A summary of the beliefs and customs of the Mayyar
Origin[]
The Mayyar come from the distant land of Miggyer. The land is largely unknown and is reputed to have fallen into ruin from unknown reasons. A famous Dreddson known as Drekk the Wanderer was thought to have journeyed to Miggyer and never returned
Beliefs[]
The Mayyar are a very distinct people from the ones known in contemporary Adorna and Acea, mainly due to their relationship with dragons. The Mayyar believe that dragons are the opposing force to the gods. When their chief god, Gnarr created man, his jealous and cunning son, Drox tried to emulate his father and by accident created the dragons. The dragons have been the bane of man ever since. This myth also has ramifications that a son should always obey his father or risk some sort of calamity or disaster.
The Mayyar believe that Gnarr created their people first before all others. He called them his "first children" and formed them from granite or marble, where other peoples were formed by Gnarr's other incompetent son Venrox. Gnarr holds the Mayyar in higher esteem and considers others inferior.
Customs[]
The Mayyar believe that all men should be trained in the ways of war, and are resistant to knowledge and wisdom. The Mayyar have two distinct social classes. The freemen and helots. Helots are for the most part slaves in all but name. Freemen is any man who has land or property. A Mayyar freeman can not ask a helot to:
- spill the blood of another person,
- rape a woman,
- or disobey their master.
The organization of the family is completely patriarchial, with all land titles going to the first-born son or next male in the lineage, however it is also known that a Mayyar woman stands above any outsider. This custom is much more fiercely guarded in the north of Mallyer in more Dreddson controlled land, adhering with the belief that those who do not possess the blood of the Mayyar are inferior.
After the War of the Blood Bay (200 AV), that resulted in a humiliating loss on the side of the Mayyar. Herakles (the Strong) Dreddson built the fortress of the Talon where all freemen would train for a minimum six years starting at age ten. In contemporary times a standing force of five thousand trained soldiers is present at the Talon, along with fifty to a hundred ships. One out every five trainees is either maimed or killed in the process. Those who complete it are marked with a dragon's claw, and are known as talon-forged soldiers. Teachers and masters of the fortress are known as dominox.