Not all elf tribes are as prosperous or successful as the Sky Singers tribe. Some must struggle through every now, undergoing a constant battle to survive in the harsh, unforgiving wastes. Such is the case with the Wind Dancers tribe. The Wind Dancers once roamed the Great Alluvial Sand Wastes from Tyr to Balic, tending huge herds of kanks and living a rich and peaceful existence. The tribe was beginning a small business in trade, mostly as carriers of goods between the two city-states. But as every elf knows, hardship strikes when the now is happy and bright, and that is what happened to the Wind Dancers.

Two years past, a terrible disease ravaged the tribe’s kank herd. No matter what the elves or their element singers attempted, the kanks continued to die. Worse, the elves themselves were not immune to the disease. Many died, and those who didn’t were incapacitated, until only
a small percentage of the tribe remained on its feet to offer care and provide protection. Fewer than 50 elves were sufficiently strong enough to cook, tend the remaining kanks and tribe members, and stand guard. It was then, at the height of the Wind Dancers’ vulnerability, that a thri-kreen hunting pack attacked.

The horde was the largest number of thri-kreen the Wind Dancers had ever seen assembled. Perhaps some similar disaster had befallen the insect-men, for never had so many of them banded together before. They were hungry and desperate, and the Wind Dancers were a feast set before them. Between the disease and the hungry thri-kreen, the Wind Dancers lost all their remaining kanks and most of their numbers. Of 2,000 elves, only 400 survived the twin plagues. There was some retribution, however: the disease ravaged their thri-kreen attackers a few weeks later, killing large numbers of the insect men.

Until the Wind Dancers tribe can rebuild itself, it must do whatever it can to survive. Now, with hungry mouths to feed and few choices on how to accomplish this, the elves have turned to raiding. While the majority of the tribe hopes to return to herding, a small but vocal minority has enjoyed taking sustenance by force. They are determined that raiding shall be the new road to follow in the elves; journey through the nows.

Organization

Santhaal Wind Dancer took command of those elves who
escaped the vicious thri-kreen attack. She forced them
past their despair and onto a productive course of action.
Before disease and battle decimated the Wind Dancers,
Santhaal had been the tribe’s warlord; she had been
responsible for commanding the warriors and defending
the tribe. When the tribe’s chief died in the plague, the
elves lost all cohesiveness. They needed a strong leader
who could inspire them if they were to survive the nows to
come. Santhaal decided she was the elf for the job. After
gathering the survivors and organizing the first successful raid, she was declared chief.

Only two clans remain of the five that originally made up the Wind Dancers tribe. The handful of members of the other clans that survived have been assimilated into the two clans by order of Santhaal. These clans, the Airhunters and the Breezechasers, form the basis for the Wind Dancers’ return to glory. Even though the two clans continue to maintain separate leaders, Santhaal makes them operate together by intermingling members in the same raiding parties. As far as the chief is concerned, Airhunters and Breezechasers must be as one clan if the Wind Dancers tribe is going to survive.

Santhaal’s advisers are drawn from the warrior classes. Even the tribe’s element singer and master mage have a militaristic approach to life. For a tribe of simple herders turned raiders, the leadership that warriors can provide takes precedence over every other concern.
The tribe is divided into raiding parties consisting of 50 elves—men, women, and children from both clans. A raid master commands each party and also serves as one of Santhaal’s advisers. Parties can be combined when larger numbers are needed. In such cases, Santhaal her- self operates as raid master, or she assigns a leader to com- mand the combined forces.

Recent History

After spending more than a year on the run and subsist- ing on starvation rations, the Wind Dancers have begun to make a name for themselves as capable raiders. They do not yet inspire the levels of fear and terror associated with the Black Sand Raiders or the Silt Stalkers, but the traders south of Tyr have learned to be wary of this desper- ate tribe of elves. In the wake of the ravaging plague and the subsequent attack by thri-kreen hunters, the tribe was reduced to few possessions, almost no supplies, and less than a quarter of its number. The elves literally had to start from scratch. While things have gotten better than they were in the dark days that witnessed their desperate flight from the thri-kreen, the Wind Dancers remain on the brink of extinction.

During a recent raid on Fort Adros, the Wind Dancers were ambushed by gith warriors. The fort, located about 35 miles north of the Lost Oasis, opened its gates so that a caravan carrying gold bound for Altaruk could exit. As the caravan moved away from the protection of the fort, the Wind Dancers swarmed out of the wastes. The raid was going smoothly when the gith decided to attack. They came out of the mountains north of the Lost Oasis, seek- ing to take what the elves had fought for. The three-way battle ended with the elves and gith running off with about a third of the cargo each. The rest was carried back to the fort by the remaining members of the caravan. This was the lat- est incident in the growing conflict between the Wind Dancers and the Blood Clan gith of the southern wastes.

To bolster the strength of the Wind Dancers, Santhaal has allowed outcasts from other elf tribes to join her raiders. The newest of these outcast elves is a defiler named Duukodo. Many of the tribe members feel uncomfortable with this addition, for the tribe has tradi- tionally been home to preserver magic. The tribe’s master mage, a preserver named Riikaa Breezechaser, doesn’t like the defiler, but she has agreed to his inclusion at the insis- tence of the chief and because the tribe needs the power Duukodo’s magic provides. Horuum Airhunter, the tribe’s wind singer, has not accepted the defiler, however. His vocal protests could force Santhaal to choose between her chief cleric and the new magic-user.

