Ralian (rä-lē-ən or "RAH-lee-ən")

The Ralian were all once members of different peoples. Disparate, varied, and full of unique traditions and beliefs. Their community born from cobbling together pieces of those displaced by the end of the Desolate Age.
The Rali value travel, the open road, and favor their wanderlust to setting roots.
With a love of oral tradition and the sharing of stories and experiences, they are natural adventurers and travelers, the bulk of their culture originated from the Rhorhoan and Gansang. You'll find them among caravanners, explorers, troubadours, and privateers.
Ardent people of faith, they revere ancestors and legendary travelers, seeing the world as a canvas and life as paint and ink. Worship of both Cradle and Primal Pantheons is commonplace.
Ralian record stories and prominent experiences on their bodies with tattoos which they called their "Story". Some are traditional through families or even professions.
Homeland: Songuk, but more specificallly the island to the east called "Sageata". While Ralians are a scattered people, the island often called the "Arrow" served as a waypoint for wanderers and the lost. It is said that this is the land where Espera awakened and their star drew the displaced like a beacon in the night, eventually forming the community of those now known as the Rali.
Demi Appearance: Rali often have very dark hair or Rhorhoan red, but are mostly olive-skinned. Ralian eyes are almost always shades of brown or amber. Thanks to their sporadic heritage, however, they can vary wildly in appearance.
Regardless of their appearance otherwise, they sport intricate tattoos telling of their family history, notable skills, deeds and accomplishments, or other exceptional events in their lives. This canvas of ink is ever-expanding, added to by the Rali themselves but often by members of their people known as Worldspeakers.
Primary Religion: The Eternal Tapestry The Ralian people practice a deeply personal and introspective faith known as The Eternal Tapestry, named after the metaphysical construct believed to weave together the life stories and wisdom of their people. Unlike many other cultures, the Rali do not actively teach their religious traditions to their children. Instead, spiritual truths are revealed only when questioned, encouraging individuals to uncover their beliefs through personal exploration and growth.

Espera, The Fulfilled, is the central figure of this faith, revered as the ascended spirit who guided the Rali to their homeland and epitomizes the ideals of enlightenment and fulfillment. Espera’s teachings emphasize living a life of purpose and ensuring one’s actions contribute meaningfully to the Cycle of existence. Each follower’s journey is considered sacred, with unique interpretations of Espera’s guidance shaping their paths.
A defining element of The Eternal Tapestry is the tradition of Story Tattoos, intricate designs inked onto the body that chronicle an individual’s life, beliefs, and significant achievements. These tattoos are not mere decoration but sacred representations of a person’s contribution to the world. Upon death, it is believed that their stories are absorbed into the Eternal Tapestry, weaving their life’s meaning into the greater narrative of the Cycle.
The guarded nature of Ralian beliefs ensures their depth and sanctity. The most profound aspects of their religion are often discovered later in life and rarely shared with those outside their culture. This practice reflects their view that understanding and enlightenment are deeply personal endeavors, not to be rushed or influenced by external forces.
The Eternal Tapestry serves as both a religion and a philosophy, guiding the Rali to live purposefully, honor their heritage, and contribute to the ongoing story of existence. Through their stories, the Rali ensure that their legacy endures, threading their lives into the eternal Cycle of life, death, and renewal.

Common Races: Many Rali are demi hybrids but also they see a higher concentration of Quessir(Elves) and Fenn(Gnomes). Even those of "pure" heritage have something non-homogenous in their bloodline somewhere along the line.
Background Skills:

Artistry: Dancer's Scarves, Interpretive Dance, Poetry, Rali Inkcraft

Lore: Animistic Spirits, Arespari Syndicate, Espera, Ink Reading

Background Traits:

Tattooed Wanderer

Holy Tattoo

Tattooed Mystic

Cultural Equipment:
Bladed Scarf

Language

Rali is lilting and musical in quality. It includes lots of colloquialisms, metaphor, and allusion. It can be very difficult for non-Ralians to grasp a full depth of the language. The words are flowery and beautiful to hear. It is often thought of as romantic.
Written: Ralian script is made in calligraphic characters of which there is a large library. All of them indicate sounds and some even indicate multiple sounds which is very confusing to those without a deep understanding of the tongue. The written words in Rali are merely a vehicle for the spoken.

