Post by Dunwik on Mar 20, 2023 21:05:03 GMT
Overview:
The Eternal Burning Path To The Pure Land (nastaj-sataax-suluun delxii-Sajn), otherwise known as the Skyfire (gal-tengr) Theokhanate, is a hypermilitarized polity consisting of nomadic horse archers and centaurs located within a large, cool steppe, surrounding a holy site of a massive supervolcano.
Demographics:
Population: 850,000
200,000 xunmore
650,000 humans
Name: Gantengr, or xun-Sajn
Plural: Galtengr, or xun-Sajn
Demonym: Galtengri, or xun-Sajni.
Faith
The Burning Path (sataax-suluun-bi) (to burn the self straight) is the center of the Theokhanate, the foundational myth and ultimate aspiration of the people within it. To understand the Path, one must understand Galtengr cosmology.
The Galtengr believe that creation is the result of a great war between an all-good being (bux-sajn) and the evil being of sin (bux-dukhar). The material world (delxii-Dukhar) is a creation of the bux-Dukhar and mortal life is agonizing and bleak as a reflection of the vile nature of this creation. The bux-Sajn is equally matched to the bux-Dukhar and cannot directly appear within the world, because the bux-Dukhar is most powerful in its own land and creation. The secret mystery is that the bux-sajn is immeasurable, and infinite and unnameable, and has no limits or defined boundaries. The sajn leads those out from the System of Things and fights to allow escape, but this is only for the benefit of those within the system.
However, within the evil of the world is the capacity for escape, otherwise known as Extinguishment (found at the end of the satax-suluun-bi). This comes from recognizing the Great Lie of the bux-Dukhar and relinquishing all attachment to the material world through walking the paths of good action, judgement, view, speech, thought, acceptance, or the Noble Sixfold Way.
Souls that are not Extinguished will be reborn within the material world, and the power the bux-Dukhar holds over their body and mind will fluctuate depending on the good or bad deeds committed in life. A sinful being (one who perpetuates the Dukhar, the Great Lie of the material world) has given more power to the bux-Dukhar and is in turn tormented by it, with subsequent lives being agonizing, limited, and miserable, eventually turning into animals or wretches. Whereas a virtuous being is instead brought closer to Extinguishment and given more to the bux-Sajn. Those who are virtuous are reborn in nobler forms, eventually becoming the xunmore race before achieving Extinguishment and vanishing from the Great Lie altogether and living in eternal unity with the bux-Sajn. Speaking or writing the true name of an Extinguished one is considered a terrible evil, as it may tie them back to the world of the delxii-Dukhar.
Devouring a living thing will take up part of its soul into the body, and may bring that energy across even the barrier between worlds and into the Pure Land. There are no dietary restrictions upon the followers of the bux-Sajn, and devouring the unfaithful is not only allowed but encouraged.
The ultimate and explicit goal of the Galtengr state is to bring Extinguishment to the entirety of the delxii-Dukhar, and then destroy it so all who remain would be forced to the realm of the bux-Sajn, annihilating the power of the bux-Duhkar and allowing for eternal light and goodness to shine through the universe forever.
Powerful Spirits:
The bux-Dukhar is the lord of the material world and so does not need spirits to intervene on its behalf, instead directly appearing in a variety of guises. It takes many beautiful appearances, but the most famous among the Galtengri people as the people, king, and land of the Koronguul. This is a gigantic mountain of shining gold, where it rains precious gemstones and the glaciers and ice are the finest of wines. Everyone there is beautiful in an unspeakable, ethereal way, and live forever, looking like perfect marble sculptures. However, the Koronguul is a horrific, agonizing trap. Eating or drinking anything there perpetuates the Dukhar and all the agony it entails. The rains of gemstones are razor-sharp and flay flesh from bones, the wines are so sickly sweet that a single sip will cause someone to plunge headlong into the rivers and drown, and following those people turns you into one of them, gradually calcifying and in unspeakable pain as you are turned into a statue for eternity.
The bux-Sajn, by contrast, cannot directly enter the world of the delxii-Dukhar, and so must empower mighty Extinguished to re-enter the world and bring the sataax-suluun-bi to the people of the world, or to defend the path from those who wish to propagate the Dukhar. These spirits are called the galsuuvu, and appear as gigantic scaled vultures that breathe purifying flame and reduce all they gaze upon to ash. The mightiest of the galsuuvu is usually referred to as the cagaan-galsuuvu, and it is the pure white embodiment of death, tearing souls from their bodies and ferrying the worthy to the Pure Land, or otherwise delivering bodies from the suffering of old age to try again in the material world. Vultures are the children of the galsuuvu and are regarded as holy creatures, because they remove the last traces of the old life.
