Baerisian Islands

The **Baerisian Islands** are a number of tropical islands in the Tomyrian Sea, a few hundred miles south of Neuphany and Tyrrhos. It is composed of over 18,000 islands, and is divided largely into seven major districts. From largest to smallest in area, these districts are Morning-Cypress, Den-of-Wolves, Lake-of-Land, Mountain-of-Shells, Mouth-of-the-Moon, Bread-and-Basket, and the Lesser-Tours.

The Baerisian Islands are notorious for being nigh inhospitable for most peoples other than the native pygmy tribes. The Baerisian Islands are extremely warm, humid, disease-ridden, and filled with hostile flora and fauna.

## Etymology

The Baerisian Islands were initially referred to in general as a single region, *Baerisia*, by the Dinamid Republic. The name is derived, surprisingly, from the local word for their sailing vessels, *baris*, which are small sailboats that are able to be carried over land easily and can navigate shallow waters.

In addition, the *baris* lends its name to the local feudal lords, called *barisays*.

## Demographics

The Baerisian Islands are surprisingly well-populated, and their actual settlements are dense. They inhabit mounds of soil with underground tunnels connecting them, and skylights that are covered with thatched leaves during heavy rainfall. This is used to collect rainwater for bathing.

Very few non-halflings live in the Baerisian Islands. With the exception of the city of Three-Pearls, most tribes live inland and don't build ports or docks. This is the only major city in these islands, with tribes not really straying from their traditional dwellings for fear of being sacrilege against the Great Spirit. In turn, only a few merchants or exiles from other lands will live in Three-Pearls, as the hostile environment of the Baerisian Islands makes it extremely unappealing.

Most of the population inhabits northern Morning-Cypress, where Three-Pearls is built, to trade with foreigners. Little-Saffron is the most populated fiefdom, with others either being reclusive or otherwise hostile.

## Culture

### Style of dress and beauty standards

Islanders traditionally wear brightly colored clothing marked with clashing greens, yellows, and reds, a display of one's wealth and status if one could acquire such an array of dyes. When in their teens, young Islanders will wear clothing like that of Neuphaniards and reject the ways of their ancestors, choosing a style of clothing like humans or those of Jade descent.

Today, Islanders are judged on their appearance in a similar manner to those of the mainland: fair skin, slender frame, and lighter hair and eyes. However, they also retain traditional standards for men and women, which include tribal markings and tattoos, as well as traditional hairstyling. Not many men can grow beards, but those that can often do.

### Family life

Most people in the Baerisian Islands subsist off the land, which means farming, fishing, hunting, and gathering fruits and vegetables. However, in places like Little-Saffron that are close to the cities, craft goods and artisinal works are more commonly produced.

Islanders often take siestas during the day, especially around noon, due to the heat. Work begins very early in the morning, before the sun comes up, and continues late into the night.

The relationship between Islanders and the animals around them is strong, about as strong as with other Islanders. They allow small thunder-lizards to enter the home as if they were guests, though carnivores are less welcome in most places. Birds are also important to their culture, with falcons being a symbol of duty and perceptiveness, and eagles embodying their spirit for adventure.

Islanders have very large families, considering cousins and aunts and uncles as important to a family unit as children or parents. Grandparents are very involved with the raising of children, and Islanders will support family members to the point of inconveniencing themselves or forgoing basic luxuries.

Depending on the island fief of origin, Islanders will have different rites of passage for their young adults. The Betel-Brood, most notably, will force young men and women to be repeatedly bitten by poison-fangs, or raptors, in their youth to develop a resistance and even immunity to their poison. Among those of Morrow-Moon, being able to craft and use their own poisons to down a large thunder-lizard marks one's entrance into adulthood. In Little-Saffron, the young have a safer go of it, with a festival commemorating their twentieth year and transitioning them into adulthood.

For the children of chiefs, there is a different story. Up to their teenage years, a young chief-to-be must survive in the unforgiving wilderness on their own for several years, alone, to speak to the spirits of the wood before returning home; they will only be allowed home when they have spoken to the Great Spirit. How this is determined varies widely between tribes.

