(08-21-2017, 03:44 PM)Hutarin Wrote: Yeah, it would.Yeah, Gloom would definitely be mostly around Mor Dhona, maybe on the outskirts of it or seen from a minor distance but I'd try to keep the respect rights to the lands. Most hand wavey I've gotten so far is that ember sky idea from a volcano eruption, since a lot of the tribe bases perception off of strange occurrences(lil bright lit hot embers floating through the air and they can't see the volcano that it all came from? Even if it's not particularly a weather, they could definitely see it as something the wind is offering).
If you're able to you could always make an alt on a different server to check out gear.
It sounds like that could work and seems pretty solid. I'd throw it at some other peeps too to see their feed back.
If you want to stick to lore, Gloom is only in Mor Dhona as stated before, so you'll want to keep that in mind as others might not want to roleplay Gloom being outside of there.
Highlights in the hair is a good idea, along with the face/body paint. You could do away with the tattoos and go for body paint instead.
It definitely came off a bit awkward. It sounds a bit better, but I'd differently ask for more feedback to see how others read it. You might also be able to condense it. Its a lot to read and some of what you have, even outside of the special weather section repeats a bit.
He definitely reminds me of lava/fire/maybe a sunset? Â
Hope that helps! There's not much more I can add to it, lol.
Yeah that'd be nice to have, I'm still thinking about the feather concept too. Would love the idea of them tattooing the patterns of bird feathers/wings on their bodies.
Thanks, that's why I was afraid posting out right about the concept without at least figuring out how much I should emphasize on areas and reduce some aspects a bit x.x;. Still really helpful regardless <3
(08-21-2017, 09:12 PM)Sounsyy Wrote: I think the weakest aspect of this tribe's idea is in their mating practices.
One of the first things I noticed was continuity, which Hut already sort of touched on. By that I mean that some of these special weathers are only seen in very select areas and some only very recently in history. And those caused by primals even more rare. The first primal in this era was summoned in Othard only shortly after the Garlean invasion forty-nine years ago. The next would not occur until 1562, halfway around the world in Eorzea.
Tension/Hopelessness appears only with Odin, the Dark Divinity, who was only released from his crystalline gaol in the Shroud as recently as the last few years. "Gloom" occurs in areas hardest hit by the Calamity, but most frequently in Mor Dhona as a result of the Battle of Silvertear Skies in 1562, fifteen years ago, though at this time the weather was simply called "miasma." Umbral Wind and Umbral Static occur (so far) only in the Sea of Clouds and Churning Mists, respectively, but both of these areas have been inaccessible for a thousand years to anyone without an airship, an invention of only the last forty-five to fifty years. This feat made even harder still without Ishgardian aid and the dragons in the area which frequently attacked airships regularly.
Is it possible these weathers could occur in other places? Theoretically. Gloom might have resulted from the annihilation of Bozja fifteen years ago. A place with an overabundance of elemental aspect could theoretically create these Umbrally charged winds, snows, static, etc. Auroras could be seen if they traveled far enough. But this begs two questions: 1) How old is this tribe? And 2) How has the tribe not died out given how rare their mating weathers are and how ridiculously far they would have to travel just to see them?
Nearly all Xaela are nomadic, but few seem to have traveled beyond the Far East. Given that this Kujqai tribe is supposedly even more flighty than their Xaela brethren, do they travel in large caravans of their people and- those other Xaela who've adopted their ways? (I'm also not really sure how this strengthens the tribe to have children with the closest willing Xaela who may or may not even believe in these superstitions? Then they bugger off the next morning.) Or smaller groups/solo? Depends on the wind? While it's an interesting concept of how this entire people are dictated by the wind, it seems unreasonable to me that one of their members (if not in a large caravan of like-minded tribe-members) would journey so far from an area with potential mating partners to foreign areas with so few available mating partners to enjoy the moment with- supposing they're willing that is. Though willingness/mood doesn't seem to play too much into it based on your description?
Which leads into my next bit: weather dictating action, in place of weather guiding action. Traditional members of this tribe observe the weathers quite strictly (though I'm assuming there would be others who may not adhere so stringently to their behavioral code? (emoji movie?)). I was attempting to find various common weather patterns in the Azim Steppe lore, but I was being quick and only turned up a couple things.
