Barki (culture)
The Barki people hail from the southern branch of the Sjalvolki culture. They achieved infamy during the years of warfare with the Aversarian by working as guides and scouts, earning them an evil reputation amongst their coreligionists. Nevertheless, their canny navigation of the turbulent politics in the borderlands between invader and invaded brought prosperity to the Barki, who acted as middlemen in commerce between the southerners and the people of the north. At no point however did they earn the full trust of the Aversarians, with Barki guides' duplicity being suspected as the cause of the Chorres Massacre in IS 1067, and the bloodless and embarrassing failure of the punitive Ichiteron campaign in IS 1086. Nothing was ever conclusively proven, but it was likely that the Barki were well on their way to a violent reckoning with their allies when the Frodbrokna struck.
The most 'Aversarianized' of the Sjalvolki, there was little love lost between the Barki and the clans of the Imperrech, resulting in the two parting ways almost immediately after the Battle of Elysian Pass had seen them safely beyond the Foglands.