The Pelaskites of the Rightarm Islands

People of the Rightarm Islands call themselves the Pelaskites. Sheltered in the marshes, their culture developed differently from the Pelaskites living on the coasts of Heortland, or from the Pelaskites among the God Forgot Islands (who lost their originate culture a long time ago, even if those two peoples, dire enemies since the disappearance of the Pharaoh, sometimes acknowledge some common points). The Pelaskites of the Rightarm Islands are famous for their seamanship, for the products of their fishing and the shellfishes they sell, for their bond with the Ludoch, and for their love of contradiction. Few details are known in the outside world of the life in the nauseating marshes of Esrola’s putrefied arm.

The inhabitants of the islands

Nature

Even if people of the Rightarm Islands are courteous and respectful of the hospitality rites, those who are not familiar with their ways are, at first, often ill at ease. The Pelaskites smell of fish, seem taciturn, even rough and surly in their words, crude and direct in their deeds. The women also smell of fish, seem sly, hard to guess, sometimes mocking under their trivial words. The stranger feels he is not welcomed, and even thinks he is being got at by the Pelaskites, who furthermore behave normally with one another and do not seem to notice the fish smell.

The Pelaskites do not like to parade their treasures. They do not like seeing strangers paddling about in their sanctuaries. For them, the islands are Pelaskos’ refuge, who resolutely chose to leave Earth where wars are omnipresent and where rule Orlanth the short-tempered, the never happy, and his sweet and kind wife Ernalda. The Pelaskites like their peace as others would a precious pearl, and they always beware of strange lunatics prone to disrupt it. “The Red Birds Island does not exist, stranger. It is only a legend to frighten children.”

When they are treated with sincerity and respect, that is according to their own bawling and convivial customs, the Pelaskites turn out to be usually quite joyful. They do not trouble themselves with formalities and lead an animated social life. They like feasts, they share whatever they have, and they philosophise under their hut’s low ceiling. The Pelaskites become then very curious of their visitors and ready to satisfy their curiosity. “Come, I will show it to you, your Island, and we’ll kill a few Red Birds.”

Indeed, once unbridled, they are crude, sometimes vulgar, and they still smell of fish and silt. When they share something, they do it with an exemplary generosity, even if sometime, one would prefer to do without. Unfortunately this would be a grave offence. “What is this writhing thing in my plate?” – “This is a fat worm of blue silt, friend, very rare and delicious!” They do not put themselves out either to give a show of their most memorable collective quarrels, they even ask their guests for their opinion on the currently discussed question. A polite and unbiased answer would be consider an offence.

Physical appearance

According the Esrolian women, the Pelaskites are a cross between fish and man, and this is not especially meant as a praise. Usually, the younger they are, the closer they are to man, and the older, the closer to fish. They have long hair and men shave their beard. Married women dress their hair in a bun. Seeing a married women with her hair unbounded is considered extremely erotic and is a social taboo.

Concerning the clothes, the Pelaskites wear linen tunics, died with bright colours extracted from the algae and herbs of the marshes, which leave arms and legs uncovered. Their reed plaited hats protect them from rain and sun. The Pelaskites walk barefooted or with clogs when they have to walk on the rocky paths of the islands. The men wear wood bracelets, fishbone collars, feathers, etc. The women prefer collars, bracelets and ear rings made of shellfishes and pearls. Men and women both have tattoos of many colours on their bodies. Theses sometimes represent magical charms, but they do not indicate the membership of a given community, only exceptionally in the case of some particular society which go beyond the scope of the family of the village.

Life in the village

The village

The Pelaskite villages are mostly made of big huts built on piles. They are similar to the long houses of the Orlanthi of Heortland. The huts are built on the banks of the islands and are easily accessible by small boats, rafts, pirogues, bayou boats or canoes. The principal building materials are wood and reed. Sometimes, a rich Admiral of a large village at the border of the archipelago owns a stone hall, also built on the water, for the Admiral hut is always the village’s first house when arriving by the sea. A village regroups approximately a dozen of families, and five or six big huts. However, half of the huts have a purely functional role: storing the nets, the smoked fishes, the flour, etc.

