Tribe

Tribes are a concept in the Digital Devil Saga series.

Profile

Tribes are groups in the Junkyard. A Tribe represents a military force with a claim over a region of the Junkyard. Every Tribe's goal, as dictated by the Karma Temple's law, is to become the sole Tribe of the Junkyard, as this will allow that Tribe access to the mythical paradise of Nirvana. The Junkyard has six Tribes: the Embryon, the Vanguards, the Maribel, the Solids, the Wolves and the Brutes. Each Tribe has unique uniforms and is represented by a color.

Each Tribe must have a leader, who makes the final decisions on the Tribe's actions to be absolutely followed by their subordinates. The leaders are also the intermediaries between the Karma Temple and their Tribes, as the Temple will only summon the leader to speak with the Dissemination Machine. The death of a Tribe's leader signifies the defeat of that Tribe. As per Junkyard law, the victorious Tribe then absorbs the defeated Tribe completely, including their personnel and territory. However, with the introduction of Atma upon the Junkyard, the rigid systems governing Tribes are shaken, as the Junkyard's denizens gain individuality.

In the Quantum Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner novels, a group of unaffiliated people can petition the Church of the Arbiters of Karma to create a new tribe, as long as the group has a territorial claim.

Game Appearances

Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner

The Tribes, at the time of the incident at Ground Zero, are at a long-standing stalemate. This is shaken when Atma are introduced, giving them individuality and demonic power. The Embryon, who were present at Ground Zero alongside the Vanguards for a battle, are the only Tribe left there, as they were able to devour many of the Vanguards and scare their leader, Harley, into hiding at Svadhisthana. The Embryon also find a mysterious black-haired girl named Sera, who they take to they base at Muladhara. Having no memory of the incident, the Embryon go to Svadhisthana to ask Harley questions, but he fearfully retreats back into his room. When the Embryon chase him there, he transforms into Hayagriva in self-defense, but is killed, granting the Embryon control over Svadhisthana and the Vanguards.

Following this, the Karma Temple, through the Dissemination Machine, contacts each Tribe, summoning the remaining leaders to Sahasrara for an undisclosed purpose. Once assembled, it is revealed that it was Angel who summoned them, hijacking the Dissemination Machine to talk with the leaders. Angel elaborates on the nature of Atma and states that there is now one additional condition for a Tribe to be victorious and gain access to Nirvana: they must bring Sera to the top of the Temple, in addition to defeating every other Tribe.

The Embryon, looking to gain an advantage, decide to ally themselves with the Maribel against their rival, the Solids, with the ultimate plan of betraying the Maribel afterwards. They win their leader, Jinana's trust after defeating her second-in-command, Bat, but not devouring him. The alliance then attacks Anahata, the Solids's territory, by staging an attack outside their impenetrable Citadel, while the Embryon sneak in through another entrance. However, Bat betrays their plan to Mick the Slug, the Solids's leader, allowing him to escape the Citadel and defeat the attacking Maribel, injuring Jinana in the process. As Jinana had refrained from devouring, she goes berserk and attacks the Embryon as Usas, and she is killed by the Embryon in self-defense. Argilla then lets slip that the Embryon have Sera while Bat was eavesdropping.

The Solids assault Manipura, the Maribel's base, as a diversion, baiting the Embryon while they attack Muladhara in search for Sera. The Solids capture her, taking her to Coordinate 136. When the Embryon arrive, Bat tries to convince Heat to betray his leader, Serph, promising Sera to him. Heat pretends to duel Serph as part of his plan to retrieve Sera, but they are interrupted by Sera herself, who slips from Mick's grasp and jumps off the roof, but she is caught. She then uses her power to stun everyone and order Mick to release her, which he does, but she is caught by Bat. Bat then reveals that his plan all along was to join the Brutes, using Sera as bargaining power, but he is stopped by Cielo, who shoots him down and retrieves Sera for the Embryon. Having lost all leverage, Mick is forced to fight the Embryon, but he loses. The Embryon then decide to establish a new base, Embryon Base 2, to hide Sera, and bait the Deserted Ship with rumors of Sera's presence while secretly rigging it with explosives. When Bat and the Brutes arrive, the ship detonates, killing Bat and many Brutes soldiers.

The Wolves are suddenly routed from Vishuddha by the leader of the Brutes, Varin Omega, alone. They are forced to escape with their leader, Lupa, through the Samsara Tunnels, emerging in Svadhisthana. Lupa proposes an alliance with the Embryon against the Brutes, vowing on his honor and promising his own head if he ever betrays them, and later handing his Tag Ring to Gale. The Embryon traverse the tunnels, but before they can emerge into Ajna, the Brutes's territory, they are attacked by Lupa, who fell victim to Varin Omega's power himself, becoming hungry and berserk, forcing the Embryon to kill Lupa. The Embryon then infiltrate Ajna and find Varin Omega, killing him as well and becoming the final Tribe left standing, ending the war. However, Sera regains her memories and leaves for Sahasrara on her own. The Embryon chase her to the top of the Karma Temple, finding Jenna Angel there. They defeat Angel, inadvertently dooming the Junkyard in the process, and all are forced to escape through the gates of Nirvana.

Novel Appearances

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Manga Appearances

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