OOC Info The Cyphrus & Sea Of Grass Q&A Thread

[Gossamer]

The Cyphrus & Sea of Grass Q&A Thread The Staff of Cyphrus are getting a lot of repeat questions on the Sea of Grass and the surrounding domains of Cyphrus. And while this might not be the most appropriate place to put it, please feel free to ask your questions here. Any and all questions are welcomed and will be quoted at the top of the post they are answered in.

[Gossamer]

Just out of curiosity, what place IRL would you say the Sea of Grass is the closest to? Because a lot of plains/Savannah in the world are the most gem/valuable rock rich places in the world. Such as Tanzania, which has almost every high value gem in the world.

I have no idea who asked this one, but its been said over and over again. The Sea of Grass was created by the Valterrian as a sort of backsplash of liquid rock and topsoil that was instantly liquified and settled into the rift that was formed. Almost all the loose and veins of solid unmined gemstones of any value at all (and a lot of rock that has no value) were pushed up against the Suvan by Ivak's rage and piled in one massive underground sediment dump like a glacier's moraine. That's where the Colinga Gem Mine comes in. That's why they mine gemstones of all sorts there in huge quantities and why the Sea of Grass has scatterings of an occasional gemstone, but nothing like the edge of the Suvan has.

I could say "Oh its like the Steppes of Mongolia or The US' Midwest rolling prairie" but it would only be 'like' that in the fact that its rolling grassland. Those are both incredibly natural places. The Sea of Grass was created all in a few days by violent movements of rock and magic. That's why it has pooled wild djed, still generates new races and species, and is extremely dangerous even if you removed all the predators like glassbeaks etc.

So I hope that leads to a bit more understanding. You can't argue that say the American Midwest Breadbasket has these following features thus Cyphrus must have them too. It's going to be hit or miss on those types of things.

Goss

[Colt]

Wow. First of all, thanks so much for doing this! I hate getting asked the same question over and over, and I admire you guys for dealing with that over and over again. I know that I have some questions swirling around my head that I'd love to have answered, and for everyone else to know the answers, too.

First off, some questions on Drykas:

1) The Drykas have the Seven Laws, which are set in stone for each Clan and do not change. Are there any other concrete laws that all people are expected to abide by? Are there set punishments for such laws, or are minor things (stealing, aggressive brawling, breaking someone else's thing, etc) dealt with by Ankals? Is there an organized legal system where someone can go and appeal to an official, or is it done on a case-by-case basis between those involved?

2) Striders and ownership. While the Drykas indeed hold their striders in very high regard, there still seems to be a system of ownership in which a person can legally own striders that they are not bonded to. What would happen, theoretically, if someone bonded with a strider that someone else owned, like someone else's prize breeding stallion? Would the horse be owned by their new bonded Drykas, no questions asked? Would that Drykas be expected to pay compensation for the horse? If so, what if they didn't have enough money to pay?

3) How long is it culturally appropriate for Drykas mothers to nurse their babies?

[Gossamer]

The Drykas have the Seven Laws, which are set in stone for each Clan and do not change. Are there any other concrete laws that all people are expected to abide by? Are there set punishments for such laws, or are minor things (stealing, aggressive brawling, breaking someone else's thing, etc) dealt with by Ankals? Is there an organized legal system where someone can go and appeal to an official, or is it done on a case-by-case basis between those involved?

Let's Reiterate: THE SEVEN LAWS

• Windmarks are earned, not owed. Full clan status is awarded to only those individuals who have earned their Windmarks. And as such, those bearing windmarks will be welcomed, protected, and provided for by the pavilions and thus the clans. Those without windmarks have no status and are owed nothing by either pavilion or clan.
  
• All Drykas will work equally hard in their areas of expertise to provide for the benefit and security of all.
  
• Strider horses are sacred. To harm or abuse a strider is as serious as harming the clansman who's bonded to it. Cruelty towards a horse is grounds for exile - on foot.
  
• The clan is sacred. Obedience is due to its Ankal. All Drykas will be there when the clan needs them.
  
• Dignity is sacred. When a fellow Drykas is wounded or incapacitated beyond recovery, the clansman must be ready to assist them towards reincarnation and a better, stronger, younger form.
  
