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morsrattus · 4 months ago

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Pentan Cultural Overview: Non-Pentans

There are a number of different peoples in and around Pent who are not the Pentans, and each one tends to be treated differently. Some are traditional allies or subjects, others traditional enemies.

Half-Men

The Half-Men around Pent generally do not ride horses, though the Lunars have a mix of horse and non-horse-based cavalry forces, and the Dara Happans use a mix of ridden horses and chariots. The Orlanthi are known to ride horses, as well.

The Lozarli

The Half-Men of Pent proper are mostly made up of the Lozarli, a culture that generally follows the Pentan way of life, but does not accept the ways of the horse. They accept the Law of Yu-Kargzant, but primarily worship Lozarl, Oria, Eyritha and the Herd Mothers. Other Pentan gods also appear in their worship, but without their horse secrets. The Lozarli often possess secrets of Earth magic, and may use Orayan names for their gods, especially if they live along the Arcos River.

They make their livings as farmers and sedentary herders, living in small villages scattered throughout Pent. In areas around monasteries or mines, they are often permanent subjects of the Pentans that run the monasteries or mines, and are often distinguishable from their rulers primarily by their inability to ride. Those Lozarli who live along the Pentan rivers typically worship the local river god as equal to Lozarl and Oria.

The Orayans

Oraya is closely related to Pent, and many Pentan alliances have conquered it, demanding tribute from its people. Several Pentan tribes have lived in Oraya throughout history, as well. However, the majority of its people in the Third Age are Half-Men farmers who follow a pantheon of Earth goddesses.

In the time before Sheng Seleris, Oraya is disputed. The spread of the Lunar Way is continuing, and several tribes of the Pentans that inhabit the area are converting, integrating the Red Goddess and Seven Mothers into their worship. The Half-Men of the region have traditionally worshipped the goddess Daroria, whom the Pentans identify with both Oria and Eyritha, as the creator of all things, from which all other gods descend. The Seven Mothers cult is likewise growing among their number.

Oraya is being actively targeted for colonization by the Lunars, and will become a central zone of conflict in the Seleran Wars.

The Zarkosings

The Zarkosings are the people of the valleys Jarst and Garsting as well as the shores of the Elf Sea. They are primarily goat herders and farmers, generally paying tribute to the most powerful tribes of Oraya or the Andarkon. They descend from an ancient hero, Zarkos the Founder, and were once a holding of the Dara Happans. All that remains of Dara Happan rule today is a Second Age Sun Dome temple of Yelmalio in Jarst, which rules independently but usually pays tribute to whichever Pentan tribe has conquered the region most recently.

The Zarkosings, also called the Zarkos and Ozarkos, tend to resent their Pentan orverlords and the demands for crop tribute. They reject the Pentan ways and cannot ride horses, but are known to be extremely skilled skirmishers with powerful sling magic. Their chief gods are their ancestor Zarkos the Founder, and the beast gods Father Lion and Mother Goat, whom some say are named Durbaddath and Miapora.

The Balazarings

The Balazarings, also called the Votanki, are the human inhabitants of the Elder Wilds, a culture of hunter-gatherer clans who are great masters of dog breeding. Their dogs are highly prized in Pent, but the Balazarings are otherwise considered poor and not worth conquering for tribute, especially as the Second Age stone citadels their leaders reside in are irritating to siege. Instead, they are typically dealt with by trade caravans on their way to buy lumber from the elves of the Elder Wilds.

The Balazarings primarily worship the spirits of the Elder Wilds, and particular the hunting spirit Brother Dog. Others have adopted the ways of the southern Orlanthi or the distant Lunars, while others follow Yelmalio as best they can or attempt to learn the ways of Kargzant to use with their small ponies.

Besides the many powerful spirits the Balazarings worship, they also venerate the hero-king Balazar, who founded their way of life after the destruction of the Empire of Wyrms Friends, and pay respect to ancient Zarkos, who is their distant ancestor.

The Chen Dureli

The Half-Men of Chen Durel are seen as the remnants of ancient cousins to the Pentans, deluded and seduced by darkness and falsehood. They were conquered long ago by trolls, and then again by the Dragon Emperor of Kralorela, and the two have battled each other ever since. As far as the Pentans are concerned, the Chen Dureli are worth raiding for their wealth, but attempting to force tributary conquest on them is foolish, as it means getting in between the trolls and the Kralori. Better to sell mercenary services to either side. Chen Durel is also a vital trade partner, as they are the only way to access Kralori goods without having to raid.

