Torchies

It's not uncommon for Torchies to have two first names. Though history will eventually forget why that was the case, the reason is simply that the elders of the generation, specifically, wanted to change their names when the old society was destroyed. They watched adults around them do so as surnames were temporarily abandoned as well, and they were eager to join the trend. Of course, their parents and elders often still referred to them by their old names (or flat out refused to use the new ones). With time, they would either become known by both names depending on who they spoke to, or one name would eventually overshadow the other as they reached adulthood.

Since Torchies were alive during the grand ending of the former modern world, they bring plenty with them into future Willowmoor. An interesting way this shows itself is in the music and books they create after they've grown into adults, much of it borrowed from songs or stories they remember from the Before Times. They also inherit various pieces of memorabilia from their parents, many of which eventually attain high value.

Torchies are well known for valuing loyalty above all other virtues, often testing their friends and loved ones at some point in the relationship to ensure they are loyal. This even becomes a cornerstone of those who emulate the Torchie culture in the present day; you're a pretender if you don't give tests of loyalty to every person you choose to trust.

The Torchies are also responsible for the moral code prevalent in Willowmoor to this day: protect the herd. No matter what bitter factions may arise within the village, they will always band together to do just as the Torchies instilled in the following generations to do: protect the herd.

Torchies solidified the short bow as the standard Willowmoor greeting by adapting to it more efficiently than their elders did - despite said elders being the ones to do away with the handshake of the old world (some were more set in the old habits than others).

Other common etiquette among the Torchies went out of vogue since it was more subversive to the sensibilities of many Willowmoorans. One of these was the more casual greeting that involved ruffling each other's hair if you were boys, kissing each other's cheeks if you were girls.

If you're a Torchie, you should eat when you're hungry - even if the other person considers it bad manners that you're eating in front of them. Someone from your generation would understand, and you might even offer them a bite.

Torchies were also well known for the respect they showed their elders since many were respected to the point of being revered. While future generations would carry that reverence for the generation that came before the Torchies, none would hold the same amount of respect for their own elders - Torchies included.

The Torchies dressed like the lives they lived. They wore denim pants and cotton shirts that were typically in one solid color; on their feet, they liked big boots - good for kicking if one needed to. The denim pants were baggy with many pockets and even a strap to hold a flashlight or any other tool one might need to quickly grab. They always carried some sort of bag, too, for whatever their pants could not hold. Both genders dressed this way often even when they stopped needing some of the tools they continued to carry around.

If the Torchies wanted to differentiate themselves, the men went shirtless and barefoot, swapping the baggy denims for something that would breathe. The women would dress themselves up as much or little as they wanted, wearing a number of fancy clothing combinations, doing each other's hair into elaborate dos, applying makeup that looked like artwork.

Men and women alike enjoyed dying their hair outrageous colors or at least adding outrageous color to their natural hair. Of the original Torchies, even into their old age, it was common to see them around Willowmoor, noticeable by their bright unnatural hair.

The Torchie way of dress remains popular into the present day, to the point that there are "true" Torchies and those they would refer to as fakers, phonies, or pretenders. The latter group can be spotted since they wear clothing imbued with the latest style of the times, replete with unique patterns and made out of thin, airy fabrics. A pretender is also less likely to color their hair, though plenty of the original Torchies did not bother with dying their hair either.

The Torchie loyalty tests are well known rituals this generation and its imitators perform. Of those tests, there's no standard; it's up to each person to decide how to test another's loyalty.

Torchies are almost ubiquitous with the Bonfire Night holiday that's held annually in the fall because theirs is the generation responsible for carrying it forward. There's a common misconception, though, that it's because of the relation between torches and bonfires. In fact, in the present day, Bonfire Night is to Torchie imitators as Halloween was to goth kids. Teenage Torchies often use the night to sneak around with their peers and cause mischief around the fire.

A Torchie's coming of age celebration was wildly different depending on when it occurred. The oldest of the generation might have received a meager congratulations in a stuffy and crowded arena. Or, they may have passed it by quietly on the road in a caravan looking for where to build a village. Or, they may have passed it just as unceremoniously out in the wild of the place that would become the village. Even when the village was finally built, the oldest Torchies continued to have lackluster celebrations. They saw a lot of death for their young ages and adulthood often seemed to promise more, so they stopped celebrating it.

Though plenty of the younger generation of Torchies could remember celebrating miserable birthdays like their older counterparts, they celebrated many more in the finished village of Willowmoor before reaching their big coming of age day. For them, the birthday itself was a day spent in reflection with family and friends. The day after that, though, they met with their elders to receive certification in their job - the job they had been apprenticing for the last 1-2 years.

For the Torchie generation, there is no greater taboo than calling someone by the name they abandoned.

Relationships between Torchies are monogamous, though concessions can be made for the sake of childbearing. Since they are the first generation to carry the torch into the new world, procreating becomes something most couples strive to achieve. Marriage is not as universally desired as kids, though, with only about half of Torchie couples making their relationship official in that way.