Navarr people
The population of Navarr is fluid; while some spend their whole lives in a Steading or Striding, the expectation is that the Navarri will flow back and forth between the two largely at will.
Many Navarr dwell in steadings, great settlements cut into the heart of the woods. Steadings are usually surrounded by small orchards, most homes have vegetable gardens, and most families keep animals. Most Navarr enjoy hunting and bands of hunters roam the forests in search of game. Navarr pride themselves on their self-sufficiency, their ability to survive alone in dangerous places. They make a virtue of being prepared and ready.
As the Empire has grown in strength, orcs and bandits have sought to make their home in the Navarr forests, thinking to hide themselves in the dense woodlands. As a result the Navarr are ever vigilant, roaming their forests searching for any signs of incursion.
A common Navarr philosophy is that wealth is measured in the number of allies you have, not the coins in your pocket. The Navarr expect everyone to work in the best interest of their steading or striding and many have little interest in personal wealth. Trade is a means of making allies and ensuring that people have the things they need rather than a means for merchants to enrich themselves. The Navarr are well aware of the value of money and don't avoid its acquisition, it's just that most of them count allies as considerably more valuable than possessions.
The Navarr are an open people. When they march to battle they don war-paint so their allies can see they have committed themselves to the fight and their enemies know to be afraid. Many wear brands or tattoos that indicate their calling so that others might readily identify them. Although they do not feel the Freeborn compulsion for honesty they are careful to avoid tricking or manipulating people. To the Navarr guile is used to defeat their enemies and the things they hunt, to deliberately trick someone is to mark them out as an enemy. The Navarr reserve their wiles for battle. Once the Navarr have decided something is their enemy it is ruthlessly dealt with. The fierce practicality that they employ in the defence of their settlements and the Empire can offend the sensibilities of those who regard themselves as more civilised.
The Navarr are a deeply pragmatic people with little time for notions of honourable combat. Ambushes, traps and poison are all weapons that the Navarr readily employ against their enemies.
CUT
The Navarr are a cheerful and welcoming folk, the practicality that they employ in the defence of the Empire can offend the sensibilities of those who regard themselves as more civilised. They are not naturally a violent people – at least not to their fellow citizens of the Empire – but, at times, take a stance which others see as unreasonable or downright unfriendly.
The Navarr are commited to the containment of a threat that lies at the heart of their territories, and is occasionally encountered elsewhere. Areas of malevolent growth called Vallorn occupy the ancient Navarri cities, teeming with hungry life and hordes of monstrous insect creatures. When the unwary stray into a Vallorn’s realm of influence they court a horrible death and - potentially - risk rousing it and the creatures that inhabit it.
Part of the duty of the Navarri who dwell in the Steadings is to see that the Vallorn are not disturbed, so they keep a careful watch to ensure that no-one stumbles into such areas, not even barbarian invaders. Interfering with the Vallorn without the approval of the Senate is a serious crime, and the Navarr keep watch for such interlopers, handing them over to magistrates for judgement. Several Steadings are built in and around the ruins of Teruni'el, whether that is an old garrison, the remains of a town, or a still-flourishing sacred shrine, preserved library or reclaimed mine. The population of a Steading supports itself by hunting, and with whatever limited agriculture they can arrange in the forests.
Steadings vary in size and composition. A few are shaped as natural parts of the forest, especially if they are important to the Vates, but most are constructed of wood - of which there is a clear abundance in the Navarr heartlands. Some are built among the trees, some on hilly clearings, a few are even constructed on great platforms on the waters of freshwater lakes. In almost every case. the design is adapted to make the most of the terrain, and with an eye towards the purpose of the settlement. For example, a small Steading built around a shrine is a different affair to a prosperous Steading with a ring of cleared farmland surrounding it.
Counterpart to the Steadings are the Stridings. These are travelling groups that largelly follow the established routes of the Trods around the Empire. Walking the Trods is neccessary to maintain the magic that keeps the Vallorn quiescent. The Trods pass through all nations of the Empire, so now many travellers prefer to use the Navarri Trods as trade routes and roads, and villages and resting places have grown up over the years near those routes. The Trods themselves are infused with moderately subtle magic that grants vitality to the traveller - after spending a day walking a Trod, a traveller is much less tired than he might expect. The magic also tends to keep the area around the Trod relatively wild - man-made structures tend to fall into ruin. This means that while the routes pass near villages and resting places, these are built a short distance from the Trods themselves.
Stridings vary significantly in size and make-up. In a normal Striding, most participants are on foot, usually with a few narrow wagons pulled by oxen or similar beasts to carry essential supplies. Many Navarri are comfortable walking for days on end, and the power of the Trods supports them and enhances the endurance of newcomers. Some Stridings eschew wagons altogether, making it a rule to own nothing more than they can carry with them at all times. Others take the opposite approach, using larger covered wagons which can serve as living quarters, especially if they are transporting tools such as books or smithing materials over great distances.
The Stridings support themselves in three ways: they carry staples with them; they contain hunters who range to either side of the Trod staying alert not only for food but also potential dangers; and they trade with the people they encounter en-route, For some Imperial citizens, the Navarri are the only regular contact they have with the Empire. Navarri Stridings are usually welcome, as they bring messages and news of events elsewhere in the Empire. Civil servants and magistrates travel with the Navarri to reach isolated communities and sometimes the Navarri bring individuals seeking a home with precisely the skills a community needs to survive and prosper. In addition the Navarri have become skilled at adapting to fill the roles required of them in the different Nations they travel through, for instance performing Fayres in Dawn or working as pedlars in the Marches.
As well as the dark forests that Navarri now think of as home, the wild places between towns, burghs, fortresses and temples are hardly safe and the Navarri are practical about these dangers. They travel in well-armed groups and set regular watches. As they travel they remain alert for danger, and it is often Navarri who bring word of potential threats to their cousins in the other nations.
Names
Navarri names have a flavour of the fantastic, drawing on the sounds of Welsh or Celtic and Tolkien elvish.
A Navarri takes the name of their steading or striding as their second name. Names are not static and change with the choices of the individual.
Each Striding or Steading has a name that ends in 'el. For example, Riodan'el, or Teyrn'el.
A child's name is given to a Navarri at birth by the parents, an adult's name is taken during the Binding of Thorns. It is not uncommon for a newly-adult Navarr to keep the name their parents gave them as a mark of love and respect,
On occasion a Navarri may be given an honorific name to exemplify some great deed of magic, politics, trade or war. These individuals are collectively known as the Thornborn.
Sample names
- Male: Aedan, Arawn, Dradan, Breanainn, Cadaen, Caiside, Donndubhan, Drustan, Elisedd, Faelan,Hywel, Ifan, Lindir, Logan, Maddoc, Paul, Saeros,Tomas,Wyl
- Female: Angharad, Brianna, Bronwen, Cordelia, Enys, Gwynedd, Iona, Megan, Myfanwy, Niamh, Olwen, Raelyn, Siani, Rhiannon, Teleri
Other examples are easy enough to find on the internet if you are lacking inspiration. These links to Celtic names, elven names or Welsh boys or girls names can provide a starting point.