Hayim

"Before I could leave for Limbo, I had to collect some rare books from the Bindi library for a friend. Quickly teleporting over to Bindi marketplace, I became lost almost immediately in a sea of tall humans of dark skin and strange clothing. I knew that the library was at the north end of the plaza, but it was nearly impossible to navigate the crowd of people. It was like trying to swim upstream when you can barely tread water!
At one point, I nearly crashed into a stall selling roses. The shopkeep began to speak in rapid-fire Hayimic, which I had never gotten around to learning. I tried to apologize in my broken Hayimic, but he kept trying to get me to buy roses. I eventually just left to try to get to the Library anew..."
~ Alan the Adventurer, Tales of Discovery on Earth

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Serin, Alana, Kharem

Masculine names

Sari, Yantar, Sréafen

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

All Hayim speak Hayimic, but most also speak Orenian Gratic due to close ties with that people.

Culture and cultural heritage

The Hayim fled their homeland a thousand years ago, if the tales are true, and brought their different customs and language to the continent of Endaman. There, they have remained true to their roots, refusing to join the Four and keeping their old gods. Many poems and books have been written about love, giving it a spot in the public consciousness as the centre of existence.

Shared customary codes and values

The Hayim people are obsessed with love, shown through their prolific poetry and novels depicting fleein lovebirds or lost love. There is a unspoken rule that people should only marry those that they want to spend the rest of their lives with. This passion bleeds into their love of roses, as giving a rose to one's beloved is a common motif in these stories.
They are also passionate fighters, with military training almost being a religious journey to finding the perfect weapon or fighting style. Those who are mages are held to a similar standard, with flashy movements and beauty being placed above practicality.

Common Etiquette rules

A guest being brought into one's home is expected to provide a long hug as "payment" to the host.

Intercourse outside of wedlock is not only the height of rudeness, but expressly forbidden by Hayimic law.

Common Dress code

Long robes and trousers are worn by most men who are not labourers, with the social status and wealth of the man being shown through the number of colours of cloth, the trimming of the robe, and whether or not the man is wearing any bracelets or necklaces.

Dresses for women are the staple, but younger, unmarried women wear dresses that have hoods to indicate their status. Jewelry is also common among women.

Labourers, whether male or female, usually wear white or grey tunics with trousers.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

Children are usually delivered at home or a specialized birth hospital. The family then will celebrate the birth of the baby with a small celebration that night, at the conclusion of which the parents will give their child a name. The next day, the family will take the baby to a curate, who will baptize the baby in a local river or a sanctified basin if there is no river nearby.

Funerary and Memorial customs

Hayim people hold relatively simple funerals. The deceased is sprinkled with rosewater and then cremated. The ashes are then scattered over a local flower meadow or river while a curate delivers a prayer for the soul of the dead person. There is a ten day period given for the family to grieve, with friends and the community providing them with food and helping keep the house clean for them.

Common Taboos

The colour white cannot be worn to a wedding or a baptism, as white is the colour of death.

On holy days, meat eating and flower picking are forbidden.

Common Myths and Legends

The Saga of Elmar and Dilgar is known to everyone, and provides a history of the Hayim people.

Historical figures

Elmar and Dilgar, whose stories and deeds are known to every Hayim person.

Khinkan IV, known as the Son of Stars (Abuknakhim) by many Hayim, who threw off the yoke of The Gratic Empire and reinstated the Kingdom of Hayim.

Encompassed species

• Endamian Human

Related Organizations

• The Nine Daggers

Languages spoken

• Hayimic

Related Locations

• Hayim

Art Credit: emperorcharlesii (me!)