Codex Discussion Thread

[Prophet]

I would like to add the following sections so feel free to add in what you can or bring up a whole new topic.

Food
Q & A -needs updated
Music?
Religion
Striders
Laws

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

With all of the varieties of plant life in the Sea of Grass, it seems to me that they would have many kinds of salads during the spring, summer, and fall, at least. Berries, nuts, sunflower seeds, dandilion leaves, wild carrots, and many other things rather than lettuce, tomatoes, and so on. But there would be all kinds of things they could use.

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[Colt]

First of all: YES AW YEAH I'M SO EXCITED.

Now that that's done, I actually do have a few ideas on music in particular. For about a year or so now I've actually been in the beginning stages of trying to write an article on a type of Drykas dance that incorporates grassland sign, but due to the *ahem* spotty record of the development forum, it hasn't been past the approval phase. But hey, maybe with a new Scribe it'll get moving!

Anyway, since half of the Drykas language is visual, I believe that it would make sense for dancing to have just as much social weight as singing. With singing, someone can just make wordless notes that sound pretty or they can sing lyrics that convey a specific story. With grassland sign, dance could be something similar; a Drykas could just dance nicely and nothing else, or they could dance and add "lyrics" to the dance through grassland sign. Maybe there could be specific "sign-song" dances that tell things like legends or history to an audience. Or maybe, with the absence of written word, sign-dancing could even be seen as a form of poetry or prose.

[Amunet]

spiritual observances and how they practice magic other than webbing.


The magic and what magic's the endrykas do not allow if any? most people focus on webbing. The drykas are a very magical people, but just as they are prejudice about outsiders, they would have strong opinions about magics and what should or should not be allowed. I am surprised that no one else practices other magics.

spiritual observances: The drykas are a very spiritual people yet there is nothing on rituals and practices. They would seek the god's signs for just about everything in my mind.

on foraging: when i finish the herbalism lore article that im developing (which i will work on after i move end of june) i will work on foraging.

Please understand the Drykas diet is very protein heavy. Kind of like the aussies. its very whole foods. Goss has said repeatedly she doesnt want a list of flora, she doesnt care for lists. Its common sense of what would normally be gathered out in a grassland type biome. Tomatoes in the wild is a nightshade plant and very well might be toxic in mizahar. They would not be cultivated out in the grassland. Tomatoes are also a vining plant that require a very high amount of nitrogen to grow. Got to think of what would be found growing on its own without any help or cultivation naturally in the grassland biome. Greens of a variety of types grow from spring to fall. The winter grounds are mild enough for some kales and chards to even make it through the first day sof winter. some fruits left on the vine that get covered by first frost or snow actualy get sweeter if you forage them after that.

That is why the drykas would practice a great deal of food storage. Winters (even if winter grounds are mildly cold) are thin with getting food. Not impossible but its generally thinner; however, if you starve on the sea of grass, you don't belong there.

[Brocton Firestone]

I believe for religious purposes, the Drykas should praise for Aquiras, since most of their culture revolves around travel. Plus, pretty much all of the Gods who have some sort of relationship with the harvesting of food as well as agricultural needs and the like. Since, of course that is what they do for survival, rely on the food populous around them?

Maybe at birth, the PCs of a Drykas would get to choose whether or not they want to have the Gnosis that grows crops (Cultivation). But, that is just a thought. It's mind of like when you play a Konti, they have the option of getting a Gnosis mark from Ra'Keli. I like Amunets idea

The dancing one sounds cool to. It'll probably be a good idea for an original dance to be ensued for celebrations. Maybe, Colt, you could create dances for each celebration, unless that might seem a bit difficult? I don't really have any information on dances myself, so I don't know if I could help with that...

[Naiya]

I agree, Seirei, the diet would surely be plant heavy, but I think even salads would have a large amount of protein, if not meat then nuts or cheese. Cheese would be a huge staple in the city, just because of the large number of cattle. I also think with all the natural grains and grain substitutes found in the grasslands, they would often feature bread.

Amunet is right, however, that Gossamer hates lists of things, so perhaps we come up with meal plans instead- in the sense of "a morning meal might consist of eggs if they are available, bread and cheese, and a small portion of meat."

Or perhaps instead "The morning meal is often the largest on non-celebratory days, usually consisting of a combination of cheeses, breads, meat, eggs, fruits and nuts."

That said, perhaps then, Seirei, a discussion we should have before we get into the nuts and bolts of what makes up typical meals is rather the eating patterns of a 'typical drykas'. Do the drykas on a regular day have a large breakfast? Would they have a small breakfast with whoever was awake at the time and still in the camp?

I personally think that a morning meal would be shared with the people who were awake, a high protein snack, perhaps nuts, cheese and meat from the previous meal, and some sort or grain in the form of oatmeal or gruel. The gist is a quick, filling snack before they go to hunt that will sit and be ready for anyone who wakes up after they leave.

