mateolog 1551 Share Posted August 5, 2022 Clan Blackroot History As a clan dedicated to the restoration and protection of forest dwarf knowledge the Blackroot clan keeps records of many things from culture, to religion, and of course history. Blackroots keep track of time by eras of High Chiefs. Everything before the High Chiefs are to the Blackroots the dark days, every other era is given a name of an animal character that symbolizes the rule of a High Chief. As shown here: Era of the First - the Toad Age, Era of the Carrot Toad, the Era of Bjor Cottonwood Era of the Second - the Dove Age, Era of the Salt Dove, the Era of Thorin Treebeard Era of the Third - the Bunny Age, Era of the Iron Bunny, the Era of Eerika Cottonwood Era of the Fourth - the Viper Age, Era of the wood viper, the Era of Ozneat Treebeard Era of the Fifth - the Boar Age, Era of the Golden Tusked Boar, the Era of Beorn Cottonwood Era of the Sixth - the Ram Age, Era of the Embered horned Ram, the Era of Odhavir Emberhorn Era of the Seventh - the Magpie Age, Era of the Wooden beaked Magpie, the Era of Karl Blackroot Era of the Eighth - the Sparrow Age, Era of the Wooden Sparrow, the Era of Yazmorra Blackroot Era of the Ninth - the monkey Age, Era of the Winged Stonehands Monkey, the Era of Qrue Era of the Tenth - the owl Age, Era of the Flame winged Owl, Era of Celeste’Tol Blackroot The history of the Blackroot clan starts in the fifth age of Hefrumm, the Boar age. For a history of the Blackroots one can check their public Hefrumm documents on their history from the Boar age to the owl age [Public document on the history of the Blackroots: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/208910-blackroot-history-from-the-boar-age-to-the-beginning-of-the-owl-age/] Clan Traits Spirituality and knowledge The Blackroots tend to be the spiritual leaders and historians of Hefrumm, serving as teachers and guides to their fellow forest dwarves. The loyalty of Blackroots is directed towards Hefrumm as the beacon of forest dwarf unity and prosperity. Blackroots dream of the day of rediscovering the lost knowledge of the ancient forest dwarves. [!] Depiction of a Blackroot keeping records. Kinship Unlike other dwarven clans the Blackroots see each other as family through a type of blood that is more metaphysical. They believe that they are connected to their brothers and sisters through this blood that transcends the physical world and inspires them to work in unity or individually for the goals of the clan and the well being of Hefrumm. However, when one is born into the clan they consider the dwarf as much a Blackroot as any other. Collective Greed Like most forest dwarves the Blackroots represent their curse of greed in a collective sense. Since they put value on knowledge and recuperation of all things that were lost by the ancient forest dwarves, the Blackroots will have an undying will to regain these things they value. This means that they are willing to act in ways that they believe will enable them to gain these valuables. Due to this the Blackroots are pushed to be teachers so that the wealth of knowledge they have gained does not disappear, but also explorers and politicians so that they can continue to invest in the development of knowledge and culture of the forest dwarves. [!] Depiction of a Blackroot teaching another dwarf. Trials Background The Blackroots had their traditional trials which are influenced by their pasts as Cottonwoods. However, with time the rites of the Blackroots merged with the rites of the Seers to such an extent that the original rites lost importance and were kept mainly as a cultural aspect of the clan. An example of these would be the original trials of the Blackroots. The original trials were divided into three parts; a hunt of an animal, a hunt of an enemy of Hefrumm/dwarves, and a Seer trial. Here we can see that the original two trials were very much like the Cottonwood hunting centered ways and the last one more like modern Blackroots. In current times the trials are the same as becoming a seer with one extra step. Modern Trials To become a full member of the Clan a Blackroot is expected to become a Seer that has done at least one public rite. The first trial is the Journey of the Brathmordakin. For this trial the Blackroot will embark on a psychedelic journey through the shrines of the Brathmordakin alongside a fully fledged seer. By consuming “Anbella’s gift,” they will be granted sight to admire visions of the Brathmordakin appearing before each shrine, the Seer would be telling a stories of the Brathmordakin which would trigger a hallucination on the initiates mind of the Brathmordakin. If any of these visions begin to appear other than they should, the Blackroot will fail the journey and must repeat it after making amends with themselves for whatever they perceived wrong on their first attempt. [!] A Blackroot doing the Journey of the Brathmordakin. The second trial is the trial of ascension. After successfully completing this trial the Blackroot would officially become a Seer. With every Seer in attendance, the Blackroot must undergo a final test of