Mythic Aithiopians

Although Nubians refer to the "Slavelands" as if it were a defined area, in reality the various people who make up the majority of the captives sold to Egypt are sourced from many separate localities. Some are taken from the east of the Nile and others from the wilderness between Alodian city states, but the majority come from west and southwest of Upper Nubia. Referring to the Slavelands as a single place makes it easier for Nubians to think of the inhabitants as born slaves, rather than free and independent people who are kidnapped from their homes and forced into hard labor. The Nubians forget that once upon a time, they themselves were just one of the tribes from the Slavelands.

The various peoples that make up the Mythic Aithiopians (or Aithiopes, meaning "burnt faces," singular Aithiops) were first described in travelogs like that of Diodorus Siculus. They share with the Nubians their black skin and hair. Each tribe has its own language, although as discussed earlier there is sufficient commonality between these languages for mutual comprehension. None of these people have received missionaries from any of the Divine faiths, and would typically be considered pagan. However, they all share a belief in a single Creator god, who made an initially perfect world that as later rendered imperfect by the actions of the first man and woman, a story that should sound familiar to any of the three dominant Divine religions. The Aithiopes have no organized religion or holy men; they are animists who either appease or avoid the natural spirits who were cast out of Eden with the first couple. At the option of the storyguide, their religious practices (such as they are) might be considered a Divine religion.

The names used for each of the tribes are those by which they were known to the Greeks, and still used by the Nubians. These tribes are not meant to represent the real inhabitants of East Africa; this region is very much the "Mythic" of "Mythic Africa."

Found along the coast of the Red Sea, the Icthyophagi ("fish eaters") live deep in coastal ravines, in arched dwellings made from the ribs of immense sea creatures and woven with seaweed. When the coast is inundated by strong tides the Icthyophagi gather the amazing bounty of fish it brings. The women and children target the smaller creatures and throw them onto land, while the men band up to tackle the bigger fish with goat horns and jagged rocks. The fish are taken up to the cliff-tops, where the sun heats the rocks to red-hot temperatures; the fish is then pounded into bricks of dried meat. Icthyophagi drink only once every five days, trekking inland to find the watering holes of the Blemmyae; they bloat themselves with water and lie supine, barely able to breathe while their thirst is quenched.

Icthyophagi do not form families, instead they all live together and raise their children communally. They are famous for their resistance to pain.

Chelonophagi

Some Icthyophagi live on the coastal islands of the Red Sea, and these have learned instead to feed on turtles. The islands are low-lying and numerous; the outer islands break the waves leaving the inner ones calm and idyllic. None of the islands have any soil or fresh water. During the day, immense turtles — some the size of a boat — bask in the sun at the surface of the sea. The Chelonophagi ("turtle eaters") swim up to the sleeping giants and turn them onto their backs, then swim them back to shore. They are baked belly-upwards in the sun then eaten; the upper shells are used as skiffs for when the Chelonophagi make their trips to the mainland to find fresh water.

The Rhizophagi dwell in marshes around the White Nile River. They eat the roots of the abundant reeds (thus their

The Aithiopes make interesting grog, companion, or even magus characters due to their exotic origins. They automatically receive the effects of the Outsider Social Status Flaw within Nubia, and are probably considered a runaway slave in any Arab-occupied lands. Aithiopes have intrinsic Virtues and Flaws, which are in addition to the normal allotment for characters. These are listed with each tribe's description.

If you prefer, you can play a Mythic Aithiopian as a Magic Human **(**Realms of Power: Magic page 32). The extra Virtue and Flaw instead become the Minor Virtue Magic Quality and the Minor Flaw Magic Inferiority. Magic Humans are by default immune to aging and deprivation, and you may wish to consider taking Inferiorities to negate these benefits.

name, "root eaters") which they excavate and pulp, then form into large balls which are dried in the sun. The Rhizophagi dwell in peace with one another, but are at war with the multitude of lions who come out of the desert seeking relief in the cool marshes. The Rhizophagi have no defenses against the lions, since they make no weapons. However, at the rising of Sirius, swarms of mosquitoes and biting flies descend upon the marshes. The Rhizophagi know how to use the plants of the marsh to repel these vermin, but the lions are driven away, hurt by the stings and terrified by the humming.

