The Ardwmus Setting assumptions: Generic fantasy world. Rejiggering: Details about the size of the desert and the number of Ardwmus tribes in it are left vague so that they can be adjusted for a small desert as easily as for a desert taking up half of an entire continent. While there doesn’t appear to be room in the world for the Ardwmus to fit into a contemporary setting, they could easily be adapted to, say, a post-apocalyptic setting. The American Southwest would probably require the least amount of adaptation, but cacti, great horned owls, and other species are found elsewhere in the world now (cacti are common in India and Australia, for example), so it isn’t the only option. Contents: The Ancestors Funeral Rites Gender Roles and Hierarchy Children Domesticated Animals Diet Clothing Stories The Ardwmus tribes are a matriarchal society situated in a desert environment featuring primarily barren, rocky plains. In the east of the desert, forming the eastern boundary between the desert and the rest of the world, is the Elzitir, or field of dunes. The Elzitir lies downwind from what had once been a great river. The Ancestors

Ardwmus religion centers around the worship of one’s ancestors, specifically one’s earliest female ancestor. This individual, called the lineage-mother, is traced through the matrilineal line. An Ardwmus tribe generally shares the same lineage-mother. While there are cases where two lineages are in the same tribe, lineages are never spread out among multiple tribes.

All of one’s ancestors are venerated, especially those who have done something particularly noteworthy, but it is believed that only the lineage-mother possesses any supernatural ability to help her descendants. Requests are not made of her directly, however, except in the rarest of cases. They are instead directed toward one’s other ancestors, who are viewed as intermediaries. Invariably they will prove to be more effective than if one were to ask for something on one’s own. In order to gain anything from the ancestors, a sacrifice must be made. The greater the sacrifice the more likely that the request will be fulfilled, and the greater the gain from its fulfillment. Funeral Rites

The body is considered to be of little value after death; the thing which made it a person is now gone and all that is left is the inanimate shell. The Ardwmus waste nothing which they do not have to waste, and so the corpse’s possessions are taken. A woman’s possessions are usually given to her children, and a man’s possessions are given to his nieces and nephews. The body is then left for the scavengers.

On “w” and “u”

In writing down words from the Ardwmus language, vowels which appear twice in a row are repeated separately rather than turned into a different sound. This is troublesome when it comes to the “ooh” sound, which under other circumstances would be written as “oo” or “uu.” As the Ardwmus language does not use a “w” sound (the closest equivalent is closer to “r”), this letter has been used to substitute in place of “oo” or “uu.” In this case it is quite literally a double-u.

The soul is believed to be separate from the intelligence housed in one’s body, and upon death it has nowhere to rest. The world looks very different to those whose eyes are not clouded by flesh, and without a means of finding direction the dead are doomed to be lost forever. Luckily, there is a means to prevent this fate: by placing a part of one’s soul in another object, the greater part of the soul will be able to find its way. It will know its own location relative to the shard, and thereby know the location of all other things relative to the shard. Even when the shard is carried by the tribe, the dead will remember the paths which their tribe takes and know its location according to the date. After she becomes a full member of the tribe a woman is given a newly-made bone knife. She uses this to cut herself in order to coat it with a portion of her soul, which is contained in the blood. The knife will remain with her for all her life. It will be used only in emergencies, so that the risk of breaking it is minimized. A man is similarly cut, but place some of his blood on the jar which contains the soul-knife of his lineage-mother. The soul-knife of a woman is kept safe until the tribe’s nomadic path brings it to the Elzitir. Each tribe keeps vast collections of soul-knives here, hidden deep beneath the sands and away from outsiders. Because each member of the tribe knows the location of this burying place, a dead woman is capable of divining her location by way of knowing where she is in relation to it, until she has grown used to the way that the world looks to her new perceptions. The souls of men, however, use the container of the lineage-mother’s soul-knife in order to get their bearings, as this is where their own soul fragment lies. In this way do the warriors of the lineage protect its greatest treasure even after their deaths. In order to provide time for the newly-dead to find their way, requests are not made of the

deceased until the tribe has passed by the soul-knife field two times. Gender Roles and Hierarchy

