In the time of Ma'ar and Urtho, there was a people called the Kaled'a'in. After the Mage-Wars, these people were separated. One group became the Tayledras, charged by the Star-Eyed Goddess to cleanse the land. The people that settled in the land where Urtho's Tower once stood, however, chose a different path. Arguing that magic had caused the mess they found themselves, these people promised to give up magic in exchange for their land to be restored to health and beauty. This, however, came with a price. They were charged with the duty of guarding the land and the secrets it contained for all time. Thus were the Shin’a’in born. The only magic they would have would be those Sworn to the Crone – the Shin’a’in shamans. Any people born with magic have three choices – become a Shaman, have their powers blocked for all time, or travel to the Tayledras. It is no shame in being born with the Gift. The Shin’a’in were originally made of four clans – Tale’sedrin (Children of the Hawk), Liha’irden (Deer-sibs), Vuysher’edras (Brothers of the Wolves), and Pretera’sedrin (Children of the Grasscats). Since this time, they have grown to number forty-odd Clans. Each has a territory, and they move around in this land, following the seasons. The Shin’a’in, for the whole, are content to stay in their lands. Only a few ever leave the Dhorisha Plains, for a variety of reasons. All Shin’a’in learn the basics of sword fighting as well as riding. Shin’a’in are known in most lands as two things – breeders of the best horses money can buy, and the fieriest fighters ever to be found. Like the Tayledras and their bondbirds, Shin’a’in horses are extremely intelligent. Warsteeds are never allowed off of the Plains, and any warsteed mare who becomes pregnant is soon returned to the Plains. Only the culls, and some of the saddle-bred horses are ever sold. Warsteeds are worth their weight in gold, and are tamed (rather than broken) to respond to words and gestures alike. They are intelligent enough so that their rider need not even be conscious while on the horse’s back. The people of the Shin’a’in have a special bond with the Star-Eyed in all four of her faces – Maiden, Warrior, Mother, and Crone. Only two of these, the Warrior and the Crone allow people to dedicate their lives to them. Those Sworn to the Warrior are the Kal’enedral, the Sword-Sworn. They are the only ones permitted of the Shin’a’in to claim blood-feud. Kal’enedral forsake the colorful garments the Shin’a’in loved, and wore only two colors – black, for blood-feud, and brown for any other time. Shin’a’in are widely known for their proverbs, and have one for every situation. They also adore colors; never have they found a color they didn’t like.