#and the clan names/etc

[inonibird]

All righty, folks. Bringing back these backgrounds I originally painted back in August 2020(!), only this time it's the version I didn't post with the titles of all six parts of Sahuldeem. Seems like a good way to both look back at where things started...and where they're about to go.

Part Six is a tricky one. I imagine it comes with a lot of expectations, and I might not meet all of those. For instance, it was never my intention to sit down and rewrite the events of the Clone Wars, so it was treated as a montage in my original script (to be fair, I was still imagining a comic adaptation at that point). We already know what happens during the Clone Wars (well, mostly; I do have a few scenes I've either added/expanded upon or retold with a fresh perspective). I, personally, am much more interested in what happens after the crash and before the war, deep in the catacombs of Geonosis.

So, yes: I'm nervously excited to start wrapping up this saga, and I hope there are people out there who are still looking forward to seeing this through with me. I never would have dreamed I'd write something like this, let alone share it, so I'm pleased and immensely grateful that others have also enjoyed it along the way. (reminder that this Master Post exists!)

[chalkrub]

more art fights!!

[vic-does-battlecats]

I’ve seen several things about how Moonpaw has to be a Nightsun kit because of her name being a mix of both of theirs. At first I thought to myself ‘that’s a funny reason. The cats don’t really name their kids like that. Nightsun wouldn’t do that.’ And then I thought about it for a few seconds and came to the conclusion.. No, they definitely would. These two are sappiest most insufferably romantic couple in the series. Cats have to tell them to stop staring at each other. Breezepelt of all people is all ‘STOP TALKING LOVEYDOVEY IN PUBLIC’. They’d do something stupid like this. Thunderclan would collectively sigh and try and move on with their lives after

Drew this on paper and colored digitally for the funnies

[serpentface]

FAMILY TITLES AMONG THE HILL TRIBES

(ft. various linguistic notes and tangents)

In-universe Brakul’s self-given title of ‘Red-Dog’ is Brakul 'ne-Dainh' in his native language (Bict-Urbinnas dialect of the Highland language group) and Brakul 'Chin-Reyla' in Wardi. Ne-Dainh/Chin-Reyla is not something he treats as or considers an actual surname or identity, just a self-styled nickname. He already has a title.

Family names/surnames are not a native practice among the Hill Tribes (though some clans or individual families have adopted this practice), and all traditionally use titles that designate immediate ancestry, clan and tribe. These full titles are officially given when one comes of age and are spoken aloud in ceremony (with the entire direct male and female lines listed by name, with most traditions expecting 12 generations of each being named).

The function is to cement one’s sense of place in the world, and their place in a direct ancestral line, which puts the person under the full watch and guidance of their ancestors. It's also a critical method of recording lineage- the long held practice of each person memorizing at least 24 total direct ancestors allows for very long, largely accurate records of family history to be kept, with some people able to trace their ancestry all the way back to initial settlement of the Highlands (or even beyond).

Brakul’s full title is:

“Brakul virsum Kuligan et Borunil an Briyonis ne-Taig an Bict-Urbinnas”

Which dead literally translates to “Brakul son of Kuligan and Borunil of the Foothills (of) Red-Cattle, of the North (Urbin/Erubin) River Valley” but has a much richer meaning in the original language.

"BRAKUL VIRSUM KULIGAN ET BORUNIL"

The actual meaning here is closer to ‘Brakul, son of Kuligan and his father’s fathers, and Borunil and her mother’s mothers’.

“Virsum” means ‘child (son/daughter) of’ (the gender is contextual), but implies the person’s status as a descendant of a full male and female line of ancestors. A different word is used if you’re just saying ‘I’m so and so’s son”. The title describes him as a son of his father Kuligan and of Kuligan’s male line, and of his mother Borunil and Borunil's female line.

All ancestors (within this particular system of kinship, divided into one direct male line from the father and one direct female line from the mother, and not including husbands from the female line or wives from the male line) are invoked and credited with the word ‘virsum’. Speaking it as part of the personal title is part of the routine and necessary honoring of one’s ancestors, who watch over their descendants from the afterlife and can temporarily return to the land to guide and protect (and sometimes punish, or teach sharp lessons to) the living.

"AN BRIYONIS NE-TAIG"

The actual meaning here would be understood as ‘clan/people of the foothills where cattle are lit red by the setting sun'.

‘Briyonis’ is the word for ‘foothill’, citing his clan’s specific location being the foothills that form the slopes of the north Urbin river valley. He is of a lesser clan within the powerful North Urbin River tribe. His clan benefits from close affiliation to their more powerful ruling clans located directly in the river valley, which grants them access to a greater variety of cultivated foods, but their actual position in the foothills still renders them predominantly reliant on cattle for subsistence. Clan names referencing cattle or horses are very common, given their frequent centrality to life.

