Post by Harkovast on Feb 8, 2016 1:44:00 GMT
The Tendu Raj is a one of the powerful nations that dominate Jaydia.
The Raj is ruled by a monarchy, headed by the Maharaja, a hereditary monarch.
Tendu are not a warrior race by inclinations, viewing violence as a regrettable necessity, and certainly not something that rulers and nobility should concern themselves with.
Tendu consider amassing wealth and power to be noble pursuits. Once one has become wealthy, it is expected that a person will show off their wealth, flaunting it as much as possible. Fine clothes, feats of fine food and extravagant spending are signs of living well, and to deny oneself these things is strange, possibly even perverse.
Because of their desire for fine things, Tendu have many great craftsmen, producing wears of the highest quality. They also value intellectual pursuits, such as learning, writing and study. If Tendu rulers did not flaunt his decadence and wealth, his subjects would become enraged at him embarrassing the nation with his strange behaviour.
In the court of the Maharaja, social standing and rules of etiquette are vitally important and nobles and courtiers viewing for power and influence. Though not common, assassinations are not unknown, and even Maharajas can be killed by their subjects if they are seen to not be behaving appropriately.
Unfortunately, for some to live so well, others must toil. Around a third of the Tendu Raj population are slaves. The majority of slaves are Tendu, though many are also Bardabor who have fled the Knarl Empire. While the Raj does have laws governing the treatment of slaves, they have far less rights than full citizens and it is their toil that builds the great work of the Raj.
Ideally, the Tendu would generally like to avoid war, but since it is sometimes a necessity the Raj has a powerful standing army.
The Raj employs professional full time soldiers, who act as guards and police in times of peace. When war comes they are supplemented with mercenaries, whose loyalty can be purchased with the nations great wealth.
In times of war, all slaves are offered the opportunity to leave their masters to serve in the military, an option that proves surprisingly popular since military service gives slaves a route to freedom and also wealth and authority. In times of great need, the authorities may offer to pay slave owners in order to be allowed to take their slaves away to war without the slaves consent. The payment usually takes the form of money, but nobles have been paid with titles or land in the past for particularly large numbers of slaves. When times are particularly dire, slaves owners may not be given a choice about accepting this payment.
Slaves in the army suffer very harsh treatment, being trained brutally and often used as expendable arrow fodder in battles.
However, those slaves who show great courage or talent may be selected to be taken for induction into the mamluk corp. Mamluks are given the best equipment and advanced training, turning them into a hardened force of elite warriors. While still slaves, mamluks are well paid and enjoy far greater freedom and privilege in exchange for their loyalty. After eight years of service the mamluks are granted their freedom in a ceremony by the Maharaja himself. Due to their great skills and experience, most continue to work for the Maharaja as freed mamluks, earning a great deal of money for their elite services. Many mamluks becomes powerful and influential within the Raj, though they are never wholly accepted by the nobility, who seem them as uncouth upstarts. It is rare, but not unknown for a none Tendu to be recruited into the mamluk corps.
Mamluks fight mostly from the backs of suss birds or (due to the high costs of suss birds in Jaydia) sometimes from Hanups, using the bow as their primary weapon. Once their enemies are weakened, suss mounted mamluks can deliver a charge to finish them. Hanups are generally too timid to make a very devastating charge, so warriors mounted on them will generally favour ranged combat exclusively if possible.
Tendu religion recognises a vast pantheon of gods, so numerous that no Tendu could realistically expect to know them all. Even individual families may have their own house hold gods, worshipped exclusively by them. Some gods are viewed as separate entities, while some are different aspects of the same being.
Tendu believe that life and death are part of an on going cycle, where the dead are reborn into new lives, with their social station determined by good or bad deeds in their previous life. This fits with their very stratified society, since the lowly slaves were clearly placed in that position for a reason.
Tendu temples are strange places that can seem sinister to outsiders. They are commonly decorated with polished skulls of dead tendu, and the eccentric priests often paint their faces in black and white like skulls. Tendu do not view this is morbid, seeing is as a reminder of the transitory nature of life, where death is simply another phase of the journey we must all travel.
Tendu view their religious life as quite private, in contrast to their normally extravagant society, and consider large public shows of religion to be tasteless.
Tendu are long lived and have a unique trait of being able to change gender during their lives. This is considered a natural part of going through life for the Tendu, and to go more than thirty years or so without changing is considered strange and unhealthy.
The process is tied to a religious ceremony known as the Bahtabab.
The Tundu will go to a temple where sacred texts will be read and they will be cleaned and anointed with body paint and oils. They then enter a trance like state for a several days, where a strange, thick mucus skins forms over their body. They are stored in the temple until the process is complete and they remerge transformed. The process takes a lot out of a Tendu and it normally takes about a week to recover from the exertion. Bahtabab is viewed as a cause for celebration amongst the Tendu, a rebirth that allows them to approach their life with a new attitude. Tendu do no consider themselves to have a "true" gender. Their gender is what ever there gender is at the moment, and could change to be something else in the future.
