Iaviethin Tribes (/ɪavəθɛ͜ɪn/)
The Marred Wastes were the central battlefield during the War of the Dragons. Though much of the rest of the world suffered, nowhere else got blasted in the way this region was. Even now, thousands of years later, the planet is healing itself by pulling the life force out of anything living in the region. Those who live here don't do so by choice — they aren't welcome anywhere else, or they hate other places even more than certain doom.
Iavoethin tribes treat outsiders with suspicion until the newcomers have proven that they want to cooperate, in which case they might be welcomed into the tribe. Anyone who doesn't want to join their culture is treated as food at best.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
The Iavieth language is closely related to Sha'ree but not mutually intelligible. Individual tribes evolve their own phonetic variations and sometimes distinct vocabulary.
Shared customary codes and values
Life is worth as much as it can contribute to those around. This means that a dead person is more useful as dinner than they are put in the dirt. The tribe rewards a good hunter if they share their game and skill but are shunned if they keep it all to themselves.
In the Marred Wastes, it's all about kill or be killed. This mentality is ingrained in all Iaviethi from the day they are born, so they rarely handle moving to a different culture very well.
With their focus on utility, the Iaviethi don't believe in long punishments. No crimes someone has committed before joining them, no matter how horrendous, has any impact on the reception. If someone commits a crime within the tribe, punishment is often brutal and swift but always maintains the best for the tribe long-term. To anyone no longer welcome in so-called civilized lands, joining an Iaviethin tribe is a viable last option.
Common Dress code
Wearing useless valuables is laughed at if done too overtly. On the other hand, anything finely decorated with significant use is the highest possible status symbol. Lacking any such apparel, many attempts to decorate the tools and useful clothes they have as much as possible with various found gems and items. Displaying your ability to handle the environment and be good enough at it that you can afford to make your equipment pretty is a clear sign of status.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Age is a significant status symbol as few live very long in the Wastes. Signs of good health and either physical or mental strength will get you far. Having the psychological fortitude to handle their horrific surroundings is considered as important as fighting those monsters.
Gender Ideals
The Iaviethin can't afford restrictive genders. They only care about three possibilities: the ability to get pregnant, the ability to impregnate, or lacking the ability of either. The implications of this division are focused on food allocation and division of labour under some circumstances. The tribe looks after children, and little importance is placed on biological parents besides hereditary fitness.
Courtship Ideals
Being in good health or already having proven yourself a useful mate to produce offspring can serve you well during courtship. A straightforward proposal is usually the way to go, traditionally accompanied by a gift. Those attempting to court a person into getting pregnant with a child will typically bring a bigger gift and promise future supplies. Being pregnant demands a lot of energy and time, which means less of an ability to get resources, which needs to be compensated for.
Relationship Ideals
Any relationship is considered temporary as life might end at any time. Those trying to have children are expected to have a dedicated and monogamous relationship until the child is old enough not to require nursing. For less long-term plans, a relationship isn't automatically assumed to last longer than the next day.
A tribe is usually very small, around 20 to 30 people, and trysts with other tribes during peaceful encounters is strongly encouraged. Anyone who might be pregnant as the result of such a time will be cared for by the whole tribe and often more than others. This way, the worst inbreeding is prevented.
On the other end of that concern is that every tribe member is thought of as a low-key romantic relationship. Emotional bonds run deep.
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