Native Dornican

The indigenous people of the Isles of Dornica are a rugged, dark-skinned folk. They descended from the mannish tribes of Choon; fleeing the savage island and finding refuge on the Dorinican archipelago around 300 C.Y. They typically have darker eye colors and hair colors as well. The arrival of Celinadian explorers in 2067 started colonization of the Dornican Isles soon after. When the empire fell, the mainlanders abandoned the islands for a time, but years after, a different kind of outsider began showing up; smugglers, escaped criminals, pirates, and cutthroats began using the islands as a hideout or base of operations. Over the years the natives gradually became absorbed into the growing pirate and outlaw population.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

​Amona, Bayabe, Dita, Naniki, Warishi, Tatagua, Yara​

Masculine names

Aje, Bajari, Chegara, Guare, Jagua, Rahe, Veycosi,

Family names

Historically, the natives of Dornica surnames would be the name of the tribe the person was from. But due to the absorbtion of the natives into the people and culture of the "Pirate Isles," they now possess a wilde variety of family names passed down from father to child. Surnames such as Blackhand, Gullswift, and Redrum are common. ​

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

See Humans. The Dornicans speak Trade; their native language is considered dead by many scholars. Their accent has a lilt and cadence to their speech that some consider to be almost musical (think Jamaican accent).

Shared customary codes and values

"Oneupmanship" is the way to earn respect among one's peers. There is no formal law on these islands populated by outlaws. Justice is typically reserved for those with a very sharp weapon and the ability to wield it effectively. If one owns something and wishes to keep it, they better learn to fight to protect it. The literal practice of back-stabbing is accepted, while looked upon as dishonorable on the mainland, for example. Morality has little place on the "Pirate Isles." One must always be looking over their shoulder if they have made enemies, or committed an offense against someone-whether that offense is real or imagined.

Common Etiquette rules

Respect in the Dornica Isles is the stand-in for "etiquette." And respect is given to the tougher, more ruthless, more bloodthirsty person. Those who are the toughest, most ruthless, etc. can usually take what they please from those not able to stand up to these ruffians.

Foods & Cuisine

Fish and other seafood, like shrimp and conch, are the common repaste for inhabitants of the islands. Often preserved in salt to survive days long voyages by fishing vessles. Smaller livestock such as fowl and swine are raised here, as they can be transported in the cargo hold of a ship. The occassinal wild bird, reptile, or ground mammal might be caught and roasted over a fire or thrown in a stew (many recommend "tree mutton," commonly referred to as monkey on the mainland).

Fruits, and some vegetables are grown or can be picked from the wild. Pineapples, mangos, and other juicy and sugary fruits grow here.

Common Myths and Legends

Due to the colonization efforts, the Dornican natives worship some of the neutral aligned or darker gods in The Twelve. Deities such as Revanna, Vecna, and Naussica and Tempus(to pray for calm seas and good weather). Gods like Primus and Prospera are claimed by the natives to have no power in the Pirate Isles.

There is the myth of a different type of dark necromancy practiced in secrecy by a very select few, who are talked about only in scared whispers. These practitioners of this secret art can strike at their foes a world away by inflicting pain on a doll or effigy of their enemy. Tales told at night of a "death master" who can awaken the dead and make them do his bidding, are stories that are told by the more superstitious.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Almost all dwellers of the Isles of Dornica, native or not, tend to grow and style their hair into dreadlocks, or other "non civilized" hairstyles. Men and women both dye some of their locs in different colors, as well as weave beads and other baubles into their hair

.

Men tend to grow facial hair, and both sexes will sometimes have facial piercings of their brow, ears, and nose.

The clothes that the inhabitants of the Isles wear is meant for tropical climates, and general seafaring activities. Loose fitting tunics, leather vests, pants and boots, are what one would typically encounter. Wearing metal armor aboard a ship out on the open sea is not a good idea.

Gender Ideals

Men and women share the responsibilties of life on the Dornican Islands equally. No one gender is dominant over the other. A woman is just as likely to captain a ship as a man. Nor is it uncommon to see a man serving drinks at a pub with a female proprietor behind the bar. It was not always this way, before the invasion of outsiders from the mainland, men filled your typical hunter/gatherer role while women were rearing their children. But as settlers from the east came to the islands, womne had to learn to fight; be tough or be taken, be ready to shed blood to protect their families. The men were impressed, conscripted by force, aboard ships to work as part of the crew, leaving the women of the tribes to fend for themselves.

Things got only more rough once the Celinadian Empire had fallen and the pirates moved in...

Eventually the natives integrated into the culture over the centuries, and to survive the women had to become just as tough and ruthless as any man, or pirate, to survive.

by Generated by Malekoth using Image Creator from Microsoft Designer via Bing

Encompassed species

• Humans