devotion, the Trial of Shadows, facing their deepest fears by the shadow of Khorvad. This Trial is only meant for Seers in Training who have proven to be insanely strong of will, for a failed Trial of Shadows could result in wounds left on the mind, and at times, even death. When the Seer in Training has successfully surpassed their greatest fears by Khorvad’s shadow, the Seers will allow them to ascend and become a member by marking them with the blessing of the Brathmordakin that guided them to the light. This can be shown by placing flowers of Anbella in their hair, tattoos of any Brath’s symbol on their body, or any other marking of devotion the dwarf prefers. In extreme cases, dwarves can even undergo full physiological changes as a way to show devotion towards a particular Brathmordakin like becoming a bryophyte or sporophyte. [!] Depiction of a Blackroot during the Trial of Shadows. The last trial is by far the easiest of them all, the Blackroot now a seer is expected to complete a tradition of the Seers. Completing a tradition means doing one of the Seer ceremonies that have been recorded by the Seer order. Seers are allowed to create their own traditions however this trial is meant to show that the Seer is able to teach others, a crucial aspect of being a Blackroot. [Traditions of the Seers can be found here: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/199464-~da-seers-eron-hefruth~/] [!] Depiction of a Blackroot Seer practicing a rite. Rites There are three rites that are of personal importance to the blackroot clan, these are the birth rite, marriage rite, and the rite of death. They are rites dedicated to the Tribunal; Belka, Anbella, and Dungrimm. Birth Rite When a child is born the family of the child must go in a hunt for a beast. The family is to slay the beast and bathe the child in the blood of the creature in a ceremony dedicated to the Tribunal. By doing so the family creates a Totem protector for the child that will protect him/her whenever they need it most. Marriage Rite Handfasting is the way the dwarves of clan Blackroot get married. Marriage in the clan is a way to assure the partner that they will remain with them and that they will not look for another partner. Once a dwarf has been bound in marriage he/she can no longer go around having flings. To divorce the partner or if the partner dies there is an unfasting ceremony where the bond is burned in a fire symbolizing the end of the union. Sometimes widows choose to never burn their bond and carry it with them until the end of their life. A divorce happens in a similar fashion with one of the partners burning their bond. Death Rite Traditionally the Clan mummified their dead so they were able to carry their bodies with them in their travels to new continents as well as to keep their beards from rotting away. However, in the past to keep the Hefrumm tradition of burying their dead in the Tree of Anbella the clan tends to put the mummified remains of their folk in the tree. Both practices lost traction once Hefrumm moved away from a communal grave site for the forest dwarves. Nonetheless, the Blackroots remained very involved in funerary rites but the clan now has no ultimate way to deal with bodies. A rite to Dungrimm is, however, always demanded, even for dwarves without family or friends. [!] Blackroot taking care of abandoned bodies. Ranks Like other dwarven clans the Blackroots have clan ranks. They range from the Clan Chief to the Beardlings, with the elders and clan members in the middle. Chief As is tradition in Hefrumm clans the Clan father/mother of the clan is called Chief. If the Chief is removed by the clan Elders or ressignes they will become part of the Elders. Clan Chiefs guide the clan, serve as embodiment of the clan, and take care of the clan and Hefrumm. Elder Under the Clan Chief there are the Elders. These dwarves do not need to be old. However, it is a requirement that these dwarves were once the clan Chief. They are the confidants of the Chief. Elders are able to remove the chief if they prove to be a danger to the clan if the chiefs have a ⅔ majority support of the clan elders. Clan Dwarves Clan Dwarves are the members of the Blackroot clan that have finished their trials. This allows them to vote in moots for the election of a new Chief. Being a Clan Dwarf also allows one to vote on internal clan issues in clan meetings. Beardling Beardling is a rank given to every dwarf under 50 and those that have not done their trials yet. To be able to start one’s trials they must be at least 50 years old. Those that marry a clan member are recommended to do the trials before or after the marriage. Chiefs of the Blackroots Karl Blackroot, First Chief of the Blackroots, Seventh High Chief of Hefrumm Yazmorra Blackroot, Second Chief of the Blackroots, Eight High Chief of Hefrumm, Grand Queen of Urguan Celeste’Tol Blackroot, Third Chief of the Blackroots, Tenth High Chief of Hefrumm Mao Blackroot, Fourth Chief of the Blackroots Asketil Blackroot, Fifth Chief of the Blackroots 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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