Thalrani
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Thalrani feminine names often evoke moonlight, music, wind, or flowers.
Aeyla, Syrinel, Virela, Nymara, Elathe, Maerwyn, Illyre, Thalisse, Ceyrane, Lysarra
Masculine names
Masculine names tend to reference rivers, stone, or sacred trees.
Kaelor, Teryn, Vareth, Lomir, Naevan, Rydel, Althorn, Seyric, Thamior, Droven
Unisex names
Unisex names are most common among spirit-binders and those born during festivals.
Solin, Vaerel, Ceren, Thyra, Elun, Nyel, Seren, Malen, Lior, Arvain
Family names
Thalrani family names are woven into fabric during rites of passage, symbolizing lineage and memory. Names are often associated with elements of the Weave, ancestral roles, or lost provinces of Myriath. Common family names include:
Vaelore, Therenwyn, Sarayne, Kel'tivar, Lomethil, Nyrosen, El’vanar, Sylarin, Orethiel, Durnavir
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Thalrani speaks Thal’Sylin, a melodic, thread-based language that is as visual as it is spoken. Thread glyphs are woven into cloth to record speech. Dialects vary by continental enclave:
- Sylin’Dar (Selendral)
- Vaelyn’Thas (Drakora)
- Thal'Uri (Solaris)
Culture and cultural heritage
The Thalrani carry the legacy of Myriath with a mixture of pride and sorrow. Their identity is deeply bound to impermanence, yet their traditions are resilient. Festivals center on collective memory: the Weaving of Names, the Festival of Threads, and the Rite of Stillness—an annual day of reflection.
Shared customary codes and values
The Thalrani value memory, humility, craftsmanship, and ancestral reverence. Elders are honored not for their age but for how clearly they “hold the thread.” Betraying a threadline, falsifying a lineage, or speaking dishonestly in a memory circle are among the gravest cultural offenses. Unity in crisis is sacred; personal ambition is suspect.
Average technological level
The Thalrani excel in woven technomagic—blending textiles and enchantment. Their artifacts include memory sashes that store spells, loom-engines that power light and heat, and time-thread pendants that preserve personal chronology. Though they rarely build machines of war, their craft surpasses modern arcane engineering in subtlety and soulfulness.
Common Etiquette rules
- Bowing is performed with palms open and thread-gloves visible.
- Silence is honored in grief and celebration alike.
- One never interrupts a speaker in a memory circle.
- It is customary to offer thread from one’s sash when entering another’s home.
Common Dress code
The Thalrani traditional dress is called the Sashweave, a long, multilayered wrap of enchanted thread that bears one’s lineage symbols and emotional resonance. These garments change hue with mood and magic, and are worn during rites, festivals, and memory gatherings.
Art & Architecture
Thalrani art is heavily textile-based. Tapestries are used as historical documents. Musical storytelling through thread-singing (plucking threads strung across a harp frame) is common. Architecture within diaspora enclaves incorporates spiraled walls, open-air meditation platforms, and floating thread looms.
Foods & Cuisine
Cuisine emphasizes ritual and memory. Recipes are passed down on embroidered cloth. Dishes include:
- Glowroot Stew – hearty and infused with calming enchantments
- Ashflat Wafers – crisp bread etched with personal symbols
- Loomfruit Wine – known for its hallucinatory nostalgia
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
- The Lining – when a child receives their first threadline marking
- The Echo Meal – commemorates those lost in the Sundering
- Remembrance Braids – hair woven with thread from a deceased loved one
Birth & Baptismal Rites
Upon birth, a child’s first wail is recorded into a Threadcoil, which is then worn around the wrist for life. Baptism occurs through a moonlit cleansing with glimmerleaf oil, followed by ceremonial threading—a soft wrap placed along the child's body, symbolizing future ties.
Coming of Age Rites
At thirteen, each Thalrani enters the Looming Trial, a week-long ritual to trace their lineage, learn its stories, and contribute a new thread to the communal loom. Those who complete the rite are permitted to wear their True Weave, thereby gaining full access to the family archives and their rightful place in memory circles.
Funerary and Memorial customs
Death is not mourned with sadness, but with silence and weaving. The deceased’s sash is unraveled, cleaned, and re-spun into a tapestry that joins the Thread of the Departed, a great hanging spiral housed in diaspora sanctuaries. Names are whispered, not spoken aloud, after passing.
Common Taboos
- Settling permanently in The Shatterdeep Expanse
- Using forged threadlines
- Declaring oneself a sovereign or king
- Unwinding a burial sash
- Interrupting the Threadsend Ceremony at the Spire
Common Myths and Legends
The Tapestry of Breaths tells that the first Thalrani was woven from starlight and grief, crafted by the world itself to remember all it would lose. Another legend claims that the Unweaving Spire is the finger of a god who tried to stitch the world shut after Myriath fell, but failed.
Historical figures
Vaeyra the Loommother – Said to have had over 150 children through magically bonded lovers and adopted Threadchildren. Her descendants span all continents.
Kaelen of the First Cry - A child born during the final tremors of Myriath’s collapse, wrapped in flame and shadow. The myth says his first breath mended the first rift.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
The Thalrani do not prize physical perfection as other cultures might. Instead, beauty is defined by how well a person reflects their ancestral thread. Body markings—called threadlines—are considered beautiful when they show clear lineage. Glowing thread-ink tattoos, gracefully aged faces, and fluid, dance-like motion are signs of great beauty.
Gender Ideals
Thalrani culture embraces fluid gender roles, guided more by a person’s function within a Threadline than by biological sex. Weavers, Wards, and Loreholders can be of any gender. While feminine-presenting individuals often lead ceremonies, masculine figures tend to steward memory. Third-gender or nonbinary individuals, called “Bridgers,” hold revered roles in balancing dual traditions.
Courtship Ideals
Courtship is a ritualized dance of shared memory and gesture. When two Thalrani wish to court, they engage in a Thread Offering, where each weaves a small tapestry of personal symbolism and exchanges it with the other. Affection is earned through emotional memory, poetic storytelling, and mutual vulnerability.
Relationship Ideals
Monogamy and polyamory are both common, though the core of any relationship is mutual weaving—a metaphorical and literal act. The more tightly a couple’s threadlines align, the more unified their identity is perceived to be. Partnerships often include chosen family groups called Weavings, who share living spaces and raise children collectively.
We are the thread, and the world is the loom.
Diverged ethnicities
Related Organizations
Languages spoken
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