount of uncertainty in their future.

Starkimanir are divided by their religion; some viewed that it is no longer needed while others still practice it. Those whom practice Amarrian faith are often targeted by Minmatar society fiercely against the religion. Starkmanir sages, though, have been viewed to be the key to unite the tribe together. However with the death of Sage Uldas Dreeter, uniting the Starkmanir has prevented others to unify the tribe in fear their lives will be next.

Racial Traits

The Starkmanir's origins of Matar's equatorial region is plainly visible even today in their almond-shaped eyes. Beyond that they appear very much like the Brutor, though slightly smaller and darker. It is likely this trait had allowed the Nefantar Tribe to successfully hide the remnants of the tribe for so long as slaves.

History

The Starkmanir Tribe have a proud history though thought to have been lost, but today they have rediscovered and recently freed from their life of slavery.

Matar

The Starkmanir are one of the oldest tribes from Matar that are believed to have originated from the vast Evniletti Plains, but their true origins are lost in history.

The earliest records of the Starkmanir tribe lie in the oral histories of two of their splinter tribes. Thousands of years ago, a Starkmanir clan crossed the Mioar Strait and settled among the islands in the Mioar archipelago. Their reason for doing this is lost, but they continued to move southwards into the island-strewn southern hemisphere of Matar. This sub-clan eventually lost contact with the rest of the Starkmanir Tribe which these people came to form a separate tribe of their own and named themselves the Brutor Tribe.

Around the same time, Some five thousand years ago, a brutal Starkmanir chief was exiled with all his people. The chief led his people into the most inhospitable part of Matar and was never seen again. But several centuries later their ancestors returned to Minmatar society, much changed in their appearance and manners. They never revealed the cause for this change, but took to roaming between the other Minmatar tribes in large caravans, living as merchants, healers, scholars and fortune tellers. They named themselves Vherokior Tribe.

Space Age

The Starkmanir Tribe remained neutral through many tribal wars. When the tribal wars ended, the Minmatar knew nothing but peace until the arrival of the Amarr.

During this period, the Starkmanir Tribe's size, age, and neutrality in the wars, ensured they were a strong voice on Matar. Despite the Sebiestor's critical role in the development of space technology, the Starkmanir Tribe maintained the strongest influence over the Minmatar as they entered their Space Age.

With the discovery of the Arzad system and citing increasing population pressures on Matar, the Starkmanir Tribe made the decision to leave their homeworld and settle their tribe on the second planet from the sun which they named Starkmanir Prime. The lands of the Eyniletti Plains on Matar were put into the joint ownership of the remaining tribes, and with few exceptions, the entire Starkmanir Tribe relocated.

Amarr Invasion

Starkman Prime remained relatively untouched by the Amarr slave raids until well after the capture of Matar. During these years, many of those Starkmanir that had not already relocated to Starkman Prime or been caught in the Amarr net, raced towards the planet along with many other refugees.

The steep rise of immigration following by the capture of Matar, threw the local economy out of control and left the population unprepared for war. Hence, while they were given more of a warning than their brethren, the Starkmanir Tribe lacked the infrastructure to harvest raw materials as they attempted to create a planetary defense system. In addition, the Minmatar were not only behind the Amarr in terms of space technology but also were even further behind in weapon technology. Even the parts of their defense system they had completed were inadequate to face the full might of an Imperial Fleet. Their focus on planetary defense meant they had nearly no ground defenses which the planet fell quickly.

Leadership Under Arzad Hamri

The relative ease with which Starkmanir Prime was captured meant that many of the hostile feelings the Amarr had developed towards the other Minmatar tribes were not held against the Starkmanir. It also led some of the more liberal among the Amarr to believe the Starkmanir could be made to accept the Amarr faith, and with the subjugation of the Minmatar nearly complete, they at first fared better than their brothers and sisters.

Ezzara Hamri was one of the most influential Holders on Starkmanir Prime, he was not much different from the average Amarr. The Holder his son, Arzad Hamri, came to be loved by the Starkmanir. His first act as Holder was to grant a day of celebration to all his slaves, calling that day holy by the Amarr religion. Though this act would come back to haunt him, it won him the respect of the Starkmanir who referred to this day as Khu-Arzad. By his tenth year as a Holder Arzad had finished the educational infrastructure on his continent. These education centers were focused on assimilating the Starkmanir into Amarr society and eventually resulted in a two-way flow of learning, with many members of the Hamri family learning Starkmanir woodworking and martial arts as well as gaining an appreciation for Starkmanir spiritualism.

On Arzad's holdings, regular rest periods were common, as were days of parlay including high holy days and other Amarr religious festivals. On one of these days of rest granted by Arzad, known as the 'Hand of Arzad,' 'Hand of Solace, or Khu-Arzad, Arzad himself would act as Pastor of religious services which most Starkmanir would attend. His sermons were collected and distributed among the tribe by the elders who would use them to educate the young on the importance of benevolence and good grace to people of all stations.

