Wave Walker Customs

All races have many unique customs, peculiarities of their culture, history, and way of life that are specific to them and their sense of racial identity. This article lists some that are unique to the Wave Walker race, in no particular order.
For more basic information about this race, see Wave Walker Elves.
 

Horn Carving Traditions

Wave Walkers are deeply proud of their horns, which are the defining physical feature that marks their heritage as separate from pureblooded elves. Horncarving is a traditional artform that's specific to the race; serving as an acknowledgement of adulthood, it marks each individual's genealogy in a unique combination of symbols and imagery specific to them. These carvings follow a strict layout that can be easily 'read' by others.
Upon reaching physical maturity and coming of age, a Wave Walker receive the mark of their ancestral house at the base of their horns, followed by the personal marks of both parents. Their own personal mark is added next, followed by an ornamentally framed space meant to be carved with an eventual spouse. The remainder of the space is slowly added to over the course of an individual's life, encompassing those deeply tied to them by bonds of friendship, kinship, or other meaningful connections; being added to another's horn carvings is an incredibly meaningful gesture, and not undertaken lightly.
For obvious reasons, the art itself is only practiced by those who are masters of the craft. Apprenticeships are long and rigorous, and only a few in the entirety of the Wave Walker race are trusted with this precious responsibility. 

Seafaring Lifestyle

With their lives existing mostly aboard ship, the Wave Walkers are closely tied to the turn of the seasons and the cycle of the year. From April through December, they live on the waves thanks to unusual currents that help keep the seas around Fyrenstone Shard clear enough of ice for them to travel; ships are generally crewed by thirty-odd individuals, and resemble medieval caravels in general appearance and construction. Day to day life is a matter of trading, travel, and exploration. The Wave Walkers hold a unique disdain for the separation of Genesis and the Old World and regularly travel in and out of the shards by sea, cloaking their travel in fog and magic to keep the them hidden from human eyes. It's thought that they rely on both the speed of their ships and a series of tiny, fragmented harbor-shards to keep them secure from the effects of magic intolerance.
During the early months of the year, even the sea around Fyrenstone freezes solid and the Wave Walker fleet returns to port to wait out the cold season. These few months ashore are a time to make needed repairs, restock their supplies and trade among themselves, and reconnect with family and community; it's the time to celebrate births and lay the dead to rest, formalize marriages and pursue courtships, and generally enjoy the pleasures of life that aren't easily pursued while aboard ship. While tensions sometime run high during this time of the year due to restlessness, most Wave Walkers enjoy the opportunity to mingle with their own kind even as they anticipate the sea ice melting.

Ship's Mages

Mages are an essential part of shipboard life, and one of the most respected roles among the Wave Walker elves; they help calm the seas, cloak the ships in magical fog as they travel through the Old World, find the way between one hidden harbor and the next, and perform a hundred other necessities of a live aboard the waves. Unfortunately, magical ability is far rarer among the Wave Walker population than it is for the other races. As a result, the oceangoing race is forced to recruit outsiders to serve as their mages.
A small contingent of Wave Walkers make it their purpose to visit the great mage cities, looking for those who they feel would be well-suited to life as part of one of their crews; an ideal candidate is pureblooded elven, comes from a shard where they're already used to the experience of travelling by ship, and displays a devotion to Talosh. While choosing to serve as part of a Wave Walker crew is seen as a significant commitment and isn't easy, it's a lifestyle that has a certain appeal to mages who have little community or roots elsewhere to tie them down. Those the warrior race accepts have a home for as long as they so choose it, and are well-compensated for their services. It can be a surefire way to ensure a future not only for the mage, but a lifetime of support for any loved ones they're financially responsible for.

