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Author Topic: Spike's World:TK: The Mugnjo  (Read 255 times)

Spike

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Spike's World:TK: The Mugnjo
« on: August 16, 2012, 08:42:30 AM »
With the exception of the footnote, I did this about six months ago, but didn't post it. I think I was working on the map... the map guy and I seem to be out of sync, so I guess I'm giving up on getting any future improvements from him, as its embarrassing to ring a dude up after six months or two years at a stretch... not blaming him, we're both to blame.


The Mugnjo:

When the Horde first arrived on the Northern Continent over a millennia ago they landed on a low coastal plain across the Strait of Falling Stars.  The native peoples were a pastoral people, living off a rich and peaceful land, whose only experience with war were weathering the occasional Reaver raids.  They had no gold or other mineral wealth, and little of value other than their rich lands.
The Horde destroyed them, wiping out their civilization, enslaving those they didn’t slaughter outright.  It was less a conquest and more a resettlement, as the entire region became the beachhead  and staging base for the Horde’s conquest of the North.  Indeed, Moug Ngou, as it was originally called, meant literally ‘Poised Spear’ in Old Tenebrian, the language of the plains.
The first three rulers of this new land were generals of the Horde, responsible for the movement of men and materials in support of the ever expanding conquest. As the Horde moved north and began encountering real resistance, however, these men were more needed at the front and Mugnjo gained its first civilian governor, along with its first citizen settlers. To show the importance of these lands to the Horde, and to the Empire, the younger brother of the Emperor was sent as the first Governor, along with his extensive personal household and personal guard, freeing up more military men for the Horde in securing the lands.
Despite a sheltered and privileged upbringing, Ge Su Va proved talented administrator and a visionary leader.*  The Horde had largely kept the locals in chains for a generation, using the women and killing any men who showed any signs of rebellion, or even for sport.  These slaves, now almost entirely half tenebrian themselves, were kept on their traditional, now ruined, farms and the Horde took almost everything they grew, worse than any bandit.   Ge Su Va changed all that, building new and improved farms after the Imperial fashion, freeing the slaves to work them under noble overseers, and working alongside Empire serfs, founding new communities in the process.  While he at first faced strong censure from the Generals of the Horde, within a year the fertile lands were producing more food for the Horde, and the slave revolts had dropped almost entirely.
Its importance as a breadbasket for the Horde, and for a long time the only decent port of call for Tenebrian Ships, made Mugnjo a vital, thriving provinice, and in time it grew wealthy, powerful and privileged, and a favorite for young nobles and merchant sons to go and find their place in the new world.
By the time the Empire began to decline, Mugnjo was seen by many as fully Imperial. Indeed, the term Mugnjo Dynasts, taken from this time, relates to the fact that the Emperor of Tenebria had, in the three centuries following the appointment of the original Governor, changed dynasties twice, while the line of Governors of Mugnjo still decended from Ge Su Va, and thus had a greater claim to the Throne of the Empire than the sitting Emperor.  As the war at last began to falter in the West, it was the Dynasts who saw the writing on the wall, saw ever increasing burdens of Tribute flowing south, and the weakness of the vast, but attenuated Horde, and it was Mugnjo who first broke ties with the Empire in a bold stroke.
There are historians today who argue that it was this decision by the Dynast of Mugnjo that spelled the true deathknell of the Horde, and with it the Empire.    A popular theory holds that if the Dynast of Mugnjo had been a more ambitious man, if he had instead taken ships south and marched upon the City of Kings and taken the throne from the Boy Emperor Yukal Go’t, that the Empire and the Horde would have lasted another hundred years at least, that the Horde would have at last breeched the walls of Paravail, would have marched all the way to Renbluve, and that they might have held the line against the Siti, who surely could not have sustained their offensive much longer against the greater numbers of the Horde.
But that is theory. History shows that the Dynast was content to declare himself Emperor of Mugnjo, to take in deserters from the Horde and thumb his nose at the Empire.  Regardless of what might have happened, he won the hand he played, and died an old man in his bed nearly forty years later.
As the rest of the ‘New Empire’ followed suit, as the Horde, now almost entirely made up of men who had never been to the Southern Continent, who had never been raised on the language of the plains and weened on mare’s milk mixed with horseblood, who in fact may not even have been Tenebrian at all, especially in the West… simply dispersed into a hundred competing armies, each swearing allegiances to the local warlords and kings that cropped up in their wake.
In this new era, this dark age of the Tenebrians, the Emperors of Mugnjo reaped vast riches from their neighbors.  They proved aggressive, expansionistic and ambitious, and Mugnjo grew for generations, though never quite large enough for governors of the newly conquered provinces to feel secure enough to revolt.
In time, the original Dynasty ended, replaced with assassins knives and politically motivated  prophecy.   And while the ruler of Mugnjo still styles himself an Emperor, and while Mugnjo itself has the strongest army of any of the Tenebrian Kingdoms, they are no longer expansionistic. The Emperor of Mugnjo looks south across the Strait of Falling Stars and sees a resurgent Empire and knows that when the blade falls, his neck is first on the block.  

