Embraw

The eastern most sky is the Searing Clouds. This is a harsh place of fire and sulfur. The lands here are dry, susceptable to flame, and have waxy plants. In this sky rules the Embrays. A people who live by the forge and among the dead. They are a colorful people, with a slight obsession with fire. The Embrays are the people who live in the country of Embraw.
These are a people of the craft. Their skill with crafting metal is near religious, though they are followers of Veritism in general. Embraw is the lead exporter of gunpowder, metal, and have the largest fire-arm factory in the world.
Embraw is a Minor Power based in the Searing Clouds. They control approximately 27 islands, and are in contstant struggle with the people around them. They are a culture created from the lands they live. The Searing Clouds is not quite the desert that the Cloudless Desert is, but it is often hotter.

Military

The Embray Military is fairly small, but powerful. The main advantage to their power is the way they craft their airships. Each military airship is built with four cannons minimum and armor plating. This makes their ships slow and easy to catch, and the armor does little against a cannon. However, their firepower makes them a formidable foe and their armor makes any incendiary attack useless.
Their soldiers are recruited by recruitment campaigns. Generals tell young men of their tales, of other lands, and of the benefits of joining the military. These benefits include a small amount of land and the ability to vote.

The Song of the Forge

Smithing is a popular and important job for Embraw Culture. The islands they live on contains much metal, but they also have access to huge coal mines. Thus fuel and metal are easy to find. They, as the rumors say, were the first to learn to smith. Every home has a forge and anvil, and almost everyone is taught how to move metal. As part of a mark that they know how to smith, their knuckles are burned with a hot piece of metal.
A forge is a sacred place to the Embraw. Most towns have a communal forge where they can work on their crafts. Almost every aspect of Embraw culture has something to do with metal. Their furniture is metal, their buildings are plated with metal, and they even decorate their body with black iron piercings.
Though, in Embraw a true smith does not only master the forging of metal. A true smith is also a chemist. They are constantly experimenting with new metals, they create black powder, they experiment with acids and other chemical baths for their tools, and other experimentation. An illegal practice is the forging of crushed warp pearl into metal. This can give the metal strange properties, but when discovered they are destroyed.
The Song of the Forge is a practice that is taught to young smiths. They sing at the forge, loudly and in a beat. They also treat the forge itself as a musical instrument if they are feeling musical. Traveling Forge Singers are popular. They are performers who smith a sculpture to the beat of a song. They combine their voice, the sound of the forge, the visuals of forging, and the artistry of forging metal into a performance on a stage. It can last anywhere from half an hour to several hours depending on the performer and the size of the piece.

Appearance

The Embraw have orange or golden yellow skin, with about 10% of their population suffering from a genetic condition that gives them an ashen grey skin color. The number born with this skin condition is receding with each generation. Their hair tends to be black, auburn, or red. Most Embraw work with their hands which gives them a healthy build. Culturally, Embraws must burn their knuckles with a hot iron before they learn to smith. This gives most Embraw unique and iconic hand scaring.

Personality and Manneurisms

The Searing Clouds is a very dry place and objects ignite very easily. This property has given the Embraw an apathy towards material objects. When an Embrays house is destroyed the common reaction would be an annoyed grunt followed by the Embraw working at rebuilding it. The Embray prefer to work to get what they need rather than to have it given to them. So most would turn down charity but would be thankful for it.
A traveling Embray man would likely be described as quiet to an outsider. This is because they tend to show appreciation through their actions. In their culture, it is strange to talk about doing something before deciding to do it. This can lead to a few problems, such as decisions that seem brash and out of nowhere, but are really well thought out. While they are described as being quiet, this is not necessarily the case. Embraw arguments can get quite heated.
Though, once an Embray person begins to feel comfortable with you, they will likely seem cruel in their humor. Embraw makes fun of itself and others often. A part of Embraw culture, but to outsiders it can seem mean if not handled with tact.

