Rhukichii

As a nomadic culture, the Rhukichiin people have no topography to speak of. Their capital city, el Cielo del Ysari, is also known as the City of Light, or the City of Tents. The Rhukichiin traditionally travel in familia caravans, with great wagons pulled by Gypsy Vanner horses. When they stop for a time, they erect entire cities of brightly colored tents. The caravan normally sets up just outside of a major city, providing the local denizens with food, drink, and entertainment for the duration of their stay.

Their carnivals and shows present a cavalcade of entertainment not normally seen throughout Othonia, with circus acts, acrobats, and fortune tellers alike. Due to their reputation as wise wanderers, most cities welcome them with open arms. There are many, however, who eye them distrustfully from afar, but no one dares to call them thieves and liars to their faces, lest a Curse befall them. A Rhukichiin's word is his honor, to question him when he gives his word is to call him a liar. As one can imagine, it is not often that a Rhukichii gives his word, for they take their honor very seriously.

In the public eye, the most commonly known Rhukichiin legend is the telling of an Ancient Memory. Tradition holds that in the days of magic, the Oracle could possess and speak through Her people, warning them of unseen dangers or helping them to master quests and tasks important to the greater good of Othonia. To interrupt an Ancient Memory was once akin to the highest blasphemy that once could visit upon a Rhukichiin, for one was also paying the Oracle great disrespect in turn. The result was a death curse, placed by the Oracle herself, that was so powerful that only the most repentant of souls might survive it. No one has borne witness to an Ancient Memory prophecy since before the collapse of magic, yet the legend is so powerful that tales are still told of the phenomenon even to this very day in every culture.

The other widely recognized tradition of the Rhukichiin people is the wearing of bells and scarves. They believe that bells signify a direct tie to the spirit realm and the spirits of their Ancestors. They will always have bells on their person, and will only silence them in moments where silence is called for. The scarf, or Talith, signifies a person's soul and the connection to one's Familia. Tradition holds that to lose one's Talith is to lose a piece of one's self. It must be regained if intact, or ritually replaced as soon as possible. The Talith can also be used for a number of practical purposes, such as pulling back one's hair, holding up one's trousers, handling hot dishes or pots, drying one's hands, etc. The Talith can also be used to silence one's bells. If one is hiding, sneaking, trying not to wake up one's kin, etc, silencing one's bells is acceptable. Bells are always silenced at funerals, so as not to confuse the spirit you are laying to rest, for it is said that spirits will follow the sound of bells.