Appearance

The Dakoi physically resemble the people of Samara and the Ronin Desert with their dark skin and their black hair, and some historians believe that the two groups were originally one people. Rather than the black eyes of the Samaran people or the amber eyes of the Ronin tribesmen, however, the Dakoi have slightly tilted eyes of a startling emerald green. They tend to be thin and wiry, for the Roof of the World is a harsh place to live and travel.
The Dakoi tend to be short-spoken, often brusque and sardonic or enigmatic and mysterious, much like their Ronin cousins, though the Dakoi are less apt to have such quick tempers. They favor deep, bright colors in their clothing, made almost entirely from the thick woolen fabrics that they weave from the coats of the sheep and goats they herd; ruby and garnet reds, golden yellow, lapis blues and malachite greens, mixed with brown and black and grey and sometimes white.

The Dakoi travel over most of the continent, from the Roof of the World to near the southern borders of Aleron and Melanos. They do not often go further south than that--the climate in Samara is hotter than they care to travel in--and they generally leave the elves of the Forest of Kéthiel alone, but, other than that, the Dakoi are welcome everywhere on the mainland.
Some call the Dakoi gypsies, but they tend to be more sober in demeanor and do not live by trickery and thievery the way gypsies often do. The Dakoi live instead by herding sheep and goats, making and selling thick cloth from the wool of their herds and dying it bright colors, often weaving it into beautiful patterns. They also gather and sell rare herbs and herbal mixtures, and can obtain rare items from other cultures as rare as the winged Avarel for trade.
The Dakoi ride and train small, tough mountain ponies, usually referred to as Dakoi ponies. Dakoi ponies are too small for war and not very attractive, being somewhat stocky, wiry, and as scrubby as most everything else in the Roof of the World, but much prized as stock mounts or pack horses and the best and most surefooted of all possible mounts for travel over rough terrain.

Copyright © 1999 Abigail Laughlin and the members of the Circle of Stone.