The Chen Dureli primarily worship the Black Sun, whom the Pentans identify as a strange form of Basko, but their worship bears little resemblance to the Pentan worship of that god, being derived from a trollish understanding. They also worship strange past suns, such as the Blood Sun and the Solar Storm, which the Pentans claim must be false or forbidden descendants of Yu-Kargzant, and the dark anti-dragon Sekever, whom the Pentans do not understand at all. Other troll gods, Kralori practices, and even some adoption of Pentan shamanism or Lunar gods can be found among the Chen Dureli, who take sides between their Kralori overlords and their former troll masters.

The Chen Dureli also consider trollkin to be part of their society, broadly equal to humans. The Pentans consider trollkin to be a small, weak sort of troll that is treacherous and stupid, but less dangerous than normal trolls and easier to kill. Pentans who deal extensively with the Chen Dureli tend to be less openly hostile towards trollkin, but still tend not to respect them.

The Kralori

Reaching Kralorela requires passing through either Chen Durel or the Shanshan Mountains, never a short journey and often not an easy one. However, the Kralori are one of the wealthiest peoples near Pent, and so they are a favorite target for raiding, often organized by alliances to gather more warriors and thus retrieve more silk and other valuable goods. Trade with Kralorela is indirect and must be done through Chen Durel, a fact which only encourages the Pentans to see the Kralori as fearful xenophobes.

The Kralori are the traditional enemies of the Shanshan Mountains beast people, and much of what the Pentans understand about the Kralori comes from them. They believe the Kralori descend from dragons that interbred with humans and lost their draconic nature and understanding.

The Kralori worship many gods, which the Pentans identify as dragons or parts of dragons, and Pentans stereotype the Kralori as having few proper priests, only strange mystics who pursue the secrets of dragons. The Kralori identify some of their pantheon as antigods, which oppose the gods and the mortal peoples of the world, but the Pentans have never had a firm understanding of what this theologically means. Their most important deities, as the Pentans understand it, are their ancient Emperors, the three of whom the Pentans care about most being TanGatHa the Ancestral Dragon, whom the Pentans identify as an ancient sky dragon or deity that may or may not be the father of Yu-Kargzant, the Yellow Emperor HeenMaroun the Sun Dragon, whom the Pentans identify as a draconic form of Yu-Kargzant, and Metsyla the Eagle Phoenix Emperor, whom the Pentans identify as possibly a misunderstood form of Kargzant or possibly another, unknown son of Yu-Kargzant.

The Lunars

The Lunar Empire is a growing power in the west of Pent, having risen with the Red Moon and defeated the Carmanian Bull Shahs that once threatened the lands around Dara Happa. They have quickly spread to encompass the Dara Happan lands, preaching their Red Goddess and her mystical nature that embraces all things. Most Pentans do not particularly like the Lunars, who are rumored to consort with Chaos and known to recruit and work with the Blue Moon Plateau trolls.

The Red Moon has a bad reputation in Pent. It rose into the sky during a terrible famine, and it was seen as a bad omen and an enemy of the hero AgartuSay, who led the Pentans out of that famine in a Hero Contest. The claims of the Red Goddess to be the daughter of Yu-Kargzant and the true ruler of all things, whose son is the khan of the world, do not help her case among traditionalist Pentans, who consider this claim a usurpation of Yu-Kargzant's rule and a denial of the true way.

The Lunars worship the Red Moon as a goddess, supported by the Seven Mothers, mortals who transformed her from a mortal soul into a divine awakening in some mystical process that most Pentans find difficult to follow but which apparently made them into demigods in service to the Red Goddess. The great leaders of the Lunar Empire who spread this religion now are the Red Emperor, who is the son of the Red Goddess, and Hon-Eel, a priestess of immense power over the earth and life.

The Lunars' cities are quite wealthy, making them both an attractive raiding target and an attractive trade partner. Tensions are rising, especially as Lunar missionaries make their way into Oraya and even Pent proper in trade caravans. Pentan tribes have repeatedly supported wars against the Lunars, seeking their wealth and power, but others such as the Char-Un have converted to the Lunar Way after losing to Lunar forces. When AgartuSay returns as Sheng Seleris, the conflict will come to a head, as the Lunars try to deny his power as the avatar of Yu-Kargzant, and he will seek to deny the Red Goddess' right to rule over the sun. The Seleran Wars will become the central conflict of the age.

The Dara Happans

The Dara Happans are, to the Pentans, the archetypal urban civilization, and the name for them is, in fact, simply the City People, though that term is now also used to refer to any culture that primarily lives in towns and cities. They are seen as foolish cousins to Pent, the people from whom Hyalor emerged but also the people whose ways he rejected.

