Steppe Nomads
The hardy men and women of the Steppe are nomadic shepherds driving vast herds of livestock across the grassy desert in search of what good grazing land and what little fresh water is available. There are three primary groups within the Steppe Nomads, the men of iron possessing the usual arrangement of four limbs and one head distinguished by being the only metal working steppe group, centaurs a mix of man and horse, and the flesheaters a particularly voracious breed of headless cannibal. In practice most tribes include a mix of all three due to the custom of adversarial responsibility.
To supplement their rather meager subsistence from driving herd animals the nomads will frequently raid the northern provinces of Daqin, Stygia, and Haixi, sometimes carrying off valuables, but primarily seeking farm-grown crops and tools they are incapable of making themselves. These raids have provoked wars between the Steppe tribes and their southern neighbors since the dawn of recorded history.
Culture
Shared customary codes and values
One custom shared by all steppe people is that of adversarial responsibility, that being if a man of the steppe kills someone who is the primary caretaker of any dependents it is now the steppe man's responsibility to care for those dependents as though he were the slain foe. This usually means adopting all of the foe's children and taking in their spouse. While in theory this prevents needless loss of life in an already cruel world and does create integrated close knit families much of the time, it is still open to abuse and enslavement of new tribe members.
Art & Architecture
The tribes of the Steppe live in tents made of wooden arches and covered in animal hides, called yurts. They have few permanent structures of any kind, only a few pit stop towns of crude wooden structures built around fresh water sources and natural fishing coves. Their permanent architectural styles are for the most part copied from Daqin, and in fact are usually built by Daqin carpenters, either hired by especially rich Steppe tribes or captured during southern raids.
Nomad art is limited by the region's limited resources. As such all physical art tends to be made from animal products: books are written on sheep and goat skin parchment, dyes are rare and usually come from soft bodied creatures fished up on the northern coasts, and musical instruments are all made from animal bone or horn.
Diverged ethnicities
Languages spoken
Related Locations
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