Guidebook
Highlands
culture
Deeply superstitious, Highlanders are wary of upsetting the balance in the natural world. They are deeply loyal to their family, suspicious of outsiders, and difficult to impress. They admire strength and skill over most all else.professions
For quite some time, Highlanders made the best soldiers due to their skill. After the war, they were demoted from most general positions and many have joined militias in the commonwealth. politics
It comes as no surprise that most Highlanders are ill-concealed Jacobites
Prior to unification, Highlanders held dominion over both the Highlands and Lowlands. They organized themselves into clans and protected their people from rogues, marauders, and thieves attempting to bleed prey and other taxes out of the common folk. Their justice was heavy-handed and borne from the "eye for an eye" philosophy. A hard life required hard rules and many a Highlander learned to live by them.
Highlanders hold a longstanding belief in the Fae: an immortal creature that is the original native of Rionnach. Their homes are dense forests and misty mountains, all places where wolf civilization has yet to reach. Fae are believed to be both territorial and vengeful. Trespassing could result in wolves going missing or disappearing for days and curses are known to make whole communities turn on the bewitched man or woman. When a pup passes overnight, the longheld belief is that the Fae stole the little bairn and left a weak fairy in its place. Such beliefs cause the Highlanders to be cautious of upsetting the natural balance of the world. They worship the moon and cherish nature. It is not their desire to disrupt the natural way of things.
For this reason they rarely get along with Mainlanders or Outlanders. Both creeds have a tendency of warping the world to suite their needs. Highlanders would rather keep to their own but, alas, the royals of the Mainland had other ideas. First the greedy aristocrats took the Lowlands. After years of battles, they eventually took the Highlands too... but at least they made a queen of a true bred Highlander. Highlanders held deep pride in this union and begrudgingly agreed to follow certain rules of the Crownlands. Never, however, did they truly believe themselves to be
citizens of Rionnach. Rionnach belongs to the Fae, not a royal figurehead with manmade rules and laws. Such a notion was tolerated but never accepted.
And now with their bonnie queen deposed from the throne and their Prince Jacob in exile... many are wondering if they should raise arms again in a second rebellion and return to their roots.
Common Features
Most highlanders are known for having blue or green eyes and earthen/ember palettes. They often have stocky, muscular frames and speak with a gaelic lilt to their voices. Most are fluent in gaelic and use phrases such as "bairn" for baby and "bonny" for beautiful. Highlanders are heavily inspired by the Scottish highlanders from the 1700s.
