Traladaran: History, Culture, and Traditions

The Song of King Halav

In ancient times, the land now called Karameikos was the forest homeland of the Traldar, men and women so favored by the lmmortals and allowed to live in these beautiful lands.

The lmmortals let the Traldar live happy, simple lives. The Traldar fished and hunted; the men spent most of their time sporting with one another and offering praise to the lmmortals.

But the Immortals knew that the happiness of the Traldar was to end. Far to the west, a race of evil beast-men was preparing to march through the easterly lands in search of booty, prisoners and more hospitable homelands.

These beast-men had their own Immortal sponsors equal in might to the patrons of the Traldar, so only victory between man and beast-man would determine the fate of the two races.

The Immortals descended co Lavv. a Traldar village. to find clever youths and give them secrets they could use to defeat the beast-men.

They visited Halav Red-Hair, a maker of stone knives, and taught him to forge weapons and armor of bronze. They also taught him the arts of the sword and the strategy of warfare.

They visited Petra, a maker of pottery, and taught her the art of the bow, the craft of medicine, the use of the potter's wheel, the spinning of flax and use of the loom.

They visited Zirchev, a huntsman, and taught him how to tame, ride, and fight from horses, how co train dogs to fight for their masters, how to walk silent as the cat, swim as the fish, see as the hawk.

Halav, Petra and Zirchev told the people of Lavv of what the beast-men intended. The king laughed and tried to drive the trio from Lavv. Halav. using the bronze sword given him by the Immortals, slew the king and assumed his crown.

In the years that followed, King Halav, Queen Petra, and the Huntsman Zirchev taught their secrets to the people of Lavv and brought all the other villages of Traldar lands under their sway. Villages grew into mighty cities, and Halav was renowned for his fairness and wisdom.

Eventually, the beast-men attacked in numberless waves from the west. The Traldar in their glittering bronze armor stood against them. The irresistible force of the beast-men crashed into the unmovable object of the Traldar, and the war went on forever. Both sides lost great numbers of warriors; each Traldar fighter slew dozens of his bestial enemies before being slain.

Finally, King Halav managed to find the king of the beast-men alone on a hilltop. The beast-king was twice the height of a man, with the head of a wolf and a hairy body that was foul beyond compare. It brought its great axe against the sword given Halav by the Immortals.

This was the final battle of man and beast-man. It raged on from dawn until noon, both kings growing so tired that each could barely wield his weapon. In the "Song of King Halav" both take time to rest during the fight and each describes his resoluteness and unconquerable fighting ability.

Evidently both were right: King Halav and the King of the Beast-Men perished upon one another's weapons. Their armies looked upon one another, the beast-men now fearful because their king had perished, and the Traldar resolutely raising their weapons and barring the beast-men from advancing.

The beast-men departed Traldar lands. Queen Petra and Zirchev took up Halav's body and returned home. Great was the lamentation in Lavv when they arrived, but, during the ritual burning of Halav's body that night, the Immortals visited, spiriting Halav, Petra and Zirchev away.

The Traldar mourned their king but turned their eye toward rebuilding their lands into a mighty empire.

The Dark Age

The time of King Halav has since been called the Golden Age of the Traldar, and the Traldar never did found a mighty empire or even fully recover from the devastation brought by the beast-men.

Why? Well, according to Traldar legends which have sprung up since this Golden Age, the land needs to have its king returned to it. King Halav muse return to Traldar lands before this can become a mighty nation again.

Regardless, following the destruction of the Golden-Age Traldar, the peoples of this land descended into a dark age from which they didn't fully emerge until the last century.

Individual villages survived, and the tribesmen eventually lived at greater than subsistence level. Trade soon commenced with peoples of other nations. The descendants of the Traldar, called Traladara, began inching their way toward economic recovery.

But the Traladara still faced many problems . In the centuries after the Golden Age, many evil things settled in the Traladaran forests and mountains. Some evil force cursed the land with vampires, lycanthropes, and other beasts. Today, every Traladara village has its legends of a neighboring ruin once occupied by a vampire-lord , or some village lad turning out to be a were-wolf and slayer of villagers.

Often , the legend s are true, and every good Traladara youth knows that the land has its vampires and were-beings still.

