The Nomads of Heraf
Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 12:45 pm
The Nomads of Heraf are a simple group of people with no true permanent home. Heraf is one large group of people with the same religious beliefs and some official laws, relying entirely on morality and honor that varies between tribes. If anyone murdered, committed adultery, stole, or insulted the gods the heads of their nomadic tribe (called "Yats", which means "father" because they are usually the father of a chunk of their tribe) would punish their own way instead. They do not have a true home, however some northern deserts and hilly areas seem to be where they originated and Herafs travel to those deserts in order to collect small magic items.
Instead of a set book and religion the nomads believe in a sprawling, complicated pantheon of thousands of gods, spirits, mythological creatures, legends, and heroes that only a Heraf would be able to recall. This is called the Djekhet Pantheon. Djekhet means "Mountain" or "Hill" in the ancient Heraf language, leading to the belief that they originated in hilly areas of the desert. The well known part of the faith is the belief of two "main" gods: One is called Os-Maat (Oss-Matt), the god of Order, Justice and Death. The other is called At-Heq (At-Heck), god of Freedom, Creation, and Life. They are genderless, and are depicted as such.
They say At-Heq "The Architect" created the world, and Os-Maat "The Engineer" kept it orderly. The two worked together but hated each other. That is until Nun, the eternal darkness, came along and released all the spirits on to the world. The two gods put aside their differences, as Nun was evil and chaotic. It is unclear weather Nun is an evil god, a powerful creature, an unintelligent beast, some kind of inanimate object, or some kind of symbolism for general evils. To battle the bad spirits, Os-Maat brought the dead from the Afterlife and released them to the world to be good spirits. Now spirits come and go from the Afterlife whenever bad spirits are around. This event is called the Great Rebirth.
Herafs believe death is ultimate and unavoidable, and therefore is not evil. But it also must be natural and Os-Maat's choice, so a murderer is chaotic and unnatural and must be punished. Punishments range from banishment to cursing depending on the severity or the Yat's opinion. They practice prayers regularly, believing that all who greatly sin are with Nun. The truly important part is greatly sin- Herafs are largely forgiving of sinners, and are also quite tolerant of other religions not considering them sinners.
A while ago a small group of Heraf nomads lead scholars to try to figure out the origination of the Heraf people. They discovered a large hill they named Moqat, which they believed Herafs had a spiritual or magical bond with. However it was soon realized that the measurements of figuring out the magic in the hill (A small gemstone which glows depending on magical levels, a typical Heraf charm) showed that it continued to light up until they reached the mountains in the north. Despite this, there is some belief that Moqat is the original home of the original Heraf tribes- an argument is brought up that the stone did not glow until they reached Moqat, and maybe the effect stayed for a long time due to the powerful nature of Moqat.
Heraf culture consists of wide, constant migration all over Osiris. Their population has grown and they regularly travel to other fiefdoms. Temporary camps can sometimes be found in the middle of deserts by lucky wanderers, as they can be common. They are merchants, who sell practical things like cloth, milk, and meat, or objects of value like pottery or blessed charms that bring general good luck from the spirits and the gods. They have a system of honor and kindness. For example, one has to pay to travel with them on camel-back, but if they are sick or old or if their Yat likes you they will shelter you for free. They are taught from birth how to be expert shepherds.
Typical Herafs in an encampment, boredly waiting until their Yat gives them something to do.
Herafs outside a small fort built near Moqat, unused
Instead of a set book and religion the nomads believe in a sprawling, complicated pantheon of thousands of gods, spirits, mythological creatures, legends, and heroes that only a Heraf would be able to recall. This is called the Djekhet Pantheon. Djekhet means "Mountain" or "Hill" in the ancient Heraf language, leading to the belief that they originated in hilly areas of the desert. The well known part of the faith is the belief of two "main" gods: One is called Os-Maat (Oss-Matt), the god of Order, Justice and Death. The other is called At-Heq (At-Heck), god of Freedom, Creation, and Life. They are genderless, and are depicted as such.
They say At-Heq "The Architect" created the world, and Os-Maat "The Engineer" kept it orderly. The two worked together but hated each other. That is until Nun, the eternal darkness, came along and released all the spirits on to the world. The two gods put aside their differences, as Nun was evil and chaotic. It is unclear weather Nun is an evil god, a powerful creature, an unintelligent beast, some kind of inanimate object, or some kind of symbolism for general evils. To battle the bad spirits, Os-Maat brought the dead from the Afterlife and released them to the world to be good spirits. Now spirits come and go from the Afterlife whenever bad spirits are around. This event is called the Great Rebirth.
Herafs believe death is ultimate and unavoidable, and therefore is not evil. But it also must be natural and Os-Maat's choice, so a murderer is chaotic and unnatural and must be punished. Punishments range from banishment to cursing depending on the severity or the Yat's opinion. They practice prayers regularly, believing that all who greatly sin are with Nun. The truly important part is greatly sin- Herafs are largely forgiving of sinners, and are also quite tolerant of other religions not considering them sinners.
A while ago a small group of Heraf nomads lead scholars to try to figure out the origination of the Heraf people. They discovered a large hill they named Moqat, which they believed Herafs had a spiritual or magical bond with. However it was soon realized that the measurements of figuring out the magic in the hill (A small gemstone which glows depending on magical levels, a typical Heraf charm) showed that it continued to light up until they reached the mountains in the north. Despite this, there is some belief that Moqat is the original home of the original Heraf tribes- an argument is brought up that the stone did not glow until they reached Moqat, and maybe the effect stayed for a long time due to the powerful nature of Moqat.
Heraf culture consists of wide, constant migration all over Osiris. Their population has grown and they regularly travel to other fiefdoms. Temporary camps can sometimes be found in the middle of deserts by lucky wanderers, as they can be common. They are merchants, who sell practical things like cloth, milk, and meat, or objects of value like pottery or blessed charms that bring general good luck from the spirits and the gods. They have a system of honor and kindness. For example, one has to pay to travel with them on camel-back, but if they are sick or old or if their Yat likes you they will shelter you for free. They are taught from birth how to be expert shepherds.
Typical Herafs in an encampment, boredly waiting until their Yat gives them something to do.
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