The Hsunchen
What the histories
tell us
1363 Sheng
raids much of Teshnos, taking northern tribesfolk as troops.
-1460 Seleran
Empire. Mountain and jungle hsunchen are
taken onto the steppes to guard lines of
communication and to act as scouts and
shock troops in the invasion of the West.
1461-4 Pentans
driven out of Lunar lands.
1503 Pentans
returned to Oraya
1506 Nights of
Horror. The Redlands are abandoned to
the Lunars.
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| Hyaloring depiction of tiger-kin |
What we can know
from these histories and our other sources
Teshnan disinterest concerning what lies beyond their
borders is as proverbial as is their lassitude, and extends to the Hsunchen
living within and on their borders.
The peoples who have been imported onto the steppe are
starting to lose both, and some are happily engaging with their new home. More just want the pain to stop.
Although they are frequently from within the borders of Teshnos, all of these peoples are generically referred to as Shan Shan Hsunchen, since the Shan Shan tends to dominate their geographical thinking.
Their Culture
Their homes are of mud-brick, stone and rammed-earth,
sharing a continuous wall and roof, making each settlement a fortress in and of
itself. They are painted a single
colour, dependent upon the clan.
Their songs are
unique to each people, and their accompanying instruments generally
likewise. The sounds tend to imitate
their Beast Kin.
Clothing is
variable, and will generally involve some portion of the hide- or imitation
thereof – of their Beast Kin.
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| A Teshnan depiction of wolf-kin |
Their Religion
Another noteworthy exception to the ‘pattern’ of Pent.
All follow their Beast Kin Spirit, but many other spirits
and deities may have been adopted on their travels. Known examples include:
Embyli Aldrya
Dryads
Dozaki
Blood Sun
Black Sun
Other Hsunchen – whether propitiatory or otherwise
Variants upon spirits and deities from the various Pentan
peoples
Local Landscape Daimons or Spirits
Ancestral Spirits
Chaos Gods – whether propitiatory or otherwise
Yara – propitiation generally
Tien – propitiation, except on very rare occasions in a
deadly blood feud.
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| Studies of semi-transformed Hsunchen by an Irippi Ontor scholar |
Teshnan Hsunchen
Names
Due to their complex interactions, there are distinct
similarities and differences between
the local dialects of Hsunchen-speech.
There is a tendency to imitate the sounds of the Beast Kin, although
this is more of an accent on top of the dialect. Names have a great commonality amongst the
clans, but the basic pronunciation of the syllable will be dependent upon
whether the people are predator, prey, or other.
All personal names have two syllables only, but are
generally linked with a nick-name.
All place and clan names have three words, and may be of
either or both genders.
Male Initial Syllable
Predator: Ug-,
Jig-, Dor-, Sin-, Khe-, Nam-, Nga-, Cho-, Min-, Ten-
Prey: Us-,
Jis-, Dor-, Sin-, Se-, Nam-, Sha-, Cho-, Min-, Ten-
Other: Ung-,
Jing-, Dar-, Sing-, Khes-, Nams-, Ngas-, Cha-, Ming-, Teng-
Male Terminal Syllable
Predator: -ye,
-yen, -me, -ji, -jur, -sar, -gyel,
-wang, -pa
Prey: -ye,
-yen, -me, -ti, -tur, -sar, -tiel, -wad,
-pa
Other: -ye,
-yen, -me, -je, -jer, -ser, -gyel,
-weng, -pe
Female Initial Syllable
Predator: Je-,
Pe-, So-, De-, Do-, Chu-, Yea-, Lha-, Tsche-
Prey: Je-,
Pe-, So-, De-, Do-, Chu-, Yea-, Lha-, Se-
Other: Jes-,
Pes-, Sas-, Des-, Das-, Chus-, Yas-, Lhas-, Nge-
Female Terminal Syllable
Predator: -ma,
-mo, -nam, -ki, -tso, -tsun, -chen, -ring
Prey: -ma,
-mo, -nam, -si, -so, -sun, -sen, -rish
Other: -me,
-ngem, -ke, -tse, -tsun, -cheng, -reng
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