MRALOTI

WHAT MY MOTHER TOLD ME

Who are you?

I am Gronki Truffle-Snout, daughter of Elga Snorts-Loudly of the Two Brooks sounder.

Who are we?

We are the Two Brooks sounder of the True Earth Mraloti, who the ignorant call 'Fallen'.

What makes us great?

We provide for the well-being of our children and our relatives as well as we can, and keep true to the virtues of our people. In return, we are blessed by the saints, and the earth provides us with her bounty. Although it is true that we give a proportion of our crops to our overlords and that we are often unjustly treated by them, this does not mean we are not a great people. Unlike them, we keep to important virtues, and look out for one another. It is by your actions that God and the saints judge you, not any military might or material wealth.

Where do we live?

This is our village, named for the sounder. All the fields around the village belong to us too, as do the open woods to the east and west. To the north, there is dense forest where the Wild Mraloti live and so we do not venture there.

How do we live?

We live from the bounty of the Earth and with the blessings of the Saints. Everything we grow in our fields, and all the pigs that we herd in the woods belong to us and provide us with food. We also keep some chickens, and eat their eggs. If we are fortunate, and have food remaining after feeding ourselves and paying our taxes to Lord Kastrin, we travel to market in the town of Grudlop to the south and exchange what we have for useful goods that the people there can make.

What is important in my life?

When you were born the Mumbor blessed you, and marked you with the scent of the pig, to indicate that you are one of us so that Saint Voria will know to protect you. Next season you will take the adulthood rites, and be able to seek the guidance and blessings of the other saints. As part of the rites, you must be able to show that you know your ancestry, and that you know the ways of our people and the names and powers of the saints. Then the Mumbor will bless you as an adult and give you your second name, as the spirits guide her.

You know, of course, that your big sister [1], Geren, is already married. Once you are an adult, Orlop will become your husband too, and he may share your bed if you wish. The pair of you will be able to take a second husband, if you both agree on his worth. Be sure to pick someone who will be useful on the farm, who is strong enough to plough the fields and wise enough to know how to help you out when you need him.

If the saints will it, you will prosper and have strong children. If you are succesful enough, you may bring a third partner into your marriage, so that you can take a third husband and so have more men to till the fields and help with the chores. Having three or more husbands is a sign of wealth, because things may be difficult in lean years, especially if you have many children. Your cousin Igri, who is a few years younger than you, would be a good choice for a third partner if you can afford one, for she has no sisters of her own and so will have a hard time looking after her parents' farm when it comes her time to do so.

What is the difference between men and women?

Men are different from us in many ways, but the most obvious are that they are stronger, and less intelligent. For this reason, they carry out all the tasks on the farm that require physical strength, such as ploughing, building and carpentry. Some men can become very skilled at craftsmanship, so I suppose they are not all as stupid as they look, but it would be ridiculous for one to attempt running a farm!  [2]

Women have the intelligence, as well as the life-giving powers of birth and nurturing. Therefore, it is we who manage the farm, ensuring that the barns are full and that we have enough food for everyone to eat. We also prepare the food and make clothing, and we barter with other villages for supplies that we cannot obtain here. All the important decisions are made by women, because they could not be trusted to mere men.

Women also have a better understanding of the spirit world, which requires some learning. That is why only women can become Mumbors and intercede on our behalf with the saints, and drive off bad spirits.

The only exception to the rules of the gender are the Tusk Sisters, which our sounder is blessed to lack. Sometimes these are born to unlucky women, especially if they have not pleased the saints by their actions. They look like normal women, but are as strong as a man, if not more so, and lack our intelligence, too. For this reason, they are only fit to work on the fields, and, like Tusk Brothers, they are not permitted to marry lest they bring bad luck on future generations.

Who rules us?

There is no leader within our sounder, and all women are equal here. Mumbor Arlag is the wisest woman in the village, and many others go to her for advice as well as to seek her magical aid in driving off evil spirits or the like. But she is not our ruler, and anyone is free to ignore her if they wish, although it would certainly not be wise to do so!

Every family in the sounder pays fealty to Lord Kastrin, whose castle lies to the south, just beyond Grudlop. He sends his knights to us when he is short of food or goods and takes them from us. He also employs wizards who can work great magics against us if they wish. These people are not virtuous, but there is no sense in losing your life or liberty to them without reason. Instead, we have subtler ways of resisting them, which you may learn of when you are an adult.

What makes someone great?

A woman is known by her virtue and by her ability to look after her family. If you can keep your family well fed, and especially if you are able to increase your fields or livestock, then everyone will know that you are a sensible and skilled woman, and you will find it easier to attract suitable new husbands to work for you. But it is not just by these things that greatness is measured, and this is what our overlords forget. In addition, you must be virtuous, keeping to your word, not harming others who have done you no harm themselves, and standing by the other members of the sounder as best you can, no matter how hard the adversity. It is also good to keep your ties to the Earth, so that the saints will bless you with good fortune and full harvests. Besides prayers and harvest offerings, you also keep your ties to the Earth by not mistreating your pigs [3] and through physical love with your husbands.

What is evil?

