Gansang (ɡæn-sæŋɡ or Gah-n-Sahng)

Gansang is a mixed and varied culture of people who embrace newcomers to their lands and the freedom for all to choose their paths in life.
While the Union of Songuk is the center of their culture, the nation has become a very diverse land sporting bits of just about every major culture.
Gansang were formed by disparate peoples after the Starkened Night who have been developing, bonding, and intermarrying for the past thousand years.
Many Gansang are half-breeds of varying races including humans, orcs, gnomes, and halflings. Dwarven communities among them tend to be very small.
Homeland: The Union of Songuk. They have begun to branch out across the Heaven's Road into Geum as well, but tend to love their home and lands more than striking out into the unknown.
Primary Religion: There is little in the way of a true primary religion of the Gansang culture but the Cradle Pantheon is most prevalent. The Rebel is highly venerated and seen as the instigator of their freedom.
Demi Appearance: Native Gansang are svelte and dark-haired with tan skin and strong brows. They have straight black or brown hair and eyes that run the gamut of human shades. Gansang (True Gansang with heritage from The Cradle) always have ring-like birthmarks around their fingers.
Common Races: Any, really.
Background Skills:

Artistry: Combat Choreography, Performance Poetry, Sacred Geometry

Lore: Heroic History, Starkened Night, Desolate Age, Yandang Bandits

Background Traits:

Cosmopolitan - This trait now provides 4 additional "Learned" Lingual Points.

Tongue in Many Towns

Cultivated - This trait provides 1 additional Native language for free.

Cultural Equipment:
Butterfly Swords

Language

Gansang is a lively, slightly tonal language. It's very simple and widely spoken. There are several parallels with other languages from around the world. Native Gansang(cradle) counts as Broken Gachari(cradle).
Written: A short alphabet with a small library of marks which indicate "adjective sounds" such as the shortening of a vowel or combining of two adjacent words.

Dialects
Coast - The dialect of Gansang found most outside of the Cradle region and on surrounding islands. This has less ties to the archaic language and has mingled with other languages more than the Cradle dialect.
Cradle - The origin dialect of Gansang, mostly learned in Songuk or nearby. This language draws from many different racial heritages and etymology for many of its word and phrases are traced back to archaic languages of the different races.
Trade - A very refined version of Gansang used commonly among merchants and traders especially outside of Songuk. While it is the easiest to speak, to most native speakers it tends to come off overly-proper and makrs an outsider. Technically this dialect is made up of dozens of smaller non-native ones.

Gansang Abilities and Lore

Fateborn

Gansang are seen by many as a blessed people as they trace their origin back to the people who survived the Desolate Age at the center of Cradle where the Age was brought to an end.
Some have taken this to heart and formed something of a supremist mindset, but this seems to be very small minority.
Unlike some other cultures that may embrace having a grand destiny, the Gansang seem to celebrate a freedom from such things. In this culture there are few things as valuable as freedom and autonamy.
The ring-shaped marks on their fingers ahve many different interpretations. Some have a mark only on one finger, some on multiple, the number seemingly random. There are sections of Gansang -especially in their homeland of Songuk- that view this number with some level of heirarchy, but this is -again- a minority and often only found in very rural spaces or among Yandang who came from Songuk.
It's very uncommon for Gansang not to venerate The Rebel highly and even in faraway lands it's not uncommon for them to be found in resistance sects and rebel forces.

Culture Ability:

The Gansang seem to be blessed by their proximity to the epicenter of the Cradle evidenced of their ring-like birthmarks said to represent the Cycle.
Once per week, they may choose for one negative consequence to have the minimum possible effect (this generally being an attack dealing minimum damage or the duration of an effect lasting the least amount of time).
While this ability is dormant (after being used), the ring-birthmarks fade to near invisible on their hands, letting the Gansang know they have avoided a terrible fate.

Common Superstitions:

• One should not circle a tree at night or they could come out on the other side in a different land.
• The above is especially true for children.
• Red-furred Dogs are good luck.
• Keeping wedding engagements secret invites misfortune.
• It is bad luck to let fruit expire. Dark fae live in spoiled fruit.