Welcome to Gaia! ::

Any kin are welcome to join, but bear in mind Dark Moon is young, and she didn’t set out with the intent of joining the tribe. She simply decided she wanted to live a little differently, and has accidentally started amassing more and more kin who view the world the same way she does. The main thing they must have in common is an appreciation for the night, for whatever reason, and a respect and reverence for the stars.

Coughing bean drink is used to help kin stay awake at the times they want to. Time is usually split between performing whatever duty they are assigned, or if not, sitting together under the stars and talking and singing songs. Skywatching is held with an almost religious reverence, but non-skywatchers are also always welcome to join if they feel they want to- appreciating the night is for everyone. All kin who join are expected to become nocturnal, unless they decide to volunteer for day-duty- ensuring the safety of the tribe during daylight hours, when most of the tribe is asleep. These members can choose to permanently be on the reversed cycle or to alternate depending on what they want.

Please also know, this thread is new and still being figured out! This is the first tribe I've run in matope so there's a good chance that new things will be added/changed as the tribe develops. I'm available through the matope discord or mail here if anyone has any questions, please go ahead and drop me a line, I'm very open to discussing ideas. I have plans for some plot-related events, but nothing too major, and anything I plan will be discussed before I decide to enact it. This is mostly a sandbox style tribe, where you can decide what your kin's life looks like with Dark Moon Rising and her family and friends.

Dark Moon Rising is the leader of the tribe. Secretive and quiet, she actually started living this way because she found daylight too loud and busy. Some kin always wanted to talk to her, she was constantly being roused way too early for her liking, and was tired all the time. Eventually she realised that there was nothing forcing her to be awake in the daytime and sleep at night, so she decided to stop! Although she’s uneasy in a leadership role, she manages the tribe’s
night-to-night organisation.

Yield the Sky is Dark Moon Rising’s sister and the lead skywatcher of the tribe. Whilst Dark Moon also loves watching and interpreting the stars, Yield has sharper eyes and a better sense of what the movements “mean”. She’s spacey and dreamy, a little less wary than her sister, but she’s incredibly smart and takes her role as lead skywatcher seriously, trying very hard to pass on her skills to those she’s responsible for.

Star Dusted is the third sister and the most practical and down to earth one. She is the chief guardian of the tribe, in charge of protecting the safety of the skywatchers and other tribe members. She would follow her sisters anywhere, and it’s a good thing too- what with Dark’s tendency towards fretting and Yields’ distracted nature, Star is probably the one who keeps them both from getting into trouble.

Skywatchers
Skywatchers read the sky and interpret the signs. They spend a lot of their time trying to memorize and track the movements of the stars, and they are pretty much taken care of and left to do this, as they have to try and hold a lot of information in their head, having little ways to record it in any other way.

Guardians
The guardians patrol the lakeshore and area around the camp to make sure no creatures can harm the Skywatchers or the rest of the tribe. They take it in turns to do day watches as well, so that the tribe is always protected, and they face the fearsome creatures of the night to keep the tribe safe.

Keepers
The tribe still needs feeding and taking care of, so the keepers provide everything that isn’t picked up by the rest of the tribe. Due to their nocturnal lifestyle, there are unique ways of hunting that the tribe specialises in that the keepers learn. They also repair nests around the tribe’s base and basically fill in the gaps.

Healers
Healers are similar to the Keepers, but the specialise in gathering nighttime herbs and healing the rest of the tribe. They pass on their knowledge to one another and venture into the nighttime swamp to gather herbs that are best picked by night for one reason or another.

Others
Some kin find ways to contribute to the tribe without fitting into any specific role, and Dark Moon welcomes anyone who wants to live as she does, as long as they're willing to help out somehow.


The Coughing Bean - The Children regularly trade with the twins for their strange coughing medicine. Dark Moon sends kin to share poetry they've composed about the night in return for coughing bean medicine that they bring back for the tribe. The coughing bean is used to keep any kin awake who are struggling with the nocturnal schedule, like young kin or new arrivals, or else to wake up kin for day-duty.

Star Clan - When Dark Moon Rising and her sisters were learning of their love for the nighttime, it was Stars in the Sky and her group who first taught them about stargazing. Dark Moon greatly respects Stars and always speaks of the inspiration she found in her wisdom. Eventually the two groups parted ways, but Dark Moon maintains regular contact with Star Clan through messengers or visits herself.