Evil comes from Trickster, who persuades weak people to place themselves above the other members of their sounder, or to place their sounder above those of their fellows. Evil people steal food which is not theirs, or hoard goods for themselves and away from the rest of the community. They may even abandon the proper way of life altogether, failing to pray to the saints and worshipping false gods. Sleeping with people other than your husbands is also evil, as is committing violence against others of the people. Most evil may be forgiven when the person realises the error of their ways, prays to the saints, and makes reparation to those she has harmed. But some things are so evil that the person must be cast out, and cursed by the Mumbor so that she cannot continue to do harm.

Evil people often become ghosts when they die, and continue to bring bad luck to others, especially their relatives, out of spite at their failure to attain Solace. If you or your family are plagued by wicked ghosts, you must call the Mumbor so that she may banish them.

What is my lot in life?

Once you are fully grown, you will share in the running of the farm. Eventually, my partners and I will pass on and then the farm will belong to you and your sister. You must look after it well, and with the good will of the saints, you will prosper, and have diligent daughters of your own to pass it on to.

How do we deal with others?

Strangers from other sounders can still be trusted to some extent, for all follow the same ways as we do. But it is best not to let your guard down entirely when dealing with them, for there are some secrets that are best kept amongst ourselves. Our overlords must be treated with respect, even those who work for nobles other than Lord Kastrin. Failure to do so can lead to terrible punishments which will bring nothing but harm on your family while gaining you nothing. Foreigners are not be trusted at all, and must prove themselves friendly before you can share even the most basic things with them. Never allow them into your home unless they have proved themselves by word and deed to be your friends, and even then, do not trust them entirely, for if they were truly virtuous they would follow our own saints - and foreigners never do so.

Who are our enemies?

We have no true enemies, although the Orlanthi to the east and the Aldryami to the north would doubtless harm us if they could. Instead, Lord Kastrin's knights protect us from them, although only because it suits his own interests to do so. Lord Kastrin himself is not really our enemy, for he would starve if he destroyed us altogether, but he is most certainly not our friend, either. He and his knights are often wicked or greedy, and we must oppose them without seeming to do so, lest we suffer for it.

Who are our gods?

There is no god but the Invisible God, who created heaven and earth. He sent the many saints to guide us and protect us, and to provide us with their blessings. It is these saints that we deal with in everyday life, for God himself is too remote to concern Himself with our everyday affairs.

The most important of the saints is St Ernalda, who looks after the sows, and blesses us all with fertility and strong children. Others include St Voria, who protects young children, St Akome, who blesses the family, St Xemela who protects us from ill health, St Seshna who blesses the fields, and St Dromal who looks over the menfolk. There are many other saints besides, but these are only known well by the Mumbors, who can intercede with them on our behalf.

I have heard of other powers. What can you tell me about...

Wild Mraloti?

Our cousins in the forests live squalid lives, without the benefit of crops or the assistance of the saints. They must hunt their food down or pick berries off bushes in order to survive, and because they lack the plough, they do not have the close contact with the Earth that we do. They speak to wild spirits and ghosts, who can often lead them astray and so are rarely able to enter Solace on their death. Indeed, many ghosts are the spirits of dead Wild Mraloti.

Orlanth?

This is a false god, worshipped by the barbarians of the eastern highlands. He is a god of storm and thunder, and so brings mostly harm to those about him. The barbarians do know of the saints, but think them subordinate to their own false gods and so lack the knowledge to pray to them properly.

Ramalian Henotheists?

Our overlords know of the Invisible God, but they follow different saints than we do. Their saints are associated with bloodshed and oppression, and so cannot provide the benefits that ours do. Although they are true saints, and blessed by God, because they cannot teach true harmony it is more difficult for their followers to enter Solace, as they often fall prey to hubris and unhealthy desires.

Monotheists?

The people to the west deny almost all of the true saints, and thus live miserable lives, denied any real chance at Solace. They try to live by the will of God alone, failing to realise that He is too distant to be able to help them properly.

Pralori?

To the north live the elk-folk, who are similar in some ways to our Wild cousins. They too, worship ghosts and spirits, failing to acknowledge God or the saints. Sometimes, Ramalian knights deal with them when they travel in that direction, but they are of little concern to us.

Other Hsunchen?

Further north live other peoples, worshipping yet different ghosts and spirits. All of them are inferior, and live pitiable lives scraping a living from the wilderness without having any connection to the Earth. They are so similar to beasts that they even take on their shapes sometimes, as the Tusk Brothers do, but they are too ignorant to see this as the warning and curse that it is.

Aldryami?

Beyond the forests of the Wild Mraloti live these inhuman beings who Trickster has beguiled into worshipping the trees and plants themselves instead of the true saints who allow them to grow. They are demons, who jealously destroy any farmland near their forests and bring woe upon humans. Their lands are haunted, and not to be visited. Pray that you never have to meet one.

[1] The term 'sister' as used by the Mraloti includes half-sisters born to other wives within the group marriage.

[2] In game terms, male Mraloti do not have a lower INT than women; it's just that Fallen Mraloti women are decidedly sexist, and hold a cultural stereotype that men are stupid.

[3] Yes, they do kill and eat them, but this doesn't count as mistreatment, because they always remember to say grace before each meal.