Dukhar:
Understanding, identifying, and destroying Dukhar is the core tenet of the sataax-saluun-bi, but the word Dukhar defies translation. Broadly speaking, the word has been translated as stress, dissatisfaction, suffering, entropy, or dying (but not death). Birth into the world of the delxii-Dukhar is the origin of Dukhar, and death is at most a temporary reprieve from Dukhar until rebirth. Dukhar is aging, Dukhar is pain, Dukhar is sadness, not getting what is wanted, grief, and loss. Dukhar is starvation, and emptiness, loneliness and fear. So long as one engages with the delxii-Dukhar, one is experiencing and propagating Dukhar and empowering and under the power of the bux-Dukhar. Extinguishment, and thus union with the bux-Sadj and the end of not only Dukhar but even the bux-Dukhar, comes through the Sixfold path and the relinquishment of all attachment to the material world.
Mantras, Hymns, and Prayers
The Galtengr do not have many recorded prayers, with their storytelling being primarily oral, the precise details of what it is they pray of shifts slightly with time and location, but their faith is mutually intelligible across the entire Theokhanate, and the same basic principles are adhered to. One of these statements is the practice of right speech, which is meant to say many things. Speech that is honest, speech that is clear, correct, respectful, concise, understanding of the Dukhar, good to the bux-Sadj, unifying of the people and quelling all arguments between the faithful is good speech. The importance of speech, as the means of conveying the sataax-saluun-bi is tantamount to the continued existence of the faith and is strictly observed. Many chants and mantras are oft repeated at various points in one's life. On birth, the parents of the child will crowd around him or her, and speak the following:
"May this be the last birth, may this one escape the bux-Dukhar, may there be nothing for this one in the delxii-Dukhar."
If the dying are aware of their incoming death, traditional final words are as follows:
"My births have ended, the sataax-saluun-bi end here. The holy life is done. The delxii-Dukhar has nothing left for me."
This mantra is often chanted shortly before battles, alongside a much simpler, more rhythmic chant of the words "Extinguishment, fire, death" repeated.
Shortly after death, those closest to them will gather around the site that they burned and speak the following:
"May this be the last death, may this one have escaped the delxii-Dukhar, may this one live now with the bux-Sadj."
If many have perished at a single site, such as a battlefield, a priest or leader will instead say:
"May these be their final deaths, may these ones live with the bux-Sadj, may the delxii-Dukhar hold no sway over them."
Creatures And Features Of The Land
The most famous creatures of the Galtengr Theokhanate are known as the xunmore. These are hybrid quadrepedal, centaur-like beings. They are compact creatures that stand at about 13 hands to the intersection of man and horse, of dark fur, their human parts also covered in thick fur. Only their hands are bare, open skin. They have different tooth and jaw structures to humans, with a pronounced, catlike mouth and teeth. The human torso is on a ball-and-socket joint and may swivel about, able to point almost backwards and behind their horse body. There is almost no sexual dimorphism in the xunmore, with males and females of similar sizes and builds. The females, however, have longer ears and fuller tails, and possess a form of scent gland absent in the males. A pregnant xunmore female is capable of a full gallop.
The xunmore are obligate carnivores and so most of their body is dominated by a massive cardiovascular system, except for a large pouch which can be used to eat, drink, and store a prodigious quantity of food or water. While they are usually endurance runners and slightly slower than most horses, they are capable of sprinting at extreme speed for a brief time. With thick vocal cords and massive lungs, the xunmore are capable of making loud, powerful bellowing noises that can carry for miles. The xunmore are also stronger than humans, albeit not by a tremendous degree.
The xunmore age rapidly into adulthood after birth and are capable of running at only a few weeks old. While their aging is slow between the ages of five and forty, beyond their fortieth year they rapidly senesce and then die. It is rare for any to survive past 50. Xunmore births are relatively swift and painless. The most common cause of premature death, aside from death from wild animals or combat, are gastrointestinal difficulties or cardiac arrest.
