River Folk

River Folk are middle in height for humans, being slightly taller than Hill Folk, but slightly shorter than Desert Folk, averaging 5'8" for males and 5'5" for females. They have olive or tan skin, with brown or black hair and brown eyes. The River Folk make their home along the greatest river in the region, the Nile. Dwelling in the center of an area that is otherwise arid and bleak, the River Folk used the green and fertile lands around the Nile Valley and its delta with the Sundered Sea to build a great civilization. They are known for their construction of vast burial structures (the pyramids) for kings and queens, and for their fascination with death. River Folk domesticated the cat, and many of their households keep one as a pet. The River Folk remained an independent and powerful kingdom until Julius Caesar helped Queen Cleopatra VII unseat her brother from the throne. As part of the arrangement, Aegyptus  became a Roman vassal state. Because the Romans allowed the River Folk to continue to worship the gods in their own way, and retain most of their own cultural ideas, this arrangement has not been unpleasant, and River Folk generally get along well with the Romans.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

A’at, Ahset, Amunet, Aneksi, Atet, Baketamon, Betrest, Bunefer, Dedyet, Hatshepsut, Hentie, Herit, Hetepheres, Intakaes, Ipwet, Itet, Joba, Kasmut, Kemanub, Khemut, Kiya, Maia, Menhet, Merit, Meritamen, Merneith, Merseger, Muyet, Nebet, Nebetah, Nedjemmut, Nefertiti, Neferu, Neithotep, Nit, Nofret, Nubemiunu, Peseshet, Pypuy, Qalhata, Rai, Redji, Sadeh, Sadek, Sitamun, Sitre, Takhat, Tarset, Taweret, Werenro

Masculine names

Ahmose, Akhom, Amasis, Amenemhet, Anen, Banefre, Bek, Djedefre, Djoser, Hekaib, Henenu, Horemheb, Horwedja, Huya, Ibebi, Idu, Imhotep, Ineni, Ipuki, Irsu, Kagemni, Kawab, Kenamon, Kewap, Khaemwaset, Khafra, Khusebek, Masaharta, Meketre, Menkhaf, Merenre, Metjen, Nebamun, Nebetka, Nehi, Nekure, Nessumontu, Pakhom, Pawah, Pawero, Ramose, Rudjek, Sabaf, Sebek-khu, Sebni, Senusret, Shabaka, Somintu, Thaneni, Thethi

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

River Folk are famous for their pictograph-based writing system, hieroglyphics. Although many races in the known world used picture-based writing for many years, River Folk perfected this to a high art form, developing one of the most complex languages in the world. Sadly, a thousand years under Roman rule has led to the importation of Latin as well as the Common language spoken everywhere around the Sundered Sea, and the ability to speak and read hieroglyphics has since been lost.

Culture and cultural heritage

River Folk are perhaps most famous for their religious practices centered on death and the afterlife. They believe that each person has effectively two souls, and that one goes off to the afterlife among the gods, and the other remains behind with the body forever. This belief has led to their elaborate burial practices, for the soul that remains behind must be attended and nourished. At first, River Folk did this by leaving behind actual nourishment (food, wine, and the like), but by the time of the campaign, they leave behind representations of that nourishment (carvings, paintings, or sculptures of food, wine, and entertainment). River Folk are known for their domesticity and love of family, and are particularly known for being fond of children and pets. Cats are beloved by River Folk, and are members of many households.

Average technological level

The River Folk are known to have created several technological advances, including:

• Embalming and Mummification: The preservation of dead bodies against decay and decomposition.
• Writing: River Folk were the first humans to develop written records.
• The Calendar: River Folk developed the most accurate methods of keeping time and tracking months and seasons among humans.
• Toothpaste: River Folk discovered that combining salt, pepper, mint, and flower petals, one could clean the teeth and freshen the breath.

Common Dress code

River Folk dwell in a hot and unforgiving land. As a result, they are relatively sparse with their dress. Men wear a kilt-like shenti, which is belted at the waist and extends to about the knees, along with a loose-fitting tunic either with or without sleeves. Women wear sleeveless, ankle-length sheath dresses. Both sexes wear primarily sandals on their feet.

Funerary and Memorial customs

River Folk have the most elaborate funeral customs in the world. They are the only culture group that practices mummification. During the mummification process, organs are removed and placed in special canopic jars so that the deceased will have these organs for use in the afterlife (particularly, the soul that remains behind in the burial chamber). The body is preserved with salt and other chemicals and wrapped in strips of cloth, after which it is sealed in a coffin or a sarcophagus, and then buried in a tomb. Although the pyramids are the most famous tombs, such burial chambers were built only for the ancient kings and queens of the Nile. More commonly, burial chambers are placed in catacombs and caves, or in small buildings such as crypts that are grouped together in burial grounds. River Folk hold these areas as sacred and are swift to punish any who desecrate them.

Historical figures

Ramases II
Cleopatra VII

Encompassed species

• Human

Related Organizations

• Collegia Pontificum
• Court of Jackals
• Court of Scarabs
• Protectorate of Aegyptus