Such a decision will have to wait, though, as Santhaal is busy planning a major raid on House Wavir’s Outpost 10. The small trading post on the edge of the Ringing Mountains has been receiving large shipments from the Forest Ridge, and Santhaal wants to plunder as much as she can before the caravans arrive from Balic to haul the goods away.

Relations with Outsiders

All outsiders, with the exception of outcasts from other elf tribes, are looked upon as enemies or sources of plunder by the elves of the Wind Dancers tribe. Elven outcasts are offered a place in the tribe if they agree to swear loyalty to Santhaal. The chief has decided on this practice in order to increase the tribe’s depleted numbers. The rest of the Wind Dancers aren’t pleased by this disregard of tradi- tion, but they understand that the tribe must grow quickly if it is going to survive. The initiation process does include a number of tests of loyalty, many of which Santhaal administers herself. This testing has mollified the two existing clans to a degree.

House Wavir of Balic and House Inika of Gulg have bolstered the caravans that service this portion of the Tyr region with more guards, but this has not yet served to deter the desperate Wind Dancers. Because the two mer- chant houses currently operate as allies, the possibility of them raising an army of mercenaries to send after the Wind Dancers is a virtual certainty.

A tribe of gith that inhabits the mountains north of the Lost Oasis has come into conflict with the Wind Dancers on at least six separate occasions over the past year. The Blood Clan, as the gith call themselves, are attracted to the same targets of opportunity that interest the Wind Dancers. Santhaal doesn’t believe her tribe is ready to go to war with the gith, but she may be forced to if the foul creatures continue to strike at the elves’ raiding parties. In fact, the Blood Clan has recently begun shadowing the Wind Dancers, waiting for the elves to launch a raid—and then swooping in to take a portion for themselves.

The Wind Dancers recently made another enemy. The elves plundered a small caravan on its way to Altaruk, killing all its members when they refused to sur- render their possessions. This caravan was made up of ex- slaves from a tiny village near Grak’s Pool, and their deaths did not go unnoticed. The slave tribe called Sor- tar’s Army, which considers itself locked in a war against the city-states, sees all those who would harm or hinder ex- slaves as enemies to be destroyed. Sortar and his berserk- ers are now looking for the Wind Dancers, and they have retribution on their minds. (See DSR1, Slave Tribes, for more information on Sortar’s Army.)

Current Endeavors

Once the Wind Dancers were prosperous herders begin- ning to develop a trade route between Tyr and Balic; now they live as savage raiders. In the two years since disease and war reduced the tribe, Chief Santhaal has been train- ing her elves to fight, to steal, and to take what they require by force of arms. With the constant threats of thri-kreen, gith, slave tribes, and caravan guards looming over them—not to mention the other hazards of the wastes—Santhaal wants her tribe to be as prepared and capable of defense as possible.

The tribe tends to be extremely violent during the ini- tial moments of a raid. They strike swiftly, hoping to crip- ple their target so that the rest of the raid goes smoothly. During these sweeps of bloodthirsty violence, the tribe seeks to vent some of its pent-up anger and sorrow. How- ever, once the first line of defense is broken, the raiders seem to recover their composure. They become almost apologetic and careful not to kill any more people than they must. But make no mistake: the tribe remains in desperate straits and will go to any lengths to secure the things it needs to survive.

Other than Santhaal’s push to train her tribe for battle, the Wind Dancers have no set plan or agenda. The elves have learned where the best ambushes can be set, but they rarely make grand plans or elaborate preparations prior to engaging in a raid. They are marauders of opportunity, taking advantage of whatever travelers, caravans, or poorly defended settlements happen across their paths. They do make periodic checks on the forts and oases of the wastes to see what kind of activity is in progress, but that is the extent of their planned routine.

The Wind Dancers became raiders because of the circumstances that battered them into poverty. The tribe is a long way from becoming well-seasoned raiders, and many of its members aren’t sure that they want to be raiders once the herd has grown to sufficient size to sup- port them. Most of Santhaal’s advisers, however, like the direction the tribe is taking. They are elves with a mili- tary mindset, and they see raiding as the best way to keep the tribe strong.

As long as the tribe follows a philosophy of combat, these advisers believe they will maintain their positions of power. If they can continue to convince Santhaal that marauding is the best direction for the Wind Dancers, then the tribe will remain a hindrance to the southern traders.

Area of Activity

The Wind Dancers tribe wanders the Great Alluvial Sand Wastes, traveling as far north as Tyr and as far south as the Lost Oasis in its search for plunder. The tribe has only a limited number of kank to haul supplies, and each elf must carry his or her own items.
Santhaal regularly leads her raiders against House Wavir’s Outpost 10 and the caravans from Balic that ser- vice it. She also orders periodic attack on Fort Adros and the traders it defends along the gold route between Walis and Altaruk.

Important Members

(TODO: Create these pages. The information is in Elves of Athas. )