Under Arzad, the Starkmanir were treated with respect and dignity. Arzad had even fashioned a version of an Amarr symbol of authority to bestow on his slaves. The three-foot rod with a spiked solar-disk on top that represented Imperial and Divine authority was copied and set with a blood obsidian orb native to Starkmanir Prime, and given by Arzad to his slaves as a symbol of enlightenment and salvation.

Execution of Arzad Hamri

This was the final straw for the Theology Council. Uncomfortable with Arzad's growing popularity among the slaves as a religious figure, the Theology Council had asked Arkon Ardishapur to intervene and curb Arzad's activities for some time. As long-time friend of the Hamri family he had done what he could, but Arzad seemed to answer only to a higher power.

His usurping of this symbol of the Emperor's power resulted in Arkon Ardishapur forced to preside over Arzad's execution for treason and blasphemy by order of the Theology Council. All copies of this symbol known as wildfire scepters were ordered to be rounded up and destroyed. The Starkmanir were furious at his execution and even with his death. But Arzad's influence on the Starkmanir people was undeniable still there.

Rebellion and Destruction of the Starkmanir Tribe

His book of sermons became even more popular among the tribe, who began calling him St. Arzad. Three days after his death, Arzad appeared in a dream to a Starkmanir youth named Drupar Maak and told him “The fire in our hearts burns for salvation, redemption, and grace. May the Word of God grant you the courage to save yourself and your people.” Years later, on the day of Khu-Arzad, Drupar Maak avenged the death of his beloved Holder by killing Arkon Ardishapur with his own scepter which lighted the fuse for the Minmatar Rebellion. Arkon's son, Idonis, in his first act as Holder responded by ordering the orbital bombardment of Starkman Prime.

With the majority of the Starkmanir on Starkman Prime, the few remaining had been integrated into the general slave populations and the tribe was thought lost. Though unknown to anyone else at the time, the leadership of the Nefantar Tribe made a decision to protect the remnants of the Starkmanir. They were outwardly known to be collaborators with the Amarr which soon became true for most of the tribe. However, when granted a solar system of their own, the Nefantar leadership proceeded to secretly acquire any remaining Starkmanir people and move them to their own holdings where they could be protected.

Discovery and Elder War

The Sisters of EVE announcement of the discovery surviving members of the Starkmanir within the Ammatar Mandate may have been the prime factor that saw the Elder Fleet came to action starting the Elder War.

Minmatar Elders task forces rescued the surviving elements of the Starkmanir Tribe along with other slaves from Halturzhan were returned to the Minmatar Republic. A large group of the Nefantar Tribe also returned to the Republic after their ancestors' true motives for defecting became known.

The return of these people to the Republic along with the refugees, at a time that also saw the Thukkers returning to the fold, put significant strain on the Republic. Refugee camps sprouted up all over The Great Wildlands and 'intake' systems such as Rens as members of the three tribes awaited entry.

Return to the Minmatar

Though they have returned, the Starkmanir, for generations, have only known slavery as their life within the Ammatar Mandate. They lived a backward existence on vast agricultural colonies and for many were unaware of their heritage. Though the Starkmanir survive genetically, in every other way the tribe was truly lost on Starkman Prime. With no prior experience in the modern age, tribal structure or their own heritage; the Starkmanir Tribe cannot figure how to regain their former influence among the Minmatar Tribes for the near future.

Currently in the Republic, they are viewed by some as simply a symbol of hope, while others just view them as simple. They struggle to come to terms with a foreign identity that they feel has suddenly been thrust upon them, while they try to make the transition from slaves to free citizens. The fact that many of the Starkmanir hold on to their Amarr faith isn't making their integration to the Republic any smoother. Several have been killed by anti-theists, most notably religious leader Sage Uldas Dreeter was killed in YC 112.

Many believed Sage Uldas Dreeter was the best hope in uniting the Starkmanir Tribe. In response to the violence by anti-theists, Starkman Milisi, a paramilitary organization, promised to provide protection to Starkmanir sages.

By YC 113, despite being recognized fully as a tribe within the Republic, the Starkmanir have yet to elect a chief.

Military

Currently, the Starkmanir Tribe doesn't have any official military branch like the other tribes.

However, a paramilitary organization known as the Starkman Milisi has formed. The organization mainly consist of Starkmanir who previously work in militias or police forces in the Ammatar Mandate with some claims of modern military training. As a response to the death of Sage Uldas Dreeter, the group will provide free services to sages who request their services. This was met with massive approval by the Minmatar tribes and the Brutor Tribe has promised to provide hardware and training.