Tieflings

A troubled people, born of pacts and trysts between demons and devils, who cling to the gods as their guiding light.
Tieflings are:

• An ancient species whose bloodlines are mingled with Devils and Demons
• Deeply associated with the Gods, who they view as their saviours
• The founders of Amaranth (City) and the most populous species in it
• Still practicing a culture of guilt over their own ancestry

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Tieflings pick their names when they come of age at 16. Usually, a tiefling is encouraged to pick an ideal, virtue or characteristic they want to embody; or to pick the name of an ancestor, hero or figure they strive to emulate. However, with the loss of much of Amaranth's written records, the former has become more common than the latter; and the glut of tieflings with aspirationally virtuous names has led to many just choosing their own original names. (Frequently; in the hope that, perhaps, they might build their own legends.)
Surnames were traditionally passed down from the original eight tribe names, but with the population of Tieflings now numbering over 10 million, having a million tieflings with the same surname proved unwieldy for both cultural and administrative purposes, and families were encouraged to choose and propagate their own surname (usually during wedding ceremonies, but just as commonly with the birth or adoption of a child).

Major Organizations

Despite the traditional association with infernal powers that Tieflings hold, they have a significant presence within the Crescent City's religious hierachy. Likewise, they have several strong and prominent houses, dedicated to either martial or religious upbringings.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Common, as it is spoken in Amaranth today, is supposedly descended from the language of the original Tiefling tribes, who have since taught it to many other species.
Infernal and Abyssal are the languages of Devils and Demons respectively, and despite remaining relatively unspoken amongst upstanding modern Tieflings, some ancient pact imbues the knowledge of at least one into all of them.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Regardless of political affiliation, most Tieflings hold a strong belief towards to divine guidance overcoming their base nature and it’s common for Tieflings to mark themselves with skin-contrasting warpaint to show their devotion towards a specific god.
Some tieflings go even further, and in a religious ritual known as The Cleansing, attempt to remove the infernal traces from their blood; becoming one of the Forsworn. Their skin loses it's ruddy hue; turning to white, and they usually lose access to the infernal resistances their species has. But they claim that it brings them closer to the gods; opening them up to their strength. This ritual is not without it's risks, however, and for one reason or another, tieflings have lost their lives attempting to perform it. Nonetheless, it remains a mark of great pride for those that accomplish it, and it's no coincidence that the greatest proportion of Forsworn Tieflings exist in the highest ranks of religious leaders.

History

Descended from an ancient nomadic people that maintained contact with both Devils and Demons - trading, bargaining and intermingling with both. For the outsiders part, they saw these mortal people as a way to exert their influence on the material plane, fighting against their hated opposition doing just the same. As bargains, pacts and oaths escalated, the Tiefling people, filled with demonic and infernal blood waged war on their own people. Tribes fractured, split, reformed and split again as contracts and oaths were called in.
It is said, in legend, that the gods (when there were many gods), guided by Luna, stepped in to free these people from the dark pacts that their ancestors had sworn; freeing them from the war of their parents' making and guiding them into the light of the gods.
Reunited, the eight tribes left their old battlegrounds and set out to build a better life, eventually settling the flood plains near the mouth of a vast river, and founding Amaranth.

Historical Figures

Hope (pre-history): Hope; a mythological Tiefling of great wisdom and strength, guided the original eight tribes to founding the city of Amaranth and defended it from all comers. They first invited Elves and Dwarves to live amongst them and oversaw the building of the first dam and the raising of the many of the cities oldest churches, before finally passing away at the age of over 400. They are usually revered as a Saint of Luna and many temples stand in their name.
Mercy (Pre-Worldshock) - Mercy lived at time when the sea still existed beyond Amaranth's dam and the Merfolk were at the height of their cold war with Amaranth, regularly sabotaging our constructions and caravans. But despite all this Mercy advocated for understand between the two people's, and at least for Amaranth's part, kept the tension from developing into all out war. When the sea drained, Mercy had already been negotiating with the Merfolk leaders for some time, and prevented the Merfolk from blaming the Amar for their sudden misfortune - eventually bring them to live in our city, behind the dam.