Post by Horsie on Jan 4, 2015 1:51:10 GMT
The Nymus republic is made up of numerous city states, each acting as a sort of small nation within the larger state. The strangest of these, is undoubtedly the Tahpen, and its citizens, the Tahmus.
The Tahmus are a separate, but similar, race to the Nymus, distinguished by their jet-black feathers, with bright yellow beaks and yellow, featherless hands and forearms. They personify the elements of air and metal.
Tahmus society is divided along both class and gender lines, with firmly laid out roles for each person.
The lowest rank in the society is that of the slave. They have absolutely no rights of any kind. Killing a slave results in the killer being tried for destruction of the slave owner's property. Slavery can be inflicted as a punishment on criminals, but the majority are either people captured in times of war or their descendents.
Ranking above slaves are Helots. The Helots are all Tahmus and hold status only barely above that of the slaves. Their rights exist only so long as those above them continue to grant them. Unlike the slaves, they are at least viewed as a part of the nation, rather than prisoners. All Helots are vassals of the higher social classes, serving to support their superiors.
Above the Helots are the Equals, the true citizens of Tahpen. The Equals consider themselves the true Tahmus, and attempt to embody the perfect ideals of their people. The Equals are divided sharply on gender lines. All men are enlisted into the army. Their roll is to be warriors, and nothing else; they do not make anything, they do not do any work, they do not educate themselves in other matters. An Equal male will not even clean his own shield. They learn about fighting, and tactics ,and to crush anyone who opposes them on the battlefield, all other tasks in society are considered "women's work".
It should be noted that the Tahmus do not view this as a derogatory idea. Women's work is just as important as men's. Making things, running the economy, trade, these are all tasks for women (or women over seeing slaves and Helots). Effectively the woman is the head of the household, making all important decisions. The idea of someone stepping outside their gender roll is shockingly offensive to Tahmus.
Though the Helots have no political power, in an odd way they sometimes have more freedom to do as they please, whereas for most Equals their life is largely planned out in advance with expectations they cannot escape.
Tahmus males have their wings bound and mutilated so that they can be easily covered with armour, so the Tahmus has no weakness in battle. Jumping around and gliding is considered a weak, cowardly way to fight, fit for Helots but not true warriors. This is a very painful process and even later in life can cause Tahmus great discomfort. Females and helots do not undergo this, though a promoted helot man would be expected to have his wings partially removed and bound so he could carry out his new role.
Tahmus, like the Nymus, love beauty, especially in peoples bodies. The Tahmus take this a stage further, with the Equals always seeking physical, as well as moral, perfection in themselves. Sickly babies are disowned, usually being given to a helot family who are vassals of the baby's birth mother. These disowned children are from then on Helots, with their biological family refusing all contact with them.
Half castes do not fit into the Tahmus ideas of perfection, and so would automatically be demoted to the rank of Helot if they were born into an Equal family. It is possible for a helot to get promoted to the rank of equal. The main way which this can be achieved is though bravery in battle that impresses the Equals enough to warrant such a reward. A promoted Helot would also promote all of their immediate family, and would be expected to server ties with any family that was not promoted. Behaving in a manner not becoming of an Equal can result in demotion, though most Equals would choose death before living with such a shame.
The Equals are greatly outnumbered by the helots and this causes them a great deal of concern. Helot up risings have happened before and threatened to destroy their whole society, so the Helots are monitored very closely. All Tahmus men carry weapons at all times in public, and Equal houses are usually well locked and guarded.
The Tahmus have their own kind of assassin, known as Krypteia. They are trained in stealth and cunning, but do not use dark magic as there are no priests of Lungoss amongst the Tahmus, they instead rely on conventional combat skills and stealth. Unlike the Republic's assassins, the Krypteia are not there to deal with foreign threats, they are there to spy on the Helots, spotting any potential trouble and (when necessary) eliminating potential troublemakers.
The Tahmus have two kings, with separate royal lines. This means that one can lead them to war, while the other stays in Tahpen, meaning they will still have a king if one is killed in battle. The kings are ceremonial leaders and battlefield commanders, but they do not engage in any actual running of the city or decision making. They are a symbol of the ideal of Tahmus manhood and as such the idea of them doing anything unmanly (like worrying about running a city) would be unthinkable. The real political power resides with an elected council of women known as the Ephors. Only Equals can vote in the elections of the Ephors and only women from the Equal caste can be ephors.
The rest of the Nymus republic has a very uneasy relationship with Tahmus and their strange culture. The Nymus view the Tahmus as barbarian throwbacks, and are appalled at their practice of slavery and their brutal culture. The Tahmus Helots are viewed as a pathetic, oppressed ramble, earning equal parts pity and contempt. The Equal men are seen as mindless thugs, incapable of anything other than violence and controlled entirely by their women. To the Nymus, the Tahmus are a nation completely controlled by women and they consider Tahmus women to be cruel, petty and arrogant. The Nymus tend to speak of the Tahmus with disgust or amusement, making jokes about their backward way of life.
