Beron Ethnicity in Valley of Man | World Anvil
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Beron

by hughpierre

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

Rune Stone

It is a raised monument of stone or bedrock, brightly coloured and positioned in the center of communal life. They typically bare inscriptions of religious iconography and traces of the landscape, flora and fauna of the homeland they fled. The main purpose of a rune stone was to mark territory, to explain inheritance, to boast about constructions, to tell of important events and to bring glory to warg gods who are purported to possess them to be with their people.   A new rune stone is elevated every three generations to ensure the central piece does not always appear too worn and to enforce the continued hardness and stability of the community. If, during wars or raids, the rune stone is captured or destroyed; it is acknowledged as a sign of automatic defeat and/or capitulation of the tribe that owned it.  

Temalacatl

A simple, and unadorned, slab of rock that serves as a platform during ceremonial fights and honor duel. They are not as elaborate as the Sang's Battle Stones mounted in a central place for all to see.   Instead, such duels are out-of-the-way affairs; where one of any temalacatl are positioned in the periphery of a settlement. Because they are relatively cheap to make, not much care is given towards maintain preexisting slabs. As a result, there are many forgotten temalacatl that have long cracked and are hidden in the surrounding overgrowth.

Shared customary codes and values

Honor Fights

These are duels between two aggrieved parties to settle serious disputes. It starts when a representative combatant publicly chastises another, thereafter a battle space is chosen. No one has to die during these fights, but the defeated fighter is mandated to lose a part of their body or otherwise mutilated for the stated offense by the other side.  
Honor fights hold special legal status within warg law as when issued, the chief nor other leaders have any purview to stop it.
— Legal Adviser
 

Beron Shield

Over the course of time; the berons, in their usual militant ways, formed an unrelenting hatred for their immediate Taulli neighbours. As they were the closest to the "Dead Zone", the berons were the first warg victims to be raided in the "Eternal War".   It was an encounter that infuriated, rather than intimidated, the tribes who made it a point to proactively war against the cantons. Berons took responsibility for protecting their brother tribes by settling and fortifying the entirety of the immediate lands bordering the dead zone.

Common Dress code

As a general rule the less clothes one has to wear, the more influential they are in the culture.

Upper Hierarchy

Many men went shirtless throughout much of the year, only wearing cloaks when it got very cold. Warg chiefs are known for their elaborately decorated war shirts of feathers, fur from ermines or rabbits, porcupine quills, and glass beads gotten through trade.  

Lower Hierarchy

Long Sleeve
Women generally wore skirts and leggings, shirts or tunics and longer buckskin dresses. Most men wore a breech cloth which composed of a piece of material tucked into a belt that would cover the front and back. When it was warm, this was all the men wore. In cooler times, men would wear leggings to keep their legs warm.
Quick Dry
Imported ayate fibers are the preferred material to weave cloths, but are difficult to acquire due to the hard-to-cross hunting tracks. Locally; vines, otter furs, jaguar pelts, cock of the rock and harpy feathers are widely used to naturally repel the regular rains and ever-present fog of the shadow plain.
Muted Colours
Earth tones are best for carrying out the functions and responsibilities in hunting, trapping and patrolling clan land.
Moccasin
Footwear made of soft leather without a separate heel, the sole turned up on all sides and sewn to the upper side in a simple gathered seam.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

Warg culture originates far across the strait; in a land they barely remember. Upon settling in the shadow plain, the warg encounter their most defining challenge in their new home: the Touch.   Whereas before, warg culture greatly appreciated individual prowess, it was forced to redefined its priorities to be more collectivism.
 

Karass

Parents of different families sort their children into groups of 5-7 into a cohort called a Karass, where those children forge bonds that last for the reminder of their lives. The children's parents work together to provide for their children's needs to limit environmental exposure and ensure a minimum chance infection.   However, should one child show sign of mutation, then it is a given that the whole cohort was exposed; after which the parents are excused and it is left to non-relatives to remove the entire karass.  

Adventuring

It is common for newly initiated [shadow] warriors to adventure out with his male karass brothers looking for honor, glory and spoils to bring back their village. Often times, depending on the destination, their karass sisters would accompany them in serving logistic if they participate in lengthy campaigns.

Coming of Age Rites

Warg Bestiary

  1. First, the hunter must choose and track down an appropriate animal of mighty strength. These may be one of a superior size to the person, such as:
    • Shadow Cats
    • Bearded Bears
    • Water Monitors
    • Jaguars
    • Stags
    • (Tatanka)
    • Pumas
    • Wolves
    • Best Hawk
  2. Shadow Skin
    Technology / Science | Jan 20, 2024
     
  3. Second, he must carry the carcass back to the village on his own.
  4. Third, he must carefully skin its pelt; preserving the skull and spine to the skin.
  5. Finally, he must wear his completed shadow skin and focus on fusing his head and back to the pelt; and all the rest will follow.

Historical figures

Pachilia Thunder

A leggi maid who married into the beron tribe and found the carcass of the extremely rare thunder bird. She would later use its skin as a point of inspiration to lead the fight against Taulli in Shadow Cast.

Ideals

Courtship Ideals

Most of a child's future marriage prospects is determined by the choice of which karass the parents' choose for their child. With them being isolated from other karasses, the children form intimate bonds on their own. By 16, they leave the karass system and interact with other young adults that they have never seen or interacted with.   Though they are free to many whomever they like, it is far more common to marry within one's former child group from comfortable familiarity.

Parent ethnicities
Encompassed species
Related Myths

STR (Choose the lowest roll as modifier)
CON
DEX
INT
WIS
CHA
Armour 2d6
HP 3d6+6 ([min+max]/2)
Speed 2d10+10 ft

Historical Conflicts

Shadow Binds
Military Conflict | Aug 10, 2020


Cover image: Beyond the Frozen Sea

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