Desert Settler

The blazing sun watches you like a lidless eye in this land of sand and rock. Perhaps it is the vigilant eye of Hogimal -- many of your peers seem to believe that. As for you, you are not so sure. Your main concern is survival. The life you know is one lived among sun-baked rocks, bowed trees, and miles of tawny sand blown about by a dry wind. To you, water and good soil are more valuable treasures than gold and diamonds. Your civilisation follows the water. At this time, it has brought you to the upstream of a wide river, bordered by a rich black loam-soil. This is home, you declared. Here we shall settle...here we belong.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

They speak a regional dialect, often called simply "the desert dialect." It seems to have influences from the Testif spoken by desert-dwelling Villagers. Desert Settlers developed their own alphabet, well before the advent of the Common alphabet, so they use that when writing in their dialect. It uses pictograms and symbols rather than letters.

Shared customary codes and values

Desert Settlers are a practical and resourceful people. They know how to find what they need even in the barren place they call home. To them, water and wood are more valuable than gold or diamonds.

Common Dress code

Desert Settlers dress in a way that is practical to their environment. They prefer loose clothing that is lightweight and breathable. They will usually wear clothes that cover most of their body to shield their skin from sunburn. Desert settlers make their clothes out of linen and flax fabrics, using rabbit hide when sturdier materials are required.

Art & Architecture

Desert Settler architecture makes heavy use of materials that are readily available in the desert -- namely, sandstone and clay. Settlers will use whatever wood is on hand when needed, but prefer to substitute other materials when building. Wood is better saved for crafting and fuel.
Bringing in water to a village and keeping it fresh is critical, so the settlers have designed many clever ways to divert water from rivers and keep it in cool, clean cisterns.
Buildings tend to be cuboid or pyramid-shaped, with stone foundations and sandstone walls. Architects add interest and complexity by carving the sandstone into ridges and pillars, or engraving it with pictograms and relief patterns. Mural painting with a mixture of clay and dye is popular too, although that is preferred for indoor decoration. Sunlight and weather tends to bleach the colour out of outdoor murals in the desert. Murals usually depict mythology or significant historical events.
Pottery and ceramics are a popular art form among the Desert Settlers. They are very skilled at using dyes and glazes to achieve rich, unusual colours and designs. Their exquisite skill in ceramics makes their pottery a sought-after item in trade.
Artisans dealing in metals and gemstones prefer gold and lapis lazuli for their artwork. Certain areas in the desert are very rich in gold, making it a favoured metal for forging statuettes and ceremonial items.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

Marriage Traditions

When a Desert Settler wishes to propose marriage, it is custom for one to forge a golden necklace. These necklaces are each unique to the couple, and are sometimes passed down to the next generation if the person is unable to make one. In the Redstone Age, this tradition has evolved so that the “necklace” can be a pocket watch or some other trinket, with the only requirement being that it be made by the proposer, and that the proposee be fully aware of their partner’s intent to marry.
Upon marriage, there is a grand party as the spouses stand in the nearby river and recite their vows.The party generally lasts throughout the evening and into the night. The following day, the new couple generally is left alone in their home (unless pressing matters arise which requires one or both of their presences).

Birth & Baptismal Rites

When a new baby is born into a family, the elders will sing them a song of blessing. Typical wishes are for good health, luck, happiness, and prosperity.

Funerary and Memorial customs

The desert environment is not a suitable place to bury the dead in the ground. Thus, Desert Settlers have a tradition of building above-ground tombs and pyramids to inter their deceased. These pyramids are built with ample room for multiple people to be buried therein. The Desert Settlers have a belief that one's ancestors protect them during their journey to the afterlife, so family members are buried together in the same tomb.
Wealthy individuals will indulge in bigger, fancier pyramids for their families. Such tombs are built with treasure rooms, extensive wall murals, and traps to catch potential grave robbers. Pyramids are not built for poor people; instead, they are sealed in stone sepulchers and exhumed whenever another person in their family dies. Social outcasts and criminals are not given dignified graves at all. They may be put in shallow graves or thrown into pits in the wilderness.

Common Myths and Legends

Most Desert Dweller myths involve the god Hogimal in some way, shape, or form. One story concerns the birth of his daughter Yona, who was set upon the people for their disrespect of the gods. Hogimal and the surviving people stopped her, and Hogimal extracted a piece of his divine energy, calming her.