It can be put most simply like this: the men control matters which take place outside of the tribe, and the women control matters inside the tribe. Hunting and conducting warfare, for example, are matters for the men. They are more expendable from a reproductive point of view, and equally so from the point of view of the tribe. More domestic matters, including the day-to-day running of the tribe, are handled by the women. While hunting and warfare may take place outside of the tribe, it has not been lost to the Ardwmus that the initial conception of the idea to go on a particular attack or hunt is made within the tribe. It is for this reason that the women must first approve any such venture; it is the women who decide when to go to war and when to hunt. After the decision is made, however, the men have control of the situation. Among men, rank is determined by marriage. Those who are married have authority over those who are not married. Those who have more wives have authority over those who have fewer. Those who married their first wife earlier have authority over those who married their first wife later, if they have the same number of wives. For this reason, marriages do not occur on the same day. Among the women, rank is determined by children. Those who have children have authority over those who do not. Those who have more children have authority over those who have fewer. Those who have grandchildren have authority over those who do not. Grandmothers of the tribe are equal to each other in authority, and the majority rules when they are at odds with each other. This qualifier is rarely relevant, however. The Ardwmus prefer to debate for long periods of time until one side

or the other has been convinced, rather than force everyone to submit to the will of the majority. It should be noted that for the matter of female authority, only children who have been given their second name count. Children

It is not guaranteed that children will survive. For this reason they are given “birth names,” or simple placeholder names such as Nyayen (First Daughter), or Dezhw (Second Son). These act as a way to play an amount of emotional distance between parent and child in the all-too-likely event that the child dies. Only once the parents decide that the child will likely survive will she be given her “growing name.” This name usually relates to an animal, like Toaz (vulture) or Hugina (mouse), and is not gender-specific. When a boy is of fifteen years old, or when a girl has had her first menstrual period (which may not be well until fourteen or even later), they are deemed ready to begin preparing to become adults. A boy will henceforth be ready to participate in raids and more dangerous hunts and girl will be ready for marriage. To become a man, one must kill someone from outside the tribe, while womanhood is earned by successfully giving birth to a child. At this point ze is given their soul-knife or zir blood is coated on the lineage-mother’s jar, and they are given the last name by which they will be known, their “living name.” Men who wish to marry a girl must offer a bride price to her mother. This usually takes the form of the spoils of the hunt or valuables taken in war. The mother is then free to accept the price, reject it out of hand and deny the right to further negotiation, or demand that a higher offer be made. Ardwmus society is polygamous, not least in order to allow the best men to thus father more children, but also because the requirements for manhood are not restricted to a single tribe. All of the tribes demand the death

of an outsider, and a good number of a tribe’s unmarried males will be killed by each other in war as they try to earn their manhood. Two other matters also accompany the rite of passage for a woman: firstly, the grandmothers of the tribe tattoo her back in the sacred symbols of that tribe, with carmine dye harvested from cactus parasites. Secondly… Children are of the utmost importance to the Ardwmus. The tribes will do anything at all to keep them safe, but they are also all too aware of the necessities of life in their harsh environment. No single thing is more valuable than a firstborn child, but more valuable than the firstborn alone are all of the children that will be born in the future. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the reward and so, in order to receive the greatest reward possible, the firstborn will be left behind on the sands when the tribe next moves on. No lesser sacrifice is fit to be given to the lineage-mother. To find such a child, called a zol if it is found, is extremely lucky for both the child and the finder. The zol is considered to be exceptionally blessed and possessed of a great fortune. Domesticated Animals

The Ardwmus do not have any animals serving as livestock, which is partially due to their rigorous, if complex, system of hospitality laws. It is normally alright to kill an enemy, or even a bystander who stumbles into camp. There is no dishonor in this. But anyone who the tribe extends compassion and aid toward, the same has been adopted by the tribe and cannot be harmed any more than the tribe can harm one of its native-born members. The Ardwmus follow this law without regard for species. If they cared for goats then the goats would be members of the tribe. Then they could not be killed, to say nothing of being eaten. Nevertheless, the Ardwmus have other reasons to rear animals.

Most tribes keep a small flock of ostriches, which are used for their eggs and also to carry supplies. The birds can be ornery, but they are well-adapted to the local environment and suited to their tasks. Less common are ichneumons, or mongooses. These are trained to keep the camps clear of rodents, snakes, and other pests, and to steal away the eggs of birds. Great horned owls (or “tiger owls,” as the Ardwmus know them) are trained as hunting birds and sentries. They can seize rabbits, lizards, and most local birds, and can be used to flush out or distract larger animals. Tiger owls not on the hunt are trained to circle the camp and raise a ruckus when large animals approach.

Diet

The Ardwmus obtain their food from hunting game and from wild plants. There are no taboo sources of meat in their culture (except humans, anyway), so they will readily set upon anything which they are able catch. Bows are primarily used for hunting, although traps will also be placed whenever the tribe is expecting to remain in the same place for a few days. Slightly more than half of the Ardwmus diet consists of plant matter. It is mainly nuts and legumes gathered from the many hardy varieties of plant which grow in the desert. Also of the importance are the various species of cactus in the desert and the yazqwr, a kind of tuber.

