The Qaraxae-kann, though not the only pastoralists to have entered the Valleys of the Twin Rivers, differ noticeably from their neighbors, nomad and farmer alike, in terms of not only their language but also their material culture.

Ever since some of their own began to take up agriculture along the Nalruxin (lit. "New River"), the Qaraxae-kann have been sharply divided into agrarian and pastoralist groups. While other pastoralist groups typically settle into a semi-nomadic lifestyle once they find it useful to both grow crops and herd livestock, the farming Qaraxae were quick to conclude that agriculture in the highly fertile river valley is both safer and more productive than roving over miles of wilderness. Qaraxae herders, meanwhile, developed a rather territorial attitude toward their pastures, perhaps seeking to maintain one of their last key advantages over the rapidly-growing populace of their agrarian neighbors. The Qaraxae, though in many senses still one culture, continue to find themselves divided in this regard.

At a glance, the communities of Qaraxae herders and farmers could hardly resemble each other less. The herders camp in their xatap, sizable communal tents, and their clothes consist mainly of the traditional sheepskin suba as well as other hide, fur, and woolen garb. Their most regular companions are their dogs, at once fiercely loyal to their masters and nearly feral in their countenance. The farmers, meanwhile, dwell chiefly in tsegmoudet, pit-houses expanded with interior support beams; wealthier families reside in noticeably larger dwellings and wear luxurious furs acquired through trade, while most other farmers wear rough, simple clothes of hemp fiber.

The relationship between farmer and herder is marked by stark difference and even animosity, yes, but the two groups nonetheless benefit from a degree of interdependence. The herders are quite content to subsist on the dairy and meat of their yagaorin (cattle) and tokxi (sheep), along with whatever they can hunt and forage between slaughtering and milking seasons, but in hungry times, they are grudgingly willing to trade some of their nomads' crafts and their spare livestock for bulk supplies of barley, oats, and buckwheat. Likewise, the farmers sometimes need or want more variety in meals and lifestyles than their crops of grains, beans, and fiber plants provide, so they are content to occasionally exchange the fruits of their labors for spun wool, dried meats and cheeses, and rare pelts.

This ongoing exchange of goods has also resulted in a fair amount of technological overlap between the two groups. Whoever invented it first--each group likes to boast to its own credit--the backstrap loom features prominently in Qaraxae crafts, whether the material weaved is wool or malselal (hemp fiber). Both groups are also known for smoking meats and other products in their tseghwixal, shack-like smokehouses that are torn down or renovated as needed. Both groups ferment drinks as well, though the nomads' aerag composed of sheep's milk offers quite a different experience from the farmers' mealy brews from a variety of grains.

On a similar note, in times of peace, farmers and herders alike can be found gathered around campfires, listening to one of their own recount old tales while strumming the two strings of a qomut. Should one need to signal a time of conflict or strife, one only needs to blow a long note from a buoyarangal, a hollowed bull's or ram's horn. None can say with certainty who first invented the Qotae Point, a hefty projectile head used most often by pastoralists on the hunt. The pastoralists are the chief craftsmen of the kyoultun, a heavy knife used either for butchering or combat (but never both), but these can be found in many well-off households, as can the kolsaogex, a polearm whose head is axe-like on one side and dagger-like on the other. Thankfully, the occasion to wield these and other weapons, mainly spears and the nomads' kyang (bows), only arises infrequently, and typically in small-scale raids or in the settling of individual feuds.

Even as herders and farmers differ in their values and preferred lifestyles, their innovations and decisions influence each other's lives in important ways. Whatever the future has in store for them, it is clear that their fates are intertwined, for better or for worse.

Complete starting tech list: Agrarian primary, Pastoralist secondary.