Hyboria - WordPress.com - Yggdrasil Distro

Vendhyan
"Outside, the moan of the tortured thousands shuddered up to the stars which crusted the sweating Vendhyan night,
and the conchs bellowed like oxen in pain. In the gardens of the palace the torches glinted on polished helmets and
curved swords and gold-chased corselets. All the noble-born fighting-men of Ayodhya were gathered in the great
palace or about it, and at each broad-arched gate and door fifty archers stood on guard, with bows in their hands.
But Death stalked through the royal palace and none could stay his ghostly tread."
- Robert E. Howard: "The People of the Black Circle"
Fighting Men of Ayodhya
Vendhya is a land of ancient gods and jewels. Vendhya is a
roughly triangular peninsula lying between Kosala and
Khitai, south of the Himelian mountains. Vendhya is tropical,
with wide expanses of untamed jungle.
Vendhya is a fertile land, except in the stony regions of the
Himelian foothills. Vendhya's agriculture is well-developed,
and there is also a thriving industry of silk and woven
products, especially carpets. In the north, mines provide
copper, silver, gold and iron; the southern coast, however,
has poor seaports, making most of Vendhya's trade overland.
Vendhya's jungles provide a variety of fascinating life.
Elephants, tigers, panthers, cheetahs, gazelles and gorillas can
be found, and beautifully colored birds fill the trees. Yaks and
oxen wander through the highlands of the north, and some
have been domesticated by the hill peoples.
Vendhyan products include herbs, spices, sandalwood, jade,
mother-of-pearl and other natural substances worked into
intricately carved pieces of distinctive beauty. Vendhya is
also the source of several drugs, including various forms of
lotus blossom.
Vendhya is a stratified society, much like Turan, only older. Heading the kingdom is the ruler/scholar
caste, the Brahma, made up of the nobility of the original invading Hyrkanian tribes; below them is
warrior caste, or Kshatriyas, also of Hyrkanian descent who rule and serve in the armies; below them lie
the craftsmen and townsmen, called Vaisyas, who provided the backbone of the Vendhyan manufacturing
economy; and finally, the Sudra, or peasants, the most populous caste. Below them all lie the
Untouchables, Vendhyans whose lowly birth leaves them with the task of cleaning up garbage and
corpses.
In theory, birth determines caste. In practice, over the millennia of the Vendhyan civilization, there has
been so much interbreeding that there is little outward distinction between the members of the various
castes. All Vendhyans have light brown skin; they tend to be short and stocky, with round heads. The
Kshatriyas tend to be more slender than average for a Vendhyan, with a characteristic hooked nose.
The Vendhyans are well versed in the arts of treachery and double dealing. It is said that every
Vendhyan spies for at least two others, and often for more. Their treacheries, however, are less devious
36