Dregs

A disclaimer: As with the Amalgam article, I'm certainly no expert on this subject. Though my grandmother is powerless, she is not a Dreg in the strict sense of the word due to having grown up in Shui Lu rather than Crathlia. As such this article will be rather brief. A Dreg is defined by the Crathlian government as being a human being whose power level (that is, the measure of how many aignaoithe power carriers reside in one's blood) is strictly less than 50.00. In practice (and indeed, prior to testing, this was the definition), a Dreg is a powerless human being. Dregs make up a minority in Crathlia, primarily residing in rural towns and urban centers in relative poverty.

Cultural Heritage

Crathlian Dreg culture evolved from that of the few "full humans" who remained in Colonial Crathlia. After the Crathlian Revolution, these powerless humans were seen as untainted and pure. However, the general public's idealization of powerlessness did not last long, since powerful humans (like modern-day Paragons) are able to protect their people. Today, many Dregs attempt to marry into Amalgam families so that their children may be Amalgams, with more upward movement in Crathlian society. Other Dregs, however, are quite proud of their status (since it's disdained by the general population) and look down upon those who intermarry with Amalgams.

Language and Dialects

Crathlian Dregs speak Crathlian, with a variety of dialects and accents based on physical location. Major dialects include:

Lexport Crathlian
Northern Crathlian (spoken in North Lautney)
Mountain Crathlian (spoken in the Green Mountains of northern South Launtey)
Dalry Crathlian
Ridge Crathlian (spoken in southern South Lautney near the Ridge Mountains)
Masthead Crathlian (similar to Ridge, but generally spoken faster)

Northern accents are considered the most posh, while Dalry and Ridge accents are considered the least-educated.

Dress

Like Amalgams, Dreg women wear knee-length skirts (felt circle skirts are quite popular among the youth), though they may also wear blue jeans or other sorts of pants. Men wear pants or shorts (knee-length at shortest) and usually don't bare their shoulders.

Funeral Rites

Like Paragons and Amalgams, Dregs are burned at their funerals to be returned to the dust from which they were made. Rural families usually plant their dead family member's tree on their own property or in the local forest; urban areas have forests outside the city limits set aside for the dead.

Family Names

Most Dregs bear nickname-based surnames, some of the most common of which include: Brown, Reid, Lane, Ross, and Young. They also bear location-based names such as Brooks, Hill, and Dale. This trend results from King Donovan Alderley's census of Crathlia, in which he decreed that Dregs without surnames identify themselves by their location or an identifying nickname. They were barred from taking occupational surnames (reserved for Amalgams) by this decree so that it could be more easily determined which subjects possessed abilities. Some Dregs, particularly in the rural Duchy of Daymarch, still bear surnames denoting their colonial shapeshifter ancestor, or another important ancestor. O'Keefe, O'Keevy, O'Nolan, and O'Florry are a few common examples.

Written by Cordelia Colbreak Evenbrook