Pretani

The Pretani are the oldest breed of humans in Escalonia, the direct descendants of the Ogmani proto-civilisation that grew up in the region which the Pretani now control. A united nation built from the nine remaining Ogmani tribes, the Pretani are proud of their ancient heritage and ties with Versulinos, the Green Man. The Pretani are the founders of the alliance of Calderon, and are a civilisation built upon strict values of loyalty, courage and honour. Pretani culture, naming conventions, deities and troop types are based on the La Tene culture of Albion (Great Britain) and Gaul (France), the height of ancient Celtic power and influence before the rise of the Roman Empire, though with the addition of the hypothesis of what the Celtic tribes could have built had they joined together as a unified people (a feat Caratacus in particular tried to achieve before being distracted by the Roman Invasion of AD43).

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Laureas, Hanath, Gwynedra

Masculine names

Draghis, Gundioc, Cradoc, Alfricus, Baddorados

Family names

Though Calderon is now a unified nation, the core of its politics still revolves around nine Houses, each of which evolved from one of the Nine Pretani Tribes that existed before unification. Each settlement in the land, whether small village or mighty hillfort, though swearing primary allegiance to the Supreme Lord, still swears secondary allegiance to one of the nine Houses:

The Adradi - the Sons of the Eagle
The Borii - the Sons of the Boar
The Staltorii - the Sons of the Hart
The Diviades - the Sons of the Cockerel
The Moritani - the Sons of the Goose
The Corvani - the Sons of the Raven
The Graegores - the Sons of the Manticore
The Cumrii - the Sons of the Dragon
The Vellaunes - the Sons of the Hare

All the Pretani nobility are part of one of these Houses, and each is ruled by an Overking or Overqueen, who nominates their successor on their deathbed based upon fitness to rule in the place of the previous overmonarch. This means that males and females have equal rights to succession, and that relatives other than the children of the previous Overmonarch are still in with a chance of being their successor, providing they prove themselves to be worthy of that position. The Overmonarchs wield great power throughout the Calderon alliance, and it is from them that the Supreme Lord or Supreme Lady is chosen upon the death of the previous holder of the title.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

The Pretani language is linearly descended from Ogmani, the proto-language of the human civilisations, and is the most similar in semantics and vocabulary, but is nevertheless a lot more advanced.

Average technological level

Iron is mined extensively throughout Calderon's territory, and used to craft most everyday items, from ploughshares and pitchforks to swords and spearheads, though skills in working with more archaic materials such as wood and bronze have remained unchanged since the Age of Evolution. Gold is a rarity, and owned exclusively by the House nobility, who display their wealth by incorporating gold thread into their clothing and wear torcs, brooches, and even breastplates fashioned from the metal.

Art & Architecture

Calderon art and design has changed very little since the Age of Separation, and intrinsically features curves, swirls and spirals in reverence to the smooth aesthetics of the natural world, the domain of Versulinos.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

In Calderon's tribal past, the king of a defeated tribe was always exiled, rather than executed, as a display of magnanimity on the part of the victor.

Funerary and Memorial customs

The deceased in Calderon society are typically either cremated or given sky burials, depending on the customs of the House they served. Barrow and river-oriented burials have also been known, but are very rare, dependent upon location and are reserved for the greatest of the nobility of select Houses.

Common Taboos

Infidelity is the greatest sins in Pretani society, as the offender is guilty of great disloyalty. Anyone caught practicing fornication with someone who is not a legally recognised third partner is forced to have their marriage annulled, any children taken into the sole custody of their partner, is branded a 'braddarh' ('One who is disloyal') and exiled from their home settlement. The Pretani also look upon intermarriage with non-Pretani humans with varying temperaments based upon the origin of the foreigner in question - Esworoans are the most highly tolerated (though more conservative Pretani will still look at the intermarrying individual with some concern at how they couldn't find a suitable partner from their own people to marry), and Upravanians and Scaramondrians are banned from doing so, upon pane of being hunted down and killed, with the Pretani partner and any offspring of the union shamed and exiled from the land.

Common Myths and Legends

As per the other human races in Escalonia, the Pretani worship all the gods documented in the main Creation legend, but Versulinos is ranked the most highly, as the creator of humanity, the bringer of the ancient Ogmani civilisation to the human race and the deity in command of the world itself - the fertility of the soil, the frequency of disasters and the weather can all be changed by his mood. The other most significant gods in the eyes of Pretani are Andreina, the mother goddess of the Central Lake, and Bannordus, the god of the Western River for similar reasons.

