Human - Thralls

Heretics! I spit on you! I serve you the low crowns - those that grow nearest the pits! You are nothing! Your cursed spires pollute the skies and hide the stars from us. You spread yourselves like a disease, growing, creeping, always creeping across the land like mould. The lands of the Ascendancy are sacred - sacred to the Living Gods - and you steal them, like you have stolen me! Take me back. I am a loyal servant of the Living Gods and I do not wish to be here! Give me back to the stars and the sacred lands. Take me from your cursed light!

Partial transcript from an initial conversation with a liberated slave of the Thramorri. Recorded at the Chapel of the Ardent Fist, Second Lamp North out of Ardenspire

Naming Traditions

Unisex names

Thrall Names: Tender, Cleaner, Sweeper, Cook, Attendant, Forager, Collector, Slaughterer, etc.
Hidden Names: There are two broad kinds: descriptive names (Hope, Star, Song, Rain, Veil, Peace), and 'heart' names, which are thought to represent a person's soul. These names could include: Eleph, Eta, Utta, Syrix, Anem, Pel, Dinne, etc.
Hidden names can also indicate a Thrall's feelings towards their masters; those who remain absolutely loyal tend to revile hidden names as heresy.

Family names

Family names are used to denote ownership by a particular hive or synod of the Thramorri. Thralls have no family names of their own.

Other names

There are few personal names among the Thralls. Instead, most Thralls are named for the job they perform. Some Thralls take 'hidden' names, to be spoken only among other Thralls, but such names are seen by the Thramorri as deviant or subversive and so sharing hidden names is quite risky; sharing a hidden name with another is a sign of incredible trust - or intimacy.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

The principle language of the thralls is Slave Cant. It is a pigin language formed of root human languages and as many Thramorri words as can be pronounced by humans. Thramorri despise any language not their own, but they tolerate the Slave Cant as without it they could not effectively communicate their wishes to their servants. Thralls are expected to educate their offspring in the Cant before they reach the age of service (around eight years old or so).

Shared customary codes and values

Customs among the thralls are varied, and subtle. In the presence of the Masters, thralls are faceless, voiceless, and without identity. They do not wear anything other than what the Masters tell them to; they do not express ideas or opinions without the Master's explicit consent, which is virtually never given. In the slave pens, culture might best be described as 'furtive'. Since the pens are filled with spies and collaborators, expressions of culture are subtle and rare. In recent decades however, cultural expressions have grown more common, and those spies who carry tales of it to their Masters tend to suffer 'accidents' when they return to the pens to sleep. Other collaborators have taken note and now tend to 'ignore' the little things.

Common Etiquette rules

Thrall culture is communal. Good manners are rooted in dedication to the well-being of the whole, and thralls are expected to look out for one another as much as possible. Known spies and collaborators are often pushed to the edges of the community and excluded from group rituals like bathing, eating, births and funerals.

Common Dress code

Thralls wear what they are told. The customary uniform includes a rough leather jerkin and trousers, soft-soled but sturdy boots, In many Thramorri households, thralls are unclothed, and so modesty is an alien concept. Since humans are also food for the Thramorri, a fair amount of the hide used to produce leather in Thramorri hives comes from humans.

Art & Architecture

Thralls do not build, except when directed by the Masters, according to their designs. Thrall art is rudimentary, and heavily leans towards knot-work and other tactile creations.

Funerary and Memorial customs

Funerals are rare, as the Thramorri tend to harvest thralls for food sometime before their fortieth birthday. Those thralls who die of natural causes are returned to the earth. Their bodies are buried in the fungal gardens tended by the thralls, where they nourish the food that sustains the rest of the community.

Common Taboos

Shouting, speaking ill of the Masters, speaking of freedom or independence, public displays of affection - even for one's own children.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

In the Dark, physical beauty is a difficult concept. What is attractive are things like physical endurance, mental and physical strength, resilience, and the ability to perform one's assigned task with both efficiency and grace. Voices are considered attractive if they are soft, smooth, or musical. Laughter that is pitched low and melodious is attractive; loud or brash laughs are not. There is little light in Thramorri hives, only dim red phosphorescent glyphs and the occasional small red-light lantern. While Thralls are incredibly sensitive to light, and have far above average night-vision, they tend to spend their lives surrounded by barely visible shapes.

Gender Ideals

The Thramorri tend not to differentiate thralls by gender. Thralls have very little concept of any form of gendered division of labour, though tasks that involve a great deal of forethought and planning tend to be done by female thralls. Gender is to a large degree fluid; gender expressions and ideals change according to a thrall's station, age, and occupation. Liberated thralls tend to be confused by the rather more stark gender divisions in the Illuminated Regions.

Courtship Ideals

Courtship is simple: if one is trusted enough for another Thrall to reveal their hidden name or even their heart name, they are considered close enough to court. If two thralls are romantically attracted to one another, they will move their sleeping pallets together until they touch. Thrall courtship is hidden from view; there is no outward signs of affection in the presence of the Thramorri, and any thoughts or feelings of desire are suppressed in the presence of the Masters. There is a common belief that the Thramorri can read minds, and so thralls train themselves to control their thoughts.

Related Locations

• Anexoren Hive