The March of Dalphin
yr Bommbergonians yn Dim gwerth rhech dafad
Despite its name, The March of Dalphin is actually more akin to a combination of a protectorate and a colony of The Kingdom of Bommbergonia. There is no Marquis of Dalphin, a royal governor represents the crown while the earls, really the heads of the largest clans with a bommbergonian veneer, are nearly totally free to rule as they wish. The bommbergonians might theoretically be in charge but they are shown little deference by the average Dalphinian and demanding the sort of bowing and scraping that is expected towards those of higher social status in Bommbergonia will get them little but mockery.
History
The people of Dalphin have maintained their independence against their much larger neighbors for a very long time; a combination of sheer obstinacy, belligerence, and the mighty Dalphinian longbow allowing them to demand respect from even the greatest powers of The Shattered Continent.
Happiest When Left Alone
Less a nation with a unified government and more of a collection of clans sharing culture, language, and a common homeland, the people of Dalphin have lived on the northern side of the largest bend in The Serpent's Tongue since right after the serpentfolk bit the dust. Raising sheep in the western lowlands, harvesting fish from the river, mining coal and metals from the hills in the northeast, and harvesting timber and game from the dense forests to their north, Dalphin may not have ever been a particularly wealthy nation, but they have always been self sufficient.
In The Spotlight
As trade into and out of the Great Inland Sea region increased in the late 1300s, Dalphin gained the unwanted attention of two of the largest powers in the region due to its important position along the only sea route into the Great Inland Sea. Spurred by Galacia's attempts to assert influence over Dalphin, Bommbergonia invaded its smaller neighbor, kicking off several months of dalphinian resistance, belligerance, and guerilla warfare against the invaders. While Dalphin may not have had an army capable of directly opposing the invaders, their longbowmen were something that the Bommbergonians were largely unprepared to deal with.
Groups of lightly armored, mobile longbowmen would appear out of the nearest treeline, fire a volley, and then melt away, the dense forests denying the bommbergonian cavalry the ability to chase them down. The Bommbergonians quickly found that no supply line, encampment, or patrol was safe, and began hunkering down inside of towns and behind city walls. Even safe behind city walls they found that the locals were intent on making their lives miserable, being entirely uncooperative unless faced with explicit threats of violence. Borderline unintelligible abuse and rude gestures were hurled their way by everyone from the children to the elderly, and any drink offered to them was more likely to have piss in it than not.
Unwelcome Guests
Upset that their plans for Dalphin had been preempted by Bommbergonia, Galacia decided to launch their own belated bid for control of Dalphin. Three months into the Bommbergonian invasion, Galacia launched it's own invasion under the pretext of freeing Dalphin from the invading Bommbergonians. To the shock of both invading forces, the Dalphinians evaluated their choices and threw their lot behind the original invaders, joining forces to handily throw the Galacians from their shores.
Following the defeat of the Galacian Invasion, the Delphinian clan heads proved more willing to sit down and talk with the Bommbergonians, and in the end Dalphin became of protectorate of Bommbergonia, retaining most of its independence but accepting a bommbergonian royal governor, although the vast Certaintree Forest to the north was ceded to the Bommbergonians entirely. When asked why they changed their attitudes so drastically, the usual response is usually a shrug and something like "They might be numpty bawbags wit wagons fer mums, but least they're not them drewgi."
Government
The people of Dalphin have never truly united under a single ruler, existing instead as a loose confederation of clans, connected by culture, language, and a shared contempt for anyone who would claim to rule over them. When Dalphin became a protectorate of The Kingdom of Bommbergonia, they were forced to accept a royal governor and formalize their government into something that the bommbergonians would find acceptable.
The heads of the largest dalphinian clans were made into earls and the bommbergonians agreed that no duke of Dalphin would be named, instead the royal governor would be a representative of the crown's interests but hold no direct power over them. The dalphinian earls were empowered to name barons of the larger cities within their earldoms and name other prominent individuals as peers of the realm, although they are certainly not viewed as equals by most 'proper' bommbergonian nobles.
Society
The Dalphinians are a fiercely independant people and this can be seen in nearly all aspects of their society. There is a strong focus on self-reliance and although they have a social hierarchy, little bowing and scraping is expected or even tolerated and much mockery is aimed at those who are seen as putting on airs.
The Clans
The closest thing Dalphin had to a government throughout most of its history was the clans, loosely organized groups of families who enforced common law and employed enough men at arms to dissuade banditry. When Dalphin became a protectorate of The Kingdom of Bommbergonia, the heads of the most powerful and prominent clans became earls and a social hierarchy which more closely resembled that of their new rulers was established, but most locals pay little heed to this.
The main clans are composed of the eponymous founding family and former sept members who have given up their original surnames to take up the clan name as their own. In addition to being allowed to wear the clan tartan and represent the clan when dealing with outsiders, being a member in good standing comes with a certain amount of social standing and influence. Being a member of a clan isn't without it's downsides, as membership also comes with both responsibility and all of the weight of historical relationships and rivalries with other clans, both good and bad.
