Life Style in the Steppes
The Mytharians are nomadic people who fight and hunt from
horseback. They are trained in horse riding from the earliest age and fight with
short bow from horses, giving them long range weapons and great mobility. The
Mytharians are a passionate people - bearded men with dark, deep set eyes with
long, wind-snarled hair. These horsed riders were trousers and chestplates of
beaten bronze plates and pliable boots with heels. Hunters and warriors adorn
themselves with tattoos.
The Mytharians are native to Qeshir and can be found scattered throughout the Broadlands, the Wind Plains, the Fekwar Hills and the eastern lands claimed by the Secambru Tribes. They are most populous in the Wind Plains. Qeshir is home to about 175 separate mytharian clans. The Mytharians live in yurts, herd goats and move their communities to follow migratory prey.
The Mytharians are famous for their berserker rage and bloodlust in battle. Warriors decapitate the heads of slain enemies and fashion leather-bound drinking cups from their enemies' skulls. They line these grisly trophies with gold and proudly displayed them to impress foreigners and guests.
The Mytharians are a polygamous and male-dominated society. A high ranking mytharian warlord will often take a half dozen wives, and upon his death a son or a brother would assume them as his own. Women have little power in mytharian society. Mytharian women care for the children, cook and tend camp, but do not engage in war or the hunt.
The lands of the mytharians are abundant with fish and game. Their diet consisted of a mix of fruits, vegetables and grains which can be gathered as the tribe moves and various meats obtained from the hunt. The mytharians live on fermented mare's milk, cheeses, onions, garlic, beans and meat. Meat is usually prepared as a hearty stew. Simple unleavened breads are fashioned by pounding gathered grains, mixing with milk or water, pressing and cooking over an open fire. Some mytharian clans herd goats and yaks. Mytharians often have orgy feasts to welcome visitors.
Mytharians do not bathe. The women used a paste of pounded cypress, cedar and dithwon blossoms that they applied to the face and body. A sweet odor is thereby imparted to them, and when they take off the plaster off, their skin is clean and glossy.
The Mytharians play a violent, bloody game called mahjak wherein horsed riders beat each other with wooden clubs and attempt to unhorse each other. This game prepares them for combat and hunting. Beyond mahjak, the mytharians enjoy wrestling, strong drink and games of chance.
Mytharians take oaths frequently. Oath taking is serious business for the mytharians. The strongest oath is a blood oath wherein the oathtaker cuts himself and swears by his own blood. Mytharians would sooner die than break a blood oath. They likewise judge other races based on their honor. To break a promise or an oath is the greatest crime one can commit in the eyes of a mytharian.
Religion
The Mytharians practice a totem based shamanism devoted to
various animal spirits. Mytharian shamans use magic that invokes the spirits of
ancestors to do battle with enemies. They also wield magic to influence the
elements, the winds and weather. Some Mytharian magic allows them to control
animals. Mytharian shamans are usually found as advisors to chieftains. The
Mytharians are a superstitious people and greatly fear the magic of outsiders,
trusting only in their own shamans. Most Mytharian men wear an amulet to ward
against evil.
Rites of Death
Upon the death of a mytharian male, he is buried in a cairn
of stones along with all of his possessions. His favorite wife, his best horse,
and his closest personal servants are killed and buried with him. It is believed
in mytharian society that those buried with him will be with him forever in the
next life. Those who die in this fashion do so willingly.
In the case of a great chieftain, all of his wives, horses, pets, servants and such would be buried with him along with a treasure horde of gold. On occasion, fanatical faithful would also ask to be buried with him.
Friends and male blood relatives of the deceased will crop their hair and cut the arms in mourning. This is the only time mytharian males will willingly cut their hair.
This page last updated Monday, October 08, 2007. Copyright 1990-2008 David M. Roomes.