The ‘ne-Taig’ literally means ‘red cattle’, but the ‘ne’ color word for red specifically invokes shades of red seen in and cast by a rising/setting sun. This red cast is culturally regarded as a unique beauty and evocative (and part of the name) of the solar god Hraighne. The foothills his clan is physically located on are a vantage point from which the western horizon is not fully obscured by mountains, and they experience very striking sunsets and are directly touched by the light. This is fairly unique to this location, and is invoked in the clan name and identity. ‘Ne-Taig’ here suggests a visual of grazing cattle illuminated red by the sun as it crosses the horizon.

‘Ne-Dainh’ carries the same implication, a dog illuminated red by setting sunlight. The Wardi language does not have a comparable word for a sunlit red and ‘Chin-Reyla’ really does just mean ‘(orangeish) red dog’ (‘reyla’ is specific to orangey-red colors, which is the closest match he could get. There’s no way to impart the meaning of ‘sunlit-red dog’ in Wardi that is non-clunky enough to be appropriate for a name).

"AN BICT-URBINNAS"

‘an Bict-Urbinnas’ is fairly simple, Bict means ‘north’, and 'Urbin' is the name of the specific river that stems from a northern and eastern tributary. This river has a very ancient name (or a derivative of one) that predates settlement by the Hill Tribes, and its exact meaning is lost.

The root -(n)nas designates a river valley, but has strong implications of being an esteemed and bountiful place, rather than solely a literal geographical descriptor (as the river valleys are centers of power and trade in the highlands). It may be a loanword from the Wardi language family, as its usage is VERY similar in form and function to the Wardi -(n)nos, which also suggests a place of esteem and bounty (more specifically having connotations of a kingdom).

’An’ literally means ‘of’, but in the specific sense of describing the place and identity of a collection of people. ‘an Bict Urbinnas’ would be understood in speech as ‘of the north Urbin River Valley (people)’. The clans historically settled in and around the valley of the North Urbin River form the totality of the Bict-Urbinnas tribe.

The ‘Urbin’ word predates the contemporary Wardi name ‘Erubin’ for the river, the latter of which invokes the semi-mythological founding figure Erub, who himself was of a Wardi tribe located downriver to the south of the Highlands. The real historically extant ‘Erub’ was most likely named Urub after the river, with his cited name shifting over the centuries in folklore, and the Wardi name for the river shifting with it.

‘Erubin’ as a corruption of ‘Urbin’ functions very well in Wardi language due to ‘-bi/bin’ denoting something as a ‘gift’, usually in a more metaphorical sense. ‘Erubin’ is understood as meaning ‘(The river that is) Erub’s gift’, and the Erubin/Urbin river is a key tributary to the much larger Black river, one of the key rivers that feeds the region's wetter and more fertile west. This 'gift' meaning also occurs in the name of the southeastern Imperial Wardi city-state Erubinnos, which is understood as meaning ’((The kingdom that is) Erub’s gift’. He is considered to have conquered and taken the land (from the core city's actual founders, the Wogan people) and established a kingdom there in the early days of warring Wardi tribal monarchies.

[lavampira]

maybe d’alia’s clan all had turali names. maybe d’alia and her parent only took on eorzean seeker names/titles when they settled in the mor dhona camp, which is why d’alia has his name now, even though he’s a tia and not a nunh.

[cain-e-brookman]

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday! So, I know a little bit about the gods of your setting, but how does your average citizen worship? Which gods get the most attention and which are less well known?

ahh, thanks for the ask! i need you to know, every time i'm asked about world building i become this image

this is undoubtedly going to get long so answer under the cut

the the short answer is: it depends. i think i mentioned in my post about Raschic but i'm not sure, but there are the 8 main gods who give power to one of each of the Mage Kingdoms. (Light, Shadow, Fire, Water, Plant, Stone, Sky, and Force. This doesnt really matter for the context but there it is.)

So Mages are expected to be somewhat religious, but depending on the god they're tied to, it changes what that looks like. The Sea God isn't horribly concerned about day to day life of his Mages, but they must still do certain rituals and pay proper tribute to allow them to remain attached to him for their power and immortality. As such, the kingdom of the Water Mages as a whole isn't super immersed in religion. On the other hand, Shadow Mages are very devout, to the point where even those without magic are still incredibly religious because it's so steeped in the culture of the ruling Mages.

even when you get into human kingdoms, it's going to look different depending on who a person is and what they do. Uslaria, (the setting for my current WIP) has the most concentrated group of witches in the known world, so much so that one town is known for being the unofficial capitol for witches. everyone in Uslaria can tell you a bit about the Goddess Lythis, Grandmother of Witches, but few actually worship her. a farmer in Uslaria might pray to the Sky God to bring his godly children through with warm winds and generous rains, may also pray to the Goddess of Stone to bless his crops with good soil, may also attend festivals or holy days for the main pantheon if they live close enough to a city or town that might make a big to-do about it, but as far as most gods go, especially the main pantheon, they're so distant from the reality of most people. gods in the minor pantheon, like the Trickster, are more the topic of superstitions and tales to tell by a fire. day to day worship might be done for a lesser god residing in their area, or sometimes house gods that follow a family line, but the names of those gods are too intimate to the area to be remarked upon outside of that circle.

