The Darian Men (WIP)

My writing got rusty, I had a hard time thinking in English despite all good literature I devoured lately ( Mainly George R.R. Martin, Rothfuß and Brandon Sanderon.)

But I had to post something, or I would have gone crazy. (And if Alt is posting, I need to do so also! buck

)

History is still missing and Clothes (which will come later in a bundle with the Avenorian update).
Can I please have a rough look through? No uri yet , or a finer tuning of the language, more a check of the content.

Thanks

Edit:
forgot nomenclatur! Will come
While changing some names, I realised, that my spellcheck hasn't caught all it should, will fix this later.

The Darian Men

Overview
The Darian Men is a long extinct tribe, at least in their original form. Being the ancestors of the Shendar and partly of the Avennorians we can well see traits of them in the recent tribes. They lived in Southern Sarvonia, north of the Sharadon forest till the Southern foothills of the Mithral mountains. It is quite certain, that they settled in the Mashdai valley north of Marcogg, but how far their villages stretched to the North is not known anymore.

With the arrivals of the first Glandorian ships in the 12th century before Santhros their till then mostly peaceful life as free farmers and independent hunters came to an end. The Avennorians with their weapons, better military organisation and their different - more aggressive - approach to life soon subjugated those who did not manage to flee into the South to become a new tribe, the Shendar. Those who remained in the lands of their ancestors mixed with the time with the Glandorians to become the Avennorian tribe. However, they mainly formed the lower social stratum, the Glandorians the noble class. Most of the information we have about this tribe has come to us through the hands of the conquerers, less from myths and tales the Shendar still know and which point to their ancestors.

Appearance
The Darian were tall - compared with the conquering Glandorians. With a ped and about seven to eight handspans they outgrew the conquerers easily - men and women alike. But these were not the only differences.

They were not only tall but their strong, sinewy bodies were well developed and at least the women must have been good to look at, for otherwise we would have more pejorative descriptions of them which the shipwrecked were giving away freely. Being mostly farmers with an steady income and not so much hunters, living often in the same place the entire life did not favour the overly slender bodies the Shendar must have developed later due to their new life. However, though they could not be called lank, they were slim in their youth, but gaining a sturdier appearance when becoming older. The conquerers called them sometimes moon face or square head, for their features were more rounded and without sharp edges compared to those of the newcomers. This ‚roundness‘ must have been a special feature of the families living on the east coast for it is mainly used for the villagers living north west from the Caetharin Mountains.

Their generally dark hair which came in all shades, from a light reddish brown to a deep black was mostly thick and shiny, with or without curls, though the curls seem to have been present in the more southerly living families. Their skin was white, but all parts exposed to the sun were deeply tanned from being most times in the fresh air. Eye colours could be seen in every shade, from grey-green to brown, but not the deep black we find in the Shen-Siuu tribe.

Coat of Arms
The Darian Men didn‘t have a coat of arms, they had many. Every village had their own symbols and colours, be it e.g. a black mountain on a white ground (Yaithres) or a leaping fish on a blue background in a fishing village. They were often painted on their houses near the entrance door. The main local inns had finely crafted metal signs hanging over their doors, which depicted the local symbol.

Territory
When the Darian inhabited their area forests and woods dominated the land and only part of it was cultivated with an early grain, maybe two different kinds. North of the denser Sharadon forest the soil was quite fertile and a lot of bigger clearings allowed farming and herding of milk cows. On both coasts small fishing villages traded with the farmers salted fish for dried meat over quite a distance. North of Griffin‘s Marl, where today the Tolonian Heath stretches, the woods were denser, with little natural clearings where grass could grow allowing shepherds to graze their sheep and goats. Game was plentiful and very much liked as an easy to get addition to the daily vegetables and bread. The area where the most farmland could be found was around the Caetharin Mountains, to the southeast as well as to the northwest, where we today have the Woulton Wold, the Twynor Farmsteadings, the Urschrum Downs and the Lambsground. The Goatsgraze Moor north of Klinsor was a lake at that time.
Ravenport is said to be the northernmost point of Darian settlement, where on the east coast traces of them can be found in the Mithrun Lowlands, in the Traeren Lowlands, on the other side of the Mashdai in the Shadow Wing Downs. The nearby Greygrass foothills are famous for an rebellion against the Avennorians conquerers till today.

