Taghbachli Lore 'n Stuff

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Religion
The Taghbachites could be described as animistic and shamanist, although in place of many gods they worship only one- the Tangra, the supreme sky deity and parent of the universe. While the shamans also attempt to work with and contact various nature spirits, commonly viewed as inhabiting rivers, lakes, and other important landmarks and objects, all veneration is reserved for the Tangra. Foreign deities and heroes, such as Mergan or Althar, are regarded as children or avatars of the Tangra.

Taghbachites have a three-part conception of the cosmos- Uchmag is the Heavenly realm far above the earth and is the dwelling place of the righteous dead and the Tangra’s demigod offspring; Qumron, the Material plane, is the world where mortals dwell; Tamug, the Underworld, is the dwelling place of cthonic spirits ruled over by Erlik Khan and contains the Plain of Fire where the sinful dead burn for their transgressions before being reborn in Qumron. The Lonely Mountain, called Khan Tangra by Taghbachites, is regarded as the axis mundi connecting the three worlds. Kraken oil, petroleum, and their many related products and substances are regarded with suspicion by the people of Taghbachli because they are thought to seep up from Tamug; some shamans even regard them as the fuel of the Plain of Fire.

Taghbachites regard themselves as the descendants of a great Celestial Wolf, who was brought to the relative safety of the mortal realm by the great warrior Klister, an avatar of the Tangra who battled demons from Tamug to save her and subsequently became frozen in time for one thousand years.

Shamans and their apprentices are the primary holders of magical knowledge among the Taghbachites. In contrast to the more academic, industrialized form of magic found in other parts of the world, Taghbachite spellworking is raw, emotional, subjective, and closely connected to nature. Shamans draw upon magical energy with the help of various rituals; these include inhalation of hallucinogenic fumes from burning herbs, circular dances accompanied by drumbeats (to achieve an ecstatic state of higher consciousness), and divination, including pyromancy and water scrying. Totemic spirit animals, chiefly reindeer, horses, wolves, yaks, and foxes, also play a role, and each shaman is required to maintain a close bond with an animal familiar. Some opportunistic shamans sell their services abroad, although they obviously face steep competition from modern technology.

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Society and Culture
The first Khagan of Taghbachli was Kutrak the Lawgiver, who united the disparate clans of the proto-Taghbachites and became the first recipient of the divine Law amidst the chaos and darkness of the 100-Years’ War. Kutrak’s accession to the throne in 52 BR marks the beginning of traditional Taghbachite historiography, but they aren’t attested in the Cikaran Canon until significantly later, owing to their isolation from the rest of the world amidst the plains and forests of northern Lumaria.

The Taghbachite lunisolar calendar’s reference year is 52 BR (so 1384 AR would be transcribed as Year 1436, and so on). The months of the Taghbachite calendar are synodic- derived from full cycles of the lunar phases. In order to account for irregularities, the Taghbachite shamans will occasionally announce the impending arrival of a “wandering day” (leap day); such days are regarded as times when the boundaries between the worlds loosen; this can be either auspicious or dreaded.

The undisputed head of the Taghbachli social order is the Khagan- the blood heir of Kutrak the Lawgiver, inheritor and adjudicator of their Law, and foremost intercessor between the Tagbachli nation and the Tangra. Most Taghbachites belong to a family or ancestral clan of some sort, and it is from the most prestigious of these bloodlines that the Khagan is usually sired. However, it is not unprecedented for the throne to sit silent for extended periods of time if the nation falls into a state of instability or some form of collective moral-spiritual failure, in which case the absence of a Khagan mirrors the absence of the Law in the lives of the Taghbachites. Shamans, as intercessors between worlds, must renounce all clan affiliations when they finish their training and undergo the Ritual of Opening. The Manaschis (wandering Taghbachite bards) also frequently eschew established connections, as do many urban Taghbachites given the ever-changing and dynamic nature of city life.