During this dark age, clans of goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs also seeded in Traladara lands-usually some distance from the human communities . They warred upon one another, and upon the humans, and in general made the land less congenial for everyone.

The People

The Traladarans, descendants of the native Traldar tribe of legend, tend to be fairly small (men average 5'9", women 5'3") and light of build. They tend to have pale complexions, brown eyes, and dark hair (deep brown to black).

In general, they are a very superstitious people, if you can call it superstition when it's based on truth. They are great believers in good luck charms, omens and portents (palm reading, the reading of tea leaves or sheep entrails, interpretations of natural phenomena if it's a strange event, the Traladara consider it an omen), curses and evil eyes.

Outside the larger towns, education is not widely-spread. In the more rural communities, most villagers are illiterate, though often a village cleric will be lettered.

Here in the Rift, the common people are at a distinct advantage, as the Clerics travel among the villages, teaching basic reading, history, and math.

Common Dress and Style

The Traladaran man in common dress wears close-fitting trousers and a loose-fitting tunic with laces up the front (starting at mid-chest). He tends to wear a broad belt or colorful sash, and, if he has the money, boots (often with large cuffs). He may wear a scarf around his neck or around his brow. If he wears his hair long, it is often tied back in a piratical ponytail. He may wear a belt-pouch or tuck his pouches in his sash.

The Traladaran woman in common dress wears a brightly colored (sometimes motley) skirt at knee-length or calf-length, and a loose pull-over blouse with a rounded bodice. Bare feet, sandals and soft, high boots are all appropriate to this costume.

The common folk wear mostly browns and black, but commoners with money tend to wear brighter colors.

Traladarans with the means like to wear bright colors in profusion. For example, a Traladaran man might wear black boots, striking yellow trousers, a glaring red sash at his waist (matching the scarf around his neck), a white runic, and a big winter cloak in gaudy blue.

The Traladarans wear cloaks in cold weather; in full winter, they wear full length cloaks with hoods; in chill weather, those with money may just wear hip-length cloaks.

Traladaran men wear their hair short or long; if long, they often tie it back into a tail. Traladaran men go clean-shaven or, if bearded, keep the facial hair cut very close.

Traladaran women tend to wear their hair long, either loose or tied back into a tail.

Traladarans tend to wear a lot of jewelry. Men wear finger-rings, sometimes earrings, gaudy brooches for cloaks, and necklaces. Women wear finger-rings, large earrings , bracelets, anklets, and armlets in clashing profusion.

Names

Traladaran names have a strong Eastern and Central European flavor.

Some examples follow:

Male Names: Boris, Dmitri, Fyodllya, Ivan, Mikhail, Pyotr, Sergei, Stephan, Yakov, Yuri.

Female Names : Anya, Darya, Ecatrina, 11- yana, Irena, Katarina, Kuzma, Magda, Misha, Petra, Sula, Zandra.

Family Names can be created by adding one of a number of suffixes to given names. Such suffixes include "os," "ov," "ev," "nov," "e -,ich," "escu," etc . Example : Ivan becomes Ivanov ; Dmitri becomes Dmitros.

The Shearing Ceremony

When a Traladaran youth approaches adulthood, either he will approach his parents or they will approach him with the news that it is time for the Shearing.

Soon after, at a dinner to which other family members or village leaders may be invited, the youth stands silent while his parents solemnly dress him in traveling gear. The bottom of his cloak is sheared off and left ragged as a reflection of his condition: That of an impoverished traveler.

From that time, the sheared youth is considered a friend of the family but not part of it. He must make his own way in the world until the family decides he is worthy of the clan. Usually, living apart from the clan for a few years and participating in acceptable adventures or trading ventures is proof that the youth is able to prosper on his own; when his parents reach that conclusion, he is invited to another dinner, at which time he is presented with a garment bearing the clan's markings or coat of arms. This indicates that he is once again part of the family.

All young men between the ages of 14 and 19 are Sheared. (Usually, the lad approaches his parents first, because it 's an embarrassment to wait so long that they come to you.) Young women are not approached by their parents, but may insist that they be Sheared. Being Sheared and living away from the family for a few years is a good way for a young woman to earn respect within her family.