Spirit Warrior

Written by RivaliChaos

An important part of the New World's culture, more specifically, for the so called Vurradians, the Spirit Warriors are honorable defenders of the people. If by "people" they mean anyone or just their fellow natives is a matter of personal opinion.

Career

Career Progression

They are trained by a collective of fighters, spiritual guides and veteran Spirit Warriors, nurtured by the whole tribe in an effort to learn not only the ways of their role, but their importance in the whole society.
The training takes long and starts early. A would be Spirit Warrior often begin training as soon as they can climb a tree or swim across a river, depending on the tribe. Some begin training even earlier, if the shamans read the strength of their spirit as a indication of greatness or if they descend from notorious Spirit Warriors.
As they master their weapons and their spirits, the aspiring warriors gain their First Mark, indicating their path. This often happens around the age of ten, around a special ritual. The end of their training, almost another ten years later, provides the Second Mark which is, often, as far as most Spirit Warriors get. Each mark following the second is a representation of great honor and is not to be taken likely. A Thrice Marked Spirit Warrior is something to be revered and a Quadri-marked Spirit Warrior is a legendary tale.

Perception

Purpose

A fighter is not all that a Spirit Warrior is. They also are expected to be able to provide food via hunt and fishing, give protection during travel to all non-fighters, as well as provide spiritual guidance in the absence of more suited individuals. As a whole, Spirit Warriors are meant to protect the people from physical and spiritual harm.

After the Settlers

As other groups come from the Old World and the societies begin to merge, Spirit Warriors find their role changing. Some, more traditionalists, believe that their whole is exactly the same, they should protect their continent and traditions from the invaders and have as such become part of rebellious forces. Others, that take to the honorable side of their mission, take the stance that they should protect all humans that need protection, be they settlers or natives for as long as they need.
Slavers consider the Spirit Warriors to be both a curse and a blessing. If, and that is a very big if, one is able to actually break a Spirit Warrior into servitude, they make for strong and loyal slaves; at the same time, they are among the ones with the most steady resolve and would kill more than a few in their numerous attempts at escape.

Social Status

Seen as champions of the Vurradians, they are taken in high regards by natives of the New World. Some rise to be leaders of their tribe, others stay as second-in-command, behind only shamans and spiritual guides. While each tribe has their own ways, it is standard to have Spirit Warriors be a very difficult position to achieve with high honor.

Related Ethnicity

Vurradians

Type

Public Services

Related Locations

• New World

The Marks

Following vurradian tradition, the marks of a Spirit Warrior and where they are put is rather important. From placement to form, each detail of a tattooed pattern makes the whole of a mark.
First and Second Marks are often done in the upper body, upper arm and - rarely - lower legs and ankles, according to notable disposition of the aspirating warrior. Upper trunk indicate a notorious honored and honest individual, upper arm to indicate strength and bravery - and are the in almost all Spirit Warriors -, while lower leg and ankle are common to travelling Spirit Warriors, as it represents movement, but it could also mean progressive mentality or separation from the tribe.
Since standard fighters can have marks in similar places, the distinction comes with the patterns: A string that contains the mark and a central piece indicate the original lineage or tribe of the Spirit Warrior, while the space between the center and the boundaries of the mark often have shapes related to the capabilities of the Spirit Warrior. A Spirit Warrior capable of hunt might have a hares and arrowheads, as well as tree patterns; a fisher warrior could have fishers, wave-like pattern to indicate tides or the flow of a river; and so on and so forth. Spirit Warriors from a specific line, or with a strong spirit, make have teller tattoos - marks made to describe the story of an ancestor or their own tales.