The solid and thick mats on the huts’ floor are not nailed but simply laid on the wood structure. To tidy up, one simply lift a mat and throw everything under it, waiting for the tide to wash the wastes. The same goes for satisfying a natural need. When it is raining, fire is lit at the hut’s centre and fumes evacuate through the roof. But when the weather’s nice the whole village gather outside and eat on the Dry. The walls of the huts are decorated with stuffed fishes, nets and shellfishes. The woodworks are often sculpted. On the village border near the marshes, the villagers put small statues figuring Pelaskos, Iluriad and sacred animals. The meals are served in wooden plates and the food is stored in baskets, or liquids in clay pottery (of good quality since there are fine clays in the marshes).

The huts have no doors, only maybe some mats set across the entrance during the cold season. Anyone can enter without ceremonies and take whatever he needs. The idea of theft has meaning only concerning strangers. The outside walls of the huts are sculpted and painted, and often the roof is decorated with bird statues. Some real birds also perch up there to eat a stolen fish. It goes without saying that, once set down upon the roof of a hut, the birds are protected by the laws of the family and throwing stones or arrows at them is forbidden and punished with curses.

All the Pelaskite villages are surrounded with bird statues covered in feathers and put on the top of high beams, particularly statues of Sacred Cranes who protect the village and patrol the marshes. Theses statues turned toward the earth or the marshes, delimit the sacred border of the village, which sometime extend far from the houses. They are dedicated to Korenth, the mother of the Sacred Cranes, to whom sacrifices are made for protection against pirates or Caladran raids. All the guarding statues together form the awareness limits of the guardian goddess of a Pelaskite village (cf Thunder Rebels, p.96, Wyters [or HeroQuest pp. XXX]).

Typically, the guardian goddess of the village is a daughter of Korenth, a daimone or spirit crane who physically inhabits the guarding statues. She has the classical capacities of a guardian entity: Awareness, Protection and Blessing. The feats of the guardian goddess are more or less similar in all the islands, even if particular villages have sometime specific feats adapted to the local place.

Awareness: Understand Birds. The guardian goddess communicate mainly through birds flying above the village. The elders observe them attentively and watch for signs. Some villages have feats like Find Frogs or Predict Change in Weather.
Protection: Call the Guardian Cranes is usually always there. Nearly all the animals can ask the help of a flock of giant guardian cranes. Other feats could be Call Back the Ships or Quicksand.
Blessing: Varies from one village to the next. Cross Quicksand, Dashing Stilts, Call Frogs, etc.

Family

The Pelaskites spend a lot of time in small groups, outside the village, and regroup together in the evening around one or several fires on the Dry, when the weather is good, or in one or two huts, often that of the Admiral, when the weather is too bad. They discuss, laugh and have a good time. They go from one hut to the next to visit friends. They always sleep with the community. The Pelaskite family has at its kernel the husband and wife, who may be or not the father and mother, and any other unmarried person who is attached to them. But this notion is quite vague since anyone in the village, even someone from another village, accepted in the hut or around the fire, is considered as a member of the family, treated as such and protected by the family and hospitality laws, even if he is a complete stranger.

Most of the community problems are solved quite simply, in the hut or around the fire, when everyone discusses, relates his day work and expresses his point of view on the current matters. Any distinction in riches is abolished, for anyone is part of the family. The collective and noisy quarrels erupting sometimes may be quite impressive but are a local custom which, in the end, helps preserve happiness and harmony in the community. They often begin with some disagreement between two persons, a couple for example, and soon all women in the hut join happily in the discussion, followed by many men. Those who prefer to keep quiet (and this is sometimes preferable) have nonetheless their own idea on the subject, which they will share on the morrow, with their friends, while going fishing. The main principle in those hut quarrels is that women stand with women and men with men. Of course, there are always renegades, victim of their too soft heart, often young ones besides.

The village council

For important problems, the nightly discussions are not enough. The advice of wiser persons, who proved their wisdom, is required. The experience and authority of the Admiral, the Priestess, the elders and the Ludoch come into play. They form the village council, an extraordinary assembly who meets only in the case of a grave problem, and who gathers and witnesses important rituals punctuating the Pelaskite life.