Geography:
The lands of Mugnjo are coastal lowlands. Over the thousand years and more since the Horde landed, the Mug (mooj) have built numerous seawalls and dams to keep the sea from swallowing thousands of square miles of their country. It is from this nation in particular that the Tenebrian’s gained a reputation for eating rice above everything else, for it is the primary food staple of the land.  There is a vast fishing industry as well, of course, and many Mug eat fish more than any other meat, and preserved fish (salted, pickled, or smoked) is a major export.   Deeper inland it is marginally drier, with low rolling hills, a few forests and more, but for the most part the Mug must import stone for building and metal for everything else.  Livestock are a common sight, but they are not raised for food generally. Water buffalo are the primary work animal, sheep provide milk and wool for cloth, chickens provide eggs and feathers.   Leather is rare, generally only taken from animals that are old and dying. Hunting is largely the province of nobles and bandits, and thus they are the most likely to be seen wearing leather garments or accoutrements, though a small industry of peasant woodsmen does exist, and they hunt as well.  Boars are common, and in the northwest part of the country they can grow to prodigious size, able to gut a horse.
Culture:
Mugnjo is ‘more Empire than the Empire’ in many ways.  During the Horde period, the nation was deliberately aping its parent nation, and the local culture was virtually eliminated overnight. Once the Empire began its decline, the Mug began aping the empire less and less, and afterwards began fetishizing the traditional behaviors they had brought with them.  The Mug, as a result, are among the most hidebound people in the world, and their culture is a somewhat exaggerated ‘take’ on what the Empire was like in its heyday.
At least in the cities and among the nobility.
Among the peasants and in the rural areas, there are numerous elements that owe more to the traditions of the original pastoral people, their folk ways, but almost no impetus to avoid change for its own sake.
One example of this sort of odd traditional fetishism is that the nobles and upper classes of the Mug insist on wearing robes of linen, which was traditional in the Empire long ago. Flax does not grow well in Mugnjo and the demand for it means the vast majority of it must be imported from the south.  Rural nobles and the peasants get by just fine with wool garments or cotton which is cheaply imported from the West, and the modern Empire prefers silk, which ironically it imports from its former provinces, including Mugnjo.  
However, one traditional garment that remains in use that is actually practical is the D’hoa, a sort of undergarment wrapped around the loins.  Originally it was worn by the Horde under their robes to protect them while they rode. As Mug nobles still maintain the cavalry traditions, and the peasants working in the hot climate of Mugnjo often wear short, waist length robes (or none at all), the D’hoa provides modesty and protection even today.  The folded knot that ties it off still is used by the Mug to hold small valuables, much as a pocket would.
Note that in Tenebria itself the D’hoa has largely, but not entirely, fallen out of use in favor of sewn undergarments and even trousers.
The Mug nobility still see themselves as a warrior caste, and those who take it seriously still make an effort to practice with the longbow, the spear and the great falchion of the Horde.  The vast majority, however are actually more diletants. Horses are rare, despite the open plains of Mugnjo the wetlands and swampy ground are hard, and there are perhaps enough horses in the entire region for one in three nobles to actually own one… and most owners own more than one.  A few villages may have an old nag or two instead of the more ubiquitous buffalo, particularly if the local lord both lives nearby and has horses of his own (as sending an old nag out to work is better than keeping it as a proper warhorse or just killing it).
Not surprisingly, the Mug has a professional military class that, at best, pays lip service to old Empire traditions.  Historically the Mugnjo army was filled with elements of the Horde that had dispersed and made their way to the safe, settled lands, far from the front, and to this day the Mug largely hold the Army to be made up of mercenaries and foreigners, exempt from local cultural norms…. Despite the fact that the vast majority of ‘soldiers’ have lived in Mugnjo for generations and many locals, peasants or otherwise, join up every year.  Traditionally, they were foreigners, so they are still treated as foreigners.  This is a rather practical attitude, as it allows the army to keep abreast of modern military techniques without shame, and so the Mug have purchased a few hundred Nornsan Firesticks (gunnes) and begun training a regiment with them.  The Mug Army is somewhat famous for the dishonorable, but highly effective, use of targeted attacks against enemy generals… something they may have learned a millennia ago from the elves…  and many of the local kings have been looking into ways to avoid dying in a hail of bullets recently.   The Army makes good use of emplaced shields for archers and in front of heavy infantry lines.  Heavy infantry is a favorite, using metal armor and greatswords, with heavy darts used to disrupt enemy shields. Light Infantry uses lacquered armor common among tenebrians, short bows and light blades, with bucklers or target shields and tend to fight as skirmishers and ambushers… often flanking. The Army relies on the nobility to provide its cavalry force (and just as well, as few nobles of the Mug have the right mindset to actually lead troops with any effectiveness), and generally plan on heavy casualties among the cavalry, which are often used as shock troops.  The Mug army fights slow and deliberate, wearing its enemies down.
Retired officers are often given an estate and are treated as minor nobility, and a measure of independence from the local lord who’s fief their estate may fall in. The village (or villages) closest to an officer’s estate will often treat him as the local lord.   Thus taxes flow through retired officers hands, to the local lords, up to the regional governors and, eventually to the Emperor.  Such officers are often fairly young and may be recalled to active service if their skills are needed. Indeed, such an officer may receive several promotions after his retirement if he has proven particularly talented.   In this way the Mug army keeps a vast pool of talent available, making their officers among the most talented in the world, though with plenty of terrible leaders in the mix as well.  Most commissions are bought, but common soldiers of remarkable talent may find a patron willing to promote them, or buy a commission for them, with little effort.   There are no enlisted ranks, per se, but soldiers of proven reliability and sobriety from an unofficial pool of enlisted leadership.  Without official rank or privilege, earning the respect and obedience of the men is a real test of a man’s ability to lead.
Gender roles in the Mug: The Horde was an extremely chauvinistic force when they swept off the plains, but the Empire they conquered was not, and the women of the Empire were up to the challenge of politically taming their husbands from the Horde.  However, certain attitudes die hard, and the Mug tend to be somewhat chauvinistic themselves, particularly in matters of war and violence.  Officially, Mug women are part of their husband’s or father’s household and are legally counted as property, not to different than slaves (slavery was abolished by Ge Su Va as part of his original reforms, and even the most staunch Empire Traditionalist doesn’t dare alter that) would be.  That is the legal, official position.
In reality, it doesn’t work that way.  Among peasants, as is common in many places, woman are too useful as part of the work force to be ignored or marginalized.  While in some villages they may have to influence their husbands to have their voices heard, in others they sit openly as leaders of the community.  Among the hereditary nobility, many women have inherited property from their families over millennia, and managed their estates well enough that they’ve been the effective lord of their own household as legally as any man.  True, a weak woman may bring her wealth to a husband as a dowry, but wars have been fought over just such attitudes. No legal reforms, not in Mugnjo, but culturally most Mug men know better than to quote the law at their wives or daughters.  Among the nobility a common term for a feisty woman is ‘quick with a knife’, referring to the number of men who have died at the hands of women they treated too dismissively.   A curious aspect of Mugnjo law is that women cannot, legally, commit a crime, and any crime they commit is on the head of their husband or father… thus many women have gotten off on the legal technicality that their husbands committed suicide.

