Czhahyl

"In a strange way, I am always comforted by the existence of the vagabonds. Our diviners have spoken; the dragons will come for us eventually. They may burn our settlements down, they may blast us back into a post-apocalyptic hellscape, but in the end the roamers will endure, too fluid and too canny to be obliterated like the rest of us. There is simply nothing rigid enough for the dragons to smash or conquer."
~Grandmaster Jeren, of The Golden Tower

Structure

Vagabonds wander in caravans from place to place. Each caravan is run by a 'hetman.' This hetman is an elected official, though often this 'election' process is sort of a formality. A hetman chooses Edlers to take care of tasks. Though it doesn't sound ritualized, there is a ritual to the appointment. "[name of chosen Edler], this is your task. You may take [number of clanmates] of your fellows that you choose to accomplish this task. Go with the blessings of we who wander."

Public Agenda

The Czhahyl were formed after the Rape of Tilane. The dragons destroyed the homes of their ancestors, so they build no homes for the dragons to destroy. Instead, they endlessly wander, following herds of vewavs in their annual migrations.

History

The first Czah'ine were simply the survivors of the Rape of Tilane. Bound to wagons and unwilling to settle down and build stationary targets for the marauding dragons and wyverns, they developed a culture over several decades that preferred roaming through dense woodlands and racing over open roads.
Eventually, little by little, individual caravans found natural fortresses or long abandoned ruins in which to set up camps, and then build settlements. Not all of them chose to settle, however, and to this day there are many such caravans roaming the continent.
The typical penalty for serious crimes in a Czhahyl caravan is exile. These exiles will sometimes link up with each other as well as with criminals from settled society. This is often the origin of bandit camps, giving the Czhayhl a mostly undeserved reputation as bandits waiting to happen. Such Czhahyl bandits are known as Mavi, "Dead to Us" in the Old Tongue.

Demography and Population

The population of the clan caravans that make up the whole of the Czhahyl is roughly 50% human, 20% halfling, a few refugees and exiles from the other races, and the rest of them are centaur.

Territories

Czhahyl roam all over The Maecodian Confederation, with some wagons even goign as far as Doroinir Nimloth or the Badlands.

Military

The 'military' of the vagabonds involves one of two tactics: partisan bleeding, and delay and flee. They make good use of catspaws to harm their pursuers, and their centaurs are a deadly cavalry force when needed.

Religion

Czhahyl are largely Reverents.

Foreign Relations

Czhahyl tend to be distrusted as thieves by the settled populations, but that's a reputation only mostly deserved. Their economy revolves around the selling of root vegetables from their garden wagons, surplus meat and leather goods from the vewav that they hunt, and a vast array of 'cure-alls' and other cons that they use to barter with.

Agriculture & Industry

Aside from hunting the vewav, the Czhahyl keep bone-carts in their caravans. These carts are large wicker baskets (usually around 6x6x8 ft.) filled with fertile dirt. This dirt is replenished with the burned ashes and ground bones of the wanderer's dead. In this soil, they grow grains, edible fungi, and especially root vegetables. Along with foraging, these mobile gardens provide the bulk of their non-meat diet.
Curiously, the Czhahyl have picked up some clockwork techniques from the gnomes. They typically have to barter for the brass to make the gears, though some intricate "boneclock" devices have been making the rounds.

Trade & Transport

The wagon trains of the Czhahyl are made up of individual wagons. Each wagon contains a family along with all of their possessions and is pulled by a tamed vewav. These wagons are typically 16x8x12, with four to six wheels. In caravans that typically travel over rougher terrain, they will have a leather belt over all of the wheels to create a tough track to roll on.

Education

Czhahyl children are educated by storytellers that tell tales of the past, providing life lessons and practical knowledge.

Type

Geopolitical, Nomadic tribe

Alternative Names

Vagabonds, Seekers, The Homeless, Wanderers, Gadabouts (pejorative)

Demonym

Czha'ine

Government System

Tribalism

Economic System

Barter system

Major Exports

Vagabonds sell vewav meat, leather and liquor. They also sell clockwork items and will provide labor services to nearby communities for pay that often undercuts the local workers.

Major Imports

Brass, books and local cuisine are always in high demand with the vagabonds.