The village council always gathers in a sacred place, near the water, in a lagoon, on a beach, on a small island, etc. The chosen place is often known for some famous event where, in mythic times, Pelaskos, Iluriad, Diros, another god or one of the Twelve Birds played a part. The council has twelve members. Besides the eight Wise Ones and the two Ludoch, who always are a couple, speaking in the name of all gathered Ludoch and are, of course, also old and wise, the council is chaired by the two superior authorities of the village: the Admiral and the Priestess.

A gathering of the council is an important event. All adults of the village come and assist, and even people from the neighbouring villages, their own Wise Ones, Admirals and Priestesses. All these people come in their boats. There is often not enough place and the hubbub is loud, but Pelaskos’ magic is called to bless the assembly and those who speak are heard by everyone. The council begins with great sacrifices to Choralinthor (that is, to the Ludoch), to Pelaskos and Iluriad. Once the decision is made, the council is followed by festivities all night long: if grave events are in store, better rejoice while there is still time.

Each council is of course honoured by the pathetic attendance of the Village's Fool, the thirteen member, clothed in feathers, whose role consists in chattering pitifully and obtaining some leftovers of the ceremony's feast. All villages do not have their own fool, but those that are cursed with one are required to bring him along. He is often not noticed and too occupied sucking fish bones in a corner. [Note: Those touched by the Mad God, in the Rightarm  Islands, are under the protection of their father Golod. He helps them find means of support, while the inhabitants try to starve them. Thus, they are only a few. The Fool of the Isles is also a rare bird.]

The Ludoch

The Ludoch, “blessed children of Choralinthor”, are extremely respected, due to their divine origin. They receive food offerings, as a way to give back to Choralinthor part of his plenty. People discuss with them the news of the bay and they are attentively listened to. Each village has its own Ludoch friends, even if some villages may have common friends. Friendship between a Ludoch and a human can begin as early as childhood or during the adulthood rites, and it lasts for their whole life. Thanks to the Ludoch, the islands have been united as a single political entity since a forgotten age, but in practice, they are much more than the “hidden rulers” of the Rightarm Islands.

Ludoch are members of the family like any other in the occasions when they swim to the shore at high tide or lift part of the hut floor to visit the Pelaskites. They like to laugh and have fun with the humans, even if they are often quiet and thoughtful: that makes them even more respected. Ludoch are always interested by the pragmatic discussions of the Pelaskites and, in their own unfathomable way, they always give wise counsels, even if one can sometime wonder whether they are sincere or simply polite. The Pelaskites however would never doubt their sincerity. On the other hand, the strangers, when they are aware of the strange relation between the two peoples (it is not a well-known fact, far from it), say the Ludoch only act like this to better watch the internal business of their “proteges”, and lead them wherever they like.

Most of the time, Ludoch can be seen swimming in the waters near the Rightarm Islands. At each high tide, they come and ask for news of their Pelaskite friends, take part in the fishing expeditions and play in the water. They hide only when strangers are nearby.

The Wise Ones

As they grow older, the Pelaskite men develop an attitude similar to the Ludoch’s (but the  women do not). When they speak, they must be listened to for according to the oceanide belief, life is a great whirlpool whose shrinking circles bring you ever closer of the ultimate plunge in the abysses and the Well of Wisdom.

The old men and women of the village are as thick as dolphins: after spending their whole life fighting over sardine tails, they have run out of subjects for quarrels, at least among them, and that is their great strength. They stay in the village and teach the children all the technical knowledge they need to master before entering adult life and putting their feet in the water.

They form a council, and among them the community chooses the Wise Ones, that is those who proved their knowledge during their long life, and whose advice prevail over that of the other old villagers. The Pelaskites will even go the next village and ask its expert in case their own Wise One begins to ramble, rather than listen to his possible substitute in the village. The principal roles of the Wise Ones are:

•	The Fishermen and the Shell Pickers know (more or less) the ways of fishes and shells, and can explain the best way of cooking them.
•	The Hunters and Herbalists know the animals of the islands well, and all the secrets in the art of accommodating the plants of the marshes for cooking but also for remedies and drugs.
•	The Craftsmen are those who build, mainly ships, and who manufacture the fishing nets. This is a hard work, and all the old women are needed to teach the young girls.
•	The Cauldron Stirrers and other priests are familiar with all the rites and superstitions needed for harmonious relations with the supernatural world. They tell the myths and legends by the fire, help the Admiral and the Priestess for the sacrifices that Pelaskos and Iluriad offer to Choralinthor, and stir Daliath’s Cauldron to read the omens and gorge themselves on boiled fish guts.