It is among the military men that one sees the old horde chauvinism most among the relations between men and women.  Retired officers are used to commanding respect and obedience, and tend to view the official line on women as fact rather than an out of date legalism.  Of course, it is just as true that many military men love women who challenge them, and raise daughters like sons… skilled with sword and bow… so it is always wise to tread softly around the general’s daughter no matter how demure and respectful she acts in public.
Old Mug Folkways:
First of all, while the Mug largely speak a variation of Old Tenebrian, many of the folk practices involve terms and words that belong to the extinct language of the original inhabitants of this land.
Second of all, while the old Mug peoples had few interactions with elves, they did have a rich tradition of Fey and Spirits, making some of the folk ways the remenants of the old, native witchcraft tradition, so many of these practices have real power.
Third, the old Mug had a strong relationship with water, less the sea than the treacherous but fertile wetlands and ponds that cover their land, so a lot of their folkways involve or invoke the spirits of these waters.
Baptism:  Peasant Mug always dip infant children in a pool of still, clean water. They believe that by introducing their children to the water spirits early the children will be less likely to be cursed, to suffer the diseases common to the warm wetlands they live in. Certainly they are healthy, and visitors to Mugnjo often come down with debilitating diseases, the worst of which is ‘wet lung’, called by some ‘lung rot’, which is frequently fatal, and even when it’s not the victim never fully recovers.
Walk ‘round:  to bless a building or field, or to curse it, you walk around the building clockwise… what you say as you walk determines if it is good or bad.  If a building is cursed, or plagued with bad luck, walking counterclockwise in silence is though to hide the building from the spirits.  Everyone knows this, so an outsider maybe simply told to do a walk’round without giving any further instruction unless prodded.   The effectiveness is debated, but it is notable that alchemists do believe the aetheric currents prefer to ‘spin’ clockwise… some even suggest this is due to the spin of Haven in the Greater Sea of Chaos (which, of course, is utterly unprovable)
Spirit grass: A wetlands grass, with long strong, but flexible, blades is often woven or bundled (according to various traditions, depending on the needs or wants of the Mug) in certain ways. A bundle of spirit grass, thick as a man’s arm, is often worn around the neck like a tie, particularly if he is married.  If he wants to be married, he may do the same thing with a twist, namely first hiding the spirit grass bundle at his love’s house for a month first.  Spirit grass ‘nets’ are woven to catch malicious (or helpful but reluctant) spirits, and grass ‘dolls’ are ritually drowned in certain places.




