The People of Rhoynur

Summary

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The people of Rhoynur are magically gifted hunters and raiders, who live for battle and the challenge of survival; they rarely stay in one place for long, moving on horseback and taking their camps with them. Just a few thousand of their people have been enough to tear through entire nations. They can be identified by their brilliant yellow eyes and strong, tall frames, but it varies from person to person. The most hair color is a dark grey, ashy and faded. Their numbers are low, with a couple rarely able to produce more than a single child.

The tribe was originally loyal to the Empire of Barsburg, serving as an elite force within their ranks and enjoying the privileges that came with, but roughly a century ago they were exiled. The accounts of this exchange vary. A tale commonly passed down by the priestesses of Rhoynur is that there was a proposal to Natasa Dayndros, the High Lady of Rhoynur, by a Lord of the empire, captivated by her beauty and strength. She refused him - unless he could defeat her in a public spectacle. The Emperor sent out his champions and beasts in the Colosseum with all watching, but one by one they were defeated by the golden-haired, yellow-eyed warrior, until it was just the feeble old man left. He was beaten black and blue.

Since then, they were travelling mercenaries. They were tasked to topple the Kingdom of Esshar, and succeeded in razing a number of towns and spreading panic throughout the country. The Lightbringer Ardes Grimmore was called on to take care of the threat, and he did so in brillaint fashion, outplaying and outmatching the fierce raiders at every turn. After a long military campaign, the Conquest of Rhoynur resulted in the annexation of this proud people into Esshar, where they face discrimination and, in some cases, a life of indentured servitude.

Culture and Traditions

• As a remarkably physical culture, it is not uncommon for the Rhoynish to settle minor arguments through arm wrestling or racing, the nature of the challenge determined by the challenged party. Greater disagreements are often settled via wrestling or armed combat.
• Rhoynish are very communal, especially due to their low birth rate. As a result, many Rhoynish are part of a Clan, a collection of several families that are tied together by geographical location or choice. Clan bonds amongst the Rhoynish are very strong; children often consider each other siblings, regardless of blood relation.
• The Rhoynish are essentially a nomadic people, as as such their history in mainly passed down via the elders of a clan orally. This also often expressed through singing and dancing.
• Rhoynish children are gifted a silver armring when they reach the age of twelve to reflect their beginning on the path to adulthood. The rite of passage into adulthood itself -undertaken at the age of nineteen- is to last twelve days in a forest by themselves, during which they must prevent their armring being taken by other participating members of the Clan. Failing this test is uncommon, but those who do may try again after a month. Success in this rite results in the armring being replaced with a golden one. Following the Conquest, many such armrings were looted from dead Rhoynish by First Light soldiers.
• Rhoynish often tattoo each other to reflect clan affiliation, notable deeds, and victories in combat. It is considered shameful to lack any such tattoos past the age of twenty three. Wearing the mark of a Clan when one does not belong to it is an extreme taboo amongst the Rhoynish, and is harshly punished.
• Rhoynish warriors paint their face with the symbol of their clan before entering combat.
• Punishments amongst the people of Rhoynur for acts considered dishonourable vary from clan to clan. In minor cases, the dishonoured is sometimes required to shave their head or eyebrows. In more serious cases, the punishments are usually death or being rendered clan-less, a punishment many Rhoynish consider worse than death.
• Rhoynish cultural dances commonly involve a dancer's magic as well as physical movements.
• Whilst aware of and appropriately respectful of Angels, the people of Rhoynur chiefly worship their ancestors -as examples to both follow and avoid- and the Divine Spirits, with it being common for a clan to have a Patron Spirit they follow in particular. The Rhoynish faith is more on a person-by-person base than the Essharan faith, and lacks a formal clergy aside from a handful of Priestesses, who serve more as spiritual advisors to the Clans than an actual authority.
• The Rhoynish, being a martial people, respect strength above all else. As such, prior to the Conquest if a Clan Leader believed a High Lord or Lady to be weak, they were free to challenge them in a duel to the death. Upon victory, the Leader's Clan became the ruling clan. On defeat, the Clan Leader would die in battle. Notable ruling clans include Clan Dayndros, which ruled for several uninterrupted centuries, and Clan Shar, which was the ruling clan during the Conquest.

Festivals and Celebrations

• The Clans of Rhoynur each have their own celebrations, often including one for their patron spirit, if applicable. These commonly entail the telling of creation myths, and several other folk stories of dubious accuracy applied to the spirit being celebrated. Primordials are quite often the protagonists in these stories, granted something of a demi-god status within the Rhoynish culture.
• The Festival of Natasa in a universally celebrated occasion amongst the Rhoynish. Occuring once every five years, it is held in honour of Natasa Dayndros' defeat of Barsburg's finest, and the resulting freedom of the Rhoynish from foreign control. It usually involves athletic and martial contests, as well as singing and dancing. Festival-goers also paint themselves with the symbol of the Dayndros Clan, a rare exception to the taboo of wearing a Clanmark without belonging to the clan. In fact, it is only permitted in this case because the Dayndros Clan Elders permitted it as a way of honouring their famous ancestor. Given its connotation to freedom from foreign influence, this tradition was banned by Queen Ariadni II as part of the Treaty of Hessalia.