Hero Wars
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The Travels of Biturian VaroshA Praxian Marriage Ceremony
Days Rest is a mild and moderately-sized oasis located five
days' march southeast of Pimper's Block. Norayeep said it got its name because
it was the place where Waha allowed the tired Herd Mothers to rest after
he freed them from Darkness. She stated it was a favorite place for tribes
to worship on the day we expected to arrive, and that it was likely that
the whole oasis would be in High Celebration, unfriendly to strangers. At
her suggestion I removed her slave necklace, though not the bracelets.
She was pleased to devote her power to worship rather than draining it through
the collar, and I was glad that I'd released her.
I grew frightened when I realized we were joining a marriage ceremony of the very bison tribe from which Norayeep came. The outguard recognized her, and swore he'd kill me to free her until he saw Morak tagging after us. He did not demand that Morak be freed of the collar, and seemed reluctant to admit the boy to the festivities. Norayeep spoke in my favor, and I gained entrance by agreeing to leave Morak with the mules. Norayeep quickly joined the other women of the tribe. Her sister Initiates greeted her kindly as she took her position with them. The chieftain thundered into the open circle with many wounded followers. They threw to the ground the broken skulls of seven broos as their victory prizes, then burnt the foul things in sacred fire. Thus the chief proved his worthiness and assured his acceptability to the priestess. Narmeed Whirlvishbane was the chieftain's name, and his new wife was Varaneena Cow-eye. Everyone in the tribe came and gave them gifts, including Norayeep, who offered her chieftain rare presents from the edges of the world. But she said that I was to be the source of the gifts! The chieftain was delighted to see me, and said so. I felt trapped and betrayed, even as I greeted Narmeed in my most gracious and diplomatic tones. Each holy woman present received a yellow narl-flower from far Brolia which never fades if sung over each Godsday. Each warrior got a leather knifebelt, set with pretty stones, or a cheap bronze dagger. Norayeep told the chieftains to force me to reveal my Red Leather Cache, and then they chose as they wished. It was comical to see them scrutinize each time, slyly casting detection spells as if their secretiveness helped. An old and crippled Orlanth worshiper asked for a Guilder any time someone asked of rumors concerning a particular item -- he made enough silver to buy two kilos of rare coffee beans. Even after such care, the barbarians still chose from the trick junk masking the valuable items of my cache. Only one man, Vanish Rib-Crusher, received anything of value, and he took a blank Truestone. Varaneena and her chieftain got a mule-load of salt, another of spices (mostly cinnamon and dried lemon), and a third of oats. The chieftainess got a silver tiara with a matrix for the Reflection spell (a costly item!). Narmeed also got five iron-tipped arrows to hold until he became a Khan. No lesser chieftain ever fared so well from his wedding ceremony, and I spent the rest of the festivities swallowing anger and wallowing in self-contempt for being so duped. I was surprised when Norayeep returned at dawn, unashamed. Neither was she arrogant about the events, and that took the sting out of my lashing. Slavery in Dragon Pass and Surrounding AreasThe fact of slavery in Glorantha is established. Referees should recall that different areas will have different attitudes.The tribes of Prax constantly raided each other and took captives as slaves. They usually wore leather thongs about their necks as a mark of their status, but the harsh conditions precluded much oppression by their owners, and they did much the same work they did while with their own tribes. They were always restricted to Lay Membership status as slaves, but still allowed to worship their tribal deities. The Lunar Empire supported slavery. It fit well into their philosophical beliefs that all living beings are slaves and they were always quick to exploit such symbolism when it suited their needs. The Sartarite tribes of Dragon Pass had a system whereby captives were slaves, and specialists occasionally were purchased as well. Captives commonly were put to work as field or herd workers and allowed to worship most of their own deities except for Orlanth or any sky deities. The Holy Country included Sartar like customs among most of their populace. A cult of freedom was there which opposed the practice, but did not try to force freedom upon unfeeling owners. The cult was popular among many of the Holy Country elite, and several large landholders did not practice ownership of humans. |