For their part, the Tahmus view the other Nymus as weak, with women who act like men and men too weak to defend their nation. The Tahmus know that the Nymus mock them, but from their point of view the Nymus depend on them for protection. As their saying goes "Nymus laughter stops when war begins". The Equals are some of the most fearsome warriors in Vellastrom and they hold the opinion that without them, the republic would have been conquered many times over.
Due to their small population, the Tahmus would struggle to function as an independent nation, so are happy to remain part of the Republic, but very much on their own terms. They maintain their king, openly flaunting this breach of the principles of the Republic. When it comes time to vote for their representative to the Grand Forum they invariably vote for one of their kings, turning it into more of a pledge of loyalty than a democratic process. The king attends, but takes no part and voices no opinions, allowing his Ephor advisers to take care of business, unless war is being discussed. To the Nymus this is either an offensive insult to the Republic that someone should do something about, or a hilariously quaint sign of how silly those Tahmus are, depending on who you ask.
Tahmus only have priests of Tahpesh, the metal goddess, who appear like Magpies. They can be distinguished from Nymus priests of Tahpesh by the lack of feathers on their hands and forearms. Priests are the only exception to the gender and class divides, and anyone born at any level of society with the look of a priest will be taken to serve with them and will have metal plates grafted to their wings, the mark of their order.
Tahmus do honour the other gods of shaldemos, but it is Tahpesh that is their patron and recieves most of their worship. They also believe that in the story of Nylana going into the underworld to retrieve the sword of Tahpesh, it was actually Tahpesh going to retrieve the spear of the slain Nylana.
In battle, the Tahmus deploy large numbers of Helots in phalanxes and as skirmishers. They usually have relatively poor equipment, often just a helmet, a shield, and a spear in the phalanx. The helots in the army are always male. The most feared part and a small, elite forces of The Equals. The Equals train all their lives to fight and die for the glory of their city and will usually fight to the last man rather than surrender.
As a whole, the Tahpen government does not seek war eagerly, but once it is declared their warriors are expected to never retreat or surrender, even against suicidal odds, unless ordered to do so. Tahmus take slaves from nations they beat in war and show little mercy to prisoners and defeated enemies, seeing them as weak and cowardly for having given in rather than dying in battle.
The Equals have iron discipline, great physical strength and endurance, almost fanatical bravery and perfectly honed killing skills. Forces of lesser warriors often simply crumble in the face of their advance.
The Tahmus are a separate, but similar, race to the Nymus, distinguished by their jet-black feathers, with bright yellow beaks and yellow, featherless hands and forearms. They personify the elements of air and metal.
Tahmus society is divided along both class and gender lines, with firmly laid out roles for each person.
The lowest rank in the society is that of the slave. They have absolutely no rights of any kind. Killing a slave results in the killer being tried for destruction of the slave owner's property. Slavery can be inflicted as a punishment on criminals, but the majority are either people captured in times of war or their descendents.
Ranking above slaves are Helots. The Helots are all Tahmus and hold status only barely above that of the slaves. Their rights exist only so long as those above them continue to grant them. Unlike the slaves, they are at least viewed as a part of the nation, rather than prisoners. All Helots are vassals of the higher social classes, serving to support their superiors.
Above the Helots are the Equals, the true citizens of Tahpen. The Equals consider themselves the true Tahmus, and attempt to embody the perfect ideals of their people. The Equals are divided sharply on gender lines. All men are enlisted into the army. Their roll is to be warriors, and nothing else; they do not make anything, they do not do any work, they do not educate themselves in other matters. An Equal male will not even clean his own shield. They learn about fighting, and tactics ,and to crush anyone who opposes them on the battlefield, all other tasks in society are considered "women's work".
It should be noted that the Tahmus do not view this as a derogatory idea. Women's work is just as important as men's. Making things, running the economy, trade, these are all tasks for women (or women over seeing slaves and Helots). Effectively the woman is the head of the household, making all important decisions. The idea of someone stepping outside their gender roll is shockingly offensive to Tahmus.
Though the Helots have no political power, in an odd way they sometimes have more freedom to do as they please, whereas for most Equals their life is largely planned out in advance with expectations they cannot escape.
Tahmus males have their wings bound and mutilated so that they can be easily covered with armour, so the Tahmus has no weakness in battle. Jumping around and gliding is considered a weak, cowardly way to fight, fit for Helots but not true warriors. This is a very painful process and even later in life can cause Tahmus great discomfort. Females and helots do not undergo this, though a promoted helot man would be expected to have his wings partially removed and bound so he could carry out his new role.
