[MAR - FB] The Stradiots of Namere (Home is where the Heart is)

[Khorne]

As the seasons started to shift and autumn in the Pale was slowly creeping closer to winter with the days growing increasingly darker, wetter and colder, the time was soon coming for Lorenzo to leave Riesmond and return home to the warmer, more pleasant and verdant climes of his ancestral home of Namere. Life, and therefore business, slowed down considerably during winter in the Carolean Pale - winters, which often could be very harsh, so there was no need for him to remain there as the work could be delegated to a local associate.

Home is where the heart is, and despite spending most of his adult life in the Pale, Lorenzo's true home was the wild country of merchant princes. The white gravel roads lined with cypresses, the rolling hills and steep climbs, all bathing in a warm sun. He loved the country side, perhaps even more than the palatial estates of his family.

Lorenzo was the runt of the Luppino family, but more than that he was also a bastard son born to Enzo Luppino after an extramarital elopement with a countryside girl living on Luppino owned land. Even though his father had always regarded Lorenzo as a trueborn son of his, this was less so the case with his stepmother and half-siblings. To them, Lorenzo was an outsider and as such he was mostly relegated to faraway business, jobs and shady dealings to keep away from the family. Hence the tenure in the Pale.

So, when he goes home to Namere, before stepping a foot in the family's palaces in Gonda or Lucchese, little Lupito sets out to find his other family first. The family that cares less about the situation he was born in and that accepts him as one of their own. A task that is not always the easiest, as his mother was a stradiot woman.

No one really knew who the stradioti truly were. They weren't native Namereen, they weren't Mardierian, they were just ... stradioti. They were Travelers and lived of the land, never staying too long in one place. That was also were they got their name from: 'strada', referring to the roads they traveled on. They adopted the exonym, but mostly called themselves Dromani, or 'wanderers' in their own tongue. Some claim they were originally Mogholay people who traveled throughout the continent and assimilated with the people they traveled through. Other say they are Varcosian, or perhaps even from the steppes beyond the Pyrite Empire. However, no one knows for sure and as such, they are always surrounded with an air of exoticness and mysticism: a deterrent to some and a lure to others.

The stradiots live off the roads in tent camps which can be easily set up or broken down in case of need. While some seek employment as day laborers in vineyards or olive farms, the life of a brigand or thief is more lucrative - especially in a country as chaotic as Namere. Fleet of foot and hand, with great equestrian skill. They are often hired by wealthy merchant families as light cavalrymen in times of war.

If you knew where to look, they weren't that hard to find. There were always signs left for others of their people to find kindred bands. Lorenzo knew the signs; he knew where to look. Soon he would be reunited with the clan of his mother and there would be bacchanalian feasts with drink and music. Wild dances that echoed the spinning motions of the dervishes of the far south. A moment to clear the mind and warm the heart, before returning to his father and siblings.

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A small freebuild, where I tried my hand at an @Ayrlego styled base once more. I knew I had different "homes" in my mind for Lorenzo as I came up with the character, so this was my alternative entry for the first Chapter. I eventually went with the Carolean Pale build because I have more of a story to tell there, but still wanted to build and post this one as well to flesh out the character and the setting of BOBSTOO (and Namere).

[evancelt]

Nice little tent and great personality in the figures and poses!

[Brickwolf]

Beautiful scene!

[Dutch Thriceman]

The brickbuilt tent is very well executed and the addition of the old ruinous elements really compliment the build adding just that little bit extra.

[NOD]

A great story with interesting information about the stradioti and the own family circumstances! Exciting, Lorenzo Luppino has an evil stepmother and half-siblings, this makes the story even more varied and leaves many possibilities open.

A beautiful build with people celebrating in the tent camp. The camp is right next to the ruins of pillars, and a rabbit can also be seen.