Ogodei Wrote:Fantastic! With this, I shall make the child a blanket to shelter him from the bite of the wind and frigid nights. Several times throughout the year, freezing climes will sweep over the Steppe and claim the lives of our young. <sigh> The loss of a newborn sheep is always terribly tragic.Burn After Evening Wrote:Hot winds blowing from the south have carried several fire sprites from the Nhaama Desert and into the Azim Steppe. If not dealt with immediately, the entire grassland might be in flames before next nightfall.
So while the vast, vast region of the Azim Steppe experiences more diverse changes in weather based on which way the wind blows from seemingly, I can't help but think of what happens if a Kujqai travels to a place like Vylbrand which has a long rainy season, or if they flew their bird to the Sea of Clouds during the monsoon season there? Several moons of depression and prayer?
My point has to do with mating though, so let me circle back around. Might I suggest, after all this critique, that perhaps you take a leaf out of the collective books of the Vanu Vanu and Ixali beast tribes who similarly exalt the wind?
Fernehalwes Wrote:Ixali names are comprised of a forename and a clan (or family) name. The structure of the forename is determined by two factors: the child’s sex, and the direction the wind is blowing at the time of birth.
Male
- uzal (north wind)
- azel (south wind)
- ozol (east wind)
- ezul (west wind)
Female
- utali (north wind)
- ateli (south wind)
- otoli (east wind)
- ethuli (west wind)
Finally, a sound of the clan’s (or family’s) choosing is added in front of this, forming the forename.
Example: L+ozol -> Lozol
The names of the Ixali sisters who appear in the FATE “The Four Winds†can also be seen following this pattern:
Sutali Hueloc of the North Wind
Sateli Hueloc of the South Wind
Sotoli Hueloc of the East Wind
Sethuli Hueloc of the West Wind
Most Ixali fledglings are born in the canyons of Xelphatol, so rare is a day when the wind does not blow, even a little. Therefore, to the Ixal (a very superstitious race, who rely heavily on augury in their everyday lives) being born on a day without wind is considered a terrible omen, and such newborns are cast from their nests as to not bring misfortune upon the tribe. However, some Ixali parents reluctant to sacrifice their brood will falsely claim they felt a gust even though there was none and use an name of one of the four winds to spare their child.
Perhaps by eliminating the mating "restriction" to, at least, the rare special weathers, the Kujqai can simply be named and brag about being conceived (or born? Your post kinda flipflopped between birth and conception weather) under whatever weather. This person was conceived in the midst of a raging heatwave the likes of which the Xaela of the Tail Mountains had never felt, but this one was born from a powerful western gale which some claim budged even the very Dawn Throne! Pride and bragging rights still intact, but without having to really really bend lore to get a child born prior to 50 years ago... and without travel to Eorzea being necessary...
It also adds more variety to the weathers? No two thunderstorms may be exactly alike, but if every Kujqai had to knock someone up during the singular primal summoning in Othard or when the sky got gloomy that one time in 1562, then that really strips the grandeur of their birth I would think. "I was born of the great western gloom!" "Me too."
Idk. Hut had other good suggestions. It's amazing how much clothing, jewelry, and makeup can make drastic impressions. Especially in regards to belief-systems. Tattoos or facepaints of varying colors to represent their birth weather/element, flowing clothes or heavy furs they wear like badges of honor to show their kin where they've traveled upon the winds, jewelry from far off realms made by strange peoples they've missioned their ideology to.
Food for thought. Hope it helps!