The Dara Happans are generally seen as effete, wealthy and fundamentally unable to rule themselves. At the Dawn, they were ruled over by the Sons of the Sun, a splinter group of Pentans that returned to Dara Happa and were eventually corrupted by their urban ways. The Pentan view is that the Dara Happans are continuously conquered by others, but corrupt them with their immense wealth and never end up truly changing. Their latest conquerors are the Lunars, whose Red Emperor is trying to adopt the Dara Happan ways to pacify them, as so many conquerors have done.

The Dara Happans' chief god is Yelm, the Sun Emperor of the universe, whom the Pentans identify with Yu-Kargzant. They share many gods with Pent, but reject others, including the beloved Galana Horsequeen. They disdain Rebellus Terminus, whom the Pentans identify as West King Wind and claim bent knee to Yu-Kargzant, and they reject Kargzant as a barbarian, binding him in chains and calling him Yelmalio. Worst of all, they claim the chief of gods under Yelm is Antirius, whom the Pentans say is the source of all the weakness of the City People, an inflexible and tyrannical deity. Most Pentans feel sympathy for the Dara Happans and several tribes have ridden to aid rebellions, but as a whole the tribes tend to believe them essentially unable to free themselves from Lunar rule due to their inherent weaknesses.

The Praxians

The Praxians are the southern neighbors of Pent. They live a similarly nomadic lifestyle, but Prax is a much poorer land than Pent, often unblessed by good rainfall and strong rivers. The Praxians are also one of the most hated enemies of Pent, because while they share many cultural values, the Praxians commit one of the most disgusting acts Pent can imagine: they ride herd animals that are not horses. The disgust tends to flow both ways, for the Praxians despise the horse.

The Praxians are respected for their strength in battle, but that is all. They are frequently mocked in Pentan stories, most particularly those involving the trickster imp Niti Fer a Waha, who was impressed by their evil god, Waha, and took to emulating him and borrowing his name, proving his every act foolish. War against the Praxians is fierce when it occurs, but is primarily over grazing rights along the border with Prax and the Wasteland rather than raids for wealth. The Praxians are seen as a poor people whose wealth is largely in their herds, which have not usually done well in Pent when stolen.

The chief gods of the Praxians are the Herd Mother Eirithia, whom the Pentans identify with Eyritha, the Storm Bull, whom the Pentans identify with South Rage Wind, and their son, Waha the Butcher, whom the Pentans reject as an evil deity for tricking humans into riding animals that are not horses, though at least they recognize that these are true herds, whose mothers were mistreated and bound by a bad brother. Some Pentans believe that the Praxian herd gods might be rescued from bondage to Waha, but others claim that they deserve their fate for rejecting the ways of Pent.

The Orathorn

Castle Orathorn sits in southern Pent, one of the few major structures that is neither a monastery nor part of a mining settlement. It is the home of the Orathorn, a small collection of immortal, blue-skinned sorcerers served by undead slaves. The Pentans have never been able to drive out or defeat the Orathorn, though the wizards have also shown little desire to leave their castle and fight in the first place, so they have not often tried.

The Orathorn have ruled their castle for as long as anyone can remember. Legends speak of their arrival some time before the Darkness, but there is no clear agreement on when they arrived or from where. They are said to have been related to the Blue Logic Men that were defeated by Hurfor, and the Cult of Judges have long hated them. However, the hatred is not returned. The Orathorn have been used as mercenary sorcerers by various tribes throughout history, and while their use is seen as somewhat shameful and wrong, they have achieved a certain level of acceptance in Pent. They are evil sorcerers, but they are evil sorcerers of Pent, better than outsider sorcerers.

The Pentans have very little understanding of the beliefs of the Orathorn. They know the wizards reject worship of gods, and that there are less than a hundred of them in total. They also know that the Orathorn are sworn to raise as undead every person they kill, which is part of why they are terrifying mercenaries, but also have been known to show up to defend the healers of Erissa from other undead or the forces of Chaos and are known to be exceptionally skilled at healing sorcery. The cult of North War Wind says that the Orathorn have sworn to defeat Death, making them very dangerous fools.

The Orathorn neither herd nor farm, though some say their skeletal servants raise food for them within the castle, and occasionally pale merchants with skeletal horses and servants will ride out to trade from Castle Orathorn. Most tribes that travel near Castle Orathorn have learned that attacking these merchants risks drawing down the wrath of the sorcerers.

