by Dovey on February 14th, 2018, 6:38 pm
Hello all!
So. I realize now that although I want to take everyone's wishes and ideas for the Benshira into account, giving you so very little foundation to critique in the first place is not a great way to collect your opinions. According to the rules I can't update my lore outline until the proposal has been approved, but here is some miscellaneous potential content for your perusal and constructive criticism.
Agriculture
Common crops include flax, millet, vesper peas, opal berries, viper cucumbers, pomegranate, basil, rosemary, and black pepper. Hik fruit and rose hips are not crops but are commonly scavenged by travelers and the less well-off.
Acacia honey is a luxury item
Bowbacked goats are the most common livestock, followed by desert cows. Horses are valuable and somewhat rare.
On the coasts, fishing is a popular way to make a living
Nomadic Benshira plant hardy crops such as millet at their oases; tending these is the main preoccupation of a clan resting from a territorial circuit. As the crops are left alone for such long periods of time, the clans can plant only a very limited variety of crops; as such, clan Benshira live mainly on animal products and wild plants.
Cuisine
Millet is a staple.
Millet sautéed in opalberry wine is known as nightbalm, so named because of the twilight-purple tone the wine lends the millet. Tender, sweet and creamy, this is a dish popular among the lower classes due to the simple, easy to find ingredients. This dish is traditionally prepared on the winter solstice, using young wine made from berries harvested the previous summer and fall. The delicious food's association with the night adds a note of cheer to the long, dreary hours of darkness.
Holidays
Summer Festival (name TBD)
This summer holiday lasts three days. On the first day, a team of female Benshira will rush to complete an intellectual task assigned at sunrise, with sundown as their deadline. On the second day, a team of male Benshira will attempt a task of physical prowess, with the same parameters. The tasks are assigned by the city government and are unique each year. Contestants do not apply for their positions; instead, they are chosen by government officials based on their prominence in the community and their suitability for that year’s task. They may, if they wish, turn down the position. Tasks for female teams in past years have included riddle-based scavenger hunts, the sufficiently impressive composition and performance of a hymn to Yahal, and the completion of a mindbending logic puzzle. Tasks for male teams have included the retrieval of a flag atop an almost inaccessible tower, the traversal of an obstacle course arrayed throughout the city, and the flawless demonstration of a ritual dance. If both teams successfully complete their tasks, the contestants are feted with a grand feast and city-wide festival. If either of the teams fails, the whole contest is considered a failure, and the city hosts a mock funeral parade for the contestants. This is not a genuinely sad event, however, but an occasion for friendly mockery of the contestants and lighthearted self-deprecation for the city in general.
End-of-Season Ceremony (name TBD)
In an effort to combat the power of the wild djed found in the desert, city Benshira perform a ceremony which has evolved from the desert-taming rituals of their nomadic counterparts. On the last day of every season, priests and priestesses of the more reputable gods gather in the city center to pray for protection from the dangerous magic in the new season. Devout citizens join the gathering and offer their own prayers, either for protection from wild djed or for their own individual causes. The main deity petitioned is Yahal, as the Benshiran patron, but one can hear prayers said to any from Makutsi to Tyveth. At midnight, when the watchtower flares and changes color, the voices of those praying rise to a shout in a chant which honors Priskil and asks that the season be full of hope and light. After the ceremony is over, those who stayed up to attend traditionally eat a midnight dessert of spiced and honeyed bread, which is meant to represent the sweetness of the gods' protection.
Clothing
The Benshira wear long, loose robes of lightweight fabric in several layers, with little distinction of clothing between genders. Their robes are mostly thin wool, as this is the most available fabric, and it is both fairly cool during the day and keeps them warm during the desert nights.
Aesthetics
The Benshira associate expensive materials and elaborate designs with their longtime oppressors, the Eypharians. As such, their buildings are generally simple and built for practicality. Similarly, their clothing is sturdy and practical, with little in the way of frills or elaborations even where that would not impede practicality. Jewelry usually follows simple patterns and is made of common materials. However, they do love bright colors as a culture; they paint their simple buildings with joyful abstract designs, and dye their clothing in every bold shade. While the Eypharians prefer elegance, precision, and monetary value, the Benshira associate those values with the snobbishness and entitlement of those who abuse their power. Their own styles represent, for them, the simple happiness of a truly free people.
Psychology and Values
The Benshira idealize humility, and as such do not object as strenuously as many other races to loss of face or loss of glory. They even have a saying for such times: “It’s good not to mistake ourselves for gods.”
The Benshira, having been a slave class under the Eypharians, now utterly oppose slavery.
"Common" "Fratava" "Pavi" |