Tendu males generally have a short, squat stature. They have thick, tough skin and under their bulky bodies have great physical strength. Their women are taller and thinner, with brightly coloured and patterned skin. After Bahtabab, a Tendu can look very different from their former self!
Since a Tendu's gender is a fluid, changeable thing, they barely have a concept of heterosexuality or homosexuality and don't have any gender divides, though Tendu may choose to change gender for a particular role if they feel it will make them physically more suitable.
Tendu magic allows them to produce toxins and poisons from their bodies. These can be used in battle for short range attacks, throwing poisons that can sicken, blind or confuse opponents, but their primary use is in the brewing of potions. Tendu can create potions to harm or heal as well as other, stranger effects. One of the most valuable is allowing a Tendu to project their mind over great distances, to communicate with people very far away. These potions are very valuable but are also very expensive and can take a great physical toll on the one using them. Using this technique properly requires training and rich Tendu will often have slaves they employ especially for this purpose, so the noble can avoid drinking this potion and suffering the great strain on the body that comes with it. However, for important messages, especially when communicating with an authority figure, nobles are expected to send messages themselves, as having a slave convey such a method might be viewed as an insult.
Tendu women are more capable at producing poisons and potions than males.
The Tendu Raj always have tense relations with the Al-Saigal, who the tendu view as crass religious fanatics and violent, blood thirsty savages. Tendu also find Al-Saigal gender divisions and prohibitions on homosexuality, decadence and gluttony to be baffling.
The two peoples are so fundamentally different in their outlooks that it is difficult for them to ever have very friendly relations.
There are communities of Al-Saigal who live within the Raj, known as Janissaries. These are the descendants of outcastes from the harsh society of the Al-Saigal. They live in their own settlements, worshipping their own god, and living under Al-Saigal laws (though with some variation from that of the Al-Saigal Sultanate.) In exchange for the Raj's protection, they contribute units to the Maharaja's armies. These elite infantry formations known as Janissary guards are known for their great courage and discipline. Some Al-Saigal resent the janissary but since they are faithful warriors of Thane, most Al-Saigal view them with respect, as honourable opponents. They often have a tense rivalry with the Mamluks. Having rival, completely separate elite forces, both completes loyal to the crown helps ensure that neither group might try to turn on the Maharaja and take power for themselves.
The Tendu Raj is a land of sophisticated civilisation but also a nation of great inequality. It spreads peace, trade and learning, but those that toil hardest to build the nation are the ones who benefit the least from it.
(I intend to do another article going more into detail on the Tendu religion, stay tuned!)
The Raj is ruled by a monarchy, headed by the Maharaja, a hereditary monarch.
Tendu are not a warrior race by inclinations, viewing violence as a regrettable necessity, and certainly not something that rulers and nobility should concern themselves with.
Tendu consider amassing wealth and power to be noble pursuits. Once one has become wealthy, it is expected that a person will show off their wealth, flaunting it as much as possible. Fine clothes, feats of fine food and extravagant spending are signs of living well, and to deny oneself these things is strange, possibly even perverse.
Because of their desire for fine things, Tendu have many great craftsmen, producing wears of the highest quality. They also value intellectual pursuits, such as learning, writing and study. If Tendu rulers did not flaunt his decadence and wealth, his subjects would become enraged at him embarrassing the nation with his strange behaviour.
In the court of the Maharaja, social standing and rules of etiquette are vitally important and nobles and courtiers viewing for power and influence. Though not common, assassinations are not unknown, and even Maharajas can be killed by their subjects if they are seen to not be behaving appropriately.
Unfortunately, for some to live so well, others must toil. Around a third of the Tendu Raj population are slaves. The majority of slaves are Tendu, though many are also Bardabor who have fled the Knarl Empire. While the Raj does have laws governing the treatment of slaves, they have far less rights than full citizens and it is their toil that builds the great work of the Raj.
Ideally, the Tendu would generally like to avoid war, but since it is sometimes a necessity the Raj has a powerful standing army.
The Raj employs professional full time soldiers, who act as guards and police in times of peace. When war comes they are supplemented with mercenaries, whose loyalty can be purchased with the nations great wealth.
In times of war, all slaves are offered the opportunity to leave their masters to serve in the military, an option that proves surprisingly popular since military service gives slaves a route to freedom and also wealth and authority. In times of great need, the authorities may offer to pay slave owners in order to be allowed to take their slaves away to war without the slaves consent. The payment usually takes the form of money, but nobles have been paid with titles or land in the past for particularly large numbers of slaves. When times are particularly dire, slaves owners may not be given a choice about accepting this payment.
Slaves in the army suffer very harsh treatment, being trained brutally and often used as expendable arrow fodder in battles.
