Carthia

Carthia, often called Five Tribes, is more like a modern nation-state than the feudal states of the western cultures. They are a people driven by their own heritage to master the land and themselves; a people bound by both blood and purpose. This uniformity has caused some scholars to believe that a single ruler leads all of the Carthins, this is not the case. Instead, the Carthins are divided into smaller independent tribes that each seek their own path to glory and honor. The uniformity of purpose comes from the fact that they were sent to his land by their god as punishment for their sins. It is here that the Carthin people will be cleansed of the sins and baptized in shedding of their own blood. Only when they have regained the purity of their purpose will they be allowed to reclaim paradise.

• Location Center-Middle of North Miran
• Government Multiple Tribes
• Ruler Regional Tribal Leaders
• Culture Tribal
• Population 100,000
• Largest City None
• Climate Steepes

The Carthins one lived in a green valley where the earth was plentiful and the hunting good. They were a single people during those peaceful years, only competing in skills of hunting and craftsmanship. The people were happy, their ancestors content, and Cenesti looked down upon them in honor. Cenesti fell in love with a young maiden, Morning Dove, and took her as mate, where they traveled the lands together.

While Cenesti was hunting in the great lands beyond the wall several large ships larger than the great whales appeared on the horizon. The people knew of no other people and so welcomed them with open arms. They fed the travelers, trading beads and leatherwork for their strange metal and fermented drink.

For several years the people lived in harmony with the strangers. They gave them some lands in the north so they could build their own village. During this time a seemingly endless number of ships continued to arrive, causing the village to spill over its boundaries and unto the holy lands of the people. The shaman warned the strangers to leave the holy lands, for only they are allowed to tread upon the sacred earth.

The strangers responded by attacking the nearby villages of the people. They killed many and took the rest into their walled village to work for them and please their leaders. Some people tried to resist the strangers, but they had fallen far from their beginnings. Many of the younger people were hooked on the fermented drink and smoke tobacco, they no longer hunted or worked the field. Far worse was that some people had already sold their children into slavery to afford the trinkets offered by the strangers.

Six shaman in the south rose up to fight the strangers and the evil spirits they sent to torture the people. They gathered as many people as they could that still clung to the old ways and fled into the western mountains. Unlike the paradise Cenesti had given them, what existed beyond the wall were powerful monsters and great evils — but the people had little choice, their paradise was lost.

The strangers didn’t wish to see any of the people escape and sent their soldiers and powerful spirits to kill them. Fire Walker, one of the six, gathered up the strongest men and turned to fight the strangers. For two weeks he fought and bled the strangers while the other shamen led the people unto the plains beyond the wall. He was never seen again.

When Cenesti found his people huddled in small tents in the wasteland he spoke to the eldest shaman. Upon discovering the full nature of his people’s shame he cursed them for their weakness and vowed they would stay in this hellish land until they had paid for their sins.

He would break them over a wheel of pain and suffering if necessary to wring out the last of the tainted blood. They would be tested again and again until he was satisfied they were pure in mind, body, and spirit. Only then would he take them over the wall and destroy the strangers that lived in paradise.

The Carthins were once a single people under the guidance of their god Cenesti. However, after their fall from grace they are now several tribes that each seek the true path to grace that will allow them to reclaim their heritage. Each tribe represents an extended family that lives in the same community. Most of the tribes wander around a set region, while others are building permanent homes and moving away from a nomadic life.

The Carthins one lived in a green valley where the earth was plentiful and the hunting good. They were a single people during those peaceful years, only competing in skills of hunting and craftsmanship. The people were happy, their ancestors content, and Cenesti looked down upon them in honor. Cenesti fell in love with a young maiden, Morning Dove, and took her as mate, where they traveled the lands together.

While Cenesti was hunting in the great lands beyond the wall several large ships larger than the great whales appeared on the horizon. The people knew of no other people and so welcomed them with open arms. They fed the travelers, trading beads and leatherwork for their strange metal and fermented drink.

For several years the people lived in harmony with the strangers. They gave them some lands in the north so they could build their own village. During this time a seemingly endless number of ships continued to arrive, causing the village to spill over its boundaries and unto the holy lands of the people. The shaman warned the strangers to leave the holy lands, for only they are allowed to tread upon the sacred earth.

The strangers responded by attacking the nearby villages of the people. They killed many and took the rest into their walled village to work for them and please their leaders. Some people tried to resist the strangers, but they had fallen far from their beginnings. Many of the younger people were hooked on the fermented drink and smoke tobacco, they no longer hunted or worked the field. Far worse was that some people had already sold their children into slavery to afford the trinkets offered by the strangers.

