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| The Oak and Ash; The People of Avalon | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 5 2010, 06:20 PM (15 Views) | |
| The Storyteller | Apr 5 2010, 06:20 PM Post #1 |
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The People In no other country is the nobility so close to its common folk than in Avalon. Elaine makes regular rides through the countryside, stopping at villages and hamlets, where it is said a single touch of her pure white hand can heal any ailment. The people know, recognize and love their Queen. Likewise, if a noble is good and pure, he can expect great devotion and loyalty from his subjects. On the other hand, if he is villainous and cruel, he can feel their hatred from leagues away. Social Strata While Avalon's social structure ~peasant, clergy and noble~ is almost identical to the rest of Théah, two new classes ~ the merchant and sailor~ have recently found their way into the mix. In the last two centuries, the merchant guilds have gained a great deal of wealth in Avalon, but as any Théan scholar will tell you, money means nothing without land. Knowing this, the merchants turned to the land-rich but cash-poor nobility, and a deal was struck. The nobility sold title and land in exchange for cash, thus thrusting the merchant class into the middle regions of the social structure. Avalon's second new step on the social ladder found his place only recently. When Elaine took the throne, her need for a navy superseded protocol. She announced that any man who sailed under the Avalon banner would be called 'noble sailor' a title equal to an Avalon knight. In addition to this honour, all noble sailors own a percentage of any plunder taken while under the Avalon flag ~no matter how that plunder was acquired. Needless to day, Avalon's navy soon outgrew even her loft goals. Clothing One can expect to see a peasant dressed in simple trousers, a shirt, belt and a hat. Tied to the belt a purse and any tools the peasant or craftsman may need to carry with him, always including a cutting knife. Shoes are soft soled and made of leather. Pants and shirts are made of cotton, sometimes with a heavier smock or wool tunic thrown over, or if the peasant can afford it, a leather jerkin. The hat is usually wide brimmed and pinned on one side. Avalons tend to grow thin mustaches and beards. They tend to wear their hair long. There aren't many who wear make-up and wigs, and those who do are regarded as effete. Avalon sailors have brought new innovations to style: an innovation called 'pockets'. These pouches are sewn into the inside of the trousers, freeing the sailor's belt from hanging tools that can get caught in the rigging. Sailors usually go barefoot and toss the tunic in favour of a shirt if they must wear one at all. Both trousers and smock are always made of canvas. Women generally wear two skirts (one hitched up or 'kirtled' under a belt, a cotton blouse, tight bodice and some kind of hat. A woman's hair is usually kept under the hat or braided, depending on if she is married or a maiden, respectively. In place of a hat, a kerchief or net may come into being. Names During the Montaigne Occupation, no one in Avalon was speaking her native tongue, Cymru (kim-ree). Avalon words and names were replaced with their Montaigne equivalents. Names such as "Dyffed" were changed to "David", "Ieuan" to "Ian" and "Gwillim" to "William". Even the food changed nomenclature, a cow was called boif, a sow was called pork, and a deer was called venison. There is a great nostalgia in Avalon since Elaine's ascendancy to the throne and the one place it shows most is in the changing of the language. Men and women changed their modern names back to their more traditional versions, and children are being named after the great heroes of Avalon's history. Common Male Names: Aidan, Alan, Bran, Dwyer, Edward, Finn, Harold, Jerome, Keith, Liam, Gawaine, Malcolm, Michael, Morgan, Ossian, Quinn, Richard, Shawn, Thomas, Walter Common Female Names: Aileen, Alison, Brigit, Caroline, Denise, Elaine, Grace, Helen, Jane, Karen, Leila, Maeve, Isolde, Pamela, Sabbina, Sybil, Teresa, Veronica. |
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7:20 PM Jul 11