Keepers of the Moon Groupings

[Jomoru]

based on the seeker thread I thought this might be worth doing. As I've been rping I've run into some vastly different portrayals of Keeper culture and I actually think that works out wonderfully with their insular clannish nature it makes sense to me each grouping might end up with traditions and practices unseen by their fellows. Rather than trying to mandate some uniformity I would rather record the diversity giving people multiple options on how to tie themselves into people's rp.

 

So what should go here? Well

 

Name: What the group called itself obviously.

Families: the various Families found in said area

Location: Where on Eorzea they can generally be found. 

Sexual Mores: The biggest argument I've seen about Keeper canon is their breeding habits.  Rather than take sides I think its best people to let people choose to go where they may so here's where you say whether your Keeper group used pair bonding, or passed males around like a bicycle or if they didn't even acknowledge the father as part of the family etc.

Traditions: What sort of practices does your group do? Do they send people on Pilgramiges? Do they have rites of adulthood? Do they have Sin Eaters? All sorts of fun things can go here.

[Xha'li Moui]

Heres what I've got for Xha'li's village

 

Name: Haven't bothered naming it yet

 

Families: Moui, Bajihri, Jinjahal, Polaali

 

Location: Small valley in the foothills of Coerthas, about half a day's walk from the Northern edge of the Twelveswood.

 

Sexual Mores: Males are generally expected to 'due their duty' with at least 2-3 of the women.  This is consensual on both sides and forcing yourself is grounds for exile for either gender.

 

Tradition: The eldest women is the village Matriarch, and unless all the other elders oppose her unanimously what she says goes, with the exception of forcing members of the tribe to have a child.

[Knight Kat]

((Great idea Jomoru.))

 

((Please note, this no longer applies to my character as her Keeper group disbanded. She has now joined the Morbolvine Clan.))

 

Name: Shriekshroom Clan.

 

Families: Jakkya and Kaatah.

 

Location: Nomadic; they travel from hunting ground to hunting ground around the Twelveswood (aka Black Shroud). Their primary camp is in Greentear in Central Shroud.

 

Sexual Mores: The two families exchanged males with other Keeper families outside the clan. It is also not uncommon for them to accept wandering males who prove themselves to be trustworthy. The males can only be exchanged with other clans if they are willing to leave the clan. The males are not forced. Males may take mates of multiple females because of the male-to-female birth ratio making it so there are many more females than males. However, mating is something that is not forced. Both males and females help raise the children with the fathers taking on the role of primary care-givers when the children are old enough to begin clan skill training.

 

Traditions: The eldest Matron from each family takes turns leading the clan for a five-year period as the Clan Matriarch. This helps prevent long-term conflict between the two families. The Clan Matriarch typically leads as a guide, not as a dictator. Tight family bonds, and time-honored methods usually keep the members of the clan from straying from traditions.

 

Every member of the clan takes on a specific role when they come of age. Females are typically scouts, huntresses, negotiators, gatherers and trappers. Males are typically cooks, artisans, lore keepers, shamans and guardians (those who protect the children and Matriarch). Both sexes can be crafters. The clan's primary crafts are leather-working, and botany.

 

Other traditions that use to exist no longer apply as the Clan is now very small. In order to recover, they have began reinventing themselves as they adapt to the reborn realm.

 

Roles Defined: Negotiators speak on the clan's behalf, and they are highly educated. Lore Keepers have the very important role of educating children, and managing clan rituals. Shamans are magic users who heal clan members, and interpret the wishes of the Gods. Guardians are warriors who are trained in the clan's best martial skills, so that they may protect the children and Matriarch. ((Other roles mentioned should be self-explanatory.))

 

The clan is traditionally hunter/gather in trade. They would hunt and gather raw materials to trade with other clans. This has only changed recently as demands for products from the Twelveswood have changed. Also, Gridanian environmental regulations have been a strict burden on the clan. Seedkin and beastkin that the clan use to hunt are now depleted or legally protected. The clan was not war-like; therefore, the recent attacks by Ixal have been devastating.

