The Tieke are cave-dwellers, specifically inhabiting the cliffs in the area surrounding Teyka Bay in the central eastern province of the continent. They are well known for being the only tikedi people to possess electrically based technology and a religion that isn't centered on the tekk but instead focuses on worshiping a mysterious, possibly extraterrestrial visitor named Teyka and the gifts of knowledge and engineering that she provided them with.
Technology and Scientific Advances[]
The Tieke people are extremely proud of their intellectual pursuits, but also careful and secretive. The realm of technological engineering belongs to the Priestesses and those they trust and guide, and the secrets are well guarded. Very few have access to the entirety of their bank of Teyka's knowledge. Those with a talent for engineering are well respected if they can prove their worth and enter into the Priestesses' confidences, but it's a touchy position, as they can find themselves cut off from their work if they breach that trust even the slightest bit. As such - and also owing to the difficulties of manufacturing with limited resources - despite hundreds of years in possession of Teyka's gifts, technological advancement is slow.
What they can use is prized and pursued, however, with many members of the higher classes in society encouraged to pursue higher education in the scientific fields that utilize such technologies. Biology, specifically genetics, is a popular field, but chemistry and physics are up and coming, as are softer sciences such as sociology, psychology, and linguistics.
The lower and middle classes, however, continue in older, more basic professions, particularly fishing, gathering, hunting, and craftsmanship, and they barely understand the wonders their people are so famous for. The average Tieke has a curiosity about his own people that goes unsated, and is only fueled by the Priestesses and their insistence that what Teyka has given, and which is used by the few, helps to protect and strengthen the many.
Internal Security: The Novarc Guard[]
As it is the largest community of tikedi anywhere on the continent, the need has risen for a dedicated internal security force and, to a lesser degree, military. The Novarc Guard answers to the Kantreska of Tieke City, and patrols the city, keeping the populace in line. On rare occasions, particularly when an ambassador to another nation is needed, members of the Guard are used as personal protection.
Relationship with the Tekk[]
Unlike the Tarsin, the Tieke no longer rely heavily on the tekk for their livelihood. Once, they hunted them for food and resources just as the Tarsin did, but with the abundance of food, water, and shelter provided by the land near the bay, it was never to the same degree as their desert neighbors. Since Teyka's arrival and the expansion of Tieke City from a collection of natural caves to a carefully built fortress of deep tunnels and terraces, their reliance has dwindled to near non-existence. Only a few of the Priestesses, especially those who remember the most ancient traditions, still hunt the tekk, and only for ceremonial purposes, such as trophy adornments for their clothes. It is a disputed practice in modern times, when the Tieke would rather detach themselves from co-existence with the tekk entirely and rely solely on their own ingenuity.