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𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅘𝅥𝅮

Though our tribefolk are far scattered & few

Few can argue our worth is less than the storied lines

Lines that connect families across generations

Lines that draw borders of villages, towns, & nations

Stations elevated by heroic deed & diligent labor

Favor us on the scales weighing our worth

𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅘𝅥𝅮

The Cingedoz [also referred to as the Cingedos] are a group of both Highlander families tracing lineage to that ancient-most tribe founded on the continent of Asulon & adopters of that tribal tradition strongly kept to present day. They have, as a function of their loose political composition, dynamically transitioned between being led by chieftains & chieftesses and being a diaspora group whose members have fought for, settled, & served multiple kingdoms. Throughout this time, there have been individual tribesmen & women who have demonstrated heroic courage and ingenuous resolve to aid other individuals, towns & cities, & entire swaths of Descendants.

With recent events leading the Cingedoz to settle in Aaun, the tribe has now earned a barony under the Principality of Merryweather sworn to Prince Heinrich Lothar [ @Olox_ ]. The barony’s name, Bodbwodz [Common: Raven Expanse], is named in honor of the one of the most heroic & legendary figures in recent Cingedoz history - it is named after Bodbmakos hal’Cingedoz.

THE AXIOMS

The Cingedoz enjoy a less feudal, less formulaic way of governing within their lands. In foreign lands, they abide by whatever legal system has been written and is enforced, but more freely maneuver conflict, mediation, & the keeping of order whenever they are in the confines of their own territory.

The tribe upholds certain axioms, treated as unassailable principles, that help them understand how best to handle human interaction. The axioms are as follows:
 

1. The stranger should be left to their own devices so long as they harm none.
2. Argue your case, be fiery in your rhetoric.
3. If one lays hand on another, all others will lay hands on the aggressor.
4. Praise Iblees and be cast off the high hill.
5. Better to write contracts in stone, the spoken word can be forgotten.
6. All mediation must be witnessed at the Klukarunjoz Thingoz.

These six axioms and their interpretation scaffold a basic system by which the tribesmen & women live their lives & treat themselves, each other, and foreigners. The Cingedoz are usually welcoming of visitors, foreigners, & wayfarers; the possibility of adventure, good news, or indications of trouble nearby are extracted from them that the tribe may be able to gain better reputation, perform heroic deeds, or bring boons back for the benefit of the whole.

Discourse and debate among the tribe lacks the formality & procedure one may find in the larger, feudal kingdoms - arguments are often welcomed, critiqued, and one may find the tribe’s style of resolving differences and coming to decisions to be more aggressive than other cultures. The one exception in this fierce manner of debate is when a waxtolangoi [Common: Elder] speaks - more often than not, everyone listens intently and restrains their energy.

The third axiom issues from the martial tradition of the Cingedoz. All men & women are expected to be capable of defending oneself, going on raids, performing well in the military, and thus it is infrequent to find a tribesman or women incapable of putting up a fight in armed (or otherwise physical) conflict. The fourth axiom is an absolute, the utter disdain for Iblees & the eldritch being prominent in the Cingedoz culture.

The fifth & sixth axioms relate to how the tribe regards social agreements whether in trade, exchange, or other forms. The Cingedoz have a strong tradition in keeping record of their history, their myths, their transactions and also have a strong focus on more public mediation of interests as opposed to private agreements. The Klukarunjoz Thingoz mentioned in the sixth axiom refers to the runestone circle where thingoz [Common: assemblies] take place where important decisions are made.

THE HISTORIES

𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅘𝅥𝅮

Three migrations spurred our tribe from place to place

First was the migration to Dunrath, frontier of Norland

Second was the migration to the Daelish cliff-face

When the Baron Manfred threatened to march his host from Oren

Third was the migration to the plateau over Khron’Hundmar

When the Piast Casimir drove us from the Vistulian Isles

𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅘𝅥𝅮

Those tribesmen of the Barony of Bodbwodz trace their histories back to the ancient continent of Asulon and their linkage to the Principality of Merryweather to the previous continent of Almaris. The hiwraed-i-Aedoz [Common: line of Aedoz], whose founder & patriarch was Gaisorix, enjoyed a good relationship with the Merryweather Prince Heinrich I Franz by way of the Cingedoz tribe being a member of the Daelish Confederacy who were originally sworn to the Kingdom of Savoy. Gaisorix & his son Brennus upheld good ties and trade with Merryweather even after the Daelish schism between the clan Ap Fawr & the Radaghastian Vilchyc clan which resulted in the latter seizing power against the former and ruling for a short time on the Daelish (then renamed Vistulian) Isles.

