Charr family/warband headcanons:
Lore-wise, they're definitely in a weird spot. Sending cubs to the fahrar is an important part of charr culture, and has been for hundreds if not thousands of years.
And yet, a major point of conflict during Icebrood Saga, was Ryland, and the fact Rytlock wasn't around for him growing up. If we followed this exactly, it seems like parents are both supposed to be there, and not supposed to be there at the same time?
So, I wanted to write a little post about my headcanons for charr family structure and elaborate on some other, related stuff. I'll also be consolidating some stuff I wrote a while back about warbands so I can have it in one spot!
(also slight disclaimer: a lot of this is written with heavy focus on the legions so don't expect much olmakhan rep here T-T just don't have the brainworms for those guys.)
Charr Families: [The Primary and Secondary Warband] Most charr families, in the modern day, function like larger, looser warbands. A charr is expected to be loyal and take pride in both the Primary Warband, the warband formed first in the fahrar and later in the heat of battle, and the Secondary Warband, made up of blood family and those the charr involved choose to call kin.
Out of the two, loyalty to your legion and your Primary Warband will always come first, by order of their Imperator.
Gladia without a Primary Warband, are often forced to rely on family ties much more heavily, and it's not unusual for a warband to take on family members that failed to find a warband in the fahrar, or became gladia through other means.
Some warbands, the most notable of which the Iron Legion's famed Scorch warband, recruit only from kin of the current 'band members.
Of course, even if a charr is family, they'll still need to meet whatever standard is set for recruitment, unless the recruiter is particularly nepotistic, or desperate.
Charr keep track of which Primary Warbands include members of their Secondary Warband, keeping Primary Warbands that might otherwise never interact closer, and strengthening the legions as a result. Charr may be willing to fight and die for an Imperator that's as good as a stranger, but it's a lot easier when you know the warbands you're fighting beside.
[Duties of a Sire/Dam] The culture around family is making sure your legacy is a powerful, respectable one. A good Sire or Dam isn't always the one who spends the most time with the cubs, it's the one who ensures their cub turns out a contributing member of the legions.
Making sure that their cub gets into a warband is of the absolute, highest importance.
(As an example, when Olskin washed out of the Ash fahrar, his sire Korud called in a favor with an old 'bandmate, Ashbringer, and got him accepted into a Blood warband that Ashbringer was friendly with, Spine.)
Other things, like passing down skills, training them, keeping them from dying foolishly and making sure they don't drag down their primary and secondary warbands, or legion, are seen as positive but not necessary. Good signs, something that might get a charr picked first as a Sire/Dam.
Non-romantic/sexual agreements between charr that just want cubs are pretty common, both parents are still expected to do the bare minimum and help the cub find a warband.
[Rytlock Family Drama] So, using these rules/expectations, Ryland's issue with Rytlock becomes more than Rytlock simply not being around, it's the fact he didn't help with the cub's warband. That was all Crecia.
Rytlock isn't loyal to either his Primary or Secondary warband here. He's off dealing with threats that are incredibly distant, abandoning his warbands, dragging the family's reputation down- he's got a reputation as a passionate, loose canon, exactly the opposite of what a young, ambitious charr wants to live up to.
And while he definitely has his reasons, (saving the world and all) can Ryland see them? As a young charr, new centurion, tucked neatly under Bangar's wing?
Unfortunately, no.
[Who raises the cub?] Before a cub is sent to the fahrar, it usually falls on whichever parent has the better warband- since cubs can eat meat so early, whether it's with the Dam or Sire usually doesn't matter much. Both parents and their warbands helping is better, but with warbands constantly on the move, it's easier to see cubs once they're secure in a fahrar.
The better warband here can depend on a lot of different factors: size, desire to actually raise the cub, assignment, (you wouldn't want a newborn cub out in the brand) and rank. An imperator's cub, raised by their warband, is better off than a cub raised by a gladium.
Charr Warbands:
[Importance of Warbands] In my mind, warbands are so important to these guys. Just like certain animals can't be kept alone or they can develop severe stress, depression, even potentially die of lonelieness? That's the charr for me. Biologically, the charr need to live in some kind of group.
Charr that have left the legions, or were never part of them in the first place, will still gravitate towards others. The Olmakhan, for example, value the Secondary warband over the Primary.
Charr like Almorra or Rytlock, that leave the legions either temporarily or permanently, form their own "warbands". Rytlock helped found Destiny's Edge, and later Dragon's Watch. Almorra Founded the vigil.
When you're fighting charr, there's never just one.
[Structure and Logistics]
There are two different types of Primary warbands. Military, and Non-Military. It's occasionally hard to draw the line, with most things turned towards the war effort, farmers and ranchers trained to be skilled enough with rifles and blades to defend their homes.
