Hello, Narek, Adam Theo here; (12:36:37 AM, Wednesday, August 25, 1999)
Reply to Narek's (birthright@lists.imagiconline.com) "[BIRTHRIGHT] - Masetia [long]", on 8/24/1999

this is my take on the masetians and the other tribes:

on the map, 'The Continent of Cerilia' from the BR boxed set:

the Andu occupied the territory south-west of current Mieres, in the
current desert region on the map. they were a semi-nomadic tribe,
setting up a few outposts, but mostly living a life kind of like
'Conan the Barbarian'. i'm not sure on this, since i know very little.
i would greatly appreciate some input or alternate ideas. they warred
among themselves, and in this early stage in their existence, they
were often seen as the savage, war-like barbarians by the surrounding
civilized empires. in fact, you might say the Andu were the source of
the legends of savage barbarians for the rest of Aduria.


the Rjuven occupied the area between and around the two rivers shown
on the west coast of north Aduria. what Narek referred to as the
rivers Hatet and Nukep. these were fully nomadic tribes, revering
nature with the aid of their druids. i'm the least knowledgeable
person about the nordic cultures, so i don't know what elements this
tribe could have in the pre-flight era that could lead to them
becoming the nordic culture later. they also plied the coasts for fish
and trade, but not as much as some of the other tribes. they could
also be considered the source of some savage barbarian legends,
although they were not nearly as war-like as the Andu back then.

the Brecht occupied the area just north of the Rjuven, between the
northernmost river on the ewst coast of north Aduria, and the Baerghos
Islands. they were pretty much then as they are now, just more
technically advanced. primarily sea-based traders, not war-like at
all, preferring wealth and contracts to conquering and territory.

the Vos occupied the territory just west of current Mieres, north of
the ancient Andu, and east of the ancient Brecht, stretching inland a
good ways to cover the current steppes on the map. they were probably
the smallest tribe, with the exception of the last one to be detailed
here. i'm not sure what culture they were like way back then. perhaps
the ancient Italians? they used magic, seeing it as a gift from their
god (Vorynn) to be used for some special purpose set down by society.
they were peaceful, not warring among themselves or others.

next is the Basarji, who long ago (3,000+ years) broke off/was driven
away from the rest of the tribes. they used to live just south of what
is currently Mieres, stretching halfway down the eastern adurian
coast. they are arabic, but as the Atlas says, with strong Mediterranean
flavors. perhaps an ancient Turkish-style culture using arabic
flavors? in my campaign, the reasons for them leaving this area to go
west stems from a great legend of theirs, which i have not detailed,
but involved a messiah figure and the place where the sun rises in the
morning. when they arrived in Djapar, they found the Djinn (Genies),
and formed into a more magical, arabic culture.

now the Masetians, who occupied the land south of the Basarji, from
halfway down the eastern adurian coast to that large bay with the
river feeding into it. this bay was the heart of the Masetian empire,
with many large ports strung around it's coasts. they lived almost
entirely at sea, using the ports only for trade and repairs. i see
them as ancient, sea-faring islander greeks. i get this picture from
the small hand-sketched drawing in the Abominations book under the
Serpent's pages. it has some greek style buildings as his capital
city, where the last of the Masetians remain.

and finally, the Azrans. they, i imagine, were much like the Romans,
and occupied the lands currently called Mieres and the land bridge
that no longer exists. they were long ago (3,000+ years) destroyed as
a culture and society by the war-like Andu and righteous Basarji, with
possibly some help from another tribe or two. as said in the Book of
Priestcraft, Azrai used to be the god of pride and knowledge (and IMC,
'self-perfection'), and was not always the god of shadow and lies. but
when the Andu with the help of other tribes wiped out Azrai's favorite
tribe, he grew bitter and dark. the Azrans were forced into exile, and
wandered the lands of Aduria without a home to call their own. Azrai
during this time plotted his revenge, and in the process came to gain
his new powers and portfolio, plus his great power (somehow). and then
he persuaded many of the surrounding Empires (much like many of the
Sub-Saharan empires of our world) to look north for conquest, to lands
that they formerly didn't care about. the lands of the Five Tribes.
that is when the Flight from Shadow began. after 500 years, the Five +
Sixth Tribes had colonized Cerilia, fought the elves and goblins, and
were now facing Azrai once again. Azrai contacted the other gods and
their most faithful to set a time and date of 'The Great Battle to
Decide the Fate of Cerilia'. the Time: in just a few years. the
Place: the lands formerly held by his favoured tribe, Mieres and the
Land Bridge before the Andu (who he now hated so much) had taken away
from his people.

why Azrai would set a time and place, and not have the land bridge be
the natural place where the forces just happen to meet? well, as i see
it, Azrai was already in Cerilia, with the humanoids and elves, not
only aduria with the old empires. so it is not as if Azrai was on one
side of the Straiits of Aerele and the forces of good on the other, in
Cerilia. while i am sure there were many smaller battles across
Cerilia, i believe that Azrai and the other gods (at his declaration
of war) arranged that place for the major forces to all meet, since it
was symbolic and special to Azrai. not because the forces of Azrai and
the Tribes met there. after all, Azrai was already in Cerilia. why not
carry out the war in Cerilia, against the Tribes' weakest points,
instead of in one location?

during the battle, as the elves turned to the forces of good, there
was some major force or power in the sea that almost destroyed the
Masetian fleets. the Masetians (and a few of the Basarji & Brecht)
were not a part of the land battle near the mountain, but waged war
among the waves off the coast during this epic fight. Azrai must have
had some great naval power to fight them. monsters, very possibly, but
what else? how?

anyway, the naval battle was lost by the Masetians and others, and
they retreated in shambles. not back to Cerilia, but down the coast,
to their homelands of so long ago, to try and take them back while the
forces of the Empires were at war to the north. as such, they were not
around when the gods exploded, and did not receive any bloodlines.
they just barely managed to recapture their heartland bay, and are
still there to this day. they are in shambles, though. they have, over
the centuries, managed to acquire some bloodlines through
interbreeding and bloodtheft, but most of those are of azrai, and only
of tainted and minor lines. they no longer ply the sea, and in fact
fear it. they make their living sometimes off of shallow-water
fishing, and some farming and herding. but since the lands around the
bay are not good farming lands, the population remains very low, and
based around many small (1-2 province) city-states. their culture is
now similar to ancient Babylonian, with death by drowning being a very
common punishment for even minor offenses (from the fear of water). a
modified Hamaurabi's Code holds sway over the lands, and these people
now worship spirits and demi-gods instead of the original pantheon.

overall, the lands formerly ruled by the Seven Tribes is now filled
with monsters, humanoids, and remants of a few frontier civilizations
set down by the old Empires who forced the Tribes out 2,000 years ago.
besides the Masetians, there remain few remants of the Seven Tribes,
except for maybe some Vos, Basrji, Masetian, or Azran ruins.

- -- Using 'The Bat!', 1.35. http://www.ritlabs.com
Adam Theo, A Capitalistic Libertarian Buddhist Patriotic American
Theoretic Internet Services, http://www.theoretic.com
'Your Internet Services Solution, with Quality and Privacy'
AdamTheo@Theoretic.com, ICQ:22377963 AIM:adamtheo79

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