Augustinia
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Augustinia | ||||
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Basics |
Statistics & Foundation |
Primary Map | |
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On this page... (hide)
- 1. Essentials
- 2. Culture
- 2.1 Species
- 2.2 Outsider Relations & Travel
- 3. Structure
- 3.1 Leaders
- 3.2 Law & Justice
- 4. Religion
- 5. Significant Families
- 5.1 Family Name
- 6. History
- 6.1 Significance
- 6.2 History
- 7. Notes & References
- 7.1 Quick Reference Index
- 7.2 Notes
1. Essentials
1.1 Geography
A description of the territory goes here. It's a good idea to look up the country of the area you plan to have your territory occupy -- think about aspects such as climate, geography, incidences of human structure and state of human structures (remember, it's been 20 years since humanity died off).
In the height of humanity's time there, the city had a total area of 58.03 square miles (150.30 km2), but much of it has now been retaken by the vegetation.
1.2 Climate
Augusta's climate is classified as a humid continental climate. Summers are typically warm, rainy, and humid, while winters are cold, windy, and snowy. Spring and fall are usually mild, but conditions are widely varied, depending on wind direction and jet stream positioning. The hottest month is July, with an average high temperature of 80°F/26,6°C. The coldest month is January, with an average low of 10°F/-12°C. Most snowfall occurs from December through March. There is usually little or no snow in April and November, and snow is rare in May and October.
2. Culture
If your area has a particular culture specific to the area, you include it here. Again, general details will do just fine; there's no need to get really detailed here unless you want to--totally up to you. For 'Souls, one might say that there are many different packs with individual personality, but in general the canines of 'Souls are middling in their level of civilization; for the most part, everyone is just fine in their four-legged forms, but they are also generally not averse to canines who wear clothes or use human tools.
2.1 Species
Augustinia has lived in careful seclusion since it's formation by the dogs already living in the city before humanity's downfall, being highly protective of it's borders and hardly ever accepting outsiders among them. In it's history, only three times were significant groups of strangers accepted into the pack, and mostly out of necessity. Thus, it has a dog-dominant population, the few crossbreeding among wolves and coyotes so distant in the bloodlines that they have become too diluted to be accounted for, except for the recent addition of the Akreon family, which has reinserted wolf blood into the gene pool. There are no longer purebred dogs in Augustinia, not even in appearance. Most of them ressembling primitive dogs with a few disntinct traits that determined the four main landraces developed over the years in Augustinia: the Sprinters (hound and hunting groups), the Chargers (working and sporting group breeds), the Trailers (herding and terrier groups), and the Dextrous (small herding and non-sporting group).
Luperci & Shifting
Save for a couple of immune members of the pack, all Augustinians are Luperci. The shape they favor depends of their rank and family, and what their job entails. Scouts, hunters and messengers prefer the Secui form. Scholars, crafters and priests often choose the Optime form. Lupus form is usually associated with pups too young to shift, and elders trying to save their backs and joints from the upright posture.
Languages
English is the primary language, although with some variations that evolved over the years, and Augustinians have a very particular accent. A few literate scholars can read and write in other languages, such as Spanish, French and German.
Technology
Much of the inner blocks of the city is well-preserved, although some of the farther parts have been left to decay simply from lack of resources to maintain them. Most of the metal and glass has been scrapped and used by the metalworkers and smiths in tools and weapons for the pack's use, and the repair work in the infrastructure is done in wood, stone and clay.
Animals & Companions
The Barns family maintains a healthy amount of livestock of their own, saving them from having to hunt and compete with their wild cousins. They have a small herd of sturdy landrace bovines and some goats and feral pigs. The Avis family keeps poultry and (many) pigeons. The pack keeps no horses, seeing no need for them. Cats are allowed to stay among them, as pest control and companions, though they are few in numbers.
Boating and Sailing
Augusta is drained by Bond's Brook, Woromontogus Stream and the Kennebec Riverm making swimming and boating a common pastime. Boats are simple, based off abandoned boats and canues rescued from the docks, and most owned by the Fisher family. The borders of the pack are signaled along the rivers, to keep any sailor from accidentaly sailing outside their limits. fishing a common source of food, the Fisher family being one of the biggest and best known among the pack.
Style and Fashion
Augustinians often wear clothes or acessories, even in Lupus or Secui they tend to sport an earring or a collection of necklaces. Wool and buckskin are the most common fabrics, though different kinds of leather and pelts, and salvaged cloths, can signify your importance and standing with the pack. Most of their clothing are loose and baggy, with lots of wraps, scarves and sashes to hold the fabrics in place. The Sled family is known for carrying their sled harnesses around wrapped around their necks when not in Secui form.
- Jewerelly of any metal are hard to come by and valuable, usually worn by family matriarchs. Necklaces of amber beads are reserved for members of the Capitol family.