Horses in the Galtengri Theokhanate are small, durable, and hardy creatures in great abundance. It is believed that the xunmore are the product of man and horse, for the xunmore, men, and horses of the Theokhanate all have dark hair, squat, stocky builds, and tremendous endurance.
The other most famous creatures of the Galtengr Theokhanate's homeland are the vultures, which are great, grey-to-sandy colored birds that devour everything of a corpse, even the bones, and flock in huge swarms. Their presence holds powerful ritual significane to the Theokhanate.
The Theokhanate is a harsh and sparse land, with food hard to come by and shelter from the strong winds almost nonexistent. Death from exposure, especially in the winter, is an ever-lurking threat.
The Way Of Life
The Galtengr are nomadic horse herders that move from place to place. They do not have any permanent settlements except for a great holy site upon the giant volcano, where they make ritual sacrifices. Those at the end of their life often make pilgrimage to this place, so they may hurl themselves into the volcano.
Humans within the Galtengr learn to ride horses and shoot bows from an early age, while the xunmore specialize more in archery and combat. Humans of exceptionally high valor are given the honor of riding the xunmore, but the xunmore hold a superior position in society. When a human rides a xunmore, it is the xunmore who chooses where to go, with the human merely a passenger. The Galtengr are almost wholly illiterate and do not have a standard currency, making trades by barter. They in fact abhor gold and coins, and destroy such things whenever they find them, believing them to be propagating the Dukhar. The majority of calories consumed by the Galtengr come from their horses, either in the form of meat, blood, or milk. Devouring sentient creatures is common and the Galtengri frequently raid surrounding nations to haul back captives and burn settlements.
The Galtengr intensively train both to hunt and fight as soldiers, and their society mostly revolves around war. Shamans and leaders are the minority compared to the herders and warriors. The Galtengri almost always carry at least two bows and many quivers of arrows while on the hunt. Masters of archers and the nomadic cavalryman way of warfare, they supplement this with slave soldiers from neighboring polities and a vicious cunning. The Galtengri principally wear leather or felt armors, but the more wealthy among them have metal armor as well.
Those within the Galtengr state have a curious enchantment upon them, where on death they spontaneously burst into flames and burn away to nothing, not even ash. The more powerful, revered, intelligent, pious, or successful one is, the brighter, hotter, and faster they burn.
The most popular Galtengri sport is known as race-archery, where a series of painted targets are set up along a predetermined trail. Competitors will be given arrows with colored bands tied around the base of them, and a band of similar color will then be tied to their shooting arm. Competitors will either ride horses, or, if they are xunmore, run through the trail, firing arrows at the targets. Then, once everyone has rode through, a judge will inspect each target, and see who shot closest to the middle. Whoever has the most arrows closest to the center wins.
Military Organization & Political Structure
The Galtengri arrange themselves on the most holy duodecimal system. Each group of twelve - usually a family or two families, elects a single representative to serve in a higher order. This group of twelve congregates and elects the greatest of them for the rank higher, and so on until the elusive Theokhan is selected through the will of the eleven beneath him. Each representative is still only first among equals and while there is no written code of law, it is considered a sign of poor rulership to disregard the council of one's immediate inferiors.
The military is equally divided into hierarchical duodecimal units, with a squadron of 12 the most basic unit. Above them are larger groups of 144, 1728, 3456, etc... warriors. A group may split in half, thirds, quarters, or sixths to cover more territory, examine something unusual, bait out an attack, or otherwise exist. The organization is chaotic and ever-shifting in practice as collections of squadrons spread out, ravage the land, and return carrying flesh and skulls to their superiors.
The exception to this are the religious entities, which do not segregate themselves into any numerological unit. Priests go where they wish by the virtue of various signs, omens, dreams, portents, or because someone requested their assistance. One could find a Galtengri priest anywhere and their presence would not be confusing. They abhor - more than any other Galtengri - stillness, and their itinerancy is something of nigh-mythological status.
Economy:
As previously stated, the Galtengri are nomadic herders who move about a broad expanse of steppe, and rarely call the same site home for more than a few weeks. They herd horses and are so intertwined with the animal, some men spend their entire lives in the saddle, dismounting only to defecate, sleep, or procreate. Incapable of metalworking, the Galtengri view such objects with equal parts disdain and reluctant adoption. Many a Galtengri will steal metal weapons or armor, use them, and ritually destroy them when their use is unnecessary. However, the Galtengri are master bowyers and unparalleled in the field of leatherworking. Most Galtengri have a bow they made themselves and are adorned in leather clothing.
