05-22-2018, 10:07 PM
MOONLIGHT VALE ✧ clan of nature
TRADITIONS AND CULTURE
Souls — Though Moonlight Vale does not have a set religion, they do have a mandatory pseudo-religion. Everyone is believed to have a soul that is of a certain color that matches a certain personality trait of the member. The shaman crafts many different colored pendants from different rocks, and when a new member comes along, they must sleep in certain conditions, where the Shaman will then figure out what their soul color is. Then, they will bind a certain pendant to them. The pendant reflects the user's wellbeing -- it cracks if the user is injured(though generally repairs itself to an extent), and desaturates if the user's emotional state isn't great. The pendant will shatter if the user dies, but if they return to life, rebinding will fix the worst of the damage, though it will always be spider-cracked, and gets worse if it happens again.
Coronation Ceremony — On the day the advisor is crowned king, there will be a one week ceremony. The new king will attempt to win their clanmate's approval, and must give handmade(!) gifts to their clanmates. Members will be chosen(though some can opt-in despite not being chosen) to host minor events based around their opinion on the leader. Towards the end of the week, opinions will be tallied. If the opinions are very low, the king will attempt to convince them otherwise, and be dethroned otherwise. However, if they get past this, they will be crowned, featuring an oath, a resolve test, and the crowning itself, after all this is done with. If the oath is broken in later times, members are seen fit to punish the king however they wish.
Accessories — Accessories are a big part of Moonlight Vale's culture, and are generally seen as cool or meaningful. Members, when they do something worthy of attention or recognition, often get their ears pierced. Each rank wears a different rank, a well.
The king wears a crown, the advisor wears a jeweled collar, royal guards wear arm gauntlets, shamans, always tattoos, counselors wear flower crowns or bow ties. Guards just get a new earring. Other ranks can wear some of these accessories, though!!
Resolve Tests - If you want to get anywhere in the clan, you must be able to pass a resolve test to prove your loyalty. If you earn a rank or title, guess what, resolve test. Unions, becoming a graduate, becoming a member? resolve test. The tests given depend on the rank, and person themselves.
Feathers — Just another form of resolve test. New members and scholars must hunt down a bird, and take its feather. The more rare or beautiful, the better. You're allowed to retake the test in the future to show how far you've gotten.
Minors — Up until 10 months, your character cannot participate in battle without permission, cannot join the offense branch, and cannot drink alcohol. It's a lot harder to climb the ranks before this age as many fear it'll be too much stress.
Remembrance Day — Taking place sometime during the month of September, Remembrance day is hosted in honor of the war, and those who died during it. Those participating will gather flowers to lay in the courtyard. After this, a feast/picnic will be held.
Birthdays — Birthdays are a pretty big deal in the clan. Regardless of whether you want to share your birthdate, or simply don't remember, you'll have to choose a day to celebrate on anyways, unless it really bothers you. On your birthday, a royal will come up to your character personally to give you a specially made flower crown(or just a crown, if there's no flowers), and throughout the day, other members are expected to treat you with extra kindness. Later, a party will be hosted, and the birthday person is expected to be the last to arrive, where they will be showered with colorful powders. Flowers will be weaved into the birthday person's fur, or simply worn as bands if their fur is too short. This, of course, occurs while the birthday person is eating/making a mess out of the cake. After all of this, gifts will be exchanged between one another. (not only is the birthday person to receive gifts, they must give gifts to others as well)
Funerals — Funerals are a very large event, especially if the deceased was a particularly prominent member. After a member dies, the shaman will clean the body. Meanwhile, other members will gather the deceased's valuables, flowers, and foods the deceased had liked. They bring all of this to the graveyard, where they will put the deceased and the gathered items into a grave, then share stories of sorts relating to the deceased. The deceased's soul pendant will embedded into the headstone above them, though it's not hard to get out if you have the permissions. For at least a few days following, events will be held, doing things the deceased had enjoyed and giving out little things, like flowercrowns, if those had been enjoyed. A party will be hosted on the final day, which is just kind of, you know, a party, with the deceased's favorite foods and party games. Stories about the deceased will be discussed. It's at this time you're expected to begin letting go and letting yourself recover (though it does tend to be a little soon for some.)
Unions — After discussing it with a partner, you'd be allowed to be tied to one another. You'll wrap a pink ribbon around each other's paws, and announce it to the clan. From there, you will both be given resolve tests to complete, which will generally be based more on dedication than actual skill or passing. If you manage to pass, you will be tied to one another with a flimsy piece of red string. You must wear it together for at least a few hours until the union itself, though the longer the better, according to superstition. If the string breaks before the marriage, it's said that the marriage itself will have bad luck. During the union itself, which can be private or public, you will be given special flower crowns. The ribbon and string will be removed(but given back to the couple afterwards), and in its place, a golden clasp will be placed on both of the couple's paws, with gems the same color and material as their partner's soul pendant. Later, one of the gems can be taken out to be replaced with the partner's actual soul pendant. After this, there's a brief party held if they so wish.
Festivals — Once per season, a festival is hosted. The Flower Festival, the Sun Festival, the Pumpkin Festival, and the Frost Festival, respectively. Each festival is hosted differently according to the season.