- Notable and honorable members are gifted with a leather dog collar adorned with metal tags and beads, to symbolize their loyalty and devotion.
- Body paint with natural dyes are traditional during certain ceremonies and holidays, the recipes for the different colors and the meanings of the drawn patterns a guarded secret by the priests.
- Tattoos and scarification usually symbolize a member's devotion to a certain deity or spirit, or depict an importance occurence to their family in which they were a part of. One of the most common ones is a hollow circle branded and inked over the base of column on a female every time she gives birth to a healthy litter, and a dotted line of scars on the wrist of a warrior for every victory in battle. Priests usually are only tattoed on their feet, to better connect them to the land and its spirits. The Capitol family are the only ones allowed to tattoo the two gods, the Tree Serpent on their right arm, the Cloud Hawk on their left, to show their duty to the gods as well as their pack.
- Piercings other than the ears are very rare and almost never done. High ranking scholars may get a nose ring to display their status, if they wish, but not many do.
Agriculture
The pack has a wide range of vegetables, flowers and herbs that they inherited from humanity's gardens. From clove and onions to roses and ginger, the adapted greenhouse and botanical garden is a heavily guarded and protected place, and none may enter save the Capitol and Viles families, the priests, and their apprentices.
Besides the rare specimen, the Farmer family grows potato, beans, wheat, apples and blueberries. The lands fertile enough for planting are few and must be rotated after every harvest to avoid tiring out the earth, some usually left resting for a year after proper adubation. Manure is never lacking thanks to their livestock.
Wine Production
Moonshines produced from different types of berries and potato, as well as apple cider, are made in large quantities every year. Alcohol is usually well-guarded and taken during certain celebrations, though a few families may have enough brownie points with the Forte family to trade in a few favors for a bottle or two. Those are usually saved for very special occasions, as precious as gold.
Residence
Where do they live? The remains of a human city? Sprawling forests and mountains? Do they remain in one place, or are the canines nomadic over a particular territory?
Practices & Traditions
This section is intended for any particular beliefs your canines may have -- note that this section is separate and different from religion. For example, in Sobiratsya, canines practice piercing "rituals" wherein a canine considered to be turning into an adult is given an eyebrow piercing.
Gender and Sexuality
Augustinia is a matriarchal society, and thus females are very highly-regarded. They are viewed as the channeled spirit of the Snake Tree, able to bring new life forth from their bodies, and are reveered and honored in most of their rituals and celebrations. Females may not pick any permanent mate and have sex with multiple males, and it's not considered promiscuous of her. It's only frowned upon if she has too many litters from too many fathers, since she'll be leaving a large genetic mark of herself on the gene pool. That is only allowed and encouraged when strangers join the pack.
Males are expected to honor and support their mates, and treats all females with respect and deference. They may try to prove themselves worthy to multiple females, to widen their chances of being picked as a mate.
Augustinians don't particularly frown on any sexuality. If an individual is exclusively homosexual and will not mate with the opposite sex, then it is believed the gods had determined they not bear children, and think nothing of it. The Hierophant family is the only one composed solely of males, and since they may not have children, it is often that male homossexuals become priests.
Abortion and stillbirth is a terrible thing to happen to any would-be mother, and a horrible omen for a family. The unborn children recieve as grand a funeral as any living being, and the mother often spends a grieving period of a year before she may attempt to get pregnant again.
Carrying on your bloodline to the next generation is considered a duty and an honor, and so children are fiercely protected and cared for by everyone in the pack, regardless of parentage. To mistreat a child is to mistreat all the pack and it's future, and the punishment is severe to any who hurt a child.
Once females become fertile, a party sponsored by their birth family is held in their name, and the other families are invited to present mature males of their own for her to appraise, so she may begin to choose and court a possible mate. It's uncommon for a female to choose a mate during that night, and most opt for a long courting. The Council of Mothers and the priests usually help with the decision, to avoid inbreeding. Carrying on your bloodline to the next generation is considered a duty and an honor, and thus regardless of one's sexuality, if the family elects them to inherit
Families and Family Structures
Families in Augustinia don't necessarily mean ties by blood, but rather ties of trade. A family functions as rank trees, each family focused on a certain job within the pack, and they are given a potion of land where they may work and live on. The size and placement of the land is decided according to the needs and size of the family that hold control over it, and it is decided by the Council of Mothers. Within each family, there is a Matriarch, the eldest female who has given birth at least once. There have been precedents where a male, infertile or virgin female had to take over the title, but it was quite rare and discouraged. These females are responsible for overseeing the maintenance of the family lands, the teachings of new pups in their profession and well as make sure their duties are being performed correctly and effectively. It is a position of power and respect. Once their oldest daughter, be it by blood or adopted, gives birth, they may choose to pass on the title to them, and become a Mother.
