The Anthem of Skin

[Deleted member 61]

"Despise not death, but welcome it, for nature wills it like all else." — Marcus Aurelius​

“There are many abominations and horrors throughout the world, and not all of them wear hideous faces and mangy hides. Monsters live among us, all around us. We do not know who will strike us down or why, but it can happen, at any moment. Peel back the deceit and the lies and stare into the skinned carcass of a dead civilization that once took breath. Our long march into the bitter dusk shines no light but a bleak malaise that sends chills down the spine. The damned and corrupted world, full of dirt and decay, washes over all not-so-innocent survivors of our Holocaust. Weary eyes gathered on every wanderer who treads through the wilderness, potential prey for the predators that surround. We live in a desolate world of degenerate scum. Truth is a luxury and only those willing to sacrifice their innocence can pry it from the lips of the unwilling.”

The Anthem of Skin

Skin is the body's first layer of protection that binds and seals together the flesh and bone.
Skin is the reflection of our history, our ancestors, our folk.
Skin must be cherished, celebrated and cared after.
The Divine above bless those purity of skin.

After death, pray that we are burnt and purified.
Pray that you are turned to ashes before your skin rots.
For the body turned to ash is the body of one's after-life.

Beware of those with blemishes on their bodies.
Marks of ink desecrate the body's beauty.
Marks of excess blemish the face's beauty.
Do not mutilate the body, unless it is deserved so.
The skinner's blade must separate skin from flesh; the good from the sin.

If let to rest, the skinned man heals back without infection; they are pure.
Fail them their recovery and their flesh shall rot and they be condemned."

Responsibilities of Skin

Sanitation — In a world of filth, disease and muck, the maintenance of your environment is necessary for the condition of the human spirit and for good health. The medical facilities must be kept pure so that bacteria does not fester.

Healthcare — Through the wastes and debris, violence and bloodshed, it is inevitable that we may suffer through injurious peril. What skin has split may be brought back together and through the clan’s expertise, we may live to see another day.

Hygiene — The dire conditions of this forsaken world can never degenerate us to savagery. The hygiene of those within the Clan of Skin is mandated to be kept up to standards.

Interrogation — The duty of interrogation falls to those best able to conduct it without killing the interrogatee and through our medical expertise and artistry with the knife, we are the premiere Clan for sparking conversation.

Internal Affairs — Our coalition depends on predictability, trust and loyalty. We are only there to predict the future, discover who to trust and how to render loyalty.

Culture

The Clan of Skin is seen by the others as a mixed blessing because of their dual-purpose as medical care providers and interrogators. Their healthcare, while not state-of-the-art, is decent quality in spite of the lack of premium medical equipment and supplies and it satisfies the needs of the Marauders. Their role as interrogators, however, is typically regarded by the more pacifist Marauders as ‘disgusting’, ‘depraved’ and ‘cruel’. As a whole, the Clan of Skin is a perfect fit for sadists, doctors without licenses due to malpractice, malicious outcasts and other vain psychopaths who are dead-on-the-inside.

Vanity is common within the culture of the Clan of Skin as those with blemished faces are seen as inferior to those without marks. Being disfigured or having round facial features is seen to lower your position on the hierarchy within the otherwise egalitarian society. Make-up and similar cosmetics are considered a luxury, however, hair dye is seen as transhumanist filth because it sullies one’s natural hair color. It goes without saying that hygiene is also a serious concern of the Clan, as purity is cleanliness. Tattoos are also seen with great disgust within the Clan of Skin.

Substance abuse is seen as degenerative behavior, however, alcohol is seen as the most innocent, tobacco less so and weed and anything worse is seen as anti-social behavior and unconducive to the welfare of the tribe. Addiction will most certainly see members kicked out.

The Inquisition

An inquisition is an informal court summons in which the opinions of all five members, each Shaman and the Chief, decide the fate of the member in question after hearing all the related facts of a conflict. This could be the discovery of a treacherous plot or simple subordination. There are no rules for the court, no laws and everything is susceptible to the personal biases and interests of each Shaman and the Chief. The court is not to be used for non-members of the Marauders, who are to be dealt with at the discretion of the Chiefs or Shaman of Skin and their acolytes. The Chief holds no veto power over the inquisition, or if he does, it will be through his authority and against the will of the tribes.

Roles

Skin Mother
The Skin Mother protects the interests of the Anthem of Skin and provides their tribe with inspiration and objectives. The responsibility of the Skin Mother is to coordinate with the Chief to determine security risks throughout the Wasteland, mitigate their dangers, and protect the interests of the greater organization. Internally, they are responsible for the delegation of duties of whether they be interrogation or leading the prosecution in the Inquisition. They hold the position of faith leader of Skin, therefore they have the ultimate say in these unique traditions.

Prefect
The Prefect is 'Mother's' right-hand, able to take command if 'Mother' is absent from her duties. The Prefect serves more or less as a lieutenant and advisory to 'Mother'. The Prefect sees to it that the objectives set by 'Mother' are accomplished and has full authority to reprimand and punish at their discretion for their negligence or treachery. The Prefect holds the authority to operate autonomously, outside of making spiritual changes to their traditions.

Skinner
The Skinners are agents of the Skin. They serve the commands of the Prefect and Mother. Their duties revolve around hunting, stalking and skinning their enemies. Legend has it, Skinners who have stripped the skin off of their fellow human, are known as 'Flayers'. It is uncertain as to whether or not this is seen as an honored tradition, or simply a regression of morality sparked by the fall of civilization. Skinners do not typically wear the tribe's traditional dress outside of camp while they are conducting their affairs.

