The Daishe

The Daishe are a strange and mysterious people-group, composed of a mix of orks and lowhuts of uncertain origins. They are known now for their legacy of rustic stone structures and their prolific carving of runestones, from which we can glean much about their culture and history. They arose around 2100 A.C. and survived until about 900 F.T.

Structure

Clan Berzerkers were champions of some description who held dejure control over their respective clans, though they were ordinarily under the influence of at least one Smokesmeller, a type of druidic politician and vizier selected for especial age and respiratory infirmity. The druidic estate checked and balanced the Berzerkers and Smokesmellers, their revered First Mason being of such note that none save other druids might touch them unsolicited. Beyond these surmised relationships, the Daishe culture seems to have been highly amorphous, with most individuals sharing the same rank and roles as herdsfolk and warriors as need called.

History

Origins

The orks of the Daishe civilization were known to have dwelt east of the Highlands before 3200 A.C., but the Lowhut inhabitants of the region had been present as far back as 1.1 mya, toward the end of the Neopalaeogenic. By around 2100 A.C. the characteristic craft items of the Daishe began to appear throughout the Crotch, starting in the south of the Bighornian Highlands. Their art artifacts typically feature the boar and the axe as totems, along with big goofy smiling ork or lowhut faces. Their buildings were hardy little stone huts which seemed rather like random piles of fallen boulders from the outside. And the inside. But they were more comfortable. Very little agriculture was practiced by the Daishe, whereas the herding of sheep seems to have been an honored position and the keystone of their economy. It is suspected that, aside from the abundant rainy season, the herdsfolk who comprised most of the Daishe were obliged to take their animals afield, undertaking a more nomadic life until summer came again. The sedentary summers evidently provided enough creative leisure for the carving of runestones and the learning of druidic secrets to become strongly developed. The earliest valuable runestone has been recovered in two pieces from a cleft hill north of Fynefish, and it records a list of acceptable rituals for the transmutation of porridge into something palatable with mutton.

Fall

Around 100 years after The Fell, word had spread throughout the Immortals' enclaves about that mighty blow which we struck. This enraged the Mysties of Not Holbia, and they began to migrate into the Crotch in an attempt to crush the Daishe who they had tolerated so long. The nomads apparently responded well, quickly inventing and propagating new stone and wooden weapons. They also made their huts yet sturdier for defense, and began to hew strongholds into the clefts of the deep valleys of their highland home. Their druidic craft was probably put to great use, but no documentation of the specific exists. Anyhow, amidst the hoards of entitled Mysties the Daishe civilization was broken, leaving only nomadic remnants too furtive and few to be hunted down. A greater disaster for the world's Humans occurred as a result of this civilization's collapse: it is suspected that the last full-blooded orks in the world were killed during this period, as the most recent ork fossils yet found have been in Daishe burial mounds.

Legacy

The nomadic clans of the Bighornians are descended from the residue of the Daishe. These hardy folk have lived for nearly 1500 years right among the Immortals of the Crotch, and yet maintain great numbers and rich tradition. Their understanding of the runic language is still retained by their numerous druid members, though the craft and purpose of the Daishe's prolific runestones is lost. Over time, it appears that the lowhuts and the remaining orks of the land were forced to interbreed, and so in modern times their indomitable hybrid progeny, the Bighornians, are a totally distinct ethnicity from either.

Ruins and Artifacts

Travelers may find wayshrines or remains of old stone huts in the northern hills, and many tumbled and half-buried runestones have been recovered even as far south as Quarrytowne. Evidently the stone-gravers among the Daishe ranged further than the hut-builders, or it may be that spots of especial spiritual or aesthetic value were selected for the etching of those dark druidic secrets. The harsh syllables of the Daishe tongue are still slightly evident in isolated Bighornian tribes, but the secret drive of the stone-carvers has evidently been lost through the last five centuries.
Across the north of Bloodmarsh runs Southroad, which is suspected to be of Daishe craft, though to what end and by what means they were crafted remains a great mystery. It is ancient and unknown of origin, but is still the best means of transit from east to west. Called a High Way by some- it consists of massive marble slabs which stick as much as 3 feet out of the dirt. This makes it tough for carts to get up and down. Portable ramps are normally used.

Type

Geopolitical, Colony

Alternative Names

Proto-Bighornians, the early Bighorn culture

Demonym

Daisher

Related Ranks & Titles

• Bighornian Smokesmeller

Related Ethnicities

• Bighornian