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THE
LYR'TEIMOR
KUGLIM
MEN
("TRIBE
OF TEIMOR
SON") |
The Lyr'Teimor Kuglim (lit.
"Tribe of Teimor Son") are one of the ten Kuglimz
(lit. "tribes") who inhabit the Celeste area of
Northern Sarvonia. They are
one of the Kuglimz'torik (lit. "home tribes"). This tribe like all
Kuglimz are the descendents of people who fled the
destruction of the Mynian Kingdom.
They were led to this place by a man known as Teimor, now one of the Gods or
Vir'togz (lit. "Great Ones").
Also traditionally one of the chief competitors of the
Helvet'ine Kuglim, they are considered
second only to them in power amongst the Kuglimz'torik, and hence the
competition. Once where there was bloodshed and fighting over pre-eminence
there is now just more of a friendly competition, for the most part, since the
unification of the Kuglimz under
Dro'go Minar'ine.
Appearance.
Fair skinned and thick of bone is the quick description most people think of
when they think of any of the Kuglimz. While this is
an apt description, there is much more to it. Men have long blonde hair and
beards that have fei'put (lit. "blood rings") woven throughout, and clank
together in a strong wind. Women wear
their long hair bound in a long braid, with strips of cloth used to keep it
together. Both sexes tend to be over two
peds in height with men
being taller and broader than the women. Eye colouration varies between blues
and greens. It must be noted that while this is the norm, there are people with
darker hair and eye color as well, this comes from mixing with other tribes.
Unlike the more chisled features of the
Helvet'ine, the Lyr'Teimor have slightly more rounded features. This is a
matter of a joke amongst the Helvet'ine who
say that they are rounder because they are fatter. That joke has been known to
cause more than a few fights.
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One outstanding physical feature of Lyr'Teimor men is the ritual scar upon the
right shoulder. The scar is three lines in a diagonal pattern, starting thick
towards the top and tapering towards the end as the lines slightly curve with a
golden hue about it. A right of passage must be completed to earn these marks.
Every spring when Cartashian bears come
out from their hibernation a group of five to ten young men go out and hunt a
single bear. Whoever survives such an encounter and kills the bear, if any do
survive, they then receive this mark along with the tribe's respect. Due to the
hazardous nature of the even, one would think that not many would attempt this.
However, due to the challenge oriented personality of the Lyr'Teimor, quite a
few young men attempt this task.
The 'unique marking' is of course applied by the tribes' huntleader using the
severed paw of the bear to cut the flesh. To stop the bleeding and encourage
the formation of a darker scar (much appreciated by the young women), a paste
made of clay pigments, cobwebs, cattle's urine, and the leaves of the
rik'tyan is used. Some
alth'tiert is also applied to the
gouges to give them a golden look. After the ceremony the paw is hung over a
firepit or hearth to dry, with the claws still attached and the blood still on
them. Once fully dry, the hunter may display it over his door or mantleplace
with whatever other hunting trophies he has collected. In the case of a large
hunt group surviving, the claws are detached from the paw and threaded upon a
chain which is then given to the young men. A whole paw is of course much more
highly prized, and it is said that if a man has all four paws, then he can get
any woman he so chooses.
Coat of Arms/Sign.
This is probably the most simplistic coat of arms amongst the
Kuglimz. Once again the
Helvet'ine use that to say that the
Lyr'Teimor are simple as well. It is a shield shaped banner, with a golden
shield in the middle of it. In the shield there is an irregular hole with three
claw marks coming out of it, both the hole and the background are blue. Some
might see this banner for the first time and think of it as odd to see a
damaged shield. However, this is due to the myth of Teimor, who after leading
his people to where they are now, found an enormous
Cartashian bear. He battled it one on
one, the ferocious bear swatted the horse
right out from under him. Teimor's lance was shattered beneath his mount. Using
his shield he deflected the bear again and again, its jaws tore a hole in the
shield. In the end, Teimor grabbed a piece of his shattered lance and pierced
the immense creature's heart. Honouring the creature, Teimor founded the first
town here. So, the banner is not only representative of this battle, but also
tells us how Teimor shielded his people.
Territory.
Located in a curve of the Luquador River, the lands of the Lyr'Teimor are
centered upon two foothills of the
Celeste Lowlands. They are the most southerly of the Kuglimz'torik, they
are right above the lands of the Cur'tyr Kuglim, who are themselves above the
Crystal Lake. Just north of them
are the Helvet'ine Kuglim and the
Celeste Mountains. To the east
are other Kuglimz, the Quest River and the Mynian
Plain. Finally to the west are the Trk'Matiu
Kuglim and beyond that is The Dark Sea.
