Government
Rocborne place a great deal of importance on the skills of oral storytelling and memory, ascribing these most respected positions of leadership to the individuals that preserve their Home’s genealogy and traditions.
Culture
A Rocborne Home, whether in flight or landed, is a lesson in serenity and balance with nature. All aspects of their lives are designed with practicality and respect, from their buildings and tools to their arts and music.
- The expansive back of the Roc is dotted with small, squat buildings made from natural materials, designed to provide flexibility in wind and minimal weight. Rugged quilts and woven blankets help to keep away the cold during flight, while hanging baskets and hammocks ensure protection for their contents. Even when camping on land, their architecture and respectful behavior towards nature are evident.
- Most clothing among the Rocborne is designed for sturdiness and warmth, given the altitudes they travel. They make use of various leathers and furs, dying them in beautiful patterns based on their Home, family, and profession. The Rocborne place the most importance, however, upon feathers, painstakingly collected from the ground without harming the birds. Spiritual leaders in particular are known to utilize feathers when channeling or communing with wind spirits.
- The Rocborne are renowned for their exquisite craftsmanship, and there is no shortage of demand for their art wherever they land. They are most known for their unique style of hand-shaped and smoke-fired pottery, their intricately shaped and painted beads, and woven baskets and blankets. They also take great care in the crafting of their tools and dwellings, using bone and leather to ensure their hunts are not wasteful or disrespectful.
- Though each Home has different preferences on the specifics, they all share an appreciation for music and dance. Beyond the making of music for entertainment, Rocborne instruments are also used to aid in spiritual ceremonies: typically appealing to a specific ancestor through their preferred song or musically-supplemented story.
- Especially when landed, many of the youth and adults among the Rocborne take great joy in contests of strength, agility, and teamwork in the form of various sporting events. Those individuals who excel in these displays of athleticism can earn additional responsibilities and community acknowledgement, though they always take care to keep these events safe and fair. Those who do not excel at these sports are not considered less important, and losing is not punished, for all can bring something of value to the Home.
Valour
Rocborne society has a clear division of labor between hunter-gatherers and crafters, but don’t assign roles or societal expectations based on gender. They also place a great deal of importance on the skills of oral storytelling and memory, ascribing these most respected positions of leadership to the individuals that preserve their Home’s genealogy and traditions.
Part of the closeness of the Rocborne society is due to the overt importance they place upon relationship bonds and love, both familial and interpersonal. They understand that nature’s balance both requires and encourages strong bonds for survival. As a result, it’s not uncommon for Rocborne to enter fluid or same-sex romantic relationships just as readily as any other, to such a degree that most adopted Rocborne join in order to gain that freedom of expression.
Landing Sites
The Rocborne don’t need to land often, but in their circuitous travels they have taken to landing in certain locations each year for reasons steeped in tradition. Some landing sites are ideal locations for commerce with the surrounding region, whose residents regard the Rocborne’s yearly arrival is a holiday of sorts. Other sites are chosen for their ideal hunting grounds, or rich gathering. The most important landing sites are those areas chosen for multiple Homes, or Rocs, to land, so that the Rocborne can trade crafts, genealogies, resources, and stories with one another. These areas often include arenas set aside for large athletic contests between Homes, the winners earning more favorable trading rights for the event’s duration. When it’s time for a Home to leave a landing site, a Rocborne elder or chief is typically the one to communicate with the roc and decide where to travel next.
Economy
Exchange
Rocborne tend to trade using goods rather than money, as they place little value on coins and similar tokens of wealth.
Notable members
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