Traladaran

The Traladarans, descendants of the native Traldar tribe of legend, tend to be fairly small (men average 5 feet, 9 inches, women 5 feet, 3 inches) and light of build. Their complexions are pale, their eyes brown, and their hair dark (deep brown to black).
Characters of Traladaran origin have names with a strong Eastern and Central European flavor.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Typical women's names include: Aglaya, Alya, Alyosha, Anna, Anya, Apollinariya, Darya, Ecatrina, Ilyana, Grushenka, Ilya, Irena or Irina, Katarina or Katerina, Kuzma, Lizaveta, Lyubov, Magda, Marya, Misha, Natasha, Natalya, Petra, Sascia, Sonya, Sula, Tanya, Tatyana, Vavara, Yolanda, Zandra.

Masculine names

Men's names include: Aleksandr, Aleksei or Alexei, Alyosha, Arkadi, Boris, Dmitri, Dmitrios, Evgeni, Eeodor or Fyodor, Gospodin, GrigorilGrygorylGrigory, Ilya, Ivan, Kolya, Makar, Mendel, Mikhail, Nikolai, Pavel, Pavlov, Pyotr or Pieter, Sergei, Smerdyakov, Stepan, Tikhon, Vanya (male nickname for Ivan), Vasil, Vissarion, Vladimir, Yakov, Yevgeni, Yuri, Zosima

Family names

Surnames: Belinski, Dromilov, Golyadkin, Ivanovich, Kirilov, Nekelnevich, Sergyev, Snitkina, Sulescu, Suslova, Tisza, Torenescu, Tushina, Valdo, Yarol
Family names can be created by adding one of a number of suffixes to given names. Such suffixes include -os, -ov, -ev, -nov, -eyena, -evich, -escu, etc. For example, Ivan becomes Ivanov, and Dmitri becomes Dmitros.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Traldaran.

Shared customary codes and values

Attitudes: Traladarans are thought very superstitious by their Thyatian neighbors - if you can call superstition what is based on truth. They believe in good-luck charms, curses, evil eyes, omens, and portents (palmistry, the reading of tea leaves or sheep entrails, interpretations of natural phenomena - if it is a strange event, the Traladarans consider it an omen).

Literacy is common in the larger cities; most Traladarans speak and write both their native tongue and Thyatian. Outside the larger towns, education is not as widespread. In the rural communities most villagers are illiterate, although often a local cleric will be lettered. (Player characters, being exceptional people, don't have to worry about this, it becomes the choice of the player whether to have a literate character.)

For the most part, older Traladarans don't care much for Thyatians. They see Thyatians as the latest wave of bad luck that keeps the Traladarans from returning to their Golden Age. Since many of the original Thyatian arrivals were rotten land-grabbers, many Traladarans view all Thyatians as being the same. (Again, the presences of this personality trait in a PC is up to the player.)

Common Dress code

Dress: The Traladaran man in common dress wears close fitting trousers and a loose tunic that laces up the front (starting at mid-chest). He prefers 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 brow. If he wears his hair long, he often ties it back in a ponytail. He may wear a belt pouch or tuck his pouches in his sash. Traladaran men go clean shaven or, if bearded, keep facial hair closely trimmed. Traladarans tend to wear a lot of jewelry. Men favor finger rings, gaudy brooches for clbaks, necklaces, and occasionally earrings.

The Traladaran woman in common dress wears a brightly colored (sometimes motley) skirt to the knee or calf and a loose pullover blouse with a rounded bodice. Sandals, soft, high boots, or bare feet are all appropriate to this costume. Traladaran women tend to wear their hair long, either loose or tied back into a tail. They favor finger rings, large earrings, bracelets, anklets, and armlets in clashing profusion.

Traladarans of both sexes like bright colors in abundance, when they can afford them. For example, a Traladaran man might don black boots, striking yellow trousers, a glaring red sash at his waist (matching the scarf around his neck), a white tunic, and a big winter cloak in gaudy blue.

Both Traladarans and Thyatians wear cloaks in cold weather; hip-length cloaks are common in milder winter weather, and when it gets really cold Traladarans with money wrap themselves in full-length cloaks with hoods.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

The Shearing Ceremony: Native Traladarans have a custom that remains an important part of Karameikan national character. It is called the Shearing Ceremony, and many Thyatians have adopted it as well. Residents of Mirros⁣ (known as Marilenev back when the tradition began) developed the Shearing Ceremony in the centuries before Thyatis conquered Traladara. Since that time, improved trade with the inland communities spread the Shearing Ceremony throughout the land. When Thyatian settlers came they became acquainted with the ceremony and adopted it. It is usually performed on the night of the Day of Adulthood (1 Flaurmont).
The Shearing Ceremony works generally like this: When a Karameikan youth approaches adulthood, either he or his parents decide to hold the Shearing. Soon after, at a dinner celebration that other family members and village leaders attend, the parents solemnly dress their child, who stands silently before them, in traveling gear. The bottom of the child’s cloak is sheared off and left ragged as a symbol that he is an impoverished traveler.
From that time, the sheared youth is considered a friend of the family but not a part of it. A child so sheared must go out into the world and survive until the family decides he has proved worthy of the clan. Usually, living apart from the clan for a few years and participating in acceptable adventures or trading ventures illustrates that the offspring can prosper unaided; when the youth’s parents reach that conclusion, they invite him to another dinner and present him with a garment bearing the clans markings or coat of arms. The youth, now considered an adult, is once again part of the family.
All young men between the ages of 14 and 19 (1d6+13) participate in the Shearing Ceremony. (Usually the lad approaches his parents first, because it's an embarrassment to wait until they must broach the subject.) Young women are not approached by their parents, but they may insist on being sheared. A young woman who is sheared and lives away from her family for a few years earns respect from them.
When the Thyatians came to Karameikos, they saw some value in the ceremony. By using it within their own families they could separate the worthwhile offspring from the parasitic and keep their lineage strong. The Thyatians adopted the custom, and those children who reformed their ways were invited back into the family, while those who never showed any signs of maturing were left to their own devices.
A sheared youth from a titled family is not considered to have any title until invited by the family to rejoin their ranks. Shearing is a strictly human custom that the demihumans of Karameikos do not observe.

Related Organizations

• Church of Traladara
• Kingdom of Karameikos

Related Myths

• The Song of King Halav