Weekend Fashion Challenge (14,15,16)

[Vanguard]

Fashion Challenge

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For this weekend’s writing challenge we shall be delving into our inner fashionistas! While it is true that each region and city have their own styles of fashion, there are those that either upset the status quo or pave the way with a new trend. Whether they’re tailors, jewelers, or a regular citizen that just had a crazy idea, people make efforts to create a trend for a multitude of reasons. Fashion evolves, in both small ways and big ways. Trends are made and some live on as a part of the culture, while others are very short lived.




Things to consider when submitting your new fashion ideas:

Fashion Style: (hair, clothing, footwear, jewelry, decorative pieces, etc.)

Area of Influence: (Worldwide, Regional, City, etc.)

Restrictions of Involvement: (Race, Profession, Social Status/Caste, None, etc.)

Inventor’s Name:

Year of Introduction:

Still in Fashion: (Y/N)

Summary of Fashion Introduction (500 word Minimum)

Each PC can submit a maximum of 3 entries. The contest closes at 9pm PST Sunday, September 16th. Afterwards a poll shall be opened to vote for the best Fashion Style submitted. Every participant of the contest will receive a prize, and a special Grand Prize will be given to the PC that submitted the most popular Fashion Style! Remember, try and make your fashion lore friendly!

Good Luck to you all!

[Kynier]

Olsten Mask

Fashion Style: Holiday Mask

Area of Influence: Sunberth

Restrictions of involvement:
Worn only on the 1st of Spring.

Inventor’s Name: Odessa Mog

Year of Introduction: 482 A.V.

Still in Fashion: Yes

Summary of Fashion Introduction

Olsten the Giant was well known for his physique and the tales have often been exaggerated over the fifty years since his death. And though he was a large man, he also had a large heart. One that he shared with Odessa Mog. She suffered through the oppression of Obal Causten’s reign over Sunberth, finding what little pieces of joy she could in Olsten’s presence. Joy which had blossomed into love only to turn into bitter anguish when Olsten sacrificed his life so that the mage cult leader could be slain. Odessa never loved anyone after Olsten and gave birth to no children.

Both before and after the rebellion, Odessa was a wood carver. Her small frame made her unsuitable for manual labor during the oppression but that did not excuse her from enduring a slave’s work load. For the rebellion she carved improvised weapons for the oppressed. Small stakes with sharp tips that people could conceal and get close to the mages as well as their collaborators inconspicuously. In the midst of the chaos following Causten’s demise, Odessa acquired a job assisting a carpenter to smooth out and shape wooden surfaces to have finer details.

In the time that followed the Giant’s death, Odessa became withdrawn and detached. Having so strong a love for the man she felt no one and nothing could fill that void. It was worse during the days leading to the first day of every spring. Her employer was the one that would provide the wooden effigy of Olsten to be burned on the Slag Heap, and Odessa was the best at carving the features of the hero in the wood. Always she stood with the rest of the city but felt great sorrow rather than elation as the effigy burned each year. Watching something that she took great care in each year to resemble her great love be destroyed, wore down her spirit.

When the thirteenth anniversary approached, Odessa felt she could burden no more sorrow. She tried to kill herself only to discover how cowardly she was. With no reason to live and no courage to die, she wallowed and wished she had died with the Giant. That she could burn on the Slag Heap with his effigy. So she took a long scrap of extra wood and carved it into a mask for herself. One with many divots crevasses in the surface. She painted it over with black paint before coating it with fiery hues of red and orange. The first Olsten Mask was of very basic design and color. And she wore it to every effigy burning for the rest of her life.

Others at the burning would question the masked woman about it. “I wear this mask so that I can feel as though I’m burning with him.” Not knowing the woman or her relationship, the denizens of Sunberth took to the idea with enthusiasm. Olsten Masks of different sizes and fiery patterns were made by others over the years. Gradually, it was so popular that merchants would begin to sell Olsten Masks in the days prior to the annual celebration for five gold mizas each. Most commonly the masks are made out of wood and painted. More elaborate masks are made with fabrics or silks and embroidered or even encrusted with precious stones like rubies and diamonds. Some of the most expensive Olsten Masks sell for hundreds of mizas, and the cheapest for one miza.

