Prunyn Ethnicity in Kobos

Feminine names

Prunyth carries an old tradition, and their names reflect this. Ilduara Leodegundia Manildi Onildi Berildi Mirosinda Sisileova Fredenanda Ansiunda Menegundia Sigesgundia Froisenda Viscaverga Helaguntia Ermileuva Ermildi Ebrailli Sarilli Aliverga Sisuita

Masculine names

Selvatus Fredemiro Engoredus Tarildus Geodemondo Geodesindus Agarius Recemirus Sisualdo Odemundus Frumirus Gundulfo Gebuldus Radesindus Betrulfus Trasuarius Gomundus Hermundus Vitisclus Tumtuldo

Family names

Family names in Prunyth are generally place names. The Prunyn are the closest thing Maecodia has to serfs; tied to the land, hereditary laborers, and servants to castles. They live in a dour swampland, and because of these two factors their family names tend to also be dour; Darkmire, Stonewood, Batcavern, etc.

Other names

Prunyn often rename themselves if they succeed at earning their rebirth. These names can range from mementos (naming themselves after friends or family) to tributes (naming themselves after heroes of folklore or history) to self-descriptive or aspirational.

Major language groups and dialects

More peasants know at least a few phrases in the Old Tongue than most merchant class from the rest of Maecodia.

Culture and cultural heritage

Of all the cantons, Prunyth have the clearest memories of Tilane and the time before. They share the tendency towards the habitual feudalism and the unquestioning loyalty to authority that their ancestors had taken with them from bondage.

Shared customary codes and values

Prunyn believe in a communal sense of purpose. They suffer now, working for the afterlife in a very real and nonmetaphysical sense. If they fail, if they cannot earn their way to eternal unlife, they gladly surrender their bodies to be raised to work the fields and stand ready for the armies as mindless undead. Nearly all of them revere the Archduchess with near religious fervor, and more than one peasant has died on the field of honor defending her good name in a duel with a hard-bitten veteran from another canton.

Common Etiquette rules

Prunyn don't notice death. They don't talk about death, only change. They don't say 'kill, die, death,' they say "pushed on, passed away, rebirth."

Common Dress code

Prunyn tend to wear layers of cheap cloth - the better to discard should one venture too close to a gorgon pool and the spray petrify the outer layers.

Art & Architecture

Prunyn art is built to last; statues, bas-reliefs, and ceramic pottery. Likewise, they build much more often from marble and stone than wood or thatch. When they do build with wood, they use material well on its way to petrification. Ghost towns exist scattered around Prunyth with the last few residents standing petrified about their homes. Due to the solidity of their construction, it's often difficult to tell whether a decade had passed since the last living breath of the village or centuries.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

If a citizen is in favor with the Archduchess or is up on their payments with the Death Insurance Collective, they will become a Haint at the least. Such 'rebirth' is a life goal for the Prunyn.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

Prunyn celebrate each birth with a three day festival as all friends and family cycle through to spend time with the new family. At these celebrations, it is traditional for landlords to give gifts to the family in general and to the new child specifically. It is considered a matter of luck to keep the childhood gift to the landlord, which can range from practical to silly.

Funerary and Memorial customs

Prunyn who have earned a place of honor from the canton and its Archduchess or purchased the service from the Death Insurance Collective rise as the "noble dead." This is the local euphemism for intelligent undead: Liches, wights, vampires, haints, and shades. Those that do not earn or buy such a favor are instead sent to the state embalmers for processing. If they are to serve in the Prunyth Eternals, they are likely to retain their flesh and simply be preserved, perfumed and raised as zombies. If they are to work the fields they are more likely to be defleshed using corpseworms. These mindless undead are used in agriculture and for defense. Finally, true scholars and experts that have impressed the Archduchess will find themselves in the Fossilized Choir. The death of a loved one is cause for celebration, as the Prunyn believe that this is simply the breaking of the chrysalis.

Common Taboos

Prunyn don't talk about death directly. They talk about "passing," "rebirth," and "destiny." Prunyn tend to obey before questioning, and they are more comfortable operating within a hierarchy.

Common Myths and Legends

The dominant religion in Prunyth is the Mysteries of Death. However, the sect practiced by the Prunyn is unusual, as they believe in an extra member of the Hamasana; The Archduchess of Prunyth. Additionally, the people of Prunyth are especially concerned with the possibility of a return by Orcus, and any hint of a demonic cult or incursion is usually handled with intense destruction and burning.

Beauty Ideals

Prunyn put little stock in their personal appearance unless they are attempting to catch the eye of the noble dead, or preserve their looks for particularly soft treatment at the hands of the embalmers of the Death Insurance Collective. That being said, they prefer a certain sickly pallor and thinness to the point of unhealthiness.

Gender Ideals

Prunyn are creatures of tradition. If their parents worked fields, they want to work fields. If their grandparents were bakers, then they likely bake. Consequentially, there are a higher concentration of housewives with husbands who work sixteen hours a day in Prunyth than the rest of Maecodia.

Courtship Ideals

Ideal marriages in Prunyth are arranged by the oldest (usually undead) heads of their houses. Barring this, they employ matchmakers who may travel as far as the Barrier Mountains.