The increasingly bellicose & problematic decision-making of the Piast Casimir Vilchyc resulted in Brennus eventually leading the Cingedoz tribe to migrate from the south, settling in the snowy mountains where Dwed colonists buried their encampment Khron’Hundmar. There, the Cingedoz constructed a prosperous village overlooking the Dwed cavern-entrance into their encampment where they facilitated trade between the Dwed & surrounding towns & northern kingdoms. Within a few decades, Odoacer, son of Brennus, would abdicate his position as rix [Common: chieftain] of the tribe and decide on Lurana hal’Cingedoz to be the next rix.

Obscure is the interregnum between Lurana’s rule as chieftess and the eventual emergence of the Cingedoz on the continent of Aevos. Some tribesmen remained part of Khron’Hundmar while others migrated to the Duchy of Minitz before colonisation of the current continent. On Aevos, two figures emerged as potential reuniters of the tribe - Artorious hiwraed-i-Ambiorix & Cunimund hiwraed-i-Cunobellunoz. The two men labored together to raise various runestones on the continent with prominent ones in Aaun, Dunfarthing, Haense, & Lurin. Cunimund climbed the ranks of the Aaunic Royal Government, finally earning the position of Head Curator of the Clementine Court due to his difficult & diligent work transcribing official documents & Canonist texts such as the Legenda Sanctorum.

In Aaun, Cunimund found himself working closely with Heinrich II Lothar of Merryweather & the Lady Chamberlain Aleksandra Milena; Heinrich II’s wife. Like a split thread being intertwined together again; the Cingedoz and the Principality found themselves on good terms & ties. The Barony of Bodbwodz, given to Cunimund for his continued labours in Aaun, being the product of this recent cooperation between the two peoples.

THE FOLK, ADOPTERS, & THE DESCENDANTS

The tribal tradition is upheld by three - those Highlanders who can trace lineage to the ancestry stretching back to Asulon, those adopting the tradition & practice it freely regardless of their race, & those descendants who are related to the folk through intermarriage. Some of the notable, living characters as of the year 1940 [144 Second Age] are:

[Left to Right: Grimhildr, Ogmios, Owain, Morgause, Cunimund, Holly]

If you find yourself enjoying incredible cultural reads and/or looking to potentially create a character who is either Highlander Cingedoz, descended from the Cingedoz, or want to adopt the culture on an existing character - read more here:

𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅘𝅥𝅮

Thick parchments, decorated along the margins with floral and geometric patterns and written with a flourish in both Cingedoz and Common, are found passing hands and pinned to noticeboards across cities and towns as far apart as Lurin and Talar'nor. The hands responsible for drafting them and in passing them belong to one Cunimund hal'Cingedoz, dressed in flaxen simplicity with a threadbare cloak hugging his broad shoulders. With hair the color of wheat and often fluttering like heads of wheat with each passing breeze, the cheery and ruddy-faced man would call attention to his offered skill - the skill of transcribing and beautifying books and tomes.

Each parchment contained the same text, plainly conveying the following:

"Lo and be informed,

The tribesman of the Cingedoz named Cunimund offers his hand and his skill to transcribe any piece of literature that you'd wish transcribed. Price is negotiable and he is willing to transcribe any text regardless of genre - be it poem or history - or to hand-copy any document be it official or intimate. He has taken up residency as the cathedral librarian of Aaun-Whitespire if you'd like to find him there or write to him - have your house's history memorialized in a beautiful tome or have your documents hand-copied for purposes of record-keeping. The Cingedoz are wondrous mythmakers, so do ask after a fine work of inspiring fiction if you so wish!"