The Ti'varnan Tribes

The Ti’varnans are a proud people who claim some noble spiritual origin, though they recently have become a rare breed. A great civil war engulfed their cities, and many Ti’varnans perished in the resulting fires. Now past the war they begin to rebuild, albeit slowly.

The resulting communities are scattered tribes - large, yet tight-knit. Flags previously flown by marauding lords serve as the symbols of each tribe and are treated with great care. While not necessarily regressed in terms of technology the Ti’varnans have taken on something of a rural lifestyle, living away from the ruins of cities which have become hotbeds of scavengers and scum - choosing to live off the land.

The Ti’varnans are known well for their general pragmatism and stoic nature, which is somewhat offset by their spiritual roots and their inherent pride. They are something of an insular culture, and their sense of morals is often centered more around what is practical, perhaps not necessarily right. They view magic with distrust and have a penchant for enslaving those who practice it.

## Geography of Ti'var

Ti’var is a land located in a huge vale split down the middle by a great river, issuing down from impassable mountain ranges to the north. The terrain is a combination of swampy and hilly and is often freezing cold – sometimes lashing down from the heavens with heavy rain. Wild beasts roam the lands unchecked now that the previously numerous Ti’varnans have diminished, making traveling alone a dangerous affair.

The capital twin-cities of Ti’var sat astride the great river, and in better times, trade and transport ships plied the waters often. Askatan sat to the west of the river, and Taranir to the East, mirroring each other. Now, the anchorages are gone, the docks are a splintered heap, and the cities lie in ruins, picked clean by scavengers. Many of the boats have sunk to the bottom of the river or their wreckage has swept out to sea, never to be seen again. This fate is shared by many other cities dotted across Ti’var, and now the most populated areas are old towns and villages, which are home to the Ti’varnan tribes.

The largest concentration of Ti’varnans are by western Askatan, where tribes often meet to barter and exchange news. As a result, a new settlement named Nelarn has sprung up beside the dead city. Nelarn is the closest to a hub of commerce that the Ti’varnans have, yet rarely sees visitors from the east, past Taranir. The eastern side of the bank does not have a twin of Nelarn, and indeed has no hub of activity at all. Many of the tribes on the eastern side of Ti’var are divisive in nature, too distrusting to spend any time near each other.

The great river is only now occasionally crossed, though the owners of ships stand to make a hefty profit when someone does. Travel between the two sides of the river is mainly considered unimportant, though trading caravans make the rounds of the tribes on each side of the river and occasionally swap goods between the shores.

Little is known of the outside of the vale, as it was never truly settled, and not many exploration parties returned with all their members. Roaming mists cover much of the land, making it difficult to navigate, and the land quickly becomes difficult to cross. Some rare Ti’varnans take the few remaining airships in the land and soar over the mists, exploring the skies and the lands beyond. Stories of these journeys are rare and often fantastical.

The hills of Ti’var are dotted with mines and smithies, and the prime product of Ti’var is metals. Many Ti’varnan houses are made from stone and incorporate metal into their structure – simple enough given that to them, metal is so commonplace.

## Laws and Legal Rights of Ti'var

The Ti’varnans live by an unspoken law of common sense, and disputes are often settled by whoever has the most authority in a manner that they believe to be fair. While crimes such as murder, abuse, and theft are rare, they are still taken very seriously. Ti’varnan outlook on other things is, however, not as interested. Drug abuse is overlooked, attributed to the weakness of the individual rather than the fault of the merchant, and slavery is allowed.

While most frequently used for those who display magic, slavery is also used for indentured servitude as punishment for crimes committed against a tribe. The owner of a slave will often be the one wronged by them unless the slave is a magic user. A mage will be made to perform magic for the good of the many in exchange for meals and a roof. Otherwise, their freedom is restricted – many remember the destruction wrought by mages during the civil war bitterly. A slave is often tattooed with brands, on the cheeks or forehead, and while it is possible to earn freedom for some, the brands remain.

## Religion in Ti'var

For such a spiritual people, Ti’varnans are somewhat divided on this subject. There are three key religions and some minor ones. The fervent argument over the truth was the spark that triggered the civil war.

Most tribes will believe in one god or another, and there are some (though uncommon) that swear by all three major ones. A priest will serve two roles in a tribe – administering of spiritual guidance and keeping of logistics. A Ti’varnan priest is often both bookkeeper and shepherd of the flock.

### *The Shattered One*

The Shattered One is believed to be a god that gave their life for the Ti’varnans a long time ago, and that a spark of their divinity now rests in the hearts of the devout - always watching and lending strength. The followers of the Shattered One began the great civil war, aiming to crush the cult of the Stranger.