Soul Keepers

Though they've no shortage of magical potential, mages among the Wave Walkers are a rarity and it's not known exactly why. Those who do express magic are almost always extremely powerful and are valued accordingly. Within the city, it's commonplace for families with a history of strong magical bloodlines to carefully intermarry to try and maximize the potential of their children; these families are some of the few who remain in the city year-round, and those who do rise to become mages are known as Soul Keepers.
Wave Walker children, particularly those from families known for magic, are typically tested at a young age for signs of magical potential. Those who do show ability are taken into training from early childhood and raised with their whole lives focused around fostering their natural talent; they're paired with a sworn protector known as a Blade from the moment their training begins, a partner and companion who's similarly raised to a high level of skill with weapons in order to help safeguard their charge. Though this relationship is meant to be a platonic and professional one, it's not uncommon for Keepers and their sworn swords to form romantic attachments later in life. 
A Blade is meant to protect, serve, and counsel the mage that they protect, and are carefully selected for their ability and discipline. The process of training is just as rigorous for them, and they're already expected to display excellence and a suitable nature by the time they can be chosen for guardianship as a young adult; they too tend to run in families, and while Blades themselves don't typically have children they tend to come from specific bloodlines which train all their children into the traditions. Blades are tied to their Keeper for life, and the process of pledging their service involves tying their souls together through an ancient and carefully-guarded ritual. Through this bond, a Blade can provide their Keeper with their own latent magical potential to strengthen their spells, and a Keeper can help induce a healing state in their Blade to rapidly mend even the most grievous injuries while 'holding' their soul in safekeeping.
Within Wave Walker society, Soul Keepers hold a unique position. They sometimes choose to serve as shipboard mages, but as a whole their talents are considered too precious for the risks of oceangoing life and they serve only aboard the flagships of the High Houses. For the most part, Soul Keepers serve as the Wave Walkers' eyes and ears among the other races; they travel abroad on land far more than others of their kind, helping maintain the Red-Leaf Crown's awareness of the goings-on of the world.

Mixed Ancestry

Though they've long since moved away from their origins as warlike raiders, there was a time when the Wave Walkers were the terror of the northern coastline. In those early days they were genetically identical to pureblood elves and were set apart only by their seafaring lifestyle, but were already well-known for bring relatively insular as a people and having little desire for close ties with their landbound kin. They regularly carried out raids against the other races when they saw them as encroaching on their claimed territory, with little tolerance for interlopers.
They were similarly harsh on deserters and runaways, and upon learning that several of their kind had chosen to take up residence with a tribe of shapeshifters they responded with little mercy. Their subsequent attack wiped out the mixed settlement, but in the process they discovered a number of mixed-race children who strongly bore the features of both their elven and shapeshifter parents. The Wave Walkers interpreted these horned children as being favored by the Skinwalker and were accordingly hesitant to kill them. Instead, they brought them back to the city of Snowsong to decide what their fate should be.
Though it's not clear how long it took for feelings of resentment and mistrust to fade, the horned children of the raid eventually became a part of the city's population and intermarried with the Wave Walkers. The horned trait seems to consistently breed true and eventually became universal; the Wave Walkers themselves came to embrace it, and over time have taken it as a reminder that their established ways should always be open to change. It's similarly become a point of commonality with the shapeshifters, and the two races have developed a mutual respect for one another that is extended to few others.

Dragon Worship

The ancient Wave Walkers revered the dragons as near-deities, admiring their ferocity and strength. It was a large part of their decision to make Fyrenstone Shard their permanent home due to the ancient draconic presence in the area; their desire to explore the Blood Valleys in pursuit of traces of the dragons led to the discovery of the natural harbor where Snowsong was established. In many ways, their exaggerated respect may have been a matter of pragmatism. Roaming the northern seas so close to the draconic stronghold of Iscalion Shard, giving the dragons a respectfully wide berth and all due reverence may have been the sole reason their presence was tolerated.
Though the Wave Walkers currently worship the gods of Genesis, many remnants of their ancient dragon-worship persist within their culture. Draconic motifs are included in much of their art and music, and dragons are the subject of many ancient myths. Items made of or including elements of dragonbone are frowned upon as disrespectful and are a sure way to offend a Wave Walker elf, with the sole exception being the Red Leaf Crown of the royal family.