Familial Brand
Above list is always growing and features known families and crests, as well as the occupation the family is known for.
History
The Sydroan familial brand stems from when wars among all races were much more common. It was a secondary form of identification if one where to loose their bead strand, or their life in the heat of battle.
Each family was allowed to choose their own identifier known as a crest that was then branded onto each member of the family. The location of the brand is always center of the chest just below the collarbone.
Once a new member of the family is born they too receive the brand. This is done not long after birth and is healed with a specific spell that ensures the longevity of the brand as the child ages.
Once the Sydroan's began to regularly mix with outside races again, the idea of the branding process being barbaric began to seep into the mindset. This new mindset was especially prevalent in the mountain settlements, where interactions with outsiders was a more regular occurence. This lead to many families dropping the act of branding, instead opting to put the family crest on their clothing and weapons instead.
The act of branding is still carried out by many of the older families. This is especially true with those living within the forest where they are much more secluded from the ideals of other races, and not at all keen to loose their traditions.
Those that are branded are still capable of changing their family name and crest if they desire. This is often done if the family name has become tarnished to the point that the family is seen to be the problem and not the individual. To save themselves from the disgrace of their family, a Sydroan may choose to simply hide their brand and display the new crest on their clothing and weapons; or there is a much more painful process of having the old brand removed.
Magic is required to remove an unwanted brand since a Sydroan's brand is magically sustained in order to prevent it from simply fading with time. The reaction of the two spells clashing is extremely painful as they both try to achieve opposite goals of preservation and destruction. The preservation spell was never made to be broken easily. It is widely believed that this is to prevent a disowned Sydroan from simply having the brand removed by another race.
In order to preserve the family's reputation, they may choose to disown the individual(s) at fault. The sign of a disowned Sydroan is a new scar that cuts across the brand. This new scar is inflicted by the highest ranking member of the family with an enchanted blade that extends the preservation of the brand to this new scar as well. Many of these disowned individuals are stripped of their beads and must wear the pyrite bead, and of these most are sentenced to death. This being said, records from a few families have shown that in the past a few Sydroans have been stripped of their beads and simply exiled.
Each family was allowed to choose their own identifier known as a crest that was then branded onto each member of the family. The location of the brand is always center of the chest just below the collarbone.
Once a new member of the family is born they too receive the brand. This is done not long after birth and is healed with a specific spell that ensures the longevity of the brand as the child ages.
Once the Sydroan's began to regularly mix with outside races again, the idea of the branding process being barbaric began to seep into the mindset. This new mindset was especially prevalent in the mountain settlements, where interactions with outsiders was a more regular occurence. This lead to many families dropping the act of branding, instead opting to put the family crest on their clothing and weapons instead.
The act of branding is still carried out by many of the older families. This is especially true with those living within the forest where they are much more secluded from the ideals of other races, and not at all keen to loose their traditions.
Those that are branded are still capable of changing their family name and crest if they desire. This is often done if the family name has become tarnished to the point that the family is seen to be the problem and not the individual. To save themselves from the disgrace of their family, a Sydroan may choose to simply hide their brand and display the new crest on their clothing and weapons; or there is a much more painful process of having the old brand removed.
Magic is required to remove an unwanted brand since a Sydroan's brand is magically sustained in order to prevent it from simply fading with time. The reaction of the two spells clashing is extremely painful as they both try to achieve opposite goals of preservation and destruction. The preservation spell was never made to be broken easily. It is widely believed that this is to prevent a disowned Sydroan from simply having the brand removed by another race.
In order to preserve the family's reputation, they may choose to disown the individual(s) at fault. The sign of a disowned Sydroan is a new scar that cuts across the brand. This new scar is inflicted by the highest ranking member of the family with an enchanted blade that extends the preservation of the brand to this new scar as well. Many of these disowned individuals are stripped of their beads and must wear the pyrite bead, and of these most are sentenced to death. This being said, records from a few families have shown that in the past a few Sydroans have been stripped of their beads and simply exiled.