People
Some of the Glandorian conquerers described the people they met soon after they had shipwrecked near Gebi‘s Nose as asinine and boneheaded, called them root muncher, pig-farmers and ballad-monger despite the help they had received when they were stranded on their shores. Others were considerate and said they were friendly, calm and honest. What seems certain is that they, who didn‘t have swords, were not a weapon bearing people and were simply overtaken by the ballsy and aggressive ways of the newcomers. They obviously had not imagined that there could come somebody and claim the lands they had lived on for so long as theirs and that they were suddenly not more than menials. Their life might have been hard sometimes but it has been easeful and satisfactory before the Glandorians arrived. There was plenty of land, food and forest animals to hunt. The soil was fertile and the climate agreeable, though winter could be quite cold at times and at certain places, with a lot of snow. These people liked to sing when working and when resting, that was why they were called ballad-monger later. Festivities around the year made the work in between more agreeable for there was always an exiting event to anticipate. When the men from the North arrived their whole life altered to a less enjoyable one. However, the friendly and joyful nature of the Darian didn‘t vanish with them; their aggressors were infected over the following centuries and finally the Darian and the Glandorians grew together to form the tribe we now know as Avennorian Men.

Housing
The Darian used exclusively wood to build their houses. Even in regions where granite would have been easily available like near the Caetharin Mountains they preferred not to use stone, not even as a fundament of their buildings. However, they were very skilled in protecting the boles and planks they used against any atmospheric conditions, they knew which trunk when to cut to get the most durable wood and how to build a house so that rain and snow, water from the ground and vermin could not do not much harm to it. Most houses had a lifespan of several centuries and after that a new house could be build easily.

Most houses were built similar, just varying in size.
They were all rectangular, with a very broad base and a huge, moderate steep roof and only one full story. Due to the high roof and dependent on how broad they were there could be up to three additional levels though.
The front side with the main entrance faced always in a Southern direction. The other long side faced to the north, northwest or northeast if possible, depending upon the main direction of the cold northern winter winds. This side had only a few and small openings. The main room was always located at the gable side which had the nicer view. In the smallest houses there was just one living room, a corner to sleep and a fireplace were included. If the house was bigger a kitchen and pantry were added, the bedchambers found on the first story. A straight pass way from the main entrance led to the backside; it separated the living quarters from the stable and barn section. Traversing the stables one came into the barn where hay and straw were stored and all the equipment a farmer used in this days like carts, ploughing utensils and so on. The grain however was always kept in the first store above the living quarters or the stable, the vegetables in an one room cellar. The frontside of the houses had more and bigger windows with shutters but without glass in the openings. Instead a thin woven linen was used or a parchment to let some light through, but to keep the cold and wind outside. Only bigger houses had a chimney which was build out of clay bricks.

These houses were well build. The core were boles which were laid on top of each other, prepared at the edges in a way, that the whole building was standing on its own after the first story was finished. The roofs reached well over the walls to protect them from the weather, on the northern side an extra layer of vertical planks allowed the rain to run away easily. Most roofs near the sea where thatched, covered with the yealmreed or other suitable long grasses, the houses more to the middle of the country had roofs out of wooden shingles. Inside a layer of clay covered the walls of the living quarters and the stable, whitewashed and sometimes decorated with patterns which varied from village to village. The floor was stamped clay, sometimes covered with planks. A remarkable feature were early carvings added to certain parts of the house, the frames of windows or doors or decorations at the gable, made by adding planks on top of the wall which formed rectangular patterns. Some of this tradition is kept till today as we can see in the little village of Shneerin.

