Blackblood Culture

Introduction
Residing in the northeastern territory of Luminox which belongs to Clan Candriisif, Blackbloods as a rule do not like foreigners very much due to their history of invasions. They tend to keep to themselves.

Non-mages are viewed just the same as mages; no special privilege is granted to those attuned to magick.

Different ideas are accepted by some, though they are met with some grumbling and groaning by city leaders. The blackbloods aren’t too cosmopolitan. Work ethic and usefulness are much more important than looks.

Society
There is some social mobility, but usually the only way to move up--or down--is to fast into wealth. Many mores and sanctions exist to keep certain races, classes, and blood colours from intermingling. An attempt to fast out of your blood colour would be met with quite a bit of resistance. Eventual acceptance is a possibility, though not in all cases. It is a hard rise and a hard fall between statuses. Typically, there are two levels of the social hierarchy: Upperbirths comprised of the Rirah, Ayrw, Riragha, public servants and Keepers; and Lowbirths, which can include religious ren, merchants, traders, and craftsmen as well as healthcare professionals and mages; and finally, immigrants. The divisions are somewhat fluid, though. A status can perform any duty of the status below them without a sideways glance (i.e. an Upperbirth could be a mage or a merchant,). However, if a Lowbirth were to try and become a politician, many, many sideways glances would occur. Fasting an Upperbirth is the only real way to move up.

The blackbloods bathe religiously. They have public baths and special shops just for scented oils and soaps called Matraletin. Followers of certain deities, such as Drepida, only bathe at certain times and in certain places.

Respected occupations include all political positions save for tax collectors (Tadrilseemagh), lawyers (Yulli (Which has the same root at “thief”), and torturers (Araife). Also included are volunteers for the militia and guard, farmers, millers, masons, and teachers; hairdressers, blacksmiths/toolmakers, guards, all religious jobs, and fine artists. Hard work is valued by the blackbloods, as is volunteering for undesirable things (military duty). Most administrative jobs--censors, notaries, treasurers, jailors, executioners, and tax collecters--are seen as lazy or inefficient by the general public, though most recognise their ultimate necessity.

Their standards of beauty are simple: lean muscle and lined faces. Age is considered a blessing; popular opinion is that each line, wrinkle, and scar on your body is a story and a blessing. The longer a ren’s hair is, the higher their status. Enhancement of natural features is the only sort of enhancement not frowned upon. Features are to be kept as pure as possible, however. Female ren generally prefer to style their hair in braids, buns, or loose, while male ren prefer braids over all else. Other ren wear their hair all sorts of ways. A popular little pun is “Rarely marry more hairy.”