### *The Lady Ashkya*

The Lady Ashkya is said to have walked among the Ti’varnans at times, watching and living among them for her own inscrutable purpose. It is said that those who walk the path of the Lady will never be alone in their ventures, as she walks by their side unseen. The followers of the Lady Ashkya remained out of wars as best they could, though were often dragged into conflicts and did not emerge unscathed.

### *The Stranger*

The Stranger, who is called by some other names, such as The Old Man, Xyndus, or The Fallen, is purportedly a god who cares little for Ti’varnans. The doctrine of his cult claims that one who excels in every aspect of their life and catches his attention can receive great boons, often described as related to martial strength in nature. An odd feature of his cult is that direct worship is neglected in favor of living by a code of tenets.

## Customs and Traditions of Ti'var

Decorative carvings are often placed around doorways, a remainder of an old ritual of worship used now for luck. Styles vary, from minimalistic to intricate, or from grooves in wood to inlaid gold and other metals. This variation in style can often be linked directly to wealth and social status, with the more powerful individual having more intricate and inlaid patterns. A Ti’varnan may run their fingers over the carvings as they pass, for good fortune and a safe return.

In many houses of Ti’var, weapons are left at the door by those who enter. This practice stems from a belief that a person’s home should be safe for them, and that bloodshed should remain away from such places. This point of view is something of a recent one, cultivated in the aftermath of atrocities committed during the civil war.

Due to the poor nature of relations between tribes, direct trade of resources is sometimes difficult, leading some tribes to rely on visits from wandering merchants and traders or visits to hub-lands such as Nelarn. In light of this difficult uptake of resources, Ti’varnans will often aim to repair or recycle things that others might throw away, as replacing them is oftentimes an awkward prospect. A broken object may be used in a new capacity by a Ti’varnan, such as a shattered knife used as a kitchen utensil, or a damaged axe wedged into place as a door handle. There are few truly useless objects in a Ti’varnan household, as many items will have a use found for them.

## Society in Ti'var

Pre-civil war, the land was governed by a single king and various lords. During the confusion of the great conflict, many prominent lords declared themselves kings, eschewing the influence of the old king. This addition to the stresses caused by the civil war took things further than originally intended, and once the goal of the war moved away from religion to personal conquest, the state of affairs in Ti’var worsened, eventually leading to the current state of the land - no true figurehead or leader of the nation. The fortunate placement of Ti’var so as to have no neighbouring nations appears to be the main reason that it has survived in this state.

A Ti’varnan tribe places less importance on lofty titles, and more on what is needed. A tribe is governed by an informal leader called a Speaker, who makes the important decisions that cannot be handled by individuals. Priests act as keepers of logistics and shepherds of faith in a dual-role and are as close to scholars as one might find in a Ti’varnan tribe. In a military capacity, there is little formality - whoever is better a tactician or fighter often find themselves in command of a ‘militia’ force, comprised of most of the individuals in a tribe. This is mostly since in a battle between tribes, every person that can hold a weapon is required to participate lest an enemy overpower them. Beyond the aforementioned three roles, each person finds their own way to be useful, rarely is a task in a society directly assigned to an individual, this is mostly reserved for slaves.

Beyond the confines of a tribe, there are other kinds of people to be found across Ti’var.

Arguably the most importantly, tight-knit groups of wandering traders and merchants make circuits between tribes, trading useful objects or bringing items to replenish the stocks of some fringe-dwelling tribes. The passage of these caravans is frequent, though one can go for months and sometimes years without seeing the same group of traders twice.

Out on the edges of Ti’var, there are those who are drawn to the mists and what they may hide. Enclaves of Ti’varnans exist who make it their sole purpose to explore the swirling wilderness and unknown lands beyond. Some few airships remaining from the civil war ply the skies past the mists. Their crews act as miniature versions of tribes and are arguably very protective of one-another. For those without a means to fly, settlements of people press up against the forbidding fog, where exploration teams set off to delve into the world beyond. Some great hope is often set upon the mists as if they can provide a solution to the shattered state of Ti’var.

In the crumbling ruins of the cities of Ti’var, scavengers, and scum vie for control of areas promising loot, or for areas where looting was perhaps incomplete, as looters had higher standards for what qualifies as loot, had little carrying space or were interrupted by other groups. Conflict is a way of life in the cities, and if one cannot contribute to their group, they may find themselves cast out into the city alone, with nothing more than a disintegrating weapon. Scavengers regularly travel to the edges of the cities to exchange their recovered items with passing-by trading caravans. To those outside the cities, the scavengers and scum might as well be one and the same, as anyone living under such conditions will naturally find themselves nervous and jumpy. The unspoken rule of checking weapons perhaps applies less to these people, who keep a tight grip on knives, makeshift spears, and whatever weaponry they can scrape together.

