Barquelle / Barquelli

Their culture is based around shipbuilding, seafaring, travel and trade, and has a strong emphasis on hospitality and preserving the rights of visitors and newcomers to the community. Although the island of one's birth is important, it is extremely common to journey to and settle on different islands, sometimes for a few years, sometimes for a whole lifetime; there is also frequent trade with the mainland.

Barqueda is a nation based around a group of islands on the western side of the Inner Sea. The eleven islands, in order from north to south, are as follows:

• Guspa;
• Flosi;
• Sfrarra;
• Chiesra;
• Seni;
• Gadde;
• Anaeda;
• Rane;
• Caiba;
• Besca;
• Davi.

On each island there are fixed stone structures where the needs of the community as a whole can be met, such as schools, infirmaries, shipyards and jails, but there are no buildings owned by individuals. Families live in sailing vessels which are brought ashore, more or less permanently, and resources such as forests and farmland are administered centrally by the Voices of each island.

An island's Voices are a group of people who, for various reasons (often old age or physical impairment), cannot travel by boat. The Prime Voice of each island is responsible for appointing magistrates, who travel between all of the islands on a regular schedule to conduct trade and diplomacy and who are forbidden from establishing a home in any one place for the length of their service. Each island will have one official magistrate at a time, usually serving a term of ten years, who travels with a crew that may be more or less fixed for that period. Magistrates have certain legal responsibilities as they travel between islands: for instance, a criminal case must be heard by a neutral magistrate (one who does not come from the island of either the accused or the supposed victims), and it is considered taboo for marriage ceremonies to be conducted by a magistrate from the native island or place of residence of either participant. After the death of an island's Prime Voice, the successor is chosen by that island's magistrate out of the other Voices of the island: this office is held for life.

Naming Traditions

Family names

Most individuals follow their forename with a name that designates their natal island, using the suffix -ssi. The traditional Barquedan natal-names are: Anaedassi; Bescassi; Caibassi; Chiesrassi; Davissi; Flosissi; Gaddessi; Guspassi; Ranessi; Senissi; and Sfrarrassi.
Some individuals born outside of Barqueda will use the natal-name of their last ancestor to be born on an island (i.e. a parent or grandparent). Others form a new natal-name on the same suffixal model: for instance, many of those born in Avacha use the natal-name Avachassi.
As well as natal-names, most people identify themselves as the "child" of a certain vessel (usually that of their parents), and the intricacies of vessel-naming make it possible to trace family lines (albeit not without a great deal of difficulty). According to tradition, a vessel name must have at least two parts to it, and when an individual marries, they and their spouse combine aspects of their parents' vessels to create the name of their own vessel. For instance, if someone from the Silent Shore marries someone from the Sky's Return, their marital vessel might be called the Silent Sky, the Return to Shore, or another variation. It is often even possible to create a vessel name out of the name or surname of a partner from another culture.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

The traditional mother-tongue is Rascu, a language kept fairly uniform and resistant to linguistic variation by the high degree of intermingling between people from different islands. However, most people will have enough knowledge of a range of other languages to conduct trade.

Average technological level

Larger sailing vessels may be armed with light artillery, but personal firearms are uncommon: there is a preference for hand-to-hand combat, with a cultural emphasis on developing skill in dueling with two weapons at once. Navigation and shipbuilding are advanced; quarrying of stone for use in building construction is sufficient to meet limited needs; metalworking is rare, as most items are obtained through trade.

Common Dress code

Warm weather and local customs permitting, toplessness is the societal norm, along with shorts that reach past the knees and contain sealable pockets. Traders will often wear clothes from cultures that they trade with, but in bright colours, particularly yellows and greens. There is a general preference for practical attire.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

When a child is about to be born, it is considered very important to note the celestial bodies visible from their location at the time of their birth (a task usually completed by a local Voice). Idanuone leaves can be used to induce labour to make sure that the child is born during the night-time, which is considered lucky.

Coming of Age Rites

The coming-of-age ceremony, which can take place any time from the age of 16 onwards, involves receiving a tattoo that symbolises the time and place of one's birth. Most commonly, this takes the form of a star-map, but it is not uncommon to take on a more abstract symbol of time and place, such as an image of a local flower which was in bloom around the time of birth, or an image of the figurehead of a boat for those born at sea. If an individual intends to move to a different island upon reaching adulthood, it is considered desirable to receive the tattoo from the Magistrate of the island which will become their new home, and so it is not unusual to perform the tattooing as part of a leaving ceremony, as late as the age of 23 or 24.

Funerary and Memorial customs

The deceased is wrapped in sailcloths and buried at sea, close to the place of their death, usually with an initial memorial service in which those who knew the deceased share memories. Following this, a permanent memorial must be erected at the place where the deceased was born, as quickly as possible - sometimes this is accompanied by an additional memorial service. On the deceased's native island, their closest friends or relatives will commission a wooden statue depicting the deceased or something which represented them (such as a favourite animal or the tools of the trade), carved with the names of the deceased, of their next-of-kin (who paid for the statue), and of any vessels the deceased owned; the inscription will also say if the deceased ever served as a magistrate or Voice. Dates of birth and death are not normally provided. It is common for those who knew and cared for the deceased to hang garlands of flowers on this statue whenever they visit the island (or twice a year if they are permanently resident there).

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Hair is kept mid-length, rarely extending past the chin; if longer, it is usually kept tied back. Facial hair is uncommon. An androgynous appearance is considered particularly desirable. Decoration is usually found in the form of intricate tattoos, both temporary and permanent, and in jewellery made from natural materials (provided there is nothing which might catch on part of a ship).

Gender Ideals

Equality between genders is considered important: everyone is expected to pitch in and help out, whether at sea or on land. New mothers are traditionally involved in everyday work within a few weeks of giving birth, with childcare responsibilities shared equally between both parents and with the rest of the crew or community at large: there is an emphasis on communal education and play between children of different ages.

Typical appearance

Height: 5’0” – 5’6” (female) / 5’4” – 5’11” (male).

Build: Slender with short limbs.

Facial structure: Small round face with weak cheek bones and brow; long narrow and slightly flattened nose, thin lips.

Skin tone: Light to medium yellowish-brown (ochre).

Eyes: Dark brown or sometimes hazel; small and slightly upturned with smooth lids.

Hair: Black, straight; little body hair.

Gameplay feature

Walk the Ropes

Time spent at sea helps to develop a natural skill at moving in ways that many people would struggle with. You are adept at swimming, climbing and walking along narrow ledges, without having to Defy Danger to do so.