Chained

The Chained form the very lowest level of Scythian society, lower even than the most unskilled laborer. The Chained are individuals, or the descendants of individuals, who have committed unpardonable offenses against the Scythians, their Priest-Kings, or their gods.

It is very rare that the Chained are actually put in chains. The Scythias consider themselves too civilized for such barbarity, except in the cases of particularly dangerous or deranged individuals, such as the Khul, or criminals awaiting punishment. In most cases, the chains binding a Chained into her caste are symbolic: a tattoo of a chain encircling each wrist and ankle, applied when the individual is given a name, and refreshed every few years thereafter. Once applied, these permanent markings forever bind a Chained into her caste. The only way a Chained may be Unchained is by being recruited into the warrior or priest castes. Cases of the former are unusual, while the latter is so rare as to be legendary.

Because the tattoos of the Chained mark them as belonging to the lowest strata of society, the Scythians have great difficulty understanding the respect and admiration given to the Dralls in Cinnabar. Dralls are warriors who, to the Scythians way of thinking, are still Chained, and as such are aberrations from the great plan laid down by the gods.

Although the status of the Chained denies them any value as people, a small number of the Chained caste are valued much the way expensive objects or exceptional animals might be. These individuals are well-treated and can even live quite luxuriously, as long as the Chained one retains his or her value.