I like this one, a lot of interesting things, like being able to drag fallen warriors from enemies when you move 😆.
Vagabond tokens seem like an elegant solution for these types of factions that "kidnap" enemy warriors to interact with factions that have meeples that can't be removed.
I also didn't miss the great reference to Hyperion, what a great book and very much on theme with this year's jam. Great job.

Definitely the darkest one here, that leans heavily into the theme! Def not a bad thing, especially since things are kept light when I saw the found footage of the shrikes fighting the LOTH. Hope these guys get lots of attention since it's obvious there's been a lot of work and consideration put behind their theme and mechanics. Thank you SO much for including a law of root, makes their gameplay so much easier to understand and the flow of their mechanics is easier to appreciate. 

I love how these guys inadvertently buff lizards, you're totally right that these folks are really matchup dependant! Love the talisman ability, seems well balanced, and really incentivizes hitting em. I wouldn't worry too much about the need to police em early, you're actually given VP for doing so, unlike the other two with this tempo (moles VB). 

If you wanna make em seem more official, some wording could be changed to fit with established rules in base root. Unowned clearings = clearing you do not rule. Warrior supple = supply 😆

I see an issue with them were their warrior count on the map may be a bit too small. They use warriors to battle, sacrifice, move bodies, defend temples. Maybe they get one warrior at the talisman each turn, maybe building more temples improves recruit? They're just gonna be losing a LOT of dudes cuz of their need for blood. 

Honestly I'd need to play em to see if this is even an issue, you've left yourself a lot of sweet design space to make these guys run wild!

Awesome submission!!