The Eternal Burning Path To The Pure Land (nastaj-sataax-suluun delxii-Sajn), otherwise known as the Skyfire (gal-tengr) Theokhanate, is a hypermilitarized polity consisting of nomadic horse archers and centaurs located within a large, cool steppe, surrounding a holy site of a massive supervolcano.
Demographics:
Population: 850,000
200,000 xunmore
650,000 humans
Name: Gantengr, or xun-Sajn
Plural: Galtengr, or xun-Sajn
Demonym: Galtengri, or xun-Sajni.
Faith
The Burning Path (sataax-suluun-bi) (to burn the self straight) is the center of the Theokhanate, the foundational myth and ultimate aspiration of the people within it. To understand the Path, one must understand Galtengr cosmology.
The Galtengr believe that creation is the result of a great war between an all-good being (bux-sajn) and the evil being of sin (bux-dukhar). The material world (delxii-Dukhar) is a creation of the bux-Dukhar and mortal life is agonizing and bleak as a reflection of the vile nature of this creation. The bux-Sajn is equally matched to the bux-Dukhar and cannot directly appear within the world, because the bux-Dukhar is most powerful in its own land and creation. The secret mystery is that the bux-sajn is immeasurable, and infinite and unnameable, and has no limits or defined boundaries. The sajn leads those out from the System of Things and fights to allow escape, but this is only for the benefit of those within the system.
However, within the evil of the world is the capacity for escape, otherwise known as Extinguishment (found at the end of the satax-suluun-bi). This comes from recognizing the Great Lie of the bux-Dukhar and relinquishing all attachment to the material world through walking the paths of good action, judgement, view, speech, thought, acceptance, or the Noble Sixfold Way.
Souls that are not Extinguished will be reborn within the material world, and the power the bux-Dukhar holds over their body and mind will fluctuate depending on the good or bad deeds committed in life. A sinful being (one who perpetuates the Dukhar, the Great Lie of the material world) has given more power to the bux-Dukhar and is in turn tormented by it, with subsequent lives being agonizing, limited, and miserable, eventually turning into animals or wretches. Whereas a virtuous being is instead brought closer to Extinguishment and given more to the bux-Sajn. Those who are virtuous are reborn in nobler forms, eventually becoming the xunmore race before achieving Extinguishment and vanishing from the Great Lie altogether and living in eternal unity with the bux-Sajn. Speaking or writing the true name of an Extinguished one is considered a terrible evil, as it may tie them back to the world of the delxii-Dukhar.
Devouring a living thing will take up part of its soul into the body, and may bring that energy across even the barrier between worlds and into the Pure Land. There are no dietary restrictions upon the followers of the bux-Sajn, and devouring the unfaithful is not only allowed but encouraged.
The ultimate and explicit goal of the Galtengr state is to bring Extinguishment to the entirety of the delxii-Dukhar, and then destroy it so all who remain would be forced to the realm of the bux-Sajn, annihilating the power of the bux-Duhkar and allowing for eternal light and goodness to shine through the universe forever.
Powerful Spirits:
The bux-Dukhar is the lord of the material world and so does not need spirits to intervene on its behalf, instead directly appearing in a variety of guises. It takes many beautiful appearances, but the most famous among the Galtengri people as the people, king, and land of the Koronguul. This is a gigantic mountain of shining gold, where it rains precious gemstones and the glaciers and ice are the finest of wines. Everyone there is beautiful in an unspeakable, ethereal way, and live forever, looking like perfect marble sculptures. However, the Koronguul is a horrific, agonizing trap. Eating or drinking anything there perpetuates the Dukhar and all the agony it entails. The rains of gemstones are razor-sharp and flay flesh from bones, the wines are so sickly sweet that a single sip will cause someone to plunge headlong into the rivers and drown, and following those people turns you into one of them, gradually calcifying and in unspeakable pain as you are turned into a statue for eternity.
The bux-Sajn, by contrast, cannot directly enter the world of the delxii-Dukhar, and so must empower mighty Extinguished to re-enter the world and bring the sataax-suluun-bi to the people of the world, or to defend the path from those who wish to propagate the Dukhar. These spirits are called the galsuuvu, and appear as gigantic scaled vultures that breathe purifying flame and reduce all they gaze upon to ash. The mightiest of the galsuuvu is usually referred to as the cagaan-galsuuvu, and it is the pure white embodiment of death, tearing souls from their bodies and ferrying the worthy to the Pure Land, or otherwise delivering bodies from the suffering of old age to try again in the material world. Vultures are the children of the galsuuvu and are regarded as holy creatures, because they remove the last traces of the old life.