Patchworker
The Patchworkers are focused primarily on medical and support matters and share little of the responsibilities of the Skinners. For the most part, Patchworkers provide support in terms of cleaning the medical area, providing medical assistance, and ensuring there is a steady availability of food and medicine. While Patchworkers are not forbidden from scouting for supplies or carrying weapons, it is encouraged they work together with the Skinners on scavenging expeditions.

Scab
New blood. They will remain on a probationary period until their interest in Skin has proven consistent. Once embraced, they will pick either the path of the Skinner, or the Patchworker. If they prove themselves to have the qualities needed, they will be embraced as either a Patchworker, or a Skinner.

This roster is not publicly tracked.​

 

[Deleted member 61]

Химна коже — Kimna Kozhe

Kimna Kozhe uniform patch upon finding a box full of them while scavenging
​

The Kimna Kozhe originates from the Serbian territories in the Balkans, три бодежа, or'Tri bodeža', a sub-section of the infamous Велики српски левијатан ('Veliki Srpski Levijatan') joint task-force. Their operations focused on information and state security services that operated cohesively with their staff of amoral combat medics, operators and tacticians to capture, interrogate, torture, and eliminate threats to the Greater Serbian Leviathan. One of their trademarks was to leave the corpse of their enemies in a place where they'll be found with a balaclava over their skinned head to horrify whoever lifted the balaclava to see who it was.

From their new tribal beginning, the Kimna Kozhe enjoyed the use of technology when it suited them, and rejected it when it didn't or threatened cohesion with the others. As they grew to be a staple of the band of tribes, they became more assertive in their adoption of technology, in spite of the mutterings of other tribes. When it comes to the use of force, they did not share the same methods of Bone or Flesh, instead choosing alternative methods outside of brute force. This is often seen by them as weakness, but the Kimna Kozhe does not concern themselves with the opinions of their inferiors.

After the destruction of the Veliki Srpski Levijatan by LAMBDA contractors, the Kimna Kozhe, travelled North into the interior of Europe, picking their fights wisely but taking advantage in every way they could. Over-time this small band of grim beings, self-obsessed with their cruelty and malice, they got a kick out of using skin-care products on their skin while stripping their enemies and victims of theirs. The Kimna Kozhe do celebrate humanity, but the brutality of it as they are the first to strip it from their enemies. Their understanding of human history and of nature is that it is a violent, zero-sum game where there are winners and losers, perpetrators and victims, the killers and the killed.

In it's origins, the leadership of Kimna Kozhe remained firm in the hands of Serbians, but as some of them had died off and changes of leadership, it has dropped the ethnic hegemony and has become more inclusive to Slavs of all kinds. Through their travels, they often robbed everyone who wasn't a Serb, but once they had left Serbia, they began to rob everybody who wasn't Slavic. The decision to do so rested with the previous leadership and due to the commitment and subservience of the members to their leaders; they obeyed, even if they weren't Serbian. In once sense, they rose above nationalism domestically in the group, yet failed to do so when it came to outsiders.

The Kimna Kozhe were able to come into contact with the Insurrectionists of Sisyphus after they had requested an envoy exchange. The Kimna Kozhe had already done their research, scouted out their numbers and resources. They were barbaric in their appearance, but they were a leviathan of one sort of another. Мајка од коже (Majka od kože) sent in the Префект (Prefekt) to discuss politics with the Chief. The Shamans remained with him until the Prefekt requested a private conversation and they were sent away though reluctant. A conversation an hour along went on. An exchange of cultures. A mutual understanding with certain details left out. The Prefekt returns to the majka od kože to inform her that community, home and supplies are on the table, in exchange for loyalty to the Chief, the assimilation and incorporation of their cultures and the celebration of the indominatable human spirit.

And so forth, the Kimna Kozhe would convienantly embed themselves into the Maurauders, serving the Chief and majka od kože directly. The Kimna Kozhe are notably more supportive of technology than the other cults within the tribal community, encouraging the use of firearms and medical technology to the point of other tribal cults within the organization, such as the Shaman of Flesh, seeing the Kimna Kozhe, as imposters and a special impurity within the organization. A greater issue of the internal perception of the Kimna Kozhe is their absolute disregard for false virtues such as 'honor', 'glory' and 'heroism' and their interpretation of the human spirit as one of savage brutality and unrivaled cruelty, and to employ these views against the enemies of the indominatable human spirit.

Culturally, the Kimna Kozhe have been able to sustain the tradition of Serbian folk music, typically played with the accordion. Their views of vice and virtue are atypical of most, as they typically remain uncaring towards the lives of outsiders except to the extent at which it could benefit the Tribe. Manipulation and lying is not considered immoral, so long as it is done in service of protecting their people. Physical harm is not necessarily a moral question, but a question of politics and security to them, not even justice. The common view of the Kimna Kozhe is that substance abuse of hard drugs is degenerative behavior, while alcohol is tolerated, however, alcoholism is not. Signs of alcoholism in the face is an immediate cause for moral intervention. Tattoos are also seen as a waste of skin and forbid those with tattoos of joining the Kimna Kozhe.

 

[Deleted member 61]

Reserved.

 

[Ond]

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