Valos Culture

The Family

The Valos are generally open with their love and sexuality: so long as everyone consents and is happy, it's okay. As such, families can go from a single parent and his children, to a married couple, to a bonded group sharing children. Children are an acceptable outcome so long as they were born of any kind of love, from friendship to lust. While the Valos gene pool is limited, a child born with the sole intent to expand it is considered a bad birth and the child will suffer from it, as this is  the way of the Karkan.

A married couple are called an everyn pair, deriving from "everything" as Valos do not view themselves as incomplete, but two wholes come together for their own reasons. Everyn are bonded for life but can have open relationships with others. Most everyn have one or two children, switching roles of sire and dam.

With this open sexuality, some children may have several parents. The primary parent(s) of any child are the ones who raised him, even if there is no biological connection. This happens for everyn pairs in open relationships, in which one of them will be impregnated by someone other than his everyn, but the two raise the child together. Secondary parent status goes to the sire if he wishes to maintain contact with his child.

Adoption is also common among the Valos, especially where half-karkan are concerned. Many who've been impregnated by the Karkan cannot stand to keep a reminder of their captivity and so give up their baby. Primary parent status goes to whoever adopts the child, and secondary status to a dam who does wish to keep contact with their child after a time, though most sever ties completely.

Gender roles

While all Valos consider themselves male, most tribes fulfill roles in the camp based upon what phase a man is in. In the Haira, a Valon goes to hunt or defend the camp; he is ready for combat at any time. In Etsera, a Valon stays within the camp, taking care of children and doing camp chores. In Kala phase the Valon continues his previous duty until he's noticeably switched over to the next sex. In this way everyone works all jobs, from within and without the camp.

One of the reasons for this separation of duty was the Karkan, who would capture Valos in Etsera and impregnate them. he solution seemed simple. Unfortunately, the Karkan now capture Valos in the Haira and simply hold them until they change sex, torturing them in the meantime. Nothing is improved.

Some tribes do not adhere to gender roles at all, such as most of the tribes in the New England Clan.

Names

Valos names are simple: they are named after an object or idea (occasionally with an adjective) with the oppropriate grammatical ending.

-a
Follows after an object or idea, adjective+noun name combos end in this. Non-definitive.
The name Kaisara means "Red Star", Dala means "Gift"

-an
Makes a name definitive.
The name Egalan means "The Eagle", Kasan means "The Abode"

-i
Compares the person to the object, "__ like", or "as a __", makes the name a descriptor.
The name Auri means "Gold like" or "Golden", Lavni literally means "Life like" but generally means "Verdant"

-ic
The person attempts or achieves the property of the name. "To __" "Towards __"
The name Adlic means "To Victory", while Vamic means "To Innocence"

History

The reasons behind the Last Great War are unknown and no longer important. Humanity was wiped out save a small handful, and of those only one was female. Rather than force her into the position of a brood mare to save the human race, these survivors used technology to clone themselves, hoping that these clones would eventually intermingle and create a viable if limited gene pool. Their plan did not come to fruition as their clone children found it simply easier to keep producing clones from the original source. The clones went out and rebuilt the world, founding cities and lands. Unfortunately, they began to segregate themselves and eventually relations between these factions began to sour.

The largest of the factions were the Jevasje, who claimed no lands and 'squatted' on other factions' territories or lived nomadic lives. Watching the relations break down, a group of northern noru-Jevasje recalled the homeland of their Progenitor in the Americas and decided to travel there. They crossed over the arctic ocean, land-hopping and traversing the ice, until they reached North America. They found the ruins of New York and settled, occasionally sending word back to the Old World and their Jevasje brethren. One day, they received summons to return to the Old World. War between the factions had broken out, and every man was needed. The noru-Jevas did not return and finally all communications from their homeland went silent. As far as they knew, they were now alone in the world. The first signs of the Karkan began to appear soon after.

When these Jevasje became the Valos is unknown. Jevasje are all male and how and when they became hermaphrodites capable of breeding is lost in time. Some say the real reason they left the Old World to begin with was because they were genetic flaws brought about by the original cloning material degenerating. Some say that nature merely adapted them to survive but with no explanaition of how. Others believe that some godlike force, perhaps their sacred Progenitor, appeared and bestowed them with this gift.

