The Nomadic Voice

[Alex Greene]

An alternative to the Nomadic Voice from the Core Rulebook.

The Land moves.

We feel it in the air. We see it in the waters. We see the Sun and the Moon and the wandering bright dots of light that change places every night, and the tides which come and go, as we come and go. The Land moves.

We also move, as a tribe. There are towns, and we love their coin; but we don't want the Stay-at-homes trying to tell us that we have to respect them, and then try and take our kids from us to bring them up to be like them, full of lies and secrets. We have our way, and our way is right for us, and that's the order of things.

We've got a code. Now, you're new, young one, and you don't know the code; but here it is, and we're only going to tell it to you again if you're in trouble, so pay attention because this is the only time you're going to hear it from any of us when you aren't in trouble.

One. Don't get the Stay-at-homes involved.

Stay-at-homes are full of secrets and lie to each other. But even the ones with the best intentions can't help but mess us about if they get involved because, to a man, they all think that They Know What's Best For Us , and "What's Best For Us" usually means trying to force us to become like them just because they can't stand the thought that any of us are having more fun than them with their mortgages and their taxes and their affairs. Anyway, you just don't, all right?

Two. Mind the horses, and mind the dogs.

Bloodstock is our stock-in-trade. We know horses better than they do. We are always showered with gifts when we roll into town, because our horse whisperers can smell the doped-up ones, and we can spot the ringers, and we can rig their games so any horse can win in the order we choose, without them being any the wiser. And dogs are better judges of character than we are, because they can smell a stinker a mile off. But remember that even the ones they trust the most are still Stay-at-Homes, so just take their money, flash them a smile and split.

Three. Keep your nose and hands clean.

I don't just mean "wash often." We wash more often than the Stay-at-Homes do, which is why you'll often hear us call them "stinkers" when we're not feeling very charitable towards them. I mean stay away from their crimes. We've got a bad enough reputation for being dirty and for being thieves. We know who it is going around stealing the lead from their temple rooves, and it is not us. It's the gangs from the next town along, coming in to stir things up so the locals can twitch their net curtains and blame us in the wrong. We trade fair, and we split.

Four. There is a dress code.

We dress in loose clothing so we can travel long distances in comfort, and we dress modestly - but our bright colours are all symbols of life. Red means blood, and family; green is the Earth which gives us life; White is the sun, lighting our way in the day; gold and silver, blessings of the Gods; black is the road we must all walk on. Only purple is a bad colour, because purple is for funerals.

Five. We keep moving.

Okay, a lot of us are settled. But if you look closely, you'll see that a lot of us are always doing something that requires us to up sticks and go wandering, even if we all have a place to call "home" to get back to. And even the Great Caravans, those that are left - there are only three now, as of last Summer, and ours doesn't have more than a decade left, sadly, so enjoy this way of life while you can - they have a wintering patch to go to when it gets cold and the only place we can get food is in the Stay-at-Homes' shops and stores. We have anchors, but we don't plant them in the ground and concrete them in place, know what I mean?

Six. Family is everything.

We stay together, whether we are rooted in a settlement or mobile. We are family. We look after one another. We leave out the Stay-at-Homes, even when they've proven their worth a thousand times over, because they are not family. They may have their secrets and their lies, but we have our truths, and we have each other's backs, and even if we've had our arguments and we're not talking to one another, we are still closer to one another than we are to the friendliest Stay-at-Homes because we are family.

And if you forget all the rest, remember that last one. That's the one that can save your life if you remember it, or send you to Hell if you forget it.

Edited January 7, 2017 by Alex Greene

[clarence]

Very good. I've just written up a nomadic humanoid species for M-SPACE and it's really interesting trying to see the world through their eyes. Especially the way many nomadic people put their entire fate in the hands of nature.