Masin

Masin
Capital	None
Ruler	None
Government	Loose tribal associations
Demonym	Masin (tribal preferred)
Adjective	Masin (tribal preferred)
Languages	Wind-Words; Uulam; Eshehi; others
Religions	Largely non-religious

Masin (pronounced MAH-sin) is a region in the Stormlands in the Ilara Plateau, in the highlands between the cordillera of the Amanas and Tcheren mountains. The inhabitants of this frigid terrain are split between many tribes and communities, and define themselves in large part by their independence, especially in contrast to the hierarchical societies in the lowlands to the east and west.

Geography

See also: Ilara Plateau

The people of Masin live on the Ilara Plateau, separated from the rest of the Stormlands by the imposing Amanas and Tcheren mountain ranges. Much of the high-elevation plateau is effectively a cold desert. Rain falls rarely - any precipitation nearly always comes in the form of winter snow - and temperatures can swing wildly, especially from day to night. Summers are short and winters are long. In the south, closer to the Ubaaluu Mountains, snow covers the ground year-round. The average yearly temperature is well below freezing, and considerably far below for much of southern Masin.

Most vegetation in the region comes in the forms of shrubs or grasses well-adapted to the cold, arid climate. Large trees are rare. Still, plant life is considerably more common in the north than in the even colder south.

Ancient, now-dried river beds are common throughout the Ilara Plateau. In the south, where the plateau is the widest, lie the Glassfields, a seemingly endless flat expanse of sharp obsidian.

History

For such a desolate land, Masin has been inhabited for millennia, at least to some degree. Populations on the plateau have never been high, yet the mountains visible from the east and west have always been potent symbols of a sort of peace and freedom lacking elsewhere in the Stormlands, drawing small numbers of peoples to them, whether fleeing conscription and corvee labor in the gunpowder wars of the Oasis, the campaigns of the hobgoblin warlords of Akatzar, or the feuds of the oni of Maukra.

Within the last few hundred years in particular the tribes of Masin have swelled in number. On occasion the oni and the warlords have attempted to cross the mountains and subjugate the tribes, but their remoteness and the rough terrain have led these efforts to failure every time.

Demographics

Humans, hobgoblins, kobolds, and dwarves account for most of the inhabitants of Masin, but over the centuries individuals of other ancestries have arrived from far away as well, all seeking refuge from places wracked by conflict elsewhere in the Stormlands.

Masin tribes and communities are rarely mono-ancestral but there is typically one that accounts for the majority of their population.

Culture

Religion

A few in Masin construct and worship ancestor monoliths or whisper urns, especially in the north closer to Shanidan, but by and large most in the region are non-religious. The people of Masin do not, as a rule, believe or place much stock in anything they cannot see or touch, and so notions of distant deities are broadly rejected by them. Spirits, ghosts, or other entities they can interact with, meanwhile, are recognized and respected, but rarely worshiped, as they are not considered capable of significantly manipulating the physical world.

Society

To a significant degree, the people of Masin define themselves through their differences from, and opposition to, the autocratic societies to their east and west across the mountains. They fully recognize it was by the choices of their ancestors that they are relatively free of subjugation and strife amongst each other, even if they are in constant conflict with the harsh terrain of the Ilara Plateau in a battle to thrive.

Amongst the tribes of Masin, it is seen as rude to refer to somebody by their name unless given explicit permission to do so. Instead, they make heavy use of titles and epithets, as well as descriptions in the third person, even if such appellations are made up on the spot.

Languages

Many languages are spoken in Masin, a factor of the disparate origin of its people. Uulam, Eshehi, Aanar, Ukkarak, and others are all regularly used by different tribes, but communication between tribes almost always involves the use of Wind-Words. This tongue evolved out of a pidgin of all of the above languages, and more, and is quite unique to Masin. Many dialects of Wind-Words can be heard throughout the plateau.

The name "Masin" roughly translates to "people of the wind" in the language of the Wind-Words, as they believe that is what connects them together and drives them across the scoured land.

Architecture, migration, and urbanization

Nearly all of the people of Masin are nomadic, moving between encampments throughout the Ilara Plateau. The permanent settlements that do exist are few in number and quite isolated from each other, and are almost all located in the foothills along the edge of the plateau, nestled against the mountains. Migration patterns tend to be from north to south, with tribes heading north during the winter and returning south during the summer.

Food and cuisine

Agriculture is rare on the plateau - the terrain simply cannot support it to any meaningful level. Instead, the Masin are pastoralist-hunters, tending their herds and gathering vegetables, fruits, and hunting prey when the opportunity arises. There is some variation in Masin, however, with the larger, more northern tribes preferring to focus on their herds and the tribes in the more sparsely populated south relying to a greater degree on hunted game.

The pastoralists of Masin keep herds of giraffe-like creatures called eqep, which are well-adapted to eat from the tops of the hardy scrub trees that grow in the plateau, and are in fact one of the few animals that can digest such foliage. The milk, wool, and meat of the eqep are crucial to life in Masin.

Magic

Skilled mages amongst the Masin have learned to travel vast distances in the form of quiet notes on the wind, which they use to cross the plateau quickly with minimal exposure to its many dangers.

Arts

Lapis lazuli, mined in many places in the plateau but especially in the southern reaches of the Tcheren Mountains, is used by the Masin to produce brilliant blue dyes for both clothing and for paint that they apply to their faces and hands. This paint is widely used to communicate one's intentions, a critical part of social interaction especially between far-flung bands and tribes that may have difficulty conversing in a shared language. Lapis as a dye for clothing, however, is reserved for that worn for special occasions, such as binding ceremonies, funerals, and the elevation of elders. More typical, everyday clothing is made from wool and heavy furs that insulate well from the cold climate.

Burial practices

Many tribes of Masin practice a form of sky burial in which the deceased is laid to rest on the surface in the Glassfields, where they then naturally mummify from the cold temperatures and dry climate.

Government

The people of Masin are loosely organized along tribal lines, but these can be poorly defined at times. Members of a tribe may live across quite vast distances and rarely possess close contact with each other, connected only by messengers who regularly cross the plateau. Leadership of each tribe usually rests, similar to those of Uulam, with councils of elders.