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WAR
Culture Package
Gimmonites
SOCIETY PERSONALITY MARRIAGE BIRTH DEATH INTERRACIAL RELATIONS FAMILY LEISURE HISTORY
2.
Do not hoard
3.
Do not intend harm
4.
Do not speak for another
5.
Do not coerce
6.
Treat the land as its own entity
The
laws are enforced by a Council of Elders and their appointed constables.
The Council is comprised of the five oldest members of the community.
Together they determine the guilt or innocence of the accused, as well as
come up with a fair and binding punishment on a case by case basis.
Weapon
use is not common among the Gimmonites, mostly because of the high rate of
cloven hooves among their kind instead of hands.
Some of the males that are born with hands take weapon use very seriously
however, and these people can become as skilled as a member of any other race.
Males are the hunters, herders, and warriors of the society, while the
females are responsible for caring for the children and other domestic chores.
Many women have at least some ability to heal, and some of them have
become quite capable. This is
unusual however, and a female Gimmonite that becomes too powerful is often
viewed with suspicion and disapproval. Often
these people will be labeled as witches by their fellow Gimmonites, but not
usually to their faces. Similarly,
males that concentrate on weapons use are generally mistrusted by the common
Gimmonite, and they will either become outcasts or join with the The Seekers of
Fate, a group of Gimmonite rangers pledged to the protection of their people.
Gimmonites
believe in the land as its own entity. They
neither understand nor believe in the concept of land ownership, and personal
property is limited to that which can be carried by a person due to the belief
that a person cannot own anything that he cannot carry himself.
The spirit of this belief carries through the culture, and it is common
for a person to create an item for a specific task and then leave it lying
around for anyone to use that needs it once the task has been completed.
Gimmonite
culture functions solely on the barter system, and coins are unheard of.
There are a few Gimmonites that have a limited understanding of the ways
of outsiders, but the vast majority will only know their own ways.
Gimmonites are quick to anger, and arguments and
fights are common. These are often
heated, but seldom lead to anything more than a few scrapes or bruises.
Gimmonites are viewed as non-violent by outsiders because of their
limited ability to use weapons, and due to the fact that although they are quick
to anger they are not stupid enough to start a fight with someone that has such
an obvious advantage as weapon use.
Those who know Gimmonites well respect their ability
to subsist on almost anything. These
hardy creatures will even consume poisonous plants and animals in particularly
lean times.
All Gimmonites are mystified by the concept of theft.
If a person is not carrying an item or using it at the time, then that
item is neither owned nor wanted by them. If
an item is lying around and another is near, it is common courtesy to ask if
they are using the item, but is not necessarily required.
The females bear and care for the young in the Gimmonite culture.
Young of any sex are cherished and viewed
as a benefit to the community.
Women who give birth successfully are required to shoulder less of a work
load among the domestic chores, and their child is considered under their care
for one year from birth. During this
time the female will not take on any other suitors, and will not bear a second
child while still caring for one.
Gimmonites
bury their dead in deep, unmarked graves in order to prevent them from being
defiled by necromancers and animals. Each
month during the new moon the community will take an evening away from their
regular chores and have a small festival to celebrate all of the births and
deaths that have occurred since the last new moon festival.
Gimmonites mistrust all types of Marobai.
Other than this the goat-people have no racial prejudices.
The Gimmonites do not have families as we know them, although children of
the same mother will never mate. Men
and women do not track their family lines, as each individual is expected to be
counted on his own merit, not those of his father or mother.
Gimmonites are often fond of music and dancing.
They also like games, but are notoriously sore losers.
The Great Trek and the Founding
The
clans had always existed. They lived
within a plush and fertile valley known as the Emerald Vale.
The place was filled with lush vegetation, and wild sheep and goats that
the clans tamed and lived in harmony with. The
clans had no need for anything, and life was very good during this time.
It
was then that the winged ones came. Like
a plague upon the land the great Wyverns invaded the valley and the hills around
it, driving the clans forth. At
first the going was very hard as the lands changed.
The clans were driven into areas that were less fertile and not suited to
their pastoral nature. These lands
were also filled with giant insects, carnivorous and teeming with hatred for all
other creatures. The clans lost many
men, women, and beasts to these creatures, and decided to move on.
They
traveled into a great forest, and there were many strange and wonderful
creatures. Living trees and plants
that were both dangerous and beautiful. The
herd suffered in this woodland realm with no room to roam or graze, and so the
clans decided that they could not stay. Again
they moved on.
