Ruler: Clan-Lord Sha-Radian
Style of Government: Loose clans, each with a clan-chief and a shaman who share the leadership responsibilities. The clans are mostly autonomous, excepting that they nominally tithe once a year to the Clan-Lord, who serves as the 'king' when representing the country to others in the 12 Nations. This is largely something that came about in response to the encroachment of the 12 Nations, as a way of relating to their government systems without radically changing the clan system. The clan-chiefs loosely organize with those nearest them on the pasturelands, with some minor rivalries handled through competitions (spring 'olympics', horsemanship contests, etc.)
Capital: As the Xavonans are nomadic, there is no capital.
Major Cities: There are no cities in Xavona.
Culture: Xavona is home to nomadic tribes, loosely based on the Shin'a'in of Mercedes Lackey's Velgarth, or the Algars from David Edding's Belgariad.
The clans organize themselves along matrilineal lines, with inheritance and clan membership coming through the mother and grandmother -- although men have the leadership. It is forbidden to marry into your clan or the clan from which your mother came, and the young men join the clan of their wives.
There are 10 major clans. Horse Clan is the clan of the Clan-Lord. In decending order of size are: Wolf, Eagle, Bear, Raven, Deer, Spotted Owl, Elk, Turtle and Otter. It is interesting to note that not all of these species are commonly encountered in Xavona itself -- but clan secrets are closely held and this has never been explained. In addition, while the Turtle and Otter clans are the smallest in size, they tend to produce large numbers of Trackers and Protectors. It is often suspected that males with such talents are courted to marry into these smaller clans, in order that they not lose prestige by being smaller.
Economy: The Xavonian peoples are nomadic horse and cattle breeders. They trade mostly with Zuhayr, Rakis and Kenuri because of the proximity issues. Every fall there are cattle/horse fairs in border cities of these nations, and these fairs attract buyers from the other nations (as the Xavonians go nowhere else to trade, and do little trading in the off-season unless it is to purchase, not sell). The Xavonians also trade in goods related to their horses and cattle (saddles, tack, etc.). They use the trade income to supplement their nomadic lifestyle with things they do not produce themselves, such as metal weapons, cooking implements, some medicines, and some cloth. The one exception is that they will trade with the Elgidom ships whenever they ply the coast -- this trade occurs mostly with the Otter clan on the western seaboard.
Military: The Xavonian people all train in martial arts, and defend their clans against border skirmishers and raiders. If a larger army is needed, the Clan-Chiefs band together, or the Clan-Lord will call in all of the clans. They do maintain a border patrol along the borders with the three nations, but insist that is to keep the cattle in, not people out. . .
Notes: The Xavonian peoples have a lower number of Talents manifesting within their peoples than other nations do, and their Talents seem to be primarily those associated with husbandry -- Tracking and Protecting. Also, the Xavonians do not maintain a priesthood other than the shamen, who tend to be Prophet and healer wrapped into one, usually with some aspect of magic thrown in with the showmanship.
The horsebreeding program is a closely kept secret. There are three stocks -- warhorse, common horse and show horses. The warhorses receive some elementary training in how to assist a mounted soldier on the battlefield (reinless command, etc.). The common horses are for normal riding purposes and are saddle-broken only. The show horses are not necessarily the brightest of the lot, but they look wonderful and are often sold in matched pairs to nobles. There are also culls, which are sold for much less than the regular stock -- these are work horses, stupid horses, etc. There are not so many of these sold as one would think, given the size of the breeding program. In addition, no stallions are sold, to ensure the close-kept breeding program's success. It is no secret that the best of the horses are kept within the clans or tithed to the Horse Clan -- but raids to procure studs or better specimens are vastly unhealthy for the raiding party and give much merriment to the clan warriors.
Return to the Nations page.