The Orlanthi

The Orlanthi are a distant people, relatively young by Pentan reckoning. They live in the lands around Tarsh and Dragon Pass. Once there were older Orlanthi in Dragon Pass, but all of them were devoured by dragons during the Dragonkill Wars, at the end of the Second Age. Their lands were left empty until eventual resettlement from other parts. Indeed, the Windburner Pure Horses, who were driven into Prax after their failed effort to destroy the Four Winds tribes, eventually settled in the distant lands of Dragon Pass.

The irony is not lost on those Pentans who keep track of distant lands. The Windburners, now calling themselves the Grazelanders, have surrounded themselved with those who follow the gods they once hated. The Orlanthi worship Orlanth, after all, and the Pentans identify him with West King Wind. They also worship Ernalda, whom the Pentans identify with Oria, and either Elmal or Yelmalio, both of whom the Pentans identify as a misunderstood Kargzant and have some difficulty telling apart.

The Pentans tend to consider Orlanthi strange people, lawless and unconcerned with justice. They are decently wealthy but bad subjects for tributary rule, as they are as wildly independent as the Pentans themselves. Most are too distant for easy raiding, though, and in general, the Pentans give little consideration to them.

Trolls, the Dark People

The trolls first emerged into the world in Pent. Before the Darkness, no trolls left the Underworld, which had been their home. However, they were blinded by Yu-Kargzant's light when he passed into the Underworld, and Basko led them to the Hellcrack, from which they poured in uncountable numbers. Now, they can be found across much of the continent of Genertela. The Pentans know several truths: trolls are always hungry, trolls can and will eat anything, including people, and trolls hate and fear fire, for it blinds and burns them. Trolls are one of the ancient enemies of the Pentans, though in some cases, they can be dealt with peacefully, and they will almost always help fight Chaos.

While a significant number of trolls inhabit North Pent, they do not have their own trollish culture or nation. The Pentans are unsure why, but the trolls of North Pent have always ended up forming only small clans that may or may not claim allegiance to one of the troll nations that neighbor on Pent. Generally speaking, Pentans consider themselves at war with trolls at large and will attack most trolls they encounter if they believe victory is possible.

Trolls all share certain gods. Most notable is their worship of Kyger Litor, the mother of all trolls. Besides this, the most common gods are Zorak Zoran, a god of hatred and destruction who is the enemy of many Pentan gods, Argan Argar, the troll god of trade and shadow, and Gorakiki, the goddess of insects, and the goddess Xiola Umbar, the troll goddess of mercy and the only troll god that is friend to Yu-Kargzant.

The Chen Dureli Trolls

When the trolls emerged from the Hellcrack, they split into many groups that went in many directions. However, those who chose to follow Basko further went east, to the lands of Chen Durel. They were welcomed by the people of Chen Durel, who embraced the Black Sun and welcomed the trolls as their new rulers. They ruled over Chen Durel for centuries, often warring with their southern neighbors, the Kralori.

The Kralori defeated the trolls seven hundred years ago, in the Second Age. When the Dragon Emperor returned to Kralorela at that time, he drove most of the trolls from Chen Durel's best lands. They fled further east and north, into their bastions in Dozakiland, Eristiland, and Koromondol. They have ruled these lands ever since, demanding human sacrifices and tribute from the few humans that make their homes there. Despite their demands, many of the people of Chen Durel remain loyal to their former masters and support the return of the trolls. They foment rebellion against the Kralori and make alliance with the dark people and their shadow demon allies.

The Pentans tend to see the trolls of Chen Durel as the least bad kind of troll. They honor Basko in their own strange and brutal way, after all. While no troll can be trusted, the trolls of Chen Durel have proven to be potential allies in raiding the Kralori, and their constant wars against the Half-Men of Kralorela have made them reliable clients for mercenary work. Most trade with trolls is done with those who hail from or descend from Chen Durel. The trolls of Chen Durel worship Basko the Black Sun as one of their chief gods.

The Snow Trolls

The Snow Trolls descend from those who traveled northeast after exiting the Hellcrack, settling on the Glacier of Valind. They are easily the most hated kind of troll, for they serve the gods of Winter and carry with them the snows and chill winds. They can be easily told from other trolls by their thick furs, though it is unclear if these are part of their bodies or things that they wear, and by their wielding of terrible ice. They are often accompanied by hollri winter-demons.

The majority of the Snow Trolls live across the White Sea, but they are well known for sailing on ice-boats to attack the Pentan coastline, taking livestock, wealth and captives back with them. None ever return, and they are as willing to capture and eat other trolls as they are Pentans or Half-Men. The ice trolls are nearly impossible to negotiate with, save through the cult of Elyu-Ene, and no Pentan has ever seen a trollkin among them. The Pentan troll clans that align with the Snow Trolls of the Glacier tend to be highly aggressive.