Tahmus, like the Nymus, love beauty, especially in peoples bodies. The Tahmus take this a stage further, with the Equals always seeking physical, as well as moral, perfection in themselves. Sickly babies are disowned, usually being given to a helot family who are vassals of the baby's birth mother. These disowned children are from then on Helots, with their biological family refusing all contact with them.
Half castes do not fit into the Tahmus ideas of perfection, and so would automatically be demoted to the rank of Helot if they were born into an Equal family. It is possible for a helot to get promoted to the rank of equal. The main way which this can be achieved is though bravery in battle that impresses the Equals enough to warrant such a reward. A promoted Helot would also promote all of their immediate family, and would be expected to server ties with any family that was not promoted. Behaving in a manner not becoming of an Equal can result in demotion, though most Equals would choose death before living with such a shame.
The Equals are greatly outnumbered by the helots and this causes them a great deal of concern. Helot up risings have happened before and threatened to destroy their whole society, so the Helots are monitored very closely. All Tahmus men carry weapons at all times in public, and Equal houses are usually well locked and guarded.
The Tahmus have their own kind of assassin, known as Krypteia. They are trained in stealth and cunning, but do not use dark magic as there are no priests of Lungoss amongst the Tahmus, they instead rely on conventional combat skills and stealth. Unlike the Republic's assassins, the Krypteia are not there to deal with foreign threats, they are there to spy on the Helots, spotting any potential trouble and (when necessary) eliminating potential troublemakers.
The Tahmus have two kings, with separate royal lines. This means that one can lead them to war, while the other stays in Tahpen, meaning they will still have a king if one is killed in battle. The kings are ceremonial leaders and battlefield commanders, but they do not engage in any actual running of the city or decision making. They are a symbol of the ideal of Tahmus manhood and as such the idea of them doing anything unmanly (like worrying about running a city) would be unthinkable. The real political power resides with an elected council of women known as the Ephors. Only Equals can vote in the elections of the Ephors and only women from the Equal caste can be ephors.
The rest of the Nymus republic has a very uneasy relationship with Tahmus and their strange culture. The Nymus view the Tahmus as barbarian throwbacks, and are appalled at their practice of slavery and their brutal culture. The Tahmus Helots are viewed as a pathetic, oppressed ramble, earning equal parts pity and contempt. The Equal men are seen as mindless thugs, incapable of anything other than violence and controlled entirely by their women. To the Nymus, the Tahmus are a nation completely controlled by women and they consider Tahmus women to be cruel, petty and arrogant. The Nymus tend to speak of the Tahmus with disgust or amusement, making jokes about their backward way of life.
For their part, the Tahmus view the other Nymus as weak, with women who act like men and men too weak to defend their nation. The Tahmus know that the Nymus mock them, but from their point of view the Nymus depend on them for protection. As their saying goes "Nymus laughter stops when war begins". The Equals are some of the most fearsome warriors in Vellastrom and they hold the opinion that without them, the republic would have been conquered many times over.
Due to their small population, the Tahmus would struggle to function as an independent nation, so are happy to remain part of the Republic, but very much on their own terms. They maintain their king, openly flaunting this breach of the principles of the Republic. When it comes time to vote for their representative to the Grand Forum they invariably vote for one of their kings, turning it into more of a pledge of loyalty than a democratic process. The king attends, but takes no part and voices no opinions, allowing his Ephor advisers to take care of business, unless war is being discussed. To the Nymus this is either an offensive insult to the Republic that someone should do something about, or a hilariously quaint sign of how silly those Tahmus are, depending on who you ask.
Tahmus only have priests of Tahpesh, the metal goddess, who appear like Magpies. They can be distinguished from Nymus priests of Tahpesh by the lack of feathers on their hands and forearms. Priests are the only exception to the gender and class divides, and anyone born at any level of society with the look of a priest will be taken to serve with them and will have metal plates grafted to their wings, the mark of their order.
Tahmus do honour the other gods of shaldemos, but it is Tahpesh that is their patron and recieves most of their worship. They also believe that in the story of Nylana going into the underworld to retrieve the sword of Tahpesh, it was actually Tahpesh going to retrieve the spear of the slain Nylana.
In battle, the Tahmus deploy large numbers of Helots in phalanxes and as skirmishers. They usually have relatively poor equipment, often just a helmet, a shield, and a spear in the phalanx. The helots in the army are always male. The most feared part and a small, elite forces of The Equals. The Equals train all their lives to fight and die for the glory of their city and will usually fight to the last man rather than surrender.
As a whole, the Tahpen government does not seek war eagerly, but once it is declared their warriors are expected to never retreat or surrender, even against suicidal odds, unless ordered to do so. Tahmus take slaves from nations they beat in war and show little mercy to prisoners and defeated enemies, seeing them as weak and cowardly for having given in rather than dying in battle.
The Equals have iron discipline, great physical strength and endurance, almost fanatical bravery and perfectly honed killing skills. Forces of lesser warriors often simply crumble in the face of their advance.