Nagath

Nagath is an ideal way of living, acting, and dying, that many tribes people pursue. Those who consider themselves Nagath warriors are characterized by fighting skills designed to best elemental enemies, high pain tolerance, and fearlessness. Although by no means a rule, the Nagath warriors of the coast tend to use rage to overpower pain and fear, those inland tend towards stoicism and separate their body and mind. There are, however, many hundreds of interpretations of the Nagath ideals, and thus many hundreds of different sorts of practitioners.

Tenants of Nagath and Kavok's Scrolls
Kavok was an itinerant noble who wrote down what he believed were the foundational ideas of Nagath. His words are, in the modern day, considered to be cannonical. Prior to his work (and even following) there were others who tried to put Nagath in writing but they all fell short. Excerpts from Kavok's Scrolls:

"A Nagath warrior seeks to destroy those whose power is born from the elementals. His whole life should unwaveringly be dedicated to the task. If he should die in any other fashion, his death is considered shameful...

''A Nagath warrior should feel no wound in battle for he carries the pain of his people. No wound should stop him until his death, and only death should end his pain.''

A Nagath warrior fears nothing, for death is what one fears most, and the warrior seeks death."

Interpretions of Kavok's Scrolls
Kavok's scrolls did not give interpretations or further definitions for many passages. Perhaps this is why the work is so enduring: whoever reads it can interpret it in a way that they agree with.

For example, in the first paragraph, "those whose power is born of the elements" could just as easily be interpreted to mean "Geists" as "wizards." In the second paragraph, "feel no wound in battle" could mean that either a warriors should feel no pain, or that he should never even be wounded. In the third line, "the warrior seeks death" could mean the death of his enemies or his own end.

The result is that no two Nagath warriors act and think the same. There are no dedicated 'schools' of Nagath, and as such the knowledge is passed on from experienced warrior to novice. Nagath warriors on the coast, interestingly, boast the highest literacy rate of any of the social classes and the highest number of spellcasters (in both number and percentage).

Nagath Throughought the Ages
"Nar Gurth" (death by fire) arose during the the Coastal period amongst the tribes furthest inland, and closest to the elemental void. "Nar Gurth" was a less specific and less refined idea than modern Nagath, and was used more like "courage" or "strength" than as refering to a way of living and thinking. However, the general idea was passed around, refined by the tribes when they were in isolation and then spread out once more when they met to trade or even do battle. In this way Nar Gurth was constantly isolated, refined, and rejoined in a cultural melting pot until it became a primitive form of Nagath.

The Incursion of 344 AR can really be seen as the birth of modern Nagath, when the inland tribal warriors decided that in order to be able to combat the geists, they would have to dedicate their whole lives to perfecting the necessary skills. The popularity of Nagath also grew amongst the low tribes directly following the incursion, but not until well into the revival period did the itinerant warriors of the coastal regions also take up the idea that Nagath required complete devotion.

Modern Nagath
In the modern day, Nagath warriors are extremists as history has taught them to be. People are naturally weaker than elekin and tempeters, there's simply no disputing that fact, and so only through untiring dedication to the perfection of Nagath can any warrior hope to make a difference. To be a Nagath warrior is literally a death wish, as Nagath warriors desire to die in combat with the elemental kindred, and it is this combat that they dedicate their lives to seeking and perfecting.

Learning Nagath
Across Tonis most warriors learn Nagath during an apprenticeship with an experienced Nagath warrior. On the Anti-Turnwise coast this typically involves a period of study wherein Kavok's Scrolls are memorized, various other works regarding Nagath and the art of combat and read, and the student recieves a general education. Turnwise and inland, knowledge of Nagath is passed down through oral tradition, novices are made to recite the words so much that they often speak them aloud while sleeping.

Novices repay their debt to their teachers by aiding them in combat, performing tasks like hunting and foraging for the master, and handling the goods and trade transactions. In this way the novice learns and perfects the skills he will need when he is the master, while simultaneously relieving the master of the other tasks which distract him from focusing on Nagath. Literate novices also perform the important task of copying the written works that they study, thereby allowing knowledge of Nagath to spread. When a master falls, the novice takes the master's scrolls and passes down the ones he has copied to his own novice. In this way, the Nagath Warrior with the oldest scrolls is heir to the oldest line of Nagath wisdom.