The Nomads

The last of the major groups of ‘almost Humans’ are the Nomads. While they appear mostly human in configuration, they are definitely more hardy, far stronger, and even able to match speed and endurance with the biggest of Wyldkin types – should they ever meet. It is likely that they came through the Copper Portal long ago, the same Portal as those Wyldkin, but in small numbers, and made their way south. They are civilized to a degree, but are not considered the most elegant of people – surely not by many standards of those that they trade with.

Their land is wet and warm, not necessarily jungle, but more open marsh, some savannah, and light woodlands. Because of this their needs for clothing are minimal. They live considerably shorter lives than other species around them, only around 80 years, 100 at the most, and therefore they are usually trying to have as many children as possible. They are sexually mature around age 12 to 15, and often start having babies shortly after their adulthood rituals.

The Nomads are average to tall, from over five feet to over six feet for men, and less than six feet for women. Their builds are lean but highly muscular, as they are used to walking daily and hunting with their hands. They have four-fingered hands, and feet with four digits. Their skin is dark, there is hardly ever a light-skinned or yellowish individual among them. But they tend not to be truly ‘black’, more reddish tan and brown. The men are rather hirsute with some indication that they used to actually have fur on their limbs from elbow to wrist and knee to ankle. Many of the men actually have a line of short hair extending down their spine, and this is seen as a sign of extreme virility by their women. It’s odd then that they are so superstitiously afraid of the Wyldkin; after all some of the Skins would make great partners… Their hair is dark, rarely lighter than an auburn red, generally black, often curly, kinked or wavy. The men keep their hair in long braids, while the women often doll themselves up with cascading cornrows or dreadlocks. While they do seem somewhat feral and barbaric, there is no denying that they are extremely handsome. With wide, flat noses, full lips, and bright whites to their dark-irised eyes, they make for stunning faces in addition to their very healthy bodies.

It is hardly possible to find a woman who doesn’t have a nursing child or a train of youngsters behind her, as they travel their lands. The duties of the women generally include finding the supplies that the men then use to build their temporary tribal huts. Since most of the tribe will reside within the hut together, depending on the size of the tribe, there is a lot of gathering involved, and the women have quite strong backs – not only for keeping bundles of sticks, but their babies in slings as well.

Nomads may possibly be able to interbreed with other Human or humanoid species, but they frankly don’t bother and are hardly around any other species to try. They and the Barons would be most physically compatible as they have the same number of fingers, but they rarely would come into contact except for when a Grape Baron’s tour group might stop off on the Nomads coast.

Tribes run in groups of as few as twelve individuals, to as many as two hundred, though those are both rare. Mostly around forty to fifty individuals are in a tribe at a time, and many of those are related by blood. When tribes meet up, they trade – information as well as goods changes hands. Who has had babies, who was killed hunting, and the like, along with messages from the Clocks and Jewel Witches to one another across land. During these meets as well, any unattached young men and women are introduced to one another. Trades for marriage ties do not really begin until the young pair is ready – even though it’s a matter of course that they do marry off to some other tribe, they value being compatible with one another. Cooperation and teamwork to them are far more important than infighting and arguments among families.

Dying in childbirth is reasonably common – other peoples often chide the Nomads for this behavior as it’s easily possible to prevent that from happening. But with their complete inability to use magic, and their staunch refusal to actually use the technology that either the Clocks or the Witches trade off to each other, the Nomads mortality continues.

Their storytelling is world renown, though they tell tales of their own race’s adventures on their own lands. The women tell these stories, hearing them from the men-folk and embellishing them as needed. Boys become men when they have killed their first predator (and not a little one, they need to kill something at least the size of a full-grown bobcat for it to count) and brought it back to camp alone. Most men complete this task around age 13, some never come back. Women are announced when a girl first bleeds, but more when she learns to recite the full history of her family. Though they are not talented in reading or writing (and thus considered ‘not as smart’ though that is hardly true), the Nomads do have a very strong memory and easily recite things that are told to them even years later. In this manner, they are definitely to be trusted with carrying knowledge to and from people, without even a scrap of paper trading hands. Other cultures wish that they would allow more of their girls to come to other cities, learn their culture too; and it is common to hear someone in a school exclaim that they wish their students would do half as well at remembering their studies as a Nomad girl!