Their history as the Valos know it is vague. Most Valos are not literate, spreading their legends orally. They know they came from clones who lived with technology. They know they were called to war and ignored it. Some believe that one day their Progenitor will come and judge them based on this, and they will be found wanting. They know the Karkan have been there since the beginning. They know that with the ability to reproduce the Valos grew in number and spread, exploring eastern Amrika, adapting and settling into clans. War broke out between Clans now and again, but the formation of the Hawkfather Council helped alleviate this problem and now rarely will a skirmish break out between tribes. The Valos have carried on this way for the last thousand years.

Terms

Everyn - A lifemate. An everyn pair are basically married.

Valos - The word valos (singular: valon) basically means people. When applied casually, such as "those valos over there" it is not capitalized. When applied to the name of the people ("I am of the Valos") it is capitalized. When in reference to the name of the people, Valos is never singular ("I am Valos" vs "I am a valon").

Slang

Hawkfucking - doing something stupid but awesome. Or doing something ridiculous awesomely. "Hawkfucker" is a friendly insult, equivilent to calling a friend "you motherfucker."

Fuck-bonding - when two valos get together for some casual sex and then end up liking each other to the point they do not separate afterwards. A "failed" fuck-bonding happens when the bond is only one-sided.

Karkan-shit - In reference to someone so awful that even the Karkan would rather shit them out than keep them. A very hefty insult not used casually.

Government

The Valos are a republic, their leaders chosen by the people directly or through other elected officials, though due to the power of the Hawkfather Council some outsiders mistake it for an oligarchy. The Valos government is based around the five clans, made up of multiple tribes and the tribes further made up of numerous camps and/or villages. Leadership is a lifetime position, provided the chosen leader continues to want the position (some step down for family reasons or they simply feel they have done their duty) and that he continues to serve well. A valon who abuses his position or cannot handle it is removed. Starting from the lowest level:

Camp Leaders
Camps and villages are small groups of valos living together. Camp leaders are elected directly from the members to make decisions concerning camp issues that cannot be resolved by the people themselves and to handle relations with other camps. Camp leaders together have the power to vote for their Tribe Leader. A Camp leader could be any member of the group, young or old, so long as he is an adult.

Tribe Leader (Kestrel)
Tribes are numerous camps and villages that share a similar geographical location or lifestyle. The Coastal and Appalachian Tribes live very different lives despite being part of the same Clan. Camp Leaders gather to choose a Tribe Leader, also known as a Kestrel, to maintain peace and law between the various camps as well as interact with other Tribes. A Tribe Leader does not need to be a Camp Leader to be chosen. Younger men are oftentimes chosen for the role that they may grow into it and have the strength to travel around to all the camps as necessary. The Kestrel represents the Tribe to the Hawkfather.

Clan Leaders (Hawkfathers)
Clans are made up of multiple Tribes who share the same geographical location. Hawkfathers are chosen by the Kestrels of the Clan, most times from one of their own but not always. Due to the power of this position, the choosing of a Hawkfather may be a timely process. The Hawkfathers represent the Clan in the Hawkfather Council and in some cases acts as Clan Ruler. The more sedantary New England and Mexico Clans regard their Hawkfathers as chosen rulers with all the benefits thereof while the nomadic Northern, Plains, and Atlantic Clans view their Hawkfathers as representatives due to their spread out and more self-governing lifestyles.

Hawkfather Council
The five Hawkfathers together form the Council. Once a year (or during emergencies) the Hawkfathers gather to work out issues between the Clans and pass laws that affect the Valos. While the Council rules all Valos, oftentimes Hawkfathers will pass laws that only affect their own Clan. To maintain unity and break voted stalemates, the Council is run by a Hawklord, usually the oldest valon or the one who has served on the Council the longest, though the position can be changed by a vote of the other Hawkfathers. The Hawklord has no extra power outside the Council. When in vote, a new ruling may pass with a 3 to 2 majority, save certain cases where agreement between all five Hawkfathers must occur. The gathering of a united Valos military and a declaration of war must be backed by all five Clans.

Current Hawkfathers

Art by Owligator
Auri of the Mexico Clan, Adlic of the New England Clan, Egalan of the Atlantic Clan and current Hawklord, Talfa of the Northern Clan, and Ulfan of the Plains Clan.