Pregnancy is a sort of unceremonious affair, with indifference towards the mother and child even after the child is born. However, when the baby makes it to their second year, a feast is declared by the *barisay*, and the child is named in a ceremony fitting to their character and the chief's visions. An actual birth is only attended by a midwife and the woman giving birth.

After a child is born, the woman is expected to rear the child, though with assistance from the grandparents who often live with the family. Children at four years of age will begin their education, which includes learning their tribe's history, their beliefs, language, proper rites for worship, and how to survive in the unforgiving wilds of the Baerisian Islands. The oral tradition of the Baerisian islands is strong, but the stories themselves are more akin to children's tales than taken seriously.

Funerals are very long affairs. First, all the relatives must be present, and all must finish their grievng before the body is buried. The body is preserved using tree wax and is placed in town in a *baris* until the funeral is over. They typically last nine days, and the immediate family handles all of the proceedings until it is time to bury them in a common cemetery, which is forbidden to walk except by those burying the bodies.

The spirits of those who have passed are recognized one day of the year, when their favorite meal is cooked and presented outside their doors that night. They also believe that a butterfly that enters the home is the spirit of an ancestor who has passed.

Islander men traditionally carry a shortsword-like machete called a *bolo*, which would be used for both hunting and general use from day to day. These tools were finely crafted, and even today, they are in high demand in the Old World as practical tools and weapons. *Bolos* are permitted virtually everywhere in their society, and even required when traveling by *baris*.

### Cuisine

Families all eat together late at night, after the sun goes down and work has ended. There is only one meal a day, right before sleep, and an extended family cooks the meal together in preparation for the working men to arrive home so they can eat together. The oldest man sits at the end of the table, with the working father sitting across at the other end. If a chief is visiting, they sit opposite of the eldest male Islander.

Pork is a special food in the Baerisian Islands, as well as dairy products. During special occasions, like the celebration of the new year or a wedding, a live pig is imported and slaughtered the day of the occasion by the chief. Then, the ham is served to the eldest members, while roasted pork is given to the other Islanders. Pineapple is also a food that is only eaten during special occasions, treated as a dessert and a delicacy.

All meals are served on top of rice, and there is no concept really of different courses of meals. Vegetables, fruits, and meats are all brought out at once, and such foods can be eaten at the discretion of the guests. However, it is usually considered rude to eat the more expensive food first. Islanders make special accommodations for taller guests, usually having a larger chair tucked away in case they have a much taller humanoid guest.

Though most Islanders drink water gathered from one of their many artesian springs, a special palm wine is made for the working men of the family, though indulging too much in alcohol is believed to bring a curse upon the family and attract malevolent spirits.

Tribes at war with one another will engage in cannibalism as a sign of respect for the other tribe's warriors. A great warrior slain in battle will be brought back to have his heart and liver consumed by the chief and the warrior who slayed him. A chief slain in battle will usually have his body completely carved up and served to the village at war with his people, a sign of their solidarity with their foes. Strangely, despite this practice, there are many animals Islanders won't eat. These include birds, thunder-lizards, insects, jungle-cats, shellfish, and fish with noticeable gills such as skates. Eating these animals is considered sacrilege and even tantamount to blasphemy.

Of all the spices and seasonings the Islanders utilize, imports of vinegar and salt are the most valued, and every household will use generous helpings of both condiments. In addition, while they do not eat river eels outright, eel sauce is prized as well and used copiously in their dishes.

### Social grooming

All Islanders greet one another with an embrace, and doing so is a sign of trust between allies and family members. When acknowledging the presence of an elder, children and young adults are obligated to put the elder's hand to the forehead and kneel before them. Working men are exempt from this.

Though greeting a man or woman is identical save for the terms used in their language, being informal with a man who provides for the household is rude and even if they are not an elder or relative, the practice of kneeling before them is expected when in their home, especially of non-Islanders.

The chief is never introduced formally to non-Islanders nor people outside of the tribe, and their name is never spoken to such people, as it is a sign of reverence for their leader and shaman. It is only acceptable to share their name with such a person if the chief has requested for their presence. Teachers, elders, and chiefs are regarded with honored titles and this title must be spoken every time the person is addressed.

