The Watchers
The Watchers are a people of the Wildlands, and to a minor degree western Bocrae. They live on high cliffside and mountainous villages, and are primarily composed of Caprek and Minotaurs.
It is often seen as much as a religion or spiritual belief system as much as it is a culture.
Culture
Shared customary codes and values
Watcher culture greatly values patience, stability, and preparation. It is common for families to have enough supplies stored to survive for more than a year without crops, in case of famine or war. Watcher communities aid each other when in need, but it is seen as a disgrace to require such aid. As such, Watchers are generally reluctant to accept any kind of aid, and are rare to let the same misfortunes occur twice.
Watchers generally value being neat and tidy, and excel at organizational tasks.
Common Dress code
Watcher clothing tends to be used for warmth rather than fashion due to the difficulty of growing textile crops in the mountains. They are sturdy, and passed down through many generations with numerous small patches and repairs. Nearly all cloth is reused and repurposed in some way, and Watcher fashions tend towards patchwork.
Jewelry is popular, and primarily made from polished stones, and whatever metal is most easily accessible.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
It is tradition in Watcher culture to go stargazing every tenday, and logging the changes they see. Most families have a particular part of the sky they watch, and pass the responsibility from generation to generation. Family logbooks are kept for many generations, and many families have a small library tracking every tenday for decades. These records are used to ensure that any strange occurrences in the sky will be noticed, and parts of the sky are divvied up among a community to ensure the entirety of the sky is monitored.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
The date that a child is born is of high importance in Watcher culture, and astrological signs and portents are said to predict the child's personality and future. Births are said to be lucky if they happen at nighttime, under a clear sky, and unlucky if they occur under a stormy sky.
Common Myths and Legends
The Watchers believe that there is a great danger on its way from outer space, and keep a keen eye on the skies to be able to forewarn the world of its danger. Astronomy is an incredibly important part of Watcher culture, and they have over two hundred different named constellations and stellar bodies they track. While they acknowledge the power of gods and the Ancient Ones, religious worship is not very widespread in the culture.
Ideals
Gender Ideals
In Watcher culture, there is a strong division of roles between genders. Women are expected to settle down sooner and provide stability in a home by teaching and caring for children, maintaining and improving the building, and making longer term plans with the village. Men are encouraged to similarly settle down, but have a double standard of also being expected to do things like travel, trade, and more dangerous outdoor work. These gender roles are somewhat flexible, but only as far as one can do their expectations in addition to their desires.
Related Locations