Current Status: The clan was never large to begin with; thirty strong on average. However, the calamity and the developments after it, have reduced the clan to twelve members. The lost members are either dead, or missing.

 

The clan is now forced to survive by hunting any game they can; be it large or small. They do a lot less botany now that it no longer sustains their needs.

 

The clan has a renewed focus now. They look for new hunting grounds (outside the Twelveswood if they must), and have began better developing their martial skills.

[Michikyou]

Clan Name: The Morbolvine Clan

 

Families: Original: Molkot + Polaali

 

Original Location: North Shroud, beyond reachable borders. // Current: Eastern Thanalan near south shroud.

 

Sexual Mores:

• The clan generally only accepts strong wandering males into their ranks for temporary amounts of time to allow breeding between one to three females from each family - the Polaali or Molkot.
  Due to this ruling it is not uncommon for sisters to share a mate.
  ---- Breeding outside of the race is forbidden - even breeding with Sun Seekers is a punishable offence.
  
• In dire times of clan unity, one male from either Molkot or Polaali will offer his services to the females of the other family to reunite the families with a one child blood bond. The male selected is generally the most powerful or most witful of the available males.
  
• Breeding is always option for everyone bar the matriarch. The matriarch must breed to ensure the child rearing in the future is handled smoothly as per tradition.
  
• Males born of any clan female take their mothers name but are numbered according to thier age. The younger the male the higher the number. Numbers do not indicate how many males one female has produced but the males the clan as a whole has produced over 1-2 generations.

 

 

Traditions:

Matriarch Selection:

Matriach selection at times can pass from mother to daughter as long as the first born daughter passes her trials in a timely manner. However any member from her family or the opposing family clan may ask to challenge her legitimacy and take the trials herself. It is then up to the elders of each family to unbiasedly decide who becomes the matriarch in such a situation. They are tested relentlessly on politics, history, clan culture, hunting, land negotiation and other city state law.

 

Clan Traditions:

 

Child rearing: In the society of both families it is decided from the beginning of the clans history that the previous matriarchs eldest daughter takes on the responsibility of raising and teaching the next generation’s huntresses and hunters their duties in the clan. Thus the woman responsible for their upbringing is labelled instantly an elder of the clan and offered special privileges only second to to the matriarch. The raiser of children gets her first pick of mates after the matriarch, and unlike others is allowed to solitarily deny another of use of her current partners.

 

Huntress Trials: At the age of seven, each huntress is asked of them to begin the staging trials that lead to the coming of age ceremony. The first of which requires the young boy or girl to catch with their hands a live mammot. hey must bring this creature back to the matriarch and their ‘rearer’ for assessment; they must also explain methods of capture and their errors so that they learn how to resource their information with siblings.

The first trial is shortly after the child's first name day. it is merely for show and to check for any mental difficulties any hunter or huntress in the clan would have. It is based on merits of intellectual and historic knowledge for knowing the basics of Menphina’s governments. Hand eye coordination and basic plant identification are tested.

The second trial is to begin at the age of 10 to trial the child's readiness for real experience hunting with the huntresses - or real life healing with the healing regiment of the clan. Once each child's capabilities are tested they are sorted into a hunting group with three adults per one child to ensure safety. Healers return to the maternal female for further instructions on their healing lessons.

 

Tribal Paints: Face markings and paint are given at birth to children who seem to show exceptional talent. The more the talent each child has, the more vibrant the paints become. It is seen as a disgrace to dismiss the offerings bestowed on them by the matriarch. It is harder significantly for a male to earn tribal markings.

 

Coming of age: Coming of age is a tradition that takes place at the age of 15 in the tribe. A female of such age is then fit for motherhood if in a social position within the tribe to allow her to have a mate. However the trial is difficult and some huntresses do not pass it until they are older. The youngest hunter to have ever passed the mission was Naih’li Molkot, whom passed the trial at the age of 12.

