Post by obxroni on Oct 14, 2008 14:48:09 GMT -5
People of Rashemen
The people of Rashemen are sturdy, hardworking and deeply respectful of the land. A traveler here will never see a logger casually cutting down trees for greater profit, nor a stream dammed to power a mill. The Rashemi understand that they must respect the land as they would a neighbor, for the spirits punish those who take what they don’t need.
Rashemi are a short, hardy folk, built for strength rather than speed. Men grow beards but keep them trimmed short. Both sexes keep their hair long: The men wear a pair of thick braids, while the women have only one. The length of one’s hair is a measure of status, in marked contrast to the shaven headed Red Wizards. The penalty for adultery in many villages is to have one’s hair cut short, and others shun shorthaired Rashemi for this crime against the family.
Typical Rashemi dress is simple, made of wool, leather and pelts. Men wear trousers, loose shirts and fur vests, while women dress in long woolen skirts and blouses of linen. In times of celebration, both sexes dress colorfully, preferring vest and blouses of red, blue, and yellow, embroidered in red, white, and green. Rashemen is relatively poor in metal, and most of that goes to making weapons, tools, and armor, so Rashemi jewelry is made of carved stone, bones, and ivory decorated with complex patterns and runic markings. These pieces are often used as trade goods.
Long ago, these people were forced to defend themselves against the greed of Narfell and Raumathar, two magical nations they constantly fought each other, usually in the land the Rashemi called home. This ongoing battle against aggressive neighbors turned the Rashemi into insular warriors, distrustful of outlanders and honoring kinfolk who destroyed the most enemies. That mentality persists today, fueled by the greedy attacks of the Red Wizards and Rashemen’s relative isolation. With such a history, it is no surprise that the Rashemi glorify personal strength and shun people who are not like them.
Religion
The Rashemi are devout people, involving religion in every aspect of their daily life, for they venerate the spirits of the land as minor deities. Rashemi religion focuses on “the Three” – Bhalla (Chauntea), Mielikki, and the Hidden One (Mystra) – but also honors telthors and famous heroes. Most of the spirits are not known by name, except for very old ones with recognizable personalities. Most people do not meet the spirits in person but instead seek their signs, which are interpreted as miraculous occurrences and omens. Celebrated heroes are believed to serve the Three in the afterlife as generals, strategists, and messengers. They are rarely seen except in fantastic displays of hathran magic such as the planar ally spell.
All Rashemi respect the hathrans in their role as speakers to the divine (whether deities or spirits). The younger divine spellcasters (ethrans who have not yet become hathrans) are responsible for most spiritual guidance and healing, much like clerics and druids in other lands. This frees up the hathrans to concentrate on greater matters, such as battling the Red Wizards, thwarting the bheur hags, and guarding Rashemen. Only when an ethran’s power is insufficient to minister to the people’s needs (suck as in the case of a plague) are the hathrans called in.
The Wychlaran
The wychlaran (“wise old women”) are the spiritual guides of the Rashemi people, watching over their souls and communicating with the spirits of the land. The formal term for a member of this group is hathran (“learned sister”), although the Red Wizards and others call them the “Witches of Rashemen.” A term the women use informally themselves. All female spellcasters in Rashemen, arcane or divine, fall into one of the four following ranks: unproven, ethran, hathran, or othlor.
The unproven are those female spellcasters who do not choose to become ethrans. A number of adepts and minor spellcasters fall into this category, women who simply do not have the inclination or aptitude for further study. These women are generally left alone by the Witches to practice their magic as they see fit, so long as they do not claim the privileges and authority of a true Witch.
Ethrans are low-ranking initiates of any arcane or divine spellcasting class, although most are clerics or sorcerers. An ethran is a Witch and bears the full responsibility and authority that goes along with the title, although she must defer to the hathrans and othlors. There are thousands of ethrans, although most are little more than village healers or spirit-talkers.
Hathrans are the leaders of the sisterhood. A hathran can do no wrong in Rashemen; her word is law, and to disobey her is death. There are about three hundred hathrans scattered over the country and elsewhere in Faerun; the actual number is a carefully guarded secret of the sisterhood.
The wisest and most experienced hathrans carry the title of othlor (“true one”). No more than a dozen or so othlors exist at any one time, although the title is freely awarded to any sister who merits it.
The Vremyonni
While the wychlaran serve Rashemen as judges, rulers, priests, and warriors, men with spellcasting ability are segregated from their kin as vremyonni, or “Old Ones.” Divine spellcasters such as clerics or druids are not required to set themselves apart in this way, but Rashemi expect wychlaran to placate the spirits and intercede with the gods, so male cleric or druids do not have a role in society. Most become hermits or eventually join a berserker lodge and become advisors to these elite brotherhoods.
Men who happen to be arcane spellcaster have no such options. They must secret themselves among the hidden villages and cavern strongholds of the vremyonni, or they must leave Rashemen. To refuse the command is death. Most Old Ones accept this as the way of things and do not begrudge their seclusion. In their hidden refuges, they become expert weaponsmiths and item crafters, creating potent magic weapons for the berserkers and wychlaran in defense of the land. On very rare occasions, when Rashemen faces the direst threats, vremyonni take the field and march to war alongside the wychlaran. Masked like their hathran sisters, each binds himself to a hathran with a short length of silken cord, and the paired spellcaster work as deadly teams.
