House Mekulet
"The only way to stay your opponent’s first strike is to strike true yourself."
House Mekulet is one of the Great Houses currently on the Triamic Council.
Structure
House Mekulet is ruled by the Circle of Clans, a group comprised of the heads of the top ten clans in the House.
Clan rankings are everything to House Mekulet. Rankings are a measure of a clan's honor and combat prowess as determined by sanctioned combat.
The Four Tournaments
Clan business is largely conducted during the four tournaments that take place throughout the year. Dispute resolution and personal affairs such as bridal tournaments or successional bouts (see Culture, below) can be conducted at any of these four. Larger disputes involving multiple clans or the House as a whole must be conducted during the Firemoon Tournament, the largest of the tournaments and annual meeting of the Circle of Clans.
The Firemoon Tournament in particular encourages non-Mekulets to come spectate as well... provided you can afford admission. Still, it's a sporting event that has all the draw of a modern championship, including sponsorships, gambling over who will best whom, and people getting together to eat greasy food and cheer on their favorite champions.
Current Circle Clans
1. Clan Asha
- Clan Head: Prince Yudaan
- Element: Fire
- Colors: TBD
- Specialties: Spices
2. Clan Petroka
- Clan Head: Rys
- Element: Fire
- Colors: TBD
- Other Specialties: Tourney Combat
3. Clan Worset
- Clan Head: Admiral Gaius
- Element: Water
- Colors: TBD
- Other Specialties: Naval
4. Clan Tam
- Clan Head: Buka
- Element: Earth
- Colors: TBD
- Other Specialties: Mining, Smelting
5. Clan Mazuma
- Clan Head: Kirsta
- Element: Water
- Colors: TBD
- Other Specialties: Ice
6. Clan Kyrun
- Clan Head: Rolando
- Element: Fire
- Colors: TBD
- Other Specialties: Trading
7. Clan Luvay
- Clan Head: Duli
- Element: Air
- Colors: TBD
- Other Specialties: Cattle, Nomadic
8. Clan Kavek
- Clan Head: Rabia
- Element: Earth
- Colors: TBD
- Other Specialties: The Wilds
9. Clan Lekala
- Clan Head: Saban
- Element: Fire
- Colors: TBD
- Other Specialties: TBD
10. Clan Romulat
- Clan Head: Julius
- Element: Air
- Colors:
- Other Specialties: Horsemanship
Physical Traits
Appearance
Mekulets are the most widely spread of the Great Houses, and so they vary in appearance and racial characteristics according to their region.
Magic
Mekulets are born with the ability to channel: to manipulate one of the four elements. Channeling does cost energy and each user has an individual reserve of magic that dictates how much they are able to channel at any given time.
Channeling ability quickens in their early teens, but Mekulets are born with a magical birthmark that gives some indication of their potential. The birthmark's size indicates the power of the channeler, and the shape indicates the element:
- Blocky or geometric: Earth
- Tapered or explosive: Fire
- Rounded: Water
- Whispy or flowy: Air
History
Mekulets are descended from the Mukala people. The Mukala began as one of many tribes in the Crimson Sands. During the Awakening, they developed the ability to channel the elements, and were summarily able to overpower their non-magical neighbors.
The Awakening - 1593 BEC
During the Awakening, the world came into Magic. It was shortly after (around 1541 BEC by historical accounts) that the Mukala came into their magic. Mukala myth states that they were gifts from the spirits (though their harried contemporaries were more prone to accusing the Mukala of selling their souls to the spirits for the magic).
Later scholarship posits that the Mukala magic was more mundane in origin: it seems likely that the Mukala tribe came upon a deposit of Godstone and used it ritualistically in a way that imbued them with their abilities. It is believed that these early rituals were also the origin of their distinctive birthmarks.
The Mukala Dominion - 1500s-410sBEC
"Those of us who have lived our lives fully in the wake of the fall of the Dominion can never truly understand the horrific connotations that were once attached to elemental channeling."
Over the centuries following the Awakening, the Mukala began expanding across the Sands, eventually coalescing into a nation-state. See Mukala Dominion for more.
At the height of their power, they had conquered the areas that now include Sol'cha, Silven, Heartland, and southern Lumina. To this day, Mekulet presence is strong in these areas.
The Dominion eventually split apart through both internal and external stresses, scattering the Mukala into several different subcultures that did not reunite until the Dominion was absorbed into the Empire.
Culture
Mekulets are bound by a strict code of conduct. Honor is a Mekulet's primary measure of worth as a person.
Honor Codes
There is no formally written code. but the following are the codes generally followed by all Mekulets, with some minor variations between clans:
- Do not lie
- Do not steal
- Pay your debts
- Honor your vows
- Do not kill without just cause
- Do not attack an unarmed opponent
- Do not attack an opponent who does not know you're there
- Do not attack an opponent who has surrendered
- Honor terms of surrender or armistice
- If you are defeated in battle, do not resist the victor(s)
- If you are victorious in battle, treat the defeated with respect
Regional Differences
There are two distinct subcultures of Mekulet: northern and southern.