Cities.
The Lyr'Teimor control two different fortified cities.
Lu'echlon ("Victory's
Fortress")
Originally this city was the capital city of the tribe, then again it was the
first city as well. Named such due to the fact that the city is located where
the mythical Teimor defeated an enormous
Cartashian bear. After some time another city was
founded and Lu'cyntam lost some of its importance. This city is now used more
as a food staple, with the farms of the Lyr'Teimor at the base of the city. A
wooden palisade surrounds the main part of the city that is sprawled over the
hill.
Lu'cyntam ("Horizon's
Fortress")
The other city underneath control of the Lyr'Teimor is Lu'cyntam. This is the
current capital and seat of power of the tribe. So named for the commanding
view that it has of the surrounding countryside, especially that of a nearby
vital bridge that leads across the Luquador River to the lands of the
Helvet'ine. A double palisade protected
the city from past attacks. The first wall surrounds the middle point of the
hill, safeguarding the keep, barracks, and other buildings of government and
import. A second wall surrounds the bottom of the hill, protecting much of the
inhabitants of the city. Only now with peace amongst the Kuglimz
are there people living outside the walls.
People.
It would not be anything new to say that the Lyr'Teimor are ferocious fighters,
for all of the Kuglimz are the same in that way. Some
would say that out of all of the Kuglimz, this tribe
is the most competitive. It is said that this is due to the constant
competition between the Lyr'Teimor and the
Helvet'ine. Amazingly, this has spawned a type of people that seem to be at
both ends of the spectrum, that of the terribly foolish and the impressively
brave. Although, some would argue that there is little difference. One never
tries to bluff a Lyr'Teimor man nor challenge him and back down. For he will
never back down, even if it means his death.
Due to the aforestated fact, those of the Lyr'Teimor tribe make highly
proficient mercenaries. With the unification of Kuglimz
and the slackening and at times downright stopping of internal conflict, these
warriors can be found in small bands throughout the world looking for hire.
Considered heavy calvary amongst their own people, most would consider them
more of a medium grade. Their ferocity in battle though has taken down heavily
armoured knights. There are stories of mercenaries challenging one of their new
members to attacking a whole formation of troops. Rushing off, they single
handedly charge the soldiers, recklessly throwing themselves at them.
Eventually his brethren come to his aid, if he needs it.
Housing.
Unsurprisingly the housing of the Lyr'teimor is much like that of all of the
other kuglimz'torik. A typical house has a stone foundation. Horizontal wooden
planking is placed for usually one story, though more prominent members may
have two stories. A heavy crossbeam supports layers of dried, woven
alth'ho (lit. "animal grass") and
tanned animal hides. A characteristic of the Lyr'Teimor housing is the
extension of the roofs past the structure of the building. They extend to the
point where the edges overlap eachother. This creates covered walkways and
streets in the cities. It is very helpful, as it helps keep warmth in the areas
and keeps out the near constant rain of the region. It is pretty common to have
a fireplace in the house to help ward off the manny chilly nights. Many of the
houses are pretty close together due to the space constraints found on their
protective hilltops.
Clothing.
Each tribe of the Kuglimz has a preferred colouration
to their clothing. In this case the Lyr'Teimor use blue and gold. The gold dyes
are traded from the Helvet'ine who use the
alth'tiert to make it. Blue is
made from the crushed petals of a nearby wildflower. Thus, large amounts of
cloth dying is done in spring and summer, while fall is the predominate time
for the making of clothing. Dyed cloth is most commonly used for the long
dresses of the women and the shirts of the men. Breeches are made of tanned
hides, to allow for rougher use.
Two main differences in between the clothing of the Kuglimz'torik is the style
of neck that they use and the way that their clothing is embroidered. A round
neck is preferred by the Lyr'Teimor, this is not only in their tunics, but also
in the dresses. More embroidery can be found in their clothing than in any
other Kuglimz tribe. Some of the Kuglimz
joke that the "loud" embroidery matches their loud mouth. Unsurprisingly the
Lyr'Teimor do not find this humorous, if they even get the joke. Embroidery is
done in vertical stripes from the shoulder to waist areas. On anything that is
longer than waist length, the lines go from horizontal to diagonal in shape. It
is thought that this is a very flattering design on dresses and emphasises the
figure. There are twelve stripes in honour of
Sur'tyan,
Lier'tyan, and the ten
Vir'togz. The thickness of
the stripes is indicative of social rank. In fact some of the wealthier
merchants' clothing is so thickly embroidered that none of the fabric can be
seen under the embroidery.
