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 Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:02 am
Body Modifications in General The Pernese culture very rarely endorses the use of body modifications, particularly for cosmetic purposes. While infection isn't overly common, it is not at all rare either and can cause unsightly blemishes in the rich that are considered a big enough negative for most to avoid the risk. In the poor, infection is more common due to a further reduced sanitary level of the piercing itself, and the harsher lifestyle that often involves physical labor and a requirement to be out in field. Such leaves more opportunity for dust and dirt to feed a potential infection.
Piercings
The use of piercings in Pernese culture is 'very uncommon'. For the most part, piercings are very basic, entirely restricted to the earlobes. Getting pierced is usually done by a Healer, who has more ready access to needles, and almost always at a rather expensive price, due to the waste of a good needle for cosmetics. However, piercings are generally heavily discriminated against, particularly in the lower ranks of Pernese society, due to the health risks often brought about. Very few people actively partake in the fashion, and the majority frown upon it.
Jewelry is almost entirely confined to carefully glass items. Metal, while possible, is generally extremely difficult to get one's hands on, and the metalcraft do not look favorably on their crafter's wasting time creating trinkets. In comparison, the glass craft embraces the 'folly of the rich' and is known to create a large variety of available jewelry. Bone and wood items are usually personally carved, particularly by women who have a regular chance to sell their wares at larger scale markets.
Tattoos & Branding
Tattoos are used as a visual and immediate form of dishonor among those that have done something dramatic to deserve to be punished for the remainder of their life, but haven't quite crossed the threshold to deserve death. Most commonly, such tattoos are displayed on the face of the individual, in a general mark of dishonor - a very blatant black inking of the hold or hall badge to signify which region it was that the offender was found guilty by. The process of Tattooing is painful, and requires the assistance of the Master Healer, in order to drug the convict.
Dragonriders, unable to use the drug due to the bond with the dragon, instead use the method of branding on their riders, and usually on Weyrfolk due to the easier nature rather than calling in and arranging for the Healer Hall to be present and trials to be conducted. As a result, 'Burning', the slang for someone who has been branded, is more common across the planet than tattooing. Brands come in many forms, though there are the traditional irons for each Weyr which is in the form of their badge, there are also individual and smaller styles to dictate the type of crime someone has been convicted of. Burned are not cast from their home. Instead, all ranks are stripped and in the case of a Dragonrider, the worse and most dishonorable shifts are assigned instead.
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Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:08 am
Naming & Candidate Age Ages
Candidates must be between the ages of 12 and 24 years old.
Wher candidates can be between the ages of 12-35 years old.
Dragonriders must be older than 24 years old.
Apprentices must be between the ages of 8 and 9 years old.
Journeymen must be between the ages of 13 and 14 years old.
Masters must be older than 40 years old.
Pernese Names
The way in which the Pernese name their children is considerably different than that which is used on modern day Earth. It should also be noted that a lot of the Pernese use the tradition of naming their child by 'mashing' together the parent names - or pieces of each parent's name - to create an original name. A good example of a full combination comes from Alirian's (shortened to A'liran) name being a combination of his mother (Alliri) and his father (Seliran) to create a solid mix of the two.
In general, a Weyr will give their child a simple name that is their future honorific, usually with a few extra letters shoved in that can be easily dropped, while generally also keeping to the aforementioned name smashing of mum and dad. In contrast, Hold and Hall folk are less inclined to end up at a Weyr, and as Heirs will not be Searched, their names are often far longer, and less inclined to create something that could be considered a usable honorific.
No human name should ever end with a '-th' or '-sk'.
Dragon Names
Dragon names always end in the letters '-th', with absolutely no exception. Dragons know their name immediately upon Hatching, and upon Impression, their rider is just as aware of the name as the dragon is. There is no need for the dragon to actively tell their new bonded their name. It is a simple and suddenly understood knowledge.
Dragon names are also excluded from gimmick, pun and real words. Words that end in a -th such as 'sixth', 'Elizabeth' or 'labyrinth' are all excluded, as well as bad puns or obvious gimmicks. However, you are encouraged to use real words and bastardize them into dragon names.
Wher Names
Wher name end in the combined letters -sk. Wher, like a Dragon, will name itself. They teak the majority of their human's name, the amount depending on how strong and clear the bond is, and add the aforementioned -sk on the end. Some examples would be; Timothy may bond a Wher, and that Wher (male or female) would likely call themselves something along the lines of Timosk. This would likely be a strong bond as it uses almost the entire name without sounding ridiculous. On the other hand, a wher that chooses the name 'Tisk' is less likely to be as strongly bound to their human.
Pet Names
Pet names have a lot more room to be inventive. While we'd like you to try and steer clear of words that the Pernese would be highly unlikely to be in possession of (for example, zombie, vampire, refrigerator, microwave) as there is really no fundamental reason those words would be in their vocabulary. Please try to keep names reasonable. You can see the current names used by others by going to the Firelizard Roster page.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 5:39 pm
Clothing According to Anne, clothing on Pern is similar to that of early Italian Renaissance, though the mix of cultures originally means that it varies slightly. This is especially true for Gather finery, where all people try to look their best. This means heavy dresses for females, with modest necklines and padding around the hips, and a doublet to the mid thigh and tights for the males. Both genders also wear fine hats, boots, jewellery, belts and capes, with rich males also tending to wear jewelled belt knives.
Rich holders tend to dress like this, to an extent, in everyday life as well, but this dress is not practical at a Weyr. Males and females alike tend to prefer tunic and trousers, as it is far easier to work in, though some females still prefer skirts or even basic dresses. Though the Weyr does have weavers, you would not have anything custom made unless your rank was high enough, and would instead be allowed clothing from the stores (often second hand) when needed. A weaver might be called upon to fit it slightly better to you, or add some simple stitching, but be prepared to shell out marks at a Gather if you really want custom clothing.
Riding gear is all made of thick wherhide. Underthings and a basic linen shirt are worn underneath, then wherhide pants are added. These are bulky and worn high around the waist, coming to the floor, so they cover every inch of visible flesh. Boots are then added, again made of wherhide, and are rather too thick to walk easily in. A long wherhide jacket is then placed on top, coming to the thighs, the start of the hands, and right up to the chin. This is belted around the waist to keep arm movements as free as possible. Thick wherhide gloves protect the hands, and a riding cap and goggles complete the outfit. Wherhide is unattractive, hot, and uncomfortable, so most riders wear it only when they have to.
When it comes to swimming, Weyr residents tend to just wear underthings, or even nothing at all. Most are used to communal bathing pools anyway, so nobody really cares how little you're wearing.
Though females in Holds wear corsets to keep themselves supported, few wear them in the Weyr as they are often not practical for work. Instead there are breast bands available from the stores, simple pieces of cloth that just wrap around and keep the breasts held down securely so they didn't get in the way of working, or flying.
Common materials used: Wool, cotton, flax, sisal, leather (there is NO silk on Pern)
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