Originally posted on Cohost, archived in October 2024.
This post will be laying out some worldbuilding and flavor for the people of the northern mountains and foothills, known as the Mez Kiri. This is the first faction I've fleshed out to this degree, and in a subsequent post I'll dig into their central mechanic, which I'm calling Waylay.
Background
Previously in worldbuilding, the Mez Kiri have been called "Mountain Nation" after the jagged mountains they live in and around. We've known that they're loosely organized but share an ethnic/cultural/religious context. Along with "Savanna Nation" to their southeast, they have history with the ruins in the desert, which we have since determined are the bones of an ancient god, into which a city was carved.
In the current moment of the setting, the Mez Kiri are known as highway robbers along mountain roads, and in particular the "Caldera City" to their south denounces them while privately paying "tribute" to protect their own shipments.
Economics
Starting with the basics, the Mez Kiri are primarily subsistence farmers and herders in the rough foothills between the mountains and deserts. There is likely a mix of livestock, but the large goats native to the mountain terrain are primary. The sparsity of resources means that Mez Kiri settlements are small and distant, with little formal political structure beyond the scale of a village. There may also be some mobility between regions, with groups moving to higher altitude in summer and lower altitude in winter to follow seasonal vegetation and temperate weather.
Alongside and intertwined with these villages are the cavalry. Atop sure-footed goats, they can take paths through the mountains impossible for horses, wagons, or most humans for that matter. This allows them to ambush travelers quickly from unexpected directions and avoid pursuit. Between scores, much of their time is spent on infrastructure; goat-paths, campsites, stashes, and even the trade roads themselves benefit from cavalry maintenance.
Religion
Like the "Savanna Nation," the Mez Kiri trace their history back to the god-bone ruins in the desert to their east. We've floated before that the schism between the two peoples was likely religious in nature, following the discovery of the nature of the bones and a possible calamity that occurred there. As I've done for much of the worldbuilding process, I turned to Kevin Crawford's Worlds Without Number to help sketch some of this religion. I'll show the results from the WWN religion generation questions and then we can interpret.
WWN Religion Construction
- Who leads the faith? There are multiple pontiffs, friendly or otherwise, with subordinate clergy obedient to their own pontiff and perhaps cooperative with others.
- What is the god’s origin? It was an Outsider or alien from beyond
- Why does this faith matter? It’s trying to expand and needs help
- What does this faith want? Strengthen or protect its devout believers
- What are the clergy like? Common believers chosen by their peers for their technical skill and good moral qualities.
- What does this god do in society? It explains the creation and order of the world
- What is the god’s portfolio? 1. Travel or Roads 2. Death
- What are the faith’s strictures? Never/always cooperate with a certain faith
An Aside to Gush
At risk of overstating, this set of results is the reason I use procedural generation (and WWN particularly) for worldbuilding. These are random rolls on a series of tables, but they mesh so well with what we already know about the Mez Kiri and provide interesting spurs for additional complexity. It's why I chose this approach, but it still amazes me sometimes!
Interpreting the Rolls
The Mez Kiri know their god is dead. It's the first tenet of their faith and the origin story of their mythology. The desert god (name TBD) is believed to have created the world, and its death is an essential part of its (and the Mez Kiri's) story. Then, it was an act of faith for the believers to walk away from the society of their antiquity, which continues to carve that god's bones to this day. That act of faith became a hard desert journey to the mountains and foothills they now call home, but they were seen through. The road is always treacherous, but the Mez Kiri devout believe their faith sees them through travel. And as geopolitics pushes more and more trade through their part of the world, some call that a divine act as well.
Organizationally, the clergy follows the same patterns as Mez Kiri life - anyone can become a leader in the faith if their community supports them, and hierarchies are shifting and informal between communities. The faith is as old as the Mez Kiri as a distinct social group, and its practices and culture are the strongest common reference they share as a people.
Some of the extra details here, such as "Never/always cooperate with a certain faith" and "It’s trying to expand and needs help" are still loose ends for now. We'll keep them in mind as we work on building up more of the social landscape around the Mez Kiri.
Politics
While the practice of waylaying travelers through the mountains is not new, it's only become a full-fledged institution since the corruption of the southern mountains in the last few centuries. Previously, Mez Kiri life (and political power) were centered firmly in the village, and by extension with the religious leaders there. The bands of cavalry who camp in mountain caves and swoop down on passing trade caravans don't fit very well in this system.
But many young Mez Kiri see the cavalry as an opportunity for adventure and a way to benefit their families and communities. And it's undeniable that the cavalry have brought significant wealth and resources to the Mez Kiri as a whole, extracted at swordpoint. As a result, there is a sometimes tense understanding between local priests and cavalry captains - the village provides mounts, recruits, and stability, and in turn most seized goods flow back to the village in time. Everyone attends the holidays together and plays nice, at least for now.
Next Up
I'm really happy to have one part of the world pretty ironed out and named so that things feel a little more substantial. I actually have a fair amount of design work done for Waylay, the signature Mez Kiri mechanic, so I'll be writing that up next. After that, I'll probably pivot to thinking about black, since it feels like the graveyard is going to be important for this set.