So I was thinking about the origins of how the tribe started because like you said, it's odd to have a Xaela tribe so far east and dating back further than possibly 20 years ago alone with no way to actually populate or grow. I did mention somewhere that they accept other tribes into their cultures too aside from just offspring creating the tribe, so perhaps some of the other nomadic tribes that reached beyond the Steppe would have joined or helped create the tribe. Originally was thinking the tribe would've started a long time ago with a member of the Kahkol tribe(or maybe just someone who was defeated by another tribe that hadn't joined them yet) separating himself from the Steppe out of fear of being captured or killed by another tribe. Maybe ashamed of being defeated or etc, and just fled far out to the unknown. Eventually one day having some form of enlightenment of the wind's guidance and being reminded of his former home... perhaps he wasn't alone too and the group developed from there? Maybe at the time mating was normal but then by the time these new conditions showed up and one of them bred with another, they told the story to the child and it became so the child grew up becoming exactly what he was told as apart of the weather condition. Auroras I imagine aren't too "new" so to speak but I'm definitely seeing the tribe being somewhat more rediscovered or new in the concepts for this. The idea of seeing those weather conditions would be a new custom if anything, so maybe I should abandon that idea and just encompass it overall to dictate power. That or delay how far long ago the tribe existed through just people "embracing the wind" and joining their culture, maybe following Kahkol logic of adding that name to the tribe name (instead of Kahkol Dotharl, maybe Kujkai Dotharl as an example?). Overall I do want the tribe to consist of not just blood relation but as an idea of representing all Xaela pride overall, working on something describing the love of Azim and Nhaama spread these winds to embrace their kind to some degree.
The concept of accepting other tribes of wanting to have children with them would probably be dating back to them being a small tribe to begin with. So they figured to have a bigger or stronger tribe, to be with the ones that were still standing strong or had particular abilities, beliefs and etc. Like having their time with the EJinn would embrace warriors that could swim very well, hold their breath, and have excellent stamina overall from the former two mentioned. Or the Oronir or Kagon being what they think of as direct relation to the father/mother, would be treated as honorable children to have with great respect and direct lines to the gods that Xaela worship.
Typically for migration I was wanting to have it that they often traveled together when they meet but then scatter in times like thunder and so on. So if two were to mate then at some point separate, the birth of the child would lead to the mother and the son/daughter being together. This was to help imply that the tribe would be throughout the lands and far across spread, hopefully to help spread their tribe further out and create more. As an example, say two were together, they traveled for 7 months, it became thunderstorms(and assuming neither of them were struck by lightning by this belief) the mother would be maybe somewhere in Coerthas while the father somewhere far south like Thanalan or even limsa. Then say the father bred with someone in limsa or the mother or this new offspring grew up and they bred somewhere in the northern areas of Eorzea and at some point separate, they'd divide and conquer in a sense.
As for the mention of consistent weathers.... Yeah I've thought about how silly it'd be in some areas XD. You're not wrong though, some of it is a little stricter than I think I'd want. Raining wouldn't mean every Xaela of this tribe would immediately drop everything and start crying or cave into depression never wanting to get out of slumber. I kinda imagine their individual characters would dictate how they handle each situation, like mine during rain probably would never cry(unless he was forced to fight something to survive, then he'd be a tad upset he'd have to kill in a time of grief), but majority of the time he would probably not get angry or too happy, just very solemn and quiet, silent and restricted to himself than the typical outgoing self he would normally be. I definitely need to shorten these up to be a bit more general so particular members could act differently within the same trope. Less is more? :p As for the mention of say one being of Vylbrand, it would definitely seem logical for one to be there and pray or mourn often there if it was raining very often. I imagine they would think that the sea has lead to many deaths of Xaela that tried to get to where the person is, it's a separate isle too so there'd be a wide system of them praying/believing that Xaela have been killed without any word told or survival to get there may have ended their lives. The commonness of rain would have them probably believe that area may even be cursed or bad luck lol.