Goverment

Embraw is a democracy. They are a country with a Leader who is voted in by those who can vote. This Leader is called the Chief, but is similar to a predisent. Smiths, military, and anyone over the age of 50 may vote. In each individual island is a representative who works with the president to create and pass laws. The previous president resides as a vice president, who breaks any ties and advises the current ruler.

Power

Embraw has access to many resources for war. They do not have the largest military, but their army is well equipped. They also supply much of the world with gunpowder and metal for crafting supplies.

History

Embraw was a small island people before the gnomes showed them how to sail the skies. The Embraw smiths found it easy to recreate these machines, and began to build their own. Over time, they melded and overtook any other islands, slaughtering minor peoples in order to take what they wanted. It was a long and bloody time for Embraw, but it gave them a solid foothold in the Searing Clouds. Embraw tried to conquer the Cloudless Desert and mokso, but they found they were ill equipped to handle other large powers.

Naming Traditions

Family names

Family names were originally based on occupation and have evolved into a name system similar to our own. There are no smiths, instead they are named from their specialties. Bronze crafter eventually became bonzcaft for example.

Other names

There are no middle names in Embraw culture. Though, many pick up nicknames. These nicknames make fun of the person, usually reminding them of an embarrassing moment. Often these nicknames stay with them until adulthood. Some common nicknames would be Blister Knuckle, Missed a Nail, or Forgotten Name.

Culture

Average technological level

The Embraw are master smiths and decent chemists. They also craft airships and similar clockwork technology. When they do so, it is usually a mokson design with a touch of Vadathan thickness. What makes Embraw airships unique is that they are covered in thin metal plating. This makes them slow to rise and quick to fall, but the armor is useful when running into a firestorm or when being attacked.

Common Dress code

Embraw clothing is dyed multiple colors or red, yellow, orange, and purple. They often wrap themeselves in multicolored scarves. Men wear these scarves atop their head, while women wear them around their neck or on their head depending on preference.
Sturdy pants and thick boots are common, and leather boots are usually worn loose when working. Those who cannot afford boots often wear sandals with a leather top, but they are open on the side.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

A Family of the Dead

The strangest aspect of Embraw culture is how they treat their dead. Instead of burning or burying their dead, they are mummified in a process that takes several days. They are then treated as a member of the family still. They are given a seat at the table and are given burnt food (which is then discarded at the end of the meal), they are dressed every day, and they are taken to important meetings. When someone else dies in the family, or the person has no family when they are killed, they are cremated.
This practice makes The Searing Clouds a popular place for Puppeteers. Some families take up puppeteering in an effort to bring back their loved ones, but this usually only ends in tragedy.

Common Myths and Legends

The Embraw largely worship Veritism now, but they usued to follow a mythology of their own. The premise of this mythology speaks of the first Embraw island being the mother of the Embraw. She gave to them life, free will, and physical bodies. She had other children as well. She birthed ore, fire, and water. When all four of her children, men, fire, ore, and metal, work in harmony they can create a heavenly substance. Metal.
There are other aspects to their mythology. Such as animals being failed humans, demons that wander the skies, and the stars being pure, magical metal dust.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Face Markings

Embraw men and women wear a face paint during special occasions. This face paint is made from charcoal and animal fat. It is also terrible on the skin and will cause irritation if left on for too long. Woman facial paint usually accentuates the cheeks, while men tend to paint their brow and chin.

Hair and Facial Hair

Facial hair is always kept short if it can be grown, but not many Embraw men can grow it. Hair is usually styled in a bun or tied into braids. Often with intriquite metal jewelry tied in.

Jewelry

Men do not wear jewelry, but women do. A common form of jewelry is polished black iron bracelets and necklaces. Often they pierce their nose, ears, and lips with this same style jewelry. Their jewelry is usually plain with little decoration and rarely any jewels.

Gender Ideals

This culture sees men as superior in most subjects. Especially physically. However, all smiths are equal. An equal amount of men and woman become smiths, and there are more women doctors and chemists than men on average.

Courtship Ideals

Most marriages are arranged by parents to combine and strengthen families. Marriages are grand occasions, usually held outdoors, with both families attending.