Different villages will give more or less importance to different specialities. Villages near the deep sea will likely have specialists of tuna fishing, while villages inside the marshes will probably know eels better. Likewise, weaving a net and braiding a basket are two very different crafts, and pottery, whose specialists are always looked for, should not be forgotten.

The Admiral and the Priestess

Admiral is a title originating back to the Waertagi. The title of Great Admiral designed the commander of the local Waertagi merchant fleet. The Waertagi were good sailors, both merchants and pirates, cousins to the Ludoch. The title stayed in the islands and became that of the man commanding the ships in a Pelaskite village, but also designs the friend of the Ludoch and the privileged intermediary between the village and the outside world: that is the sea, most of the time, but also strangers come from the dry land.

In the village proper, the role of the Admiral is mainly turned towards the organisation of the fishing groups with the help of the council. He also plays Pelaskos’ part in all the ceremonies, and carries out the sacrifices to Choralinthor, god of the bay. Outside of the village, under the supervision of the Ludoch, the Admirals of neighbouring villages gather each season, in certain sacred places, and discuss the villages business and several broader subjects such as deep-sea fishing expeditions, trade, etc. They report the results of the meeting back to their village. They elect among them a Great Admiral. This takes place at the death of the previous one for a Great Admiral is elected for life, unless he is so clearly incompetent that all the others agree to replace him (this means that young ambitious try very hard to prove his incompetence).

A Great Admiral represents a group of small islands or one single big island at the senate of Seapolis. His village often enjoys a great prestige and riches, for it is offered many gifts to honour Pelaskos. Among all the Great Admirals is chosen the Great Admiral of the Ships, with the consent of the Sea Queen, who sends her representative on those rare occasion to signify her agreement.

The role of the Priestess is simpler to understand. She represents Iluriad, conducts all the sacrifices to this goddess and, with the help of the village old women, organises the women-only activities. Her authority is reduced concerning material matters. However, she has a powerful magic, for she is supported by her community to better devote to her goddess. Part of her role consists in eating herbs and plant mixtures in order to weaken her own consciousness and to hear the voices of aquatic creatures, when she dives and speaks with them. When old men choose to stir Daliath’s cauldron, the old women bring herbs to the Priestess and sacrifice to Iluriad the shells they brought back from their dives. In spite of how things look, under appearances typical of Iluriad’s worshippers, the Priestesses cleverly rules the huts life of the village, leaning on the counsels of the old women.
When a Priestess grows old, she decides that time has come to elect her successor. The apprentice is elected among the prettiest girls of the village and, at the beginning of her learning, she is little more than a pretty face following her old mistress and half dazed by the new divinatory diet which she is not accustomed to. However, along her apprenticeship, she will grow aware of her powers and prepare to take the lead at the death of the old Priestess.

As for the Admirals, the Priestesses elect Great Priestesses during secret meetings in the night. Outside the Priestesses themselves, no one is allowed to assist to those gatherings. The village Priestess could well be a Great Priestess but no one would know it! The power and exact influence of Iluriad’s Great Priestesses are something quite mysterious. Their power comes from the great goddess Triolina, and they are principally concerned by fertility magical ceremonies linked to the most ancient myths of Iluriad, as a subcult of Triolina, those preceding the birth of Choralinthor himself. They are far from the political plots of the Admirals! The Ludoch know all this, of course, and treat these women with the greatest respect, according to their own culture, even if the humans are totally unaware of it.

The Law

The law of the islands is called for only in serious matters. There is only one law for the murders, rapes, plunders and other terrible crimes committed against Pelaskites: the law issued by the Ludoch. They are called for to judge the gravest crimes. Pirates villages exist. Some live in the deep of the marshes. In the Fire Season, they paint their face, file their teeth to look like predators, and enjoy launching raids on peaceful villages, scornful of the sacred protection offered by Korenth’s Cranes. For such abominations, the punishment delivered by the Ludoch judges is simple and known, in the different parts of the islands, under savoury names which bring awe and fear: seagulls court, tide sentence, crabs court, etc. You are warned: exile is not used as punishment in the Rightarm Islands. The Ludoch recognise some mitigating circumstances, but the only comfort it offers is a chance of redemption in the next life. Smaller crimes, such as boat theft, are simply punished by a sound collective beating.

