Rumor #3: Shaved Heads for Citizens, Long Hair for Slaves

Art by fantasio

<Nuaros shakes his head, sweat and water flying from the ends of his black hair as the small boat he's on plies the waters of Lake Thaylambar. He and his crewmates are swapping stories as they work, because they're not just flinging and drawing in nets at boring intervals this time. Instead, they have to continually search the haul for a particular type of fish that supposedly comes up through the portals to other planes at the bottom of the water.

Any other fish are supposed to be tossed back over the side on the captain's orders, but Nuaros has already pocketed a few tasty beauties. Later, he and the others will collect their pay, leave the captain behind, and begin to bargain for the morsel they want for dinner. He's keeping a notable prize for Vosala, the most alluring of the women in the boat, in the hopes that he can trade it for a drink and some time with her. She's always toyed with him in the past, but this is the sort of fish they serve in that fancy restaurant with the hanging garden. She won't be able to just make a joke and walk away this time.

It's Vosala who's just brought up the next point of conversation. She visited Bezantur last tenday, the only city in Thay where foreigners are welcome, and noticed the tourists trying not to stare at her hair, which is only shaved along the sides and back. The rest of its length is pulled back into a pony tail with ties at intervals to keep the strands from getting free over the course of the day. The tail falls half way down her back and might not be a point of confusion or note in other lands - but this is Thay.>

They really are stupid, aren't they? Either that, or all the patrols and magic are working and keeping them out, since their rumors are a few hundred years out of date. Probably both.

They're idiots for a few reasons with this issue. First, they think all Red Wizards shave their heads and keep them that way so they can show off their tattoos. It's part of our 'ethnic folkways' or something like that, but Red Wizards supposedly keep it going, and then commoners do it to be more like them. It doesn't help that the Wizards who travel abroad do shave to mess with other people's heads and make an impression, even if they don't stay shaved at home.

We know damned well that if a Red Wizard wants to shave their head, they will, and if they don't feel like it, they won't. Nobody is forcing them to do anything except their superiors, and most of the higher-ups don't care if the novices burn their hair off. There are plenty of reasons why some of them keep their hair longer at home. Why show off their secret defenses if they don't have to? And if they get to stay in cushy positions, there's no risk. Some of them shave everything off in the old way, but most of them get over it after a few years. Maybe they'll do it if they have a dangerous assignment or they know they're going to be in an alchemy lab for a few months. But with magic to take it off and grow it back, it's not a big deal.

Yes, shaving all the hair on your head is an ancient custom, blah, blah, blah. But it was never for the common people; it was for the upper crust Mulan in Mulhorand, and that's it. If you go there now, you'll see it. Some of the nobles decorate their heads depending on which god they serve and which titles they have in their temple, because that way they can announce themselves just by walking into a room. Others wear those fancy wigs with different decorations that let you know who they serve.

Their commoners only shave to keep their hair out of their way, and their women rarely have the courage to do it because their beauty is in their hair or some such nonsense. Here in Thay, any citizen can shave without shame, or do it in sections, like our Vosala. We have some wicked styles, too. Our women know their worth isn't in their hair, and a few of them are more striking without it. It's a bigger deal in other lands because the people need all the help they can get to keep from looking ugly.

You've heard the rumor that our slaves can never cut their hair, just so we can tell who's a slave at a glance? That's Mulhorandi bullshit again. That's in their laws. They don't mind if their slaves are tripping all over themselves; everything is slower in Mulhorand, anyway. It's practically the land that time forgot. Hasn't changed much in thousands of years and they wonder why their empire is falling apart? But never mind that. Can you imagine if we did such a thing? We'd get some good laughs, sure, but the slaves would die even faster than they do now, catching on all kinds of things. 

We mark our slaves, but we have a few different ways of doing it. Some are branded on their necks, chests, arms, or hands in ways that can't be healed without some powerful magic. Others are pierced or bound with special jewelry they can't get off without tools and help. The slaves who do the dirtiest work in Thay on big projects, like the mines? They might have a pink finger or earlobe taken off. For the most part, they won't miss it. The gossip about how we mutilate our slaves all day long is for the pearl-clutchers in Silverymoon. Most masters won't do anything permanent that'll make a slave look disgusting or struggle to work. There are a few exceptions, of course, but some of us are necromancers who have very different ideas about beauty.

The rumors that our slaves run around half-naked are usually true, though. And why not? It doesn't get cold in most places, and it's hard to hide a weapon when you're in rags. Most of us aren't bothered by naked bodies, either. We all have the same bits and pieces. We wear the clothes we need to get a job done, or because we damned well feel like showing off, not because we're afraid of showing some skin.

When we do dress slaves up, they only get to wear light colors or white. That's right - man or woman, halfling or human, they get pastels, creams, or white. No one's going to waste rich dyes on slaves, and light shades make them stand out right away. (There's also the joke that they're walking dead anyway, so why not dress them as mourners?) We're not going to give them earthy tones that'll make it easier for them to hide or blend in with the commoners. We're also not going to load them up with jewels or the latest fashions. The most pampered slaves only get a few pieces of plain jewelry and simple cuts of cloth. And if they look dirty too quickly, that's on them.

It's not that hard to recognize a slave in Thay. You'll certainly never see a fat one, even among the dwarves. The humanoid patrols can tell the slaves from the citizens, and they aren't the brightest embers in Kossuth's brazier, if you know what I mean. The penalties for slaves being found with contraband are horrible enough to take care of most problems. The penalties for helping slaves disguise themselves take care of the rest.

But the rumors just show how gullible foreigners are. We fought a hell of a war to do it our way in Thay, so why would we keep blindly doing the same old thing? The nobles started changing it up right after we took our independence, and the Red Wizards did the same a few decades after they established their hold. Fashions come and go, and sometimes shaved looks are in, but we're not slaves to tradition or fashion. We are not slaves at all. We are free in ways other lands can only dream. We are Thayan.

<The atmosphere in the ship has become electric, and with a shared glance to confirm the need, the lot of them raise their fists and shout in unison, "Hail Thay!" Some follow it up with a hail to their deity, but some do not, and nobody cares who does or doesn't. And that is also very natural for most Thayan folk.

Nuaros notes a heartening gleam in Vosala's eye as she regards him. The evening could be worth the hard work of the day after all...>