The Tribe of Strength (Patreon)

EFNW went awesomely.  Everyone I got to meet, I hope I didn't derp too hard at you.  Panels went really well, and while I think we should have had only one FoE panel, it was what it was.  And now, as the title suggests, the Achu!

In the midpoint of the dispersal of the great migration into the tribes, there were a wide number of paths with a variety of difficulty.  Most tribes took the paths that came to be delineated by the Old Road.  Indeed the hooves of millions of zebra had worn the path into Equus itself, but there were other paths as well.  More difficult paths over mountains; more dangerous paths near the domains of monsters.  The zebra generally gave these a wide berth.

All save the Haju.  Haju, an ancient zebra term for reckless, sought new ways to travel and new places to go on the migration.  While it was unlikely going over a mountain would ever be of any use, the Haju youth thrilled at the opportunity.  The haju were more like a club of young daredevils than an official tribe.  As the risks the haju faced increased, so did the group's focus at not just running away, but fighting it.

Though the mythological roots say the tribe was birthed from the sun and mountain, the historical founder of the tribe was the zebra Acha-haju.  Unlike most haju who 'matured out' of being haju, Acha refused to give up the thrill seeking.  The loss of his leg, however, forced the issue.  Unwilling to be treated as an invalid, he founded a school for other haju youths to stay and learn how to fight at.  Acha placed his schools in the mountains far from the safe and comfortable roads, and allowed all sorts of monsters to move in to the surrounding territory to test applicants.  To his surprise, and the consternation of many elders, thousands of zebra youth came to study at his school, leaving the migration.  Thus the tribe Achu was born.

The mythological Achu was one of the first zebra heroes, who's strength was so powerful that he sat beneath a peach tree to obtain wisdom and not destroy the world.  This figure would define the achu's relationship with strength, be it raw physical power, speed, intensity, toughness, or skill.  Elders founded schools based around these five philosophies, and each school would generally support a small village around it.  Many were organized around a philosophical 'way'.

The Way of Earth emphasized heavy weight training, often carrying stones to the tops of mountains, and zebras would often mix insect protein into their training regimens.  To these Achu, icons of the tribe, the solution to problems was action with power and intent.  The school of the sundered hoof was a warning to both practioners and enemies alike.  A zebra would learn to kick and stomp with such ferocity that neonates  would often lame themselves in the process.  However, part of the training involved hardening hooves to the point that they would be able to dent iron without breaking.

The way of water schools were frequently situated on white water rivers or next to icy lakes.  Devotees of this style of combat focused on evasion and fluid motion.  Deflection was emphasized over blocking, and opponents were whittled down over time.  Trainees would swim in icky lakes or swim down rapids to both toughen themselves and to flow with the power of the water.  The school of surest path promoted that victory could be obtained through time and one's enemies being exhausted.

While the way of earth embodies Achu-ness, the way of fire came to define zebra martial arts as a whole.  The way of fire emphasizes overwhelming and absolute offense, to the ignoring of physical damage suffered in the fight.  Students of the way of fire are almost universally scarred to some degree.  Students fight amid bonfires or on burning coals, to teach them how to ignore painful distractions.  The style is incredibly energetic and fast, overwhelming opponents in the first few seconds.  Many swinging kicks and summersaults are employed in this technique of combat.  Fallen Caesar was a technique made by Achu nationalists specifically to kill the personal body guards of the Caesar.

The way of steel is a less well known or obvious technique, but it emphasizes tool and weapon use.  Achu following this school would learn to fight with a variety of hoof claws and knives, spears, staffs, swords, tail blades, and other armaments.  Critically, it also emphasizes marksmanship, and zebra hoof bows and later rifles would translate into critically vital markszebraship.  The way of steel shuns armor for blocking and deflection.  If a zebra is to survive, they do so with their weapon.

The way of wood is the most pacifistic style and emphasizes endurance and grapples.  devotees of the school work from before dawn to after dark doing gardening and farm work.  Large meals are very common, and many devotees are fleshy.  When they grab an enemy, they lock the limb and apply pressure until the limb breaks or they surrender.  The way of wood is particularly appealing to police needing to subdue enemies without killing them.

As the great migration ended, the Achu were a widely recognizable and respected place in zebra kind.  Achu took on a distinct training dialect called Jihn, and the language affected the entire tribe, leading to their distinct naming conventions.  Achu were loved as protectors and heroes, and hated as arrogant blowhards causing endless trouble and misery.  When visitors to Zebrinica saw Achu combat competitions, many assumed the entire race was this way, rather than being a singular tribe.  The Achu posses not only their own language, but also their own glyph system.