Ranking members of the clan have additional responsibilities, such as arbitrating disputes between people living on clan lands or sitting in judgement of criminals. In extreme circumstances, a panel of ranking clan members can be asked to sit in judgement of a clan member who is accused of dishonoring the clan, potentially stripping them of membership or even banishing them.
The Septs
While the families which make up the clans are large extended families, the majority of the people living within clan lands aren't full members of the clan. Septs are the families which are sworn to a clan, but retain their own surnames and identities. They are allowed to wear the clan tartan and are considered to be representatives of the clan when outside of clan lands. In many cases, the leaders of prominent septs were made into barons, although this typically only happened when they already held the position in all but name.
The septs are a large source of manpower for the clans and are responsible for providing men at arms for them. They pay tithe in exchange for the protection and social standing which come from their relationship with the clan, but this tithe is offset by things like the number of men at arms they maintain and other services provided to the clan.
The Rhydd
Within the lands claimed by a clan, there are many individuals who aren't sworn to the clan in any way. The people are known as the rhydd, and they provide the bulk of the farmers, hunters, and laborers used by the clan. The Rhydd pay higher taxes than the septs or members of the clan in exchange for living in the safety of clan lands.
Law and Order
The independant streak that runs through dalphinian society is plainly visible in their systems of law. In Dalphin the law is kept simple and sparse, known as 'common law', and individual clans have the power to impose further laws within their own holdings although these tend to be few and far between. When a crime is committed or a grievance needs to be arbitrated, a representative of the ruling clan is expected to hear the case and use their own discretion within the bounds of the law to make a judgement. In the absence of an actual clan member, any available sept members are expected to step forwards and fill this role.
When a sept or clan member commits a crime, they must be tried by a higher ranking clan member and may have the right to appeal and request that a high ranking clan official oversee the retrial.
Culture
The Pipes
Considered, depending on who you ask, as either a deeply soulful and emotion provoking instrument or the most annoying noisemaker in existence, the sound of bagpipes, or simply "the pipes" are considered to be the distinct sonic signature of Dalphin in all corners of the Shattered Continent. While they are used to make normal music, they are also used by the clan militaries in much the same way as drummers and buglers in other nations. The use of Dalphinian auxiliaries by the Bommbergonian military introduced the pipes to much of the world, and the Galacians and Alborians soon learned to hate the drone of the pipes, and the rain of longbow driven arrows that invariably followed.
The Fey
More so than any other nation in The Shattered Continent, stories of the fey are ubiquitous in Dalphin. Scholars speculate that the dimensional barriers separating dalphin from the fey lands are thinner than in most places, likely a resulty of residual damage from The Cataclysm, and the fey feature prominently in Dalphinian folklore. Most of the tales of the fey are cautionary ones, detailing how unfortunate people fell victim to the capriciousness of the fey and how best to avoid their mistakes.
The Dalphinian Longbow
While Dalphin may not have a standing army, the dalphinian longbow and the expert archers who wield it are enough to make even the greatest powers in The Shattered Continent respect them. While powerful composite longbows exist in other nations, few if any can employ entire units of men capable of wielding them and taking advantage of their high draw weight. While a traditional composite longbow is made of layered horn and wood and is exclusively a weapon of war, the dalphinian longbow is made of a single length of Yew and has been used for centuries for both hunting and war. When the clans raise men at arms, a great many of the available able bodied men are hunters experienced with the longbow and so they make up a disproportionate amount of Dalphinian forces, including most of the auxiliaries that they provide to bommbergonia.
Nicknames
One of the little quirks of Dalphinian society is the propensity to give everyone a nickname, particularly among the Rhydd. These nicknames are typically related to the work the individual does, although they can also be related to hobbies or particularly well known things that person has done; a fisherman named 'Dai' may be called 'Dai the fish', a blacksmith 'Rhys Clang', or a man well known for his drunkenness 'Wil Stumbles'
Naming Conventions
Dalphinian surnames can be confusing to outsiders and naming conventions have changed over time, but today they follow a handful of rules fairly consistently. Once, surnames were based on the names of parents or grandparents and changed generation to generation, a tradition which is still followed by most of the rhydd, but among the clans and septs they have become more static. In the older tradition, 'Ó' means 'grandson of' and 'Mac' means 'son of', while for women 'Ní' means 'daughter of the grandson of' and 'Nic' means 'daughter of the son of'.
Among the septs and clans, men will either have 'Ó' or 'Mac' as their prefix depending on the family and if a surname starts with a vowel and has an 'Ó' prefix it will always have an 'h' in front of it - 'Mac Earáin' vs 'Ó hEaráin'. For women it is slightly more complicated; in a family with an 'Ó' surname, unmarried women have a 'Ní' prefix or 'Nic' if their surname starts with a 'c' or 'g', but married women can choose whether they take their husband's surname, and their prefix is determined by his. In both traditions, if the husband's prefix is 'Ó', the wife's will be 'Uí', and if his prefix is Mac hers will be 'Mhic', although if the husband's surname starts with either a 'G' or 'C' her prefix will always be 'Mhic'.
