> Could someone please tell me whether, in Praxian custom, a person
> would be regarded as enslaved if they were once bound for any reason?
A few guidelines:
1. Praxians usually takes slaves from other tribes, not their own. 2. Praxian slaves walk, so they lack the one thing that is required to survive independently in the wastes: beasts. 3. Slaves are assets to most Praxians. They do the most unpleasant tasks. But they are valuable tasks, so slaves are valuable assets. A slave that can't walk becomes worthless, so the scope for abuse is somewhat limited. That said, there are desperate propitiatory rites that require human sacrifice; slaves don't want to be the least valuable slave. 4. Slaves share a mostly common religion and culture with their owners. 5. Slaves share a status -- "groundmen" -- with captured outlanders and people too disabled or crazy to ride. In addition to that status, they are slaves. But to a Praxian's mind, the more important status is that of groundman. (Unless you are a morocanth, of course.) 6. Too many slaves slows down movement (unless you are a morocanth). The more slaves you have, the more time you have to guard against escape. So there is a practical limit to the number of slaves that Praxians take. Trading slaves for beasts is a good deal!
All of this says to me that, if you are a captured slave, you have very little opportunity to escape, but chances are decent that you will eventually make it back to your family. Getting captured by morocanth is bad, not because they will eat you (though rumors to that effect are common), but because they can use more slaves more effectively than most tribes.
If you escape, there is no reason to believe that anyone would ever have reason to return you to your last captors. They will want to recapture you from their own efforts. Anyone else (not from your tribe) that captures you will probably keep you as their own slave. There is the chance that you can find someone who is in your own sacred band, and prevail on that relationship for rescue or communication to your own clan leading to your purchase/ransom. If you manage to find a clan of your tribe, the chances are good that you can prevail on relationships to obtain a reunion . . . unless it happens to be the one that your khan humiliated last year.
More likely, your own clan may raid to obtain your rescue, especially if you are important. Swaps of captives are common; the one with fewer captives ends up adding outlander slaves or beasts to balance things out.
A returned slave should be humble in his own clan. If someone paid your ransom, you owe them big. You should show up with meat at their campfires. You should stand with them at meetings. You should follow their elders in fights. Your first captured beast is theirs.
So, no, slavery is not a permanent status. Your own family would not recognize your slavery; your tribemates probably would not either.
Chris
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