Airi'ut

The **Airi'ut** people are a nomadic ethnic group in central-northern Issylra. The tribe forms one of the 93 tribes officially recognized as members of the Jade Horde. They number about 1,300 and most of the tribe lives in the Sonomyn Square district of Kharkorhum. Khash Khatan originally hails from this clan.

## Language

Ai'ruitian is a Northern Issylrian language, now spoken mostly in the Agutaluud region. It is now one of the most widely spoken native Issylrian languages. The orthography of the language was developed only twenty years prior to the present day and borrows heavily from the Common script with Infernal influences contributed by Yaryk Allaxul.

## History

The Airi'ut are very old, and have been enslaved or otherwise decimated in number by nearby clans for multiple centuries throughout their tenure.

## Culture

A noticeable hierarchic structure can be observed in the culture of the Airi'ut. People sharing the same surname live in groups called *hala*, formed by as many families as belongs to the same surname (usually about 3 - 7). If a marriage between different clans is made, the husband lives with the *hala* of his wife without holding property rights, unless they decide to take on a different name and separate themselves to form their own familial group.

The tribe leader or *bek* of the Airi'ut is a hereditary position, with leadership passing to whichever child is considered the most fitting for the position by their ruling parent, or going to the oldest in the case of a *bek's* death in battle. The *bek* is responsible for leading relationships with other tribes, leading battles, confirming the appointment of senior positions, and presiding over the training of troops. When a *bek* is appointed, they are given a leadership name by the tribe elders. An example of this is Toqto’a-yin kö'ün Nigandai, who was appointed **Burilgi Khan** after his ascension to tribe leader. Women in the position are given the leadership suffix **Khatan** instead.

Like most people groups in this area, the Airi'ut are primarily horse-herders. Their mounted combat usually takes the form of archery from horseback. As the livelihood of most Airi'ut depends on their horses, horses are a venerated animal, and animal abuse is considered punishable by death. Most Airi'ut begin learning to ride at 2 and a half years of age.

The customary sport of the Airi'ut is wrestling. The goal of Horde-style wrestling is to get the opponent to touch their upper body, knee or elbow to the ground. Wrestlers may not touch the legs of their opponent and striking, strangling and locking is illegal. Traditionally, the sport is played in only leather pants to allow wrestlers to skin-bond, but other variations introduced by other tribes can be found in Airi'ut wrestling circles. There are no formal weight classes, age limits, time limits or gender classes.

As the Airi'ut have fought to survive for almost the entirety of their long existence, conquering and fighting to ensure the general peace is seen as a fact of life. The Airi'ut generally believe in preemptive war and have no issue with the death penalty as long as the tribe is generally in agreement that the crime warrants the punishment. As they have no imprisonment infrastructure due to their nomadic lifestyle, punishment tends to be corporal and severe crimes, such as rape or assault with a deadly weapon, are normally dealt with through amputation or ritual branding. They have no written system of law, so tribe elders are generally seen as the judge and jury in most legal proceedings. The other option available for civil disputes is honorable combat. The victor is allowed to make the decision on whether the loser is executed for their challenge or not, though execution duels are now generally frowned upon.

## Religion

Most Airi'ut are shamanists, believing that harmony and respect of the natural world will allow one to reach spiritual enlightenment. The clan has three shamans in charge of important ceremonies in the lives of the Airi'ut, flanked by a brigade of clerics and druids that work closely together. However, in recent times there are a significant number of Airi'ut who have taken up the worship of the Wildmother and the Lawbearer.

The Airi'ut tribe is also home to one of the most prolific monastic orders of the Drunken Masters. Members of this traditional order developed out of the Airi'ut's enslaved history. Wary of their masters seeing them training to fight, members would brew drinks and use their jerky, unpredictable movements to disguise a carefully executed dance of blocks, parries, advances, attacks, and retreats. Masters of this Way teach humility, community, and good humor and their monasteries can often be found masquerading as taverns for weary travelers.

## Important Individuals

Toqto’a-yin ökin Himavasati Sabuya

Doghshin-un ökin Ibakha

Tarkhan-yin kö'ün Dalavč