Factions & Organizations

Tribes of Zenwey

The Tribes of Zenwey are a collective of tribal peoples encountered during the 3rd expedition across the world in the 5th Year of King Malaky XVI's reign. They engaged in trade negotiations with Rislandian representatives and possessed knowledge of giants, as evidenced by a book on the subject given to Baron Theodore von Monocle by a shaman attached to their chief.

Tribes of Zenwey

Tribes of Zenwey

The Tribes of Zenwey were a group of tribal peoples associated with the region of Zenwey. They came into documented contact with outside parties during the 3rd expedition across the world, conducted in the 5th Year of King Malaky XVI's reign.

"Trade negotiations with the Tribes of Zenway" — The Blood of Giants

Note on spelling: The source text renders the name as "Zenway" in the quoted passage. This wiki uses the established spelling "Zenwey" consistent with other related pages.

History

Contact During the 3rd Expedition

In The Blood of Giants, trade negotiations with the Tribes of Zenwey took place during the 3rd expedition across the world in the 5th Year of King Malaky XVI's reign. The nature and outcome of those negotiations were not specified in the available text.

Role in The Blood of Giants

In The Blood of Giants, a shaman attached to the tribal chief presented Baron Theodore von Monocle with a book concerning giants. This text represented a significant transfer of knowledge and may be related to the broader subject of The Giants and associated lore. The book itself may be catalogued among In-World Books & Documents.

Relationships

In A History of Rislandia

According to A History of Rislandia, the Tribes of Zenwey are a far more extensively documented people than the novels alone suggest, with the sourcebook providing detailed accounts of their society, culture, spiritual traditions, and geopolitical role.

Geography and Population

According to A History of Rislandia, the Tribes of Zenwey inhabit the southern coastal jungles of the Zenwey continent — described as a massive northern landmass far larger than Areth, dominated by dense jungles, vast deserts, volcanic mountains, and frozen wastes. The southern jungles are characterised as hot, humid, and dense with rivers and volcanic activity. The sourcebook estimates the total population of the Zenwey tribes at approximately 750,000 across multiple tribes, though it notes this figure is uncertain.

Society and Governance

According to A History of Rislandia, the Tribes of Zenwey are loosely allied peoples, each led by a chief and a shaman, who maintain their independence but unite against common threats — most notably the Nightmen. The sourcebook identifies four key institutions underpinning this confederate structure:

  • Shamanic Councils, where shamans from different tribes meet to share knowledge and coordinate rituals.
  • Warrior Societies, comprising elite fighters who protect the tribes from Nightmen raids, wild animals, and rival tribes.
  • Hospitality Networks, which offer sanctuary to allies and travellers.
  • An extended family structure forming the basis of daily tribal life, with social ranks of chief, shaman, warrior, elder, and family member.

The sourcebook states that chiefs are chosen for wisdom and strength, and that elders are respected for their knowledge and experience.

Appearance and Material Culture

According to A History of Rislandia, the Zenwey people have dark skin adapted to the jungle climate and are lean and muscular from jungle life. They wear minimal clothing — loincloths and wraps — adorned with feathers, bones, and paint, and use tattoos and scarification to mark tribal affiliation, achievements, and spiritual status. Their tools are described as primitive, made of stone, wood, and bone. Primary weapons include blowguns and poison darts, and the tribes possess extensive knowledge of jungle plants for both healing and poison. Villages are built in harmony with the forest, incorporating treehouses and thatched huts.

Spiritual Traditions and Beliefs

According to A History of Rislandia, the Zenwey are a deeply spiritual, shamanistic people who practise animism — the belief that all things possess spirits. Their religious life includes kava ceremonies used to connect with the spiritual realm and ancestors, voodoo-like practices involving charms, curses, and spiritual magic, ancestor worship, and tribal festivals celebrating harvests, victories, and spiritual events. The sourcebook notes that the Zenwey remember the Firstborn by different names and honour them as ancient spirits.

