Regions:Hill Folk
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General Hill Folk Information
Architecture
Though their homes are absolutely simple in scope and design, Hillfolk embellish strongly with wood carvings. Their homes contain a unique symmetry and a beauty in simplicity that can only be rivaled in the sheer scale of Vandagan engineering. Everything about a Hillfolk home is perfection: spartan, smooth, absolutely neat. Everything of use, but for carved furniture, is stored out of sight, and the upkeep of a Hillfolk home takes many hours a day. The only thing that is not elegantly simple about a Hillfolk home is the wood carving. Ornate wood carvings border every surface, excluding only walkways in the center of the floor (which is to say that even floorspace near walls has relief carvings). The few churches present are the most elaborately carved, with intricate and detailed facades and niches in evidence over every space of wall.
Interestingly, the Hillfolk have the most advanced version of shutters, which open and close inside the box of their frame. Windows stay open during the summer months, while they are covered with draperies of heavy furs to block out the winter chill. Every home has a stone fireplace, and given the open floorplan of a home with normally one huge room functioning as family space, kitchen, bedroom and crafting workspace, only one fireplace is necessary. Floors are uniformly of laid and polished wood.
Climate
Some people assume the hills to be quite frigid, but this is far from the truth. Spring, Summer and Autumn are actually quite pleasant. In the lower elevations and valleys, temperatures can match those of Lithmore in the summer, and even in the mountains the sun is hot. In the winter, temperatures rarely drop to deathly cold, save the mountaintops. The highest peaks can get snow year-round, although it is incredibly rare in the summer months. Instead, those are the time when wildflowers make a showy and colorful entrance. The mountainous character of the hills is responsible for spectacular differences in the weather. It is very common to move from a cold, cloudy and rainy landscape to a beautiful clear blue sky with hot sun in just a few minutes.
Customs
Body Decoration
In general, things most attributed to Hillmen are body art, whether through painted tattoos or piercings and other modifications, and elaborately braided beards. One can easily tell a man's status by the length of his beard and the intricacy of its braiding. Despite the stigma of body modification, it's fashionable for men and women to tattoo their particular craft or livelihood upon their upper arms and back. This is especially true for Laborers, whose only property is their own bodies, who are fond of a tattoo's permanency. Body modification is only forced upon outcasts. As in the civilized world, Outcasts are branded so that the truly repugnant of them might contain an entire tapestry of brands depicting his conduct - convenient for religious ceremonies, where Outcasts are paraded around on leashes like animals.
Namings
A Hillman name consists of three elements: the name given by the father and mother, jointly, to the child; a name given by the father; and a name given by the mother. Following these three names is the typical suffix, "of Clan X," which references the father's clan name. Through this naming process the child at once belongs to both his parents and to each parent separately. If, or more correctly when the parents separate, the memory of their union lives on through the child's first, and most commonly used, name. Hence, Hillmen have no "last names" or family names, for parents may choose any name they wish. And while the Priests record all births and deaths, this might appear incomprehensible to an outsider.
Wedding Customs
Given the lack of comprehension or acceptance of the sanctity of marriage, there are little to no wedding customs. If a couple cares to be together, they quite simply live together, and leave when they are ready to part ways. When told of more elaborate affairs or the practices of wedding jewelry, they are more likely to respond with a scoffing over the waste of time and money.
Education
Education as Lithmorrans understand it, is a practical non-issue amongst the Hillfolk. While no one is actually taught the basics of reading, writing or arithmetic, the hillpeople can no wise be considered ignorant and stupid. They typically have keen minds with a firm grasp on how the world works. Their children learn the necessary life skills from working side by side with their parents: crafts, weapon crafting, cooking, hunting, and the art of warfare. Children are expected to be attentive at all times to their parents and learn from modeling of proper technique.
The only exception present is that Davite missionaries and few clergy in the few assorted actual churches receive at least a base education in how to read, write, and Davite philosophy.
Faith
Though the regions of the western hills have no formal diocese and almost no established churches, the Davite religion still has a strong presence in some regards as the concept of the creator and protector deity of the Lord of the Springs seems a mesh of old clan legends and tales spun by missionaries to the Hills. Saints and demons are almost entirely ignored in Hill culture, and clan elders are often "recruited" into the Davite priesthood, considering their experience in dealing with the customs of the local Hillfolk. When this occurs, there is inevitably some mixing between extant oral tradition and the simplified version of the Order's teachings-the Hill sect of the Order is easily among the least pure, but its adherents are easily the most faithful of any region on Urth. Yet the tradition of passing the collection plate is often minimized or ignored due to the relatively low wealth of the region. Overall, the Holy Order generally sees this region as something of a throwaway, and except when they wish to test a new member or put a troublesome one far out of the way, the hill folk are mainly left to minister to their own spiritual needs.
Fashion
Hillmen value practicality and wear what they can trap. This includes furs of all kinds and animal skins, although the image of a mountain man wearing a bear upon his back is ultimately misleading fashion, in the modern term, is immaterial to utility, which the men of the Hills care about. Thus, heavy skins are appropriate in the cold winters. But during the summer months, when it's warmer, the Hillmen wear spun cotton and other light cloth, either woven themselves or traded for.