Six shaman in the south rose up to fight the strangers and the evil spirits they sent to torture the people. They gathered as many people as they could that still clung to the old ways and fled into the western mountains. Unlike the paradise Cenesti had given them, what existed beyond the wall were powerful monsters and great evils — but the people had little choice, their paradise was lost.

The strangers didn’t wish to see any of the people escape and sent their soldiers and powerful spirits to kill them. Fire Walker, one of the six, gathered up the strongest men and turned to fight the strangers. For two weeks he fought and bled the strangers while the other shamen led the people unto the plains beyond the wall. He was never seen again.

When Cenesti found his people huddled in small tents in the wasteland he spoke to the eldest shaman. Upon discovering the full nature of his people’s shame he cursed them for their weakness and vowed they would stay in this hellish land until they had paid for their sins.

He would break them over a wheel of pain and suffering if necessary to wring out the last of the tainted blood. They would be tested again and again until he was satisfied they were pure in mind, body, and spirit. Only then would he take them over the wall and destroy the strangers that lived in paradise.

The Carthins do not have fixed cities as many other nations build; however, some of the tribes have somewhat-permanent housing built into the side of mountains or tent villages surrounded by wooden stakes or stone. Instead, most Carthin tribes live in large tent villages that can be packed up and moved on short notice. This nomadic lifestyle is difficult on those that have trouble moving, but with strong shaggy horses and communal spirit the Carthins have remained successful nomads for the past hundred years.

The village is typically divided into three parts. The outer part is the tanning, cooking, and food storage and preparation areas. The next section is a circle that encompasses the entire inner village. In this area live all the people. Their tents are made from waterproofed tanned leather, with brightly colored sigils decorating the outside. These sigils tell their history, and mark the honors achieved by those that dwell within the house.

The inner circle is the meetinghouse, typically made of stone or wood on the tribes wintering lands. During the warm seasons most of the tribesmen will leave to follow the herds and bring back smoked meat for their people. Also, this is where the shaman has their tent - which can only be entered by the shaman and those that are invited. To attempt to enter otherwise is foolish.</P>

Any carthin that commits a crime of the spirit will find themselves removed from the tribe. This is the highest form of punishment that the carthin's can impose on members of their tribe that have shamed all by their actions. Because this punishment is so severe only the tribal chief, warleader, or a shaman can impose this punishment upon a carthin - and only the Council of Elders can accept and carry out the banishment.

There can never be forgiveness or acceptance again. Once a carthin has been banished, their names are forever removed for the history kept by the lorekeepers. On the first morning light of the day after the punishment is imposed strikes the village their hornbow is broken and they are forced to walk west, never looking back into the sun until the village is no longer in sight.

The hornbow is a short, greatly recurved, bow that is ideal for use on horseback. They are fashioned by gluing several layers of wood and animal horn together, then sealing them in a mold for several years. Once the mold is broken apart, which destroys it, the bow will snap wildly into its natural position - if it can do this without cracking its considered acceptable.

The extreme curvature of the bow means that it often takes several men to string the bow, after that it will only be unstrung during the rainy season. While it appears that several bowstrings are run along its curve, this is actually a singe string that makes several passes between the points. No other bow can remain strung for months without losing its strength; however, even after years of being strung a hornbow can still take off a warrior’s fingers if the string breaks.

This bow is so effective from horseback for several reasons. First, the extreme curvature gives the archer a more powerful bow with less length; this gives them maneuverability that some foot archers can’t obtain. Second, the unique layering technique yields a bow that is easier to pull the farther back the archer pulls the string; this gives them the ability to make full use of the bow with less effort. Finally, the shorter and heavier arrows used with a hornbow give a great deal of punch close, but sacrifice this for less range &mdash; this is considered an acceptable trade-off by a people that make fast slashing attacks.

The composite nature of this bow makes it nearly useless outside of the dry arid environment in which the Carthin’s live. Water will quickly sap the bow’s strength, and cold temperatures may cause it to snap. When the plains get cold the Carthins will wrap their bows in furs with leather thongs to keep them warm enough to use. However, even then a Carthin warrior is often reluctant to use these prized bows - preferring their other more simple horsebows.

While most people see the hornbow as a mere symbol of Carthin horse archery &mdash; to the Carthins it is more a symbol of their commitment to Cenesti. The hornbow was the first weapon taught to the Carthins and is considered sacred to them. No Carthin would ever sell or allow anyone to steal their hornbow. Entire tribes have gone to war over the theft of a hornbow from a fallen warrior. If a Carthin finds a non-Carthin using a hornbow that person better have an excellent reason why or be prepared for battle. This goes so much to the core of the Carthin belief that upon death a Carthin warrior will be burned with his hornbow &mdash; to do otherwise is to send him into the afterlife defenseless.