Oral Histories and Giant Lore

According to A History of Rislandia, the Zenwey tribes possess the most complete oral histories of the Giants and the ancient world of any known people. Their shamans assert that Golgmarsh was a real figure — one of the ancient giants who ruled before the Sundering — and point to the Evolved Giants (referred to in the sourcebook as the Tayzwif) as living proof that the old stories are true. The sourcebook specifies that it was Seeva, a shaman attached to one of the Zenwey chiefs, who showed Baron Theodore von Monocle a book described as containing "the true history of the world," including legends of giants, during the Year 5 expedition. The shaman welcomed the crew into her hut to drink kava on this occasion.

Seeva is identified in A History of Rislandia as the shaman who gave Baron von Monocle the book, and she used feminine pronouns.

Folklore and Legend

According to A History of Rislandia, the Zenwey possess their own cultural variants of legends found across the world:

  • In Zenwey versions of The Dragon's Hoard, the dragon is a guardian spirit protecting sacred treasures, and Aldric's crime is spiritual rather than material.
  • In Zenwey versions of a legend corresponding to The Dragon's Bargain, the dragon is a guardian of the ocean and the taking of Torin's voice is framed as a test of humility.
  • In Zenwey versions of The Island That Wasn't There, the Fae are replaced by forest spirits or mountain ghosts.
  • The Zenwey have their own version of the Stolen Child legend, in which the Fae are replaced by jungle spirits who steal children in order to teach them magic.

The sourcebook situates the Zenwey within a broader pattern, noting that dragon legends appear in cultures "from Rislandia to Zenwey to the distant islands of Panderica."

Contact with Rislandia and Role in the Giant's Blood Crisis

According to A History of Rislandia, King Malaky XVI authorised an expedition to Zenwey during the Giant's Blood Crisis in Year 493 of the Rislandian calendar. The sourcebook states that Zaira von Monocle proposed the mission specifically to find a cure for giant's blood addiction, and that the king approved a three-week mission to cross the Golgmarsh Ocean and make contact with the Zenwey tribes. Zaira is credited with finding the cure there.

The sourcebook also records that the Liliana crew evacuated Zenwey villagers from a volcanic eruption during their time on the continent, and that the crew travelled to the desert city of Great Jerohm and encountered the Man-Beasts of Zenwey.

Difference from the novels: The novel-based account on this page dates the relevant expedition to the "5th Year of King Malaky XVI's reign" and calls it the "3rd expedition across the world." A History of Rislandia dates the Giant's Blood Crisis expedition to Year 493 and Year 19 of King Malaky XVI's reign for a separate Liliana deployment, and describes the Year 5 contact (when Seeva showed Theodore the book) as a prior expedition. The sourcebook thus appears to place the book-giving encounter in Year 5 and the cure-finding expedition in a later year, suggesting these are two distinct expeditions rather than one. The novel-based account on this page conflates them.

Threats and Alliance with Rislandia

According to A History of Rislandia, the Zenwey tribes live under constant threat from Nightmen raids; some tribes have been enslaved or destroyed entirely. The Nightmen cities on the Zenwey continent are located primarily underground, with the largest known Nightmen city situated inside a dormant volcano in northern Zenwey. The sourcebook states that the Zenwey maintain independence but will unite against common threats, and that Baron Theodore von Monocle established good relations with the tribes, who subsequently provided Rislandia with intelligence on the Nightmen. The Zenwey are described as allies of Rislandia in the fight against the Nightmen, with limited trade in medicinal herbs and knowledge also established. The sourcebook notes that the Liliana was present in Zenwey when Wyranth invaded Portsgate in Year 19 of King Malaky XVI's reign, and that the Nightmen invasion is described as a continental-scale assault originating from Zenwey.

Trade

According to A History of Rislandia, exotic items from Zenwey are sold at the Grand Market in Rislandia City and at the Grand Bazaar in the Eastern Port, indicating that trade routes from the eastern coast connect to Zenwey. The sourcebook also notes that Zenwey goods reach the Wyranth Empire via southern coast trade routes.