 

 

Ceremonies:

OFFERINGS TO MENPHINA: A pilgrimage and ceremonial walk would begin as the clan dazzled themselves up in bright face paints, markings and little attire. Blue and purple lines glew on their skin from an odd residue paint. Each of the eldest daughters from every generation will carry a bowl of water floating lilies, moon flowers and herbal water to the shrine before lighting smoke sticks to pray for the goddess. The matriarch then speaks vocally of the goddesses favor, what the goddess has done for them that year before addressing other gods and goddesses.

 

Coming of Age Ceremony: once a huntress or hunter has completed the coming of age ceremony they are brought before the clan and held center to the harvests largest game. On the next full moon, beneath the moonlight they are indulged in some of the cities finest luxuries for one night and share wisdom with their elders. On this date they can state the path they wish to follow - if male they are assessed at this gathering and told if they are needed in the clan for political reasons or if they should wander. However on this night the mother of the successful party dresses in the bare minimum, her body painted in vibrant blues and purples. Her daughter or son in White, yellow and crimson. One to represent Menphina the lover, and the other her sister. After this ceremony the child in question is no longer seen as a kit, and is asked to attend adult affairs.

 

New Era Celebrations: This is the only time the clan as a whole visits a city state. The clan dresses up in the years finest furs and hides to venture into the city. Stocking up on luxuries with the previous years excess surplus. Mostly the woman of the clan end up drunk and many of the nights events are sworn to secrecy.

 

Menphina’s Son: When a male is born into the clan that week each female must pass on an extra piece of meat down to the boys mother, in offerings for menphina’s blessing.

[Fulcrum]

There's actually two that come from my character Kym'a's history - one that's really well developed, the other that's sort of a side thing as it was the village's rival and the village founder's former home. The second village is technically abandoned/ruined after the Calamity, however.

 

Name: Keepers of Yai Sahroa

Families: Binaka, two - four NPC families (undecided yet)

Location: Yai Sahroa Village, Deep North Black Shroud ('off screen'/no in game location)

Sexual Mores: Yai Sahroa is very matriarical, and for the more part, to stave off inbreeding, the males born in the village all leave through some means or another after they come of age, sometimes before. Likely, there's some sort of fostership set up with other villages, but I never developed it due to how Kym'a left Yai Sahroa.

 

Generally, wandering males with strong physiques are preferred, however average physiques are acceptable if they have proven they can survive by other means on their own. An example of this is Kym'a's mentor, an Arcanist who wandered Eorzea alone, was allowed to breed with the tribe because he was capable of defending himself through other means (magic).

 

Naming traditions of Yai Sahroa follow the standard traditions of the Keepers, though they have local variations on spellings and dialects (I used a lot of Romani for their names for variation because they fit with a lot of the in game names).

Traditions: As mentioned above, males born in Yai Sahroa all leave the village one way or another before they're old enough to be considered for breeding, to cut down the chances of in-breeding. The leaders of the village keep track of the wayward sons of the village, and three generations beyond them as well.

 

There are three leaders within the village, each taking on the name of the original leader who held that position when the village was founded when they take over. Esma is the central leadership figure, and manages the tribe's day-to-day existence; Tsura is the spiritual leadership figure, and must be gifted with healing magics, typically a Conjurer and on the rare occasion, a Hearer; Aishe is the warrior huntress figure, and leads the villages martial forces.

 

Prior to the Calamity, Yai Sahroa was locked in what they feared would be a perpetual war with the village the founders left. It was almost a rite of passage for young Yai Sahroa Miqo'te to raid Dya Dabraa and defend the village from their raiding parties, even after the two villages had tried to broker peace as the forest creatures became more and more hostile and the world hurtled towards the disaster that would be known as the Calamity. This tradition, however, is not defunct as Dya Dabraa was apparently destroyed by Bahamut's wrath.

 

 

Name: Keepers of Dya Dabraa

Families: Undecided - given that all are deceased, I didn't really bother with it.

