Taxidi
The residents of the Wyrm Steppes, the Taxidi are a people who have developed a nomadic existence based around close-knit family groups and a herding lifestyle which they have maintained for millennia.
The Taxidi are the masters of survival in the often deceptively habitable steppe, and know how to read the signs of the landscape and deal with its tribulations and dangers better than any other.
Structure
Taxidi is actually a catch-all term, which originates from the Taxidi themselves as a way for them to differentiate people from their kin who share their way of life, and those who have moved into the area of or surrounding the Wyrm Steppes over the years.
As a result, the Taxidi are not a rigidly defined or organised group or geopolitical entity, but they are instead made up of large family groups which are led by the oldest man or woman within this group. These individuals, known simply as Elders generally run their family units via council, with all members of the group being given a say, should they wish to have one, in what course of action should be taken in any given situation, however final ruling on all matters rests with the Elder of the group.
Seldom do all of the familial units of the Taxidi gather together all at the same time, and the collective memory of the Taxidi believes that such a thing has only occurred a handful of times since they began to record their history in songs and tales, and only at times of great crisis. However, most of the Taxidi families will make an effort to either send their elder, or a representative of their elder to the gathering that takes place each year at the Barrows of Enmara, far in the south of the Wyrm Steppes, which is the Taxidi's most sacred site. This gathering, the Feast of Souls provides the Taxidi with an opportunity to connect within other families, share knowledge, resources and news and venerate those of their number who have passed.
There is no supreme leader amongst the Taxidi's elders, they are all viewed as equals and any decisions that they make are arrived at by a simple majority vote. Even if the assembled Elders of the Taxidi conclude that a specific course of action would be best for the Taxidi as a whole, it is up to the individual elders of each family to decide whether they will adopt these resolutions or not, and there is no mechanism, nor any drive to ensure that pan Taxidi decisions are adopted and undertaken by all of the families.
Culture
All of the families that make up the Taxidi live nomadic lifestyles. Therefore they view non essential items as being of little value and anything that does not serve a purpose is unlikely to be coveted by them. This does not mean that they dislike adornment or decoration, but that they rarely craft or purchase items with no purpose other than to be an ornament. However, they make up for this by highly decorating all manner of things that they do find practical. For instance, their travelling clothes will be decorated with intricate bead work, the inside of their tents ornamented with elaborate pictorial embroidery and the handles of hunting knives beautifully crafted into the shapes of animals and ornamented with gold.
In addition, the Taxidi find no value in written records. They record all of their histories and stories through the medium of oral tradition, with their legends and annals of their people regaled in elaborate tales, songs and poems. As a result few Taxidi can read or write, and those that can have generally had to have lived away from their family groups to learn the skills from non Taxidi.
The Taxidi hate contracts most of all, for they strongly believe that all should be people of their words and that the there is no greater promise than the giving of ones word. Those who break their word or renege on oaths they have made are treated as outcasts by the Taxidi, with many believing that only death would be a fit enough punishment for such a crime.
Demography and Population
The tribal structure of the Taxidi means that they are one of the most egalitarian communities in the whole of Kelbonnar. All are expected to work for the benefit of the family group they belong to and whilst individuals may not have much in terms of worldly wealth, all is shared within the community.
The Taxidi are not a single species organisation. Taxidi family groups are inter-species, though some families may tend to have more of one particular species in them than others, but such concentrations are simply fluxes of time and breeding rather than through design.
Territories
Whilst the Taxidi would never claim to own the area, they view the entirety of the Wyrm Steppes, the area of grassland between the western slopes of the Dragons' Tears Mountains and the waters of the Malcont Ocean as their home and they travel freely through all parts of it that have not been clearly claimed and settled by other geopolitical entities.
Military
Whilst the Taxidi do not have a formal army or command structure, as all adult individuals within a family group are expected to do what they can to protect it, each Taxidi family can be regarded as a small military force in its own right. In times of great strife, Taxidi tribes have been known to band together to protect themselves from dire threats, but not in their memory or the histories of others have they been known to band together en masse to attack an entity beyond the borders of the Wyrm Steppes.
Religion
Foreign Relations
The Taxidi generally try to keep out of the politics, manoeuvrings and espionage of the geopolitical entities that exist either around or in the Wyrm Steppes. They happily view as a friend and trade with anyone that they come across who treat them in a like manner and they will not hesitate to defend themselves with lethal force against any who are violent towards them, no matter where they come from or whom they serve.
Agriculture & Industry
As they are a nomadic people, the Taxidi do not engage in industry in any industrialised form, nor do they engage in arable agriculture. Instead, the Taxidi travel with vast herds of sheep, goats, camels, cattle and horses which are their primary food sources, and they supplement their diets with wild herbs and vegetables found along their migratory routes or foodstuffs traded from other Taxidi families or from others travelling or dwelling within the Wyrm Steppes.
Trade & Transport
The Taxidi have never gone out of their way to trade with people from far flung places, and they have never felt the need to build paved roads or invest in other forms of transport other than walking or riding.
The only people who routinely seek out the Taxidi to trade are those who wish to purchase their horses, renowned for their speed and stamina.
Type
Geopolitical, Tribe
Economic System
Barter system
Currency
The Taxidi see little value in money and far prefer to exchange useful goods or services instead. They do accept money as a form of payment or a gift, but coinage given to them is almost always destined to be melted down and turned into ornament or decoration of a more practical object.
Location
Related Traditions
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
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