Clan of the Grove-Keepers
The Grove-Keepers consist of Hooved Ferox who resemble animals such as deer, rams, goats, moose, oxen, cattle, sheep, and horses. The clan is very welcoming to outsiders and Ferox of all kinds, so long as their naturalistic way of life is respected. Often adorning themselves with natural materials, using face paints, and intricately braiding and decorating their hair with vines and flowers, these Hooved Ferox seem to remain both spiritually and physically close to nature at all times. They believe in an ever-present duality between the “Tamed Spirit” and the “Wild Spirit”, two sides to every person which must both be kept satisfied, and thus their nature may flip between the two on any given day. They display this by how they choose to adorn themselves, with either symbols of natural beauty, such as flowers, or of wild ferocity, such as thorns and muddy face-paint. The Clan of the Grove-Keepers encompasses many individual tribes who have spread across Arcipaxos, but their core beliefs remain present throughout all their lineage.
History
With most history being recorded only through oral tradition, the early days of the Grove-Keepers are something of a mystery. The consensus is that the peaceful hooved clans were numerous and mighty enough to defend against attacks from their more ferocious Ferox neighbors, but had no interest in conquering others. There is some evidence to suggest that ancient Hooved Ferox may have crossed paths with Nymphs, after which they were able to use their help in mainly keeping themselves hidden from conflict, rather than needing to face outsiders.
As the Grove-Keepers retreated into the safety of the wilds and isolated themselves from many other clans, their method of living became to meld as seamlessly into nature as possible. Not only did they adorn themselves with natural materials, but their homes, tools, and other necessities remained highly naturalistic. Through the millennia they have remained nomadic, with their art usually reserved for things they can wear or possessions that could be carried with them, such as clay pottery, woven baskets, and intricately carved wooden handles for both stone and metal tools.
In modern decades, with industrialization and globalization removing the option to remain hidden in the wilderness, these naturalistic Hooved Ferox have begun exploring new cultures and cities. Those brave enough to face this new frontier have been embraced as generally easy-going members of their new communities, often self-reliant and capable of helping out their friends and neighbors. Because they will display openly what state their spirit is in, whether Wild or Tame, their friends find them refreshingly honest about their feelings. Those who take on more combat-oriented roles in their society, enlisting in guard forces or militaries, are often just as valued as bulky frontline soldiers as they are for being level-headed strategists. That is, depending on the mood of their spirit, of course.
Philosophy
Grove-Keeper Ferox do not deny their nature, nor their emotional needs. Instead they go the route of outwardly expressing their feelings, so that others around them can decide whether they want to engage with, or avoid them for the day. They see themselves, and their emotional states, as just another part of the cycle of nature. As the world has spring and summer, which transitions into autumn and winter, so too does every person carry the capacity to be bold and brazen or passive and calm. To deny one would be only to the detriment of the other, and so to maintain balance within the ever conflicting halves of the spirit, one must give each their own space, and venerate them with all the care and attention that they deserve.
Periods of leaning toward Tame or Wild have no set time allotment, and indeed one may exist in one state near-perpetually. However, when the time comes to shift, they must allow it to happen. Even a soldier must take time to process their own deeds, consider their motivations, assess their success, and tend to the things they love. Even a scholar must let their feelings show, stand their ground when something is important to them, and fight with passion to be heard when their voice cannot be withheld any longer. This is to say that not every spirit exists in equal measure within every person, only that both exist, and neither is more “righteous” than the other.
Most natural things are assigned a “Wild” or “Tame” label by the Grove-Keeper clan Ferox. The tables below give a general understanding of the symbols they tend to share.
| Symbols of the Tame Spirit | Symbols of the Wild Spirit |
|---|---|
| Autumn and Winter | Spring and Summer |
| The moon and stars | The sun |
| Still bodies of water, such as lakes and ponds | Sources of motion such as wind, running water, the ocean, and storms |
| Ferns and coniferous tree sprigs | Any metal, including gold and silver |
| Smooth-edged leaves of all kinds | Spiky plants and thorns |
| White and pastel-colored flowers | Bold and bright flowers in vivid colors |
| Face paint in muted or pastel colors | Face paint in bright colors, or white or black |
| Round or smooth things that occur in nature, like polished stones or berries | Jagged or hard things that occur in nature, such as sea shells, spines, tree bark, or unpolished stones |
| Dried grasses and vines | Green grasses and vines |
There is some blurring of interpretation that is acceptable for any specific item on the list, but the overall expression of one’s nature should be obvious at a single glance to their overall appearance. There is never a middle-ground, with a neutral outlook simply following whichever nature an individual resonates with more on a daily basis.