The seize of the house depended on the wealth of the owner, the size of his family and farmhands. That varied with the area, for in the most fertile regions like along the Southern Mithrun Trail and north of the Sharadon, where the soil was rich, the people could more easily produce a surplus to their daily needs and therefor trade for other goods or afford to hire labourers from other areas. Where the Tolonian Heath is today, the people were mostly not as rich as in the lower lands and therefore the houses were generally smaller.

To every farm belonged a fenced garden on the gable side where the main room was, a well nearby and a dunghill in front of the house next to stable and barn. On the backside was sometimes a fenced area for goats and sheep which were held for the daily milk. Hens and other birds however were allowed to run free.

Though most times several houses stood not far away from each other, they didn‘t form a village with one house next to the other how we depict one today. There was always enough distance between two houses to not disturb the neighbours, but within hearing distance. Only later when their peaceful life ended with the arrival of the Glandorians the houses were build more together, but then facing each other, despite the cold winds hitting the bigger openings of the living rooms. The idea of fencing a whole village for defense purposes came never to their mind.

These villages however didn‘t lack a meeting place, though this was not in the middle of the village, but at the „good side“, which was the side were the houses were facing, in the south. There often the road was running which widened to a square, the meeting place.
On the other side of the road, or place, three important things could be found: A communal pond if no major creek was running through the village, used for emergency situations when a fire should occur to have water available. Near this pond, or on one side of the creek, was always a small grove with a little temple for the Twelve. Its size showed how wealthy the community was - though often it was bigger than a passing traveller would have assumed when looking at the few houses. On the other side of the pond was a tavern, the tavern, for every village and if it consisted of only four houses had to have a tavern.
Nearly no village shows this building pattern still today, too big were the influences, wishes and demands of the conquerers, other traditions however were preserved better as we will see later.

Clothing
The basic garments for women consisted of the smock, hose, kirtle, gown, surcoat, girdle, cape, hood, and bonnet
The clothes the Darian wore everyday were simple and practical, a rough spun smock of fine spun linen was worn under a protective tunic out of a more sturdier fabric, sometimes rough linen, more often leather. Men‘s tunics were general shorter and worn with trousers, the women often togged a sleeveless kirtle instead. A girdle held all together and allowed pouches to be attached. In winter trousers and overgarments out of wool were added to protect against the cold. The wooden shoes worn in summer were replaced with furboots, woolen scarves and gloves protected well against the cold winds.
A much more skillfully done, beautiful adorned raiment was donned on festivities and other special occasions. These were precious clothes, often inherited from the ancestors. A more detailed description of the Darian clothing can be found in an additional article.

Food
The Darian enjoyed eating and so they spent enough time on cooking to get decent meals - even if the ingredients were basic and there was not a lot of time for cooking. Most dishes were based on either grain (dinkel, avena and bigg) or vegetables (tuberroots, caroots, weeping root) or other less known. Herbs played an important role to flavour the meals. Even to the simplest mash out of tuberroots some Narojam was added to enhance the flavour. When time allowed it both were combined and meat was added at least once a week.

The most used grain was dinkel or spelt, one which is grown nowadays only in small patches as the wheat grain was preferred later. It was ground to flour in its ripe state and used as the base for bred and other meals, unripe it was called greenkern (green kernel) and cooked as a whole as a side dish to meat or vegetables. Avena, which is now known with the northern tribes as oat, was mainly used for a variety of pulps, mostly eaten as a hot breakfast. Bigg however was mainly used as the main ingredient for - beer. All these grains had in common, that they were quite hardy, didn‘t mind wet springs or autumns nor dry summers.

Tuberroots were the other main dish and prepared in a great variety from the mashed and flavoured vegetable pulp to the well loved dumplings with different fillings. They could be used as a side dish to meat or as an own meal with an eggs sauce only. Many other vegetables and fruits were served as well, from the caroots to the pompion, from meldar apples to vinterberries.

Meat was not available every day, most times it was served only on restdays, however, a variety of sausages and cheeses all from domesticated animals were consumed under the week as well. Goat meat was the one which was eaten most of the time, for the sheep were mostly held for gaining wool and the banegs for working on the fields and the milk production. Game was available often as well before the Glandorian conquerors defined it as their property as a means to subjugate the Darian. Birds, geese and a variety of hens were held at every farm and often sold to the towns as well as an additional income.