• Respect and defer to the word of your Ankal. Infighting will not be tolerated. All disputes should be taken to the Ankal who will facilitate or negotiate a resolution. The Ankal's word on all disputes is final.
  
• The Web is sacred. No Drykas will alter it maliciously or instruct a non-Drykas as to its usage. All Pavilions are responsible for sharing equally in its upkeep and maintenance.

As you can see, the seven laws are very loose guidelines and are not say a firm list like something such as The Ten Commandments. Within these seven laws, more rules can be made. If a man owns a pavilion that others shelter within, he is the Ankal. Ankal's make their own rules. Some are harsh, even abusive, others are fair and equal minded. People are people wherever go you. It doesn't matter if the pavilion consists of a one room or two room tent verses a huge elaborate affair that takes twenty people and two wagons to move. Any rule goes. The Ankal can say that everyone who comes into his care and his pavilion gives up their coin to him and it becomes his property. He can mandate all the women in the pavilion must pleasure him be they his wives or not. He decides when they move, where they move too, and how often. A pavilion thrives or becomes a nightmare under an Ankal's leadership. Good Ankals recruit people to them that strengthen their pavilion - like a pavilion lacking a healer might trade off an insane amount of good horses to buy the rights to a third or forth wife that's got mad healing skills. In and of herself, she's not worth much - maybe she's even lame or of a different race than human - but the skill is what matters in that instant. Good Ankals always strengthen their pavilion and weed out the weakness, never overburdening the number that needs protecting or fed verses what skills those people bring.

Bad Ankals are selfish tyrants, no better than slave owners, often abusive, and rule with fear not love. They put themselves first. They are usually found with inferior people with them and inferior livestock.

But the thing is, be it a good pavilion or a bad pavilion, its shelter. Exile from a Pavilion is often death on the Sea of Grass. It's not like if an Ankal kicks you out you can just ride and find another Pavilion to take you in. Odds are if you are kicked out of one, they will look on you with suspicion - like... "Why couldn't you get along with your last boss and got fired?" when you change jobs. Taking you in is a risk. That's why in my own PCs history, her family who loved her went to great lengths to get her trained as a healer in a foreign place so she would have value despite being Konti (which means no value mostly). IF you are skilled, you'll find a place, but regardless of the skill - all the skill in the world won't help you- if you can't get along with an Ankal and get the boot. And odds are you'll die before you ride and find another pavilion or Endrykas. That's also why Endrykas can be a bit dangerous in the heart of the night. It's the only place Pavilionless people can actually survive because they are protected by numbers.

Now that's been overlooked a little recently because of the decline of population. Women, especially, have been more welcomed in new situations than they have in the past. But inviting someone into your pavilion as an Ankal can be all kinds of disruptive. You need to make sure your members are okay with it and that it makes sense for you. Trading for new members is better... the new folks don't come with the stigma of having been outsted or having left an old Pavilion voluntarily.

So... that was a long winded answer. Bottom line.. Ankals make the rules. And as long as it doesn't violate the seven laws, any rule applies the Ankal wants to apply. So as you can see, Pavilions can be utter nightmares for the members or places of joy. It just depends on the leadership.

And as I've said time and time again, WOMEN ARE NEVER ANKALS. That doesn't ever happen.

[Gossamer]

Striders and ownership. While the Drykas indeed hold their striders in very high regard, there still seems to be a system of ownership in which a person can legally own striders that they are not bonded to. What would happen, theoretically, if someone bonded with a strider that someone else owned, like someone else's prize breeding stallion? Would the horse be owned by their new bonded Drykas, no questions asked? Would that Drykas be expected to pay compensation for the horse? If so, what if they didn't have enough money to pay?

Striders are more sacred than women, in some people's minds, and can go where they want. The Drykas no more own them than they own each other. If a Strider bonds to someone else from outside a Pavilion, it goes with that someone else. That's true even if its a prized breeding stallion that's been carefully cultivated from generation to generation. It happens. The person that bonds would be doing well to make sure they meet up with that original pavilion in the spring so their Strider can service all the mares the previous breeder expected them too, but its not required.