Naming Customs
Names are often gender-neutral, meant to evoke a feeling or sound that is correlated to a natural object. For example, a name meant to represent the sound of stones falling might be “Kurshak”, or the feeling of a flowing river might inspire the name “Hushanna”. Because of this, names reminiscent of water, wind, and rustling leaves often have very soft sounds. Alternatively, names that are inspired by stones, storms, and animals may have harsher sounds. Surnames are not common, though some who integrate into other cultures will adopt a name that describes the place where they were born, or a place that they feel a strong connection to. Over time, surnames made from compounded words may be shortened into a new name, such as “Winding River” being shortened to “Windivar”, or “Coral Beach” to “Corbesh”.
Common First Names: Huwei, Carlaq, Faloth, Rouck, Triss, Aamun, Ootha
Common Surnames: Flatrock, Greenwater, Twotrees, Peak, Morningmist, Cove, Thicket
Fashion and Decoration
These Ferox see nature as gender-neutral, so flowers are not relegated to feminine-presenting people. They simply represent life, beauty, renewal, resilience, diversity, and fertility. It is uncommon to see any Hooved Ferox without at least a flower behind their ear, or a sprig of berries pinned to their shirt.
To appease the Wild Spirit, Grove-Keepers will choose to decorate themselves with symbols of the natural world’s strength, ferocity, wildness, untamed nature, and unyielding presence, which serves to make them more imposing. But this also applies to wildness as an expression of fun, passion, or being carefree, thus the tendency toward bright and exciting colors.
In their clan, many Ferox simply wear no shirt, no matter their gender. However, when integrating into cities or other cultures, they will choose to wear loose-fitting tunics of plant material like cotton or linen, or woolen robes. They are also fond of knitted garments, ponchos, and shawls. It is extremely uncommon to wear leather or hide, with even fighters preferring studded woolen brigandines or gambesons, sometimes beneath metal armor.
Life in the Herd
Self-reliance is a core facet of Grove-Keeper culture. Being a nomadic clan that subsists off of foraging and occasional trade, all Ferox are expected to care for children, weave baskets, mend tools, gather food, dig for roots, and collect water. Much of the morning is spent in preparation for the day’s work, which continues through midday into the early evening. Once the sun begins to set, however, the community gathers together to share food, tell stories, joke, and make music together. While work is a daily pressure, it is far from oppressive or unusual, and one’s responsibilities might change to suit whether they’re feeling the Wild need to move and run, or the Tame desire to sit and work quietly by oneself for a while.
Nearly everything is done communally. Ferox remaining at camp to weave, or travelling to riverbanks to dig for tubers, or walking through the woods to gather fruit, always have a small group to work beside if they like. Elderly Ferox of this clan often work their entire lives and remain exceptionally healthy in their advanced years, leading to a thriving population of grey-muzzled Ferox who are active and treasured members of their community. The fermentation of honey, fruit, and starchy tubers is also a long-held tradition which has led to a mastery of making alcohol and other preserves. A common gift is to present someone with a clay jug, lovingly decorated with whatever aspects of nature they wish to convey, and filled with some deliciously sweet alcohol or jam.
Without much use for money, trade is not common for the self-isolating Ferox. However, as resources have become more privatized in recent decades, it has become a more regular practice to exchange goods with other settlements and tribes. They almost exclusively trade in goods, often carvings, woven goods, fermented food and drinks, and jewelry made from natural materials, as well as dyes and any alchemical ingredients they may have come across in the wilds.
Alchemy is a discipline taught and shared amongst the clan, with most Ferox having at least a passing understanding of natural remedies or uses of plants. Some do excel in this study, however, and become gifted herbalists. As the Ferox saying goes, if an ailment exists, there’s a tea for it. Mages born into this clan typically find their magic has an elemental or natural aesthetic to it, including flower petals, thorny vines, wind, or lightning. While Grove-Keepers are new to technological developments, engineers from this culture are usually self-driven and eager to take on the challenge of a new discipline to master. However, they still tend to focus on technology that can be carried with them, and not the sort of large machines that require heavy tolls on natural resources. Compasses have become something of a luxurious gift, as most Ferox already can orient themselves northward if they wish, but the simple beauty of a well made compass can be seen as giving someone a small piece of useful art.