While adamantly religious, Hillmen are oblivious to any sense of fashion or even to a strict sense of modesty if it's hot out, both men and women bare their skin, as much as necessity requires. No moral question touches their mind, though they do not tend to go nude for any reason, being prudish about the female breast and the genitals of both genders.
Clothing is simple - a leather tunic belted at the waist and loose leather pants with furs or other garments thrown over the shoulders and belted down as well, as necessary. Hill folk tend to eschew cloaks, preferring instead capes overlaid with fur, and often wear suede and soft leathers.
Family
Fiercely independent, the Hillmen barely have a concept of 'family' as it is known in the rest of the kingdom. Children tend to leave the home as early as possible and maintain little or no contact with their siblings. This makes things easier for the parents, resulting in extremely high birthrates that vary wildly from region to region (as low as six, or as high as thirteen). Men and women can be married as early as twelve, but it is not viewed as a necessary prerequisite to procreation except by those who live in close proximity to civilized lands. Even in those areas, however, Hillmen have less of a conception of the sanctity of marriage, and illegitimate children, while still uncommon, are not looked down upon as they are in the rest of the kingdom. As most Hillmen are not Davites, the concept of "divorce" is present, but, given the lax attitude towards marriage in the first place, even those couples that do get married most often part ways without bothering to make it 'official'.
Food
Hillfolk eat what can be procured locally, with next to no imported foods or spices in use. Vegetables and melons are main staples on the table, having been raised in a small plot by the women and children of the family. Corn and potatoes are dried and ground into flour, rather than a grain product. This results in flat, fried breads as opposed to raised baked loaves. Game meats are the most likely protein to be eaten, although an overaged goat, sheep or chicken that has outlived its usefulness for milk, wool or eggs will supply the family a rare treat. Root based beers, ale, mead and water are the preferred beverages to accompany any meal, including breakfast.
Fruits, berries, some vegetables and most meats are dried for winter storage in a dugout cold hole. For winter kills, excess meat if not bartered to a neighbor, is wrapped in leaves or cloth, and buried under the snow, effectively freezing it for later use. Children eagerly anticipate a meal consisting of a thawed meat and a flatbread made with a handful of dried berries, spread with a goodly amount of soft goat cheese, then rolled into a handheld treat. It is worth noting that utensils are in infrequent use at best, and meals are eaten with ones hands, or drank from ones bowl.
Information about Hill Folk Herbs and Spices
Hillman Appearance
Most Hillmen are swarthy in nature, dark haired, dark eyed, and shorter than the other regions.
Morals
Hillman society is very unforgiving, regimented and unchanging. There exists no difference whatsoever between the law and the faith in Hillman society. Having loose morals is tantamount to a crime, and while the Hillmen espouse a very primitive penal code (preferring to rehabilitate wayward members rather than incarcerate them), there exist no courts of law to settle disputes. Instead, the clan elder or head will determine punishment for infractions.
Despite this concentration of power, no Hillman lives in fear of an oppressive regime, for the elder merely interprets rules of faith. And rules of faith determine whether or not one ascends to the Celestial Temple. Thus, Hillmen fiercely believe that a man in good standing with faith (whether to the Giver-of Water or the Davite version Lord of the Springs), is ascendant; and they believe that a man judged morally lacking should repent or else suffer eternal damnation.
Strangely enough, because of these beliefs and the philosophy that man should aid his neighbor in achieving the glory of the Heavens, violent crimes in the Hills are rare. Thus, in the Hills, a traveler might see harsh penalties given out for relatively minor crimes like lying, blasphemy or quarreling with a neighbor. He might also see the convicted Hillman embracing his penalty and thanking the judging Priest for allowing him to repent, thereby saving his soul.
Despite the rarity of violent crimes, wars between clans and encampments do occur with some frequency, usually over territory, mines and farmland, although some unwritten rules apply: women, children and priests are spared the sword or hatchet of an oncoming onslaught. Often these wars, although bloody, are brief Priestly mediators on both sides devise settlements to contain the bloodshed come quickly, even as their brothers-in-arms commit heinous and brutal acts on the field of battle nearby. Hillman faith explicitly permits trial by combat as a sacred right between clans to resolve disputes. And it's this brutality and penchant for war that has trickled down into the civilized world. But in reality, overtures of peace are made before conflicts start.
Trade
The bulk of hill trade products are in the variety of hand made crafts such as pottery and beads. Furs are plenteous and eagerly desired elsewhere, allowing a trapper or hunter to make a comfortable living. Woods are sold, either as lumber or in the form of decorative wood carvings of unparalleled beauty. Sap and resins from some of those trees are also sold, usually for use in the production of cosmetics or lacquer. Being a handy and self-sufficient group of people, hillfolk are also adept at making simple weapons (such as bows and spears), which commodity is a mainstay of income for many communities, although it has dropped off somewhat with the cessation of active warfare against the Daravi.