So you're absolutely right about the weather condition for breeding as I had the very same thought considering Gloom specifically is mostly of Mor Dhona(again, speculation it could happen somewhere else but I don't want to bend that far), about them all being of the same weather making it somewhat less.. unique?. So you're right, perhaps I shouldn't restrict it but rather just "embrace" the concepts, so they wouldn't be limited to breeding in particular weathers(or what they consider weathers anyways regarding my char's potential case), but rather the weather they're born in would just represent a form of power or uniqueness to the kin. Maybe even instead of following the direction of the wind so tightly to dictate names, to just follow day/night with it. So someone born of the Clouded Stars, or So and so of the Pure Frost(a cloudy night, and a snowy day?) could be seen as more regular while the special conditions could dictate just more special offspring, that would dictate power in both physique(self fulfilling prophecy again) and rarity for who would be more treasured/valued. So average weathers would be common in the clan while someone born of a primal weather of some sort would be seen as a higher position of respect. I may change how they view breeding as a whole with this, they would still probably take notice of Xaela nearby or be more on the lookout of Xaela's around in special weather for the opportunity/blessing of believed stronger sounding/becoming children, but they probably wouldn't as strongly distinctively breed for the sake of breeding like I made it sound before. That could be why common weathers/children happen, because 2 Xaela liked each other enough to not mind what condition, while some Xaela are very particular about choosing whom they would take on to lead their legacy. So leaving it at encouragement in special weather and just open overall respect/consensual agreement between different tribes/Xaela sounds much better(yes I realize what I typed may have come off as more "molesty" than I intended x.x; I was afraid of that too, trying to refrain from that area, don't want it to become "It's this weather, you, random Xaela I just met... MATE WITH ME!" Just sounds silly/pervy lol... and an excuse for ERP'ers to disguise cybering as ERP >_> no thank you).
And sorry about the flip flopping, it's hard to talk about conception without it sounding creepy or people getting the wrong idea, but it would be based on the conception rather than birth(wew, it'd suck for women to force their babies out or try to keep em int he oven just waiting for a rainbow to show up LOL). That'd imply that thunderstorms of pregnant mothers would more than likely seek toward Coerthas or snowy lands to be "pure" so the thunder doesn't strike them(or the baby) and if they couldn't... Welp that's gonna be one of the silly situations in the tribe where they may have to give up the child to some stranger, ditch it out right and wish for the best, or someone's gonna be very nontraditional to the tribe and rush to the snow in effort to save the child and themselves.
As for the last mention, you actually gave me a pretty good idea... Jewelry on my char has actually been super noticeable and interesting to show when not having much for shoulders/arms(shows off bracelets, rings, etc, we have feather earrings available from the shire stuff too so
). You gave me another good idea by not just representing their own pride but maybe wearing particular pieces regarding other cultures or areas they've visited. So someone could wear boots with fur and etc signifying they may have been to Ishgard/Coerthas with them wearing heavier clothing. Then they may wear something loose/flowing to show they've been somewhere hot or etc on their gloves or top. Jewelry of other cultures is definitely there too. So someone decorated in different coloring and types of jewelry would be seen as someone who's gone to many places... I kinda like the idea of that. The paint taking it further to maybe get art done of specific areas they've been, visiting an island or Limsa, maybe have a boat or picture of a foreign tree on their arm. I'm still debating how strictly I want to go about clothing to some degrees though. Like what about choosing to wear something else by removing another piece of clothing, "Well I know I went to Coerthas and wear this fur but EHHHHH, screw that, I like these Thavnarian tights more!" *throws out the fur and puts on the tights*. Makes me question in that regards that maybe I should have them wear jewelry/tattooing to signify their migration but clothing be based off their initial birth. This gave me a lot to think about, I've definitely got to change some areas here, I may type a revised version under all this or just edit what I posted above. One thing I do want to mention is that while it's a tribe, they're still of Xaela all around. So beliefs of the common Xaela still apply along with their respect to other tribes(maybe some less than others?), so it wouldn't be unlikely for other tribes or Xaela to end up joining theirs along with their own perhaps or maybe outright leaving their own for it but still following traditional customs. I would say that because the tribe would be considered so spread out, that the region of beliefs would vary on how far they follow Xaela cultures and how far they follow Kujqai cultures. So perhaps someone who was brought in of the Kahkol may have been bitter of Xaela traditions and just outright wants to follow the wind, while maybe someone of the Qalli or Qestir that join will still follow their beliefs (singing and staying quiet) as well as the ones of the Kujqai. Point being that some of the tribe members would have varying ideals/goals, so maybe some would want to participate in the Nadaam while others have given up that portion for newfound happiness in content. Main point just being that Xaela are still Xaela despite the tribe, so those customs wouldn't be particularly thrown away or replaced.
EDIT: Side question/opinion I've also debated on... Do you think the tribe should have a Khan or is it standard every tribe is supposed to have one? I thought maybe it defeats the purpose of being "free" or going with the flow but at the same time it shows a lack of structure and I could make the emphasis on who the Khan is based on the rarest born.
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