As each year passed, the reason for the Olsten Mask’s origin was lost. Now it holds as symbolism among the natural citizens of Sunberth. That each of them have the spirit of Olsten the Giant and would die to break free from someone else’s rule.

[Madeira Dusk]

Insect Jewellery

Fashion Style: Jewellery

Area of Influence: Eyktol

Restrictions of Involvement: Social Status

Inventor’s Name: Akilah re Bisret

Year of Introduction: 515

Still in Fashion: Yes


Summary of Fashion Introduction

Akilah re Bisret was an artist, and Ahnatep, known for hedonism and its vicious social climb, was her canvas. Young, hot-headed and with a knack for social commentary, her art (mostly painting and sculptures) often pushed the envelope with its criticisms of the higher castes. Nothing was safe, but the aristocracies pride, conformity and adherence to social dogma were her favourite topics to dismantle.

But biting at the heels of the people above her eventually led Akilah to creative stagnation, since as the aristocracy didn't change, neither did she. Eventually she came to believe that the visual medium was what was limiting her. To grow her art she had to become her art. So she did.

First she made her fabulous dresses, cut on the razor edge of high fashion, out of sailcloth and burlap. The rouge on her perfect lips was blood and clay. Her hair achieved its illustrious shine with pig fat. Everything that she wore in a true and beautiful reflection of the high caste's fashion was scraped together from things even the poorest beggar could find. And to crown it all was her favourite piece, a proud tiara made of green iridescent beetles.

This look got all the shock and attention Akilah craved, and soon her more traditional commissions became highly sought as her infamy rose. To keep ahead of the shock she began experimenting with her look, from wearing snails in her hair to scarabs around her wrists, to a necklace of live, wriggling larva like a string of pearls. In time her supporters began to emulate the most eye-catching of her ensemble as a show of support for her social view. Eschewing all traditional types of jewelry, they began wearing bugs, arachnids, larva and all types of disgusting crawling creatures like precious stones.

Yet the more people were wearing the bizarre accessories, the more they're seen, and the more they're seen, the more they're emulated. Every person who saw the attention-grabbing fashion and adopted it for themselves spread the message thinner and thinner. Eventually the ironic message was lost, and one day Akilah woke up and realized to her horror that she had started a fashion trend.

Once the lower class was in the grips of the disgusting trend, it grew as all fashion does, with a battle of showmanship. Bigger and better bugs were sought after to make bigger and better jewelry. Rare and foreign insects began to sell in the markets for ridiculously inflated prices. Soon the more common bugs were lacquered, dotted with gold leaf, or dipped in powdered quartz to keep up with the elevation. Within a year the lower classes were forced to abandon the fashion as the price lifted out of their reach, and it was subsequently adopted as a symbol of wealth in the middle class.

A popular courtesan in the garden of concubines is the one credited with delivering the trend to the upper class. But she took it a step further, and instead of dressing up insects to look like jewels, she simply dressed up jewels to look like insects. And just like that the fashion came full circle. From gold hair nets that looked like snails, to jewelled bracelets that looked like scarabs, to pearl necklaces shaped like larva. Its popularity had exploded, with most if not all of the higher caste having at least one piece of insect jewelry to show off. It is said the wife of the richest man in Ahnatep wears a much envied and admired piece; a tiara of glorious emeralds in the shape of beetles.

Akilah re Bisret remains in her artists studio and weeps for the irony.

[Raeyn]

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Kalean mourning jewellery
Weekend fashion challenge

Fashion Style: jewellery & decorative pieces

Area of Influence: Most popular in Lhavit, appears almost exclusively in Kalea

Restrictions of Involvement: None

Inventor’s Name: Gaija Dusk

Year of Introduction: The year of 398 AV

Still in Fashion: Yes

Summary of Fashion Introduction: Gaija Dusk had always boasted a large family. Along with her husband, by the time the woman hit her early thirties, they had already three healthy beautiful daughters age 8, 6 and 5 running around with another baby on the way. Thus it was not only a shock to the Dusk family but to the entirety of Lhavit when in the early spring of 398AV the eldest girl succumbed to whooping cough that eventually took her life.