Location: Dya Dabraa, Deep North Black Shroud ('off screen'/no in game location)

 

This village lies in ruins, most of it burned and gutted from the fires and meteors and bits of Dalamud that fell in the wake of Bahamut's return during the Calamity. It's within riding distance of Yai Sahroa, as they did use to raid each other with relative easy, however with the changes to the land it is much harder to get to now.

[Nashri'a]

This is awesome 8D Being an avid Keeper RPer myself, I greatly approve of this. I love reading everyone else's take on their clan's cultures and traditions, it's been an interesting read!

 

Character: Nashri'a Ilhakyan

 

Name: Galereaver clan

Families: Ilhakyan and two other unnamed families

Allied clan: Ba'al family.

Location: Twelveswood.

Sexual Mores: The Galereaver clan practices a tradition of 'bartering' their sons for mating and marriage to other Keeper clans to establish diplomacy and continuation of bloodline, particularly with the Ba'al family. Their males do come and go sometimes but the women of the clan are the ones in full control of their choices of mates and may even take multiple husbands if they so desire. Fathers of the clans' children may choose to stay for their mates or leave. Everything's consensual and agreed upon for both parties. Wandering males who desire to join the clan as mates, are welcomed but must go through trials to prove their worth to the clan.

 

Betrothals are not uncommon within their mating traditions. The matriarch and mothers of the clan do betroth their sons to other clans in exchange for favours, assistance and balancing the numbers of the males and females in their own clan.

 

Traditions:

 

Leadership

 

The selection of their matriarch is based on meritocracy. When a late matriarch passes on, the families will vote for the next eldest daughter (from each family) who performed the best and contributed to the clan the most, to lead the clan. As a matriarch, she is expected to perform her duties as the 'clan mother figure', take on command and oversee the clan's welfare. The matriarch will lead the clan until death or deemed unworthy of her position.

 

Jobs, Roles and Finances

 

The Galereaver clan run a poaching business in Twelveswood, selling animal furs, leathers and meat and fund themselves that way. Many of the clan members are leatherworkers, butchers, taxidermists and hunters. From time to time, they barter with other clans for supplies and materials. All men and women in the clan are all expected to know how to hunt and fight in some way and are taught how to poach and ways of survival in the woods since young age.

 

Customs, Traditions and Religion

 

The Galereaver clan are fond of war paints, tattooing and tribal markings to signify special occasions and moments of their lives, such as hunting trophies, achievements and coming of age. E.g. a child might receive a tribal tattoo to reward him/her for their first hunt.

 

The Galereavers are very much devotees of Menphina, the Goddess of Love. Songs and dance are often dedicated to her in the clan during festivities. Shrines are erected in reverence of the goddess.

 

Education and Youth

 

Mothers all have the responsibility to educate their children in the ways of hunting and survival. At a tender age, young children of clan will be expected to learn about the woods, wield a weapon, craft their own gear and taught how to survival in harsh lands. Elder clansmen will also assist in educating younger members, regardless of family. While the children of Galereaver clan are mostly home-schooled, some mothers may choose to send their children to academies and guilds to be further educated.

 

Other notes:

The Galereaver clan has an unfortunate (and unspoken) perception of gender inequality. While not openly declared about, the women of the clan are generally favoured over the men, due to the clan's dark history and their first late matriarch's influence. Women of the clan would usually be offered better education and privileges.

[Kendha'to]

Name: Whispering Wind Clan

 

Families: Burwani, Xihndal, and Jaghna.

 

Location: Nomadic; the Black Shroud and Southern Coerthas Highlands.

 

Sexual Mores: While breeding was considered very important to the clan, greater emphasis was placed on love between mates. Breeding outside the clan was very common; each year on the night of the First Sun of the First Umbral Moon, the Whispering Wind and a handful of other Keeper clans would attend an event called "Loversmoot," a celebration of Menphina with much feasting and revelry. Sons and daughters who had come of age were encouraged (but never forced) to mingle with the other clans, and it was quite common for one to find a potential mate in this manner.