Next
they came to a wall of mountains, high and rugged.
The clans despaired that this was the end.
They were starving, and they would have to eat the last of their herd to
survive. It was then that the one
known as Gimmon stood among them and said that he knew of a place.
He said that it had come to him in a dream vision of his own creation –
a place where the clans would find plentiful streams, tall grass, and where no
fell creature or beast would trouble them. The
clan elders stood divided on the words of Gimmon.
Some praised his power as a great sorcerer, while others said that the
dream was a lie. Eventually the
clans divided into two groups, with the largest number deciding to follow Gimmon.
The others chose a different course, and each pledged to find the other
once a safe land had been claimed. Gimmon,
convinced that his vision was real, made a final plea for the others to come
with him, but they would not.
Gimmon
and his people traveled under the sun and stars for two days and two nights.
The men and women were almost exhausted, and much of the herd was lost to
the journey. During this time,
Gimmon encouraged the others with stories from his vision.
He promised that all of them would be safe and free within the new lands,
and that soon they would forget the beautiful Emerald Vale and the terrible
hatred of the beasts that they encountered there and since.
His words would ring true as finally the clans led by Gimmon found the
rolling hills that he had seen in his vision, and things were as good as Gimmon
had promised. The clans thanked
Gimmon, and came to calling themselves the Followers of Gimmon, and later on
Gimmonites.
Of
the other clans, nothing was ever heard again.
Visions read by Gimmon and other wizards of great power saw only
blackness and death for the other clans, and all assumed them to have perished
in their search for a new home. Gimmon
has died, but his memory and his people continue.
Of Fate
As
has been common since the Great Trek and the visions of Gimmon which led the
Gimmonites through this time, Gimmonite wizards have continued to read their
dreams in order to foretell the future. During
a not-so-distant era, a few of the more respected and powerful wizards had
visions of similar ilk. These
visions promised of a great occurrence that would destroy the Gimmonite culture
from without.
While
the visions were known to be less than reliable, and often times difficult to
decipher, the occurrence of several visions of the same nature and content had
never been seen before. It seemed
that this should be taken seriously, and that the elders should do something
about it. As is the Gimmonite way,
many were immediately angered by the implications of this, but after some heated
discussion, cooler heads prevailed.
The
Elders determined that the visions must not be ignored, and that steps should be
taken to prepare for the trouble promised by them.
The nature of the problem was determined to be the coming of outsiders.
In almost all of the visions, these were decidedly human outsiders, but
in some other visions the nature of the foreigners was less clear.
In any event, the destruction of the culture was always military in
nature. So, the Elders decided it
was time to create a fighting force dedicated to protecting the Gimmonites from
their war-like and imperialistic neighbors.
The
primary focus of the force was to scout and keep watch along the outskirts of
the region that was occupied by the Gimmonites.
This was to act as a warning and a limited defense against those that
would seek to harm the Gimmonites and their herds. The
watch would be known as The Seekers of Fate because they were to be vigilantly
seeking any sign of the destiny that was foretold by the visions, and to report
any such sign to the Elders immediately. The
Seekers were comprised of those not only capable in fighting, but who could also
work alone for long periods of time without the assistance or companionship of
others if need be. This group exists
to this day.
Fate’s Warning
As
the Elders came and went and the years passed uneventfully, the Seekers of Fate
continued their vigilant watch upon the land and peoples of the clans.
The long watch taken up by the group was brought into question many
times. Many among the clans felt
uncomfortable with the violent nature of the group, and the thought of fighting
a war against outsiders became a topic of great debate.
Many among the clans wanted to abolish the group, while others continued
to support it. The abolitionists had
just begun to build some momentum when the men of the golden hammer came among
the Gimmonites.
The
men of the golden hammer came to the edge of the Gimmonites’ grazing lands and
began to delve into the realm seeking veins of ore for their own use.
The Seekers returned and told the Elders of the coming of the men of the
golden hammer, and of their obsession with ownership of the land.
The intruders insisted that the land was owned by their lord, and that
the Gimmonites had no right to keep it as their pasture land.
Some of the Seekers had requested to see this lord, and some were even
taken away to see him, but they had never returned.
The Elders were of course angered by this, as were the clans.
