Ferelian People

Noun Form: Ferelian

Adjectival Form: Ferelian

Inspired by Roman Britannia

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Ada, Adele, Alma, Artoria, Atina, Belle, Benette, Breya, Carina, Cecilia, Coretta, Dinah, Dorine, Dravinna, Dysi, Eloise, Eve, Evrane, Farrah, Felicia, Fiona, Heska, Hollis, Ida, Isolde, Ilke, Ilsen, Jaima, Jetta, Joan, Jorina, Kara, Katerine, Keeri, Kisa, Lettice, Loretta, Mara, Marian, Marsela, Megren, Miri, Myla, Reagan, Renata, Rowene, Runya, Sabine, Salda, Saren, Selise, Shiren, Sora, Sybil, Tamarin, Tamzin, Telrin, Tiesha, Victorcine

Masculine names

Abbet, Aldous, Aldred, Alek, Anders, Anton, Asterin, Baldric, Benedir, Bran, Callic, Cassian, Corin, Driscoll, Derrik, Elias, Ezren, Forwin, Gerard, Giles, Godric, Gregor, Haniker, Harwin, Henric, Herdic, Hugh, Ilsem, Jakhail, Janas, Jon, Linder, Lucen, Maksim, Marka, Merrik, Milev, Morn, Nealan, Raoul, Renik, Rensen, Samrin, Silas, Taliesin, Tobyn, Tyriol, Warrin, Yancen, Yenik

Unisex names

Nolan, Imel

Family names

Abram, Alton, Ashton, Barlow, Blakely, Cason, Clayton, Crawford, Darby, Derry, Durham, Eaton, Elwood, Emworth, Fawcett, Ferrier, Garly, Graham, Hale, Hartford, Hastings, Keene, Kinsey, Langdon, Lynn, Marleigh, Meath, Morton, Norton, Oakes, Paxton, Rainey, Remley, Sandmore, Sigmore, Tysten, Ulwer

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

The people of Terenor

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

Ferelian culture observes four major holidays throughout the year: the vernal and autumnal equinoxes and the estival and hibernal solstices.

On the summer solstice, communities gather to contribute iron coins, pins, and other tokens to a central forge in the town's center. The blacksmith who has been granted the honor will begin the first stages of smelting the presented items into a collection of swords for that season's new militia members. While the blacksmith works the forge, the community engages in feasting and games to celebrate the beginning of a new season of growth.

Perhaps the largest celebration of the year comes at the winter solstice. The seven day long festival is celebrated to differing degrees based on wealth and status, but two features remain universal from coast to coast: gift giving and singing for the departed. The fourth night of the week long celebration is opened with an exchange of gifts between friends and family, often in the early hours of the morning. The main part of the day is then spent feasting and playing games, often in large numbers within a community. When night falls, celebrants once again gather in the temples to Síorladh or the town cemeteries to sing for those who have died during the past year. According to tradition, the voices of the living help to wake the dead from their sleep in order to begin their journey through the Seven Gates of Death and be reunited with the Mother of All. All over the land, and indeed all over the world, acolytes of the death god lead these sung prayers as they guide the spirits of the departed to the First Gate of Death. This portion of the celebration is often met with varying degrees of joy and grief.

Funerary and Memorial customs

As is standard with most funerary rites on D'neth, Ferelians believe that an acolyte of Síorladh must oversee the death rituals of a departed loved one in order to ensure that the individual's soul is properly laid to rest. It is customary to recite the story of a person's life, preferably while they are still alive to hear it, as a final "bedtime story" before their soul is put to sleep. Every year on the winter solstice, the souls of those who have died during the past year are awoken by the singing of the living to be guided to the First Gate of Death by a death acolyte.

Historical figures

Perhaps the best known figure in Ferelian history is Siriun the Smith King who was largely responsible for ending the Clan Wars that had devastated D'neth for decades and establishing the Kingdom of Ferrin. He ushered in an age of peace and prosperity with the help of his partner, Etine, and their seven children. After his death, he was often invoked by smiths of all walks of life. Given his considerable legacy, he became one of the first minor gods to emerge in the immediate aftermath of the Crafting.