...you are either a member of the nomadic human
tribes or the multiplicity of elvish tribes that exist there. If human,
you may be a member of one of the main tribes, the Al Seik, Benjari, or
Jul Tavan, or a member of one of the small splinter groups that have
split off from them over the years. If you are an elf, you have a variety
of possibilities, since elvish tribes come and go swiftly.
The human tribes usually
speak
Bendune,
which bears some resemblance to the elven speech, and even more to the
language known as
Cavilish.
Bendune is not much known outside the
Tablelands and Luirs, but is a necessity for survival in that area. It is
a rich and poetic language, mainly due to
an incredible array of sentence structures to describe various states of
spiritual, physical, and intellectual being. Different nouns thus typically
yield entirely different sentences. Bendune follows in the nomadic language
convention of using seven vowels for speaking and no vowels for writing.
While a few of the elves of the Tablelands have picked up Bendune from
their human neighbors, all speak allundean. There are a multitude of
elvish tribes on the Tablelands: the Blackwing, the Leaping Sands, the
Dirt Jakhals, Seven Spears. Usually a
new tribe occurs when a group splits off from a larger tribe, and often
the name of the new tribe commemorates the split.
Major landmarks of the Tablelands include the desert elf outpost to the
north. Once primarily a Blackwing outpost, other tribes have set up
trading there until the place has become a common meeting place for the
various tribes as well as occasional merchants from elsewhere looking
for goods. The outpost is still owned and policed by the Blackwing.
(Note: in making desert elves, please consult with staff before making
an elf affiliated with Blackwing -- this tribe is currently closed.)
To the south and west lies the Valley of Xytrix-Za, once home for a
thriving mantis civilization. Within the last century, however, the
city-state of Allanak has claimed the valley and posted troops there.
The mantis have, rumors hold, migrated west and south. Near the valley
entrance is an outpost that was originally a bandit stronghold, but
which has become tamer with the cautionary influence of Allanak nearby.
In the center of the Tablelands lies the gith mesa. The gith deal
with few outsiders, preferring to slay and consume intruders. They
do deal on occasion with the Red Fangs tribe. Gith technology is crude
at best, and the quality of their wares is poor.
Most trading occurs in Luir's Outpost, which lies on the North Road to
the east of the Tablelands. Run by House Kurac, the Outpost is host
to a variety of merchants from across the Known World.
Life on the Tablelands is precarious at best. Fierce creatures, including
fierce dujat worms, anakore that lurk beneath the sands waiting to pull
down unwary travellers, wezers that sting their victims with paralyzing poison
and drag them home to their hives, and hulking half-intelligent
braxat, fill
its canyons and mesas. But it is a compelling environment as well, full of
cacti and desert vegetation seen nowhere else in the Known World.
Quirri,
large black felines, slink through the dune shadows here, and long-necked
durrit the size of dwarves dig for grubs under the tumbled boulders. A few
oases lie like green pools where shelter is available, but for most of
its denizens, water is a scarce and valued commodity.
© 2002 Armageddon Mud
Submitted by Sanvean