Rock Sea

The Sylvan Empire captured the territory and the people north of the Monai River, but they could never control the territory south of that border. The tribes of the Rock Sea are proud of this fact, and call their northern cousins “domesticated.” They refer to them as the Broken Tribes, and see their lifestyle as corrupted by elven culture.

People from the north might think of these tribes as a stand-in for the city-states of the former empire, but that is not correct. The tribes are fluid entities. They have no particular geographic boundaries, and even the population comes and goes between them regularly. A successful tribe might swell to great numbers, while a tribe that fails repeatedly in war or hunting might lose members.

The tribes do not get too large, however. The people of the Rock Sea have no desire to live in cities or towns. When their numbers are too large for a comfortable camp, they decide to split into two tribes and divide their land and wealth between them.

As a result the tribes reinvent themselves constantly. There are a few constants between them. Their religion centers around a belief that all things have a spirit, including animals, plants, rocks, and even storms or shapes. Part of that spirit can be imbued in people through the use of symbolic transfer accompanied by ceremony. They believe these spirits are fickle, and though they might dedicate their tribe, home, or child to a spirit, a re-dedication is needed quite often to keep the relationship strong. It is common to change the dedication to a new spirit after a change. Much of their culture and spirituality is based around these decisions.

They also love riding. Many of their “wars” are simply riding competitions. There is a great deal of yelling, with colorful ribbons trailing behind the riders as they urge their horses to greater speed. The slower band accepts defeat quickly, riding away more quietly than they arrived.

The last time I visited there were six tribes that dominated the Rock Sea. The Momasop raise sheep and weave beautiful, warm blankets for the cold nights on the hills. The lithe horses raised by the Champec are perfect for their elaborate antelope hunts. The Leksi tribe takes its name from the lake they live near, growing grain and using its mud for their durable pottery. Taking sleep very seriously, the Dol tribe claims their nightly ceremonies allow them share communal dreams. The dogs of the Yemba tribe are so beloved they get a vote in tribal decisions. The Pebacadeb people are expert iron workers.

There were three other tribes that are now considered lost, as their people have been enslaved by the Verdun Republic. These were: the Garra tribe, who wove sea-going ships from reeds and trained albatross to find schools of fish for them; the Tuwe made complex mechanisms of wood and hide that could be easily carried by a single person, such as ballistae and shelters; the Iopenau sang such beautiful songs that game would come to them without fear.

The Verdun Republic has several mining operations throughout the Rock Sea, using the members of these former tribes as a labor force. The center is a port that faces their islands called Gebori. It’s a utilitarian town, with just a port, a Republic counting house, and a depot. Steam engines are everywhere, powering both the ships that take the coal and pig iron to the islands and the carts that pull it from the remote stations where it’s mined. It’s a noisy, dirty place.

The stations are small mining camps, connected to Gebori through roads made of iron and wood. In the past, the six free tribes would attack the roads, damaging them so the steam-powered carts could not pass. The gnomes changed their policy: if the carts did not go through to and from Gebori, the human children would not eat. Now each night there are teams of human slaves who ride out to protect the roads on behalf of the gnomes. It’s a nice puzzle: if the iron roads are intact the gnomes can expand their stations and enslave more humans. If the roads are damaged the children go hungry.

The camps are overseen by gnome guards, and the slaves are well-fed so they can work hard. They free some humans occasionally for what they call good behavior, as an example to others that their hard work will pay off one day. Many more of them are hurt by the machinery used to carve up the hills. Sometimes a boiler will explode or a drill bit breaks. The injured are cared for well enough, and the gnomes say the life is less hard than the one they had in the tribes. At least they have a bed, a roof, and three warm meals a day.

The humans don’t venture an opinion on the matter to strangers.