Foyverii ([fɔɪ:veə:i])

The Foyverii are one of two the Foyii clans of the The Forest of Doon, with the other being the Foyruszii. Lovers of nature, peace and tradition, they treat their beloved Forest with the care they would give to one of their own, aiming always to live in sync and in harmony with its cycles.

The Meaning of the Name

Foyverii is made up of the following Foyiitùn "word-components" ⁽¹⁾:

Foy: meaning "leaf"
Ver: meaning "green" or "lush"
ii: denoting a plural or people-group.

So the name means "the people of the green leaf". When listening to interactions between characters, it is not uncommon to hear someone being referred to as a Green-Leaf (or Red-Leaf in the case of the Foyruszii).

“Calm yourself and think, friend Lyssah, your anger is most unusual for a Green-Leaf,” Ki-E-Vwa responded gently.

"Wrenched", Chronicles of Qal'ath Tome 1

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Who Were the Foyverii?

These “green-leaved people” are, for the want of a better word, “pure Woodsmen” - descendents of two Woodsmen parents⁽²⁾. They and their ancestors have never intermarried with any other races. Where marriages with the Foyruszii resulted in children, their offspring were usually brought into the fold of the Red-Leaves, or classed as Veruszii (a "Green-Red") until they reached adulthood, at which point they did join the Red-Leaves. "Pure Woodsmen", therefore, are in steady decline.

Spirituality

Spiritually sensitive, the Foyverii revere the Element of Erdé (as in the Ground) and all that springs from it. Such is their affinity to Erdé, that they attribute spirits, or souls, to most plants, especially trees. Whenever trees need to be felled, a ceremony takes place with the Elder and Seers, where they “release” the spirit back into the Air before cutting the trees. They believe that not doing this will cause physical pain to the trees and destabilise the Elements.

Using Nature's Resources

Although Pines are the most prevalent green Trees in the Forest of Doon, the Foyverii utilise other leafy bushes, such as ferns, and lesser Trees in fashioning their armour and weapons. Both groups of Woodsmen honour fallen trees and creatures, believing that neither should die needlessly. Thus, although wood is needed for fire and housing, and skins creatures have to be hunted for food, they repurpose as much as possible from animals and trees alike. Skins are cured, dried and fashioned into sturdy yet supple leathers for clothing and armour. Leaves are then sewn on to give enhanced camouflage, meaning even border scouts were unlikely to be spotted by an unwary visitor or trespasser. Some armour pieces and weapons could be enchanted or had a natural Elemental gift inherited from the materials used to fashion them.

But Pines Don't Have Leaves!

All the same, the Foyverii believe the Pines' spikier foliage to be leaves rolled up tightly by Nature itself. Thus, they see them as a more condensed form of the Element of Erdé than in Trees with "open" leaves, a matter clearly disputed by the Foyruszii when they have nothing more important to discuss or debate!

Evil Creatures

Revering all life led to tension for the Foyverii. To protect the Forest of Doon meant driving away threatening forces or creatures. Those known to live near the woods were bears, the giant Plains Goats and Wolves. Bears and goats were, in their view "purely natural" so were only driven off if they were a danger to the Woodsmen, or those species native to the Forest. If they were forced to slay the beast, then both creatures made good food, skins for armour, fur for blankets and teeth and bone for jewellery or mystical trinkets. Anything remaining was buried and committed back to Erdé to nourish the Ground. But when it came to creatures that were presumed to be innately evil - wolves being a key example, they did not feel it right to use the animal for any purpose, feeling that to do so would taint them. But, as all life was sacred, the same burial took place of the dead creatures. This could only happen if the Foyruszii allowed them to as the Red-Leaves had no such issues over using wolf skin, fur and bones. The meat was practically inedible and incredibly chewy. On that, at least, the two clans agreed.

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Naming Traditions

Family names

Family names for the Foyii as a whole are largely irrelevant for themselves. The Foyverii regard all those living "under the roof" of the Forest of Doon as family and the Foyruszii agree, for the most part. Where family names are expected is in dealings with other people-groups and nations. Thus sometimes they are invented to assist with diplomacy or negotiations. Common choices were:

Veràn/Anver: "of the green"
Foyvéran
Foyàn/Anfoy: "of the leaf"
Andoon/Doonàn "of Doon" (which further translates as "of peace", "peaceful" or "of tranquility".