There are some individuals who cross the central river on surviving ships from pre-war Ti’var, or on ships cobbled together by those who needed to cross between shores. These river-crossers often charge much for a crossing, which invariably can only be afforded by those with much to give or by trading caravans that wish to exchange goods between east and west.

Succession
 of roles of leadership rarely remains in families. Instead, the
individuals chosen are selected based largely on personal whim and religious omens. Speakers are often selected by common agreement, though the say of a current Speaker holds significant sway. The best fighter or tactician commonly holds the informal military role, as they are best placed to do so by the god/s a tribe worships. Priests are however, somewhat different. A priest will at times identify religious omens which lead them to select an apprentice of sorts. This apprentice will learn from the elder priest and assist them in performing tasks for years at a time. Once the priest dies, the eldest apprentice assumes their role as bookkeeper and shepherd for a tribe.

## People of Ti'var

An average Ti’varnan tends toward a stockier build, though slightly shorter than some others. Darker hair colours and lighter skin tones are more common as a result of their home climate. Eye colours are generally somewhat brighter - sky-blues, verdant greens, and icy greys are common. Darker eye colours are not unheard of, though are somewhat rarer.

The hands of many Ti’varnans will be callused, from the handling of tools or weapons. Their hair is generally kept short, to avoid it becoming a nuisance or hindrance. Beards are perhaps more common since shaving is more difficult, though a notable exception is that some traders and merchants will have obtained a razor to use for shaving.

A notable oddity of the Ti’varnans is that some individuals are born randomly with clammy grey skin. From their first appearance, the followers of the Shattered One declared these people to be those who carried the spark of their god best, claiming that behind their appearance is an overarching divine providence. Before the civil war, many lords and every king were grey-skinned, all pushed from birth to believe that behind their place in society was a great divine authority, which chose them individually for a purpose. Nowadays, grey-skinned individuals are viewed as cursed, as it was their ilk that caused the fragmenting of Ti’var to its current state. They are however not exiled or killed. In a society where anything that can be of use is made to be so, all they are is more bodies to do work, so they are tolerated. A notable exception is that of tribes following the Shattered One, who still employ grey-skinned leaders.

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 === The Ar'el ===

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The Ar’el is a Ti’varnan tribe that has carved out a place for itself within the collapsed walls of a ruined town called Othel, ousting gangs of scavengers and scum that had overstayed their welcome. There is little space for gardens in Othel, and farms outside the walls are made difficult to run by the remnants of the scum gangs that predate on the countryside to this day. Accordingly, the Ar’el deal with passing traders and hunt the local swamps and river for their food. Most of the buildings in Othel have collapsed during and since the war, so the living space of the tribe is a combination of sharing the few remaining houses, and clearing debris to construct fresh buildings. The Ar’el follow the path of the Lady Ashkya, believing that she walks at their side unseen to watch over them. The flag that the tribe keeps as its symbol is comprised of two different flags carefully stitched back-to-back.

## Cuisine in Ti'var

The climate and landscape of Ti’var create an environment of hilly swamps, which in turn breeds a unique array of foods for the Ti’varnans.

Many water-creatures are available to a hunter, such as fish, various crustaceans, alligator, turtles, beavers, and frogs. Additionally, there are some water-based plants that are fairly ubiquitous to Ti’var, such as wild rice, lotus plants, water chestnuts, and watercress.

Out of the water, one might find a wide range of fowl, some snakes, and a surprising array of berries. Blackthorn berries, cranberries, blueberries, and blackberries are all native to Ti’var. Some few monster-meats exist, though these are exceptionally rare as, during the height of Ti’var, airships were used to help lords hunt down marauding beasts, which are now extremely few in number.

Tribes are generally quite sharing amongst themselves, and the nature of what they eat depends largely on where they live and what resources they have access to.

Among poorer tribes, a stew of sorts is constantly on the go, oft cooked in and transferred between turtle shells, or kept in surviving pots and pans. These stews are rarely kept off the heat and are ordinarily bulked out with whatever meats and plants there are to hand to keep them topped up.

Among richer tribes, cooking dishes can be emptied and cleaned between uses, and instead, pots of various dishes are made night-to-night. Most common of these is a paella-like dish which utilizes rice, watercress, lotus, and boiled meats.

A popular dish of pre-war Ti’var was stuffing of the softer meats available (such as duck) with various plants and berries before roasting. While not unheard of in recent times, this practice is rarer now.

Most alcohols of Ti’var utilize the various berries found in the swamps. Sloe berries, taken from bushes planted to be natural boundaries between submerged rice-fields, are fermented into gin. Excess rice that is not traded away or used in food is often distilled into rice wine - or rice moonshine, depending on how wealthy one is. Beyond the above two, the various berries (blackberries, cranberries, blueberries) can be distilled into fruit-wines.