Northern Mekulet Culture
Colloquially called "Heartland Mekulets," despite the fact that they are also common in southern Lumina and Grennire. Northern Mekulets fall into the general culture of the Imperials. Southern Mekulets often consider them "mutts" or otherwise diluted for this reason.
Among Heartland imperial citizens, it is considered poor etiquette for a Mekulet to channel outside a combat context. Using magic to light candles at the dinner table, for example, is a faux pas. One of the first things teenaged Mekulets are taught is not to channel in public. This is one of the ways that the Crimson Sands warlords differ from the more "refined" Heartland. In the Sands, channeling casually is considered a show of power, and is thus encouraged regardless of context. As can be expected, Heartland Mekulets consider their Sands brethren to be barbaric and classless.
Northern Mekulets are tournament trained, but few see actual combat unless a major war breaks out. They are generally Kaelic, at least nominally.
Southern Mekulet Culture
Most southern Mekulets follow the spirit worship of the Desert Imperials.
Southern Mekulets are often called "warlords" and with good reason: it is common for southern Mekulets to settle disputes with one another through war rather than formal tourney. For this reason, most southern Mekulets have actual battle experience, which their northern counterparts lack.
Family Structure
House Mekulet has a very distinctive kin structure unique to its subculture. To Mekulets, your kin come in two levels: your immediate family (parents, children, and siblings) and your clan. It doesn't matter how closely you are related (grandparent, second great-aunt, or ninth cousin twice removed through marriage): if you belong to the same clan, you are kin and are treated as such.
Mekulet clans can range between isolated groups of a dozen people to Empire-spanning groups five hundred strong. Each will have their own internal structures or codes, often maintained by the clan head (who is decided by rankings within the clan, and who is often the greatest fighter, since any young upstart in the clan may challenge the head to a duel for leadership). The clan head is to be respected above all others in the clan, and to serve as both commander and guide.
House Mekulet also has many over-arching customs related to clan kinship. Clans are ranked as a single unit at tourneys, so a focus on not shaming the clan is a large part of any young Mekulet's socialization. Another custom is that of clan armistice... it is considered a betrayal of kin ties to turn against one's own clan in violent intent. If clan members find themselves on opposing sides of a conflict , one may claim clan armistice, and every clan member regardless of side is honor-bound to cease all aggression.
Clans rankings are not simply for bragging rights. When a child is born to a Mekulet clan head, they are eligible to inherit regardless of gender. If they have siblings, the siblings are expected to vie for the right of inheritance in one of the Mekulet annual tourneys after all siblings are of age to participate in the tournaments (i.e., 13).
Marriage is similarly decided: a suitor must best other suitors as well as a certain amount of their object's family in a tournament to win the right to wed. The member of the lower-ranked clan is absorbed into the higher, regardless of gender.
Everyone in the clan, no matter how far removed or how physically distant they live, is considered of one family.
Women
House Mekulet is probably the most progressive of the Three Houses when it comes to women. This House emphasis on clan ties and one's individual fighting ability, and thus, though men will tend to best women in purely physical competitions, a channeler of sufficient ability and cleverness can easily override any physical disadvantage, regardless of gender.
So, a girl in House Mekulet can expect to have lots of combat training their entire life, but also the freedom to run her own household or clan, participate in the Mekulet arm of the government, and pretty much anything else that men are allowed to do. The one thing they do not have power over is choosing whether or not they marry; this is decided by their clan head, though depending on the clan and clan head, they may have a say. It is not uncommon for a woman who does not want to marry to contest the decision (via duel), but the clan head is often the most capable warrior in the clan, so this can be a risky proposition. In a marriage, the "head" of the household is the one that comes from the higher ranked clan, regardless of gender.
Shipmages
One of the fastest (but most expensive) ways to travel is on a ship that has a shipmage. A shipmage is a water or air channeler that specializes in conveying vessels around... a practice that takes a lot of power to do, much less for extended periods of time. It began as a war practice, wherein Mekulet navies were powered by shipmages, but has since become used for high-priority passenger and cargo conveyance as well.
Only a small portion of vessels have a shipmage, sinceshipmages are relatively rare. The blue-blooded war channelers of House Mekulet rarely want to debase themselves by becoming glorified conveyance pushers, so shipmages tend to hail from low-ranked clans or people with Mekulet blood but no titles or clan. For this reason, peacetime shipmages are looked down upon by the House.
Type
Geopolitical, Great house
Alternative Names
Mukala (formerly)
Demonym
Mekulet
Parent Organization
Location
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
Mekulet birthmark of Jossanus Romulat
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