Life outside the village

Fishing and Picking in the islands

The drylanders are bound to the rule of Orlanth and Ernalda who tear the earth with their ploughshares and domesticate the animals. They believe this is a happy life, but they do not enjoy the gifts of Asrelia the old whimsical, for the earth is too small to receive all her treasures and humans are too numerous. Choralinthor, king of Mirrorsea, gives lavishly to his children. When no one welcomed Pelaskos, the sea called for him.

The hut or the fire in the evening on the Dry are places of relaxation. The work is done outside, on the pontoons, on the beaches or in the boats. Only during the bad season are one or more huts reserved for various activities. As for the social life of the hut, work is done in teams, albeit small ones, and men and women have separate tasks.

The men go fishing. The good period is the high tide: they can fish the plentiful fish washed near the shores by Choralinthor waters or come to feed on the rich flooded pastures of the marsh. The fishermen use lines and lobster pots, and sail with pirogues and small boats. The Ludoch help them and lead them to the fish schools. At low tide, the fishermen of coastal villages follow the channels and fish on the blue crystalline waters of Choralinthor, while the men of the marsh villages go hunting: perched on their stilts, they hunt the water game in the muddy marshes.

Sea Season is time for deep-sea fishing. When the great festivals beginning the season are finished, the men embark in days or weeks long travels through the archipelago and onto the wide sea. They drop anchor in other villages along the way and they regroup in big flotillas. The sailboats belong to villages at the border of the archipelago, but a flotilla is like a family: everyone share the boats, those who do not possess one bring their best nets. Everyone sacrifice to Pelaskos the sailor, to Diros the boater, and to Dormal the saviour, before going fishing on the outside seas. Sometimes, they even hunt whales. During the return trip, trade opportunities are numerous. The flotillas often go to Seapolis, but they even go as far as the New Coast cities to trade island goods for glass, alcohol, perfume and other wonders from Caladraland, Ralios, Seshnela, etc. Often these travels continue till late in Fire Season: the islands are unbearable at this time of the year. This is the best time for the Pelaskites. The men are rid of their women, the women are rid of their men, and when Earth Season arrives and the migratory birds come back in the islands, they are all very happy to meet again.

In the spring, the women pick shellfishes, crabs and edible algae at low tide: their own good period. They know all the good places, and all the spirits of low tide. At high tide, they pick the herbs of the banks and, in their boats, reap the reeds and the bulrushes growing in the silt. The first ones are dried to cover the roofs, braid baskets and mats, activity that will occupy the women during winter. The bulrushes are peeled, the leaves thinned out, the ears crushed to extract flour, the fibres spun and woven like linen, and the leaves, often dyed beforehand, are braided in mats and baskets. Do not underestimate the importance of the string, woven with fibres of marsh dried herbs: to weave a simple net, hundreds of meters are needed. A good net is almost invisible in the water, but it often breaks, and a woman spends a lot of time mending her husband’s net.

In Fire Season, the Pelaskite women also dive in the waters of the bay to pick oysters, escape the heat, and swim with the Ludoch, strengthening their bond with Iluriad. The oysters, mussels and other seafood, as well as dyes, are renowned in the Holy Country and the Pelaskites are proud to be the main producers. So, they do not spare hard work.

Ships and Navigation

Due to the near lack of wind, most of the ship are operated with oars and the sails are required only for those fishing on the outside sea. Wide pirogues cut in tree trunks from the dry are used by the marsh fishermen, while merchants cover the bay with flat-bottomed barges. Only those living near the deep-sea possess sailboats. They build lots of them, for at the deep-sea fishing season men come from the whole archipelago gather to confront the waves of Rozgali, the outside sea. They worship Diros above all others and believe that their islands are giant sleeping turtles.

The Pelaskites spend a lot of time decorating their boats. Once more, this is a collective task: each offers his personal touch, and no two ships are identical in the way of sculptures and multicoloured sails. Their common point is the bird statues erected at the stern, and the painted eyes on each side of the prow. These are the eyes of Pelaskos surveying the sea, looking for fish. The statues represent the birds protecting the fishermen and leading them back to the shore when the sun is setting, to bring the fish to their families.