Family and Traditions
The namesake practice for the nomadic Ferox is to plant trees or bushes, tending small groves which will be left to the wild once the Clan moves on only to be visited again the following year. Planting a sapling and watching it grow year after year is considered a deeply spiritual act, allowing one to be a part of the natural cycle. Families often have familial groves or favored places they look forward to visiting, growing with a little work, and then allowing nature to continue as it will. Some elderly Ferox near the end of their lives will manage to carry on just long enough to reach one of these familial groves, only to pass swiftly in peace so that their bodies can become one with their lifelong friends, the saplings they’ve grown alongside their entire lives.
If one were to die elsewhere, typically the closest people to the deceased will bundle their bodies in cloth made from wood pulp and discarded linen fabrics, which have been soaked with vinegar and other fermenting tonics. The body will be surrounded with flowers, then covered with broad leaves or a funeral shroud, and placed on a litter to be carried to their chosen place of resting. If some emergency prevents the proper relocation and burying of the dead, they can be buried in place with a new sapling planted in their honor. An animamphora is a pendant made from clay in the shape of a small jar, which contains a little grave soil from the site of a loved one’s burial ground. These pendants are worn around the neck, and are often painted or engraved with significant symbols about the person’s life.
Grove-Keeper weddings are a joyous and peaceful affair, often done with an almost casual amount of planning. If the newlyweds have horns, they will be painted red, otherwise they will be adorned in red flowers, as red in this instance becomes a symbolic color for virility, passion, and fertility. Their courtships tend to be very long, only leading to a marriage once the couple have already known each other for many years (if not most of their lives), with marriage generally a sign that they plan to have children. Divorce is quite uncommon, mostly given that most marriages are very empathetic, with a culture based around emotional honesty, as well as forgiveness and understanding for moments when the Wild spirit needs time to blow off steam. This never makes it appropriate to abuse or harm one’s partner, rather, it means that those who feel an explosive emotional moment coming on have had a lifetime of understanding those feelings, recognizing the signs of their own emotional state. They then know to channel those feelings into more acceptable practices like mock-combat, solo hikes, or other physically exhausting activities, even including more pleasurable physical activities with their partner.
Grove-Keepers in Galudon
There are multiple reasons why a Grove-Keeper might settle amongst an outside community. For one, recent industrialization may have simply made foraging no longer viable to support their tribe. Families may move into villages or cities, and find ways to put their tireless work ethics to use for coin. Often they take on work that can be done at home, and all members of the family contribute, such as running a farm or workshop. Even children and the elderly will work in these conditions within a home, seeing the work as simply a part of daily activities with the family.
Sometimes the allure of bright city lights and new cultures is enough to tempt a Ferox from their clan, leading to individuals who decide to settle and start families in more developed areas. There is also the sad reality that raiders may simply do too much damage, killing or hauling off the most able workers and leaving the survivors to seek refuge within a city.
For whatever reason, those who settle will still hold some traditions dear. It is still very common for an integrated Grove-Keeper to plant a sapling or keep some other type of garden, even a fishpond or a rock garden, and see it as the beating heart of their home - a place where they can find common ground with nature, and meditate in peace. They continue to adorn themselves with either Wild or Tame decorations, letting others know their mood of the day, though these adornments may take a more modernized form, such as brightly colored silks or makeup.
They still aim to keep balance between the spirits within themselves, and try to revere nature as much as possible in their homes. Family also remains an important cornerstone for them, including found-families and other local community members. Self-reliance remains a core tenant, meaning that they sometimes struggle to be taken care of, or may overextend their own helpfulness to others without properly caring for themselves.
Trivia
- The Tamed Spirit and the Wild Spirit are often depicted in art as a Blue and Red stag, respectively.
- Since seizures and fainting spells do occur at higher rates among Hooved Ferox, there is some superstition that those who suffer such spells are experiencing some overwhelming imbalance between their spirits.
- Violent crimes are not common among the Grove-Keepers, and the Wild spirit is never accepted as an excuse to cause harm to another person.
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