However, those slaves who show great courage or talent may be selected to be taken for induction into the mamluk corp. Mamluks are given the best equipment and advanced training, turning them into a hardened force of elite warriors. While still slaves, mamluks are well paid and enjoy far greater freedom and privilege in exchange for their loyalty. After eight years of service the mamluks are granted their freedom in a ceremony by the Maharaja himself. Due to their great skills and experience, most continue to work for the Maharaja as freed mamluks, earning a great deal of money for their elite services. Many mamluks becomes powerful and influential within the Raj, though they are never wholly accepted by the nobility, who seem them as uncouth upstarts. It is rare, but not unknown for a none Tendu to be recruited into the mamluk corps.
Mamluks fight mostly from the backs of suss birds or (due to the high costs of suss birds in Jaydia) sometimes from Hanups, using the bow as their primary weapon. Once their enemies are weakened, suss mounted mamluks can deliver a charge to finish them. Hanups are generally too timid to make a very devastating charge, so warriors mounted on them will generally favour ranged combat exclusively if possible.
Tendu religion recognises a vast pantheon of gods, so numerous that no Tendu could realistically expect to know them all. Even individual families may have their own house hold gods, worshipped exclusively by them. Some gods are viewed as separate entities, while some are different aspects of the same being.
Tendu believe that life and death are part of an on going cycle, where the dead are reborn into new lives, with their social station determined by good or bad deeds in their previous life. This fits with their very stratified society, since the lowly slaves were clearly placed in that position for a reason.
Tendu temples are strange places that can seem sinister to outsiders. They are commonly decorated with polished skulls of dead tendu, and the eccentric priests often paint their faces in black and white like skulls. Tendu do not view this is morbid, seeing is as a reminder of the transitory nature of life, where death is simply another phase of the journey we must all travel.
Tendu view their religious life as quite private, in contrast to their normally extravagant society, and consider large public shows of religion to be tasteless.
Tendu are long lived and have a unique trait of being able to change gender during their lives. This is considered a natural part of going through life for the Tendu, and to go more than thirty years or so without changing is considered strange and unhealthy.
The process is tied to a religious ceremony known as the Bahtabab.
The Tundu will go to a temple where sacred texts will be read and they will be cleaned and anointed with body paint and oils. They then enter a trance like state for a several days, where a strange, thick mucus skins forms over their body. They are stored in the temple until the process is complete and they remerge transformed. The process takes a lot out of a Tendu and it normally takes about a week to recover from the exertion. Bahtabab is viewed as a cause for celebration amongst the Tendu, a rebirth that allows them to approach their life with a new attitude. Tendu do no consider themselves to have a "true" gender. Their gender is what ever there gender is at the moment, and could change to be something else in the future.
Tendu males generally have a short, squat stature. They have thick, tough skin and under their bulky bodies have great physical strength. Their women are taller and thinner, with brightly coloured and patterned skin. After Bahtabab, a Tendu can look very different from their former self!
Since a Tendu's gender is a fluid, changeable thing, they barely have a concept of heterosexuality or homosexuality and don't have any gender divides, though Tendu may choose to change gender for a particular role if they feel it will make them physically more suitable.
Tendu magic allows them to produce toxins and poisons from their bodies. These can be used in battle for short range attacks, throwing poisons that can sicken, blind or confuse opponents, but their primary use is in the brewing of potions. Tendu can create potions to harm or heal as well as other, stranger effects. One of the most valuable is allowing a Tendu to project their mind over great distances, to communicate with people very far away. These potions are very valuable but are also very expensive and can take a great physical toll on the one using them. Using this technique properly requires training and rich Tendu will often have slaves they employ especially for this purpose, so the noble can avoid drinking this potion and suffering the great strain on the body that comes with it. However, for important messages, especially when communicating with an authority figure, nobles are expected to send messages themselves, as having a slave convey such a method might be viewed as an insult.
Tendu women are more capable at producing poisons and potions than males.
The Tendu Raj always have tense relations with the Al-Saigal, who the tendu view as crass religious fanatics and violent, blood thirsty savages. Tendu also find Al-Saigal gender divisions and prohibitions on homosexuality, decadence and gluttony to be baffling.
The two peoples are so fundamentally different in their outlooks that it is difficult for them to ever have very friendly relations.
There are communities of Al-Saigal who live within the Raj, known as Janissaries. These are the descendants of outcastes from the harsh society of the Al-Saigal. They live in their own settlements, worshipping their own god, and living under Al-Saigal laws (though with some variation from that of the Al-Saigal Sultanate.) In exchange for the Raj's protection, they contribute units to the Maharaja's armies. These elite infantry formations known as Janissary guards are known for their great courage and discipline. Some Al-Saigal resent the janissary but since they are faithful warriors of Thane, most Al-Saigal view them with respect, as honourable opponents. They often have a tense rivalry with the Mamluks. Having rival, completely separate elite forces, both completes loyal to the crown helps ensure that neither group might try to turn on the Maharaja and take power for themselves.
The Tendu Raj is a land of sophisticated civilisation but also a nation of great inequality. It spreads peace, trade and learning, but those that toil hardest to build the nation are the ones who benefit the least from it.
(I intend to do another article going more into detail on the Tendu religion, stay tuned!)