Trade and Exchange

The villages benefiting most from the trade are situated on the border of the Rightarm archipelago, facing the bay. They are big villages, with a dozen or even two dozen huts, where the small ships of Choralinthor merchants often drop anchor, for the prices are lower than in Seapolis, the capital. There, they find skilled craftsmen, motivated by potential gain, various products from the other harbours of the Holy Country, and a more heterogeneous population. The strangers are better accepted and received than in the other parts of the islands. Some even have permanent housing and, guided by Diros’ boatmen, penetrate into the inner part of the islands, looking for rare goods. At the edge of the oceanic talus are the most flourishing Ludoch villages. The products they bring from the bottom of the sea are one more reason favouring trade.

The boatmen of Diros’ cult rent their services around the bay. They transport goods and passengers, but in the islands themselves there are few travellers (except some possible adventurers). Some Diros worshippers become travelling merchants and go on tour in their boats around the islands to bring exotic products of the bay to the villages in exchange of pearls, arts and crafts objects, and of course seafood that must be delivered quickly to the gourmets. Real Issaries initiates are not so common, but this god often receives sacrifices, for he is nearly unanimously recognised as the god of exchange. In fact, only the Kogagi refute his role. They are a strange sect of people nostalgic from the Kingdom of Night, who paint their ships in black, worship Argan Argar and Kogag, and trade mainly with the Uz of the Shadow Plateau.

The goods required by the Rightarm Islands inhabitants are special woods that do not grow in the islands, red meat, Esrolian wheat, and above all metals, particularly quicksilver, the sea metal that is mainly found in Heortland hills, where Orlanth once repelled the Sea Invasion during the Gods War. Enchanted according to Choralinthor rituals, this metal has the ability to float on water. Ludoch prize it much, and the Pelaskites use it to craft sacred objects, notably weapons and armours which equip their famous galleymen, serving on Seapolis war ships. Finally, the pottery of the Rightarm Islands is somewhat poor, and Esrolian ceramics are much appreciated.

Cultural Keywords for the Rightarm Islands

Men
Physical Skills: Sing, Harpoon and Net Fighting, Throw Harpoon, Steer Boat, Swim, Carve Wood.
Mental Skills: Pelaskite Customs, Ludoch Customs, Rightarm Islands Geography, Choralinthor Mythology.
Typical Relations: Family, Village, Ludoch.
Magic: Pantheon of Choralinthor (mixed theist/animist).

Women
Physical Skills: Sing, Knife Fighting, Steer Boat, Swim, Fish Seafood, Housework.
Mental Skills: Pelaskite Customs, Ludoch Customs, Rightarm Islands Geography, Choralinthor Mythology.
Typical Relations: Family, Village, Ludoch.
Magic: Pantheon of Choralinthor (mixed theist/animist).

Occupation Keywords for the Rightarm Islands

The following HeroQuest occupations are suitable for Rightarm Islands inhabitants:

Entertainer, Farmer (that is, clam-gatherers and the like), Healer, Hunter, Merchant, Sailor, Scholar, Warrior

Here are some possible new Occupations:

Merchant Boatman
Boatman is the typical occupation of a Pelaskite who do not like fishing. They often become travelling and adventurous merchants on their barges or guides in the marshes. The life of a boatman is unquestionably full of surprises and interesting events, but there is no more to say concerning the occupation itself.
Physical Skills: Row, Sail, Strong, Keen Eye, Stow Cargo.
Mental Skills: Bay Knowledge, Marshes Knowledge, Assess Good, Assess Person, Joke, Haggle.
Typical Personality: Merry, Efficient, or Cunning.
Typical Relations: Ship, Contacts in Mirrorsea, Contacts in Villages.
Magic: Pelaskos the Founder, Diros the Boatman.
Unusual Magic: Heler, Issaries the Boatman.
Standard of Living: common.
Equipment: Ship, Cargo, all that is needed on a ship.