Pentans almost never make peace with the Snow Trolls, who forego the worship of Argan Argar in favor of the hated Himile and Valind. They are, however, also known to be followers of the troll god Boztakang Chaos Killer, and can be relied on to help fight Chaos no matter who they must work with to do so. This temporary alliance will last only and exactly until the Chaos has been defeated, however.

The Blue Moon Plateau Trolls

The trolls of the Blue Moon Plateau west of Pent are wealthy and powerful, either allies or subjects of the Lunar Empire. They do not hate Chaos as much as most trolls, and they have proven nearly impossible to drive out of the Plateau in the few times Pentan warlords have tried. The trolls of the Plateau are sometimes found serving alongside the Lunar forces.

Blue Moon trolls are generally viewed with intense suspicion and fear by the Pentans. The only constant they have been able to trust with most trolls is their hate of Chaos, and the Blue Moon trolls do not seem to have that. They are treacherous, dangerous, and worst of all, safe from most cavalry attack in their caves on the plateau. While the Snow Trolls may be more aggressive, the Blue Moon trolls are one of the most fearsome enemies near Pent.

The chief goddess of the Blue Moon trolls is reportedly the invisible Blue Mon Goddess, Anilla, though they also worship the Red Goddess of the Lunars. Most Pentans assume that the Blue Moon trolls must not worship the normal troll gods, but it is hard to say for sure.

The Dagori Inkarth Trolls

The trolls of Dagori Inkarth left Pent for the south, following the hero-warlords Gore and Gash. They have been the masters of the land between Prax and Pent, marking the land itself with darkness. Dagori Inkarth is a land of shadow and darkness, particularly the area known as Shadows Dance, where even Yu-Kargzant's light cannot fully drive out the shadow that lies on the land.

The trolls of Dagori Inkarth are wealthy and have been a frequent target of raiding since before the Dawn. It has proven entirely impossible to dislodge them from Dagori Inkarth or to conquer them for any real length of time, but it is possible for a brave Pentan warlord to exact tribute for a time or steal away glory and wealth from their giant insect ranches and mushroom farms.

The trolls of Dagori Inkarth are more devoted to Zorak Zoran and Gorakiki than trolls elsewhere, and also worship the Mushroom Mother, Mee Vorala. They are some of the most conservative and trollish trolls around, disdaining the worship of less traditional gods like Basko, Himile or the Red Moon.

Elves, the Tree People

According to Pentan legend, in the time before the First Herd formed, the Tree People ruled over a great forest that covered much of Pent and Dagori Inkarth. Their rule was relatively benevolent, but they fought each other, the trolls, and many other peoples. It is not remembered what, exactly, destroyed the Pentan forests before the coming of Chaos, but there have been no elves in Pent proper ever since.

The elves are found in the Elder Wilds, south of Pent. They are generally considered not worth raiding, as they do not gather wealth in the way most Pentans understand it. Further, they are known to be friends of Kargzant and kin to Oria. Instead of fighting, most Pentan dealings with the elves are through trade. Pentan caravans travel to the Bear Woods, where they trade metal goods other things the elves cannot make for valuable wood, which is rare in Pent.

The Pentans know that the elves of Bear Woods are different in some way from their more wild neighbors in the High Wood to the south, but are unclear on what the difference is. They know the elves worship the goddess Aldrya, who is a daughter of Oria and some ancient god, and that a rare few elves worship Kargzant (or perhaps Yelmalio). They are also believed to worship plant spirits, though in general, the Pentans have little understanding of elf practices. They know that the elves hate farmers, however, for overcutting trees.

A smaller group of elves live in the Redwood Forest in Dagori Inkarth. They provide less trade for the Pentans, but caravans still occasionally head to their woods to buy lumber. They are enemies of the trolls of Dagori Inkarth, and it is considered honorable and brave to help them defend themselves from troll attack.

Dragonewts

The Dragonewts are a mysterious people, small fragments of dragons which live independent lives as dragon-men. They make their home primarily in the Elder Wilds and Dragon Pass, though some can be found in Kralorela. Dragonewts do not make any effort to talk to humans, and the Pentans do not have a clear understanding of them.

Once, they did talk to humans. These humans built the Empire of Wyrms Friends in Dragon Pass, and they tried to become dragons themselves. The Pentans agree that this was foolish - a dragonewt can become a dragon, because a dragonewt is clearly a portion of a dragon already. A human becoming a dragon is much more difficult, only ever achieved by Godunya, Dragon Emperor of Kralorela. He was the sole survivor of the Empire of Wyrms Friends.

