CowardlyPaladin
2013-07-30, 11:40 PM
David Eddings, and Patrick Rothfuss are both decent fantasy writers who like deconstructing tropes in a fantasy counterpart culture to Europe with a strangely similar magic. So it wasn't too surprising to me to find two very similar cultures existed of Noble Savage Proud Warrior Race Guy culture, with extremely strange societies that cannot logically ever work in real life and an obsession with honor that borders on extreme stupidity, who work as mercenaries and practice gender equality. The Atans from David Eddings are...well let the wiki speak for itself.
It is widely held that, in prehistory, the Atans were comparable in size and temprament to the other human races. However, the early Atans observed that larger and more agressive people tended to do better in warfare than their smaller brethren. As a result, the Atans began a de-facto selective breeding program to increase their race's collective height and battle instincts (an idea which somewhat distressed Talen, who felt this was unfair to those Atans of shorter stature and more mild temprament). Unlike the Cyrgai, however, the Atans still valued intelligence and innovation, and so included these traits in their breeding considerations (albeit as secondary considerations). The "program" took place for over fifty generations, until the Atans attained their current stature (and indeed, it is likely that the practice was continued through the events in The Tamuli).
However, the idea backfired somewhat, a fact which became apparent when the Atan nation became embroiled in a countrywide civil war in the twelfth century. Apparently, the Atan fighting instinct had grown so strong that they would fight and kill one another over the most trivial of arguments, such as weather predictions. Under such conditions, the nation began to disintegrate. Fearing for the safety of his kingdom and people, the Atan king at the time (who was, by all accounts, very wise) contacted the Tamul government in Matherion and sold his entire nation into slavery. Ás a result, the Atans could no longer engage in warfare with each other or other races without Imperial consent; thus, the Atan race was saved from destruction and the Tamuls gained the finest military force in the world.
The slavery of the Atans is unconventional in that it does not hinder their affairs greatly. The Atan government is subject to orders from Matherion and the authority of the Emperor, and must respond during times of war. At all other times, however, they control their own affairs- they can use their own land, manage their own economics, and worship their own god."
The Atans are basically a bunch of warriors who if not kept under other strict control will kill each other if somebody's shadow touches them...no I'm not kidding.
The Adem http://kkc.wikia.com/wiki/Adem
Are basically a nation of mercenaries who wear distinctive Red outfits who belief in showing no outward emotion, using sigh language to indicate their own emotions, and being big believers in free love, to the point where they haven't figure out that sex leads to pregency...so they are stupid (seriously, do they not breed horses?).
I hate both these societies as I really don't loke the PWR or Noble Savage tropes, but I was curious, who would win? Assuming the two races went to war on an open plain, each fielding 100,000 men, which group of unrealistic ludicrous cultures would emerge victorious. The Adem prefer short shorts and extreme speed, while the Atans prefer giant swords and extreme strength.
Go
It is widely held that, in prehistory, the Atans were comparable in size and temprament to the other human races. However, the early Atans observed that larger and more agressive people tended to do better in warfare than their smaller brethren. As a result, the Atans began a de-facto selective breeding program to increase their race's collective height and battle instincts (an idea which somewhat distressed Talen, who felt this was unfair to those Atans of shorter stature and more mild temprament). Unlike the Cyrgai, however, the Atans still valued intelligence and innovation, and so included these traits in their breeding considerations (albeit as secondary considerations). The "program" took place for over fifty generations, until the Atans attained their current stature (and indeed, it is likely that the practice was continued through the events in The Tamuli).
However, the idea backfired somewhat, a fact which became apparent when the Atan nation became embroiled in a countrywide civil war in the twelfth century. Apparently, the Atan fighting instinct had grown so strong that they would fight and kill one another over the most trivial of arguments, such as weather predictions. Under such conditions, the nation began to disintegrate. Fearing for the safety of his kingdom and people, the Atan king at the time (who was, by all accounts, very wise) contacted the Tamul government in Matherion and sold his entire nation into slavery. Ás a result, the Atans could no longer engage in warfare with each other or other races without Imperial consent; thus, the Atan race was saved from destruction and the Tamuls gained the finest military force in the world.
The slavery of the Atans is unconventional in that it does not hinder their affairs greatly. The Atan government is subject to orders from Matherion and the authority of the Emperor, and must respond during times of war. At all other times, however, they control their own affairs- they can use their own land, manage their own economics, and worship their own god."
The Atans are basically a bunch of warriors who if not kept under other strict control will kill each other if somebody's shadow touches them...no I'm not kidding.
The Adem http://kkc.wikia.com/wiki/Adem
Are basically a nation of mercenaries who wear distinctive Red outfits who belief in showing no outward emotion, using sigh language to indicate their own emotions, and being big believers in free love, to the point where they haven't figure out that sex leads to pregency...so they are stupid (seriously, do they not breed horses?).
I hate both these societies as I really don't loke the PWR or Noble Savage tropes, but I was curious, who would win? Assuming the two races went to war on an open plain, each fielding 100,000 men, which group of unrealistic ludicrous cultures would emerge victorious. The Adem prefer short shorts and extreme speed, while the Atans prefer giant swords and extreme strength.
Go