However, the coming of nightmare moon greatly humiliated the tribe, who couldn't move the sun to spare their people.  When they learned this had been done by a pony, many of the tribe felt utterly helpless.  Indeed, it was Achu outrage at their impotence that lead for the disillusionment of the first Empire and the establishment of the much more centralized second empire.  The Achu also sought greater spiritual prowess and pacts with spirits to push their strength to a supernatural level.  Many feared these pacts crossed the line into turning zebras into spirit ridden monstrosities.  Often monasteries would be home to a singular spirit which would invest power in champions or elders of that school.  Competition between these schools often fueled more wild speculation of the zebra as a whole.

Achu relationships are complicated.  Families are relatively rare, but can occur.  More likely, an Achu desiring a relationship will present their interest directly.  While Achu generally respect declines, some will attempt to force the issue as a show of strength.  Such behavior is heavily censured in the tribe.  Far more often, two Achu will be matched in skill, and competition will spill over into romance.  The Achu have no set marriage tradition, thus most unions are acceptable so long as they do not weaken the Achu member.  The way of earth and fire are more predominately male dominated, the ways of water and steel female, and the way of fire evenly split.  Children are generally given to adults who have completed their desired level of training to be raised.

The second empire saw the Achu elevated in stature, but this also created greater friction in the tribes.  Many saw the Achu as an outlier, too individualistic to be zebra, elitist, and alien.  The Roamani in particular have a long outstanding grudge against the Achu.  A way of earth master challenged a Roamani elder to a tug of war challenge.  The Roamani accepted, and called the entire village to pull along with him.  The story is unclear who won, with Achu claiming the master pulled not just the villagers but the mountain top, and Roamani claiming the master was pulled right off his hooves.

The election of the Caesar was, in many ways, a response to this frission between the Achu and the Roamani.  Though the Achu candidate lost, they refused to support the 'weaker factions, and thus backed the Atoli.  That the Orah were in the same block was seen as further insult.  The 'trash' was better than the Roamani.  When Equestrian tourists were taken hostage by Atoli 'pirates', it was the Achu's mockery of the caesar which really stung.  One Achu master would have easily freed the hostages, with no deaths.

When the war with Equestria began, the Achu were skeptical and refused involvement.  Strength had to be proven in combat, not through mass conflict.  Yet as the conflict went on, more and more Achu were drawn into battle with Celestia's troops.  Equestrians offered greater variety and intensity of fighting, and despite not 'supporting' the war, many Achu 'participated'.  One of the most famous was Hiroto the Mountain Breaker, who claimed that while 'adventuring' in Equestria, he came across a red earth pony stallion who, with minimal skill, fought him to a standstill.  So moved was Hiroto by this encounter that he joined the war merely in the hopes of fighting this 'Big Mackintosh' again.  

All that changed when Luna assumed command.  The tribe filtered.  Some felt the total war was anathemic to their values of individual strength.  Others felt that the rhetoric of the tribe became too extreme and demeaning.  A few felt using their techniques in the wider war proved little and cost too much.  However, the overwhelming majority supported the Caesar, in one swoop cementing his control over the new 'third empire'.  Tens of thousands of Achu would go out into battle, never to return again.  Entire schools which enlisted together were wiped out in just a few months.  Masters found themselves with no students.  As the war progressed, more and more Achu would assume the red of the proditor, outright refuting the notion that fighting proved strength.

It is said when Big Mackintosh was killed by a nameless zebra sniper, Hiroto went into a frenzy, almost massacred his own side, and then became a drunk exploited only for propoganda posters.

The day of doom was a harrowing experience for the tribe, on par with the humiliation inflicted by nightmare moon.  It was balefire bombs and megaspells, not individual strength, which won the war.  They found their monasteries abandoned, destroyed, or repurposed into other use.  Worse, so many adults had died that many masters simply perished of old age before training a new generation of fighters.  Ironically, it was masters that commercialized and prostituted their skills the most that survived into the next generation.

However, the Achu have barely recovered, even after two centuries.  Their schools are tempting targets for legions and raiders, who don't want to risk 'competition' or 'empowered' prey.  A handful survive here and there, the largest numbers living in Bastion's sublevels and renting their muscle and skills on whomever pays best.  A few long lived masters wander the land, taking apprentices and encouraging haju.  One thing is certain: the Achu have accomplished nothing by playing things safe.