Ashlander
Ashlanders belong to the northwestern mountain regions of Halruaal. This mountain range is dominated by active volcanoes and beneficially receives rich soil from the ash. Ashlanders are typically fairer skinned along the border with Northerners, but get progressively tanner skinned the further south and west you go. Which is to highlight that the area Ashlanders occupy is divided by two regions: The Storm Coast and The Dytika Isles. Coincidentally, most Ashlanders are native Halruaalans. All of them technically fall under the ruler ship of the clans under Clan Oni.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Most Ashlanders are native and speak Oadozeshi with a very particular dialect in conjunction with the Common language of Halruaal. Ashlanders not belonging to the clans are noticeable in that they either can't speak Oadozeshi or have a clumsy dialect.
Culture and cultural heritage
Ashlanders are the true natives of Halruaal - on average. It is true the Wildlings are also native to the country and are spread out between Northerners and Ashlanders; but per capita, Ashlanders are the most predominant. Centuries before House Udaku ever set foot in Halruaal, Ashlanders have tended the fields, fought wars, and owned the land. Their culture is ancient, as is their magics and their domains in the mountains.
Shared customary codes and values
Ashlander culture emphasis individual growth almost to an extreme. A person should strive to be strong enough to have their way. Where they are weak, they show strength. Where they are strong they feint weakness to trap their opponents. An individual Ashlander clan support their family and cultivate excellence when they see it. But this community based approach is used to subtly (and civilly) battle the various other clans in the area for supremacy.
Average technological level
Ashlanders are a remarkable people when it comes to herbs, poisons, and magic. Medical techniques nearly rival those of the Plain-Dwellers. However, the true depths of their skill is in subterfuge, spying, and assassination. No better commandos exist anywhere in Halruaal, a fact that is painfully obvious to everyone.
Common Etiquette rules
The common etiquette is to adhere to a strict social policy of manners and theatre. One avoids speaking too much, or is careful to use their words to obfuscate their true intention. Communication is a game and battle of wits and the first to lose is either shamed or dead.
Common Dress code
Ashlanders prefer flowing garments that cover their entire bodies and obscure their movements. Because of the foliage and ashfall, common folk tend to wear clothes that can blend in with the environment. This is usually more earthy and dark colours. Nobles on the other hand wear clothing that draws attention to themselves, but in a way that hides something particular about them. For instance, with female nobles, this could be clothing that extenuates their figure and coincidentally draws attention away from the poisoned dagger up their sleeve.
Art & Architecture
Ashlander art and architecture highlight flowing softness. Stonework and coloured tile denotes a firm power behind a graceful appearance. Sculptures and paintings tend to blend shapes and colours well but often have some hidden feature that only a true Ashlander could find. Many secret texts, rooms, or messages exist within their product and the spies of Clan Oni use them in their craft.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
Like Heartlanders, Ashlanders engage in ancestor worship and a strict social code.
Coming of Age Rites
To most Ashlanders, a blade is a sacred tool, one that defines their soul and path in life. When a young Ashlander becomes an adult, they are tasked with forging a ceremonial katana in their home settlement. They carry these blades wherever they go, and if they lose them, it is a great sign of dishonour. Yet nobles take this a step further. It is said that within the mountains, there are hidden forges, carved from the many volcanoes. Clans bring their children to forge their blades in the magma of these volcanoes, turning the steel into an onyx coloured blade.
Funerary and Memorial customs
The dead Ashlanders are carried home for funerals among their people. These funerals are often quick affairs to bless and sanctify the bodies which are then cremated. The ash remains are then stored within the family or clan's shrine along with the other ancestors. Nobles however are taken to the Necropolis and entombed with their clans in the great city crypts carved by House Kamose.
Common Taboos
directness and lack of tact.
Historical figures
the great Archon Shinatobe is the holiest of holy people within Ashlander society. Her virtues and mannerisms are enshrined by Clan Oni.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
The focus of beauty is expressed in an almost rigid sense of personal grooming. Ashlanders use much of the natural flora in mixtures of paint, particularly makeup. To some degree, makeup is used by all genders to extenuate subtle, soft, and elongated features. Most Ashlanders appreciate an graceful, almost flowing build to people and architecture. like the illusionist experts found within Clan Oni, the highest ideal is mask weakness in strength and hide strength with ruse. In terms of colours, Ashlanders prefer earthy colours with elaborate undercurrents promoting intricacy and complexity.
Gender Ideals
Ashlanders revere the feminine form as a sense of beauty and grace. While there is a understanding consistent with a binary of male and female, Ashlanders promote a blending of one within another. Males denote an impression of strength and domination, where female denote grace, longevity and intelligence. When males are young they are often encouraged to modify their appearance to be more feminine while young females are encouraged to participate in activities such as hunting and fighting. When individuals grow older, they are pressed more into split gender norms but are cautioned to respect the abilities of the other.
Courtship Ideals
Courtship is an elaborate display for Ashlanders, typically engaged over years and with extremely subtle methods. Part of the game is to pick up on the hints (i.e. the colours worn by potential suitor, the time of day certain actions are carried out, etc.). Matchmaking is also a very complex system of political alliances, business partnerships, and social status. Blunt actions and small mistakes can risk disaster, dishonour, or even death.
Relationship Ideals
Ashlanders respect subtly but power. A relationship is similarly treated like a game (at best) or a war (at its worst). Most men take leadership and ownership of a relationship, yet in a society that reveres women, women are consulted and their opinions hold a deal of weight. Ultimately it is men who make the discussions, but such decisions are made with the approval of women. Even then, smart and powerful women learn the subtle art of manipulation and can be the power behind a relationship - ruling from the mist like the Ashlander goddess, Shinatobe.
Major organizations
Clan Oni is the major organization of the Ashlanders. While not a true Noble House (as compared to the others) it is a collection of feudal clans and organizations capable of working in a confederacy similar to the Noble Houses.
Encompassed species
Related Organizations
Related Locations
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