Geography

The Ronin Desert lies to the far south of the continent, within the country of Samara. The Ronin is a vast stretch of hot, dry land, alternating between flats baked hard as stone and wind-whipped dunes of golden sand, dotted with oases and precious few other landmarks. To travel the Ronin is always dangerous, and to set out without knowing exactly where one's next water will come from can be swiftly fatal. Nor is the heat the only danger--the Ronin is not entirely lifeless. Along with the more common desert creatures, the Ronin is home to fiery sand-drakes and tough, cunning sandcats, the tiny, exceedingly venomous jewel lizard and the stinging golden desert wasp. There is danger, too, from the sudden, furious sirocco, the vicious sandstorm that can strip a man's skin away and fill his lungs and eyes with sand.
Near the heart of the Ronin is a small chain of oases forming a crescent through the golden sands. Here is where the Samaran cities of Lapis and Haradah are found--thriving trade cities, since everyone who travels the Ronin must stop there for water and reprovisioning.

The Ronin is also home to a people known only as the Ronin tribesmen--a people of nomadic horsemen, fierce and harsh as the desert that is their home. The tribesmen present another danger for travelers of the Ronin, for they abide by no laws but their own and are as unpredictable and swift to strike as the desert wind.

The Ronin tribesmen are a tough, wiry people. Seldom does one see a Ronin not at the peak of physical condition, and of those that are not, most are of the very young and the very old. Their skin is a dark cinnamon-brown, darker than that of their city-dwelling Samaran cousins; their hair is black, and their eyes are fierce amber-gold like a hawk or falcon's. Like the Samarans, the Ronin wear loose clothing, usually light-colored to help shield them from some of the sun's heat; breeches, burnooses, turbans, and soft, low boots. Only when dressing for celebration do they wear the bright, vivid colors so often seen in Samaran cities.

The Ronin are a wild, fierce, headstrong people. They live fully and well, perhaps because their lifespan tends to be shorter than the peoples of the north--most Ronin die in their late forties and early fifties, as oppose to the sixties and seventies of the lands further north. The Ronin are quick to move, both in celebration and in conflict, and the tribes fight amongst each other often--often without ever losing a sense of cheerful camaraderie.
The Ronin live and move in tribes, largely independent of each other save when they meet to trade or join in battle against a common foe. They are nomadic, constantly moving, herding goats, camels, and the swift, sleek horses that they prize so dearly. Ronin horses, like those found elsewhere in Samara, are swift, small, and intelligent, but the horses of the Ronin surpass the more common Samaran breed--they are the most fleet, the most beautiful, with the greatest stamina and the highest intelligence. The Ronin sometimes bring strings of their horses to the cities of Samara to sell, but these beasts are their culls--the best steeds they keep, and defend as fiercely as they do their own children.
The Ronin are expert horsemen, men, women, and children alike; they ride without bit, stirrup, whip, or spur. Nearly all the men of any given Ronin tribe will be trained in swordsmanship as well, and they are as skilled with their wickedly curved blades as they are in the saddles of their horses. They are much feared by travelers through the Ronin Desert, as they are purported to be bandits and raiders who attack caravans for valuables and slaves.
One can travel across the Ronin Desert and back again without ever seeing the tribesmen; contrary to popular rumor, they very rarely raid caravans or travelers. They often follow them, however, just out of sight, watching them, harrying them if they deem it worth the effort. Sometimes they make sport of travelers, just for the fun of chasing them about the desert; sometimes, if they judge the members of the party to be dangerous or malevolent, they strike and kill, and loot the caravan's packs before moving swiftly away. Several Samaran lords would be happy to see the end of the Ronin, but no one is fool enough to attempt to attack them--the desert is too dangerous, and the tribesmen too skilled at sneaking about it. Only a few times has an attack been tried, and all times the armies that marched into the Ronin were forced to turn back when the tribesmen led them a merry chase across the sands, exhausting their supplies, or sneaked among them while they slept and stole their water and food or their pack animals.
Women have more freedom among the Ronin than in the Samaran cities, but less than in countries like Aleron and Melanos. They very seldom train in swordplay, though quite a few learn knife-fighting for their own defense. However, among the Ronin only women practice magic--a Ronin man attempting to learn magic would be shamed for his weakness. Ronin men, like Samaran, take many wives and, in theory, rule them, but in practice the wives, particularly the head wife, tend to rule the household. Ronin women are rarely the least bit subservient; they are as headstrong and capricious as any of their men, and though the leader of a tribe is always male, it is usually his head wife who holds the most power in the tribe.

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