It became public knowledge that the Gaija Dusk fell into a deep state of inconsolable grief, so much so that she had completely shut herself in the Dusk Tower away from the public eye. Even her husband and children saw little of her, in the few days following the untimely passing of her eldest daughter. Unable to part with the child, Gaija commissioned the finest artists in Lhavit to paint her many post-mortem portraits, in an attempt to have the girl's presence linger in the tower even after the burial celebrations came to pass. But all it ever served was for her mother to close herself off even more from society, never taking her eyes off the paintings.

In the fall of that year two more Dusk children lost their lives to pox. And the same would happen. Maddened with grief Gaija Dusk had more and more portraits made until walls alone could not hold all the heavy canvases she had found herself in possessions of.

Her family steadily grew more and more worried for the tender hearted young mother who precluded herself from social functions, family meetings and even daily activated she loved in the past. They'd beg her to retire from her self created prison of paintings that her chambers had become but no matter how much she wished to she could not possibly bare to part with the only things she had left of her children. But one day, an idea had come to her that seemed just mad enough to work. With the help of the most skilled artisans in the city, she had a teeny tiny copy of one of her favourite portraits of her daughters made. One just a little bigger than the size of a thumb nail. That little painting was then laid into an incredibly ornate pendant, sandwiched between glass and gold. With this around her neck, Gaija Dusk had found herself once more able to leave the seclusion of her rooms for every time she grew sad, she had the precious memory of one of her daughters with her at all times.

Suffice to say the trend caught on, first with young mothers who'se children came to their untimely passing, then with anyone who'se grief for their loved ones became too much to bare. Over the years, even after Gaija herself was no longer on this mortal plane, designs of what became widely known as 'mourning jewellery' became more intricate and ostentatious. The larger and more decorative jewellery the greater one's longing - so the locals said. The jewellery came to take many forms, though glass pendants are still the most popular kind, Lhavit's people also took to broaches and even massive signet rings.

It is customary for these pieces of jewellery to be passed down though generations and some of the richer families even have entire rooms in their homes as dedicated shrines to their family tree in absence of traditional grave sites in Lhavit. In addition to that the customs of creating the jewellery have wildly changed over the centuries. Whilst the older pieces still bear the faded paintings of the deceased, more modern versions contain locks of hair, teeth or bones.


*Boxcode by Allassanachassanya

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[Sollys]

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Wood and Resin Jewellery
Weekend fashion challenge/color]

Fashion Style: jewellery, decorative pieces

Area of Influence: Wind Reach

Restrictions of Involvement: None

Inventor’s Name: Daerni & Faralin

Year of Introduction: Some time during 450AV

Still in Fashion: No

Summary of Fashion Introduction:
The ideas for this kind of jewellery were many decades and many lifetimes in making. One of the first recorded instances of somebody creating jewellery with something suspended inside was an Avora artisan named Kviss, in Wind Reach, who placed dried flowers inside of tiny burbles made of blown glass that hung on long chains. And though beautiful to look at, those pieces were incredibly fragile and prone to breaking which did not mesh well with the rough and tumble lifestyle of the Inarta. Suffice to say the trend never caught on.

Many would take the same idea and experiment with this idea but nothing really worked. When they made the walls of the glass pendants thicker they also became heavier and more cumbersome. Placing flowers into hot glass made them burn away and the final product be less than appealing to look at. It was a brief trend that came and went and was quickly forgotten about.

Who'd have thought it that a new kind of jewellery would come not from the fine jewellers and craftsmen of the city but a woodworker. The story as once told by the man himself, Daerni, goes like this:

He'd been out in the Unforgiving, close to the city of Wind Reach with his friend Faralin, looking for the finest trees to select for some projects they were working on. Little did they know they were going to stumble upon something in nature that would awaken their wildest imaginations. According to Daerni it was Faralin who had found this specific tree, but should one have been lucky enough to hear the story from his counter part before his untimely passing, he used to claim it was Daerni who made the discovery. Regardless of specifics the men had come across a tree that wept strange thick amber liquid and inside that liquid there was a single moth, trapped and frozen in time. Taken by this wonder the men gathered the resin over days and days. They learned of it's properties, how they could suspend things in it and how once solidified the thing was tough as a rock.