Souls — Though Moonlight Vale does not have a set religion, they do have a mandatory pseudo-religion. Everyone is believed to have a soul that is of a certain color that matches a certain personality trait of the member. The shaman crafts many different colored pendants from different rocks, and when a new member comes along, they must sleep in certain conditions, where the Shaman will then figure out what their soul color is. Then, they will bind a certain pendant to them. The pendant reflects the user's wellbeing -- it cracks if the user is injured(though generally repairs itself to an extent), and desaturates if the user's emotional state isn't great. The pendant will shatter if the user dies, but if they return to life, rebinding will fix the worst of the damage, though it will always be spider-cracked, and gets worse if it happens again.
Coronation Ceremony — On the day the advisor is crowned king, there will be a one week ceremony. The new king will attempt to win their clanmate's approval, and must give handmade(!) gifts to their clanmates. Members will be chosen(though some can opt-in despite not being chosen) to host minor events based around their opinion on the leader. Towards the end of the week, opinions will be tallied. If the opinions are very low, the king will attempt to convince them otherwise, and be dethroned otherwise. However, if they get past this, they will be crowned, featuring an oath, a resolve test, and the crowning itself, after all this is done with. If the oath is broken in later times, members are seen fit to punish the king however they wish.
Accessories — Accessories are a big part of Moonlight Vale's culture, and are generally seen as cool or meaningful. Members, when they do something worthy of attention or recognition, often get their ears pierced. Each rank wears a different rank, a well.
The king wears a crown, the advisor wears a jeweled collar, royal guards wear arm gauntlets, shamans, always tattoos, counselors wear flower crowns or bow ties. Guards just get a new earring. Other ranks can wear some of these accessories, though!!
Resolve Tests - If you want to get anywhere in the clan, you must be able to pass a resolve test to prove your loyalty. If you earn a rank or title, guess what, resolve test. Unions, becoming a graduate, becoming a member? resolve test. The tests given depend on the rank, and person themselves.
Feathers — Just another form of resolve test. New members and scholars must hunt down a bird, and take its feather. The more rare or beautiful, the better. You're allowed to retake the test in the future to show how far you've gotten.
Minors — Up until 10 months, your character cannot participate in battle without permission, cannot join the offense branch, and cannot drink alcohol. It's a lot harder to climb the ranks before this age as many fear it'll be too much stress.
Remembrance Day — Taking place sometime during the month of September, Remembrance day is hosted in honor of the war, and those who died during it. Those participating will gather flowers to lay in the courtyard. After this, a feast/picnic will be held.
Birthdays — Birthdays are a pretty big deal in the clan. Regardless of whether you want to share your birthdate, or simply don't remember, you'll have to choose a day to celebrate on anyways, unless it really bothers you. On your birthday, a royal will come up to your character personally to give you a specially made flower crown(or just a crown, if there's no flowers), and throughout the day, other members are expected to treat you with extra kindness. Later, a party will be hosted, and the birthday person is expected to be the last to arrive, where they will be showered with colorful powders. Flowers will be weaved into the birthday person's fur, or simply worn as bands if their fur is too short. This, of course, occurs while the birthday person is eating/making a mess out of the cake. After all of this, gifts will be exchanged between one another. (not only is the birthday person to receive gifts, they must give gifts to others as well)
Funerals — Funerals are a very large event, especially if the deceased was a particularly prominent member. After a member dies, the shaman will clean the body. Meanwhile, other members will gather the deceased's valuables, flowers, and foods the deceased had liked. They bring all of this to the graveyard, where they will put the deceased and the gathered items into a grave, then share stories of sorts relating to the deceased. The deceased's soul pendant will embedded into the headstone above them, though it's not hard to get out if you have the permissions. For at least a few days following, events will be held, doing things the deceased had enjoyed and giving out little things, like flowercrowns, if those had been enjoyed. A party will be hosted on the final day, which is just kind of, you know, a party, with the deceased's favorite foods and party games. Stories about the deceased will be discussed. It's at this time you're expected to begin letting go and letting yourself recover (though it does tend to be a little soon for some.)
Unions — After discussing it with a partner, you'd be allowed to be tied to one another. You'll wrap a pink ribbon around each other's paws, and announce it to the clan. From there, you will both be given resolve tests to complete, which will generally be based more on dedication than actual skill or passing. If you manage to pass, you will be tied to one another with a flimsy piece of red string. You must wear it together for at least a few hours until the union itself, though the longer the better, according to superstition. If the string breaks before the marriage, it's said that the marriage itself will have bad luck. During the union itself, which can be private or public, you will be given special flower crowns. The ribbon and string will be removed(but given back to the couple afterwards), and in its place, a golden clasp will be placed on both of the couple's paws, with gems the same color and material as their partner's soul pendant. Later, one of the gems can be taken out to be replaced with the partner's actual soul pendant. After this, there's a brief party held if they so wish.
Festivals — Once per season, a festival is hosted. The Flower Festival, the Sun Festival, the Pumpkin Festival, and the Frost Festival, respectively. Each festival is hosted differently according to the season.
✧ — other superstitions:
© madi