In the western mountains that line the edge of the Dominion, in a narrow band of land between rocky hills and stony peaks, live the Gölkiyde. Here, evergreen forests thrive, sustained by the little rain that makes it over the mountains. At these higher altitudes, the temperature cools, leading to some of the mildest summers and coldest winters in the region. The people who live here are among the very few who can say they’ve seen snowfall within May’Kar lands.
Like many of the people living within the desert, the Gölkiyde follow the movement of the seasons. In the summer, when the snow and frost melts from highland meadows, their herders bring their goats, yaks, and camels upwards to pasture. Here, they dwell in lodges that sit empty for the rest of the year, and hunt and forage from the surrounding lands. To communicate across the greater distances in these lesser-populated areas, they whistle in a song-like form of their own language.
In the winter, when the cold is at its worst, they instead descend into the foothills, which they’ve terraced into grain fields of barley and millet and fruit orchards of apricots, walnuts, and pomegranates. Their towns here are walled and fortified- the first line of defense against raiders- and see a swell in visits from visitors and traders. Seasonal workers come here to help with the harvest, and many visit to participate in festivals and religious occasions.
It’s not quite accurate to say that the Gölkiyde are nomadic. Their settlements dot the mountainside at all heights, and most are permanent and inhabited year-round. Only some move during the year, and only as their professions demand it. Generally, these travelers end up having two places they call home, and some even end up having two families.
The coniferous forests that the Gölkiyde live among are the most abundant sources of hardwood found across the Dominion. The Gölkiyde make great use of their lumber in both their architecture and their arts. Their homes are often multistory and compact, taking advantage of small areas of relatively flat building ground. They’re skilled woodcarvers, creating intricately detailed works, both in their functional and decorative pieces. Even a simple door might have elaborate and complex carvings set into its face. They’ve developed advanced joining techniques as well, with some of their buildings standing without a single nail or bit of adhesive holding it together. May’Kar buys a great deal of lumber from the Gölkiyde each year, as well as some of these works, but only a rare few carpentry masters have been able to make as good use of the materials as the ones who harvested it.
Gölkiyde clothing is fairly distinct from what’s worn in other regions of May’Kar. They commonly wear layers of wool clothing, which is often felted and dyed in dark blue and green hues. In the colder seasons, this is further supplemented with cloaks and hats that pull down over the ears. The vast majority of their wool comes from their yaks and camels, and different parts of their coats are made into different articles of clothing with different properties, with the warmest and softest pieces being made from the down innercoat of the yak. These goods find little use in other parts of the Dominion, but fetch high prices from foreign merchants. Their clothing is also often accented with jewelry made from silver, turquoise, and agate.
The highlands are where many of the Gölkiyde holy sites can be found. Their faith, Tanuyu, unusually uniform across the various groups of the Gölkiyde, is devoted to a great god, Tan, who lives in the sky. As such, the most sacred places to Tanuyu followers are those in the highest places. The local maxima of the high ridges that overlook surrounding areas, but especially the peaks of the tallest mountains. Many of these places become sites of piety for the Tanuyu, between small temple sites for worship and offerings, and funeral sites where revered dead are taken to be devoured by birds. These sites are often in remote and sometimes dangerous locations, and so pilgrimage to them is considered a pious and commendable act.
One thing that sets Tanuyu apart from many other faiths in Faedrun and especially within the May’Kar Dominion is that it is a firmly monotheistic one. To its followers, Tan is not only the supreme god, but also the only god. All other allegedly divine figures are either fakes, or are sheygya. The term means ‘demon’, but has a more complex meaning within the mythology of the faith.
According to the Tanuyu, when the universe was young and unformed, Tan began to set order from chaos. While his power was vast and incomparable, there were many small things that needed to be done while he handled the greatest deeds like separating the earth’s mountains from its valleys. To assist him in these smaller tasks, he created the sheygya to assist him. Each one was given a task and a fragment of Tan’s power with which to complete it. But many of these sheygya became derelict in their duties, and some of them even rebelled and found mortals to extract worship from, tricking them into thinking that they were gods of Tan’s equal.
May’Kar agents working with Tanuyu followers are advised to be careful in their word choice when speaking of the gods and spirits of other faiths. Denying the supremacy of Tan, or implying that he is merely one of many, can lead to offense and even hostilities. The Mahsai have begrudgingly legitimized the Tanuyu faith due to the sheer economic advantages that positive relationships with the Gölkiyde have to offer.