Hunter in the marshes
The traditional marshes hunter walks silently on his stilts in the darkest and foulest corners of the marshes, where the birds hide. His eyes and ears are always on the look-out, looking for a prey. When he sees a bird in the herbs or a marsh hare, he will kill it with a single arrow. He will let his harrier fly if the bird takes flight.
Physical Skills: Walk on Stilts, Shoot with a Bow, Keen Eye, Walk Silently, Carve Meat.
Mental Skills: Know Marshes Animals, Tame Harrier, Listen, Imitate Bird Calls.
Typical Personality: Patient.
Magic: Pelaskos the Founder. Marshes hunters often know a shaman able to provide them with hunt charms.
Standard of Living: common.
Equipment: Bow and arrows, stilts, Game bag, tamed harrier.

Housewife
It is the inescapable fate of most Rightarm Islands women. The appellation is somewhat misleading, for the women of the village, who take care of the huts, prepare the food, serve it, etc. spend a lot of time outside the house. Besides, married women have their say in the political matters of the of hut.
Physical Skills: Pick Plants, Gardening, Accommodate Seafood, Weave Marsh Linen, Domestic Work, Find Shellfishes, Hide.
Mental Skills: Preserve Food, Decorate Hut, Heal with Herbs.
Typical Personality: Vigorous, Efficient.
Typical Relations: Hut.
Magic: Iluriad the Oyster Mother or Iluriad the Mother-of-pearl Daughter.
Unusual Magic: Ernalda, Triolina, Heler.
Standard of Living: Medium.
Equipment: kitchen utensils +1, broom +3, pottery +1, baskets, etc.

Pharaoh’s Galleyman
They are very mean. They are trained to be thus. They eat only fish stew, with the fishbone. They wake up early. They raw all day long. They are woken up at night to do press-ups. And they spend months and months in a virile brotherhood atmosphere, too virile. The Pharaoh needed soldiers experienced with the sea to fight pirates, and he managed to make killers out of peaceful people. Their face is tattooed with sharks mouths. Their teeth are filed pointed sharp. They fight with notched harpoons and beat shark leather drums before ship collision. Since the Pharaoh’s warfleet has broken up, most of the Pharaoh’s galleymen work for the Great Admiral of the Ships, but some have simply joined the Wolves Pirates. Some say that a few went living in the deep marshes and formed a cannibal clan.
Physical Skills: Ship Manoeuvre, Harpoon and Net Fighting, Biting, Throw Harpoon, Leap, Swim Holding his Breath, Strong, Tough, Row.
Mental Skills: No Brain No Pain, Frighten, Go at a Prey Unrelentingly.
Typical Personality: Intrepid, Nasty.
Typical Relations: Crew, Pharaoh’s Warfleet.
Magic: Wachaza.
Equipment: Teeth filed pointed sharp +1, shark leather armour and net +2, notched harpoon +3, tattoos.
Flaws: Pharaoh’s galleymen are recognised and feared in the whole Holy Country. Some even say they prefer pirates. The serving galleymen lead a terrible and hard life.

Young Priestess
The young Priestesses of the Mother-of-pearls Daughter help the Priestess of the Oyster Mother. Chosen for their beauty, they are pitilessly trained into the arts of divination, practised by absorbing certain algae and shellfishes before diving in the marsh, speaking with the water creatures and find special shellfishes for a sacrifice to Iluriad.
Physical Skills: As Beautiful as a Pearl, Knife Fighting, Dive Holding her Breath, Find Shellfishes, Find Algae, Concoct Mixtures, Swim.
Mental Skills: Iluriad Mythology, Pray Iluriad, Sacrifice Shellfishes, Feel Gods Presence, Feel Spirits Presence.
Typical Personnality: No typical personality.
Typical Relations: Priestess of the Oyster Mother, Elders.
Magic: Iluriad the Mother-of-pearl Daughter.
Standard of Living: common.
Equipment: Pearly-Handled Knife +1 (and +1 against spirits if the Priestess uses Iluriad’s feats), Swimsuit.
Note: The name of this occupation does not imply any condition on the age of the Priestess. 

Marsh Fisherman
The fishermen satisfied with only the products of the marshes have less abundant catches than their more numerous brothers fishing in the sea. However, they have a good knowledge of the marshes and the islands and sometimes bring back rare and precious species.
Physical Skills: Craft a Lobster Pot, Craft a Net, Throw Harpoon, Go Angling, Fish with a Net, Cook Fish.
Mental Skills: Knowledge of Fishes, Knowledge of Marshes.
Typical Personality: Patient, Taciturn.
Magic: Pelaskos the Founder.
Unusual Magic: Choralinthor Tradition.
Standard of Living: Medium.
Equipment: Material for fish hooks, baits, fishing rods, Lobster Pots, Boat (all belong to the village).

