Sertians

The free roaming men  Language: Common, Sertian

 Favored Regions: Sertian Lands, Midland,

 Favored Religions: Lissandra, Balthazar, Brawl, Crimson, Hektor, Celaniwen, Eladriel

 Favored Alignments: Chaotic Good, Chaotic Neutral.

 Favored classes: Rogue, Ranger, Bard, Sorcerer

 Family names: Catling, Cremler, Danmker, Horderling, Siender, ,

 Male names: Bertram, Horattio, Marcelles, Orlando, Tubalt, Verges,

 Female names: Adriana, Cordelia, Harlivet, Jessiët, Joan, Mariana, Viola

 Appearance: The Sertians have varied skin tones, from slightly tanned till caramel brown, and brown eye color. They are athletic build and slightly shorter than most other humans. They often have tattooed lines and cubes on their face and body.





History
 The Children of the Sky, the free roaming men, the free fought, the Sertians have many names for themselves, all of them directing to their all-important freedom. If you count the centuries of their slavery, they might be the oldest human culture that still exists.

 Where the Sertians bloodline originally came from is unknown. They where captured in far away regions by the Elves of the Gil Gallad Empire and served their masters for over a millennia. After the rebellion and the slave war, they settled in the abandon region what now is known as the Sertian Lands, which lay in ruins since the destruction of the ancient Aderi Nation. The legacy of the millennia long slavery had a large impact on Sertian society. It mostly explains their love for freedom. Because as slaves they weren’t entitles to possessions, the Sertians started to tattoo each other for decoration and distinguishing. This developed into a rich art form that still is practiced in modern times. The tattoos are all uniquely designed by specialized artists and aspect like family, region and character influenced the design. Wearing such a tattoo as a non-Sertian is seen as a disgrace.



Religion
 With the slavewars, the first Sertian deity ascended; this was the first of a big pantheon that grew within a millennium over 60 gods. Some of these gods are borrowed from elven en dwarven deities, renamed in Sertian style. Just like the Sertians, these gods spread out over the small ring, influencing a lot of other cultures. A lot of Sertian gods are small patron deities of a city or area, and only have a few temples and dedicated worshippers. Only a handful of deity’s is worshipped nationwide.



Personality
<p class="MsoNormal"> The Sertians are a social folk with a dislike for formalities. They are passionate, competitive and easily provoked for either laughter or anger. Fiercely independent, no Sertian has a love for complicated policies or demanding dogmas. Yet they’re proud on their cultural and religious heritage. Their behavior is viewed by outsiders as unpredictable, anarchic but in a strange way patriotic. This makes them hard to deal with sometimes and foreign diplomats needs to both cautious and patient.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sertians are well known through the void, as excellent sailors they can be found in every corner of the sky. This makes them an interesting trading partner for exotic goods. Because of their history, they refuse to ship slaves, but some Sertians may forget his people’s troublesome history if the price is high enough. Sertians merchants are known to establish strong friendships with their contacts, which often contain a lot of drinking and gambling. Sertians are open for strange cultures and customs, which makes them very adaptable in every civilization. From all the nations in the small ring, there are only two who are on the bad side of the Sertians. The former Elven dynasty of Gill Gallad is still hated because of their slavery, and the Valerans are loathed because of their attempted conquest earlier this year. The slavery in the Sultankingdoms of the Marunan can also create a frown on the faces of the Sertians, but the Marunan are too important trades partners to openly disapproval their slavery.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The Sertians consider themselves born sailors, explorers and adventurers. They are confident, curious and with a strong will. Sertian expeditions often sail further into the void than any other, making contact with many strange cultures and their exotic tradewares. Due to a life of sailing between the earthbergs, Sertians have a strong connection with the sky. Predicting weather, navigating trough fogs or dealing with birds come naturally to them.

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Clothing
<p class="MsoNormal"> Sertian clothing is lately influenced by the latest trends from Midland and Alagon, yet they remain pragmatic and down to earth. Uncolored and earth-toned leather and cloth are common, just like chest belts and shoulder pads. When it comes to working outfits, men and woman tend to ware the same type of clothing, even woman in pants are a common sight.

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Naming
<p class="MsoNormal"> The parents conventionally do naming after the child survived the first year, often giving it a middle name for luck. This is most of the time the name of a god, a hero or the father. Especially Balthazar is a common luck name for Sertians. There are whole villages that carry the middle name of the god of luck and travel.