Costume by Kathryn Wheeler
Our cambions are spirited, your cambions are untrustworthy
and conniving schemers.

Overview

Marchers will concentrate on the positives in their own people, and the negatives in others. Those with lineage are like normal folk, just more so. For example, a cambion from your own household might be seen as energetic and spirited, whereas a cambion from some other territory would probably seen as particularly conniving, and one from another nation would be seen as spiteful and ruthless.

MarcherBriar.jpg
Tilly (Rebecca Miles)

Briars

The main exception to this general attitude is the briar lineage. Many Marcher folk believe the briars are accursed, and they are the only Marchers who may find themselves denied a decent burial in Marcher soil. This is due to the belief that the corpse will taint the soil where it lies and lead to the rise of unnatural and hostile plant life. There is some evidence to support this belief - but with briars being uncommon compared to unlineaged humans, and with few farmers prepared to risk interring a dead briar near their farm simply to check common knowledge, most of this evidence comes in the form of folk-tales and hearsay.

There does seem to be a connection between the burial of briars, especially those with high lineage, and peculiar supernatural effects. Several sites across the Marches are attributed to the burial of a briar including the Bleeding Dolmen of Oddmire whose infrequent secretions are said to promote chaotic fecundity; the Fallow Field of south-western Green March where plants grow unnaturally quickly and resist all efforts to clear them; and the Poison Glen that once stood in north-eastern Birchland whose trees were said to sprout unwholesome fruit. There is also a higher than normal incidence of ghostly phenomena associated with areas where briar are said to have been interred - it seems that briars buried in Marcher soil are more likely to lead to angry hauntings.

In the worst cases, their bodies are burnt and the ashes scattered, although some receive more traditional burials but in soil that is outside the Marches. There are also a rare few places where burial grounds specifically for briars are laid aside, often in land that is of no use to anyone else, or that is owned by a briar yeoman, although such places soon acquire a poor reputation and the landowner may attract rough music if the neighbours become too concerned

Some Marcher farm owners go so far as to refuse to allow those who manifest briar lineage to work on their farms, out of an unspoken fear their blood or sweat will taint the plants. It is not uncommon for those who develop briar lineage to be encouraged to leave the Marches, most often to travel with the Navarr until they find somewhere their "taint" can do no harm.

We like the marsh. The marsh likes us. Leave us to get on with each other.

Traditional Bregas saying

Merrow

The other exception is the merrow lineage. Merrow as a whole are considered "not quite right" by other Marcher folk; they're secretive, cold and altogether too clever by half. Concentrated around the fens of Bregasland, those families with strong merrow blood have traditionally kept to themselves. Merrow born elsewhere often move to join one of the merrow households in the marshes - there are entire communities in the marshes of Bregasland where everyone belongs to this lineage.

Further Reading

Core Brief

Additional Information