Heart-Seekers
Semi-Religious Sect of Prophets & Diviners
Heblin have spent generations wandering the plains of Allegri and most folk don't know why. The small wanderers are fairly closed-lipped when it comes to their traditions and none moreso than the heblin Heart-Seekers. Not widely known of outside their caravans, Heart-Seekers are an ancient sect of heblin fortune tellers that have guided and influenced the little folk for longer than any myth or legend can recount. Heart-Seekers are comparable to a small ethnic religion among the heblin and are widely respected even though very few outside the sect of heblin know much about the inner workings of the group.
Culture
Art & Architecture
Fortune Telling
Very few folks outside of the Heart-Seekers know abou their specially crafted decks of cards. Although nearly all heblin fortune tellers use detailed decks of cards as a prop for their predictions and insights, only Heart-Seekers have unique and powerful cards that have been infused with arcane energy that can be channeled during their readings.
Whorled Beamknits
One of the first lessons that a young apprentice learns is how to craft their own unique stylus for decorating and infusing their cards with arcana. They learn everything necessary to make the uniformly shaped cards from pulped wood, treating them, and using the hand-made stylus to create unique and intricate drawings or designs. Any non-heblin who sees one of these unique looking implements will usually assume it is a rustic type of wand, which it is, but have no knowledge of the cultural importance of the item. Without it, there would be no fortune telling among the heblin.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
All Heart-Seekers are individuals who've shown a particular knack for manipulating arcana and have a strong sense of empathy. Usually taken under the wing of an older Heart-Seeker, they are generally sensitive souls who care for others without prompting and are taught the art of fortune telling, which is equal parts intuition, empathy, and magic. Well known for being accurate and even inevitable, the heblin art of fortune telling is a highly sought after practice that is difficult to find in the capital cities due to being outlawed.
Although not necessarily advanced compared to other species or cultures, Heart-Seekers are excellent at reading facial expressions and body language - particularly those of other heblin. This skill is learned mainly through happenstance. Consistently spending time watching the reactions of others while reading their fortune eventually becomes a reliable skill.
Common Myths and Legends
Among heblin, the primary legend associated with this sect of fortune tellers is called The Unsung Bluff. Ages ago a respected diviner received a vision while reading her cards and influenced her entire tribe to seek a very specific location - a high plateau surrounded by eight jagged peaks. Although the reason wasn't clear she knew it was a vital location for her people.
It took centuries of wandering the continent and thousands of lives before the mysterious location was discovered and her ancestors witness a stunning celestial convergence that has become an important part of heblin culture and society and heblin from all over journey to witness the convergence each year which as been called the Darkmoon Celebration because the two moons that orbit Kaos seem to rotate around the rocky spires surrounding the plateau, blocking them from view and creating a colorful aurora of light in the area.
I like this take on a deck of cards and how they connect not only to magic but to the people using them which has developed a whole culture.