Borderlanders

Part of Culture of Otheia 
The Borderlanders are a unique sub-culture of the Otheiae, native to the eponymous northern frontiers of Otheia.
Living alongside the tribes of the Niedene, the Borderlanders have adapted to the northern climes. They wear wool clothing adapted to the cold winters, and live in isolated, fortified farmsteads. Regions tend to be controlled by allied families and clans, with each family controlling their own farm. 
Clans often take to raiding each other, often with the aim of stealing cattle and other livestock. Thus, they are expert riders, riding stocky, stout horses. Livestock such as cattle and ponies are easily rustled, compared to the more bulky goods which lack locomotion of their own, which are relatively rare as loot. Provided the targets have no kin connections to the raiders, they are considered a viable target. 
Borderlanders consider themselves separate from the realms of the Augkarate, maintaining a culture of fierce independence and self reliance. They also put no stake in magicians, whom have never helped them in their battles with the northern tribes. 
The Borderlanders have often found themselves in conflict with the various neighboring tribes, in fact it was this contact which first drove the frontiersmen to fortify their homes. It was the effective use of raiding by the tribesmen caused the Borderlanders to adapt the practice themselves, terming it “Riding”. The constant conflict along the borderlands has seen much death and destruction for all involved. 
Despite their lack of loyalty to the realms which nominally hold the land, the Borderlanders are valued as assets to the Augkarate, who see their culture and the amount of small fortifications they possess as a key resource in repelling the raiders of Matsurien. 
Category:Culture of Otheia