They developed a method of creating panels of amber resin in which they suspended flowers both living and dried as well as feathers, glass beads and any other decorative elements. They would insert these panels into the furniture they created, and soon enough became widely known and popular though out Wind Reach due to their unique signature.

Those who'se grandparents remember the time their business boomed would tell you, that these pieces were very rare and extremely expensive. And the demand for them was great. Little is known of the causes but at the height of their amassed fame, Faralin passed away. Being the better furniture maker of the two, he left Daerni unable to carry out these massive commissions alone and no one he tried working with afterwards could rise up to the man's expectations set before by his dead counterpart.

And so a few years later Daerni came back to creating decorative pieces of wood and resin but this time on a far far smaller case. He began to create jewellery in which the resin inlay would take centre stage, with wood of the same tree accenting the edges to give the whole thing a beautifully crafted, natural finish. His art evolved over the next decade from more traditional shaped to ones completely inspired by nature, taking far more organic qualities.

Eventually Daerni too died, taking the secret of his craft to the grave with him. The jewels he's created, unlike the furniture, have withstood the test of time whoever and are said to be extremely expensive, should one be lucky enough to get their hands on it.

*Boxcode by Allassanachassanya

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[Haneht]

Scarification/"Beauty Scars"

Fashion Style: Cosmetics
Area of Influence: Worldwide
Restrictions of Involvement: None
Inventor’s Name: Diwal Sita
Year of Introduction: 200 AV
Still in Fashion: Yes

Scarification is the blemishing/scarring of skin, especially prominent in use amongst devout warriors and hunters, men and women alike. The skin is wounded and left to heal, and new scar tissue forms markings not unlike tattoos. From simple to elaborate, intricate carvings, flowers to claw marks, these scars are supposedly meant to tell a story of their own.

While rumoured to have existed even before the Valterrian, Scarification was initially engaged in only by the Myrians, who saw their battle scars as medals of honour and testament to their prowess. Some used them as a display of how many enemies they've defeated. Diwal Sita formidable warrior with great love for adventure, arrived in Falyndar in the year 200 AV. Despite the hostility and distrust she was shown, found the Myrians to be a marvel and stayed a little longer than most outsiders would usually be willing to. During her stay, Diwal studied and learned of their ways, and noticed that they wore some of the most fearsome decorations ever known. Shorn scalps, bones, teeth - fascinating and morbid displays of their triumphs and battles, accessories rich with history and victories. They were also surprisingly skilled tattooists, and it was their inkwork that initially appealed most to the battle-seasoned Diwal, who sought to acquire one or two of her own to cover the worst of her many scars.

It was on that exact endeavour where Diwal learned to love her body, rather than be ashamed of it. The Myrians saw a veteran, a seasoned fighter whose scars told of her countless battles and the woman's strength. Each was a lesson learned, win or lose, and Diwal was shown how to wear them with pride.

When Diwal left Taloba in continuation of her ventures to the rest of the world, the teachings of Myri's proud tribe were carried with her, close to the warrior woman's heart. Scars began holding more significance, more meaning, and no longer self-conscious, she found herself carving stories into her skin like the tattoo artists of Taloba, only without pigment. For each significant challenge she overcame or each enemy slain, she added a new mark if there wasn't already one, or beautified and enhanced an existing mark. Diwal's reputation as a skilled warrior brought much attention to her wherever she went, and aspiring young men and women alike began adorning themselves in a similar fashion upon seeing the heroine donning intricate scars that seemed to enhance the warrior's allure. The trend picked up eventually, and soon became a form of fashion statement youths and adults alike engaged in, particularly hunters and fighters. Prominently marked areas were often the face, torso and back, where the affectionately termed "Beauty Scars" are proudly displayed on the canvas of skin. Various meanings and symbolisms were derived from the trend with the passing of time, but Diwal's intentions had been for them to represent her own personal conquers and battles. Something to take pride in, rather than be ashamed of.