Sea fish was daily on the table at the fishing villages at both coasts. One variety, the salted herring was traded in exchange with salted meat with the inland and a well loved alternative to the normal food - with the flair of being something special, though not expensive. Locally fish was caught in the rivers and lakes and served occasionally.

The favourite drink of all Darian was surely the beer, where there was a great variety . Every other village had its own brewery, attached to the inn, and not only bigg was used as base, but dinkel as well. It is said, that they invented the real beer - with the use of the vin-like plant they gave the strange name Suluhumpf, but is better known today as ‚hopf‘. Mostly they drank water, fruit juices were more a treat, however herbal teas were common in winter times.

Weapons
The Darian didn‘t knew weapons which had the purpose to fight and kill other sentient beings. They used of course knives they needed every day, the bow for the hunt for game, an axe for cutting trees and making firewood. The fisher had spears and other weapons useful to catch fish. But they didn‘t have swords or any other weapons designed to kill men. Their weapons in their fight against the conquerers were hunting bows, fishing spears, forks, axes and scythes. However, they were not proficient in using them against people and so only rarely effective.

Occupations
Any occupation needed in a mostly rural society could be found in the Darian tribe also. The farmers were proficient with doing many things themselves, like repairing the wooden parts of a broken plough or a worn out holster. The women baked most of their bread themselves , worked in the garden and the fields and sewed their clothes. In larger settlements though one could find bakers, cheesers, tailors next to carpenters, smiths, saddlers and coopers. On the coast fishermen could be found also, the collecting of mussels and other seafood was the task of the children. Any gender was free to choose the occupation which she or he was fond of and capable of mastering. So it was not uncommon for a girl to take up a bow and to become a proficient hunter while a boy choose to learn how to deliver babies. However, when a new family was formed, the wives tended to stay at home and work in the house and the adjacent fields till the children were weaned.

Government
The Darian had kings or queens, called ,griffin‘, though no outsider would have recognised them as one. They were ordinary persons who were quite often mistaken as a common man - which they had been until their election. The griffin never saw himself as standing above those he had to care for, never saw them as inferior. It was him who was here to serve his people. Quite often he was rarely distinguishable from the men of his tribe, his every day clothes were of a solid and good quality, but nothing superior. If he wished, he could go unnoticed for quite a while, as long as he was not yet known widely. The kings robe though was as impressive as any other royal garment.

Castle Thunderclaim was the royal domicile, though the king stayed there only in winter, in summer he travelled through the country from place to place to listen to the people and their problems and sorrows, to administer justice. He never stayed long, as the folks had to feed him and his entourage.
The Darian kingdom could not be inherited, did not pass from father to son, but when a new ,griffin‘ was needed he was chosen by acclamation from his people - or whoever had found the time to attend such an event.
As the king was chosen by his people, so were the elders of a village, or ,heartstone‘ as they were called. Each village chose one their members whose duty it was to mediate if any problems arose or to represent his village or town in case of a conflict between two settlements. Though these men or women were proud to have the trust of their fellow citizens and the ,office‘ was connected with a certain prestige, the heartstones had no advantages. Their only other task was, once the king had died or was seen unable to reign, to find the right man or woman to succeed on the throne. There were many Darians though without any representation, ones who lived not in a village but in an isolated farm or were not a member of any community, like tinkers or ballad-mongers.

