Falbiten (FALL bit an)

the Lake Dwellers on Bemused

Falbiten are Human living in small villages on Lake Bemused in northern Jerain on the major continent of Ethae. These villages stand on stilts in the shallow waters along the lake's northern shores and are often connected by a network of gangways that can run for miles. Most of these lake dwellers never set foot on dryland, ever living on the village platforms, in boats, or swimming the lakes waters.

Records of lake dwellers on Lake Bemused date back to the Areian Age, though it is unclear if these tales are speaking of the same culture. For the Falbiten, their oral traditions put them living as they do in the modern day since the creation of the world. They are a people deep in their traditions and way of life, still living as they have since the ancients looked out over the lake for the first time.

The Falbiten use wood and stone in most constructions. Gathering these materials is an annual even as representatives for each village gather together and journey into the Awaran savanna. Steel and iron are worthless to them, though they do favor bronze in tools and weapons when available. Their art often incorporates gold. Fish and avian meats are the main diet, supplemented by the dozen or so editable types of freshwater seaweed in the lake, many of which are farmed and harvested by the people.

Though they are set in their ways and want little to do with the world beyond their lake, the Falbiten are a welcoming people, taking in travelers, traders, and adventurers. The people are learning the value of trading the edible, and the many nonedible, seaweeds to outsiders that practice alchemy, spellcraft, and culinary arts. When outsiders arrive, especially regular and trusted traders, they often are treated to celebration, feasts, and trade. As happy to see outsiders as they are, the lake dwellers are just as happy to see the visitors leave so they can get back to their everyday lives.

Communities are small with three to five families living in one village. These villages dot the shores, each around a mile from another. Women stay in the village and swim the surrounding waters cultivating their seaweed crops, while men travel out to deeper waters for spear fishing. The leader of the community is elected annually, male and female can be elected, and often this defaults to the eldest member of said community. These elects are seen more as a community building and support event than any sort of official duty. These leaders are largely history keepers of the village, and spokesperson when trading with other villages. It is their duty to also arrange marriages.

Marriages are arranged in the teen years, with the woman expected to leave her village to join her husbands. Couple rarely meet before the wedding night. It is tradition for these wedding to be between villages as far apart as can be arranged, to prevent to many family relations between nearby villages. A woman rarely sees people from her former community again.

The Falbiten people are deeply spiritual, though not religious. They see the world itself deeply intertwined with the divine. To them God is feminine, the creator of life. They refer to God as Arith. In their myth Lake Bemused is the womb of which all Aldern was birthed in the creative powers of Arith.

Falbiten are short and thin in stature. Women are usually a few inches taller than the men. Their skin tones tend towards the darker shades of the Somon people. They spend much of the life outside, with the sun darkening them even more. Falbiten see fair and pale skin as a sign of weakness. Their eyes are dark, almost black, usually beginning as a mild brown at birth, darkening over the years. Blue and green flacks in the eye are uncommon but are seen as a divine sign. With blue being considered a sign of a prophet, while green a sign of magical prowess. Falbiten hair is always some hue of brown, darker in men and lighter in women. Both sexes keeping their head hair short, women never longer than their shoulders or chin, men often shave their heads. Both sexes shave the rest of the hair off their bodies finding body hair disgusting. Men never sport beards.

The Falbiten are not a modest people, living most their lives in the water, both men and women rarely wear upper clothing, leaving their chest free. Both cover their lower halves with skirts when out of the water, which is removed to swim naked. Women have learned to cover themselves when outsiders arrive, however. Shell necklaces and bracelets are worn by all. With gold jewelry being worn by those of status. Body tattooing of blues and green patterns are a culture norm. These tattoos begining in the teen years as a rite of passage. Men will usually tattoos for their chest, arms and legs, while women traditionally tattoo their backs, shoulders and arms, but never their legs. The tattooing continues through adult life, with the elders sporting dense complicated, often overlapping designs.

Name Samples:

(male) Elius, Leom, Luca, Ramuel, Shah, Tulian

(female) Ahnna, Emilila, Lena, Mai, Mila, Nala

Surnames:

Falbiten do no use surnames. However, some may pick up and adjective description over their lifetime. Such as Fair Sofia, for a light haired girl, or Able Luas, for a man that can do many tasks.

Race: Human

Ethnicity: Somon

Alignment: Falbiten are a neutrally alignments, having a very independent spirit.

Age: Falbiten live a long natural life for a human, with it not unheard of for them to reach the age of 120.

Size: (Medium) Falbiten are generally considered short for humans, their height never exceeds 6 feet , with women tending to be tall than the men.

Language: Ediia is the common language for those dwelling on Lake Bemused. As more contact with the outside world become common village elders and leaders are begining to learn the the Common Tongue as well.