 

Moot or no, all males seeking courtship with a Whispering Wind female would have to prove themselves worthy via a trial defined by her father. This rare instance of male Keeper authority was simply logical to the clan; the father would undoubtedly recall his own trial, making him the parent best suited to test the younger males. In the event that the father is deceased or otherwise not present, the nature of the trial would be decided by the Matriarch herself. It was not entirely uncommon for two or more females to share a mate and this practice was not taboo by any means. But for most of the clan, a single pairing was sufficient. For the children of the clan, the role of care-taker was shared between mother and father whenever possible.

 

Traditions: As is common among Keeper clans, the Whispering Wind was Matriarchal. Any new Matriarch was chosen among the matrons of each family based on clan contributions, decided by popular vote among all families. To help ensure the clan leader acts in the interest of the entire clan, the other families' eldest females were empowered to unanimously vote against any Matriarchal decision. In practice, however, this was almost unheard of.

 

Males were typically expected to become craftsmen, medical caretakers, Lorekeepers serving as historians or advisors to family matrons, and Guardians charged with protecting the clan and Matriarch. Females were commonly the hunters, scouts, and traders of the clan. However, it was not unheard of for males or females to step outside these bounds, or for Guardians to serve as hunters (or vice versa) in times of necessity.

Current Status: The destruction wrought by the Elder Primal Bahamut proved devastating to the Whispering Wind, with the scant few survivors scattered to the four winds. A small number of them sought refuge in Gridania.

 

((I left the bit about the Loversmoot open, in case anyone would like to incorporate that into their own clan's background. Likewise, if anyone is playing a Gridanian Keeper and needs a clan to use as a background origin, feel free to contact me.))

[ansemaru]

Name: The Elmtree Village

 

Families: Ghria, Dhava, several others that I'm trying to keep open for the sake of others retconning in characters.

 

Location: Central Shroud.

 

Sexual Mores: Typically monogamous partnership. The village was only around for a couple generations, so this was rather nebulously established. Eldest children are sent out, once they learn a trade, to find a partner among other tribes or groups, while younger children stay back (as a hypothetical pool of partners for nomadic Miqo'te, and to help support their elders with the trades that they learn.) The eldest children were meant to join up with other tribes/clans and thus keep the families from inbreeding, while outsiders were to be welcomed in as new members of the village. Males keep their surnames if they wish, but it is common for them to take on the surname of the woman they marry, and that surname is passed to any children. Homosexuality is accepted, but there is still an expectation for individuals to find a partner and raise children- whether this means marrying a beard for the purpose of childrearing or adopting children with a partner incapable of having offspring.

 

Traditions: The families gathered in the Elmtree Village lasted only a brief few generations before the Calamity scattered them to the four winds, so "tradition" is used mildly. They were a disparate bunch of Keepers, descended from a collection of young friends who wanted to settle down and become members of Gridania's guilds without giving up a sense of Keeper identity- compromising between forest and city by building their community on the edges of Gridania in the Central Shroud. The founders and the children born to them became farmers, merchants, and most of all members of the noteworthy guilds of Gridania- conjurers, archers, lancers, leatherworkers, carpenters, botanists. At 15 years of age, children are sent to join one of these guilds, and upon mastering their craft become a full-fledged adult, contributing to the welfare of the village- or, if they're the eldest son or daughter of a family, traveling afield to find a mate and settle amongst other collections of Keepers. Another odd tradition, born of the eclectic mix of families making up the village, was the names they used for their sons. Most mothers in the community only had one or two children of their own, so the suffixes given to male children were spread across all of the families, rather than just the children of one. This meant that though there could be children with the suffix 'a, 'to, 'li, 'sae, and so on, they wouldn't be brothers by blood, but rather by naming and by the bonds of spirit between their families.

 

 

Of course, all of this is rather esoteric now- the Calamity destroyed the lives and livelihoods of many members of this village, and their whole social structure collapsed in the years following Dalamud's fall. Any Keepers of Elmtree still living are scattered across Eorzea, far from their home village.