Dialects
Abrasa - The dailect often spoken by native Rali born outside their original settlements in Sageata, Songuk.
Drachei - This is the "outsiders" dialect, and most commonly spoken by those who know the language but have no attachement to the culture.
Rhoan - This is the actual dialect of origin for the Rali tongue, often the dialect of native speakers. There is a bit of linguistic synergy with the Rhoan language.
Road - This dialect of is more common among travellers waystops tenders taught by native Ralians, especially troubadors and barkeeps. Considered the "trade" dialect.

Ralian Abilities and Lore

All Who Wander Are Not Lost

The Ralian people are known across Hayethe due to their penchant for leaving home well-prepared and supported and making incredible journeys before they settle. While their spiritual beliefs tend to be quite private, most Rali view everyone as one people even if -to some- that notion is insulting.
"Can two people not leave from the same home and arrive at the same destination with different dirt on their feet?" is a common Rali saying, though it's often shortened to "Same house, different dirt."
It's meant as a welcoming or a way to tell non-Rali that they are welcome in a Rali space.
Thanks to their scattered numbers, Rali can be found all over Hayethe, some of which are on very particular journeys, others just chasing a the place that brings them the most wonder. Most Rali are oddly comforted by the idea of being in a place they have never been.
As for those very particular journeys...

Tsera:

This is a title for those who have left their given family name behind honorably and with reverence in order to seek out their libasha or "lost name".
Many Rali, like Gansang, come from backgrounds they never knew in the Desolate age. The Tsera go on a journey to find the place where their libasha rests, often guided or started by a shaman or worldspeaker and then journey to it. If the Tsera finds their libasha, they claim this as their new family name.
Whether they succeed or fail, they return to their original home and tell the tale of their search. If it's found to be a worthy story, the family returns their name to a failed Tsera and embraces them again. For a successful Tsera, a member of the family will add their family name to the former-Tsera's Story.

Aresa:

The dishonored version of the Tsera. They often seek out their libasha as well, but it is difficult for an Aresa to find a shaman to guide their walk. These are often runaways, criminals, or traitors to Rali people in some way. Those who shun outsiders are often labeled with this moniker.

Arespari Syndicate

A specific faction of Aresa which belive that the Rali should not simply mingle with others freely, sharing their culture and "watering it down", but instead seek to bring those outsiders to Sagaeta and fully immerse them in Rali culture, mark their Stories, and make them live the life rather than apropriate the bits they like.
In Sageata, this organization is seen as extremist and villanous, but there are many who wish to mediate a more neutral discourse about their grievances. Many people do see the Rali in a negative light, though they enjoy their look or their art, taking parts of it for themselves.
Many Arespari are violent hateful seperatists, but just as many are victims of some sort of atrocity themselves, paying it forward.

Worldspeaker

Shamans responsible for telling the Ralian stories to the heavens. It is seen as a vital piece of their culture for Rali who pass to have their stories read by a Worldspeaker whose voices are said to reach beyond Hayethe into the great hereafter.
Worldspeakers are also troves of stories and cultural history, some of which remain in Sageata and act as living libraries, othes wander on scholarly endeavors to learn more about specific regions or legends, all the while acting as sources of tribal knowledge and guidance for any Rali they meet.
It is a high honor to have one's Story scribed by a Worldspeaker as well, though in many Rali communities when their young set off on a journey for the first time it is highly likely that a Worldspeaker inks the occasion for them.
These pillars of their heritage are elected at a young age, but never forced into this path. Their training lasts for their entire childhood, often journeying accompanied by an elder Worldspeaker to faraway places to commune with spirits and hear the ancestors of not only other Rali but the restless voiceless lingering in places long abandoned.

Culture Ability:

Once per week, the Ralian may say a quick prayer to the stars and receive guidance. This guidance takes form as the spell Know Direction, but its duration lasts for 1 hour and can guide toward any one location they've touched before.

Alternate: Due to their diverse background, Rali can reasonably claim the Culture Ability of another culture.

Common Superstitions:

• Dark fae love to kidnape children that curse at their parents and replace them with fae imposters.
• Got a big day ahead where you need everything to go right? Eat turnips. They're lucky.
• Food cooked while singing cheerful songs brings good health to those that eat the meal.
• Chopping wood after dark can call woodlands spirits to you. Some are unkind.
• If a bird flies into your home uninvited, it carries a message from the spirits. Ignore it at your peril.
• A carcass at a fork in the road is a very ill omen, meaning both paths lead to somthing terrible.