Generations later, the trend remains a classic. It's not an extremely popular practice, but not quite uncommon either. Nowadays, the meaning is sometimes lost on trend-seeking youths and the ignorant, and is generally considered another form of tattooing.

[Haneht]

Stardust Embroidery

Fashion Style: Clothing
Area of Influence: Kalea & Lhavit in general, fairly uncommon beyond
Restrictions of Involvement: Slightly more costly but still affordable in Lhavit, but is considered rare/exotic outside
Inventor’s Name: Tiffa Delanova
Year of Introduction: 318 AV
Still in Fashion: Yes

Stardust embroidery is uniquely Lhavitian, where the bioluminescent properties of its plants are harnessed and used in the making of threads that shimmer in the sun and glow in the dark. These threads are a pinch more costly than your average ones, but worth the price and make beautiful additions to fabric.

Originating from the Gem of Kalea, Lhavit, Stardust Embroidery is the lovechild of a talented alchemist and seamstress. The idea for these glowing garments came about when the seamstress Tiffa Delanova, inspired by both the city and the glowing fauna of Alheas Park, took it upon herself to create a thread that was reflective of the Gem of Kalea's beauty. Her husband, Donathen, was a studious and enthusiastic practitioner of the discipline of alchemy, and was very supportive of his beloved and worked alongside her. From that small spark of creativity, the seamstress and alchemist worked tirelessly, devoting themselves to the research and crafting of what would come to be a most wondrous creation. After multiple tries, the couple succeeded in harnessing a sturdy thread that glowed in the dark, aptly named 'Stardust thread'.

Tiffa put her skills with the needle to good use, fashioning garments with beautiful, intricate embroidered that glowed like stars at night. It became especially popular with ladies, and a must-have for Lhavit's Star Festivals. Garments fully made of Stardust thread was not feasible, mainly because it was costly of material and the threads required alchemy to make, if one's eyes could somehow tolerate the overkill of a fully glowing dress. They grew to be a popular household name within the city, and wealth trickled in very quickly, thus boosting her business and Lhavit's trade economy.

Stardust embroidery was initially Tiffa's specialty, where much later on in life, she turned it into a family business and was succeeded by her children and their own children after them. The Delanovas' handiworks eventually became part of Lhavit's staple trade goods. Most denizens of the skyglass city would've heard of it and may even have some, but the thread itself is not easy to craft right and is therefore fairly costly. More so, when only Lhavit has the necessary plant material to craft it. Outside, Stardust threads sell at a much higher rate, and are highly sought after by the wealthy. They are impossible to recreate by outsiders, and the secret to doing so is jealously guarded. There can only be so much produced as well without the risk of overharvesting and throwing the ecosystem out of balance, although there have been greenhouses built that simulate the natural conditions of Alheas Park to a remarkable degree as mitigation measures.

In present times, the demand is ever present, and the making and embroidery of Stardust threads remains only a Delanova trade. It's not uncommon for a Lhavitian bride or festival-goer to be seen with glowing designs and motifs at night, or for cloaks to be detailed with them as well, whereas more common uses are found in embroidered ribbons, scarves and accessories that are much more affordable than clothes.

[Kynier]

Weapon Tassels and Medallions

Fashion Style: Weapon Decoration

Area of Influence: Worldwide

Restrictions of involvement: None

Inventor’s Name: Halaes Tybned

Year of Introduction: 1,798 B.V.

Still in Fashion: Yes


Summary of Fashion Introduction

After the Suvan Wars, the Alahea Empire’s economy entered a slow decline over the next two thousand years from which it never recovered. While dozens of rulers of the Nymkarta Dynasty dedicated their reign to trying to halt and reverse the secret economic crisis, there were a few that only assisted in accelerating the process. One was Kelos Nymkarta who ruled for a very short period. Kelos was a hedonistic ruler and sought to spread the pleasures to the rest of the empire.

