A tall-belly is a special leather belt worn by
koza-riders, laced at the side and with a reinforced, curved front that reaches the bottom of the sternum to protect the abdomen while leaning on the special saddle during flight. It is of
Kivan origin, where it is known as a
seti-bahn (lit: belly-yoke).
Features
The belt most often laces closed at one side for convenience, but older examples exist of back-lacing. They also commonly have pockets sewn into the front of the belt for the insertion of additional armor plates. They may or may not include a special reinforced loop for the attachment of a
garnery.
Matching one's koza saddle to one's tall-belly is a frequent whim, to further emphasize one's status as a committed rider. Otherwise, barring any outside restrictions the level of decorative tooling and design can be varied -- many will choose to etch, carve, or emboss the leather, for example, to match their
tuch-bahn or otherwise, and colored dyeing and contrasting stitching or braiding may be used. One's
venia is not usually incorporated due to the possibility of breaking the stone.
Kivan Traditions
For Kivans for whom koza-riding is expected to be a way of life, it is custom for young teenagers to craft their own tall-belly when they turn fifteen years of age, and then again when they turn twenty. These are known as a fifteen-year belt and a twenty-year belt, respectively -- the twenty-year belt is usually worn for the rest of their life, and any alterations or remakes are often the subject of gentle mockery.
The international spread of the tall-belly was near-ubiquitous with the spread of koza-riding; it is now a part of the standard-issue uniform for the
Razakir division of the
Ustrarian Itoqir.
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