The election of a new king
If a new king was needed, the heartstones searched for a new man or woman who would be suited as the new king and be poised to accept the burden.
After a lot of gathering and talking up to seven candidates were proposed. A day was set, where all who were able to come to Griffin‘s Marl gathered south east of Three Acres Keep to chose their new ,Griffin‘. The date had to be chosen well. Even those living as far as Marcogg and Chondra should have a fair chance to attend the election and the coronation. It should not be a high time for the harvest to bring in and in winter travelling was not recommended. So it did often take nearly a year till the Darian had a new king.
Once all had arrived who wanted to take part in the election, the candidates were introduced by a heartstone, but had to present themselves afterwards, talk about what they think was important for the welfare of the whole tribe and how to achieve that. The next day every candidate set up a tent with a symbol representing him and his goals - most often he took those of his village - and waited who would come to him and gather around his tent. Quite often it was clear from the beginning, who the favourite was. For every person who was at the gathering had one vote, regardless of his social standing. If there was no obvious winner, the next day happened the same, just that the number of the competitors had shrunk. If only two were left and their followers were fairly equal, the rest of the day was spent with talking (and bribing). On the following day the supporters of each candidate were counted and everybody hoped, that the gap between the resulting numbers was big enough to not start another dispute. Once the new griffin was chosen, he was crowned the same evening. A feast which lasted three days followed (or as long as the food lasted).
The title griffin
The title of the Darian king was ,Griffin‘, probably because his castle sat on a solitary standing mountain called today ,Griffin‘s Marl‘. Though there are claypits nearby, the name of the mountains derives probably from ,Griffin‘s Gnarl‘, gnarl being an old word for knag or knob. Quizzical voices also said, it would derive from snarl, for the griffin residing on this mountain top was well able to ,gnarl‘.

Production/Trade
A well maintained forest was the source for wooden planks and massive beams which were cut with skill to obtain the best material for building purposes. Between stretches of forest, fields where grain was grown alternated with pastures for stock. Especially the Woulton cattle was famous for its tender meat, sheep and goats were herded in less fertile areas like moors and heaths. Dried meat was sold throughout the country, while salted fish found its way into every pot inland also. Vegetables were grown in every garden, the surplus sold in the next town as were eggs and living poultry. Darian pottery was not very exquisite, but solid of good use in every day life. The simple forms and a thrifty ornamentation of the Valéra bowls made them well loved so that even the elves of the Auturian Woods bought them. Most trade happened within the tribe, the elves of the Sharadon though bought grain, fruits, honey and wine, the Tethinrhim liked cheese and sweet dried bread. The excellent beer the Darian brewed was not to the taste of the forest dwellers though.

Natural Resources
The Darian lands were rich in wood, game and fish. Herbs for nearly every ailment was found and a friendly climate allowed the cultivation of several grains. Where the soil was not nutritious enough, pastures provided enough food for a small, sturdy cattle. Sheep and goats and goats were herded on heaths and in sparse woodlands. So the Darian were quite self sufficient. The Rekijn Claypits provided the base for every day pottery.

Religious Beliefs
The Darian claimed, that they were living in the lands of their ancestors ever since. There was no myth describing an early travelling, a migrating from another place where they lived once. The Thethinrhim sage XYZ(look for a fitting name) who studied their history suggested, that they might have inhabited their land since before the mythical ,Burning of the Tree of Life‘. They have only female deities, the names of their goddesses resembled those of the Twelvern, but they did not worship all of them. Seyella, Eyasha and Queprur were added to their gods only in the last centuries before the arrival of the Glandorians.

A comparison shows the similarity, the goddesses are listed after their importance:

Yrialla, goddess of growing, birth, fertility and harvest (Jeyriall)
Odhari, goddess of the winds, the weather, of rain, storm and snow and mists.
Fioirina, the goddess of fire, the sun, the stars. (Foiros)
Verasonda, the goddess of water, of the sea, of rivers, lakes and wells, but also the goddess of tears and the unborn children.(Baveras)
Lieren, the goddess of the hunt, protector of all wild things (no link to Arvin)
Sanehdora, the goddess of healing, of the weak and ill. (Nehtor)

Many festivities were connected with a goddess. Not all were worshipped equally though. Best loved were Yrialla, the goddess of growth and harvest, and Odhari, the weather goddess, the one who gave rain or withheld it. Closely followed were Verasonda, the goddess of water (mainly revered at the coast) and Lieren, the goddess of hunt.

