Korthai

Korthai
Other Information
Country of Origin:	Unknown
Significant Populations:	Home port cities
Related Races:	Assi tribes

Known as the "Wolves of the Sea". Nomadic Raiders and Merchants, they are notable in that live off the ships that they sail. Their reputation as sailors is unsurpassed and most sailors have a horror story to tell of the Korthai. Many rumors float about that the Korthai are in league with demons and that they consume the flesh of their enemies.

Race Origins

Racially, the Korthai are descended from same stock as Assi, a mixture of the seafaring Tavaoi with the Uresti tribes. The tribes that became the Assi decided to move further inland up the Nie Valley, while the Korthai returned to their maritime roots. They are multi-racial now, a state of affairs that due to intermarraige between captured people and original Korthai as by fictive kinship and the prevalent custom of the adoption of captives.

History

The seafaring Tavaoi people arrived on the southern coast of Veth some time around 1500 BT, not long after the Uresti tribes migrated into lower Nie Valley from Aslar. The Tavaoi established several communities between the Nie and Darian rivers, and intermarried

Culture

The only unifying philosophy prevalent amongst the Korthai: Being Korthai transcends mortality. A spirit is always Korthai, no matter what shell it is born into. Death merely means being reborn Korthai anew. To make others Korthai (again) is a higher good.

According to the Korthai, children and prisoners of war are all viewed as "adults" in training. Prisoners of war is assigned a "parent" in the same way as the natural parent of a child in adhering to a concept of fictive kinship. Adoptions are common, even between Korthai families. Some adoptions replace the old family name with the new or merely keep the old family name. This is done in cases where parents have died. First generation Korthai naming is that of the original family and adoptive family, so first generation Korthai have two names - original family and adoptive family in that order. Second Generation children use the adoptive family name as the family name. Adopted children of adopted Korthai take the Korthai name as well. Korthai females adopt the mother's last name, while males use the father's last name.

The cultural mentality of the Korthai can be summed up as one of pragmatism. If an action can cause them to lose more than they gain, the Korthai will tend to find an alternative. This also applies into their soaking up foreign concepts, technologies, and their utilization of the talents of the various races in their fold to their fullest potential. They utilize magic and technology equally. Their mentality applies to gender as well. Women and men tend to dress utilitarian. Modest styles, but can be brightly colored. Korthai have a tendency towards bluntness and crudeness and also tend towards more coarse entertainments. "May the wind break upon your prow, and not from your behind," is a Korthai parting call that tends to irritate and horrify more genteel folk. In Korthai culture, women handle finances and trading issues while men function in a military role. Both genders sail the ships and raise the young children. Older children learn on the job from "Mentors" in apprentice roles suitable for their gender. Diplomacy is handled by both genders and what passes for Korthai government controls Korthai trading.

The Korthai have two particular sorts of communities. The first of these are groups of ships called khonn-ya, and are treated much like villages. Group of elders, the captains of the ships, all male, make decisions for the armadas along with the head merchants, all female. The seasonal activities of the khonn-ya are raiding and warfare in the summer and spring, and trading and other commercial enterprises in the winter and autumn. The ships themselves draw from several cultural design aspects to combine the best. Size varies, but all are generally fast and well made, suitable for war and trade alike. Many are magically treated for such things as movement against winds, against catching fire, and to help prevent water from entering upon a breech. There are several "Home Ports", often near trade centers, but also isolated and ethnically distinct as Korthai. Often they are composed of land-bound elders and children as well as some wounded in battle. Some ships also base themselves around certain home ports on certain Korthai trade routes. At least a pair of Korthai ships is in the region, if not in the port, to scare off other traders, aggressors. Except for a number of good natured drunken brawls, these towns tend to be well run and very quiet politically. Criminals tend to end up out to sea in 'vigilante' actions. In reality, the Korthai towns are run by Korthai law, but keep up the appearances of well ordered towns following the native laws. Korthai diplomatic policy, when they have such relations, tend to be a representative based at the home port.

Language

Main Article: Korthai Language

The common Korthai language. combines phrases and concepts from several languages, also attributed to the high degree of cultural intermixing.