Post by Deshi 'Subutai' Basaara on Dec 22, 2018 19:54:18 GMT -8
The Karataan
OverviewThe Karataan are a small warrior tribe who live in the lands where the steppe gives rise to the mountains; in the highland peaks and hidden valleys where the terrain becomes difficult and travel pointless. It is a place as dry in the summer as it is cold in the winter, with land covered by never more than a sprinkle of snow even as ice-tipped mountains surround them. In such a place a horse is no longer a necessity as much as it is a commodity and one must learn to climb mountains and trees as much as they must learn to ride a steed.
Having split away from the steppe nomads many generations ago, the Karataan have evolved their own cultural and ethnic identity shaped by the unforgiving landscape in which they settled. First and foremost, the Karataan are a warrior people – each trained from a young age to hunt and kill not only dangerous animals, but experienced soldiers and invaders. They are well known as hired mercenaries and killers, but foreigners tend to look upon them as a strange tribe with unusual cultural quirks and beliefs.
Culture and Politics
It is easy to tell if someone is Karataan, as their skin has a dull, grey complexion and their other features share traits of people from both the north and the east. In addition, the Karataan spend a significant amount of time carefully adding ink to their own skin – covering themselves in tribal tattoos that reveal and symbolise important events in their lives. They believe that by doing this, they are more likely to be noticed by the gods as they tell their life's story on exposed flesh. As such, the tattoos of the Karataan are strictly and fervently codified, and the breaking of this code (such as having a tattoo that has not been earned) is a significant cultural taboo that is almost always punished by death or exile.
All children of the Karataan are forced to spend fifteen years (from the age of four to nineteen) in military training under one or more of the Kheshig, the elite warriors of the Karataan who are considered to have earned a noble title and the ability to command and train warriors. Because the Kheshig most often train the children of the place that they themselves were trained, several distinct and proud ‘schools’ have risen in the different villages and areas they occupy. Each school provides a different, if not entirely unique, method of training alongside a focus on different skills and martial arts. Some of these ‘skills’ are as unconventional as they are unique and secret, and as a result, it is not unknown for rival schools to try and outdo or steal from one another.
Karataan society values its freedom and independence above nearly all else, yet despite this Karataan society is rigorously disciplined and not entirely ‘free’. A child who is seen as unfit to pass training (decided upon by the Kheshig) is denied citizenship and considered of lesser status than one who has – and is barred from voting in tribal referendums, marrying or having loyal retainers. Even those who pass training are not considered ‘citizens’ until they leave Karataan lands and prove themselves worthy of their Keshig’s teaching. This journey, in which a Karataan is expected to ‘find oneself’, requires that they survive a life or death encounter, kill another warrior, earn a modest amount of wealth and find a companion who would be willing to risk their lives for them. It is during this period that most Karataan become mercenaries, lending their unique skills to whomever is willing to pay. When all tasks are completed, the Karataan must take their wealth and companion back to their Keshig and, if the Keshig finds them worthy, they are allowed to become a full adult citizen of the tribe. The wealth is given to the Keshig as payment for training, while their companion is given the choice to stay as a retainer of the new citizen.
Another staple part of Karataan culture is that of ‘voluntary servitude’. Many Karataan, especially those who do not have citizenship, ‘offer’ themselves as ‘loyal retainers’ to those who do. In the legal code of the tribe, this gives the ‘lord’ complete legal authority over their retainers, but such loyalties are taken so seriously and are so religiously significant that it is extremely rare for such an oath to be betrayed. One’s general status in society is based upon how many willingly choose to serve them, as well as the status of the retainers themselves. One may only become a Keshig, for instance, if at least ten full Karataan citizens are their willing retainers.
It is believed by retainers that they will share a position in heaven with the one they serve, but on the death of that person they have a chance to legally nullify their oath of service. In most cases, the retainer will decide to go and serve someone else, but if their master was so great that their favourable place in heaven was guaranteed then a retainer might decide to follow their lord through suicide.
Despite this system of extreme loyalty, there is no overall leader of the Karataan and they have no political motives or mandates other than to continue their way of life. Each Karataan village is led by a Noyan, who is roughly equal to a minor chieftain and voted into power by that village’s Keshig caste, though the rank is retained for life. Yet even a Noyan has relatively limited power, with their duties mostly being a mixture between administrative overseer and judge of law. Occasionally the Noyan gather to propose laws or decide on vital matters and though the Keshig usually vote the same way as their local Noyan, they technically have the legal power to veto a council decision if there is a clear majority.
Military and Schools of War
In times where the Karataan are threatened or at war, the Noyan become commanders in charge of their local warriors. It is also the duty of the Noyan to choose, by vote, an overall war leader who holds the ancient title of Khan. The Khan is considered to have dictatorial powers over the Karataan until peacetime is resumed, with such powers including the ability to enact laws or strategy without democratic process. The Khan is expected to be both brilliant warrior, charismatic leader and ruthless strategist – capable of bringing victory to the tribe even against overwhelming odds.
And such a leader is needed. The Karataan are a relatively small tribe, outnumbered by any who would oppose them and consisting of many who were unable complete the training required to become a full warrior of the Karataan. As a result, the Karataan rarely fight in the open – instead relying on stealth, surprise, shock, psychological warfare and more. To the Karataan, it makes more sense to send ten warriors in the dead of night to kill a sleeping leader than it does to line up on a hill and fight that leader’s army – and the military schools of the Karataan teach the young exactly this.
Though each school is different, they are united in their philosophy of teaching a warrior to be as irregular as possible. They are not disciplined into rank and file, with spear and shield making an impenetrable wall, but they are taught to endure and to survive – and to master the bow as much as they master the sword. They are taught to hide, to use their surroundings, to let the primal, animal nature hidden in their core to come forth and hunt as the predator does.
This desire to reach an animalistic, predatory apex as a warrior is so profound in Karataan culture that the military schools are often named after predatory animals, and certain divergent techniques are usually inspired by the predator in question. Such schools include the Tiger School, which specializes in overwhelming and surprising shock combat; the Eagle School, which specializes in attacking from elevation and range; the Dragon School, which are unmatched in their use of fire and poison; and the Wolf School, which specializes in tracking across large distances, operating alone or in small groups and for having especially unique methods of fighting.
Religion
Karataan religion is based around worshipping the spirits of nature, and they believe most significant aspects of nature have their own unique spirits who should be appeased for good fortune. In addition, the Kaaratan assume that an overall ‘king spirit’ or god, looks over all other spirits of its type – such as Chono the Wolf God, or Mori the Horse God. The only exception to this is that of mankind itself, for the Karataan believe that mankind has lost much of what used to make it synchronize with its natural surroundings and that as a result, the God of Man has long abandoned them or died. Instead the Karataan look to worship their own ancestors, believing that their loved ones and great heroes in the afterlife still have the power to watch over them with divine favour.
The most powerful god-spirits the Karataan believe in are that of the Sky Father and Earth Mother – who rule above all other spirits. The Sky Father is said to be the ruler of the afterlife, the divine and the supernatural, while the Earth Mother is said to be the world itself and ruler of all nature.
The Karataan attempt to communicate with gods and spirits rather avidly, either through shamanistic rituals or prayer. One of the reasons the Karataan tattoo themselves is to gain the recognition of the spirits, with their tattoos being badges of honour to attract supernatural good will.