Although many outsiders would view the Carthin’s worship of Cenesti and his children as a religion, the Carthins do not. Cenesti was a great warrior, wise leader, and unmatched hunter. It was only natural that a Carthin so pure should ascend into the heavens. The truth of his nature can be seen in his taking a Carthin girl as his wife, as most of the western deities care little for their followers.

While Cenesti is often found in the heavens, there are many days he spends hunting, fishing, and walking the Great Plains. While he often travels disguise the true nobility and strength is nearly impossible to hide. Several Carthin legends speak of Cenesti begin discovered in mortal form upon the plains.

However, aside from the true relationship with their deity, the Carthin’s belief in Cenesti is listed in full under the Religion of the Realms book. This was done for completeness and it was the most logical place to put that information.

The Carthin abhor all forms of magic, considering it a weakness in someone’s soul to rely on anything else. This is even further exasperated by many magicians use of outside forces and their binding of the world's spirits. They do not hate magicians or kill them on sight instead they pity them &mdash; tending to treat them as many nations treat their beggars or cripples. Any people mentioning the fact that a Carthin shaman practices magic should just kill themselves, as no true Carthin would let this insult pass.

This brings a great deal of problems when dealing with the Black Tower. The Carthin's owe the people of the Black Tower a blood debt that can never be repaid. On the other hand all Carthin's know that there are things happening in the tower that go against every principal of their life. If anybody else would so openly go against the Carthins in their own land their life would be forfeit. This has caused a split among the Carthins between those that wish to repay the blood debt above all and those that see magic as the true root of all evil in the world.

The land claimed by the Carthins is a land few would choose to live on if given the chance. The land is made of little more than hard rocks and coarse sand, with only a small amount of arable land centered around the few springs that dot the landscape. In the summer the land is baked by high temperatures and little rainfall &mdash; while the winter brings the bitterly cold winds and deep snowfall from the mountains to the northwest.

In between are two monsoon seasons that turn dry riverbeds into raging rivers that usually overflow their little used banks and wash out anything in their path. It is just after the monsoons that the true beauty of the land can be seen. This forsaken land, once held by the Kithkin, is now claimed by the Carthins, who will hold it until they can once again enter paradise.

This old academy, maybe even the first academy, is near the eastern border of Carthin, just west of the mountains. Scholars consider it one of the largest magical academic libraries located anywhere outside of Corvis. This academy is under the joint protection of the Five Tribes and Chrysalis. The Five Tribes owe the magicians a blood-debt for saving the life of one of their greatest shaman, while Chrysalis is using the place to research a way to expand the influence of their nation’s magic.

The “Council of Eight” oversees the affairs of the Black Tower. Their meetings are so secretive that other council members have never seen each other as they were black robes made from a special cloth during meetings. These meetings are never open to anyone else, unless their presence is needed for critical information. There is speculation that the Council of Eight is the same people that first built this academy, but that rumor is considered more fiction than fact.

This is believed to be the rock that Black Feather of the Sun Dancers stood upon to proclaim his acceptance of War Chief to all tribes. A great wrong had been done to the tribes and they were marching to war. The Irillian army had attacked and killed several of their children while they were hunting. The combined tribes marched to war against the Irillians.

They harassed their legions with arrows from their flanks, and before they could bring their chariots around to chase the Carthins the horsemen retreated back into the steppes. The Carthins burned their supply wagons, destroyed their forts, and looted their villages &mdash; eventually driving the military commander back to the safety of their most eastern city.

The attack on this city was the only time the Carthins attacked a fixed, and well-protected, target. Although the battle cost them dearly, the city fell on the fifth night of their attack. With the destruction of this city, the end of the Second Irillian Empire's eastern expansion faltered.

The Carthins fared little better as Black Feather and many of the other leaders fell during the attack. Without their strong leadership the tribes fell to bickering about the division of spoils and soon returned to their homelands without many of their warriors.

Each tribe has its own sacred grounds where spirit pouches and totems to its most renowned tribesmen are kept. The Chief, the Shamen, and the LoreKeeper only know the exact location. After a tribal war, the war-leader is blindfolded and taken around to the scared grounds of all the tribes that fought in the war. The war-leader then places something from his own personal spirit pouch upon the ground in thanks for the braves that sacrificed their lives under his war-banner.

While the Carthin tribes have many of the qualities of a unified nation-state, they lack any central authority. Instead all of the tribes are bound by the words and laws of Cenesti; however, tribes often interpret these words differently from their neighbors. In addition, the taboos of some tribes are considered perfectly acceptable behavior to other tribes. While these normally does not result in war it has been known to cause weeks of raids and the occasional bloodfeud.