Nomads’ language is surprisingly complicated for their simple lives. This is doubtless due to the women telling stories so much, spending a longer period of time actually getting to the point requires far more words than ‘he went out and killed a boar’. The men rarely learn other languages, but the women dependably can learn more than one other. Reading and writing on the other hand are simply not part of their education. Though they have very strong comprehension of events and language, they have very little in the way of abstraction. They generally are poor at advanced mathematics, but seem quite able to count and do probability work in their heads. But they keep no written record at all, and is also partly why they cannot learn spell-magic, though they might excel at it if they could as a group get past that feature.

The Nomads live short and reasonably rough lives, and when they die they have no special funeral other than to leave the body where animals or natural phenomenon will take it away. The dead are remembered by the women, honored by the men, and then life goes on. They will not, however, allow a Necromancer to animate or raise any of their kind. Inter them, perhaps – if needed, though they don’t understand that need. But not use them after death. That’s an honor, apparently, only for the natural order of the land and animals around them.

Nomads are hunters and gatherers, and live a remarkably simple lifestyle. However, their long travels bring them into contact with the Clockwork and the Jewel Witches frequently enough that they have gotten a little culture inserted – they may wear clothing that is outdated from the Witches territory, or sport bangles and metal items that are castoff from the Clocks. While they see the benefit of either society, they have no desire to join in with it. Among all the people of Dragondeep, the Nomads have the least contact with other cultures. While some might venture across to meet the Reed people, they simply will not travel northeast up to the Wyldkin, and they fear and respect the Dragons and their humanoid kin. They have had remarkably little contact with any of the Elves, Necromancers and the Barony, though they do often meet travelers at small ports along the rugged coast. They might possibly enjoy the company of the Griffins, but are afraid of the magic that is involved with any of those creatures.

The Nomad culture does not have a centralized government, and relies entirely on family heads and tribal council to work out their issues or do any form of leadership. Their emphasis on personal function and proof of ability means that they often don’t do very well among folks who must defer to what they might consider a ‘lesser’ person – even though they’re in charge that doesn’t necessarily make them better. Elders and those who have survived events are considered important members of any tribe, and usually are the ones who do any dealing with their peers as they travel. This does not prohibit any given younger or less experienced Nomad from leaving their territory or attempting to go their own way – it just usually doesn’t work out very well.

Nomad names run in the mother’s line, and are usually only recorded properly by girls. To a Nomad family, it is actually more important to have a female heir first, so that she can be old enough to remember her younger siblings names, along with her elder line, as they grow up to learn from her as well as their mother and aunts. Names themselves can be similar in sound to most Human cultures’, the Nomads don’t necessarily use odd clicks or unusual sounds in their language. They string together ‘of the Marsh’ or ‘from Fire Run’, locations or events that add to their family title as needed.

Noteworthy Nomads of the Era

Nozokia of the Bound Twig clan – this experienced Nomad woman was chosen by Vaelan to be a court records-keeper for his kingdom. Though she is very far from home, and has indeed seen plenty of amazing or distressing things during her tenure at the Lumin King’s keep, she has dutifully been able to recite things she’s heard, to the more permanent records house. Vaelan keeps her close at hand, and she has her own bodyguard when they do travel to dangerous areas or to do difficult diplomatic work. She is quiet and polite, for the most part, but when she is with her king she never hesitates to speak her mind about the goings-on around her. He often communicates with her via psionic means.

Nozokia is short for a Nomad, putting her hardly at chest level for the king she serves. But she is otherwise slender and attractive, with a strong liking for the woven cloth and practical clothing worn in his mountainous region. Her eyes are a rich shade of brown, and her hair is lighter than typical, kept in a wide manually-straightened ribbon down her back. It is likely that Vaelan has been working with mages to extend her life, as she seems to have been ‘early-middle aged’ for the past 30 odd years…