Wheels

A Wheel village in the Black Eel Valley

The Wheels is a people descended from the Dara Happan nobles of Nivorah that followed the god Samnal, who attempted to steal the secrets of riding from Hyalor. They keep horses, but cannot ride them, and instead use them to pull chariots. Thus, they are variably called Wheels, Chariot People, or Samnali. While their cousin people, the Riders, followed Hyalor from Nivorah, the Wheels remained in the dying city until its last moment.

Their chief gods are Elmal, Samnal's father and the God of the Sun, and Nyalda, the Goddess of the Earth. They despise the worship of Hyalor and consider it blasphemous - on occasion, they will gouge out the eyes of Hyalorings as punishment for worshiping a man as if he were a god. They are also suspicious of spirits, and have no shamans among them. The Wheels are authoritarian and patriarchal. Women are not allowed to serve as warriors or in leadership positions, and all Wheel clans practice slavery. They are known to regard other cultures with contempt and still see themselves as noble elites,

Some Wheel clans can be found in the Black Eel Valley, while others have established a kingdom in the north, Naztalvan.

## Ride Like the Wind

Wheels are one of the three major cultures in *Ride Like The Wind*, alongside the Riders and Rams. There are always five Wheel clans in the Black Eel Valley at the start of the game. It is also possible to send your explorers to visit the northern kingdom of Naztalvan and the Wheels who live there.

### Lore

The clan circle says:

* "We share a common language and history with the charioteers, along with some worship. But we have always been rivals at best."
* "The tension between our peoples erupts from the rivalry between Hyalor Change-Maker, and Samnal Chain-Forger. They are enemies, yes—but also cousins."
* "We don't always get along with charioteers, but they worship Elmal just like we do."
* "The Wheels accept Hyalor as a hero who learned horse secrets but deny that he ascended to the sky as a god."
* "This gruesome act is a ritual obeisance for the Wheels. They say it is because we worship Hyalor as a god, when he was only a man."
* "Our Elmal is a steadfast chieftain. Theirs is a cruel overlord, handing down taboos and demanding punishments."
* "Charioteers believe that survival requires fanatical adherence to yesterday’s rules."
* "The Wheels hold to more Golden City ways than we do. They subjugate their women and observe a long list of taboos."
* "Wheels trammel the earth, calling her the sun’s captive bride."
* "Charioteers fight in admirably tight formation."
* "Among the Wheels we had a saying: every spirit is the Trickster in disguise."
* "Wheels held onto more Nivoran traditions than we did. We see their piety and call it arrogance."
* "During the exodus, we gave the Wheels a chance to come with us. But in their arrogance, they thought they could defeat the ice."
* "When we fled the ice, the Wheels said, 'You are our serfs.' We said, 'Here are our swords.'"

The Former Wheel has particular insight into the Wheels and their ways.

### Events

The Wheels appear often in *Ride Like the Wind*, but the following events focus on them especially:

* Heels For Wheels
* Slighted Wheels
* Striking Fear Into Wheels
* Wheel Adoption
* Wheel Conclave
* Wheel Ritual Support
* Wheel Traders
* Wheels Hate Us
* Wheels Mock Us
* Wheels Seek Aid

## Lights Going Out

During the Chaos Age, when more and more gods die, peoples that never learnt to deal with spirits, like the Wheels, seem to face an especially great amount of difficulty. The Wheels are said to be a "once widespread" culture, perhaps indicating that they are much diminished.

The Wheels are one of the possible targets of Brolarulf's Great Raid in the *Lights Going Out* prologue, setting up a special enmity between them and the player clan for the rest of the game

### Lore

The clan ring says:

* "By definition charioteers are not Berenethtelli."
* "The Wheels are our cousins. Sometimes hostile cousins."
* "Our Rider ancestors never gave in to Wheel bullying."
* "Before the ice, before the coming of the horse, we were the same, living together in Nivorah, the Golden City."
* "Beren befriended some Wheels and fought others."
* "I forget whether their chariot god Samnal is dead or not."
* "The Wheels have more to worry about than what [clansmember] thinks of them."
* "Wheels aren't what they used to be."
* "Wheels don't give Dostal proper honor. But they respect him more than the goddesses."
* "Wheels call Dostal Elmal's servant."
* "Wheels scorn Orlanth, as they also scorned Hyalor."
* "Wheels treat their women poorly."
* "Wheels treat women as lesser beings."
* "Wheels are sun people who never learnt how to deal with spirits."
* "Wheels distrust spirits."
* "Wheels refused to deal with spirits, and look at them now—dying out."
* "Wheels succumb easily to krarshtkids."

### Events

Wheels feature prominently in the following *Lights Going Out* events:

* Wheels Artifact Discovery
* Wheels Call In Favor
* Wheels Exchange For Favor
* Wheels Need Spark
* Wheels Slaver Offer

## In Battle

Only elite noblemen drive chariots into battle. Ordinary Wheels fight on foot, as infantry.

As a fairly similar culture, the Wheels—including the Northern Wheels, who do sometimes attack you—will often accept your parley offers.

The Wheels can use the unique combat ritual **Wheel of Fire**, which wreathes the wheels of their chariots in flame.

A number of Heroic Combat events can happen when you fight Wheels. See Heroic Combat: Wheels and Heroic Combat: General for details.

## Images

A meeting between important Wheels.Wheels crown a king.The fire cage, a method of execution practiced by Wheels.Wheel envoys.Wheel traders.Wheel explorers.Angry Wheel envoys. Note the unicorn armor on some of their horses!A group of slighted Wheels building war-chariots.A ride-by, the Wheel equivalent to a Whooping Run.Wheels sing a mocking song.A delegation group of Wheel slavers.An unusually upset group of Wheel emisseries.Wheel raiding party in Chaos Age.A Wheel delegation visits Berenstead.A Chaos Age Wheel village.
## ConceptArt

Concept art of a Wheel chieftain, by Marguerite Dabaie.Concept art of a charioteer—a woman, as Wheel sexism was apparently decided on a bit later in the process!Concept art of a Wheel woman.Concept art of a young Wheel herder.Concept art of a shaman—in the finished game, the Wheels have none.