Editing Siyavash "Sukhbataar" (section)

=Notes=
On horses and signs Vister put on them: The one that's higher on the horse's flank is lion sign all Vister tribes have in common. The specific symbol varies according to the tribe, so some Vister might have a lion dormant sign, for example, this is the sign of the Fire Mountain tribe. Their message is clear, beware the lion when he awakes!
But one thing all Vister recognize is, we are all children of the Father Lion. Well, some think we are actually children of the Mother Lion, but everybody knows the lion's spirit might be either a male or female lion, and it's still the same spirit. The shamans can sort it out between them, but to everybody else, it's the same. The Vister of the steppes seem to stick to the Mother Lion sign, while the mountain Vister stick to the Father Lion. We still know we are all Children of the Lion!
Of course, there are quarrels even within a family. It's just seldom as bloody as it would be with a stranger.
The Quartz Ridge tribe has a lion rampant sign, with the lion carrying a shield and an axe, spear, or hammer in the other. The message is clear enough, we are ever-vigilant, but we don't start fights, generally.
My personal sign is an axe. Nothing more, but that's enough. As third son of the khan, I am the axe held by the Quartz Ridge's lion! Of course, on my horses, we only use the variant with the axe for the tribe's sign.

On Women (and other things that cut): Some historian from the Empire, Diordorus-or-something, commented that "Vister women fight like the men and are nowise inferior to them in bravery'. I think he underestimated our women-folk!
Sure, I don't say the Vister men are worse fighters, this wouldn't be true. It's just that women don't participate in all fights but major ones, but when they do, beware! Their ferocity is virtually unmatched. I suppose that they know that if they fall, their children might very easily die. Much as he tries, a man is not that good in taking care of infants. It really makes them nasty fighters... well, that, or they just chose to fight in the days when the feel like fighting, if you get what I mean! Given that on those days, an average woman might make you hurt using nothing but words, imagine what she'll do when she uses an weapon on top of that!
All in all, in the mountain, women take care of the children and house, men hunt, take care of the herds, and fend off the first attacks, should an enemy appear. When the tribe is threatened, though, we all fight as one, for both the daughters and the sons of the Lion share the same ancestor spirits!
That's why we bury both men and women with their personal weapons. I see in the Empire, many women don't even own weapons. The first few months, I believed they are just hiding them better than we do at home... now I just find it weird.