Tale Beads
To Mark A Legacy
"I understand why my people view the Avians as prideful and arrogant, but I've come to know that their pride stems from a deep love and respect for each other, for those who came before, and for those yet to make their mark. Is it prideful to love one's family?" - Ambassador Bellira Tamodel
Each Avian bears a string of Tale Beads carved with their story, given to them at their birth with a solitary blank bead. Upon coming of age they are presented with their first carving, typically performed by a parent or an elder. As they accomplish feats of worth additional beads will be carved and presented to them, adding on as their story continues. An Avian always has their beads on them, often displayed around the wrist or neck, but all manner of adornments have emerged over the years.
More than a personal trinket, Tale Beads carry the mark a person has made on their family and people, and the world at large. To earn a bead is to be recognized by your peers as having accomplished some great feat, and can range from something as small as having a kind personality and being pleasant to be around, to fending off a great beast and protecting your homeland. Most Avians obtain a handful of beads over the course of their life, and an adult with less than ten might be seen as a person of little worth, while sixteen is seen as a great achievement, and any more than that is a truly valued individual.
Traditionally, Tale Beads have to be given to someone once they have earned them, and anyone has the right to bestow a bead upon someone else, provided they gain permission from an Elder first. Rarely "false beads" might be given out, those offered too freely or worse, made for oneself, but these are seen as a sign of great disrespect and the offending Avian may suffer penalties for defying traditions. To imply a bead is unearned is a grave insult, but to truly possess a false bead is almost analogous to sin.
When an Avian dies, their Tale Beads are collected and provided to their surviving family, or an Elder if their line has ended. At this time, the deceased's beads are taken to their Family Line, a long cord typically adorned within the family's home, and are added to the stories already strung up. In this way, the Family Line is continued and strengthened by their addition, and their story continues to grow.
Aside from the personal beads each Avian carries, and the more respected Family Lines that carry on an entire family's history, there is finally: The Line of Legacy. This collection was made to represent Kelekemoleke itself, and functions as the story of Avian society as a whole. These "beads" are in fact made of larger stones, and are strung along a massive rope that stretches around the mountains the city has been built upon. This line grows when the Avian people accomplish something truly great as a whole, and notable examples include: the building of their grand city atop the mountains, their success in repelling an invading army of Cloud Giants, and the divergence of the Shadeclaws to name just a few. In the unfortunate event of an entire family ending, their Family Line is woven into the Line of Legacy, creating a series of smaller ties interspersed between the larger stones of the grander Line. While the end of a family is seen as a terrible fate, for with no future generations their Line shall grow no stronger, to be woven into the Line of Legacy is seen as an acceptable recompense for those whose stories have ended, and their addition to the history of their people is in fact the end goal of Tale Beads in the first place.History
The collection of Tale Beads is the oldest known Avian tradition, stretching back as far as their collective history goes. It is believed the habit originated from their early ancestors collecting pieces of treasure and jewels when building their nests, but once they started carving stories into them Tale Beads and Family Lines have been a permanent part of Avian culture. The Family Lines of Kelekemoleke stretch back centuries, stretching back even farther than the Line of Legacy itself, and the proper care and record of these is an important job within Avian culture, relegated to their Elders and carried out with the utmost respect and accuracy.
Significance
To the Avian people, Tale Beads are the representation of their history, and of the mark each individual can make upon the lives and legacy of their people. All Avians know that when their time on this world is done, their story will still be told by the beads they leave behind, and remembered by future generations that read their Family Line. While they are not an incredibly devout culture and have been known to spurn the Divines their neighbors worship, the bearing these beads is seen as their most sacred custom, and the sanctity of Family Lines even more so. Very rarely has there been someone whose acts were so egregious, so treasonous to Avian society, that their beads were not still collected after their death. In all their time, less than five Family Lines have been destroyed outright, and these names are lost even to Avian history in an effort to forget the pain and suffering they caused.
The greatest insult an outsider can deal to an Avian is to steal their Tale Beads, or worse to destroy them, and that person will be marked an enemy of all Avians for as long as they live.
Rarity
Tale Beads themselves are incredibly common, with every Avian wearing or carrying their own, but the actual material of the beads can vary from person to person. Beads are typically made out of stone, but rarely a person may be presented with a bead formed from a rare mineral or gemstone, although this practice is typically reserved for incredibly fantastic feats of great value to society as a whole or involving great sacrifice. The most common example of this would be the "Red Soul" beads, formed of brilliant rubies and provided to those that suffer grievous wounds or fall in battle while defending others or accomplishing a great task to benefit others at the cost of their life.
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