Children are raised by their parents, but cared for and looked after by the entire pack. Pups aren't allowed stray far from the inhabited part of the pack, but usually have a free rein to go where they please and spend their time however it fancies them. It allows them to observe the adults and grow their own interests in a future career, as well as become accostumed to all the faces in the pack. Once they are able to shift, they are taught new skills based on their natural attributes and traits, and are encouraged to decide on what family they wish to join.
Within a family, all are treated as blood, with uncles and aunts and brothers and sisters and nieces and such. The ties of family are highly kept by the Augustinians, and it's frowned upon to try to destabilize a family's structure. After all, all families need one another. If one was to have so much trouble that they fail to do their duties, all would suffer from it, some more than others. The more dependant the pack is of a family, the more influence it has on the decisions made. Given their dependant nature, when one finds need of help, all rush to assist. It creates strong ties between families and within them as well.
Bloodlines are recorded by the Hierophant family, and are instrumental in helping the females choose a mate, to avoid inbreeding. It's commong to breed within your own type, in order to bring out favorable traits in that landrace.
Hedonism and Vices
Augustinia only allows for the indulgence in certain vices during specific celebrities and holidays. The use of mind-altering substances are frowned upon and punished when out of season, doubly so if it affects one's work and endangers the pack. Orgies are highly prohibited, since keeping track of the bloodlines are vital for the health of the future pups. That said, sex out of heat is permitted, so long as you remember who was your partner, just in case.
Luck and Superstition
Fishing and Hunting
2.2 Outsider Relations & Travel
Travel
If your area is in Europe, think about the connections it may have to other prominent European areas -- for example, is it along any of the trade routes of the maritime map? Is it a port? Mediterranean sailing is much more common than Atlantic sailing, so keep that in mind! Arctic sailing is a bit beyond our Luperci; they do not possess ice-breakers or much of the requisite technology. Perhaps your area traded for horses in Bucharest.
If you plan to have a lot of characters get to 'Souls through this area, make sure to include some information about how long it would take to travel to 'Souls. O:
Outsiders
How do canines regard outsiders? Are they a cohesive, tightly-knit group or are they a quarrelsome group, prone to outbursts of disobedience or even "mutiny? If there are any civilizations that are nearby with which your area interacts, you can give them a subheader under here, even.
3. Structure
3.1 Leaders
Alpha/beta/gamma? King/queen? Remember, Luperci don't tend to form complex government organizations -- their structures are simple, reflecting that of their ancestral packs.
3.2 Law & Justice
If there is a dominant system of government—e.g., a monarchy, or a pack-like structure with alphas, betas, etc—you can describe it here. Remember that extremely large groups of Luperci are usually split into smaller sects of canines -- e.g., a structure with a few packs or families banded together under a common name, like Sobiratsya.
4. Religion
If there is a dominant religion in your culture, you can describe it here. Consider their landscape (e.g., the Kiev wolves worshiping the river around their territory.) Describe their general belief system here -- what are the cornerstones of their beliefs? Do your religions follow a particular written text?
Creation Legends
Are there any myths widely believed by the populations there regarding the creation of Luperci, the creation of wolves, the creation of that particular society? These are sometimes better to include than a detailed history—they're generally brief, fantastical, and easy to remember, and thus easy to pass from character to characters.
Deities
Are your characters monotheistic or polytheistic? Do they have minor god(s), if they're polytheistic? What about saints/spirits/angels/demons?
Symbols
Are any symbols pervasive in your religion (e.g., Christian cross, Star of David, etc). Think about what these things mean for your characters, and how these symbols are represented in your culture (e.g., perhaps residents get tattoos or markings in the shape of the symbols).
Religious Order
Are there priests, priestesses, shaman, religious leaders? How do they enforce the religious code, if there is one?
Practices
Do your canines have any particular practices, rituals, or pervasive beliefs? Perhaps the canines from your area are exceptionally superstitious. Ceremonies and the like can be listed here.
Ceremonies
If your canines celebrate particular holidays or religious observances, describe them here. This space can also be used for the description of rituals and the like.
5. Significant Families
5.1 Family Name
Here's a description of a significant family from the area!
6. History
6.1 Significance
If your area has a particular influence on 'Souls (e.g., a large number of immigrants come from this area, or a pack was founded on the basic beliefs of this area) write about it here! List any families that originate in your area:
6.2 History
If there was a massive war or other large scale occurrence here, you may include it here, however, please keep in mind that these events don't have a lot of meaning for characters who did not originate from the place during that time. A generalized summary is much better.
7. Notes & References
7.1 Quick Reference Index
Essentials
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Religion
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7.2 Notes
Status
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Inconsistencies
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References
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Name Meanings
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