Eventually it was decided that the Gimmonites would have to do something
in response to this. Was this the
threat that the visions had warned about? That
was yet to be seen, but in any event the abolition movement silenced among the
clans and all but ceased entirely.
At
first the Elders debated fleeing again. This
was discussed, and it was decided that there was no place to go.
To the south was the enchanted woodland known as the Silgolian Wood, a
strange place that was less than hospitable to the pastoral lifestyle of the
Gimmonites and was home to the Silgoli, a race of sentient tree-men.
To the west was the
The Elders ordered the Seekers to formulate a plan for defending their people. The Seekers took to making many preparations, but while they did this something strange began to happen. The men of the golden hammer stopped coming around. There was simply no sign of them any longer. Rumors came of the death of the golden hammer lord, and the men were now disorganized and fought among themselves. The Elders decided that the golden hammer was not the threat that was promised in the visions, and that the Seekers should continue their vigilant watch over the mountains in which they lived. And so it was, and it continues to be.
Since the time when the men of the golden hammer stopped coming into the hunting grounds, the Seekers of Fate have been ever vigilant in watching for either their return, or another new threat to the peoples. A few of the Seekers have even ventured into the settlement of Vargus and were not met with the violence that the men of the golden hammer had shown them. It is still unclear to the Elders if the men of the golden hammer were the force shown in the visions, or if there is another, unknown threat. Since the men of the golden hammer have not been seen in quite some time, there is once again a growth in those who feel that the Seekers are too violent.
Challenger
Years after the men of the Golden Hammer disappeared, the Gimmonites again started to question the visions of their destruction. They had seen no other humanoids for years until the day an Elf and a strange cat-like creature entered the hills looking for information about one of their kind. The Elder to whom they spoke seemed surprised to hear the name Galaton for the first time since the separation and even more so at his description. However, according to the old vow, he was still welcome home and so a letter was sent with the invitation. Nearly a month had passed before Galaton crested the hills to their settlement. At first a panic ensued, either because of his glowing skin or the score of giant termites that accompanied him. They calmed slightly after he sent the insects away and eventually he made it to the Elder that he recognized from so long ago. They spoke of many things, of their past, their culture and even the young cat that had brought them together again. It was a great day for the Gimmonites to find one of their lost kin returned home. Who could have known such a day would also bring the Fate that they had feared for so long? As they spoke, a Seeker came with warning of a large military force heading their way. What they did not know was that the military leader of the nearby city of Vargus had been taken over by a vampiric skull. Unfortunately for the Gimmonites, his plans to expand his own power included their destruction. The Seekers quickly fell to the onslaught and many believed this was the end that was foretold. Galaton was more effective as he wielded his magic but even he eventually fell. Then something strange happened. As he lay there on the battlefield, his body became encased in a cocoon and began to grow. Moments later an enormous termite emerged to resume the attack. The troops continued while Galaton fought in his new form, but it was obvious he was losing. The Gimmonites soon felt their fate crash in around them. Hope dwindled when Galaton fell and heads bowed as they gave in to the destiny they had dreaded for so many years. Suddenly, the ground began to tremble and as they wondered what new threat approached, an army of giant insects washed over the hills below. The bugs tore into the troops without cessation and before the Gimmonites could fathom what had happened, the troops were no more. Galaton lay on the battlefield in his humanoid form, but he was gravely wounded. His eyes closed momentarily and the insects left as quickly as they had appeared. There he called for Kopka, the cat that had brought him home. It was not long before Kopka was brought to the bed where Galaton laid. There he thanked the cat for reuniting him with his family and breathed his last. The Elder asked Kopka to accompany him to the council chamber where the other four elders waited. After the battle, the Gimmonite wizards had cast their visions. This WAS the day of Fate.
Among his people, Gimmon had instilled reliance upon the use of visions. However, the things that visions do not show often cloud their accuracy. Visions foretold an end to those of their race that did not follow Gimmon after the separation. When Galaton transformed to the creature he had become, he ceased to be of their race. But his heart and his ideals still remained. As for the visions of Fate, they could see the enemy that would come to destroy them, but they could not see the free will of one within that enemy. Kopka was under the control of the vampire that meant to destroy them. But under that control, he brought together two families that would unite as one to drive back the threat. The Gimmonites have realized that there are some who exist outside of fate, whose actions are controlled by their force of will and not by the dictates of destiny. Kopka is one such being, he is Fate's Challenger.