We will lie in the ground together.

Project blog for The Steel Dowry

[thesteeldowry]

The betrothal of Tolp Mulgar and Naxa Uzbeg was unconventional: he 18 and she 14. However, both families were anxious to see them wed. Tolp, named as his father's inheritor, could not go unmarried, and Naxa, from a penniless family determined to see their only child in a financially secure union.

[thesteeldowry]

Olya Mikkima, of the Nikkari Chiefdom

North of the Kalari Chiefdom, the Nikkari are their closest siblings. Though they do not till and farm the divine corpse in the same way, and they live mostly on their horses—there is fondness between the two.

Olya Mikkima was a surprise to his mother, as her first son, and a further surprise to the rest of his family when he went on to gain the rank of horse marshal in the Nikkari chiefdom, and then again in the Kalari chiefdom. Of course...to do so, he had to leave his family, and divorce his own prestige from them when he decided to serve the Kalari Chief.

[morganebrewer]

Inktober 12

Dragon

The Southern Confederation of Tribes is not a force to be toyed with. Yet, centuries ago, the Altergan Kings sought glory through conquest, thinking themselves equal to their thousand machines of war, hundred ways of killing, and dozen battle princes. The tribes beat the cliffsiders on their plains and then drove north. The mountains were to costly to keep, but over decades, cities were seiged, sacked, and then burnt to rubble. When they had their fill of looting, the kingdoms were dust, and the fragile nobility sank into ruin.

[morganebrewer]

Inktober 11

Snow

Deep in winter masses of snow might trap a family inside or at least limit movement. So while eating prudently preserved food, indoor work can become priority—cleaning hard to reach corners, sewing, embroidering, felting, spinning or carding wool, repairing leather items, and drinking a lot of tea while telling stories and playing games.

Cleaning out snow is a village effort and when everyone gets organized, the stairs and walkways can be cleaned out in a day or two.

[morganebrewer]

Inktober 8

Frail

Godseye flowers are an uncommon find in the western cliffs—they grow in small pateches that receive neither too much nor too little sunlight, at the correct elevation, in the right soil. The seeds are coveted almost as much as the knowledge that renders brilliant turquoise dye from them. Those who endeavor to grow godseye in mass and sell them for a fortune often spend their whole lives in obsession, and might sooner fetch the moon from the sky.

[morganebrewer]

And

Inktober 10

Pattern

Embroidery in the western Alterga has a tradition so long that many of the old motifs and designs have forgotten origins. Most common are depictions of animals and plants, or even landscapes. Many symbolically communicate the lessons of the goddess Yevya.

Children expected to marry into another family spend endless hours decorating linens, making pillow cases, bags, cup towels, clothes, hats and shoes.

[morganebrewer]

Inktober 9

Swing

Gender expression has many conventions for men, women, and those who identify outside of that spectrum. Clothing worn has more to do with suitability to work or role within the family. A child’s gender is often assigned at birth, but considered highly changeable until they are of marrying age (16 to 20). Helping a child determine themselves as they grow is considered a vital step in securing a quality match later. Families expecting their children to marry well go to great lengths to obtain medicine or visits to surgeons in the east or south.

The term ‘red slipper’ is a common term for those who are in a state of fluctuation or in the process of determining gender expression, named for the dye-producing flower that is difficult to propagate since male and female plants need training to distinguish. Although, the self-described terms for people transitioning are more often ‘Fall one’ or ‘Spring one’, and third gender, or gender-less expression self-termed as ‘Sun one’.

[morganebrewer]

Inktober 7

Enchanted

The goddess Yevya, 8 of form, trickster, teacher, is widely worshiped in the western cliffs as a bringer of rain, a blesser of children, and a thief of the universal and divine laws. After stealing and wresting knowledge from the firmament, she turned her face downward and decided to share them with the little lives farming cliffs and raising sheep. Respect is demanded, and sacrifice appreciated, even if her blessings are double-edged.

The clusters of holy persons interpreting her laws, living in isolation or tending local crypts, are often on hand to help with major sacrifices and preside over ceremonies.

[morganebrewer]

Inktober 6

Husky

Beauty standards in the cliff are not uniform through the region, but the poems and stories do relish the description of ample forms and curving figures. Softness is much desired. Associations with wealth and being well fed, with time for leisure, can even lead to parents, arranging marriages for their children, to grow suspicious of a family’s purported prosperity if a child is lean.

[morganebrewer]

Inktober 5

Building

Farm and pastureland in the cliffs comes at a premium, so housing must be creative and frugal with space. With centuries of cliff home tradition, some of the most skilled stonemasons and carvers hail from the Alterga region.

Not only does a family have the responsibility of the home the live in, but also with the maintenance of their stairs, ladders, bridges, and walls to maintain infrastructure in such perilous housing.

[morganebrewer]

Inktober 4

Freeze

When the temperature drops in mid-fall and the first snows arrive in the cliffs, most families pull out their furs. Fox and wolf pelts grace the ends of bed to warm the feet, deer and elk are layered over blankets. Bear is favored for its warmth and the size of the pelts they give—though these pelts often sport repair stitching to cover up the way the beast was felled.

Furs are usually passed from parent to child, and can become prized family heirlooms after a couple generations.

[morganebrewer]

Inktober 3

Bait

Travelers cross the Altega cliffs alone at your own peril! The ways are narrow and confusing, the cliffs are steep and dangerous, and the locals...well they are clever.

Small fortunes have been made on duping travelers with more guts and gold than sense; and false guides with silver words and pretty eyes are the bait to many a trap.

[morganebrewer]

Inktober 2

Mindless

Cliff families are often close, and deeply loyal. The business of the family is often done in collaboration and in confidence--especially the sort of business that isnt strictly above board or legal.

A minority of cliff families are fully criminal, but those without a scheme or two can lack for clothes and food and dowrys. So it's understood that everyone might need to pitch in and keep their mouths shut, later.

[morganebrewer]

Inktober 1

Ring

For generations, married men of the cliffs have pierced their ears as a rite of passage and as a signal of their fidelity to their spouses. Commonly pierced on the day before the wedding by an elder sibling or a parent, the pins are replaced with common hoops in three months. Money allowing, many spouses gift their husbands with a nicer set on the third anniversary of marriage.

The tradition is so common in most corners of the Altega—the craggy western cliffs that sit between the plains of the Kalari and the southern tribelands—that a married man without earrings might be considered caddish, or at the very least, pitifully poor.

[thesteeldowry]

[thesteeldowry]

The Weaths have been a wealthy auxiliary family in the east since before the Second war of the Princes: skilled at balancing relations between the Chief’s blackclad nobles and Orohoan pastoralists, they are merchants and farmers, and their children know their duty to the family early in their youth.

Eldest son, K’Gali, ascended blackclad, served in the Chief’s Foot as an artillary officer, before marrying Kelna Klamat and effectively joining the two clans.

Middle son, Hemba, trained early as a licenciate, has now long represented his family’s legal rights where they lack ties to the Chief due to the family’s caste.

Youngest and only daughter, Ehkma, was named matriarch apparent from a young age. Now, as clan matriarch, she holds the Weath estate and oversees all affairs of the the land and the families of her four spouses.

[morganebrewer]

WIP Wednesday

Amaasta Fortress.