Sanedhora was well loved, but venerated more in quietness. There were many little shrines all over the country, but she was never mentioned in a drinking song. Seyella and Eyasha were only worshipped very late in Darian history, they were probably adopted from neighbouring tribes. Both suffered a certain distance towards them. They got their share of flowers, but never the brightest. The peacful nature of the Darian never made them aware of the danger they would face, if peace would be missing. Destiny was a foreign concept to the Darian, so Seyella got not much attention. That changed rapidly when the Glandorians brought war to them. Queprur also turns up late in the Darian pantheon. She had her own quiet days end of Turning Star, when the world, covered under a blanket of snow, seemed to be dead - or at least in a deep sleep. Armeros, the god of war and Urtengor, the god of forge were never spoken of, nobody saw a reason to worship them.

Holidays, Festivals and Observances
The Darian were a content and cheerful people and so they had a great many festivities , be it of religious nature or out of personal reasons.

Religious Feasts

Midwinter Feast: The celebration of the winter solstice was a holiday on a smaller scale (at least what the number of the gathering persons concerned), more for the family and the village due to closed roads and general trouble while travelling in winter. Fioirina was the center of the feast, as she was asked to return from her path away from the lands. As always, the feast went with lots of good food and a lot of singing. Children carried spherical lanterns representing the sun from house to house and when they managed to get them across with the candle still burning they were given sweets.

Spring Equinox: Unlike in other cultures, Yrialla was celebrated in spring. The people asked her to empty her cornucopia in the following half year to provide them with a good harvest in autumn. Odhari was worshiped on that day as well as she was needed to provide the right weather for the growing of the crops. Both were often seen as a pair.
In spring puppets up to three peds high were artistically formed out of willow. They represented the goddesses and were decorated with spring flowers and fresh leaves. They were placed at a sheltered place, if possible on top of a hill, where the could overlook a village or a stretch of land. Yrialla and Odhari were favoured and had always the biggest representations, followed by Verasonda and Lieren. The others were smaller, those of Sanehdora, Seyella and Eyasha.

Midsummer feast: On the coasts great festivals held where Verasonda was worshiped; upcountry Lieren, the goddess of the hunt was closer to the hearts of the Darian, but that was no strict division. Whereever it was possible, a reason was found to sing and pray to any of the goddesses.

Autumn Equinox: On that day the biggest of all festivals was held. If the harvest was good, eating, drinking, singing and dancing could well last for a week. The willowfigures were redecorated with flowers and fruits, sometimes with brightly coulored cloth also. It was a good omen, when the willow figures survived a whole year, more or less intact.

Personal feasts:

As with most tribes, birthdays, weddings, coming of age ceremonies were celebrated.
A wedding had to last at least three days: On the first day the ,preparing‘ was done. The guests received ,lighter‘ meals, starters, though these starters were quite filling already. The second day the ceremony took place and plenty of meat was served, along with vegetables, salads or whatever one would desire. The third day was the ,aftermath‘. Again lighter meals were served, sweet dishes and fruits, but also salty pieces and a lot of water with herbs in it to help with the hurting heads after the consumation of too much beer or spirits.
Even at funerals the mood was not a sad one, but the deceased was lauded and there was a lot of laughter during the meals, which the relatives had to serve the visitors who had often come a great distance to be able to pay their last respects to the dead one.

Important Achievements (Optional)
It is hard to write about the achievements of a tribe who was extinguished so long ago. Has it been too ,weak‘? Or was their way of peacfully living an achievement not many other tribes can claim for themselves? What remains? Is it the beer we still love, which they might have invented? Or the way to produce certain cheeses? Are they accountable for the pattern on pottery today called the ,Klinsor Band‘, or was it the idea of an Glandorian man? Nothing remains of their wooden houses, except their design, but who can prove, that it hasn‘t changed over the centuries? There is still Castle Thunderclaim on Griffin‘s Marl, but who knows, how it looked back then when the last Darian Griffin died and the tribe was to shattered and demoralisied to choose a new one? There are surely many things we cherish for which we should thank the Darians, but we rarely know them.

*there is no smiley for exhaustion*