Southern Nomads
The southern nomads act as traders and messengers for the entire continent. If you want something, or someone, delivered, you get a nomad.
The name of the southern nomads is actually a bit of propaganda, spread by the nomads themselves to make themselves seem less threatening. While many of them do lead quasi nomadic lifestyles, they have several large permanent cities equipped with pop-up receptacles for any visiting nomads. During festival season, the capital city of Jokuul can swell to dwarf even the largest 9 families cities, shrinking back to a sleepy town after the season ends.
Beyond Jokuul, their largest cities are Berguur and Borguur, twin cities that straddle a relatively narrow section of water that leads out of the continent. This means that any 9 families, Orc Hegemony, or Belvalli Kingdom ships need to go between these two southern nomad cities in order to visit or trade with the eastern continent. While this seems like it would cause extraordinary strife and complaint, the other principalities of the region delight in Berguur and Borguur.
Structure
The Southern nomads are technically a Military Junta, but they are organized more like a CIA-esque organization. The leader is the commander in chief with several generals and lower departments under him. The largest of these department are the runners, with several sub-departments that exist within.
Culture
The nomads are able to describe themselves as such by their incredibly minimalist lifestyle. They shun material goods and possessions and prioritize strength and stability of the mind. While this does not necessitate travel in any way, it certainly allows for it in a way that other ways of life do not. The idea of "putting down roots" is simply not within the nomad frame of mind. So, when a family or group wishes to move, there is nothing holding them back besides the people that they care for.
This also manifests itself in a detachment from the agrarian food sources that dominate the rest of the world, allowing the nomads to effectively move as freely as they wish.
It also results in them being able to effectively hide their numbers. The traditional vision of the small nomadic tribes couldn't be further from the truth, and it's what the nomads display to outsiders whenever a delegation comes to visit. They purposefully disperse their population far ahead of time, and actively cover up evidence of larger groups, attempting to appear as weak as possible.
Few have seen more than 1000 nomads at any given time, and even fewer have lived to tell the tale.
This asceticism is not to imply that the nomads are morally or emotionally superior, although many nomads do see themselves as such. The nomads are still incredibly prideful about their skills and abilities, possibly even more so than other cultures, and nomad riding competitions regularly become violent as tempers flare. For the nomads, it is not about what you have, but about what you can do. This can lead to intolerance, especially amongst the mentally or physically handicapped, within nomadic family groups. If the crippled are not able to show aptitude in something beyond their disability, they are often cast out and left to die in the wilderness.
Public Agenda
To live without outside interference. This is why they are "willing to work for outsiders", so that those outside their borders will leave them to peacefully live their lives.
It is simply a coincidence that most anti-nomad statesmen meet with untimely demises.
Assets
The nomads have 3 major cities under their control. However, none of them have significant fortifications beyond their 3 citadels.
The nomads have significant numbers of ships and horses for transport (detailed numbers to come)
Demography and Population
The nomads have a population of around 13 million people, especially concentrated in the South East section of the continent, centered on the hidden port city of Feltuun. The rest of the population moves frequently around the continent. Birth-death rates are relatively stable, possibly a slightly higher birth rate on average, with nomads traditionally having around 2-4 children.
Territories
The territory occupied by the southern nomads was known as the southern wastes in the time of the empire. A few dozen years after the law of levels first appeared, there was a group of wizards fleeing the emperors persecution that fled into the wastes, relying on their spellcasting to keep them alive.
In the desert, the found strange symbols cut over meters, and sometimes miles of rock and sand by the sandstorms that ravaged the area. These symbols are now known to the nomads as land runes, and the wizards, the wizards of speed, are the progenitors of the nomads.
The southern wastes still fight to maintain the sterile-ness, but the department of life is slowly forcing vegetation to take root and overwhelm the emptiness.
Beyond the southern wastes, the nomads also inhabit a bit of ericals marsh, as they are the only ones able to successfully navigate the harsh environment besides the swarmkeepers.
Technological Level
The main difference between the nomads and the rest of the world is the cult of movement. In everything else they are either behind or on par with the peoples of other nations.
Religion
The vast majority of nomads belong to the cult of movement, with a smaller portion also participating in the pantheonic religions of the Bellvali or 9 families.
The cult of movement isn't seen as much as a religion and more of a fact of life for the nomads. When many souls move along the land runes, effects are generated. An understanding of this primordial movement is so key and integral to the nomads as to dominate their life in a way that no simple god ever could.
Foreign Relations
Most of the other principalities in the region all view the Southern Nomads as not even being worth a fight, and make extensive use of city services while in the two cities. In this way, the cities are seen as "neutral ground" by many factions, geopolitical or otherwise, with most not even considering that the nomads may have motives of their own.
The orcs and Belvalli have even gone so far as to declare formal protection of the Nomads, a concept which seems laughable when an outsider examines that the land that the "protectorate" controls is larger than the land of both of the protectors put together. However, once the other nations began using the nomads extreme skill at horsemanship and sailing for transport, they soon realized that it would be easier to just send messages through the nomads without any national representative at all. The nomads are held in such a low regard that they aren't even deemed an information threat, and this is exactly what the nomads want. The only reason that the 9 families have not declared protections is because of the odd pushback from 2 of the 9. The nomads have taken note.