Sea Fisherman
Most of the islanders fish in the waters of Mirrorsea, and like the salted air and the sun warming their skin. Those who do not want to smell earth anymore go far in deep-sea, on the outside sea, where the fishing is the best, but the risks are greater.
Physical Skills: Tough, Row, Sail, Fish with a Harpoon, Fish with a Net, Cook Fish.
Mental Skills: Knowledge of Fishes, Knowledge of the Sea.
Typical Personality:  Patient, Taciturn.
Typical Relations: Ship.
Magic: Pelaskos the Fisherman.
Unusual Magic: Choralinthor, Dormal, Heler.
Standard of Living: Medium.
Equipment: Ship, etc.

Advanced Occupations

Admiral:
The Admirals are the fisher-masters leading the Pelaskos' flotilla with the help of the village spirits- and god-talkers and the council of elders. Their ceremonial role comes with an obligation to inform the villages of what happens in the outside world. The Admirals can become great Admirals (leading whole islands) and even, one day, maybe, the Great Admiral of the Ships.

Prerequisites: At least 10W in a speech- or diplomacy-related ability. At least 1W in his relation to the village and in three fisherman skills. Only men can become Admirals.
Physical Abilities: Ritual Dances, Public Speech
Mental Abilities: Lead Flotilla, Ludoch Customs, Politics
Typical Relations: Village, Ludoch emissary, Council of Elders, Council of Admirals
Equipment: ritual clothes, big hut, his own boat.
Advantages: total support of the village (most of the time), political influence on the village and some outside, has the village's guardian being as ally.
Disadvantages: no free time.

Cauldron Stirrer:
The Cauldron Stirrer is an elder or an old sage who takes the heavy responsibility to pray to the Sea Gods. He also has the right (and duty) to read the future while stirring Daliath's cauldron, an awful mixture made of boiled fish guts that Cauldron Stirrers eat before acting as oracles. Successive ingestions of the oracular soup with regular stirring allow them to distinguish more and more details, but it is a severe test of the Stirrer's endurance.  

Prerequisites: At least 10W in Mythology of Choralinthor. At least 1w in an endurance ability (or better, Solid Stomach).
Physical Abilities: Solid Stomach, Prepare Oracular Mixture, Speak as an Oracle, Stir Cauldron.
Mental Abilities: Understand Visions, Mythology of Choralinthor.
Typical Personality: Conscientious, Pessimistic.
Typical Relations: Cauldron, other Stirrers.
Equipement: sacred cauldron, secret ingredients, stirring stick, sacred apron.
Advantages: total support of the clan concerning oracular ceremonies, nourished by the clan.
Disadvantages: no free time.

Old Priestess:
The old Priestess is the high Priestess of Iluriad the Oyster Mother. Her and her 'daughters', the young Priestesses of the Mother-of-Pearl Daughter, accomplish the Pelaskite daily rituals (evening prayers, blowing in the conches to tell the gods the sacrifices are ready, sacrifice shellfishes, etc.). The old Priestess or one of her daughter follow the Admiral in his ceremonies.

Prerequisites: At least 10W in one ability of the Iluriad cult keyword. At least 1w in the keyword's other abilities. And good relationship with the Council of Elders and the village.
Physical Abilities: Pray Iluriad, Sacred Dances.
Mental Abilities: Lead Ritual, Lead Priestesses, Prepare Sacrifice.
Typical Personality: See the Iluriad keyword.
Typical Relations: Village, Council of Elders, Priestesses.
Equipement: ritual objects, her own boat.
Advantages: total support of the clan, political influence.
Disadvantages: no free time.

Note: The name of this occupation does not imply any condition on the age of the Priestess. 

Wise One:
The Wise Ones are old and wise. They know all the mysteries of the Rightarm Islands, the oldest legends, the Ludoch customs and laws and many other things. For this reason, it may be difficult to play a Wise One. Most of them will have between 10W and 10W2 (for the most renowned) in their speciality.