This is because the people of the Empire betrayed the dragons, stealing their powers. An army of Dara Happans, Carmanians and Praxians went to Dragon Pass to defeat their powers and the dragons alike. The dragons, angered, rose up and slew everyone, sealing away Dragon Pass until it was reopened by the Windburner Pure Horses, who sought refuge after being driven from both Pent and Prax.

The Pentans did not take part in the battle with the dragons. They tend to find dragonewts strange and fascinating creatures, wise but consumed by inhuman mysteries. Pentan legends treat dragonewts as dangerous beings who act unpredictably, but who speak in riddles that grant wisdom and power if unraveled. It is considered bad luck to harm a dragonewt, though having the strength and audacity to kill a full dragon is admired and glorious.

Beast People

The Beast People is the category into which the Pentans place the Hsunchen cultures around them - animals who are people, rather than humans who can become animals. They typically do not consider Beast People capable of committing crimes, especially if their actions are close to those of the animals they are related to. Pentans tend to be predisposed to like Beast People, or at least to view them in a similar way as they do normal animals. While it is not technically illegal to eat Beast People, it is considered extremely unlucky and very likely to curse you.

Qa Ying, the Eagle People

The Qa Ying, the Eagle People, are not actually Hsunchen - but the Pentans neither know this nor particularly care. They see a people who are born with wings and live in the high mountains and consider them to be eagles in human shape. Qa Ying are seen as the chosen and blessed children of the skies, and to see one is very lucky.

Qa Ying clans tend to live high in the mountains, and so trade with them is relatively infrequent. They are most often seen when they come to raid herds for food. Despite their penchant for raiding, the Pentans remain largely very positive towards the Qa Ying, and try to drive them off with minimal violence. Most Pentans are completely unable to tell the warring Qa Ying clans apart, though.

The Qa Ying are known to worship a god they call the King Violent Wind, whom the Pentans identify as West King Wind, though they reject Oria and other earth goddesses. Instead, they say that he is married to the Merciful Rain Consort, whom the Pentans identify as Tarhel, Heltar, or both. They also worship an eagle god, the Blazing Wings Hunter, as one of their progenitors and the lord of sky shamans. The Pentans identify this as the god Vrimak, friend of Tholm. Last, the Qa Ying follow the Inner Wind Sage as the lord of wind shamans. The Qa Ying have more shamans than priests. They do not speak the secret names of their gods in public, using only titles.

Damali, the Fallow Deer and Antelope People

The Damali are the collective herds of the Deer and Antelope People, making their homes in the foothills of the Shan Shan range. They divide themselves into a number of clans, each of which follows the spirit of a specific kind of fallow deer or antelope. The Pentans tend to see them as nervous, fearful people. They are not wealthy, and typically have little worth the effort of stealing, so Pentans rarely seek them out.

The Damali live as nomads, moving through the foothills and surviving on what the various plants they gather and the small animals that they hunt. The Deer People are generally peaceful and do not raid the Pentan herds, so they are seen as lucky to run into. However, Pentans are more than happy to prey on deer and antelopes, so most Damali try to keep their animal kin away from the Pentans and approach them only when there might be some benefit.

The Damali do not worship gods, per se. They honor Damal, the Antlered One, but most of their time is spent on the local spirits of the land and the animals. They are led by shamans, whom the Pentans have noted typically wear the clothing of the opposite of their gender.

Chen-Ga, the Snow Leopard People

The Chen-Ga are very rarely seen, the Snow Leopard People of the high mountains of the Shan Shan. The Pentans know them as amazing warriors and ambushers, dangerous to fight and for little reward. The Chen-Ga sometimes descend from the mountains to raid herds, but it is almost never worth reprisal when they return to their mountain homes.

The Pentans have little peaceful contact with the Chen-Ga, knowing of them mostly from their enemies, the Lo-Fak and Damali. They are said to be pure hunters, disdaining any who raise animals or garden. Some say they are able to fly, but the other Beast People say this is not true.

Most Pentans know little of the Chen-Ga beyond this. Some say they worship the winter gods, Himile and Valind, but others say they disdain gods in favor of spirits. They are said to descend from Chengar, the White Hunter, and some say they worship Sakkar, the Hunter of Men and Sabre-Toothed Lord of Fear.

Hsa, the Tiger People

The Hsa live in small family groups spread across the Shan Shan range and parts of northeastern Pent. These families are loosely connected into clans that meet when issues threaten more than a single family, but it is rare for large groups of Hsa to gather unless preparing for war or disaster. The Hsa are aggressive and respected for their strength.

