Orroyen tribes

The Orroyen tribes are a mostly elven collection of nomads who live in the Rifenmist Jungle.

Society
The nomadic Orroyen tribes are primarily led by a bloodline of primal wood elves who embrace their animalistic natures; they are distandly related to the syn'alfen of Syngorn, and are descendants of the members of the fallen Court of Ullusa. They rarely leave the jungle except to trade with others on the peninsula. Though it is rare for outlanders to be admitted to the tribes, half-elf vagabonds occasionally settle with the Orroyen, and nearly a quarter of the members of the tribes are either human or some other non-elven race.

The dozens of Orroyen tribes have no central government; each tribe is a gerontocracy lead by a dura, or tribal master. Each tribe consists of between one hundred to a thousand members. Tribes settle at a resting point, called a tomenda, where they build temporary lodging and remain there for around a year or two before moving on.

Prospective leaders and new members undergo ceremonial trials that test the body and mind. These trials often leave scars, not uncommonly maim, and sometimes kill those who undergo them.

History
The Orroyen tribes originate from a group of shelterless elves who fled the Calamity.

In the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting sourcebook, set in 812 PD, the adventure hook The Wayward Bloodline involves the heir to the Iron Authority throne, Zuun'dak, having been briefly captured by an Orroyen scouting party. After growing up uneasy with the brutality of his society, the experience with the Orroyen sharpened his desire for escape or reform.