tl;dr: the average citizen (except maybe in the Marshes with the Shadow Mages,) only really cares about the gods that affect them and treat any others with a distant respect. (for the most part)

[catgirlkirigiri]

Everybody wake up new generator just dropped

https://perchance.org/clovers-clan-gen

Warrior cat clan generator!!! Yippee!!! This generator features:

Over 300 prefixes for your cats and clan

Over 100 suffixes for your cats

1-30 warriors for your clan, not counting the leader, deputy, medic, and any apprentices

Your leader’s and all your apprentices’ warrior names

A 50/50 for every cat to have an apprentice

Coat and eye colors, patterns, and scar counts (between 0 and 15) for every cat, including apprentices

A biome your clan’s territory is in

Details (names, colors/patterns/scar counts, biome) bolded for convenience

Update 20/1/2023: bolded the number of warriors in your clan, added up to 5 queens with 0-7 kits each, added up to 10 elders

[lionblaze03-2]

ok this is gonna sound wild. BUT. Me and my buddy @honeycomb-ferret are attempting to start up a clangen universe vaguely based on cults and evangelical religion, each clan being a different denomination of sorts. Very religious trauma/how growing up under different religions raises many types of different people type framework on a clangen blog. Rn I have it set as four clans but as little as three and as many as can border one another is fine, I love working with others and sharing universes and creativity

I also want to make it clear I’m not asking for free art. It would be your clangen blog and your cats and game and final decision on everything, I’m just looking to work with others on a creative project because I love bouncing ideas off others and sharing worlds with people. And if any of that sounds interesting to you hmu!!! Tags message whatever, just lmk if you’re interested!

[shoecrabs]

i honestly don't think anyone will care but I keep brainrotting over the idea of a pjo/rainworld au

I've turned the Seven into funky slimy cats dealing w concepts far beyond their comprehensions lmao

[summitclan-chronicles]

could you elaborate on what you mean by you decide all kitten appearances? will players not be allowed to choose their kits genetics as long as they follow what would be allowed with their parents genetics? and will players be given, irl references or a design prompt? and will they be able to fiddle with what they're given? sorry if thats a lot, i'm a little curious about how it'll work in case that's how i join

Hi, and yes!

No, players that enter via kittens won't get to pick their own design or name - these are both gifts passed down by their parents, both purposefully (in name) and unknowingly (in appearance). Noone decides what they or their children look like - it's a surprise for everyone involved! It's always fun to be surprised when a character's seemingly minor trait got passed down to their child, or an especially defining one on an otherwise dissimilar kitten. Or surprise genetics, further down the line!

In the case of these newly-appearing characters and, in the future, outsiders joining, the player will be able to design their own cat! They will have all the same expectations of realism.

[sparklecryptid]

Headcannon question for you! Not sure what verse. Just about your thoughts on the clans of galahd. I teach the public about natural resources- my fave is medicinal plants and poisonous plants. There is a lot out there, to hinder or harm, and those switch with dosage/season/plant parts. Which clan would have the most fun with it? Just peacefully walking along, pointing out plants. mint is for colds, plantain is antimicrobial for wounds, and jack in the pulpits roots is how you get someone to shit out their intestinal lining. All said with a bright smile. You cough. They hand you a packet of herbs. You ask if this is medicine or poison. Their smile brightens.

There are TWO Clans that have an interest in plants! Clans Khara and Ostium both have a long history of working with plants and divide responsibility for caring for plants and studying them.

(Clan Arra works in tandem with them because the Arra specialize in animal care and husbandry and they need land and plants for that the three Clans work very close together)

Now that that is out of the way, the Clan that would have the most fun fucking with people is Clan Khara. Sure, maybe their ancestors killing a King has fucked up their sense of humour but since the rest of the Clans know (or hope) that Clan Khara won’t poison them that leaves Clan Khara to prank tourists.

Much to the chagrin of the Ostiums.

[qserasera]

man i Sure would love to read a fic of matoba seiji subtly taking revenge on those mysterious phone callers who tried to curse natori thru his phone line

[narutomaki]

get me OUT OF HERE

[felucians]

Gentle Reminder that no matter where you are on your reconnection or decolonisation journey, you're still indigenous and you're still valid.

Even if you don't speak the language, even if you don't own traditional dress, even if you don't publicly claim your indigenity.

Decolonisation is a process and is different for each person, you're valid no matter what stage you're at.

[carbonateddelusion]

idk why the Erins chose the term "medicine cat" when the term "herbalist" is objectively cooler

[leatherbookmark]

god I forgot how hellish the first chapter is. 仙門? 玄門? 世家? fucking Help