Dostran

"Dostran" is a term referring to those who are from the nation of Dostros, located in the top of the southern portion of Vehasi. The regions of Dostros have many cultural variations, from language to food and even architecture. Though the Dostrans do have many different cultures with varying beliefs, they are united as a people and see themselves as one. Dostrans are very patriotic, and are incredibly loyal to both their own nation and their allies, New Vransi and Eclania.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Women in Dostros are often named after nature; leaves, trees, bark, plants, or flowers. These words are suffixed with either -lei or -(e)va to make them recognisable as names. The origin of the -eva suffix has been lost to time, but -lei most likely comes from the word alei, meaning "beauty" or "beautiful". Common feminine names include Zavilei, coming from zavi, a Dostran tree similar to birch, Teneva, which comes from tene, the Desrunic word for petal, and Shova, derived from sho, the word for berry.

Masculine names

Men in Dostros are usually named after materials, minerals, and ocean. The words are suffixed with -zai, -(l)im, or -va. The former comes from the word lezai, meaning memory, and -lim comes from lim, the word for time. It is disputed where the -va suffix comes from, though the most popular theory is that it comes from a lost root word for vamela, to pray. Common masculine names include Palenim, from palen, meaning rock, Vonamva, from the word for crystal, vonam, and Senozai, from the word seno, for sand.

Unisex names

In more modern times, there has been a rise of less gendered Dostran names. These names typically have no suffix, and are simply nouns or adjectives in the Desrunic language. Some names from nouns include include Ashol, meaning sky, Talane, meaning star, and Shamos, meaning ocean. A few adjective names are Alei, meaning beautiful, Alten, meaning blond(e), and Vas, meaning red.

Family names

Dostran family names often come from genetic traits, such as eye colour or hair colour, or familial professions. They end in -is or -os, the former derived from the Desrunic word for family, vis, and the latter derived from the Desrunic word for home, nos. Common Dostran family names include Altenis, "Family of blonds", Tontos, "Home of the carpenter", Laptis, "Blue-eyed family", Etos, "Important home", and Talanis, "Family of stars". These names are passed down from parent to child, and a child has two surnames; one from their mother, and one from their father. They then choose which of their names to pass on to their child. As such, the meanings of surnames are no longer particularly accurate.

Languages spoken

• Desrunic

Related Locations

• Vehasi

Culture

Major Language Groups & Dialects

Dostrans speak Desrunic, known for its many dialects spoken across Dostros. This is due to Dostros' more city-state structure, as many of their communities remained rather contained for a large portion of Dostros' history.

Doveport Desrunic / Dovelish

Doveport Desrunic, also known as "Dovelish", is the dialect of Desrunic spoken in Dostros' capital city of Doveport. It is the most "simple" form of Desrunic, with only two verb endings, stress on the ultimate or penultimate syllable, and rigid sentence structure. There are minimal variations in the letters chosen to represent certain sounds. Dovelish also has a large amount of loan words, as the majority of visiting dignitaries, tourists, and politicians primarily visit Doveport.

Petralian Desrunic / Petralian

Petralian Desrunic, known in short as Petralian, is the dialect of Desrunic spoken in Petralis, a settlement on Dostros' border with New Vransi via the Dostran Pass. It is one of the more distinct dialects, and speakers of the other dialects are barely able to understand Petralian. It has the highest number of irregular verbs, inconsistent pronunciation, and the highest number of differences in vocabulary from the other dialects.

Low Desrunic

Low Desrunic is the dialect of Desrunic spoken in the swampy areas of the forests. Known for its blended-together sounds and drawling words, the dialect is spoken in the few villages and small towns scattered throughout the region.

Eastern Desrunic

Eastern Desrunic, spoken on the eastern border between Dostros and Vechia, takes a lot of influence from Vechia's language, Paldoran. Its vowel sounds are much closer to those of Paldoran, and it takes many loan words from it.

Coastal Desrunic

Coastal Desrunic is the dialect spoken on the western coast of Dostros, known for its sharply-enunciated consonant sounds. Often, the dialect is associated with fisherman and sailors, common professions on the Dostran coast.

Clothing & Fashion

Dostran fashion consists largely of draped fabric, tunics, dresses, and skirts. They embroider borders onto their clothing in knot-like patterns, and dye colourful stripes if they have the money to do so. They wear close-toed shoes, generally flat and short - though boots are also in fashion. They wear their hair in braids, and while single three-strand braids are common, there are also those who take more time to create intricate hairstyles.

Art & Architecture

Dostran buildings often have flat roofs, and are often elevated from the ground - especially in the lowlands, where the swamps and marshes make the ground less sturdy. Their houses often have multiple levels, with three- and four-story buildings being exceedingly common.

Foods & Cuisine

Dostrans eat many vines and tubers, and have have generally mild food. Near the coast and the southern border, fish are much more common in diets, and near the Great Scar, mushrooms also make an appearance. Dostrans are known for their stews, of which they have a great variety.

Funerary and Memorial Customs

Dostrans celebrate funerals as a last message to the departed. They believe that those who die are not truly gone, as they remain in the memories of the living. They sing a funeral song known as Lezai so Nos, which can be translated as "Memory of Home".

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Dostrans value long features, hooked noses, dark hair, green or blue eyes, and more olive-toned skin. In particular, larger foreheads are considered beautiful, and some even chose to shave into their foreheads or wear headbands to give the appearance of a longer forehead. They also prefer people who are taller, with longer limbs. It is considered desireable to have longer fingers and palms, as well.

Courtship Ideals

Dostrans generally don't date for very long; the longest relationships in Dostros are only around a year or two long, before they either end or move on to marriage. There are a significant number of arranged marriages in Dostros, and though there is no stigma surrounding divorce, the divorce rates in Dostros are incredibly low.

Relationship Ideals

Dostrans think of a relationship as a commitment. To them, love is a choice, not a feeling. They value communication and a fair separation of labour, as well as compromise in a relationship.