Each year of his rule he hosted tournaments for both mages and warriors alike, seeking to display Alahea’s strength to the masses in a way that was entertaining. In 1,798 B.V. Emperor Kelos held a tournament for Knights and proclaimed the prize would be the finest sword ever crafted by the Alahea Empire. Then he commissioned the royal blacksmith to forge a sword fit for more ceremonial purposes rather than a weapon meant for augmentation of Magecraft. Halaes Tybned wasn’t pleased with the purpose of the commission, knowing the weapon would have to be the most opulent he ever made to disguise its not magical qualities.

So the royal smith forged the weapon. He engraved the blade, filled the creases with silver and gold, covered the handle with the finest velvets, and many other little things to make it more attractive to the eye. Then he added a decorative feature that had never been utilized before. Halaes added a short gold chain that was attached to the bottom of the pommel. The chain itself was only four inches in length. But at the end of it he attacked a medallion with the Alahea Empire’s royal crest engraved upon it. The medallion served to catch a bystander’s eye when the weapon was sheathed.

The tournament itself was like any other that Emperor Kelos held during his eleven year reign. And the ceremonial blade was ill-suited for combat yet was revered by other blacksmiths in the kingdom. It was expanded upon with different forms of decoration by other smiths as time passed. Poorer smiths with less skill and resources would attach a small tassel made out of fabrics or even ribbons. Others would use feathers or furs from animals. Weapons crafted as part of organizations or lineages would have their heraldry etched into the medallion. Before the Valterrian, sometimes the tassels or medallions would be enchanted with Animation or other eye catching magic.

It wasn’t a practice limited to swords either. Fabrics, long lengths of chain, or feathers would be attacked at the end of a halberd or spearhead. It was rumored that some mages would attached lengths of Djed-Wire to the ends of their arcane staves. But the implementation of decorating weapons in this fashion eventually spread all over the Alahea Empire and even into Suva. After the Valterrian it became less practiced but wasn’t completely lost. Some weapon smiths still know how to craft fine chain or simpler materials to be attached to weapons in this ancient fashion.

Decoration	Price
Fabric StringMade out of Linen. Can be made out of other materials listed under Clothing Materials in the Price list by appling the price modifier	5 sm
Metal ChainMade out of Iron. Can be made out of other materials listed under Different Weapon Materials in the Price list by appling the price modifier	1 gm
Colored Tassel	3 gm
Leather Tassel	8 gm
Silk Ribbon	15 gm
Colored Silk Tassel	75 gm
Iron Medallion	5 gm
Steel Medallion	10 gm
Silver Medallion	60 gm
Gold Medallion	90 gm
Skyglass MedallionRarely used. And even more rarely found in regions beyond Lhavit.	200 gm
Cold Iron Medallion	45 gm
Isurian Steel MedallionRarely used. Apply for HD approval first	200 gm
Medallion Etching	50 gm

[Mauriel]

Horn Jewelry

Fashion Style: Jewelry - Hair Decoration

Area of Influence: Worldwide

Restrictions of Involvement: Ethaefal, applicable Kelvic

Inventor’s Name: There were many simultaneous inventors worldwide, because the idea is pretty simple. Erihiya from Alvadas is often credited for the last resurgence of the fashion.

Year of Introduction: 53 AV

Still in Fashion: Y

Summary of Fashion Introduction:

There's not much to be said about the introduction of horn decoration, as it's a pretty simple idea in and of itself. Many a Ethaefal have spontaneously started to put earrings or even necklaces on their horns, and sometimes even interweave their hairstyle or other jewelry with these decorative elements. It has been in and out of trend since the dawn of time, as far as mortal beings are concerned.

While this decorations constantly look fashionable in some places where they fit the overall aesthetic or digress from it satisfyingly, they're not easy to come across custom-made because the market for them is really small, so many people resort to just improvising with other jewelry. This, along with the sacred view of their horns many Ethaefals hold, is the main reason why they're not often seen.

