Yes I've also been curious about the "solitary" nature of the Raen. I actually interpreted that statement to mean that the Raen live in small villages or settlements, ones that typically don't cross paths with others. I reached that conclusion because of this excerpt from the Au Ra Naming Conventions post:
"The Xaela, being nomadic, live lives that are one part solitary (when traveling as a clan) and one part community (when they interact with other clans they come across in their migrations)."
This seemed to indicate that "solitary", in the context of Au Ra, might be referring to the behavior of a subgroup, as opposed to an individual person.
Additionally, this passage seems to indicate a fairly robust class/caste system... a social construct which would be rendered mostly meaningless without the existence of Raen communities:
"Unlike their Auri ancestors who employed clan names as surnames, the now-clanless Raen have adopted a more complex practice. Families of the warrior class (and generally the ruling class) are the only people “allowed†surnames in Doma, and they will often take surnames that displayed their battle prowess or position within an army."
"Though the names are not recognized by the ruling class, families of the merchant and peasant classes will still give themselves surnames as to make their everyday lives easier─the names reflecting their professions."
I'm by no means certain of my interpretation, I just wanted to bounce it off others!
"The Xaela, being nomadic, live lives that are one part solitary (when traveling as a clan) and one part community (when they interact with other clans they come across in their migrations)."
This seemed to indicate that "solitary", in the context of Au Ra, might be referring to the behavior of a subgroup, as opposed to an individual person.
Additionally, this passage seems to indicate a fairly robust class/caste system... a social construct which would be rendered mostly meaningless without the existence of Raen communities:
"Unlike their Auri ancestors who employed clan names as surnames, the now-clanless Raen have adopted a more complex practice. Families of the warrior class (and generally the ruling class) are the only people “allowed†surnames in Doma, and they will often take surnames that displayed their battle prowess or position within an army."
"Though the names are not recognized by the ruling class, families of the merchant and peasant classes will still give themselves surnames as to make their everyday lives easier─the names reflecting their professions."
I'm by no means certain of my interpretation, I just wanted to bounce it off others!
