THE PRALORI

Introduction

The Pralori are elk-Hsunchen who inhabit the land of Pralorela, a region of open woodland and low hills lying between Tarinwood and the western end of the Mislari mountains. They are a nomadic people, and one of the few Hsunchen tribes to ride their totem animal. Superficially, therefore, they may resemble the beast-riders of the Wastes, but in fact, their culture is quite distinct. A major difference, for example, is that Pralorela is a much more fertile region than the Wastes, so that the Pralori do not need to live off their animals in the way that the Praxians do. Shed antlers are used widely for tool making and carving foci or decorative adornments, and the milk of does is employed for drinking and cheese-making, but the elk are not actually eaten, nor are their bones or leather employed, as the Praxians must do to their animals. Instead, their primary use is as riding animals.

The key feature of Pralori society is the herd, which consists both of the literal elk herd, and a human clan. Both male and female elk are herded together, but just as these animals separate in the wild, unmarried men and women are kept apart in the clan. To the Pralori, the herd is more important than the individual, and loyalty is a key virtue. Herds are lead both by a female shaman and a male chieftain, with the shaman being considered the more important of the two.

Herds get together in large groups once a year, in Earthseason just before the rut starts. This is used as an opportunity for young women to find husbands, and for exchange of animals to take place, in order to keep the herds healthy and prevent inbreeding.

Appearance

The Pralori are a Wareran folk with brown hair and dark eyes. Men are significantly better built than the women, but both sexes have a rangy, lean, build.

Clothing is composed of leathers from a variety of animals, although deerskin (but not elkskin) is most common. The leather is often died with local plants, and decorated with runes and branching antler patterns. Men wear a long sleeved tunic, trews and boots. Women a looser upper garment, with short, widely slit skirts over tight leather thigh-length leggings and high boots. Men's hair is shoulder length, and bound back with a leather circlet on the brow. The women have much longer hair, bound in long braids.

Shamans are always women, but keep their hair short and dress as if they were men. They can also be distinguished by the greater number of foci which adorn their clothing, and by the many tattoos which they also employ as foci. Large, intricate, branching antler-shape tattoos are particularly common.

ELK

Cervus pralorelsis

Natural habitat: grasslands and forest edge
Distribution: Ralios, Maniria, southern Peloria, northern Seshnela
Male adult size: 130-150cm shoulder height, 240-450 kg

The elk is a larger relative of the red deer, females being smaller than the males. Adult elk are a bay colour, with a darker winter coat. Like red deer, the fawns have a spotted coat. Fully grown males have 1 meter antlers with up to 12 points; the females lack antlers. Elk are slightly larger than a Sable antelope, and the Gloranthan variety are strong enough to carry an adult human, provided he isn't wearing heavy armour or the like. Female elk give birth to a single calf after a 36 week gestation. As a result of long breeding, the elk living in Pralorela supply a fairly large amount of milk by comparison with 'wild' breeds elsewhere.

Elk live in fairly large herds, with males and females being separate outside the breeding season. They graze on grass and browse on a variety of herbs, bushes and trees.

Stats

RQ3

STR	3d6+12	23-24		Move 11
CON	2d6+6	13		HP 21
SIZ	4d6+15	29		Fatigue 37
INT	4	4
POW	3d6	10-11
DEX	3d6+3	13-14

Butt   SR5   30+5%   1d8+2d6
Armour: 1 point hide
Skills and hit locations as a deer. Female elk subtract 6 from STR and SIZ.

GURPS: ST 20-25, DX 14, IQ 4, HT 14, Size 2
Move/Dodge: 10/7, PD/DR 1/1, Damage: 1d6+1 imp#, Reach: C

The Wapiti Question: The animal described above, and on which I have based the Pralori, is the New World elk, also known as a wapiti. In Europe the word 'elk' is a synonym for 'moose', a much larger animal. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, and in agreement with the side-bar in Jonas Schiott's Hsunchen article in Tradetalk #3, I have assumed that Greg used the word 'elk' in its American sense. Martin Crim's list of Hsunchen cults takes a different view, but this has no practical effect on the magic he suggests for the Pralori.