Historical figures

Aldorix 'the One-Eyed' (50BU - 3AU): King of the Adradi tribe who gained the support of the Druids to unite the tribes of the Pretani, through a mixture of diplomacy and conquest, and became the first Supreme Lord of Calderon. Later sealed an alliance with King Tarka I of the Tarkalians and led forces to protect them against the Dwarves of Wodristan and the tribesmen of the Grey Mountains. Attempted to improve relations with Esworo in the same way, but was killed defending the Esworoan town of Gettingham from the swarm of the Insectoid king Kednezzad the Reaper. Esworo had previously been distrustful of the Pretani tribes and did not expect any aid against the might of the swarm, but the arrival, and subsequent sacrifice, of Aldorix and his warriors, which ultimately led to the swarm’s destruction, gained the respect of the then-Knightmaster Valdin Rendred, who signed a treaty with Aldorix’s eldest son, Cynrix ‘the Scarred’. Draghis Staltor (445 AU - 490 AU): Succeeded his father Etorix in 467 AU. Married Laureas Graegor (born 441 AU) - in 465 AU, and instantiated a regiment of entirely female bodyguards, the Guardians of the Lady, in 480 AU to keep her safe. Ruled throughout the prelude to the Age of Desolation, including during the Medusa Crisis where he directed the Lizardkin retaliation, and led the defence of Calderon during the Dracon War of 484-485 AU. Was forced to evacuate Manticoros and the surrounding area when the Dracons gained the upper hand, and led his people and the remnants of Tarkalia and the Lizardkin to the Eastern Archipelago. Sacrifices himself to slay Lord Skaltorix, a Shade embodying his own evil side, breaking the resolve of the Shade army and allowing the Alliance to turn the tide. Laureas, in her grief, abandons her position as Lady, allowing Alfricus to accede the throne, but continues to live as part of the ruling household and an advisor to her descendants until her death in 517 AU.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Calderon women tend to eschew makeup and other artificial substances. They instead prefer to use herbal salves to enhance their natural beauty and accentuate it further with jewellery and brooches. Calderon men take great pride in their prodigious moustaches, and can often spend up to an hour waxing it, cleaning it and brushing it to keep it at its best. The horseshoe style - anything fancier or more To have one's moustache shaved is one of the worst dishonours a Calderon man can experience. If the man in question cannot easily grow one, having a full beard is the preferred alternative.

Gender Ideals

Calderon tends to assign its citizens roles in society based not upon their gender but their talents, with the aim of making best use of every person’s strengths. Its people are divided into two broad sects, and are sorted into their sect when they reach the age of thirteen - those who are typically introverted, physically weaker and/or mentally stronger are encouraged to use their talents as craftsmen, Druids or bards, while those who are more often extroverted, physically stronger and mentally weaker generally make a living as farmers, warriors, builders or vendors. Though people of both sects are allowed to mix, they generally spend much of their adolescence in education alongside other members of their own sect and thus tend to socialise more with their own kind out of preference - in Calderon birds of a feather certainly flock together.

Courtship Ideals

Both men and women in Calderon are encouraged to attempt to initiate courtship with someone they have feelings for, but the way they do so depends upon their sect and sometimes upon their gender. More extroverted Pretani have no qualms about displays of affection in the open or making grand gestures of love, while more introverted couples build their relationship more slowly, subtly and in their own company. Both genders can propose marriage too, with the proposer tying a ribbon around the dominant arm of their significant other. If the proposed accepts the offer, they will tie another ribbon around the dominant arm of the proposer, while returning the first ribbon indicates rejection. If the marriage goes ahead, the two partners will wear their ribbons at all times until the marriage ceremony, when the Druid overseeing the nuptials fasts the couple’s hands together with them to symbolise their devotion to each other.

Relationship Ideals

Relationships between Calderon couples are predominantly monogamous, though if the couple are unable to conceive a child on their own, it is permissible to adopt a third person into the relationship. The gender of this third spouse depends, of course, on which partner is most willing to share, and couples often spend long periods debating this issue, especially if it is the male who is deemed to be impotent (Calderon men view inability to conceive as a great humiliation). If a third partner is decided upon and accepts the proposal, they will be bound to the couple for life, whereupon all three people will be encouraged to do their part to care for any children born and love and look after each other.

Parent ethnicities