Chaktawe

From Mizahar Lore

Revision as of 03:49, 23 April 2009

Chaktawe

Height	4.5' to 6.5'
Weight	115-220
Lifespan	up to 85 years
Major features	Copper skin, solid jet eyes, black hair
Abilities	Superior tracking skills, only need water every 10 days
Most common in	wandering the desert
Reputation	Guarded but peaceable
Racial gods	The goddess of Rivers and god of Crows.
Subraces	Halves, quarters, etc.

The Chaktawe (Chock-ta-way) are a nomadic desert people who worship the god of crows and the goddess of rivers. Sacred storytellers, healers and trackers are venerated. They have copper skin, black hair and entirely jet eyes with long lashes and two sets of eyelids. They have specialized feet for the desert and are able to go ten days without water. Three tribes wander the desert each headed by a Chief.

History

"The good earth has left us and the birds come and gone, so we too must be like the dust, and the crows, riding the back of the desert wind" - Chief Taweh

The Chaktawe were not always nomads and the land was not always so barren. Before the Valiterrian, a great river wove through the land, flooding in seasons and turning the dry earth black with silt. There was fish in abundance and crops could be grown: wheat, corn, onions, peas, lettuce and grapes. All manner of richness could be coaxed from this dark earth. The Chaktawe were not a great people like the Eypharians who dwelt in vast and shapely halls of pale stone. They were simplistic farmers who built dome shaped homes of river reeds and clay. While the Eypharians built their cities around the great river, the Chaktawe gathered around one of it lesser branches. When the Valiterrian struck, the Chaktawe had just begun to progress as a people, building more complex residences and beginning trade with the Hebreans.

With the sundering of distant lands the great river became a trickle and its many branches dried. The farming people found themselves with dust for soil and unfamiliar winds that would spirit the dust away. The only thing that allowed them to survive was the mysterious arrival of crows. In their hunger, the people killed and ate these crows. It is held that after the last barren season, Chief Taweh said that they too "must be like the dust, and the crows, riding the back of the desert wind."

From that instant on, the Chaktawe began to roam, pining for new rivers, but unable to leave their homeland. What few springs that remained under the earth and made oases were enough to sustain the hardy Chaktawe, but there was never enough water to make the soil good again.

Over time, the Chaktawe sharpened their hunting and foraging skills, living like wild birds. They have no permanent settlement but roam, broken into several tribes, named for their occasional resting places.

Biology

Physical Appearance

The Chaktawe are a humanoid desert people with copper skin. Travelers often comment that it is a hue reminiscent of the redstone formations that jut from the sands. Chaktawe hair is a glossy jet, recalling the crow they have come to venerate. Only with old age does their hair lighten to white. Their eyes are solid black and have a second pair of translucent eyelids. If the secondary pair is closed, the Chaktawe's vision becomes slightly cloudy. Male and female alike have long dark lashes, another protection against the irritating sand.

The Chaktawe are long legged but otherwise average in height, and rarely wear shoes. Their feet are equipped for desert travel, with leathery pads on the bottom and webbing between the toes. When they step down, the webbing and pads spread to keep their feet from sinking into the sand.

Common Traits

Chaktawe are prone to paint a thick band across their eyes using either an earthy red, black or white paint. This serves as further protection against the glare of the relentless sun, and may also be used to mark divisions between families and tribes. They also frequently braid beads, feathers or polished bone in the hair at their temples to show rank and bloodlines.

For apparel the Chaktawe wear animal pelts or what appears to be intricately sewn layers of bird feathers. The latter are preferred, and are created over time by the gradual collecting of darker hued feathers. In the day, the men wear a simple undergarment and a knee length wrap around their hips that is slit almost all the way up on either side, allowing them to run with ease. The women wear similar garments on the bottom and a simplistic bodice on the top that is usually laced on the sides with leather cords. In the cold evening, both genders wrap themselves in heavy mantles of fur or feathers.

All are experts in the edible flora of the desert and have an almost magical ability to locate running water above or slightly below the earth.

Age and Reproduction

Chaktawe age like a normal human and reproduce the same. An abundance of children is a sign of honor and pregnant women are treated with reverence. Half-breeds are uncommon but possible, usually possessing the unique eyes and a muted version of a pure Chaktawe's coloring.

Psychology

They are a hardy, spiritual people. Melancholy for what they have lost, but gradually finding a new peace in the heat and quiet of the sprawling sand and stone. They are solemn yet curious towards outsiders, always gauging the intent of other races. The Chaktawe value unity and bravery: the traits that have allowed them to survive the desolation of their land.

Society

Social Structure

Language

Names

A Chaktawe child is not named until its fifth year or until a younger sibling is born. Names are valued as depictions of what a child is and hopes to be, so they will refrain from naming a child until they understand some aspect of its personality.

Before that time the child is referred to by a diminutive of the name of the parent's guardian. The mother's if it is a girl and the father's if it is a boy. If the guardian's name is Ahau, a boy will be called Ahuapar, and a girl Ahaupa. If the guardian's name ends in a consonant, such as Lanook, a boy will be called Lanookapar, and a girl Lanookapa.

Chaktawe names are multi-syllabic, often end in vowels and frequently use the letters "K", "P", "Sh", "Ch" and the "H" sound written as "J". It is often said that a Chaktawe name sounds like a moving wind or water over stones.

Family Life

Chaktawe families are large and tightly knit. Daughters live with their parents until they are wed. Once married, the daughter and her new husband will travel with his tribe and dwell in their own tent.

Sons establish their own tent as soon as they are skilled enough to provide for themselves. When adults become old or infirmed, they are looked after by whichever child can support them best. Once every season, all three tribes come together, so all the scattered families may see each other.

Everyday Life

As nomads and hunters, the Chaktawe spend most of their days trekking across the desert in pursuit of game and water. They camp in the evening under low, simple tents made with animal skins and sticks. If remaining in an area for more than five days, the Chaktawe will assemble more elaborate tents and fire-pits.

Art and Industry

Religion

The most unusual practice of the Chaktawe is "the searching". When Chaktawe children turn fifteen, they are temporarily banished from the tribe and one another. In this imposed solitude, the youth must provide for his own needs while praying to their gods. The females pray to the river goddess and the males the crow god, but sometimes one deity answers when the other is petitioned. In this perilous time, Chaktawe receive a single cryptic prophecy for their future and the name of the spirit guardian the gods have sent to watch over them.

Often, families share a guardian and a collective history is established regarding its person. On rare occasions the guardian manifests itself in either humanoid or bird form, or speaks directly to the Chaktawe it is to watch over.