[Sounsyy]

((Ohmygosh, this is an awesome idea! I kinda hate that I'm so late to the party, but I've been trying to work more on my Keeper character lately and this thread definitely helped me break down my character's family. So without further ado, meet Saehri's family.))

 

 

 

Clan: The Tortoiseshell Clan

 

Families: Baasja & Jaab

 

Territory: The Tortoiseshell Clan makes their home at South Shroud Landing. Their hunting territory spans the southern and eastern banks of Rootslake. They have been known to make occasional rangings of the northern banks to Snakemolt, but do not venture further north in order to avoid confrontation with other Keeper clans such as the Coeurlclaws or Mujuuks.

 

Sexual Mores: Firstborn males born to the Tortoiseshell Clan mate for life to a female member of the other family within the Clan. Tortoiseshell females mate freely with males from other Keeper clans. They can, but rarely, mate for life. Children born from outside males are raised within the Clan and the fathers can chose to stay or move on.

 

 

Traditions:

 

The 'Maho' or Matriarch:

The Tortoiseshell Clan is run by a single female called the Maho, an old Amdapori word meaning 'Mother'. The Maho acts as an overseer to the daily ins and outs of the Clan, often under the guidance of Clan Elders. She mediates affairs within the Clan, organizes hunting parties, and is responsible for maintaining peaceful relations with other Clans and Gridanians.

 

The Maho can be from either Baasja or Jaab families. When the Maho has children, her first born son is named Maho'a. When Maho'a comes of age, he chooses one female of the opposite family to mate for life. This female becomes the next Maho, and the current Maho becomes an Elder. In this way, Clan leadership is always descended from past leadership so that a thousand years of knowledge is not lost.

 

However, male children are rare within both the Baasja and Jaab families. When one is born, he is precious to the Clan. If the Maho cannot provide a male child, the matriarchy does not pass to the other family. The oldest daughter of the Maho mates with a male of the other family and becomes the next Maho instead. So the matriarchy may stay within the Baasja or Jaab line for several generations until a male Baasja or Jaab is born.

 

Coming of Age:

Both males and females are considered of age at fifteen cycles.

For females, the coming of age ceremony is a hunt. The female leaves before dusk to hunt one of the adamantoise that frequent Rootslake. Armed only with a single weapon of her choice, the young female must slay an adamantoise on her own. When it is done, the entire Clan helps strip the carcass. That night, a feast made from the youth's kill is served and the young ranger drinks deep. After she has eaten, the female is stripped naked before the clan and re-dressed in colorful paints. She is blessed by the Maho and becomes a fully fledged Tortoiseshell ranger.

 

When a Maho'a turns fifteen, he receives a similar ceremony. The Clan's rangers poach an adamantoise and a feast is prepared similar to the females. Only the Maho'a does not eat. Instead he offers his food to the female of his choice. If she accepts, the two eat and drink the other's meal. At the end of the night, the couple are painted and wed by the Maho. When the sun sets on the next day, that female becomes the new Maho under the previous Maho's guidance until such a time she is ready to lead on her own.

 

Other males within the Clan, that are not Maho'a, can either find a mate within the Clan or seek fortunes with other clans. Even if a young male chooses to leave and mate elsewhere, he remains a member of the Clan and is always welcomed back.

 

Child Rearing:

Child rearing is a community effort within the Clan. Because most females within the Clan have very few children of their own (0-3 at most) they also take on the responsibility of raising the Maho's children. This is because other females do not have steady mates, while the Maho is mated for life and is expected to produce offspring until a Maho'a is born.

 

Roles:

All Tortoiseshell children are expected to learn how to perform the daily chores and duties of the Clan. Females are taught from an early age to clean and boil tortoiseshells, fish, harvest vegetables and berries from the Rootslake, make bows, and fashion arrow or spear heads from adamantoise shells.

