Outriders

The Outriders refers to a group of nomadic peoples who roam the war-torn continent of Estahiir. In contrast to the much more numerous city-dwellers, Outriders welcome outsiders with open arms, see no benefit in clinging to the past, and are advocates of peace over constant warfare. In many ways, they are a counter-culture, though many cultural practices found in the cities also occur in the Outrider caravans, albeit sometimes in a different light.

History
Already shortly after the fall of the last Estahiiri imperial dynasty, there were individuals who resented the splintering of the old empire’s territory and the civil wars it fueled. As more and more traders flocked to the cities for protection from opposing military forces and bandits, the acquisition of goods become more difficult for city-states. This is where a group of people from the bottom rungs of society in one of the cities bordering the Badlands saw opportunity. Together, they departed the city, which was happy to be rid of them.

By venturing into the inhospitable, uninhabited Badlands region, they were safe from most of the dangers that plagued the roads of Estahiir. More importantly, it was a place of peace and quiet, away from the constant warfare. In order to sustain themselves, the group started visiting other cities bordering the region where they traded some of their belongings for supplies. Over time, they started peddling goods between cities. Most cities were wary of the outcasts, but did not dare eschew their business.

The group gained a reputation as honorable traders that sought to maintain its independence and neutrality at all costs. As word traveled around the cities where the Outriders did business, like-minded individuals started leaving the cities to join up. Exile suddenly was not as bad a punishment anymore, knowing that the Outriders were out there and accepted fellow outcasts into their ranks. This increase in numbers allowed the Outriders to split into multiple caravans, each large enough to hold their own against any bandits that might cross their paths. In fact, because of the overall decreased road traffic, many bandit groups folded into the Outriders because it was more profitable to join them than to attack them.

Eventually, Outrider trade expanded southwards as well. No longer reliant on the protection offered by the Badlands, some caravans sought to do business with the wealthier cities of the south, using their neutral position as a means of avoiding confrontations with military forces in the area. In modern-day Estahiir, the Outriders conduct business all over the continent, though most still operate around the Badlands area.

Caravans
Despite its origin as a group of lowlife outcasts, the Outriders are perhaps the most important cog in the machine that is the Estahiiri economy as a whole. They are the only organization willing and capable of conducting trade across the continent. Unsurprisingly, this has molded the Outriders into excellent tradesmen and artisans, though a few of their numbers still practice more martial trades.

The core of an Outrider caravan is usually made up out of a handful of families. These families typically have been with the caravan for generations, and provide the caravan with the leadership of an Elder. The Elder does not always have to be the oldest person in the caravan because natural charisma and skill as a trader also matter greatly, but the mantle is usually taken by an older man or woman from one of the main families. New blood is added through exchanges with other caravans for marital or profession-related reasons, or by adopting new outcasts from the cities into the caravan, who usually end up staying and marrying into one of the families.

Caravans operate in three regions of Estahiir. The vast majority operate in the Badlands area, conducting trade between the northern city-states and the warzone that is central Estahiir. Artisanship thrives within the northern caravans, converting raw materials to luxury goods adored by the ancient clans of the north. In addition, these trade routes pass Outrider camps in the Badlands where precious metals and gems are mined. As such, these caravans are in a perfect position to resupply warring city-states or even cities under siege, for a price of course. Attacking a caravan looking to trade with a besieged city is considered both dishonorable and a tactical blunder, as doing so would force the Outriders to stop trading with the attackers altogether.

Less than a quarter of the caravans operate in the south, but the ones that do are some of the most wealthy merchants in the entire Outrider community. They rely solely on peddling goods from one city to another, forgoing the production of goods common in the northern caravans. Because they get more exiles from the densely populated South, these caravans typically have the best warriors. Finally, there is a single caravan that travels along the western coast of the continent, on the other side of the western mountain range. It is an extraordinarily long journey and not a profitable one at all, but the people of this caravan do it in support of the many monasteries that dot this sparsely inhabited area.

Outrider Tattoos
Tattoos are an integral part of Estahiiri culture. They are used in the cities as a means of identifying one’s origins, and this is no different in Outrider culture. An individual born in an Outrider caravan will have a tattoo placed somewhere on their upper body. Exiles from the cities get theirs as soon as they are approved by an Elder to become part of their caravan. All Outrider tattoos are shaped like a five-pointed star, but the exact style and shape are different for each individual caravan. In the case of a former city-dweller, the star-shaped Outrider tattoo is attached to the old city tattoo.

