Attacotti

Gallû

Inspiration

Introduction

The Attacotti were a Brythonic speaking Celtic tribe of pre-Roman Britain. Unlike many of the contemporary Celtic tribes the Attacotti kept to themselves and avoided the tribal federations that were already forming before the Roman invasion. Independent by character the Attacotti were something of a oddity within Celtic culture for their practice of cannibalism and polyandry.

In keeping with Celtic tradition they were aggressive raiders who plundered their neighbors for anything of value and they prized human captives above all. Entire villages might be depopulated overnight. Valuable captives might be ransomed back to wealthy families or tribes, the rest would be divided into two groups, human chattel or human cattle. Those enslaved could be used by all within the tribe equally, but those captives who proved themselves most useful could leave behind servitude by becoming Attacotti themselves. Those deemed edible were bred like beasts and once they produced offspring they would be fattened for slaughter at the next religious festival. This particular practice led to the Attacotti's expulsion from the rest of the Celtic civilization.

No specific lands or territory are known to have belonged to the Attacotti suggesting that they might have been nomadic, but this is unconfirmed. What is known is that at the time of the Roman invasion the Attacotti preferred almost exclusively to create settlements near burial mounds. While this might seem strange to those of modern sensibilities the ancient Celts believed that burial mounds were gateways to the Celtic Otherworld, considered to be both the realm of the dead and of the Celtic gods.

Before the Roman invasion the Attacotti were outcastes to Celtic society, but after the invasion the fortunes and renown of the tribe improved significantly when at first the tribe pursued a scavenger policy of shadowing the Roman legions and picking off the remnants of destroyed tribes and of feasting upon the dying found abandoned at battlefield sites. Ultimately the Roman and Attacotti relationship became symbiotic with tribal members acting as guides, interpreters and eventually as auxiliaries to the Roman legions. This profitable relationship lasted until the late third century after Christ when the Roman Empire began its withdrawal from Britain. A century later the Attacotti had all but vanished as their collective enemies banded together to wipe them out.

Although discussion of the Attacotti would crop up in the writings of Roman military commanders, scholars and Christian theologians for all practical purposes the Attacotti were considered extinct. A singular legend repeated down through the centuries holds a grain of truth in that it was believed the Attacotti escaped their just extinction by entering the Otherworld enmasse via the ancient burial mounds of Britannia. That grain of truth is this, the Attacotti did escape extinction by entering the ancient burial mounds, but the tribe did not enter the Otherworld, instead the tribe embraced undeath when they consciously chose to become Gallu.

In the centuries that followed the Attacotti carved for themselves underground kingdoms from which they raided the surface world for human flesh, in this the Attacotti kept their religion, their culture and their most unhallowed traditions. Only warriors were chosen for the Gallu infection and transformation. The rest of the tribe became slaves of the Celtic Gallu to be chattel or cattle. So the wheel turns...

Ideograms

History

Hidden Master

Dhuosnos

Organization

The Tyrant or Master

Rigant (ruler) / Banduri (female druid)

Perversions

• Bestiality -- The creation and control of ghul-beasts.
• Féth fíada -- Perversion of Mists
• Violence -- Supernatural strength and speed.
• Draíocht -- Celtic Witchery

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attacotti

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donn

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