Misku'un

Misku'un is a remote nation-tribe in northern Rowlem, and its people are wilder cousins of the warring people of Rowlem we are so familiar with. Misku'un live in the valleys and glaciers of the Casc Mountains, where food is scarce and winter is nearly year-round. The storms of the Casc Mountains are so strong, they’ll sweep away a wagon train without a trace in mere minutes. How the Misku'un survive, and why they stay in such an inhospitable place defies explanation.

The People of Misku'un

Misku'un are fierce warriors whose skin burns at the slightest bit of sunlight. They hunt and scavenge to survive, and sweep down at night to raid anyone who comes close to their lands. The Misku'un wrap themselves in thick furs to protect themselves from both snow and sun, and cover their eyes with smoked glass, preventing anyone from knowing their face.

It’s not known why the Misku'un fear being identified, but it is extremely rare to hear them call to each other by name, and even rarer to see the skin of a Misku'un. Some believe they are cursed for centuries of cannibalism, or from inbreeding, or for the drinking of blood.

It is known that Misku'un live in caves primarily, tunneling up through the ice and stone to allow smoke to escape. They preserve their meat with smoke and salt, and supplement what they hunt during the warmer months with root vegetables, insects, and of course, what they steal during their raids.

The Misku'un can often be heard singing haunting melodies to the nighttime skies, especially when the Jeweled Lights appear. Some of their songs tell stories of a permanently frozen lake with strange shadows beneath the ice, and an inescapable labyrinth made of the bone of some beast. If this is true, the monster big enough to create such a labyrinth would have been the size of a mountain.

Misku'un and Rowlem

Some residents of Rowlem, primarily escaped slaves, report seeing Misku'un appear with some regularity in the Northern Climb. It appears that a chosen group of Misku'un are allowed to visit the lowlands to gather supplies and perhaps pledge allegiance to the Faith rulers. The two cultures are so warlike, and the Misku'un seem to barely survive, it is easy to forget they are both part of Rowlem.

Indeed, the Misku'un are as prevalent slavers as the rest of Rowlem, except no slaves have ever escaped from their mountains.

The nation of Curath condems Misku'un as thoroughly as they condemn the rest of Rowlem. It is unsafe to travel there, and no citizen of Curath should travel there without direct orders from their House.

Architecture:

The people of Misku'un live mainly in caves, and the occasional igloo on the outside, though there is a single standing city from a time long past that maintains a fortified presence against the harsh weather. The artifact that powered the protective warmth and light is all but snuffed out, though the designs were practical enough for the intense climate. The architecture for that city is unique, appearing almost gilded, but is buried under thatching and additional layers of insulation. The igloos and interior caves have been carved carefully and reinforced. The closest description to match is like the Skaal from Skyrim mixed with the roughness and practicality of orcs. Personal living quarters are tight, larger common areas are large with a significant source of heat somewhere in the vicinity. Though there are some trees in the area, coal and other mining has been significant in supplying materials and heat to the people of Misku'un. Bathhouses are plentiful and used on a fairly regular basis.

Family structure

The Misku'un lived in large family groups. Children, parents and grandparents lived together. When the eldest son took over the family farm, he became the head of the family and responsible for the well-being of them all. He had to provide the food the family needed.

His wife, the lady of the household, had to see to it that the food lasted during the long, dark winter. She made butter and cheese, dried and smoked meat and fish for storage and she was also expected to know about herbs for making medicine and care for the sick and wounded. The farm animals were also her responsibility and when her husband went trading, raiding, or hunting she also ran the farm in his absence. In rich families she would have servants and slaves to help her. As a visible sign of her authority and power the lady of the household wore the keys to the food chests at her waist.

When the men travelled abroad raiding, trading, or had gone hunting or fishing, the women were in charge of the work on the farm. This lead to that the women played an important part in society.

Marriage

Girls were married at the age of 12 -15. They were then expected to run a household. Let's hope they got some help from the older women in the family! The marriage was agreed between families and was regarded as an alliance between the two families for mutual help and protection. The girl herself had little to say in the matter.

The Dowry

Dowry

The bride brought cloth of linen and wool, a spinning wheel, a loom and a bed as part of her dowry. Women from richer families could also have jewelry of silver and gold, farm animals and even farms as a part of their dowry. Everything she brought into the marriage remained her personal property and did not fully become part of her husband's estate. Her children would in turn inherit this property as part of their maternal inheritance.

Divorce

The woman did not fully become part of her husband's family when she married. She continued to be a part of her own family and if her husband mistreated her and the children, or he was too lazy to be a good provider or insulted her family, she could divorce him. To do it she called some witnesses. In front of these witnesses she first at the front door, and then at the couple's bed, declared herself divorced from her husband.

The Children

Babies and toddlers automatically stayed with their mother following a divorce. The bigger children were divided between the parents according to the wealth and status of the two families.

With her right to property, inheritance, and divorce, a Misku'un woman has more legal rights than most women elsewhere on the continent. Children were also protected by law as members of the family, and their rights to inheritance even after a divorce.

The poorer people

At the smaller farms the systems with men's work and women's work were less strict. With no servants and slaves, everybody had to contribute what they could for the survival of the family in the harsh northern climate.

The Slaves

Slaves had no legal rights except as property of the owner. They could be bought and sold and the slave-owner could treat them as he or she pleased. If a slave-owner killed one of his own slaves it was not regarded as murder. If a free-man killed a slave belonging to someone else he had to pay the price of a slave as a compensation. The price would be about the same as for a farm animal.

When a woman slave had a child it became the property of her owner. If she was sold while pregnant, the child would become the property of her new owner.

Communities:

Weight was given equally to people that were considered adults, and in times of decision making would hold a Thing (a Thing)).

Societal norms/expectations:

Courteous, a grudge can be deadly and should always be avoided

Misku'un society is governed less by law than by a strict code of humility: nobody is to think themselves special, or better than the group, or owed anything by it.

Some of the younger generations are branching into Garshallan ideas and are much more upspoken and “bragardly” in comparison.

Legends of fantastical beasts/myths:

The Gallagos: A tale of a great king or divinity that used to rule the frigid mountains, but had fallen in love with the sun. It is an epic with the likes of the ring operatic cycle for inspiration that describes the forlorn history of the area, and can potentially highlight other tenets of Misku'un life.

The lonely cloud: A more fantastical take on the mistwalkers that roam the area, depicted as either presents or children of a divinity that lives in the sky to the divinity that lives in the hot underground, forever kept apart.