The War of the Gods struck Prax horribly, and their abundant land was devastated and defiled by invasions and death. The sun fell from the sky and trolls overwhelmed the land. Spirits lurked in every corner and behind each magic. Vile chaos monsters began stalking the plains, and upon their trail came the Devil, personification of all the destruction and evil.
The world should have ended then, but the courageous Storm Bull bellowed his death cry and thundered to battle. He sought to bring all of his mysterious and violent power of creation, destruction, and turbulent energy to bear on the chaos monster. His unearthly task was awesome for even a god, but he succeeded and sent the Devil plummeting to death. But the violent and triumphant god was too wounded to do much more than cling precariously to life, and crawled away in search of healing.
The people were hard-pressed to live. They were beset by spirits and demons who did not know their places, and the living and the dead mingled in a communal horror of confusion and fear.
Then it was that Daka Fal walked the world and separated the living from the dead, setting each in his place, making known to all their duties and affairs. This established some order in the world, and was the first successful worship.
Waha was born, and he tamed the world and returned it even more to order. He made the earth be still and tamed the wild fire god, Oakfed. He dug a great canal and ordered it to digest the foul body of the devil which still lay there. He freed the Protectresses and liberated the Founders. He taught men all these skills too, so they could survive without his immediate presence. Then he taught men the Peaceful Cut which would send an animal's soul home to the Mother of Beasts when it was butchered. Finally, he taught men weapons work, so they could protect their herds. In those ways he taught them how to survive in the harsh world, and established the customs of the tribes.
Eiritha was known to the plains even before the Darkness, but worship of her could not begin until Waha liberated her daughters to mingle with the affairs of men. Then the women of the tribe learned the magic of the goddess' cult from the temple at the Paps, and carried the secrets back to the tribes with them. Since then the priestesses have been caretakers and aids to the animals, helping them to find food and health.
Thus they lived when the sun rose and Time began, and so they continued to live. This is a far fall from the once rich lands which sometimes are glimpsed in their magics, and which some tales hint of for the future. But it is proved to work, and most people born here would rather cling to these old bleak methods than travel over the far horizon to the lands of different, fearsome gods. These savage and hard deities form the familiar way of life for the people.
The Animal Nomads live upon the barren plains of Prax in the same manner which they have since the Dawn of Time. There are five large nations, or tribes: Impala, Bison, High Llama, Sable, and Morokanth. There are also smaller tribes or clans who ride on rhinos, zebras, and other such ungulates. (Horses, unicorns, pigs and goats are exceptions.) Domestic cow and wild bull herds are also included, but none of those tribes now live in Prax. The Poljoni tribes, who ride horses and herd cattle, also are not included in this list.
Survival is dependent upon the "cattle" of the herd. These beasts are the descendants of the earth goddess who lies buried deep in the ground, and they are able to extract life through her from the earth. People depend upon these animals for almost all of their requirements for day-to-day life. Tribespeople eat their flesh, drink their milk and blood, wear their skins, use bone and sinew for tools, and ride on their backs. Each facet of nomadic life is dependent upon the herd.
In return the herd depends on the people for protection, assistance, and company ever since the departure of the Storm Bull.
From this interdependence of herds and people the relationship of social mythology developed according to the group need and an appropriate response from the divine cosmos. Life was supported by the further interdependence of people and animals on the one hand and the divinities on the other.
The major survival functions of life are supplied by the ancient gods of the myths, and these in turn define the social roles of the tribal members. The men have chores of fighting enemies, butchering meat, and other tasks related to the darker (Waha) side of life. The women are healers and tenders, finding necessary plants and water in the dusty land, and otherwise taking care of the living. Daka Fal offers a subsistence hope for people to live on, and a dangerous opportunity to find real power and status during their own lifetimes. And finally there are the awesome powers of Storm Bull, too much for normal people to face but present and necessary for desert survival. Each fulfills a necessary role.
The narrowness of the religions/cult-social functions of the barbarian roles is well suited for preservation in their hostile environment. Most of their everyday life functions are defined and guided.
Troubles arise, though, when their society come into contact with strange deities who may have something more to offer a worshipper, most especially if he is unhappy with his present life. When members are tossed into the realm of new opportunities their old social guidelines cannot help. Thus there are many potential conflicts whenever people encounter this situation, and the inflexible barbarian outlook does not aid him in many foreign situations. The handling of these problems is the duty of each person, not their gods.
Such problems are the source of Adventures, and of Life itself.