 

As they grow up, the females of the tribe are taught to hunt the Adamantoise of Rootslake. Over time they become masters of ambushing, killing, and stripping their kills of meat and shell before the God's Quiver are any wiser to the poaching.

 

Males continue to perform the daily chores about the Landing while the females are away on rangings. Males also train as clan warriors, but do not go out on rangings. They stay and protect the Landing.

 

 

History: The Tortoiseshell Clan has existed to some extent since the 5th Astral Era. It is believed they were once Amdaporians who survived the 6th Umbral Flood. Today, the clan boasts between forty or fifty members of Baasja or Jaab descent.

 

They maintain relatively good standing with the Gridanians and are more or less peaceful with neighboring Keeper Clans. The current and previous Maho are greatly responsible for this peace. Maho Baasja makes trips to the Gridanian Markets and three of her children have joined guilds within the city.

 

Current Status: The Tortoiseshells were forced to abandoned their territory during the time of the Calamity when Garleans invaded the Black Shroud and began setting the Wood ablaze. The wildfire and the awakened Greenwrath claimed many forest dwellers. The Tortoiseshells fled the Wood and were scattered about Eorzea for a time.

 

About a year after the Calamity, members of the Baasja and Jaab families began returning to their ancestral home. Many did not return though, and picking up their old way of life was difficult. Five years after the Calamity, the Clan limps on. But food has become more scarce and the Clan has become more territorial.

[Neamhain]

Clan (Tribe):

Clan Name: Tama'hoji (Of the Viskalin'am)

Families: Walv’in

Territory: The Tama'hoji make their home in the central shroud South of Finders' Bluff. Their hunting grounds range from south-east of Florentel's Spire, stretching to Adler's springs. Known to have gone as far as the Iaxli logging grounds in times of famine. They go through great efforts to not make contact with anyone other than their kind, very racially discriminatory. If their settlement is found by others, they will take down the houses and move locations. 

Sexual Mores: While heterosexual breeding was of great importance, homosexual practices where commonplace due to Viskalin'am('s) teachings. Their religion urges homosexual practices as women were dominant and men considered lesser to them. On the First moon of Fifth Umbral Moon, the females chose from the males whom were mature to bare their offspring. This night would be referred to as "The choosing," by the tribe. The ritualistic breeding would continue till the first light shined in each individual home. Afterwards, the females would force them males to leave and would assume the practices of Viskalin'am. 

 

 

It was very common for a female to keep many males outside of "The Choosing," to mate with to relieve sexual frustration though it was impossible to conceive as the females were not ovulating.

 

 

As regards to choosing a partner outside of "The Choosing," one would go to the Kasin'ama'lan or Handler of the people during childhood (around age 5), who would choose out of the clan's populous' respected gender, and found gem'halan, a bond. These two Miqo'te would grow up as partners and if male, would have no children to claim as their own, and if female, would have many children with her partner. Females often had five to nine children within a seven year time due to their fertility. 

 

 

The role of caretaker was assigned to the submissive female in the gem'halan.

 

Traditions:

Matriarch domination:

 

 

Matriarch Domination is the dominance over the opposite gender in the tribe, males. The female Miqo'te assumed dominance over the male Miqo'te.

 

 

 

Clan Traditions:

 

Child rearing: As soon as a female Miqo'te is born, she is automatically placed above any male, even a twin brother. She is raised believing that she is of higher standing or worth than her male counterpart. That the male of any race is to serve under her and never to rule over her. The female Miqo'te was the only one allowed to wield a weapon and teach the art to themselves and if they found a male practicing the art, he would be punished with lashes and no meals for as long as they deemed necessary..

 

 

As soon as a male Miqo'te is born, he is automatically shunned by his mother and shoved to a male whom was not his biological father and given the title: "Orphan" as to not grace the men with a child.  He is taught by the males elder to him that he was to serve the women, to speak when spoken to, to not argue back, to give and receive anything the women wanted of him.  He was taught in the craft of whomever received him. Many males focused on the practice of pleasing their female superiors in whatever she needed. They were the bread makers of their clan. They provided food and served it to the females before feeding themselves.