Dukhar:
Understanding, identifying, and destroying Dukhar is the core tenet of the sataax-saluun-bi, but the word Dukhar defies translation. Broadly speaking, the word has been translated as stress, dissatisfaction, suffering, entropy, or dying (but not death). Birth into the world of the delxii-Dukhar is the origin of Dukhar, and death is at most a temporary reprieve from Dukhar until rebirth. Dukhar is aging, Dukhar is pain, Dukhar is sadness, not getting what is wanted, grief, and loss. Dukhar is starvation, and emptiness, loneliness and fear. So long as one engages with the delxii-Dukhar, one is experiencing and propagating Dukhar and empowering and under the power of the bux-Dukhar. Extinguishment, and thus union with the bux-Sadj and the end of not only Dukhar but even the bux-Dukhar, comes through the Sixfold path and the relinquishment of all attachment to the material world.
Mantras, Hymns, and Prayers
The Galtengr do not have many recorded prayers, with their storytelling being primarily oral, the precise details of what it is they pray of shifts slightly with time and location, but their faith is mutually intelligible across the entire Theokhanate, and the same basic principles are adhered to. One of these statements is the practice of right speech, which is meant to say many things. Speech that is honest, speech that is clear, correct, respectful, concise, understanding of the Dukhar, good to the bux-Sadj, unifying of the people and quelling all arguments between the faithful is good speech. The importance of speech, as the means of conveying the sataax-saluun-bi is tantamount to the continued existence of the faith and is strictly observed. Many chants and mantras are oft repeated at various points in one's life. On birth, the parents of the child will crowd around him or her, and speak the following:
"May this be the last birth, may this one escape the bux-Dukhar, may there be nothing for this one in the delxii-Dukhar."
If the dying are aware of their incoming death, traditional final words are as follows:
"My births have ended, the sataax-saluun-bi end here. The holy life is done. The delxii-Dukhar has nothing left for me."
This mantra is often chanted shortly before battles, alongside a much simpler, more rhythmic chant of the words "Extinguishment, fire, death" repeated.
Shortly after death, those closest to them will gather around the site that they burned and speak the following:
"May this be the last death, may this one have escaped the delxii-Dukhar, may this one live now with the bux-Sadj."
If many have perished at a single site, such as a battlefield, a priest or leader will instead say:
"May these be their final deaths, may these ones live with the bux-Sadj, may the delxii-Dukhar hold no sway over them."
Creatures And Features Of The Land
The most famous creatures of the Galtengr Theokhanate are known as the xunmore. These are hybrid quadrepedal, centaur-like beings. They are compact creatures that stand at about 13 hands to the intersection of man and horse, of dark fur, their human parts also covered in thick fur. Only their hands are bare, open skin. They have different tooth and jaw structures to humans, with a pronounced, catlike mouth and teeth. The human torso is on a ball-and-socket joint and may swivel about, able to point almost backwards and behind their horse body. There is almost no sexual dimorphism in the xunmore, with males and females of similar sizes and builds. The females, however, have longer ears and fuller tails, and possess a form of scent gland absent in the males. A pregnant xunmore female is capable of a full gallop.
The xunmore are obligate carnivores and so most of their body is dominated by a massive cardiovascular system, except for a large pouch which can be used to eat, drink, and store a prodigious quantity of food or water. While they are usually endurance runners and slightly slower than most horses, they are capable of sprinting at extreme speed for a brief time. With thick vocal cords and massive lungs, the xunmore are capable of making loud, powerful bellowing noises that can carry for miles. The xunmore are also stronger than humans, albeit not by a tremendous degree.
The xunmore age rapidly into adulthood after birth and are capable of running at only a few weeks old. While their aging is slow between the ages of five and forty, beyond their fortieth year they rapidly senesce and then die. It is rare for any to survive past 50. Xunmore births are relatively swift and painless. The most common cause of premature death, aside from death from wild animals or combat, are gastrointestinal difficulties or cardiac arrest.
Horses in the Galtengri Theokhanate are small, durable, and hardy creatures in great abundance. It is believed that the xunmore are the product of man and horse, for the xunmore, men, and horses of the Theokhanate all have dark hair, squat, stocky builds, and tremendous endurance.