The Rhizophagi are excellent natural apothecaries and herb-doctors. Their vast knowledge of the natural world is learned at their mothers' knees, and it is said they never get sick and are exceptionally long-lived.

A Rhizophagus is a prize item at an Egyptian slave market; not only are they famously docile, but they have useful skills that they can use at their owner's command. Let the buyer beware: a Rhizophagus is also an expert poisoner. Typically they have good scores in Profession: Apothecary and Chirurgy. Some Rhizophagi healers may have the Mythic Herbalism Virtue (Hedge Magic Revised Edition, page 81 or Houses of Hermes: Societates, page 125)

Intrinsic Virtue & Flaw: Herbalism (Art & Academe, page 55); Noncombatant. For those without Art & Academe, the Herbalism Virtue grants access to a special Ability called Herbalism. This Ability duplicates the uses of the Medicine Ability without requiring academic knowledge of anatomy and physiology but rather relying on erroneous yet effective folk beliefs about disease and their remedies.

Story Seed: Tribal Medicine

A king's daughter has fallen ill, victim to a disease that has proven resistant to all cures. The characters are tasked, either by request or in hope of claiming the offered reward, to find a cure. Rumors speak of a Rhizophagus healer with remarkable powers

Near to the Rhizophagi are the Hylophagi, who gather fruit in great abundance when it is available, but during the rest of the year climb trees and chew upon the tenderest shoots at the very tips of branches. The Hylophagi are small and exceptionally nimble, and can leap from tree to tree like birds; even when they fall they seem to never hurt themselves. They have tails and are covered in pale fur. They fight one another for possession of certain trees, using clubs fashioned from branches; they dismember their victims by pulling them apart. Hylophagi have never mastered the manufacture of tools. They wear clothing made of leaves or tree bark tied in place with vines, and even simple man-made objects seem to baffle them.

Some Hylophagi live in immense trees with hollow trunks big enough to hold an entire village. The leaves provide them with water, and the fruit attracts animals for them to eat to supplement their diet.

Icthyophagi characters are suited to sagas set by the coast. They tend to have high scores in Survival and Swim. The bricks of dried fish paste made by the Icthyophagi are very light and highly nutritious: despite their unpalatable taste they are useful for long voyages since they don't spoil. A month's worth of this food weighs just one point of Load.

Intrinsic Virtue & Flaw: Enduring Constitution; Weakness (drinking water)

Story Seed: Coastal Raiders

A tribe of Icthyophagi have tamed one of the mighty sea-eels of the Red Sea, and are using it to raid merchant ships. This is unusual behavior for the peaceful Icthyophagi, and characters might be interested in who is really directing the tribe.

Hylophagi are not humans but a race of intelligent monkeys. Use the statistics for baboons in the Bestiary, but add the Perfect Balance Virtue and the Primitive Equipment Flaw (Grogs, page 83; for those without this book the Flaw restricts the character to using the simplest tools, and Inexpensive weapons and armor).

Hylophagi are in general considered not worth the effort of importing from the Slavelands, since they cannot learn to use tools. Some Nubian kings employ a Hylophagus gardener, who cares for the trees and plants with teeth and nails. In their homelands, Hylophagi are occasionally found living with Magical Humans such as the mouthless Astomi or the ear-winged Panotii (see Between Sand and Sun: Mythic Africa for more details).

Characters who hear about the immense village-trees of the Hylophagi may see an opportunity for an unusual covenant. They may travel into the Slavelands in search of a seed (which can be subjected to magically-accelerated growth), or else a fully-grown tree which can be moved with Free the Striding Tree (ArM5, page 139), or similar magic. A village tree has the approximate interior dimensions of a Mystic Tower. Employing Hylophagi as covenfolk is a good idea since they have expert knowledge of how to care for a village-tree.