*It is noted by some historians of Tenebria that the unambitious and unassuming Ge Su Va proved such a superior ruler to his older brother, the Emperor,  that had he been the Emperor the Empire itself might have swallowed the world in his lifetime. Emperor Ingje (formerly Za Su Ma’ht), was a feeble ruler who left most of the vital decisions of Empire to his advisors, breeding dependency into the very heart of the Empire that would not be purged until the modern age. Ingje (Beloved) died after only ten years and left a Boy-Emperor who proved little more than a puppet of his increasingly venal and corrupt advisors and greedy princes, and even during Ge Su Va’s lifetime, he saw the end of the Su dynasty when the boy was ‘accidentally’ drowned and the Throne of Empire fell to the ambitious and corrupt Duke Untwei.  
It is forgotten now, but after Untwei’s untimely death from poison (specifically Jubjub fruit, which drove him mad weeks before he died), Ge Su Va reportedly spoke prophecy that would prove true, predicting the collapse of Empire. While quite poetic in Old Tenebrian, his common sense view of affairs is rather turgid and lifeless in modern Nornsan, so we will not repeat it here.  Needless to say, by the time of Ge Su Va’s death, there had not been a Dynasty in Tenebria for thirty years, merely a long succession of short lived pretenders to the throne.
It has been suggested, of course, that the scholarly and wise younger brother would have made an excellent Emperor, and the aggressive, hot tempered and easily bored older brother would have made an excellent deterrent for would be assassins and a fine general for the Horde.  In an old proverb: The Demon Goddess smiled as she plucked the Loom of Fate.
For you the day you found a minor error in a Post by Spike and forced him to admit it, it was the greatest day of your internet life.  For me it was... Tuesday.

For the curious: Apparently, in person, I sound exactly like the Youtube Character The Nostalgia Critic.   I have no words.

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