The most recent reintroduction, however, in late 517 AV is of note. Erihiya from Alvadas is an old Ethaefal who's in love with the city and its morphing nature and who loves the craft of illusions. Having lived in Alvadas for her whole Leth-gifted life of several centuries, she's endlessly amused with the city and claims that if anyone can get bored of Alvadas that just means that that person isn't interesting by themself. In her long time there, she became a priestess of Ionu, well known as one of his favorite followers, and has been trying to please him further ever since, regularly setting up elaborate and fun illusory experiences for the denizens of the city. She staged a huge city-wide play in which she appeared with her horns decorated in jewelry, though everyone somehow managed to see a different decoration. They didn't immediately notice, as nobody thought much of it, but as the night unfolded the decorations everyone saw started to resonate with the experiences the city was crafting for them, whether visually or through some sort of symbolism. That's when they started telling stories to each other and noticed that they had vastly different memories of the decorations themselves. It remains unknown whether this was some powerful form of hypnotism, mass hysteria, placebo effect, or modification of one's own memories, or whether Erihiya truly managed to bend the city to her will that night. She has not been seen since, which has just aided in the spread of the story.

Since the event transpired sometime during late Winter, it has relatively recently (as of Fall 518 AV) reached other cities, and is yet to be retold in faraway ones. However, people seem to readily accept the trend, enticed by the story, and even bug the local Ethaefal with the story when they happen upon them, as if wanting them to adopt it only to get a glimpse of that famous night.

As a response to all of this, some jewelcrafters have started making custom-made Ethaefal horn decoration and headwear, especially in hubs where the race is a bit more common, like Lhavit. As the initial enthusiasm goes away, it'll be increasingly less profitable to make them in large quantities, much less spend a lot of time designing them if you're only going to make small quantities of it. Currently, however, business is flourishing, with merchants buying them out and introducing them into various cultures along with the enticing story.

[Kelski]

Earring Cuff Kill Counts

Fashion Style: Jewelry

Area of Influence: The City of Sunberth

Restrictions of Involvement: Gang Members

Inventor’s Name: Jaren Joander

Year of Introduction: 497 A.V.

Still in Fashion: Yes

Summary of Fashion Introduction:

When Jaren Joander of The Sun's Birth gang was fifteen years of age, he was involved in a rather significant gang brawl in what is now considered lost Sun Birth territory. In that event, it is said he honed his rapier ability to expert and killed five high ranking Night Eyes in flat out one on five battle. At that point, to commemorate the event, Jaren had a jeweler craft him five gold cuffs of a small diameter and then pierced his ear at the upper rim to commemorate his kills. Since then, the act has caught on and a multitude of Sunbirth's gang members walk around sporting ear cuffs to denote when and where they take down rival gang members of significant ranks.

The cuffs, sometimes simple loops themselves, have meaning. Made from silver, the loops mean low level officers. Made from gold, the loops indicate high ranking members. Leaders and direct superiors beneath those leaders often call for gemstones attached to the loops or simple studs pierced through loop holes. Each ear can hold upwards of twenty loops if pierced correctly. When one exceeds this number, the loops themselves can be replaced by thicker true cuffs of the same metal the loops were. Loops are traditionally made of 22 gauge jewelers wire while cuffs replacing ten loops are made of solid metal that is pounded flat into thicker cuffs. The thicker the cuff, the more ten loop replacements the cuff is indicating. There are gang members out on the streets of Sunberth, including Jaren himself, that have one solid gold molded cuff that run the lengths of their ear lobes. These solid cuffs indicate hundreds of kills and can be encrusted with gems to indicate high ranking officers.

Anyone found in Sunberth wearing earrings in this position who are not in gangs are often greeted with outright hostility from the gang members who feel people are investing in fashion they didn’t earn the right to wear. If this is the case, they will often accost the person wearing the loops high on their lobes and cut the ears off of the offender all together. This is, of course, to send a message to outsiders to not tread on the traditions of Sunberth.

A great deal of violence has resulted over these loops and ear cuffs in Sunberth. If a rival gang member takes down an high ranking member of a rival gang and suddenly sports a new earring as a result, the hunt is on. Because while these earrings and cuffs are points of pride for the gang members, they are also high contention and draw targets on those wearing them for those seeking revenge. It is not uncommon for a person wearing a new earring due to a kill – especially a high ranking kill – to be found dead with their ear cut off at the nearest convenience of those seeking vengeance or revenge. Ears devoid of earrings but still sporting the holes that pierced them have also been used to deliver powerful messages from one gang to another once the politics and fighting between gangs heats up.