Scholam

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

When a female child is born they are taken by the clan Skywatcher, the most experienced Maje in the clan, to a secluded location to be presented before their ancestors and whatever guardian spirit or entity the clan worships. For the Scholam these entities tend to be Dryads or Nymphs, who usually take great pleasure in reading the child's markings and naming them. Female Scholam names tend to be rough with a hint of beauty in it, reflecting precious gems, artworks, patterns and usually reflecting what they will be later in life, such as Raquel (named after rough sapphires, a beauty with a sharp tongue or one who doesn't conform to traditions).

Masculine names

When a male child is born they are taken by the clan Skywatcher, the most experienced Maje in the clan, to a secluded location to be presented before their ancestors and whatever guardian spirit or entity the clan worships. For the Scholam, these entities tend to be Dryads or Nymphs, who usually take great pleasure in reading the child's markings and naming them. Male Scholam names are heavily based on what their markings foretell, and are usually quite rough, with names like Khadar.

Family names

Due to the Scholam's heavy interactions with other cultures their clans tend to take on a Clan name reflection those they admire, those who aided them in their time of need or those who have shown a great deal of respect for their culture. As such, it is not uncommon to find clans with names such as Vigrsaor (Dunleode) or Alarie (Briven), due to the Scholam's frequent interactions with both of those cultures.

Other names

All Scholam, once they are of age, are given a middle name that reflects who they are now, which can change over time. These names, unlike their other two, tend to be more literal, such as Rocksmasher or Beautyweaver.

Culture

Common Etiquette rules

For the Scholam, informality is the best form of flattery, with those who are close to each other using their middle names instead of their primary or clan names, as a sign of respect. When moving around others in the clan they don't know very well or outsiders, Scholam tend to be quite rigid and formally polite, with 'yes sirs' and 'no sirs', which is often seen as rude and somewhat aggressive behaviour.

Common Dress code

Due to their Goliath resistance to natural cold, the Scholam are quite pragmatic when it comes to their clothing, wear what you need for your job and/or to survive. Since layers upon layers of clothing is not required for their survival high in the mountains, hunters and warriors tend to wear hide armour most of the time whilst those artisans who remain in the clan village wear a layer of something to keep them modest. These clothing's often use natural colourings to make them vibrant and stylized, which reflect the creator or the individual wearing it.

Art & Architecture

Due to the Scholam's population living almost entirely in the 'Balian Lowlands', a more temperate but still rugged land, they utilize wood and hide in their structures, with most of their housing being roofed with wooden slats and being comprised of a stone foundation with wooden walls. Back when the Syck Imperium were still around the Scholam lived above where much of the Imperium's heartlands were and, as such, were one of the earliest Goliath Cultures to be integrated into the Imperium. This has left them with a long history of stone workers and artisans, who chisel swirling patterns into building foundations and the stone half-walls that usually denote property lines.

Metal working has always fascinated the Scholam since it was brought to them by the Imperium but, unlike the Imperium, the Scholam have used it more as a method of self expression than warfare. Scholam metallurgists are some of the greatest fine metal artisans in the Charted Realms, being able to make spindly little statues and house hold items where others would fail. In addition, due to their lack of need for thick clothing, they tend to display the hides of hunted animals with swirling blue, green and purple patterns, hung from walls or even on the floor as a rug.

Coming of Age Rites

For the Scholam, reaching adulthood is a great and terrible thing, for their Rite of Passage is oddly brutal. When an individual, male or female, reaches the age of sixteen they are taken to a location far from their home, and are instructed to make their way back. Sometimes these are old Syckian ruins infested with monsters, other times it's deep into unknown woods or up into hostile mountains. This is a test of the individual's resilience and loyalty to the clan, as one not loyal would flee or die, and the clan has no time or use for someone not willing to work for the betterment of the entire clan.

Funerary and Memorial customs

When a Scholam dies, their bodies are laid to rest with small incisions along the edges of their birth markings, not cutting them off, but emphasising them, so that the ancestors know who this is when they join the ancestors. The Scholam believe that their ancestor spirits remain with the clan, bound to them through a religious building known as a  Kuhrtav, a hexagonal building that reaches deep into the earth.

Ideals

Relationship Ideals

Scholam believe that, for two individuals in the tribe to have a relationship that is best and benefits not only them but the tribe as a whole, the female or more mature one must be the one to seek out the relationship. Despite their small clan populations they don't tend to frown on non-heterosexual relationships, as while they may not bare children to expand the tribe, they can still take care of other children and are often as productive if not more so within the clan.

Encompassed species

• Goliath

Related Locations

• Balian Range, South
• Wes Basin