The reason these had two variants was due to the so-called "Language Smoothing" rule of Foyiitùn. In short, whichever variant flowed more smoothly from the first name would be chosen, even if two life partners had different technical family names. For example: Lyssah Veràn and Calledth Anrùsz. Language Smoothing also means that sometimes a family name becomes part of the first name. So, if Lyssah were to adopt Anver, her Name+family name would result in Lyssànver.

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Family Names to Confuse

A clever linguistic device that the Woodsmen employ is to refer to a "family unit" by merging names together. This was also a valid method of deriving an actual family name. But the reason this was so ingenious was in order to provide a measure of protection in the defence of the Forest. By way of an example, though again not used by these characters, let's take Lyssah and Calledth. They could be referred to as Lyscal or Calys. Merging names, usually of the parent(s) and/or a grandparent could refer to two people or a family led by those two. But in defending the Forest, this practice often buys them precious time, as "Lyscal" and "Calys" can be misinterpreted as the name of one person, often granting the Woodsmen a slight numerical advantage if confronted, or a tactical advantage while the enemy searches for a person who does not actually exist.

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Ideals

Beauty Ideals

To be a Foyii is to be beautiful. That is to say, while they acknowledge physical beauty and attraction, they almost disregard it in how they judge or love another. The inner person matters above all, especially when it comes to life partnerships. Given what is said in Courtship Ideals, Woodsmen are always fully covered up when others can see them. To do anything else is also impractical to defend the Forest. As attraction based purely on the physical attributes of another is deemed beneath notice, neither sought to draw the eye of another through what they were or were not wearing.

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Courtship Ideals

While traditionally Green-Leaves only "court" those of their own clan, relationships cross-clan are, once well-established, encouraged.

Cross-Clan Partnerships

With the historical differences in character and approach to defending the Forest of Doon, relationships bridging the gap can bring a measure of understanding and cooperation that would be challenging otherwise. Couples, however, can often find themselves in dispute with each other, which has, in some cases, led to temporary separations. But both clans love the Forest and want only the best for It, and usually, this focus brings them back together once more.

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Commitment

Courtship is, effectively, a commitment to being life partners. The slower way of life means that individual Woodsmen know each other well. This reduces the chances of "experimental relationships" - where people come together to see if it works or not. Neither clan approves of "testing the waters" because to do so was to show you did not understand the person you wished to be with. And if you do not understand them in any depth, then you are not focusing on the inner person.

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Marriage

...is not a term used by the Foyii. Although some things "under the roof" held ceremony and tradition, the Woodsmen were, above all, practical people. If two people promised to remain faithful to each other for life, then that was the highest form of commitment possible. Such was the way relationships developed that other Foyii often assume a couple are life partners before it is officially announced.

Announcement

While it is true that there was usually no ceremony, it is necessary to "make it official". Whether by word of mouth, by Mìsii (Aszilmìsii or Blàmìsii, depending on the season) or by verbally announcing it at a gathering, it is part of being officially recognised. To do so means all know that a new exclusive life partnership has formed. This holds them accountable to each other and the rest of the Woodsmen - that they will be faithful to each other and to show that others outside the relationship can no longer seek either party in that partnership.

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Relationship Ideals

People are not expected to find a life partner, nor are they pressured to do so. Plenty of Foyii from both clans could serve as "single" folk, for none "under the roof" ever truly considered themselves single, or alone.

Types of Relationships

Relationships are usually cross-gender, a mechanism built into their being to ensure the people of the Forest continue to repopulate. Same-sex relationships (officially speaking) are rare, though exceedingly close friendships were not uncommon. As no Foyii gave their body (nor shared it in any way, including visually) to any other save in a life partnership, there is nothing untoward with physical expressions of joy or care, or even sharing a tent overnight. Unity is vital to Foyii of both clans, so any friendships proving to be deep are never discouraged.

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Major organizations

The Forest of Doon
Everspring

Footnotes

My language of Foyiitùn is what I called developed language, rather than an invented one. I have taken inspiration from several modern-day languages, while also creating plenty of words and word components of my own. The Foyverii and Foyruszii date back to the start of creating my world and I am reluctant to change them just because they are derived from French roots.
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I really dislike having paragraphs copied/pasted across articles, but it seemed the easiest way to provide the information without attempting to rehash it at this stage.
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