 

 

Religious painting or Talva'nin (practice of the blood writing): At birth the Miqo'te would place a small cut to the foot of the infant, drawing blood from them. It would be applied to their face and body in regards to their name and gender. The females would do this to both genders at birth (before handing off the son if she bore a male).

 

 

Coming of age: The coming of age has two rituals, the creation of gem'halan, and the bringing of adulthood: Bnra. 

 

Bnra is taken place during the Third moon of the First Umbral Moon, where all Miqo'te gather to the Kasin'ama'lan and are born the name: Jilvn'kanama (Adult). Though they first must answer several questions that will determine if they will be driven out of the clan or will be allowed to stay. This applies to both genders.

 

 

Ceremonies: 

They are clan secrets.

 

 

Miqo'te of foreign origin joining the tribe:

 

When a Miqo'te keeper of the moon finds the Tama'hoji, they are asked if they have a clan or tribe they call home. Many say yes which causes the Tama'hoji to run them off. For those who say nay are asked if they wish to undergo Disl'yvin (conversion of origins) which makes them renounce their origin and past and start anew as a member of the Tama'hoji, thus assuming that they were bore somewhere else. The Miqo'te (male or female) therefore is given a new name and Talva'nin is applied onto them. 

[TheWizard]

Name: Mistdancer Clan.

 

Families: Katti, Alnah, and Renalah.

Location: Just north of Rootslake, uncomfortably close to Amdapor Keep.

 

Sexual Mores: All three families share males with other clans, however contact reduction over the past several years has made this harder. Mates are taken voluntarily and are typically kept for life and multiple mates are semi-common.

 

Both parents help raise the young and often the different families all help watch after and teach the growing young ones to help them find their star-charted place.

 

The clan once looked down upon homosexuality and considered it childish foolishness, however their incident with the new Renalah family Matron Merri has began to soften their views; Family is family and everyone is to be valued and loved, regardless of what gender they take as a mate.

 

 

Traditions: The Clan Matriarch is chosen from among the three Matron via a nighttime ritual making use of the positions of the stars in relation to the moon, each family has claim to one of three stars which move about the area of the moon and are told apart by their color. The Clan Matriarch typically leads as a guide, with the other two Matrons acting as advisers.

 

When of age, each member of the clan is given a star reading by an astrologer of the Katti family which helps give them insight into their destined path, this insight is to be taken however the new adult wishes. Males tend to work closer to home and act as child-rearers, handymen and crafters while females can be anything they desire. Males have been in other roles in the past however this isn't a constant.

 

As mentioned before, the Mistdancer Clan uses a form of astrology in making decisions and telling the passage of time. This art is kept by the Katti family. Clan history is kept alive by the Renalah family, however with a near vanished population this role might be taken up by another family. Also all Clan hunting and combat methods are cultivated and perfected by the Alnah family.

 

Families Explored: The Alnah are known for being more feral than the Katti and Renalah families. They have helped gotten the Mistdance Clan in trouble with the authorities on more than one occasion. They are rowdy and blunt in their humor and they aren't afraid to stick an arrow into the group right in front of someone to scare them. The Alnah family is the more combat-oriented of the three families. Due to Calamity and discontent, about a quarter of the Alnah family left to join the Coeurlclaw Poachers.

 

The Katti are the more reserved and mystic of the three families and the clan's current Matriarch, Zena, is of the Katti clan. The Katti watch the stars and speak to the land more than the other two families and are much more thoughtful in their actions. The Katti have stuck to tradition more so than many families have and have even began writing records of their dwindling culture before it vanishes.

 

The Renalah family was kind and hardworking and were knowledgeable of hunting and herbology. They were skilled in crafts and merriment, although not in the disregarding fashion of the Alnah. Prior to being wiped out in the Calamity the Renalah family were in charge of clan festivals and aiding in keeping tradition alive via song and dance. A few may have also been taken by the Coeurlclaw Poachers.