Diet.
Meat is the preferred choice of food. Vegetables such as
althz'onn (lit. "bean plants") are
used as well, though rarely served by themselves, rather they are incorporated
in the meat dish. Some of the more common meats used include,
woolly boar,
ho'loch goat,
ho'shi deer and
cuncu sheep, though anything that
can be hunted is used as well. The use of the
rik'tyan (lit. "all flower") spice
makes the dishes often a mixture of sweet and spicy. Smoking is a commonly used
method of preserving meat for later use. This is most used for fish and
cuncu, the other meats tend to be
to tough or stringy after smoking. It is usual for hunters or people on long
treks to carry supplies of smoked meats.
Weapons.
Weaponry is similar amongst all of the
kuglimz'torik due to the similarity of their fighting styles. The first line of
offense is the heavy lance used to attack their enemy at a distance. Next is a
longsword and shield, though some warriors prefer a two weapon usage. The most
common secondary weapons are
axes and maces. Warriors are armoured in
chainmail, the prominent warriors' mounts are armoured in the same as well.
Occupations.
Gender plays an important role in Kuglimz society,
and transfers to the occupations that are held as well. Unlike
Santharian life where a woman can live
well by the earnings of her husband, or vice versus, everyone must work hard.
Women traditionally keep house, including cooking, cleaning, and the like. The
unmarried women go out to the fields and work the vegetable patches. Men are
the hunters, warriors and also hold places in government. The only place that
women hold a place of power in society are the priestesses of
Lier'tyan.
Government.
Lately the government has changed since the rise of
Dro'go Minar'ine as Dirg'mystrume
(lit. "battle leader") of the Kuglimz. Where each
tribe had an individual Dirg'mystrume who had nearly complete power over their
tribe, now this traditional position is more along the lines of a provincial
governor. It is thought that Dro'go
got this idea from his travels in
Santharia.
It must be noted as well that the priesthood has considerable sway in the
affairs and decisions of the tribe. Their power is only limited by the
squabbling between the priests of
Sur'tyan (lit. "All-Father") and the priests of the
Vir'togz (lit. "Great Ones").
Production/Trade.
Even though Dro'go has instituted
a new coinage, and currency system, bartering is still the most common form of
trade. The most prevelant trade item is dyed blue cloth. This item is traded
with the Trk'Matiu for fresh fish,
decorative shells, and some finished wooden goods. There is some trade with
other Kuglimz as well, though it tends to be on a
more limited amount. Internal trade is fairly common with labour being traded
for certain goods, or to pay off debts. With this tribe the debts to be paid
off are often from the outcome of challenges.
Natural Resources.
There are few natural resources in the area, well at least used resources.
Advances have been made in extraction of resources, however this tribe is
obstinate and believes that they can take care of it themselves, so this has
caused them to fall behind some of the other Kuglimz.
So far, some small deposits of iron have been found, and some traces of copper,
but no prescious metals.
Holidays,
Festivals and Observances.
There are only three official holidays that the Lyr'Teimor Kuglim celebrate.
The first is Taug'rik'tyan (lit. "All Flower Feast") which is observed for the
beginnings of spring and all of the uses for which the
rik'tyan is used for. Another
holiday is Taug'alth'ho (lit. "Animal Grass Feast") it is celebrated for the
season of summer and the verdant alth'ho
that grows on the plains and nourishes all of the animals of the region. The
final official holiday is Taug'drei (lit. "Freedom Feast"), celebrated in
rememberance of the freeing of the Kuglimz from the
harsh yoke of Diorye'oleal and
Ash'mari rule. Although these are the only actual
holidays, there are plenty of festivals and feasts that occur. These happen
after quite a few challenges have been decided. Often times a feast is thrown
in honour of the victor of the challenge.
History. It must be noted that until
recent times the Kuglimz
have not had a written history, simply an oral
history passed down by the priesthood. Only lately have things begun to be
written down. Some of the dates recorded below have been provided by the
Injerín and others
have been collected by locals.
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Information provided by
Drogo
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