Temujin

Temujin, meaning people of iron; the name could not be more perfect. The Temujin are a strong, proud people and before the Sundering, the Temujin ruled the Western plains of Salus. Strong like the winds of winter in the plains; the people did not band together to endure harsh climate and tough living conditions but used it to toughen them. Early on the Temujin were animistic, worshipping the Sun and animals alike hoping that the powerful spirits would bless them with another day of life and food. The Temujin are people of action; however, and would not simply wait for the spirits to answer but would instead take to the plains to find food, water, and adventure that would fill their days. The Temujin often wear reds, blacks, and browns as reminders to the heritages that their people held on Salus.

**Gender Roles**

Boys from a young age were trained and taught to fight. Encouraged to be the best at every opportunity and to hate defeat. Men were seen as warriors and defenders of not only the village’s safety but also its honor as competitions were annually held among the boys to preview the upcoming stock of youth for each village. These games were often bet upon by the older men as to who would win and more than once a village on village war broke out due to the results. Once manhood was reached it was every man’s right and duty to join the military if he was able. Those who were unable to due to physical issues were given the job of village maintenance, such as blacksmiths. Although no dishonor was given for holding such positions, as the jobs was necessary, a man who was not a warrior was typically served last and was not held in high regard. It was it was a great honor to die defending your people in combat.

Girls are not much different from boys in the eyes of the Temujin. Temujin girls were expected to learn how to fight and survive alone in the wild. The Temujin females learned early that just because you don’t wield a sword doesn’t mean you can’t die on one. Temujin women were trained in combat techniques and defensive maneuvers to protect themselves. It was not uncommon to find tribes led by female Warlord’s and to see them actively prospering, though often times the lines of these female warlords would die out due to the lack of children as the task of a Warlord was vigorous, demanding, and dangerous and they did not have time to stop to produce an heir. Those women who did not fight were expected to keep the village and raise the children. This is not to say there was dishonor in this, as a woman who died in childbirth was given the same honor as a warrior who died in battle. The Temujin people believe that to give your life to prosper your people is always a pursuit of honor.

**Village Life and Politics**

*Village Life (Pre-Temujin Conquest )* Temujin lived in minor mobile villages that could be put up and taken down in less than a few hours. The Temujin were not super mobile, on Salus, but would move the village to a winter and a summer location in order to have access to more plentiful foods and water. Temujin lived within independent villages that often operated under a specific warlord. Each warlord could control up to 100 warriors at any given time but there were rumors that sometimes a warlord could swell to 1000 in rare instances. Temujin were insular tribes that would marry amongst each other and didn’t respect outsiders due to their supposed weak nature. For most of Salusian history, Temujin would battle it out over the most prime hunting grounds and safest winter refuges with the strong taking what they wanted. It sharpened the Temujin into fierce and cunning warriors that could withstand even the harshest and most brutal battles. It was not uncommon for tribes to be in constant flux as to who was the strongest due to the volatile nature of their culture. This also meant that the Temujin were almost never unified, although in times of dire needs such as outside invasion (an extreme rarity) certain tribes would band together but once the threat was dealt with the relations quickly degraded back into squabbling.

*Village Life (Post-Temujin Conquest )* After the Temujin Conquest of Salus at the hands of Gerel in 2000 BtS (Before the Sundering) the landscape of the Temujin society changed drastically. The villages no longer fought with each other over the most prime spots as the food and water necessary for survival was provided for by the Temujin capital at Ulaan. The Temujin still maintained the games of children, males and females alike, to see who the most suitable and likely prospects would be to attain greatness within the ranks of Gerel’s army. After Gerel had conquered much of the known world and ruled for 40 years he died suddenly leading the 8 sons to scramble to take over the sprawling empire in the years that followed the fractured leadership and rich villages splintered and all that was once unified eventually fractured completely and returned to what the Temujin had known for so many generations, struggle. Though the Temujin had become wealthy they had also become soft and the period of the Great Deep set in, where within a 4- year period the Temujin people shrunk from approximately 10 million strong to approximately 650,000 with many tribes and villages simply disappearing. The Temujin had become weak and the environment had consumed them. The Temujin that survived this period taught their children, and strength is prized above all else now due to fear of the elimination of the People from the annuls of history. Orsus is viewed as the ultimate challenge for these people and chance to once again show their might.

**Mentality and Phrases**

I must be as swift as the winds of the plains and as strong as the earth below my feet.

The goat is often consumed but the wolf never goes hungry.

Only those too weak to act choose to talk first.

**Notable Figures**

Gerel - Temujin General and High Warlord, Uniter of the People, Conqueror of the World Gerel was said to have been blessed by the Spirit of the Raven for his keen insight and ability. The son of a chieftain, he grew up learning many important skills from his father and place in society. Unfortunately, his father was killed by a Temujin enemy known as the Yata who killed him with poisoned blades. Shortly after the death of his father he and his family were turned out, a death sentence, due to the potential threat they posed to the new chieftain. After surviving 5 years in the wild, Gerel began to amass an army from villagers and wanderers eventually conquering his old tribe and beginning his conquest of Salus.

Seer Majar - Temujin advisor to Gerel, the Great Betrayer, He who walks with the Unseen. Seer Majar was the High Advisor to Gerel until the invasion of Tamak in which he betrayed the Temujin army and stole the Relic of the Divine before disappearing. It has been said that occassionally he can be seen wandering the lands of Salus but these are not cofirmed.
Lt. Anak - Temujin Lt. to Gerel, nephew of Gerel, he was the tactician responsible for infiltrating the Tamak, the Dagmari village and locating the crystal of the Divine. He was killed in the initial invasion of Tamak.

**Military Tactics/Strategy** The Temujin were not just bumbling brutes looking to sink a sword or spear into something but were cunning, brilliant warriors who cultivated amazing battle strategies. Temujin became cunning warriors and tacticians through years of hard practice and training. Temujin in large scale battles would often times employ attacks from multiple fronts to ensure victory and would rarely fail. A Temujin will study his/her opponent before and during combat and are often at the front of the battles. Temujin favor melee weapons and until recently, rarely employed ranged weapons, instead relying on stealth and precision to bring down their foes. The Temujin felt that ranged weapons were for cowards, too afraid to soil their hands with the blood of the enemy. Over time these viewed calmed as the technology was adopted and the realization that the use of these items increased efficiency in hunting. The Temujin still were reluctant to use such items for anything more than hunting and instead relied on their strategies and superiority in melee combat to win the day. Temujin always are training, always seeking to gain a new edge over an opponent, always challenging themselves to improve. Many Temujin became famous for their prowess on the battlefield.