Kubalai

"Civilisation may be written in stone and smoke but the travelling cities of the horse lords of Kubai are as glorious as Taigol itself."

Jade Emperor Lee Jegu

The horse lords of Kūbai are an anomaly on Renmin occupying a land far more arid and worn than that of their neighbours. Sedentary cities and life would suffer in their land so the Kubalai have learned to travel and migrate around their steppes moving their great tribes with them to create travelling cities. The few settlements that are permanent have no fixed population and are instead merely places of sacred heritage upon which the various tribes comes amidst their travels.

Naming Traditions

Family names

Kubalai names tended to be double or triple syllabled which are formed by merging the name of the location of their birth with a term or fragment of a sound from an ancestors name. The repeated sound added can denote a lineage to an ancestor that a family is proud of whilst a shift to use a different sound denotes the start of a 'new' bloodline or an escape from the celebrations of the past.

Culture

Shared customary codes and values

The Kubalai are a simple people who favour a nomadic and glorious life beneath the great sun. Every Kubalai owns a horse which is considered their most prized possession. If their horse dies or they are otherwise left dismounted it is the duty of their Khan to provide them with a new steed from the tribes host.
Kubalai also keep many other animals such as falcons for hunting, livestock for food and milk and in some cases others as beast companions. Bonds with animals are praised among the Kubalai and those who take other beasts as steeds over horses are praised where the bond is seen as true and deep. Most notably of these was the Hawk Druids who acted as the spiritual and religious guides of the tribe closely bonded with their hawk companion who were often able to live far beyond their normal lifespan.
Martial tests of wrestling, archery, sword fighting and boxing are common play amongst the Kubalai who constantly seek to demonstrate their own prowess against the others of their tribe. Celebrations held at various sacred sites around Kūbai are common sights of these tourneys which are used to seduce new partners.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

The Kubalai tend to be brawnier than their neighbours and often far rougher and more rugged in appearance from their nomadic life. They braid their hair similar to their horses and have tanned skin from their lives below the sun. To the Kubalai martial prowess and skill with horses is favoured above all else and anyone who can demonstrate these qualities is celebrated and admired by all. 
Women who have many children are celebrated as greatly as warriors and successful childbirth is considered a highly desirable trait. As such women often leave less powerful and successful husbands to their greeters as their life goes on and they demonstrate their own fertility.

Gender Ideals

Kubalai culture enjoys a general equality of the genders with the child bearing role of women considered a celebrated trait. Matriarchs often lead the internal politics of a clan whilst the patriarchs manage the foreign affairs though these gender roles are not fixed. Children are often raised primarily by their same sex parent who is expected to teach them how to master the horse and the various other qualities of Kubalai life.

Courtship Ideals

Courtship among the Kubalai is less fixed than others with 'bonded' citizens being free to leave their coupling at will. Though casual same-sex promiscuity is common and freely accepted within Kubalai life heterosexual unions come with certain expectations. Most often the pursuing partner must demonstrate their value by defeating their favoured partner in a series of challenges such as falconry, horse racing, wrestling or other such pursuits. After each they may propose a coupling and when accepted copulation freely occurs. 
If a child is conceived of the union the pair are then expected to be 'bonded' at least until the child is born after which its sex will determine its main caregiver. Kubalai live with their bonded partner and share their successes and life but are not expected to show celibacy unless by choice. A child born of a different husband to the one the woman is bonded can often lead to both partners deciding to separate and a new 'bond' being formed. Where a bond is refused the child is still customarily raised by the same-sex parent but with less parental intervention by the other.  A bond can be ended at any time by either partner as easily as word spread and the end of a bond is often a source of much talk within a tribe.

Related Organizations

• Hawk Druids

Related Locations

• Kūbai