Unn Bey Bloods

The most prolific ethnic group in all of Beyrensia, the Unn Bey live as nomads scattered throughout the Beyrensic Plains in the south, an expansive rolling grassland extending from the Great Spires to the cusp of Atticosh. Tribal society is the norm for nomadic ethnic groups, and the Unn Bey are no exception. They are loosely divided into Bloods, extended family units similar to tribes. Bloods are headed by chieftains called Blood Runners, male or female, and the role is traditionally hereditary. Historically, the Bloods' namesake derives from the process by which a Blood Runner is selected, known as "taking blood," where several warriors would vie for the role and face one another in mortal combat, the victor ascending to chiefdom. Because the role of Blood Runner is hereditary, a chieftain passes down his or her combat prowess to the proceeding generation in preparation for succession, attempting to keep the family blood intact. At any time, however, a warrior may challenge the current Blood Runner in attempt to replace the chieftain, but this requires the taking of blood. On this occasion the usurper must first defeat the reigning Blood Runner in combat, proving to the Blood that he is stronger, after which overcoming any other warriors vying for the role. In the event the usurper is victorious, he then becomes the new Blood Runner.

Unn Bey are exceptional riders and spend most of their lives straddling the backs of horses. It is said they can communicate with horses better than any, and when mounted the spirit of the rider and that of the horse become one soul. Oral tales of days long past speak of a time when the Unn Bey and horses shared a physical body, when they were taksha, horsemen or centaurs. When the fires underneath the Great Spires burned their hottest, and when the earth quaked violently for many seasons, the taksha were shaken so ruthlessly that they were torn asunder, thus corporeally separating them from horses. Since then the Unn Bey have had a unique affinity for horses, an almost divine appreciation for them. This affinity has become the core of which many of their laws and social traditions are surrounding.

Every Blood designates one stallion as a gift to Bagdtha, the first taksha, one deemed for its life a holy animal, called Bahdbey. Throughout his life no one is permitted to mount Bahdbey, and he is kept separate from the mares so not to mate with them. He is cared for and groomed daily by an elite group of women known as mathras, maidens of Bagdtha and caretakers of Bahdbey. They are always female and always pigmies, bred like horses to fill a specific role in the Blood. Male pigmies are born all the time but are abandoned on the plains, as an offering to the roaming jackals that follow the migrations of Unn Bey. Although not educated, the Unn Bey understand breeding practices, thus they always spare a handful of male pigmies to sire mathras. Once a year, amid the winter solstice, the Bloods observe Bagdtha-tesk, a religious rite in respect to Bagdtha. The rite lasts roughly one lunar cycle, during which each Blood slaughters a number of horses, typically between eight and ten, from which meat and blood is consumed. This religious rite has occurred for hundreds of years in an attempt to reunite horses and men to the form of taksha.

Although the Unn Bey are considered nomadic horselords, many live outside the Bloods in Atticosh. These are known as Walkers, those exiled from the herds and punished to walk the earth without the satisfaction of beylanka, the spiritual link connecting horses and men. Walkers are the most despised among the Bloods, the punishment reserved for the worst of crimes. To die is not punishment, according to the Unn Bey, but merely a speedy transition to an afterlife where once again the taksha roam. Upon death the Unn Bey believe their souls meet with the souls of horses, and a compatible match results in a bonding into the form of taksha. A Walker is abolished from this afterlife, the soul lost for eternity without ever uniting with one of a horse. Out of necessity, Walkers tend to assimilate into Atticosian culture, adopting a bailiwick's deity and social behaviors.