the Arriusi

Never do the Arriusi shine quite so brightly as when they take to the riverways, braids gleaming under the beating sun.

— local farmer

The Arriusi are a sprawling group of people predominantly found throughout the lands of the Vostene Republic, the Medimian Empire, and Niniéra. Though small in number, their presence is well-felt through any eastern Valathean riverway as their well-honed carónnae set forth in fantastical formation, sails glittering bright in the sun.
They originally hail from Niniéra's southern reaches, where the sun fell warm on their backs through much of winter, but were largely forced to flee their favoured lands and few permanent settlements during the Damming of the Imbreagat. Now, most know them as wanderers, drifters, and traders. Whether they ply their trade by traditional waterway or more common land routes, they are overwhelmingly recognised as fair, honest folk with little care for politics - or legality.
Some dismiss Arriusi traditions as simple or savage, particularly in the xenophobic halls of Medimia's upper echelons. Like with all displays of ignorance, the dismissals do not prove true. There is naught simple about the Arriusi: their ways are instead secret, kept safe in each trader's heart, woven into their signature braids, and whispered over the breeze in the Arrant tongue. Only fools declare that what they do not know, what they are not permitted to learn, is simple.

Culture & Tradition

Good morrow, good eve! The river-folk arrive, my dear townsfolk! Ah, Aveline, a new necklace for your wife? Damiano! How is your mother's health?

— jolly Arriusi trader

The Arriusi are, traditionally, traders moreso than craftspeople or even sailors, and their cultures and traditions rose up around their itinerant nature. Those living in traditional (or neo-traditional) Arriusi livestyles gather in travelling clans lead generally by the joint counsel of the largest families and eldest members of each clan, and wander across Valathe to carry rare goods through the lands.

Medimia's high-quality metalwork is traded for Niénera's gemcrafts, which can then again be traded on for Vostene books, Aletheian inventions, Yltic weaponry, and so on and so forth. Non-Arriusi traders are ever at a disadvantage compared to the Arriusi, who have strong reputations of honesty and discretion built up over centuries, and who maintain consistent schedules.
Any trader wanting to call on a jeweller friendly with the Arriusi would need to convince them with a far better deal than the Arriusi could offer, which is particularly rare considering most traders' inconsistency.
This ideal of honesty paired with discretion folds itself into the daily lives of every member of the Arriusi. They speak their trade-names with a smile, they talk speak openly about all and sundry, but they do not truly reveal anything of importance in the open, where any could hear. Secrets and deeper thoughts are shared in private between friends, typically only in Arrant so that no eavesdroppers can hear.

Arriusi on the Move by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Shadier deals with any of the Arriusi must be done away from the open lights and in code. Any requirements of these deals - such as notification that the goods in question are illegal in a specific country, or that certain people need to not hear about the goods - must be shared upfront. The Arriusi, as a whole, do not take risks they are not aware of; trying to lie or hide requirements will see the instigator thrown thoroughly under the boat, as it were.
After all, the authorities know they can trust the Arriusi that much.
Aside from trade, Arriusi folk are also known for a few of their own crafts. Their traditional braided hair and ribbons stems from an intricate knowledge of rope and weaving, and sailors and noblewomen alike tend to appreciate the craftwork put into their functional and decorative pieces.

Riverfish in Glass, Arriusi Craft by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

As some Arriusi have settled down into permanent towns and villages of their own, typically along the rivers and roads their kin still sail, they have branched out into other helpful crafts, with glasswork being the most prolific of these.
These permanent settlements have not only expanded trade goods and beauty accessories used by the Arriusi, but have also helped to expand the culture's magical knowledge: it was with glasswork foci that the carónnae were first developed.
Speaking of the carónnae, the use of land-sailing boats has already impacted the Arriusi's traditional routes significantly, expanding their reach but leading to clashes in ideology. Some believe that it is not the Arriusi way to use such creations, and that those who do so are betraying their people.
Others see this as an evolution of who they currently are, and maintain that this change is good.

Only time will tell which beliefs stay prevalent as society moves ever forward.

Arriusi Boats by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Related Myths

• Salting the Feast

Related Locations

• Imbreagat River
• Valathe

Found in

Vostene Republic, the Medimian Empire, Niniéra; minor representation all across Valathe

Trade-names

Jon, Emy, Septimus, Marcella, Gionni, Iulia - all region-dependent

Heart-names

Édola, Tarésu, Datori, Fricia, Gheri, Sultore

Clan names

Torbeni, Barisone, Sanna, Melis, Deiana

Language(s)

Common (for outsiders/trade), Arrant (secret language)

Predominent species

Human, Halfling

Religion in the Arriusi

The many different Arriusi clans have too many different religious and spiritual beliefs to attempt to encompass into one greater group, much as their politics and the intricacies of their traditions differ.
What can be said about all Arriusi, though, is their deep-set love for the rivers they travel upon or near. Even those who do not travel are born with the urge to be near the water, and few resist that call.
It's theorised that the Arriusi, at some point in history, may have been river-bound fey due to this longing, or may otherwise have bound their line to some form of river spirit or elemental.
This is not an impossible idea, but given the fey's attitudes towards humanity, the fey theory is more widely accepted.

