"Earl Galrath is sending 100 of his warriors to the farms surrounding Sybulus proper. We all know what he is doing . We will ride out to meet him. Contact Mayor Tenlay, and let him know we are requesting urgent support."

-Martial for Clan Finnegan, Marcus Strongback

Rackish Culture

Clans of the Rolling Greens

The people of the isle of Rackam, the Rackish, have always believed that they lived in Rackam in prehistoric times, long before the proto-Kelorans left the west and settled Adra Minoris. Instead, the Rackish, at least those who believe they are true-blooded, have always maintained that their peoples' roots grow deeper than their neighbors. Scholars believe this to be impossible, based on their knowledge of the history of human migrations, and yet, the field of archaeology (medieval archaeology being a bit rough and ready) has found strange settlements that they believe could come from this time. Whether it is true or not, their belief in their sheer ancientness has always played deep in the psyche of the Rackish. Rackam has always been ruled by clans, familial units that farmed a plot of land belonging to them. These clans would war with one another, and declare patronage over another clan, as their protector. This larger clan groups collected together over centuries, to the point that the whole island was at any one time divided between 3-7 major clans, depending on the current makeup of the isle. These clans farmed a variety of root vegetables, as well as a handful of cereal crops. The land had little in the way of solid roads, but instead was crisscrossed with muddy pathways stamped down by countless travelers. The clans engaged in very little trade, and therefore experienced very little of the outside world. Occasionally an adventurous merchant would make the journey to one of the clans, but in general, the only interaction the Rackish had with the outside world was through war. Invaders came to the shores of the island many times over its long history, the Halish particular on multiple occasions. In these wars, the Rackish would succeed when they united against the enemy, and fail when they did not. However, the combined effect of the lack of friendly interaction with the outside world, and prevalence of wars of invasion from outsiders meant that the Rackish progressively grew wary of foreigners, viewing them all as violent and untrustworthy animals. The insular culture of the Rackish meant that whenever they met outsiders that weren't hostile, they found reasons to dislike or even hate the outsider nonetheless. Eventually, the ultimate form of a violent foreigner arrived on their shores: the Arissian Empire. The Arissians met little resistance at first. In skirmishes against the hardened Arissian army, the Clan armies failed utterly, never having encountered a foe nearly as formidable before. The Arissians built forts at multiple points on the coast, and established ports to bring in supplies and reinforcements. After years of fighting, the Great Clan leaders submitted. However, over the whole course of Arissian rule over the island, there were always some clans that joined in open rebellion against the Arissians, and the clans that rebelled constantly changed. It made it nearly impossible for the Arissians, mostly ignorant of Rackish politics, to know exactly who to cajole, purge, or reward. The Great Clan leaders acted as if they worked for the Arissians, but behind closed doors openly fomented the rebellion of their underlings. This meant that the island could never be fully settled, and the people were never fully incorporated into the Arissian empire. When the Arissians began to pull out of the island for good, the stragglers were slaughtered in a massive uprising, and every Arissian fort, settlement, and port was burned, say for one, the diocesan capital of Sybulus. Sybulus became a neutral-ground between the Great Clans, who voted for the Mayor of the town. Sybulus became a bastion for those very few Rackish people who were happy with Arissian rule and culture, and a useful port for trading with outsiders. However, its status as a neutral ground only holds during peacetime. In times of war between the clans, Sybulus becomes a warzone.

The first thing anyone thinks of when they hear the word Rakish is bigoted, racist, or at the very least, unfriendly to outsiders. It is a rough generalization. There are many Rackish people that have had good experiences with outsiders, or who are a kinder sort, but in general, it is true that the Rakish are at least wary of outsiders. Until now, those Rackish who have thrived and survived have been the ones to keep two eyes on anyone who could be their enemy. However, as times change, and mercantile trade reaches its golden age, there are fortunes to be made from peace and friendship. This age of trade has largely left the Rackish behind. The Rackish, when not angrily shouting at you for coming to their island, are a happy people. They are a fun-loving and musical people, often known for grand summer fairs between the clans, and long nights spent drinking and reveling over days gone by. Given that the Rackish organize their lives around familial clans, the family unit is extremely important for every Rackish person. One is defined by their relationship to the clan. Are you a clan warrior, a clan leader, a clan speaker, or a clan knower? All people, regardless of whether they are a farmer, blacksmith, or hunter, all have a role in the clan outside of their job. Furthermore, every role within the clan is filled by someone who also performs a more practical job, even the clan leaders, who are expected to pull their weight as well (the top leaders of the Great Clans in practice rarely have time for anything but clan functions). Child-rearing itself is considered of the utmost importance, and serves as a job one performs akin to being a farmer. It is considered so important that one of the only taxes that the Great Clans levy from their people is called a Rearing-Tax, a flat 20 copper per year head tax on people who don't rear children, and this is distributed as compensation to anyone that does rear children. Given their years of resistance under the Arissians, the Rackish are a famously rebellious people. This often means that Rackish are more argumentative, more stubborn, and feistier than many others, particularly others in Adra Minoris. In combat, the Rackish fight in mass, meeting each other man to man, but when facing an obviously stronger opponent, Rackish tend to use cunning guerilla tactics to force loses on a more powerful opponent. Most notably, the people of Rackam are peace-loving. Their ire towards their enemies flows from a deep desire to live free and easy.

The Rackish people are most highly concentrated on the island of Rackam. There are very few Rackish people outside of Rackam, but a few merchants or diplomats from Sybulus can be found elsewhere in Adra. The races of the Rackish are most predominately human. The most popular god among the Rackish is Eoulous. Rackish tend to be jolly, family-centered, and independent. They also tend to be isolationist, bigoted, and simple-minded. Low Arissian is a popular language, especially in Sybulus, but many Rackish turn to Primordial in order to communicate with each other.

If you choose the Rackish Culture, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Charisma score or a +1 to your Constitution score~

~A -1 to your Wisdom score~

~As a known language, either Low Arissian Common or Primordial~

~A Sub-Discipline in every knowledge skill on checks relating to Rackish Culture~

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