It is considerably rude to not address someone when you glance at them or pass them if you know them, and a long conversation can be expected if such a thing occurs. Islanders love discussing subjects like the weather, good places to hunt, the progress of this year's harvest, and the status of their family members.

There are no limits to discussion in Baerisian culture; one's sex life, religious beliefs, and family matters are all fair game to an Islander. This can make it awkward for Islanders to have off-island guests or to travel around without knowing these limits.

Islanders use their hands and body language to talk, and gesticulate to a notable degree especially when they are excited. They also don't have a wide range of personal space, which means that incidental touching and hugs are common in their culture. They also will groom each other and brush another's hair as a token of their friendship.

Hosts of an event take their responsibilities very seriously. They will use their finest dining utensils, plates, and cups when guests are present. Sparing any expense is extremely rude, to the point of being an insult. Hosts will invite guests to sing and celebrate special events with songs, as well as offering and catering to their needs. Palm wine is the most common sign of respect for another, though it is also expected that the guest will turn some of these things down.

Guests are catered to immediately after walking through the door, and their name is announced for the household to a vocalized cheer. They are expected to stay until the host officially ends the event, only then are guests permitted to leave the household.

### Ethics and values

Insults to one's family are considered the worst swears, and won't be taken lightly. Accusing someone of being a liar is also substantial, though white lies are accepted for the purpose of being polite. Commitment to one's family comes above all other things, even their religion.

Having a large home is the biggest sign of status for Islanders, more than any precious metals which mean very little to the people of the Baerisian Islands. However, what matters most to Islanders is education. That is, having a foreign education and being literate are more valuable than anything else in their culture. Islanders with an opportunity to pursue an education are sometimes supported by an entire village or tribe to travel to the world of other humanoids. Education can ensure that a village is able to trade with outsiders more frequently, and those with an education can help bring better stability and wealth to a tribe.

Because of the necessity of covering up exposed skin in the Baerisian Islands, showing skin is something that Islanders are surprised by. Biting flies, infections, and stinging plants are common punishments for not covering up in the Baerisian Islands, so seeing people without being head to toe covered up catches many Islanders by surprise. This is not out of a sense of modesty, but fear that they will encounter disease or ailments.

Islanders are expected to be polite and though people who commit infidelity and liars are frowned upon, it is worse to be honest about such things than to lie and keep these things hidden. Thieves are a nuisance to Islanders, but because tribes are made of families, thievery is not a problem as it is more in line with sharing than open theft. If someone is a true thief, Islanders will tie them up with a *bola*, a rope tied with two rocks, and keep them tied up in the victim's home for a period roughly equal to the amount of time the item was stolen.

Promises are very flexible to Islanders, as they are usually late to gatherings and they won't fulfill a promise if they were misinformed from the start. If they make too many promises and have to break a few, they will usually simply fulfill the promise they made to their family first, or people that they trust more.

The concept of an actual government, paying taxes, and citizenship is foreign to Islanders. They follow obligations of the Old Faith, like not wasting food or making prayers to the Great Spirit, but won't necessarily be happy to share in their hard work or make sacrifices for the benefit of nobility, another concept they are unlikely to grasp in its entirety.

Though there are not traditional castes or classes of people in society, people who don't fulfill their obligations to society (like women who aren't involved with their children's lives or men who don't provide for their family) are usually exiled or at least shunned from the tribe. The same is true for people who remain unmarried past twenty-two. There is significant pressure for a family to find a partner for their children, even it means wedding them to a relative. In this case, the shame of relatives being wed is less than being unmarried.

The greatest hero of their culture is revolutionary and polymath Brimbol Courester, who was educated under the tutelage of a dwarf. He not only documented much of the wildlife and natural threats of the Baerisian Islands, but he also helped drive out Auber occupation of Morning-Cypress and freed the islands of orcish influence. Courester also helped bring standard education and oral tradition to many tribes of the Baerisian Islands.

Many Islanders want to have a place and family of their own, to be able to have "enough" and to feel comfortable. This is why they often place such a value on education and providing enough resources for their family to eventually visit the lands of men, to get an education and better their tribe.