Because tattoo ink is much easier to acquire as an Outrider, their caravans contain some of the best tattoo artists in all of Estahiir. Some wealthy city-dwellers even take pride in having a tattoo inked by one of these famous inkmasters.

Encampments
No caravan stays in one place for too long, instead making their homes in tents that can easily be packed up and loaded onto carts or horseback. However, some places that are more or less permanently inhabited by Outriders do exist. Several oases in the Badlands are frequently used as campsites for the northern caravans traversing the dusty plains, to the point where it is not uncommon for one caravan to meet another at such a place. Perhaps the most important sites of permanent habitation are those at mining sites. Here, the camps have taken on a more permanent nature, with some mines even boasting habitats hewn into the rocks. Miners typically stay in their small mining community all their lives, but are free to rejoin a caravan at any time.

Herbalism and Cuisine
Another prominent profession within the Outrider caravans is practicing herbalism. The nomadic nature of the Outriders makes it easy to gather ingredients. These ingredients are combined into herbal remedies, refined spices, potions, and poultices that fetch good trades in the cities. The caravans are much more in tune with nature than Estahiiri who have never left the confines of their stone cities, resulting in much better survival skills on the whole.

Another aspect of Outrider herbalism is expressed in their cuisine. Where food in the cities is bland and unvaried, the caravans have access to an assortment of spices and flavors rivaled only by that of the wealthiest households in the cities. Cooking is usually done in large pots that can feed the entire caravan. The heat of both the Badlands and the southern jungles necessitates the use of spices to keep food fresh for extended periods of time in the absence of dedicated cool storage areas.

The Wandering City
Tracing its origins back all the way to the group of outcasts that founded the Outriders, the Wandering City is by far the largest of all Outrider caravans. It contains dozens of families and is a sight to behold. Many of the finest artisans, herbalists, warriors, and priests call this caravan home. The Wandering City conducts trade between every city bordering the Badlands, never straying too far from the red sands they call home. When the caravan is set up outside of a stationary city, it looks as if the city has doubled or in some cases even tripled in size.

Stargazing
In terms of religion, the Outriders believe that all beings in the Celestial Temple are equal. As such, they place a much larger emphasis on the worship of the Kowithu than city-dwellers do. A common religious practice for Kowithu priests is to discern meaning from the stars themselves, which are thought to be physical representations of the enigmatic denizens of the Celestial Temple much like the sun represents Komaris and the moon represents Maramel. By studying the constellations and overhead movement of the stars, these priests claim to get visions or flashes of inspiration or clarity that help them solve a problem or a mystery, which they use to help the caravan as a whole. The Badlands are an excellent area for this practice because they are dominated by clear night skies. Because of this, the area has been declared sacred by Kowithu priests.

Sea of Lights
The Sea of Lights is a religious holiday that occurs every 10th New Moon, when only the Kowithu inhabit the Celestial Temple and Maramel is nowhere to be seen. It is dedicated to thanking the Kowithu for their blessings, but is also a holiday of love. In preparation of the holiday, everyone in the caravan gets together and prepares a lantern. On the cusp of night with a New Moon in the sky, individual couples leave the caravan with their lanterns lit, seeking a spot to pitch their tent. Those who are single remain to guard the main camp and mingle among themselves. Parents of young children may choose to have them come along, or place them in the care of those at the main camp. Because the lanterns offer an easy way to track where everyone is, the main camp is usually placed on an elevated location for the Sea of Lights.

From dusk until dawn, the couples have a good time together. They eat, drink, and sing songs underneath the stars. It is believed that women have a higher chance to get pregnant on this night, leading to many couples taking advantage of this fact. Because the singletons all stay at the main camp, it is not uncommon for there to be more couples after a Sea of Lights celebration than before.

Gathering of Elders
Perhaps the most grandiose of all festivals in Estahiir is the Gathering of Elders. This event only takes place once every 5 years and is, unlike many other Estahiiri holidays, not linked to the natural cycles of any celestial body. The festival itself sees all Outrider caravans in Estahiir travel to the interior of the Badlands, where the Wandering City will have already set up its many tents. For seven days and seven nights, it hosts a festival of food, drink, music, and dance for the entire Outrider Community. Because all caravans are in one place during this week, it serves as the primary means for caravans to find a bride or groom for singles in their families.

The festival takes its name from the other activity this congregation of caravans is used for. All the Elders of the various caravans will convene together to decide nationwide trading strategies for the next 5 years. It is here that new trade routes are considered and requests to split off more caravans or combine others are approved. Trade is also conducted to standardize the inventories of the caravans, with any excess being available for use in the ongoing festivities.