Highlanders
Walls and fortresses are only as good as the men and women they hold as garrisson...
Damn brutes... all they do is hunt, eat, sleep, repeat! The landscapes they live in are absolutely gorgeous! But when are thrown into a kill or be killed situation every week just because you want to eat.... well it just isn't worth it. -Lowlander noble when asked about his business travels to the highlands
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Jarla, Aghata, Julia, Katerina
Masculine names
Maron, Jon, Julfen, Varlgh
Family names
Either the name of the father or the mother, depending on who is the family leader.
Other names
Names, for the highlanders, are often short and practical, most likely a geographical feature o the place in question.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Old imperial with very few variations.
Shared customary codes and values
All highlanders have a very obvious sense of honor and pride, seeing cowards and backstabbers as traitors or infections in the community.
Average technological level
Highlanders are masters of metalworks, often transforming the rare bars of steel that come from the lowlander forges into beautiful works of art extremely efficient arms and armor. Their buildings, however, serve their purpose very well but are primitive when compared to the grand stoneworks found in the lowlands.
Common Dress code
Highlanders, even noble and wealthy families, care not about what they were unless when in battle. They mostly were fur and leather coats that are handcrafted either by themselves or by older family members.
When in battle, of course, highlanders are extremely proud of their family heritage armor and arms, often using it while asleep or traveling. One other reason for that is the constant danger of weremen ambushes.
Art & Architecture
Art pieces done by highlander artisans, smiths or painters are very often inspired by the great sagas of old, depicting battles and triumphs of the hunters of days passed. The buildings, however, are minimalistic and often made with a stone base and wooden walls and roofs, for that helps them survive the cold.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
Similar to the lowlanders, highlanders also pass down a specific, often very old and well-crafted weapon from generation to generation. But unlike the lowlanders it is very common for ranged weapons such as longbows or sometimes crossbows to be passed down as well. Besides from that, highlanders also pass down a set of armor to their new generations; said armor varies a lot both in quality and in composition, ranging from full plate to chainmail and gambeson. Also similar to lowlanders said arms and armor are used by the new generations in battle traditionally, but the battle differs... instead of being conscripted to the state's army they are used in the various hunting orders to thin out the weremen population.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
When highlanders are born the family organizes a small feast for loved ones where the members with age above 30 have a say in what the child's name will be; aside from that, not much is done.
Coming of Age Rites
When a child turns 12 he or she accompanies he or she's parents into a simple hunt for food. When they turn 18 they accompany said parents into a hunt deeper into the woods, where weremen are more common. When they turn 20 they are sent to the local or closest Hunter Order to serve for a total of 4 obligatory years. If the person in question survives and successfully comes back with a wereman skin, pelt, head or horns they can be officially considered an adult. These rites care not about the gender of the person in question.
Funerary and Memorial customs
All adult highlanders that die are cremated. If they die in battle they gain the right to a memory stone that depicts the way they died in an epic fashion. Said stone will be fixed in the urn holding the dead highlander's ashes. However, if a highlander dies before adulthood they are simply berried in small graveyards, never to be remembered again... To the highlanders, if you did not pass the "simple" rites necessary to become an adult you are not worthy of remembering aside from mourning immediately after the death of the child in question.
Common Taboos
The worship of non-mortal gods is worthy of public shaming and often banishment from the settlement. However, incest, unlike their lowlander cousins, is not as much of a taboo since the settlements are often way smaller than in the lowlands.
Common Myths and Legends
Highlander culture is full of music stories, sagas and artworks depicting the heroics of some of their compatriots. The vast majority of said artworks are about highlander hunters that died in battle while performing a heroic deed, but some sagas inspired by lowlander heroes, sellswords, hunters or knights are known to exist.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Big breasts and waists for woman, and broad shoulders for men, as well as a big, well maintained beard.
Relationship Ideals
Highlander families are very self-contained, not allowing nor accepting marriage between family members and highlanders outside of the same community. They're are neither patriarchal nor matriarchal by default, with the family leader being defined by martial prowess or great heroic deeds. Inside their own family highlanders are often rough and cruel to their children but not out of spire, rather testing and preparing them for life in the rough highlands.
Diverged ethnicities
Encompassed species
Related Organizations
Related Items
Languages spoken
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