Cieran

Industrious and ever diplomatic, the Cieran are the mortar which binds together the foundation on which the Kingdoms of the Northern Lights are built. Controlling most the governance of the various providences, the Cieran are also renowned for their aptitude towards invention, industry, and diplomacy. They are also the most abundant of the ethnic groups, pureblooded Cierans making up over 45% of the Kingdoms. Cierans are renowned for their sense of duty towards their community and their nation as a whole, although their peers sometimes see their rigid and predefined culture as stifling and oppressive.

Naming Traditions

Family names

Typically denotes one's role in society, Smith, Miller, Hunter, etc, though exceptions do certainly exist. Particularly unsavory or bland occupations lead to one being named after one of their defining features, Beard, Brown, Black, White, etc.

Other names

Depending on the providence of origin, names can be English, French, or German in origin

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

Cieran society is rigid, disciplined, and steeped in tradition. Individuals are viewed as a singular piece of an ever larger machine, and should one piece fall out of place another will swiftly move in to replace it. In spite of this, many Cieran tend to be content with the rigidness of their social structure, as it provides the order and control that prevents them from falling to the influence of the Siren. Cieran typically choose their careers for life. The majority go into agriculture, fewer go into maintaining the labyrinthine bureaucracy or adopt mercantile roles as traders and merchants, and fewer still becoming scientists, tinkerers, and scholars. The Cieran are also the only culture in the Kingdoms where one can inherit power from noble birth. Most born into the gentry go on to rule the territory their family has claimed, although many less prominent members go on to become scholars and merchants, depending on the family of origin.

Shared customary codes and values

Cierans value loyalty to one's community above all else. The individual is naught but a single working part of a larger whole.

Average technological level

Early industrial technology, like all cultures in the wastes. Though Cierans are the quickest to adopt new technologies, the majority of gunfighters and gunsmiths being Cieran.

Funerary and Memorial customs

Similar to all cultures of the Wastes, Cierans try to burn their dead on a beacon when available, or a pyre when not. Burying the dead in the ground is considered bad luck, and prevents them from joining the Beacon, and the Rona.

Ideals

Gender Ideals

Of the races of the wastes, the Cieran have the most strict gender roles by far. Most Cieran men are taught from an early age to protect women and children at all costs and provide for their family. Cieran women are still allowed in the workforce but are typically viewed as more suitable for domestic roles.

Courtship Ideals

Courtship amongst Cieran tends to be a long and drawn out affair but is built around a core of decisiveness. Pining after someone is highly discouraged, and individuals are not to stay together if they are miserable with one another under any circumstance.

Relationship Ideals

Most Cieran strives for a steady relationship with a person they enjoy the company of and are content with, though they do not romanticize relationships. Divorce is still an option, and highly encouraged if a couple is unhappy. All and all, a relationship or marriage is meant to be something that contributes to one's contentment, thus feeding the beacon and granting one resistance to the effects of the Wastes.

Major organizations

Cierans manage the vast majority of the providences and make up the government of most settlements.

Related Organizations

• House Dueras
• House Duvall
• House Gibeault
• House Redgard
• House Wintersbane
• House Wright

Art - Cierans value their mastercrafted stained glass windows above practically any other form of artistry. Expert craftsmen, given the title Lightshaper can sometimes work for their entire lives to create these beautiful works of art that reflect the sunlight and the light from a settlement’s beacon in a plethora of colors. It is not uncommon to see a Lightshaper spend the entirety of his or her life on a single, highly elaborate piece. Cieran are also particularly fond of constructing elaborate castles and cathedrals out of stone, for both form and function. Well developed Cieran settlements are never far from a castle or cathedral they can retreat to should they come under siege. Castles provide a practical, physical defense against invaders, while Cathedrals can store a settlements beacon, allowing the town to repel the invaders so long as enough worshippers put forth their faith to feed their settlement beacon. Finally, like all Wastelanders, the Cieran are fond of decorating their hearths. The hearth is a holy place within a Cieran household, and is frequently used to tell the story of a particular family. This almost always includes a family tree, updated whenever a child is born into the family, the professions each family member has taken, and great scientific or military achievements made by that family.
Physical Appearance - Cieran males typically stand at around 5’6” - 5’10”, females stand between 5’0” - 5’5”, it should be noted that men over 6’ are incredibly rare. Due to the cloudy skies and deep snowfall of their lands, Cierans tend to be fair skinned or pale. Almost all standard eye colors are represented among the Cierans, though blue eyes are an extreme rarity. Red hair is exceedingly common, but is not the norm with many individuals possessing blonde or light brown hair. Black hair is almost completely unheard of in “Full Blooded” Cieran, though can be produced as a result of unions between Cieran and Mordva parents.