Through careful manipulation spanning centuries, the nomads have placed themselves at the core of the informational web of the known world, manipulating the data as they see fit. While the nomads do have to endure the occasional ridicule of the masses, they are easily the most powerful nation on the continent without anyone else even realizing it.
The only ones who have an inkling of the nomads' true power are 2 of the 9 families, but they are keeping these observations close to the chest.
The nomads also directly financially support Captain Whippet and direct him towards the other continent to discourage any trade that isn't done through them and to discourage invasion attempts.
Agriculture & Industry
The nomad diet reflects their relative freedom compared to other peoples, being almost entirely meat-based as they bring their herds with them from place to place. This carnivorous diet is supplemented by significant gathering, but they also make extensive use of magic to supplement their dietary needs. Spells such as "create food and drink" are widely used to get edible vegetables, and the spell "goodberry" is one of the reasons that druids are more welcomed in nomadic culture than in others. There is also an entire department, the department of life, which is tasked with making sure wild (edible) plants flourish around the nomad lands. The reliance on gathering and... taste, for meat, also spawned the department of pursuit, who's goal it is to hunt and exterminate all wild herbivores from their lands. The department often clashes with the department of dominion, who's goal is to domesticate said herbivores for sources of meat.
Trade & Transport
There is a series of highways criss-crossing the nomad lands. In the northern reaches, these highways are straight, carrying their travelers directly to their destination. However, south of Jokuul the roads start to take odd turns and bends. This is because the nomad highways south of Jokuul are incredibly large land runes, and the movement of travelers is recycled back into itself. This feedback loop makes travel in the southern reaches of nomad lands as quick as traveling by boat over waterways. This allows them to even more significantly reduce their presence outside of their own internal area by not needing to use boats.
That isn't to say that the nomads do not have a significant fleet. The nomads are actually the main supplier of foreign goods from the eastern continent, they just do so in round about ways.
Education
For the average nomad there is very little education beyond riding lessons. If one wishes to experience the outside world or learn anything beyond what your family can teach you must join a department of the government.
Infrastructure
The nomadlands road network is the most advanced in the world, and the cult of movement ensures that travel and running from danger is always an option.
While full blown towns are rare, there are many waste shelters littered around the nomadlands. These shelters are permanent structures that provide protection from the storms that do still ravage the nomadlands. In fact, the storms seem to be the only other entity capable of utilizing the land runes, meaning that while storms are rarer than they used to be, they are much more damaging. Preventing storm damage is the primary role of the department of shielding.
Mythology & Lore
While there are secular histories of the Wizards of Speed, they are quite boring. Myths of the Wizards on the other hand are numerous and colorful.
One of the most popular revolves around the 3 sects of wizards that many consider to be the progenitors of the departments in the current nomad structure.
There are also several myths regarding the storms, and the apparent failure of the departments of life and shielding to eradicate the storms. In fact, there is a growing movement that claims that the storms are facets of Vruull, and stopping their progress in inherently sacrilegious.
Divine Origins
The religion was developed by the descendants of the Wizards of Speed. It revolves heavily around the creation and use of the land runes that were found by the Wizards in the southern wastes.
Cosmological Views
The cult of movement believes that the world, and creation outside of the world is an embodiment of momentum. Essentially they believe in the opposite of entropy. They believe that were something exists it will inevitably move forward and progress, so the creation of existence isn't necessarily special in any way. It was inevitable.
They see the people of the world as actually inherently detrimental to this progress, since man-made structures are so much more fragile (on the whole) than the robust nature that surrounds them. They see human walls as more fragile, more likely to break down, than stone, bridges more likely to fall than the trees they were made from.
Tenets of Faith
Movement adds upon itself.
Movement never ends.
Movement is life.
Priesthood
In general, there are no distinct leaders. However, people value the opinions and insights of the runemakers when it comes to matters of Vruull.
Close the distance
Maps
-
Borguur
A map of the Southern Nomad city of Borguur -
Berguur
A map of the city of Berguur
Founding Date
Some time between 300-350 Post-L, sources (even internal ones) differ
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Capital
Alternative Names
The Nomads, Southerners, Horse Heads, Silent Speed
Predecessor Organization
Demonym
Nomad
Leader Title
Government System
Electocracy
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Palace economy
Currency
Imperial Gold
Major Exports
The nomads export the finest horses in the world.
The nomads also export "servants" in the form of runners.
It is also well known that the nomad's animals have meat which confers significant health benefits beyond animals raised outside of their lands. However, the nomads price these as luxury items, inferring that they only have a limited amount and letting very few out of the nomadlands every year.
Besides these, the nomads themselves do not make a significant amount of anything, surviving primarily as traders.
Major Imports
The nomadlands lack significant sources of iron and wood. This is actually the reason that they originally acquired some territory in the marshes. They also have gold mines as well, but they quickly found that they were not suited to mining or forestry as a people.
With this in mind, they do important a large amount of lumber, gold, and iron. Their people are also very fond of long-flowing fibrous robes made from the mountain vines (Euonymus Rhamnales) in Ashenfeld familial lands and the Belvalli Kingdom.
Legislative Body
The departments of the commander have a wide latitude, but the department of progress does have the specific role in ensuring that the other departments are kept in check.
Judicial Body
The department of peering
Official State Religion
Deities
Neighboring Nations
