Both Southern and Northern Shipwreckers name their young after bodies of water, types of ships, and any other ocean or nautical terms. Those in the South tend to choose ones based more around warm climates, while those in the North cold ones.
Here are a few examples:
Here are a few examples:
- Baikal
- Weddel
- Arctic
- Hudson
- Laptev
- Barents
- Sextant
- Horizon
Most Shipwreckers give little spiritual significance to the means by which the dead are dealt with. Bodies are always burned and returned to the sea. Some care little where their ashes are left, while others leave detailed instructions about when, where, and how their remains are to be put to rest.
The Northerners are a bit more solemn and usually focus more on making sure that the loved ones are able to move on, rather than a grand celebration where everyone gets drunk. Southerners think that such a gathering is no fun.
The Northerners are a bit more solemn and usually focus more on making sure that the loved ones are able to move on, rather than a grand celebration where everyone gets drunk. Southerners think that such a gathering is no fun.
Northern shipwreckers live in sprawling towns carved from icebergs, roped together with driftwood, whalebone and chains. Each village is unique and lasts for a few years before the ice deteriorates to a dangerous extent and they need to carve a new one off of the northern glaciers.
In the North, carving both ice and bone is a highly valued art, as it’s both a good pastime and a necessary skill to have for creating their homes. Sufficiently skilled artists can make a good deal of money selling their work to other Northerners and the occasional Merosian trader who sails through the area.
Northerners like to decorate themselves with some of the following:
- Jewellery made from water-resistant material; bone, gold, seashells, pearls, glass, rocks, gemstones, etc.
- Sealskin garments
- Sparkly fish-scale scarves
Food can be scarce in the Moonglow Sea, and northerners are used to getting by on little.
- Sharks
- Whales
- Fish, clams, and other seafood
- Seaweed
- Traded spices & dried meat
The North lacks any defined ranks. One gains influence by performing good deeds for their village and earning the respect of their fellows; if you are well-liked others will listen to you, while if you have a reputation for laziness they will not.
Northerners believe in wild spirits of water and winter that roam the Moonglow Sea. Their spiritual beliefs are far less structured than those found in Meros and among the Windwyrms; each village has its own names and associations for them and each storyteller their own tales. Spirits are rarely given names - it’s seen as trying to take ownership of them and a potential way to provoke them - and instead may be ‘appeased’ with titles that relate to their actions.
There is no education system among the Shipwreckers. They learn their craft from a parent or a mentor-figure. In the North, calves are educated by their village, taught hunting, carving, and how to survive.
Common occupations in the Moonglow Sea include:
- Hunter
- Warrior
- Storyteller
- Carver
- Trader
- Explorer
- Navigator
Shipwrecker families are large but very close-knit. Polyamorous relationships are not uncommon, and it is normal for a dragon to have dozens of half-siblings. Relatives work together to succeed, sharing homes, food, and resources. It’s not rare for families to adopt, accepting even children from other dragon species or humans as siblings and children.
Relationships between northern and southern shipwreckers are somewhat uncommon due to geographic differences, but not stigmatized. They are each the same species of dragon, separated only by climate and different values. Given enough time in the other's domain, a shipwrecker’s body will adapt to suit their surroundings. Born Northerners that spend time in the tropics will keep their narwhal-like horns, fewer fins, and smaller ears, but will gain a lithe and narrow body type and more functional wings, and may easily be mistaken for a Southerner by the inexperienced. Same thing with Southerners in the north; they’ll gain extra blubber to keep warm and their wings will become heavier and more fin-like.
Children between north/south pairs come out differently depending on where they were born. In the Moonglow Sea, they'll have a northerner’s build; if in the Whaletooth Archipelago/other warmer sea, they’d look like a southerner. They might have a mix of the ‘defining features’ from north and south.
Relationships between northern and southern shipwreckers are somewhat uncommon due to geographic differences, but not stigmatized. They are each the same species of dragon, separated only by climate and different values. Given enough time in the other's domain, a shipwrecker’s body will adapt to suit their surroundings. Born Northerners that spend time in the tropics will keep their narwhal-like horns, fewer fins, and smaller ears, but will gain a lithe and narrow body type and more functional wings, and may easily be mistaken for a Southerner by the inexperienced. Same thing with Southerners in the north; they’ll gain extra blubber to keep warm and their wings will become heavier and more fin-like.
Children between north/south pairs come out differently depending on where they were born. In the Moonglow Sea, they'll have a northerner’s build; if in the Whaletooth Archipelago/other warmer sea, they’d look like a southerner. They might have a mix of the ‘defining features’ from north and south.
Shipwreckers generally couldn’t care less if someone is born with an odd mutation, from vitiligo to something as extreme as an extra head. It’s hardly their business what others look like.
Northern Shipwreckers are relatively peaceful, trading with Merosian merchants on occasion. What encounters they’ve had along the shore of northern Cyr with the Windwyrms were violent and brief. They have a complex relationship with the Tidekeepers of the north; they fight for territory and work together on hunts just as often.