By and large, the Drykas are polite and willing to work things out. So if something like the above scenario happened, odds are it happened for a reason. Marriages would be made to unite the two groups closer, children would be traded or fostered to grow up knowing each side, and herds would come together. There would be new relations. Nothing happens by chance in The Sea of Grass. If Blacky the prized stallion bonds with an unwed girl, the Ankal who previously owned her would sigh, start gathering everything he owned of value including some of his other horses, maybe his prized sword, and go talk to her Ankal to marry her... even if she was say too young. They work around things. It causes problems sometimes, but they do what they can to make it work and most of the time it all comes out in the wash as being for the better.

The Striders know what they are doing.

[Gossamer]

How long is it culturally appropriate for Drykas mothers to nurse their babies?

Never gave this one much thought. I suspect its like here, and varies from woman to woman and pavilion to pavilion. I bet the average is a year or two, but in the end if an Ankal wanted a mother to stop nursing, it would be his call. It would also depend on the mother's health too. Nursing can be a godsend in a time of crisis or when a pavilion is moving a lot, but if a mother is sickly it can take a lot out of her as well.

[Colt]

What is the current population situation of the Drykas? They have suffered major hits in recent years, but have taken various steps to come back from it. How effective have those measures been, referring to the taking and impregnation of captives and forceful adoption of children? It has been stated that many of the captives have since begun to bear the children that they were captured to; have there been any other additions to the Drykas to strengthen their numbers aside from the new influx of babies? How does the current adult Drykas population of summer/fall 515 compare to the adult Drykas population of summer 514?

On a somewhat related note, are the Drykas still taking slaves for the purpose of re-population, even on a small-scale level, or was that a one-time thing? What are their opinions of foreign slavers traveling through their territory, say, from Riverfall to Kenash, to sell their wares? Would the Drykas think anything of commandeering their slaves for themselves?

[Gossamer]

What is the current population situation of the Drykas? They have suffered major hits in recent years, but have taken various steps to come back from it. How effective have those measures been, referring to the taking and impregnation of captives and forceful adoption of children? It has been stated that many of the captives have since begun to bear the children that they were captured to; have there been any other additions to the Drykas to strengthen their numbers aside from the new influx of babies? How does the current adult Drykas population of summer/fall 515 compare to the adult Drykas population of summer 514?

The standard population of the Drykas before the outbreak of the plagues and a few of the issues they had was around 10,000. 514 they were down to about 3,500. By now I'd say they are around 5,000 adults. Children are not counted until they are bonded and fully contributing ie hunting, perhaps around age 12. The Drykas are marrying young, reproducing with slaves, adopting people into their pavilions. It's safe to say the Drykas blood is not as pure as it once was, but the culture is as strong as ever. Remember, the striders weren't affected by the plague and the deaths. The djed storm did take a huge chunk out of the Drykas in 512 too. That affected the striders as well. Basically the Drykas will be in recovery mode for years to come and are as wary of strangers as ever.

[Gossamer]

On a somewhat related note, are the Drykas still taking slaves for the purpose of re-population, even on a small-scale level, or was that a one-time thing? What are their opinions of foreign slavers traveling through their territory, say, from Riverfall to Kenash, to sell their wares? Would the Drykas think anything of commandeering their slaves for themselves?

Yes they are. Slavers in the area that aren't Drykas are competition. They are killed on sight. If they are close to RF, the Akalaks usually get them. Webbers are watching the web for all kinds of things... slavers are one of them. They aren't tolerated in addition because they often take Drykas as slaves too if they can get ahold of them. They don't go to Endrykas to sell slaves. And the Drykas take their slaves for themselves unless they are adult males and then its iffy if they will keep the alive. I hope that helps.

[Merevaika]

Endrykas, of course, is a city of many horses, and from what I believe, they live in close proximity to others. However, stallions are often violent around other stallions, and the constant interaction with mares that they may past when traveling through the city would make it hard to keep them under control. What to Drykas do to counter this? Are nearly all male horses geldings? Or is this viewed as cruel to the horse? I would think this would be a big problem in a city of horses, but perhaps strider stallions do not act like normal horses?