Some folk say not to get on our boats, because we'll spirit you away! I'm not sure why we'd do that. Most people aren't worth the cost of transport. Or the effort.

— amused Arriusi

Arriusi Beads by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

To be bald is to wear no braids because the wind herself has stolen them away!

— Arriusi taunt

Appearance & Beauty Norms

Oh, to see her braids trailing behind her in the wind, ribbons glittering in the light..! By the Gods, were I not seasick so easily..!

— wistful townsperson

The Arriusi are predominantly humans and halflings, and despite the obvious physiological differences between the two species, nonetheless resemble each other so well that some halflings delight in pretending to be their friends' children. Most of the Arriusi have olive-toned skin that tends to be quite dark and prone to freckling, with hair most typically shades of brunette or black.

Red-headed Arriusi are not uncommon, but anything beyond these shades is considered an eccentric, unusual colour that represents some outside influence. Arriusi hair is almost always curly and coarse, growing in thick across their bodies regardless of biological sex. Eye colour varies dramatically, but is most commonly shades of green, hazel, honey, and brown.
Culturally, hair is extremely important to Arriusi tradition. It is worn long and usually in plaits, with beads and ribbons often woven into the plaits to indicate anything from social status to current emotional state. Doing one's hair is generally a communal affair, used as bonding time between close friends and family or used to get to know new and future friends.
Those who do not like to wear their hair in plaits (or who cannot due to hair length) make up for this lack of time with braided ribbons instead, choosing to represent their culture through accessories rather than hairstyle. Both methods are well-accepted in most Arriusi clans.
Other than braided accessories on clothes, Arriusi clothing tends to be loose, but practical.

Arriusi Braids by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Skirts are worn with hoists to keep them off wet floors or to allow them to be tucked away in times of trouble, trousers are worn tucked into boots, and embroidery makes up for lack of dyes or materials when times are more scarce. They prefer to layer additional clothing and storage over themselves rather than wearing one garment: a thick woollen coat as worn by Hvalgoran sailors would be rejected in favour of multiple layers of woollen undershirts and oiled overcoats. This is not so much a fashionable decision but a practical one due to changing river conditions; by being able to swiftly change layers if needed, the Arriusi spare themselves the pain of needing to change clothes entirely when conditions change.
Metal accessories are rare for the Arriusi. Most accents to their clothes are fabric, wood, or glass, as these are all traditionally crafted by themselves.

Naming Conventions

Out with it, then. What name do you go by here, in the company of none but your clan?

— Arriusi elder

Names are an odd thing for the Arriusi. To share a true name feels often too personal, too intense, yet to share no name at all is universally rude. Naming a child is a harder task yet - how can a babe live up to the expectations placed upon them by their very name? These very dilemmas, shaped by a healthy distrust of river-dwelling fey and doubtless influenced by the rigid naming customs of culturally-dominant Galasthin, gave rise to early Arriut naming conventions.

Trading with the Riverfolk by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Children are bestown names relating to objects or nature - common, grounded things, such as anchors or trees. It is thought that by doing so, there will be less chance of the child wandering astray to be ensnared into a drowning spell, or into the hungry teeth of waiting wolves.
To ground a child into the earth, to compare them to something utterly mundane and normal, is to ensure that nothing abnormal will come for them. Particularly ruthless families will give more attractive names to children they do not want, hoping to rid themselves of the burden without taking action. It can be guessed what fate many of these children eventually meet, should they not escape childhood.
When an Arriut child reaches their majority, they must sit down with another of the Arriusi to decide their name. By tradition, this is the non-family member who has known the child the longest. Naming a new adult is a lengthy process, for multiple names need to be chosen: their trade-name, their heart-name, and their memory-name.

If there is no elder or advisor of a particular travelling clan, then the name-aide is often instead a sworn sibling of one of the child's parents; if none are available who know the child well, then either the child waits until one is found, or an older member of the Arriusi takes it upon themselves to bond with the child so that they can help assist in their naming.

