Heraldry in Ara

Background

Heraldry in Ara  has existed at an essential level since the earliest races battled amongst themselves and others. However, humans, with their love of defining and codifying everything, began the earliest efforts to standardise and register arms, particularly in Ebrion & Milagon.
Registered arms are usually awarded to families of warriors, nobility or particularly note. A particular honour may be the gift of arms, which may or not be accompanied by elevation to nobility. All noble families must register arms. It is an offence and faux-pas to display unregistered arms with supporters, but many families have created their own arms.
These arms often are used or transferred by institutions, societies and so on, following their founders, or be specifically created for those institutions. Similarly, they are often simplified to become flags (the escutcheon extended to become a square or rectangle, or triangle for a pennent) and Aran vexillology usually follows the laws of arms.

Common Structures

Escutcheons

In their most basic form, registered arms tend to follow similar basic rules. Most arms are based around a shield, or Escutcheon. The chosen shape of the escutcheon, whilst not mandated, tend to follow racial trends, see below. Some particularly unique shield designs have been created by families with mixed heritage.
Shield design in Ara is blazoned into the coat of arms, and is an important component of the arms. The most common and generic shield designs are used if no other shield description is defined. The main part of the shield may be a single field or divided, as per common designs shown. Depending on shield shape, other variations exist – particularly in ‘bossed’ Dwarven arms. These divisions may be further complicated using defined wave shapes. 
Fields may also be striped vertically (paly), horizontally (barry) or diagonally (bendy or bendy sinister) or chequed (chequey) with alternating colours. Other patterns exist, but these are the most common.

Racial variation in Escutcheons

Elven

Elves like elegance in a shield. They are also one of the few races to commonly employ asymmetric shield designs, and this is reflected in their most common escutcheons. High elves tend to favour long, thin shields, such as the Kite, Corpal, Elven and Foliate Shields. Wood elves, especially the oldest families, will often follow this tradition, in particular the Foliate shield. They may also use the more abstract Bouched (bouché) or Cardiodid shields. These are often used in combination with wider charges.

Dwarven

Perhaps due to their stature, Dwarven arms tend to favour polygonal escutcheons. The chosen shape often aligns with the field divisions. The peculiarity of dwarven shield is that they are often ‘bossed’. This is a single, central ordinary that stands atop of any other charges or divisions. It is always a metal. It may be round, polygonal (usually, but not always, the same shape as the shield)

Human

Humans tend to use more traditionally ‘shield’ shaped escutcheons. Some families choose more ornate shield variations, but many this consider this gouache.

Halfling 

Halfings tend to add nicks and cut-outs to their shield design to differentiate themselves from the more human designs, which, unlike dwarves and elves, most of the heraldic rules were derived.

Dragonborn

Dragonborn traditionally use circular or inverted teardrop escutcheons, but are more willing that many other races to adopt other shield shapes. 

Others

Oval and Lozenge shields are also available for use, and are often used by those who wish to avoid racial stereotypes or marshal associations. Belts are used for organisations and guilds which do not wish to have an association with a family.

Tinctures

Tinctures are the standard colour set used in Aran arms. They are used for fields, ordinaries, supporters and charges. The standard colours are divided into different types – metals, colours and furs. For Dwarves, an additional class exists, called alloys. The Rules of tincture recommend colours should not be place on metals, or vice-versa.
Some Elven arms may add further filigree in shades of the same colour, but these are up to the illustrator and never blazoned. Orcish arms, where rarely granted, have a may have a tan or buff coloured background (bois proper). Other colours may appear if defined as ‘proper’ – their natural colour.

Ordinaries

An ordinary (or honourable ordinary) is a simple geometrical figure, bounded by straight lines and running from side to side or top to bottom of the shield. These may also be modified by the line variations. Below are some standard examples. For Dwarven shields, more variations exist to be sympathetic to the number of sides of the shield. Dwarven designs often rely more heavily on ordinaries than charges

Charges

Charges are one or more designs or devices that may sit in the foreground of arms. There are many hundreds of devices which may be used including beasts, dragons, monstrosities, constructs, shapes, letters or inanimate objects.

Racial variation in Charges

Elven 

Elven charges are usually nature derived, with plants and animals. Rarely, they may depict notable or magic items, but they are rarely mundane objects. Though it does not affect the official blazon, the artistic style used in Elven charges is often very ornate – sometimes to the point of affecting their clarity in a battle situation, especially for other races that lack their keen eyesight.

Dwarven

Dwarven charges rely heavily upon geometric simple shapes and runic emblems. Any other charges are usually tool or equipment based, or display religious alignments, and always sit behind any boss.

Human & Halfling

Humans and halflings use a wide and unrestricted range of charges. Multiple charges are very common. Halfling charges tend to have a higher prevalence of domestic and culinary objects, often derived from canting their names. The artistic style is design to be reasonably ornate, but clear at a distance.

Dragonborn

Dragonborn charges have a more simplified style. Unlike other arms, the motto may appear in ornate local script on the escutcheon, usually in a bordure.

Other Elements

Other elements may be included in the arms to the bearer and artist’s tastes. Some common are listed below. It is usual that crowns, helmets and crests are drawn from the cultural background and personal history of the bearer. Mottos are written in the script of the language that they are in.

Other Heraldic Systems

Gnomes

Gnomes have exclusively round escutcheons. Their edges are adorned with varying numbers and shapes of pinions, generally named following line naming conventions. Some suggest that these designs were the inspiration for the ‘cogs’ that gnomes are famed for using. Charges on Gnomish arms are rotationally symmetrical line patterns usually drawn on Gnomish machines according to set formulae. As such, for blazon purposes, a yellow gnomish pattern would be recorded as ‘A charge Gnomé, Or’ with the Gnomish formula recorded in a footnote.

Orcs

Orcish heraldry, where systematic, usually derived from tribal shields, which would have consisted of a simple charge stamped or burned onto a rectangular or irregular wood form. Translation into Aran standard would sometimes us a rectangular shield with a tan or buff field and the simple charge. Half-Orc families would be the most likely to possess such arms, though noteworthy full Orcs are also registered.