The chieftain of the tribe, who is determined by the council of elders, holds rulership over the tribe. The council of elders is the oldest and wisest men of the village. Before the one chosen to lead the tribe can take their position, they must pass a series of tests designed to display their leadership, courage, and devotion to Cenesti.

While the chieftain speaks for the tribe and the tribe followers their wishes, it is the council of elders that debate the more difficult questions. Rare, and foolish, is the chieftain that doesn’t heed the wishes of the council &mdash; those that do rarely last more than a few days as chieftain.

The tribe's warleader is not a fixed position within the tribe. Instead a chief may name a warleader during a time of crisis to lead his people in battle. The need for a warleader and the selection of the warrior to fulfill this role is left solely in the hands of the chief. If a warleader is not named when the tribe goes to war then the chief is expected to lead the tribe.

When a Carthin has begun to show the signs of age they may soon be asked to join their tribe's Council of Elders. Not all elderly Carthins are asked to take a place around the circle, only those that have displayed courage, respect, deference to Cenesti, and great wisdom. In essence, the Council of Elders is the hub which the tribe revolves around. The stronger the council the stronger the tribe will become. Should something happen to all of the council then the tribe will be left without a rudder in the middle of a raging storm.

The Council has the right to command anyone to attend them and talk about anything the council wishes to discuss. This right is so overpowering that only the weakest councils have actually used it openly. The strongest councils know that anyone they request to appear would be foolish beyond belief to defy the council. Carthin society deals very harshly with the foolish among them.

The lorekeeper is the one who sings the tribal songs, learns the history, and names the tribes’ newest adults. Most often the naming of new adults is done with the assistance of a tribal shaman, who has exposed the spirit of the adult to the loremaster. The loremaster must read this spirit and give them their new adult name.

A lorekeeper is a respected position within Carthin society. Unlike most other Carthins, the lorekeeper is under the protection of Cenesti. It is against the highest laws to cause harm or turn away a loremaster &mdash; any tribe that did so would find they have a bloodwar with all the other tribes.

The lorekeeper is the only member not of the Council of Elders that is allowed to attend their meetings without permission. No person in Carthin society is powerful enough to turn back a lorekeeper from any task they wish to undertake &mdash; any knowledge they wish to make a part of the tribe's history.

Shamen are those who were born with the gift to talk to the spirits. The Carthins believe that spirits exist in all living things. Most of these spirits are benign; however, unless they are appeased they many become very angry. An angry spirit can cause a horse to throw its rider, wells to run dry, and fire to sweep the plains.

The most powerful of these spirits are the ancestors of the tribe. The spirits strong enough to maintain their grip upon the mortal world can be powerful enemies if the shaman falls from their graces. However, in times of trouble the tribal spirits can be called upon for assistance. Most of the tribal spirits stay within the sacred grounds; however, those spirits strong enough often can be reborn into children as they become adults. Those inhabited by a spirit in this manner often go unto great deeds.

While a tribes shamen are still a part of the tribe, they stand outside of the influence of both chief and council of elders. Instead, they are allowed to come and go as the spirits will them. Only the lorekeepers may enter a shaman's area without permission; although they are forbidden to challenge the shaman in any manner. Because of their gift the shaman are not a part of the tribe, but instead work to allow the tribe to regain the paradise they have lost &mdash; this may involve several shaman of the same tribe working against each other as the spirits will them to act.

Slaves have no place within the Carthin society. They are used for the worst jobs anyone can consider. They are typically traded to the caravans for more useful metals and fine weapons. No Carthin can make another Carthin a slave. If a Carthin has done a crime heinous enough to warrant their removal from the tribe, and they don’t have enough honor to release their own evil, then they are banished from all tribal lands &mdash; they are no longer of the people. They can never return of face death at the hands of their former people.

The Carthin’s do not possess any form of national army or militia; instead everyone has been trained in the arts of war from childhood. Most nations would call them irregular, or light, calvary. They rely on the range of their hornbows to conduct hit-and-run maneuvers. If caught out in the open or forced to attack a position, they will probably take heavy losses as they favor swords and short spears.

The Carthins are considered the best light calvary, and second-best calvary, found anywhere on Miranda. This is because a Carthin has been raised from an infant to ride a horse and shoot a bow. Most Carthin children become exceptional riders before other children first get on a horse &mdash; the old saying of Carthin women often giving birth in the saddle is not far from the truth.

They have learned their skills from Cenesti and watching the Turanians, who have the best calvary anywhere on Miranda. Unlike the Turanians who maintain strict order and position, the Carthins prefer to spread themselves out and attack in swift slashing strikes. It is said that when a unit of Turanian Horse Archers release the sky goes black with feathery death &mdash; however, the Carthins can maintain a continuous flight of a few arrows for days while nearly unconscious.