The Land of The Khazad'Maen Up'Aso

Overview:

The Khazad'Maen Up'Aso or The Free Tribe of the Steppes(or homeland depending upon translation) are a tribe of people of about 1,998,050 and have been a very close group for a long time  and have very few experiences of the outside world. Is less of a nation than a large nomadic tribe that has broken up across their land forming many branches of the main tribe of the Khazad'Dun (Central Mountains Range the tribe based off of). The majority of the people of the Khazad are nomadic or semi-nomadic except for the Nordum'Maen (Tribe of the North/Forest depending upon translation) who are the first to begin establishing permanent villages and small towns. All of the people of the Khazad adhere to the Prima'Laer Maghali (or The High Lord) who is elected by the head male of all families of the Khazad. Due to dramatic increases among the tribes agriculture the population has begun to rapidly grow and they now look outwards to the outside world.

Geography:
As was beginning to be explained above the land of the Khazad is broken into a few different environment that affects the culture of the individual branch of the Khazad. In the North of the Khazad'Dun mountains is steppes the steppes are large flat grassland within the mountains of the Khazad'Dun . The weather of the Khazad'Dun steppes is fairly cold being no higher than 60 Fahrenheit in the summer and no colder than 15 below in the winter, rain is uncommon except in the late summer, however high winds are always happening.



Khazad'Hyrm:
The only and central fortress of the Khazad and from where the First Lord of the Tribe rules from. It is where the new First Lord is elected and where the lords and chieftains of the tribe are called to meet to vote on troubles of the tribe.

Plains:
The Daaran'Maen (Plains Tribe) call the plains home. It is generally warmer here than the rest of the Kharad and is filled with large flat grasslands west outside of the Kharad. Pictured below is a Daraan'Mael semi-permanent village hut.

The Great Forest:
The Great Forest is East and directly North of the Kharad'Dun. It is home of the Nordum'Maen and also a lesser chain of mountains and is very cold. Pictured below is a Nordum village.


Culture: 
The Khazad follow a fairly simple hierarchy where all men are free but owe some fealty(taxes or service) to a higher man. The basic member of the Khazad is a Maenisch or Tribesman they tend to work land or hold some sort of minor trade. The second level is a sworn man the Lae'Knaeught  Lord's Swornman). Above him are horse lords who own property and have several men sworn to follow him the Laer'Equystrs. A man with several horse lords and owns a village is a chieftain or warlord the Waern'Laer. The highest rank within the Kharad is the Prima Laer or High or First Lord who runs the tribal branch and is a member of the Lord's Council. The Lord's Council is a collection of the Kharad Prima Laers presided by a Prima'Laer Maghali who is elected upon the death of the last Prima'Laern Maghali.
Branches of The Tribes: 
Kharad'Maen:
The Tribe of the Steppes are a semi-nomadic people who live in tents or in their permanent mountain fortresses. Smaller stone villages are home to poorer farmer Maenisch ran by Laers. They are famous for their composite shortbows, mountain almost impregnable fortresses, and their hardy and fast horses. The men here are most easily defined by their tallness, red hair, and green or steel blues eyes.

The Prima'Laer Maghali below and Kharad with traditional axe.


Daaran'Maen:
The Tribes of the Plains are a almost purely nomadic people who appear to glide through the vast plains as they hunt the hardy herds of Verrka on the plains. They are known for their tribal light armor that hides them in the plains, their highly mobile tepees and dirt winter huts. They are very tan, brown haired, generally short, and have blue eyes.


Nordum'Maen: 
The Tribe of The Forest are a enterprising and tough group of people. They are known for being the first to be civilized. They have permanent towns and villages. They have artisans and services such as mines, farms, and other special services. They have begun to adopt metal armor for their warriors and are very interested in heavy infantry and cavalry foregoing the bows of the other tribes. The men and womem of the Nordum are generally blonde and have blue eyes with varying height.

Horses:
The Khazad way of life is very much supported by their horses (the Nordum being a slight exception). The Khazad rely on them for hunting, to keep safe in battle, to help in farming, and in extreme cases for sustenance. The Khazad horse Khazad'Equystrs or Irucim'Tauzenkai (Swift Loved One) are generally very light, short, and swift horses. The Khazad (except the Daaran'Maen ) use saddles and stirrups  (a recent and popular discovery that helps the rider keep balance while firing his bow).
Warfare:
The Khazad (Except the Nordum) favor raids and skirmishes rather than conventional warfare. The Khazad of the Khazad'Maen and Daaran'Maen use their swift horses and bows to snipe enemies from a distance and will keep firing on the enemy until they are out of arrows or the enemy has caught up to them. The Khazad'Maen generally wield small shields that can be worn while still allowing them use of their bow, and in close quarters they will use one-and-a-half hand and single bladed swords, long spear, or a mace. The Daraan'Mael being the smallest in ratio developed techniques to hide themselves better such as boiled leather foot coverings, tall grass woven into their armor in the plains, and other measures. The Daaran'Maen to a man use bows, daggers, spears, and small hatchet like weapons. The Nordum'Maen are the heavy hitters of the Khazad and take pride in being so. Their development of armor gives them pride in the art of man to man combat and they will take the opportunity to do so at any chance. The Nordum use either rectangular large shields or large circular wood shields. The Nordum use spears usually going from long pikes to small javelins for skirmishing, other than spears they use almost any type of bladed weapon and hammers. 
Sieges: The majority of the Khazad to raid and siege fortresses will use a hook like device attached to a rope to scale walls. The Nordum have begun to develop specialized battering rams and siege towers as they saw used among the outsider wars.

The Shortbow: The Khazad Shortbow or Ymmur is a specially designed to get the best range and power possible while still be able to be used on horseback. The Khazad use a composition of materials to make their bows and keep these a closely guarded clan secret. The main problem with the Khazad shortbow is that is it needs to be warmed over a fire for a half to full hour before use otherwise the bow will break when strung.

Economics:
The Khazad'Maen have few trades besides their bows and arrows. In the mountains they have had some small success at mineral mining and hope to find metal. The Nordum'Maen make armor and fine weapons(besides the shortbow which was a secret kept from them) in their smithy villages as well as some small success in mining and farming. The Nordum are constantly trying to find new ways to trade and are sending out their brightest sons to learn of the world's secrets. The Daaran have no worthwhile trade besides their farms which prosper in the vibrant grasslands of the plains. The last product the Daaran is the leather and good made of the Sashineleba Janwar (Terrible or Great Beast) which they hunt in the plains. Large beast a single kill provides enough goods for months of trade. The hunting of the beast is dangerous due to their size, use of herds, and great strength.