Individuals who marry into another family of equal or higher status have slightly different rules. Men generally keep their original surnames whereas women can choose which to use, but their children will always have the name of the 'dominant' family, which will have been agreed on before the wedding in the case of marriage between social equals.
Sport
Shillelaghs
An ancient sport, traditionally played in mature sheep pastures with close cropped grass after the sheep have been rotated to new areas, this game involves the use of long clubs to knock balls into holes. Seen as a peasants game, it has failed to gain traction among the clans, although it's very popular among the common folk, particularly the farmers with whom it originated.
Taclocic
Taclocic is a somewhat violent sport which is tremendously popular all across Dalphin. In addition to all of the small teams spread across the country, all of the clans have their own teams which play each other throughout the year. Taclocic has proven to be a wonderful way for the clans to deal with tensions and rivalries without resorting to real violence.
Notable Clans
Clann Ó Phearais
Controlling a section of land towards the western end of The Bow, most of The River Rose falls within their territory and provides for easy movement of people and goods to and from The Serpent's Tongue.
Sept Ó Seanáin(shaw-neen)
The largest sept of Clann Ó Phearais, The Ó Seanáins are best known for having a good bit of elvish blood and maintaining good relations with a local elven encave. Members of this family hold important roles in settlements throughout the territory of their parent clan.
Sept Ó Rosebrook
A halfling family from a nearby mossfoot settlement, the Rosebrooks are mildly infamous among their neighbors due to their involvement in 'foreign' affairs, both in becoming a sept and the relatively large number of them who have moved away to start businesses in majority human towns and villages. The Rosebrooks have been septs of Clann Ó Phearais for generations and the Gallee branch is one of the most successful, owning The Gallee Fishery as well as The Shaven Bugbear pub.
Sept Ó Loingsigh (leng-she)
A family which has been sailors and fishermen for as long as anyone can remember, Sept Ó Loingsigh has called Gallee home for generations. Their members comprise a good chunk of the local fishing fleet and the head of the family has traditionally been Gallee's dockmaster.
Notable Settlements
Gallee
Gallee is a small dalphinian fishing village located on the banks of The River Rose where it meets The Serpent's Tongue on the western side of The Bow and forms a small estuary. In addition to a fishery, the village also contains a waterwheel powered lumber mill which processes logs which are floated down the river to be worked and then shipped off down The Tongue. The village is located in the lands of Clann Ó Phearais and run by one of its septs, the Ó Seanáin family, whose members hold a number of important positions in town.
Foreign Relations
Dalphin may be a small nation, but it's strategically important location and being a protectorate of Bommbergonia has given it a seat at the table with the major powers of The Shattered Continent.
The Kingdom of Bommbergonia
Despite their status as a protectorate of the larger nation, many bommbergonians view Dalphin as a barbaric backwater with no appreciation for etiquette or social status. For their own part, Dalphinians see bommbergonians as a bunch of stuck up idiots so preoccupied with social status and niceties that it's a miracle anything ever gets done. Despite their social differences, Dalphinians realize that their status as protectorate is all that keeps that other major powers of the Great Inland Sea from pushing them around. Exasperation at the Dalphinian's disdain for social status aside, the bommbergonians recognise the value of the dalphinian longbowmen that their protectorate agreement grants them as auxiliary units, as well as the benefits they gain by preventing Dalphin from being controlled by their rival nations.
The Alborian Empire
With the only signifigant historical contact between The Empire and Dalphin being on the battlefield against units of longbowmen serving as Bommbergonian Auxiliaries, relations between the two nations are understandably poor. This dismal relationship is only compounded by the fact that once the Dalphinians realized that Empire heavy cavalry was entirely composed of nobles, they took great pleasure in making them preferred targets of their deadly longbows. At at least one point in history, captured Dalphinian longbowmen could look forwards to having their bow drawing fingers removed, leading to bommbergonian forces waving their middle and index fingers tauntingly at their enemies at the start of battles.
The Kingdom of Galacia
The galacians have never forgiven Dalphin for siding with the bommbergonians over them during the bommbergonian invasion of Dalphin, and the Dalphinians having literally built a castle in the form of an insulting gesture aimed at Galacia hasn't improved their relations any. The Galacians generally choose to act as though Dalphin is nothing but a bommbergonian puppet state and refuse to deal directly with them, and the Dalphinians reaction to this has historically been to encourage novice bagpipe players to practice directly outside of galacian embassies in whatever cities they might find themselves in.
The Achaean City States and Oenotria
Despite their historically rocky relationship with Bommbergonia, the Achaean city states and their protectorate Oenotria have a decent relationship with Dalphin. Dalphinian auxiliaries saw only limited use in most of the conflicts bewteen the two powers, and the last war between them was centuries ago, giving bad feelings time to heal.
Fructbarland
As another nation with a historically poor relationship with Galacia, Fructbarland views Dalphin's provocations against them with no small amount of amusement. Amusement aside, in it's role as middleman between Alboria and Bommbergonia during their conflicts its representatives have expressed frustration at the delight that the dalphinian representatives seem to take in provoking the Alborians to anger.
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