Arriusi Braids in Sunlight Gleaming by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Trade-names are the most commonly known names of any Arriut. They are typically names drawn from Common and from regions around where the child was born, reflecting cultural naming traditions outside the Arriusi's own. These names are designed to blend in easiest with the greater culture dominant in the area the new adult wishes to live in, to grant them greater success in their endeavours by making them seem more local. Trade-names are also a way of honouring other cultures any particular member of the Arriusi might hold dear; a woman with Central Medimian blood might adopt a Medimian-style trade-name to celebrate her heritage, particularly if she had a non-Arriut parent of that culture.

Name-Bonding by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Heart-names are private names, spoken only in Arriusi company, and typically only by those trusted and dear to the individual in question. These names are typically derived from Arrant, the Arriusi tongue, and reflect something that the individual in question cares for. This may be an aspiration of theirs or simply a flower they care deeply for.

Much can be known of any Arriusi by learning their heart-name and its translation, and predictably, these names are kept very secret in open conversation. So secret, in fact, that an outsider can think themselves best friends with one of the Arriusi for decades and never learn their friend's heart-name.
Memory-names, then, are names used by blood-related family. Whilst their childhood name is one form of memory name, it is not the formal name they take upon reaching adulthood.
An individual's memory-name is comprised of the names of fallen kin. Typically, it reflects two or three lost individuals; these are often siblings who were either miscarried or died young, or family members recently lost in tragedy.

There is no name I can choose for you, lad. Your da was my best friend; he'd clap me 'round the ear if I took that choice away from you.
Pick something that calls to you, that you've dreamt on many a time through your years, and we'll talk it through. But this is your name, so it's you who chooses first. That's how it gets to fit you good.

— sailor to newly-adult lad

If an individual has no blood-related kin, they may choose to help share the memory of other Arriusi families they are close with, or may simply forgo having a memory name at all.
Arriusi graves bear only trade-name and memory-names; heart-names are kept secret even in death.

Memory-names are almost exclusively child-names or heart-names; it is only through memory-names that a heart-name may live on, for it is understood that when the individual has passed, their heart's desire is finally allowed to be spoken.
Surnames are a newer thing for most of the Arriusi, and where they exist, are largely derived from the clans to which they belong, or professions held commonly in their family. Most adopt surnames as part of their trade-name and use that instead of an Arriusi-specific surname; those that do keep Arriusi surnames often still use a trade-surname as well.

History & Reception

We are disparate people, but never desperate people. Our legacy lives on in the plaits our children weave, even should they never take to the rivers themselves. Someday, the water will come a-calling to their children's children, and they will come home. The river always calls her children home.

— Arriusi belief

The Arriusi are an old group, with roots trailing southward to the southern seas and ancient myth suggesting their very ancient forebears may have once dwelled in lands now long since lost to disaster or devastation. In more recent history, though, the Arriusi were known as river-dwelling folk with their homes largely on the route of the Imbreagat River that trails down from the Medimian Empire and through Niniéra and the Vostene Republic.

The Now-Lost River Imbreagat by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Indeed, their history was so entwined with the Imbreagat that they are said to have been blessed by the spirits of its waters, for the Arriusi never saw raging torrents of water claim their vessels as so many others attempting to follow in their footsteps did, and many of their myths and cultural traditions revolve around specific landmarks along the Imbreagat's path.
With the damming of the Imbreagat far up its source, in lands belonging exclusively to the Medimian Empire after a long-fought war, the Arriusi have been driven from their ancestral homes. Their long stories for Imbreagat journeys must now be reworded to clumsily adopt new landmarks, or must adapt for the cadence of land journeys.
Those piloting the carónnae, the Arriusi's land-travelling boats, still follow the Imbreagat's path where they can, seeking to hold onto their old trade routes and histories. There is much unease over this new stage of Arriusi culture; not all are comfortable with this new form of travel, the departure from their history.

Whilst the Medimian Empire takes a dim view of the Arriusi - as they are nonconformants who frequently carry contraband, and many use their itinerant nature as cover to commit crimes of varying degree - most other nations in Valathe at least pleasantly tolerate their presence.

Rope, rope, rope for trade by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Ordan has a rather prickly relationship with those of Arriusi background as a result of their former xenophobic policies, and most Arriusi try to avoid Ordan's waterways where possible. River-graves are not obscure like sea-graves; they know where their kin were slaughtered for the crime of existing, and they have no desire to return. They were once persecuted in Vosmeno as well in the monarchy's favoured traditions of lies and betrayal; with the monarchy's fall, the new republic in its place has instead become a celebrated home.
Outside of eastern Valathe, little is known of the Arriusi as an ethnic group. Individual clans are praised as traders, but are assumed to be mere mercantile families or organisations. Hints of their culture are erased in tellings of them, and beyond Valathe, their names are barely spoken at all unless the rare beauties of their glasscrafts or weaving talents reach foreign traders willing to sell them on. Only then do scholars overseas hear of this group, and only rarely do they ever wish to learn in more depth.