Pentans prefer not to fight the Hsa when they can, but Hsa raids on herds can end up forcing the conflict. The Hsa do not gather wealth as the Pentans reckon it and are strong, stealthy fighters who do not easily give up. The only saving grace is they rarely raid in large groups, but they are adept at avoiding reprisals. They can be negotiated with, but it requires a skilled tracker to find their lairs in the first place.

The Hsa are known to follow their ancestral deity, Hsa, the Tiger God, and to call on his children as spiritual guardians. They have more shamans than priests, but some are known to worship a figure similar to Kargzant, whom they call the Spear Man or Light Keeper. Sometimes, the Hsa are known to call on elfin magic, but it is unclear where they would meet elves.

Lo-Fak, the Yak People

The Lo-Fak are highly respected by the Pentans, stereotyped as wise mystics and sages. They travel the mountains and valleys of the Shan Shan range as well as the plains of northeastern Pent, moving between semi-permanent settlements depending on the season. With the Yak People travel their large herds of yak kin, which they care for with the patience and attention that Pentans treat horses.

The Lo-Fak tend to be large, well muscled and able to carry a young yak on their shoulders, and the Pentans rarely fight them. While they possess herd wealth, it is generally seen as morally wrong (as well as often dangerous) to harm a Lo-Fak and worth doing only in times of great need. Many Lo-Fak clans maintain friendly relations with Pentan tribes near their range, and trade is common. Sometimes, the Lo-Fak will request Pentan aid against their enemies in Kralorela in return for some of the best yak calves any Pentan has ever seen.

The Lo-Fak maintain sacred monasteries honoring their Herd Mother, Lo-Fa, which are considered sacred and forbidden to harm by both Lo-Fak and Pentans alike. They also worship Storm Bull, whom the Pentans call South Rage Wind, and their monks are known to commune with spirits in the way shamans do, as well as to pursue more esoteric mysteries of the dragon they call Korgatsu, the Ancestor of All Beasts.

Gord-Un, the Gopher and Marmot People

The Gord-Un are enemies of the Pentans since the time of the Great Darkness. They are small people, half the size of the Pentans on average, and live underground in tunnel complexes and cave systems that are often ruled over by trolls. In the Darkness, the god Tholm nearly wiped out the marmots and gophers of Pent and nearly killed their divine father, Gord. The Gord-Un have never forgotten nor forgiven.

The Pentans and Gord-Un rarely interact directly, and almost never peacefully. The Gord-Un prefer to hide underground rather than face Pentans in open battle, for they cannot match the military prowess of Pentan riders. However, they are essentially impossible to drive out of their tunnels, many of which are too small for a Pentan to enter upright and far too small for a horse. The Gord-Un are known to leave deadfalls and other traps to attack the Pentans and cripple their horses, particularly Pentan hunters, whom they hate above all.

The Gord-Un are known to live in large communal groups within their tunnel complexes. They have several tribes, each of which is tied to a specific kind of gopher or marmot. All honor Gord, the Digger in Darkness, as their progenitor and chief god, but have more shamans than priests, who deal with the spirits of darkness as well as the marmot and gopher spirits. Some follow troll gods, particularly Jakaboom the Dancer, Zorak Zoran, or Argan Argar.

Ri-si, the Woodpecker People

The Woodpecker People are a rare and generally peaceful people who live in the foothills of the Shan Shan mountains, particularly the more wooded regions on the Kralorelan side of the range. They are skittish and avoid conflict, retreating to the sky or the mountains to avoid harm. They have little material wealth by Pentan standards, but their great skill at woodcarving sometimes leads tribes to raid them for their lumber or to trade with them for their craft, depending on which seems easier at the time.

Some Pentans consider it wrong to attack the Ri-si, as all birds are ultimately favored by Yu-Kargzant, but others say that woodpeckers gave up the high skies to become pets of the tree spirits and forsook the nature of Fire for Earth, and therefore it is acceptable to raid them. The Ri-si do not attack others often, but are known to stealthily steal herd beasts for food when they are desperate. If pressed, they are skilled archers.

The Ri-si worship Ridra, the Wood Tender, as their mother, a god of woodpeckers. They also worship as her spouse Aldra the Tree Wife, whom the Pentans identify as the elf goddess Aldrya, kin to Oria. They also rely heavily on shamans dealing with plant and mountain spirits, whom they say follow the path of Flamal, the Green Father.