Lunch would be a family affair, everyone coming together to escape the worst heat of the day. Bread, cheese, meat, fish if it's available, and vegetables, leafy greens, with a handful of nuts and grains, a salad to refresh the family from the heat. This would be the largest meal on a regular day enough food to sustain the rest of the day's labor.

Dinner is again a family meal, it would be meat again with lots of starch, leftover greens, cooked grains, usually stew, soup, or curry, things that cook a long time in enough liquid to re-hydrate the meat especially in seasons when using stored meat that has been salted, or otherwise dried. There might be a salad, or perhaps just cooked greens. Portions would be small but, enough to fill bellies.

Festive days would be an entirely different matter, the food being prepared for the feast would filched and snacked on, there would be an early meal of the usual wont, but the feasting begins early and the people go from pavilion to pavilion to graze upon the delicacies of each clan.

Or at least, that's how I imagine it.

[Amunet]

dinner is probably the largest meal considering they would eat what was hunted that day.

breakfast is a simple light matter in my opinion. porridge sounds about right with fresh berries if possible.

since they travel and live on their horse pretty much, meat rolls, fish rolls, pemmican, dried meat and fruit would be common. cheese is arbitrary. while fresh farmer's cheese is fairly quickly done, hard cheeses that take time to age might not be as common. they have to be able to pick up their home and belongings and move every few days.

what is reasonable daily meals?

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Please understand the Drykas diet is very protein heavy. Kind of like the aussies. its very whole foods. Goss has said repeatedly she doesnt want a list of flora, she doesnt care for lists. Its common sense of what would normally be gathered out in a grassland type biome. Tomatoes in the wild is a nightshade plant and very well might be toxic in mizahar. They would not be cultivated out in the grassland. Tomatoes are also a vining plant that require a very high amount of nitrogen to grow. Got to think of what would be found growing on its own without any help or cultivation naturally in the grassland biome. Greens of a variety of types grow from spring to fall. The winter grounds are mild enough for some kales and chards to even make it through the first day sof winter. some fruits left on the vine that get covered by first frost or snow actualy get sweeter if you forage them after that.

That is why the drykas would practice a great deal of food storage. Winters (even if winter grounds are mildly cold) are thin with getting food. Not impossible but its generally thinner; however, if you starve on the sea of grass, you don't belong there.

I'm a little sorry that I said anything now. I suggested salads as one possible food given the bounty of edible vegetation out in the Sea of Grass. Not once did I suggest that that was all they eat, or that they didn't eat a lot of protein. I didn't even say that salads would be the main thing they ate. I also listed a few possibilities rather than lettuce, tomatoes, and so on. I admit that I didn't know that wild tomatoes are nightshade plants, and would be poisonous. But I do know that the Drykas aren't farmers, and wouldn't be growing crops.

The things I suggested might be found in salads were also not meant to be a list. But, most of the salads I eat are made of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers - things I would not expect the Drykas to be eating. Others may think of those ingredients first as well when they think of salads. So I made a few suggestions of other things that might be included instead.

I also never suggested that the Drykas didn't store food, or that they starved in the winter. I know that that isn't the case. But in the case of the one thing I suggested - salads, I am uncertain as to how common fresh greens and such would be in winter. Since storing food often means drying it, or smoking it (not the only ways of preserving food, true), fresh ingredients for salads might be less common in winter.

I agree, Seirei, the diet would surely be plant heavy, but I think even salads would have a large amount of protein, if not meat then nuts or cheese. Cheese would be a huge staple in the city, just because of the large number of cattle. I also think with all the natural grains and grain substitutes found in the grasslands, they would often feature bread.

This is something I probably should have been more specific about. I did mention nuts as part of what they might use in a salad, but it never occurred to me that they might put meat or cheese in. And it should have.

I also love the idea of figuring out what the eating patterns are for the typical Drykas. I like your ideas on that, Naiya. Perhaps there would be some form of social stigma against those who did not join the family meals? I can imagine that at times, a crafts person might be too caught up in their work to want to stop for lunch. They might be at a crucial stage, or lost in their work to the point where they don't notice the heat until they're done with what they're working on. A hunter might be in the middle of following a fresh trail, and want to see it through despite the heat for fear of not finding it again, or not finding something else later. Family arguments might have the people involved wanting to grab something quickly and eat on their own to avoid the person/people they are fighting with. With the focus on family, perhaps someone who skips a meal with the family too often might develop a bad reputation of sorts for it?

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[Prophet]

As I'm on my phone, this will be brief with more detail to come later. Please keep in mind that this is not meant to be hugely detailed. Why? Because no one wants read 5k words on meal break downs. Also, less detail allows for more freedom in writing. Please keep these things in mind. I love the participation though.

[Amunet]

i would like to see if the Drykas have portable altars for their gods. do they have like an all god's kind of deal? do all pavilions have one?

Should there be a tent for such observances and which clan takes care of this. personally i think the sapphire tents should but thats my opinion.

what would represent each god. some wood carving? stone? would the Drykas have tattoos or adornments of whom they regularly worship or pay credence to?