*Text from Forgotten Realms "Unapproachable East"
The people of Rashemen are sturdy, hardworking and deeply respectful of the land. A traveler here will never see a logger casually cutting down trees for greater profit, nor a stream dammed to power a mill. The Rashemi understand that they must respect the land as they would a neighbor, for the spirits punish those who take what they don’t need.
Rashemi are a short, hardy folk, built for strength rather than speed. Men grow beards but keep them trimmed short. Both sexes keep their hair long: The men wear a pair of thick braids, while the women have only one. The length of one’s hair is a measure of status, in marked contrast to the shaven headed Red Wizards. The penalty for adultery in many villages is to have one’s hair cut short, and others shun shorthaired Rashemi for this crime against the family.
Typical Rashemi dress is simple, made of wool, leather and pelts. Men wear trousers, loose shirts and fur vests, while women dress in long woolen skirts and blouses of linen. In times of celebration, both sexes dress colorfully, preferring vest and blouses of red, blue, and yellow, embroidered in red, white, and green. Rashemen is relatively poor in metal, and most of that goes to making weapons, tools, and armor, so Rashemi jewelry is made of carved stone, bones, and ivory decorated with complex patterns and runic markings. These pieces are often used as trade goods.
Long ago, these people were forced to defend themselves against the greed of Narfell and Raumathar, two magical nations they constantly fought each other, usually in the land the Rashemi called home. This ongoing battle against aggressive neighbors turned the Rashemi into insular warriors, distrustful of outlanders and honoring kinfolk who destroyed the most enemies. That mentality persists today, fueled by the greedy attacks of the Red Wizards and Rashemen’s relative isolation. With such a history, it is no surprise that the Rashemi glorify personal strength and shun people who are not like them.
Religion
The Rashemi are devout people, involving religion in every aspect of their daily life, for they venerate the spirits of the land as minor deities. Rashemi religion focuses on “the Three” – Bhalla (Chauntea), Mielikki, and the Hidden One (Mystra) – but also honors telthors and famous heroes. Most of the spirits are not known by name, except for very old ones with recognizable personalities. Most people do not meet the spirits in person but instead seek their signs, which are interpreted as miraculous occurrences and omens. Celebrated heroes are believed to serve the Three in the afterlife as generals, strategists, and messengers. They are rarely seen except in fantastic displays of hathran magic such as the planar ally spell.
All Rashemi respect the hathrans in their role as speakers to the divine (whether deities or spirits). The younger divine spellcasters (ethrans who have not yet become hathrans) are responsible for most spiritual guidance and healing, much like clerics and druids in other lands. This frees up the hathrans to concentrate on greater matters, such as battling the Red Wizards, thwarting the bheur hags, and guarding Rashemen. Only when an ethran’s power is insufficient to minister to the people’s needs (suck as in the case of a plague) are the hathrans called in.
The Wychlaran
The wychlaran (“wise old women”) are the spiritual guides of the Rashemi people, watching over their souls and communicating with the spirits of the land. The formal term for a member of this group is hathran (“learned sister”), although the Red Wizards and others call them the “Witches of Rashemen.” A term the women use informally themselves. All female spellcasters in Rashemen, arcane or divine, fall into one of the four following ranks: unproven, ethran, hathran, or othlor.
The unproven are those female spellcasters who do not choose to become ethrans. A number of adepts and minor spellcasters fall into this category, women who simply do not have the inclination or aptitude for further study. These women are generally left alone by the Witches to practice their magic as they see fit, so long as they do not claim the privileges and authority of a true Witch.
Ethrans are low-ranking initiates of any arcane or divine spellcasting class, although most are clerics or sorcerers. An ethran is a Witch and bears the full responsibility and authority that goes along with the title, although she must defer to the hathrans and othlors. There are thousands of ethrans, although most are little more than village healers or spirit-talkers.
Hathrans are the leaders of the sisterhood. A hathran can do no wrong in Rashemen; her word is law, and to disobey her is death. There are about three hundred hathrans scattered over the country and elsewhere in Faerun; the actual number is a carefully guarded secret of the sisterhood.
The wisest and most experienced hathrans carry the title of othlor (“true one”). No more than a dozen or so othlors exist at any one time, although the title is freely awarded to any sister who merits it.
The Vremyonni
While the wychlaran serve Rashemen as judges, rulers, priests, and warriors, men with spellcasting ability are segregated from their kin as vremyonni, or “Old Ones.” Divine spellcasters such as clerics or druids are not required to set themselves apart in this way, but Rashemi expect wychlaran to placate the spirits and intercede with the gods, so male cleric or druids do not have a role in society. Most become hermits or eventually join a berserker lodge and become advisors to these elite brotherhoods.
Men who happen to be arcane spellcaster have no such options. They must secret themselves among the hidden villages and cavern strongholds of the vremyonni, or they must leave Rashemen. To refuse the command is death. Most Old Ones accept this as the way of things and do not begrudge their seclusion. In their hidden refuges, they become expert weaponsmiths and item crafters, creating potent magic weapons for the berserkers and wychlaran in defense of the land. On very rare occasions, when Rashemen faces the direst threats, vremyonni take the field and march to war alongside the wychlaran. Masked like their hathran sisters, each binds himself to a hathran with a short length of silken cord, and the paired spellcaster work as deadly teams.
*Text from Forgotten Realms "Unapproachable East"