Pujaleg, the Bat People

The Bat People make their homes in the forests and foothills on the eastern side of the Shan Shan mountains. They are known to the Pentans, but rarely encountered except during extended raid campaigns into Kralorela. They are a small people, generally around half the size of a normal Pentan, and are known to divide into different clans, each of which is said to be a different kind of bat. (That said, most Pentans are unable to tell bat species apart.)

The Pujaleg are not generally seen as worth fighting. They are poor warriors by daylight, but they are excellent at hiding and move in darkness with extreme stealth. When angered, they attack by night, making full use of their stealth. Therefore, it is usually seen as a better idea to avoid conflict with the Pujaleg unless they have something truly valuable. As followers of darkness, they cannot easily be trusted, but they are more trustworthy than trolls and can be traded with for valuable dyes.

Little is known of the Pujaleg's religious practices in Pent, but they are said to worship a bat goddess called the Dark Sky Mother, and to have shamans who deal with spirits of darkness and insects. They are said to pay respects to but not actively worship Gorakikki, the troll goddess of insects.

Other

Huan To, the Anti-Dragons

The Huan To are very confusing to the Pentans. Superficially, they resemble Dragonewts, but with a distorted, oversized head and mouth. They appear to be Chaotic in nature, but they don't act like most Chaos beings. They are known to practice evil arts of necromancy, but do not appear to be sorcerers. They act in ways that are vaguely similar to Dragonewts, in that they do things that do not make sense a lot of the time, and they claim to be followers of or perhaps parts of the Shadow Dragon, Sekever. Unfortunately, the Huan To do not explain themselves or their connection to Sekever beyond that there is a connection.

It would be easy to assume they are simply Chaotic Dragonewts, except for a few things that don't fit. The Pentans know enough about Sekever and his place in Chen Durel to know he is probably not a creature of Chaos - especially because the trolls do not hate and fear him. Likewise, while they seem Chaotic according to the followers of South Rage Wind, the Huan To and trolls do not hate each other and rarely fight.

In fact, the Huan To are much more reasonable and able to communicate with humans than other Dragonewts, if they are Dragonewts at all. They are still alien, but understand the idea of rewarding those who help them, and are happy to part with wealth and resources in exchange for assistance in their goals. Those goals seem to largely involve the destruction of the Dragon Emperor of Kralorela, as far as anyone can tell. While the Kralori hate and fear them, the Huan To have frequently hired Pentans, Praxians, Beast People, trolls, and other enemies of Kralorela. There are rarely betrayals, either. Their associations with Chaos and undeath keep the Pentans at arm's length, but it is not too rare for a Pentan tribe to work with a Huan To leader for a time.

Dwarves, the Stone People

Pentans have very little direct contact with the Stone People. There are a group known to live in Prax, and another, different group that live in the Elder Wilds, near the lands of Balazar. The former are too far in a hostile land to speak with, and the latter refuse to speak with the Pentans or trade with them directly, though sometimes dwarven goods can be gotten from the Balazarings.

It is generally assumed, however, that the reason for this hostility was the theft of the secrets of iron. The Pentans know that dwarves hate theft and have very, very long memories, for they are the children of stone, which does not forget. The Cult of Judges say it is best not to deal with dwarves, for they practice unholy sorceries and deny the good gods, but their works have always held interest for the Smiths of Pent, who want more dwarf secrets of alchemy and metal.

The dwarves are said to worship their creator, who is called Mostal the Eternal, and the sages of Pent believe the goal of the dwarves is to remake the entire world in his image. However, no one can be sure, as no Pentan has spoken directly to a dwarf in living memory. The Balazarings say the dwarves are reliable but never negotiate - they simply present a deal, then leave if it is not accepted. They also say the dwarves have terrible weapons and should not be fought.

Gonn Orta and the Giants

The Giants of Prax and the Elder Wilds are large, violent beings who are mostly too difficult to communicate with to be worth bothering about. They possess little usable wealth, though sometimes their homes contain vast amounts of food, and they are too dangerous to be worth fighting. Worse, those in Prax are sometimes allies of the Praxians, assisting the hated perverts in fighting.

However, there is an exception: Gonn Orta, a giant who is a priest of Issaries. He runs a large fortress at the edge of the Elder Wilds which is a useful trading post. Many Pentan caravans have traveled there, finding rare goods and dealing even with enemies without trouble. Peace is the law at Gonn Orta's Pass in the Rockwood Mountains, and none dare break it, for risk of both the giant's wrath and that of the god Issaries.

The Pentans are unsure how long giants live. There has always been a Gonn Orta, as long as the stories have been told about trade and travel. Some say it is a name inherited from father to son, others that Gonn Orta is older than the Dawn.

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