Nomadic Herdsman

Herdsmen live in groups called douars. Each douar consists of a dozen families or so that wander the desert together. They move from pasture to pasture, pausing wherever there is water and enough forage to feed their animals. When the forage is gone, they pack up their belongings and move on. It is a practical impossibility for the douars to be much larger than twelve families or so. It requires more than a dozen animals to sustain each family, so each tribe needs about 140-150 beasts to survive. In most parts of Athas, this is the largest number of beasts that can graze a pasture area without starving. If more than a dozen families try to live together, there will not be enough forage for the additional animals. Most herders rely upon flocks of erdlus for their livelihoods. Erdlus are flightless, featherless birds covered with flaky gray to red scales, weighing as much as a full-grown man and standing as high as a tall elf. They have powerful, lanky legs ending in four-toed feet with razor sharp claws, and can run at great speeds over distances of several hundred yards. Their bodies are massive and round, with a pair of useless wings folded at their sides. Attached to their yellow, snake-like necks are small round heads with huge wedge-shaped beaks. These beaks are equally suited for working between thorns to crop forage at the roots, for piercing a predator's heart like a spearhead, or for making a meal of unwary reptiles. The first time a herder asked me to share one of the gruesome bird's eggs, I almost refused, imagining that the wrinkled, leathery shell could contain nothing edible. I couldn't have been more wrong! Erdlu eggs are a treat not to be missed. When consumed raw, as is the custom when the tribe is on the move, the red yolks have a zesty, gamey taste both satisfying and invigorating. If cooked, the whites form a spongy cake with a rich taste not unlike sharp cheese. All in all, erdlu eggs are an excellent food; a man can survive for months eating nothing else, and by drinking them raw, he can even go for a week or so without water. Aside from their eggs, however, the erdlus provide the herders with many of the other things needed to survive in the desert. When a bird becomes too old or infirm to travel, its meat fills the stew pot. One of the best knives I ever owned had an erdlu claw edge, and the birds, sharp beaks make fine spearheads. Herders long ago learned to make a kind of light armor from the birds, scaly wings, and the tendons of their long necks make fine bowstrings.Considering the value of even one of these beasts, it is no wonder that humans, demihumans and the creatures of the wastes all regard erdlus as prize quarry. Herdsmen must guard their flocks day and night, battling off or fleeing from a startling array of raiders, thieves, and monsters. As you might expect, most herdsmen are capable fighters, but even these hardy warriors know that it is best to avoid a fight whenever possible. Therefore, herdsmen tend to be gracious hosts, save that they interrogate their guests mercilessly, trying to learn all they can about the location of the dragon, raiding tribes, and anything else that might threaten their flocks. The douars are generally led by the tribe's wizard. The wizard is always a Preserver and never a Defiler, for herdsmen have a deep hatred of anyone who deprives them of good grazing land. The wisest member of each family serves as an advisor to the Athasian Societyleader, though the weight given to their opinions varies from tribe to tribe. Herdsmen have a deep and abiding respect for druids, and always leave offerings of food and other gifts at any place they pass where they know a druid resides. Clerics, too, are sure to receive a warm welcome from a herding tribe, for the cleric's magic can be of great use in helping the tribe defend its herds. Templars, however, rarely survive a visit to a nomad camp. Herdsmen have independent spirits, and they regard servants of the sorcerer-kings as harbingers of drudgery and slavery.