Ireti Ethnicity in Areldia

Culture and cultural heritage

Ireti culture is intrinsically tied to their situation as denizens of The Blightlands. They are generally descendants of the people of old Westworth - of those who did not make it out before the Great Collapse. Living in these lands is not a generally healthy practice. The very air is a toxic fume, and the blight hangs heavy over all. Over generations the Ireti have gained resistance to the blight, but it none-the-less takes its toll. Despite the fact that they take care to cover every bit of exposed skin while above ground, the foul effects of the blight usually find a way through. Ireti are easily identified by the dark green-brown splotches that cover their skin, and are even more easily identified if extended blight exposure has left them with extra limbs, tentacles, or other mutagenic growths.

Shared customary codes and values

Above all, the Ireti people view The Blightlands as the deserved punishment for The Collapse. The Ireti are strongly opposed to all forms of arcane magic - believing that such magic is what caused the second collapse and the blight. Arcane casters are unwelcome in their lands, and often serve as scapegoats to tragedy. Usually, they are exiled and left to suffer the blight unaided. Ireti do not leave the blightlands as to leave is give up the Ireti name. This isn't merely symbolic; the Ireti adaptation to the blight makes them dependent on it, even as it kills them. The mutated splotches and occasional warped flesh and limbs die without blight, inevitably turning necrotic. Beyond their hatred for arcane magic, the Ireti have a strong belief in the justice of the blight. As a deserved punishment, they believe it is their place to live with the consequences of humanities failures until such time as the gods forgive them and the blight ends.

Common Dress code

Above ground, the Ireti cover themselves completely. This protects against not only the scorching sun and windblown sands, but also offers some measure of protection against the blight. With so much sand around them, the Ireti have become capable glassworkers. In addition to their hoods, they will usually also wear a mask that has glass eyepieces and a filter made from a subterranean fungus to purify the air as they breathe. This greatly reduces their blight exposure, but does not prevent it.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

Ireti births are almost always performed in a cave system where the seclusion offers the newborn some protection from the blight. Babies born outside are rarely without serious mutation, and typically die before their 20th year.

Coming of Age Rites

Due to the limited space available within the few underground refuges the Ireti have from the blight, those who fail to secure a place in a sanctuary are forced to live as nomads outside of them, to scrounge for food and return periodically with resources. While honored by those they leave behind, their constant exposure to blight and dependence on blight-ridden food is highly mutagenic, and fatal within a few years.

Funerary and Memorial customs

Most Ireti who die do so from the blight, and only the very honored and accomplished are supported into old age. Almost all burials are by cremation, but the exceptionally honored are preserved and entombed using rare, expensive herbs and fungi.

Common Taboos

The use of arcane magic is a major Taboo for the Ireti. They despise arcane magic, and will only bear it briefly.

Common Myths and Legends

Ireti have a prophecy that one day a child will be born completely immune to the blight. This child will grow up to become a great leader and will complete the penance for humanities mistakes, ending the Blight-Age.

Beauty Ideals

The Ireti rarely spare thought for ideas of beauty. The mutations and blight splotches that are common to their people render them horrid by the standards of humans that dwell outside The Blightlands.