The Umathings are barbarians who live in the riverine woodlands of the interior. The main political unit is the clan, though occasionally larger groups become important. Umathings inherit through the maternal line, though most clan chiefs are male.
They practice slash-and-burn agriculture, and raise pigs and sheep. Bronze working is relatively rare.
Their religion has many similarities with the Orlanthi pantheon of Genertela, since both are ruled by a storm god who quested to restore the world. But there are significant differences, both in the agricultural gods and the Lightbringers.
Umathings live in close cooperation with the Aldryami.
What Everybody Knows About the Umathings Any adult of the Kormarkan knows this information, and would be willing to share it with a friendly outsider over the course of a couple days.
Elves
The elves, or aldryami, are the people of the forest. We survived the
disasters that nearly ended the world because they let us live in
their woods. For generations they didn't trust any humans, and
treated us like children. But most elves can't walk in winter, and
they all fear fire. With snow, fire, and blades we drove away the
invaders from Afadjann eight times, and the elves came to trust us.
Our clan now exchanges gifts of friendship with the High Council of
Vralos.
We don't see the elves all that often. Since the forests belong to them, we shout out a request before felling trees. We stay clear of their holy groves, and in return they never enter our sacred caves. Our Halamalao warriors welcome their elven counterparts to their ceremonies.
Fonrit
Fonrit is the land of slavery. People there have dark brown skins, or
blue, or a cross between the two. Most of their slaves are blue, but
some of them are our folk, stolen by cruel slavers. They are kept
from fleeing by evil sorcery, and many are forced to dig ditches to
bring water to the fields.
The northern coast is called Afadjann, and is all ruled by a single man. The hilly part to the east is named Mondoro.
The people of Fonrit hate the elves, so they are our enemies too.
God Learners
Long ago, the God Learners tricked our ancestors, and forced them to
live in unnatural ways. Finally, our ancestors participated in a
great heroquest, performing the Lightbringers Quest to restore the
world. This freed all of Glorantha, so that the oceans, land, and
forest also rose against the God Learners, and they were all
destroyed.
You can still find places where God Learners once lived, but they are haunted and cursed.
Kormarkan
There are more than a hundred clans, and each is a little different.
Some clans are greedy and raid us, and so we raid them back. Some
cheat at selquesh. But all the clans follow Tyloque's laws, so we can
deal with them even if we are feuding.
Malki
Although the God Learners were destroyed, some of their people
survived. They built new cities on the coast, and are now godless
sorcerers. Every year they cut their fields with metal blades instead
of renewing them with growth and fire.
The Ediruss Confederation lies along the lower Ediruss River. To the west is Cerngoth, whose leader is friendly with the elves.
Sometimes we canoe to the coast and trade for their swords, and sometimes they boat upriver and trade for our honey and amber. But we are always watchful, so that the Malki will never trick us the way their ancestors did.
Umathings
To the west live other clans like ours. They worship the same gods,
honor their mothers, and speak many of the same words as us. They are
not quite the same, of course. The Kallima have as many sheep as we
do pigs. The Orik don't know how to farm. Further away, the Huamaz
live behind stone walls, like the Malki. And the Sulayz are still
slaves to the Vadeli.
The western people don't visit often, but we give them hospitality as guests, and can expect the same treatment in their lands.
Vadeli
When my grandmother was a girl, the Vadeli came from the ocean. They
tricked her uncles into thinking they were gods. But we quickly
learned that even their red-skinned warriors were not invincible, and
slew all that were in our lands.
I know that they still live on the coast, but if they come here again we will kill them.
The Gods
Tyloque is the greatest of all gods. During the Storm Age, he was the
king. When Glorantha was being destroyed by Chaos, he set out to
restore the world. Everyone knows that he began with two companions:
old Ropotes the Wise and his bearer Cotoplan. He persuaded three
others to help, even though they were not from his tribe: Phausia the
Warrior Woman, Rabilis "Sister Whore" and Systella "Sister Witch."
With their help they arrived in Hell, and gained new companions:
Thyla "Green Life," Rondella the Pauper Queen, and innocent Neiropha
the healer. Together they found the sun and reinstated him in the sky.
Equally great is Mayedra, because we live on her bounty. Her daughters Vrala and Ernamola give us food plants. Aloral gives us pigs, and Tyloque married her so we could have this blessing. Dorgalat shows us how to renew Mayedra's earth with fire. Chortikan teaches us how to hunt the animals of the forest. Fishermen make sure to honor the goddess of their river or stream. Eler the Ram brings rain, and Umath is the master of spirits.
Monsters
At night you need to beware of Shadowstalkers. Predators like dire
wolves, leopards, oxyaenas, and scimitar-tooth tigers hunt at night
too.
The Lucan beetle-folk are slow-witted but aggressive. Grues attract other Chaos monsters to their lairs. If youencounter a Watchwere or a Chaos Goat, be sure to hunt down the Grue as well.
The Tarmo Mountains to the south are home to people-eating Grey Giants and flying Hoon. They are also infested with trolls. The smaller trollkin sometimes head north eating everything in their path. When they do, we prove our friendship with the elves and help destroy them.
-- David Dunham Glorantha/HQ/RQ page: http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha.html
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