But the primary difference lies in whether a warband is tied to a legion directly, or through the land they live and work.
For example, all of the non-military warbands living in the Iron legion controlled areas are collectively considered Iron legion, unless they say/indicate otherwise. Most retired soldiers living in the homelands of another legion will wear their old gear for this reason.
Regardless of the type, each warband has a duty to fulfill. be it frontline ground-pounders, infiltrators, cooks and ranchers, they are all needed, and are all bound by the same basic rules and structure, which include:
-Each warband graduates from the fahrar no earlier than sixteen, the earliest a charr is allowed to fight on the frontlines. -The time of graduation is determined by the fahrar's Primus, after they judge the warband ready for whatever role was chosen.
-Each warband needs at least six members, a Legionnaire, a Lieutenant, and four Soldiers, to be considered fit for duty. -This holds true for the rest of a charr's life, and applies to both military and non-military warbands, though non-military 'bands have looser structure, only needing a Foreman as the charr in charge, with five others who hold no rank. Just someone to make sure the work's getting done.
-An average sized warband can have anywhere from ten to twenty charr, numbers easy for the legions to feed, supply, and house. Any larger, and they aren't as mobile, occasionally leading to a split in the warband. (An example of this being Rytlock's Stone warband.)
[Gladium] It's an incredibly social culture. For that reason, to be gladium, to be disconnected, is both pitiful and terrifying. Most gladia are scorned, there's no doubt about that. The fear that one day, you might be like them- warsiblings, partners, kin, all of them burned on funeral pyres, is a deep, strangling one.
After all, if you are gladium, you must be defective somehow. Unable to convince anyone else to take you on. A gladium is only a gladium because they were foolish, or cowardly, or left their warband to rot.
If it were something as simple as bad luck- sickness, an accident, an ambush or battle gone poorly, then it could happen to anyone.
It could happen to you.
And that's a thought few charr can tolerate.
However, there is some hope.
A warband is always looking to grow in number, and battle-tested gladium are a valuable resource- especially for younger, inexperienced warbands. Most charr are gladium for only a few weeks to a month.
The best way to impress a potential legionnaire? Challenging them to a duel. It doesn't have to be physical, but if it proves a gladium's skill or prowess, it'll get the job done. Blood legion, in particular, favors a good duel, with many a successful legionnaire proudly sporting dueling scars.
[Civillians] For the charr, the concept of a civilian class is strange. Every adult charr is a potential threat, with claws, fangs, and the muscle to back it up, and they tend to treat other races with a similar mind.
The closest thing is non-military warbands, which I also mentioned in the Structure and Logistics section.
While they're normally run by a Foreman, whenever a officer's in need of more soldiers, they can be pressed into service. It's usually a temporary arrangement- these warbands will often come to fight regardless of whether they've been ordered- but during longer conflicts like Bangar's war, non-military warbands might be restructured or absorbed completely into the legion.
-------
[Need for a Warband] (i just had to put some ashbringer stuff in here guys it was too hard to resist)
Ashbringer is again denied her warband when she is slaughtered by Balthazar, god of Fire and War. Neither the comfort of her long-dead 'bandmates or a cool, quiet darkness awaited her in the mists.
Instead, she is hounded, stalked by enemies- some that she's killed, some that she's never seen before. She remembers slowly, though her name always stayed with her. Not the one given by her Dam, no. Ashbringer was the only name that's ever mattered much.
Sometimes she fights alone, sometimes there are others, charr that seem so familiar it hurts.
When she finds a charr chained by something far greater than iron, the incredible might of a burning titan- she is wary. This is surely flame legion, and she remembers more than enough to hate. But something stills her claws, shining over her thoughts like oil-slick on water. A name and a pale, jagged crystal are enough to convince her to challenge the titan, cleaving it apart with her greatsword.
Not a stranger, but a legendary warlord. Bonfaaz Burntfur.
Bonfaaz is charr. He needs a warband, and can see the way to get it. A clear shining path to follow. A path to power, a chance to escape, but more valuable is someone to fight in his name, lend their strength to his own, be warband. And a Commander has stumbled into his claws.
The titan's power fuels him, a great forge-fire he promises to share. Ashbringer has slain one, can't she feel it? The hunger in her blood, seething under her fur? And he can offer more. The might of the Searing, at her clawtips. He can teach it all- if she channels his spirit. She's already strong enough to leave the mists, memory returned.
Ashbringer knows what she must do, if she wants to save Aurene.
It's an easy decision, in the end.*
*She knows that she's doing almost exactly what Rytlock did, when he freed balthazar. but she's able to rationalize it.
Her body's gone, burned to ash by balthazar, or on a funeral pyre. Bonfaaz can restore it, for a price. and she's always willing to pay if it means saving tyria.