A majority of Taghbachites engage either in agriculture (mainly on the shores of rivers and lakes) or transhumant pastoralism (herders move with the seasons between the southern steppes and northern forests and tundras). Taghbachli’s cities are small in comparison to the great metropolises of other nations, but they are nevertheless centers of manufacturing, commerce, and culture, as well as stops for weary travellers trekking along the roads through the vast wilderness of Taghbachli (the institution of the caravanserai is vital to Taghbachite conceptions of honor, reciprocity, and hospitality).

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Historiography
The earliest-known attestation of Taghbachites in a foreign source comes from a Prestorean chronicle dating to the early Era of Renewal; it describes them in this way:

“...and much woe comes to us from the terror of the heathen Wolf-Men from the east. They attack settlements mercilessly, plundering anything of value and leaving only burnt cinders and the un-buried dead. They cart off our goods far into savage plains, to the shore of a vast dark lake, where a demon king called the ‘Khagan’ holds court. Few of our nation have seen them [the Khagan] except those taken captive who then escaped (an exceptionally rare feat, for the Wolf-Men see at night as clearly as wild beasts). They say they are in stature and countenance like a wolf standing on two legs (for which their followers worship them and regard them as a sign of divine favor), and that their eyes are like pale yellow fire and gray-white fur covers their body where clothing does not.

But the Khagan is no exception, for all the Wolf-Men we have seen are singularly hideous in nature, bearing the ears, tails, and eyes of a wolf (this is why we have given them the name ‘Wolf-Men’, and also because their own speech is rude and unpronounceable), as if marooned between the state of an animal and a thinking being. The hair on their heads they smear with animal fat so that it stands straight and makes them seem taller than they already are. Their skin is fair to ruddy, and their hair red, blonde, or black. They are exceptionally fond of the color blue, weaving it into their clothes and battle standards, and wearing war paint made of woad. In battle, we have seen them wearing metal hauberks with the texture of scales, and also nasal helms with masks affixed to them. Above all they love the bow, of which they produce a devious and deceptive variety that has brought us much woe- it bends wonderfully and shoots mightily, but is small and composed of layered wood and bone. This, perhaps, is one of the few displays of ingenuity on behalf of the Wolf-Men.

The Wolf-Men are versed neither in proper magic nor in faith, instead rudely approximating the two by way of their priests, who live as outcasts in a nation of outcasts. These priests are said to cover their whole bodies in masses of layered robes and rags and smear their faces with ash and grease; when not throwing curses and hexes in the direction of Prestore, they supposedly spend their days dancing in sick trances around roaring fires, believing this to be a form of communion with their singular god.

Prestore is a mightier nation than the Wolf-Men, and more mighty in mind and arms, and the Wolf-Men know this; they raid only our borders, and never in large formations. We crush them when we can, but do not pursue them to their own lands, for attempting to crush the spirit of the Wolf-Men is akin to catching smoke with one’s hands. We hope that their Khagans in latter days may grow more wise and seek our peace…”

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Notable Tribes of Taghbachli (WIP)

Halayundchaks (extinct/later fate unknown)- The first tribe to claim lordship over all the Taghbachites, the Halayundchaks were descended from Kutrak’s eldest child, Touman, and the many children they sired. Traditionally residing on the steppes in the far northeast of modern-day Taghbachli, the Halayundchaks expanded their holdings rapidly under the stewardship of aggressive, charismatic Khagans, such as Tugar and Manyag. It was under the rule of the fearsome Khonchey the Gray that the Taghbachites first made their presence known to the rest of Lumaria, brutally sacking and pillaging border settlements and capturing foreign dignitaries to hold for ransom. Under Khonchey’s successor, Shyrkan the Sorceror, the Taghbachites began to use their pillaged wealth to construct permanent settlements more akin to cities. However, after a string of inept Khagans, a bloody Interregnum, and a destructive punitive campaign by Prestore, the Halayundchaks fell from grace; they were largely destroyed and scattered in the First Taghbachite Civil War. The tribe is no longer officially recognized, but according to rumors the Halayundchaks still survive in secret amongst the other clans; other apocryphal stories state that they retreated to the Taghbachites’ original place of creation (now lost) and that a Khagan bearing Touman’s blood will return in an hour of need.