The Many Uses of the Cactus

Depending on species, a cactus will have seeds that can be ground and eaten. Most edible cactus fruits

are described as tasting something like strawberry, fig, or watermelon, depending on species. The

fruits can be eaten as is or processed to make jam, jelly, or juice. The roots of some cactus species can

be eaten. Edible cacti are usually high in calcium and Vitamin C (in fact, cacti were one of the first

cures for scurvy).

Some cacti attract insects which can be processed to produce a red dye, as mentioned elsewhere. Most

often, artificial nests are hung over the side of the cactus, creating an inviting home for local parasites.

Once the insects inside, the nest can easily be capped off and the insects recovered.

The saguaro cactus, after being parasitized by the small birds which commonly nest in it, can be

harvested to get a “saguaro boot,” for use in water storage. The needles of most cacti, but especially

the saguaro, can be used for sewing. Large cacti can be used in the production of furniture or tent

stakes, or and the fiber of many species of cacti can be used for weaving.

The most useful cactus genus may be the “prickly pear,” or Opuntia. They grow well enough to be

considered a weed in some places and can grow up to twenty feet high. The pads and fruits of the

prickly pear may be removed of their needles and eaten. This may be done most efficiently by rotating

them over a fire or rolling them in sand or gravel.

The pads are high in various vitamins, protein, and fiber. They also aid water retention in the body.

In addition to being eaten raw or cooked, they can also be pickled for long-term preservation. They

taste most like string beans.

The pulp can be used to treat inflammation. Other medicinal uses include treating constipation,

alleviating drunkenness, and treating minor wounds and insect bites. Alcoholic drinks or

hallucinogens can be made from the fluids of the pads and stem. The mucilage can be used in water

purification.

Many of the other food-producing plants of the desert have secondary uses, most often usable in cloth production. It is the cactus which has the most uses, however. The majority of cactus species produce an edible fruit of one size or another, and most of these fruits are extremely juicy. The main body of the cactus is often edible as well after the spines are dealt with, and in some species the skin can be used as a container. Finally, certain insects parasitize the cactus and can be used to produce a carmine dye, the principal source of ink for the Ardwmus. In addition to tattoos, this ink is used to decorate the tribe’s tents. After the cactus, the yazqwr is possibly the most important plant in the desert. It is able to deal with minimal hydration, is extremely nutritious, and preserves well. The plant is also hard to come across simply by accident and only a small amount of it grows aboveground. Most tribes know of several places where there are large amounts of yazqwr. These locations act as a sort of storehouse, capable of keeping the tribe from starvation even if all else fails. Clothing

The Ardwmus wear loose clothing made from leather or woven from one of the various plants which exist in their desert homeland. Strong gloves are used as well. The head is protected by a hat, woven from plant matter, which bears a resemblance to an extremely flat chupalla. A scarf is usually wrapped around the head in order to protect the ears and neck. The face is usually protected from the winds and sand by a veils of tiny bone beads strung along threads. These veils are time-consuming and difficult to create, and so they are carefully passed down from generation to generation. In times of war, raiding parties will don larger masks. These are made by taking the skull of a large animal, sans the lower jaw, and mounting it against a leather or cloth base. Hyenas, coyotes, caracals, and

Stories

Storytelling among the Ardwmus is, as with most societies, an important part of the culture. Lessons, rules of life, and advice are all contained in poetic form and wrapped in mythic narrative. The story of Uyin the Rabbit, which exists in one form or another across most of the tribes, contains almost step-by-step instructions of how to hunt rabbits, and also of the many mistakes which can be made. Those are, of course, the very first thing which The Fool Hunter does. It even manages to include lessons on proper behavior with regard to one’s ancestors. There are few stories which do not contain some sort of lesson. (Spoiler: the story of Uyin the Rabbit is ultimately about how to hunt rabbits. The ending doesn’t treat him well.) Much importance is put on stories of other kinds as well. Once the day’s duties are done with, the tribe often partakes in uligir. It is a kind of improvisational theater which starts and ends spontaneously. It can even take place during periods of work. Different members enter and leave the uligir of their own accord. In this way a single session can last an entire day but begin and end with entirely different collections of members. Players take on new personas and refine them throughout the uligir before ultimately casting them off as they cease to participate. A particular persona can, after being cast off, be seen by another to be interesting and worth picking up in a future session. If this happens often enough, the persona will eventually acquire a traditional status and likely be used by various players for generations to come, being refined and altered all the while.