The other most famous creatures of the Galtengr Theokhanate's homeland are the vultures, which are great, grey-to-sandy colored birds that devour everything of a corpse, even the bones, and flock in huge swarms. Their presence holds powerful ritual significane to the Theokhanate.
The Theokhanate is a harsh and sparse land, with food hard to come by and shelter from the strong winds almost nonexistent. Death from exposure, especially in the winter, is an ever-lurking threat.
The Way Of Life
The Galtengr are nomadic horse herders that move from place to place. They do not have any permanent settlements except for a great holy site upon the giant volcano, where they make ritual sacrifices. Those at the end of their life often make pilgrimage to this place, so they may hurl themselves into the volcano.
Humans within the Galtengr learn to ride horses and shoot bows from an early age, while the xunmore specialize more in archery and combat. Humans of exceptionally high valor are given the honor of riding the xunmore, but the xunmore hold a superior position in society. When a human rides a xunmore, it is the xunmore who chooses where to go, with the human merely a passenger. The Galtengr are almost wholly illiterate and do not have a standard currency, making trades by barter. They in fact abhor gold and coins, and destroy such things whenever they find them, believing them to be propagating the Dukhar. The majority of calories consumed by the Galtengr come from their horses, either in the form of meat, blood, or milk. Devouring sentient creatures is common and the Galtengri frequently raid surrounding nations to haul back captives and burn settlements.
The Galtengr intensively train both to hunt and fight as soldiers, and their society mostly revolves around war. Shamans and leaders are the minority compared to the herders and warriors. The Galtengri almost always carry at least two bows and many quivers of arrows while on the hunt. Masters of archers and the nomadic cavalryman way of warfare, they supplement this with slave soldiers from neighboring polities and a vicious cunning. The Galtengri principally wear leather or felt armors, but the more wealthy among them have metal armor as well.
Those within the Galtengr state have a curious enchantment upon them, where on death they spontaneously burst into flames and burn away to nothing, not even ash. The more powerful, revered, intelligent, pious, or successful one is, the brighter, hotter, and faster they burn.
The most popular Galtengri sport is known as race-archery, where a series of painted targets are set up along a predetermined trail. Competitors will be given arrows with colored bands tied around the base of them, and a band of similar color will then be tied to their shooting arm. Competitors will either ride horses, or, if they are xunmore, run through the trail, firing arrows at the targets. Then, once everyone has rode through, a judge will inspect each target, and see who shot closest to the middle. Whoever has the most arrows closest to the center wins.
Military Organization & Political Structure
The Galtengri arrange themselves on the most holy duodecimal system. Each group of twelve - usually a family or two families, elects a single representative to serve in a higher order. This group of twelve congregates and elects the greatest of them for the rank higher, and so on until the elusive Theokhan is selected through the will of the eleven beneath him. Each representative is still only first among equals and while there is no written code of law, it is considered a sign of poor rulership to disregard the council of one's immediate inferiors.
The military is equally divided into hierarchical duodecimal units, with a squadron of 12 the most basic unit. Above them are larger groups of 144, 1728, 3456, etc... warriors. A group may split in half, thirds, quarters, or sixths to cover more territory, examine something unusual, bait out an attack, or otherwise exist. The organization is chaotic and ever-shifting in practice as collections of squadrons spread out, ravage the land, and return carrying flesh and skulls to their superiors.
The exception to this are the religious entities, which do not segregate themselves into any numerological unit. Priests go where they wish by the virtue of various signs, omens, dreams, portents, or because someone requested their assistance. One could find a Galtengri priest anywhere and their presence would not be confusing. They abhor - more than any other Galtengri - stillness, and their itinerancy is something of nigh-mythological status.
Economy:
As previously stated, the Galtengri are nomadic herders who move about a broad expanse of steppe, and rarely call the same site home for more than a few weeks. They herd horses and are so intertwined with the animal, some men spend their entire lives in the saddle, dismounting only to defecate, sleep, or procreate. Incapable of metalworking, the Galtengri view such objects with equal parts disdain and reluctant adoption. Many a Galtengri will steal metal weapons or armor, use them, and ritually destroy them when their use is unnecessary. However, the Galtengri are master bowyers and unparalleled in the field of leatherworking. Most Galtengri have a bow they made themselves and are adorned in leather clothing.