Warrior's Braid

Nearly every Maecodian, particularly the men, fancies themself a warrior. Most have day jobs, however, and fight simply because the world is cruel and humanity's place in it uncertain. For those whom peace is simply a vacation from the real work, however, there is the Warrior's Braid.

Professional soldiers, mercenaries, even 'brigands with a code' wear a warrior's braid. Made from precious metals taken from a portion of the warrior's spoils, the braid is woven and braided wire. The value and size of a warrior's braid is an unspoken display of their valor and prowess. The ends of the braid are typically some creature or symbol important to or emblematic of the warrior, such as the heads of griffons or dragons, or amulets stamped with their family signet.
A defeated warrior (living or dead) gives up his braid to his conqueror. Said conqueror typically melts the braid down, reworks it into more wire and fattens their own. Extremely respected vanquished foes are sometimes allowed to keep their braid as a symbol of respect.
Warriors are traditionally buried with their braids, and rumors of curses and worse abound about grave robbers that steal such a prize from the tomb.
These braids, while always made from chords of wire, can be worn in nearly any fashion as is local custom and preference: Palatine Militatus typically wear them as epaulets on their pauldrons. Bandits wear them as torcs on their upper arm or around their necks. Sheriffs often use them as looped necklaces and hang their badges of office or whistles from them. Iliac is popularly rumored (by non-scholars) to have used a flail made out of his warrior braid.

History

Warrior's Braids started with banditry. Before the First Year, sometime during the Age of Myth, bandits started melting down copper and gold into braided wire as a means of maintaining portable wealth. Naturally, the best and boldest bandits wound up with the fattest and longest braids, so they quickly became a visual shorthand for prowess, which transferred to the fighting classes.