The Wyldermen
The Wyldermen are a druidic hunter-gatherer ethnicity currently living in The Horde Lands and nearby areas. They claim to be one of the oldest ethnic groups on Vorago, having been displaced thousands of years ago by the first Elves in the east.
"Wyldermen" is the common name for them; in their language they are Unkalat, "the people".
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Wylderman feminine names usually end in a vowel.
Examples: Raurika, Thilni, Runmi
Masculine names
Wylderman masculine names usually end in a consonant.
Examples: Utkik, Munmit, Kantuk
Family names
Family name is shared across a band, which may include multiple unrelated nuclear families.
Some family names are: Unthil, Gorhart, and Tuntuk.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
The Wyldermen speak their own dialect of common so distinct that it's practically a different language. Most of them also speak common and orc or goblin.
Shared customary codes and values
Wylderman culture in the current day prizes strength, as the worship a subset of The Gods of Strength. That strength and prowess is often physical, but can also include a powerful connection to nature or magic, or a powerful strength of personality for entertainment or negotiation. The culture has evolved to be quite similar to the other Horde Lands cultures.
Average technological level
The Wyldermen are deeply suspicious of arcane technology, but are otherwise surprisingly well-educated on magical theory for barbarian tribes. Every generation or so, a few Wyldermen enbark on a quest to learn what they can from the rest of the world, usually returning after a decade or more of scholarship or adventuring.
Common Dress code
Usually sparse to show off healthy bodies, or wrapped in a single large fur cloak when it's cold. Foreigners who stay swaddled and insulated from the air are considered quite funny.
Small trophies of successful accomplishments are added to a piece of jewelry; this could include a great raid, successful negotiation, winning a dance contest, surviving a devastating attack, or making a legendary fool of oneself. These are usually represented by beads, teeth, or hole-punched coins.
Coming of Age Rites
A mother has near total authority over the child until they complete a ceremonial coming-of-age quest outlined by the mother. This quest is often simple, but vindictive or extremely aspirational mothers may send their young adult child on a near-impossible quest across the continent.
Common Taboos
While divine, druidic, and even sorcerous magic is quite permitted, studious arcane magic (nerd shit like wizardry and artifice) is taboo.
Common Myths and Legends
Wylderman legend holds that countless generations ago the Unkalat controlled the whole continent, maintaining it as a verdant paradise. Then mad wizards from beyond the stars arrived with the intention of pulling the world into the stars to join their empire. The Wyldermen fought back and helped the world break free of the spell just before its completion, leaving the world flying among the stars; this is why the constellations shift now.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Unkalat beauty ideals highlight physical fitness and connection to nature. A formal outfit usually will not include sleeves or may leave the chest open, but will include lots of flowers and flower-pigment paint. A formal headdress might be a modified elk skull with antlers, and a warrior's armor may include decorative feathers.
Gender Ideals
Gender roles are not very restrictive outside of childrearing; there are more male warriors, but it's not a strict rule.
A mother has near total authority over the child until they complete a ceremonial coming-of-age quest outlined by the mother. This quest is often simple, but vindictive or extremely aspirational mothers may send their young adult child on a near-impossible quest across the continent.
Courtship Ideals
Courtship is strongly encouraged to be both within the Wyldermen ethnicity and across to another multi-family band, keeping Wylderman culture and blood well conserved through the ages.
That being said, outsiders can be married, so long as they are willing to be accepted into the ethnicity and the couple completes a difficult task to prove their dedication. This task, chosen by elders, could range from a simple hunt, arranging a disproportionately lucrative trade arrangement, or paying a dowry, to trial by combat, questing across the continent, or even committing treason and renouncing the spouses' home culture.
Relationship Ideals
Relationships are strictly monogamous.
Related Locations
Comments