#aeomar

The vast, open plains and rolling hills of the Southern Marches foster a culture of endurance and mobility. The Marchers are a people shaped by their history as border defenders and traders, known for their pragmatic outlook and martial traditions, and most importantly for their traditions, their wine. Marchers build their family settlements at the very center of their lands, or at the most defensible point, building a stone wall as the first structure, and the houses stretching inwards, leaving behind a central clearing in which celebrations, ceremonies, and bonfires are built.

These Ringholds sometimes grow to the size of cities, with multiple circles protecting different families within the same town or city. Around the Ringhold, a vast circular farmland and vineyard stretches, wheat and wine grown as far as a man can travel on horseback in a day, mostly farmed by yeomen, who also build circular stone houses, typically as part of a windmill. For a knight to attack a yeoman’s home is considered to be the height of cruelty and has sometimes led to a loss of a knighthood. This has led to the common saying among Marchers; “to tilt at windmills,” meaning a depth of stupidity and delusion inconceivable to the chivalrous knights of the noble houses and clans of the Marches.

More land than one day’s ride is considered improvident, as the men of the house could not easily defend it from raiders. When two circles overlap, there are two options, a wedding to hold off hostilities for another generation, or a blood feud. Sometimes both can occur, but never neither.

Militaristic by nature, the Marchers worship the Sun God in His aspect as the Warrior and Father, blood ties being some of their most important bonds. Families are allied or warring depending on ancient pacts, grudges, and marriages. This has led to some of the strongest cavalier divisions, but the generals which lead them know to keep feuding clansmen away from one another.

At the start of spring, entire Marcher families embark on a long ceremonial ride across their ancestral lands, tracing the borders their ancestors once defended. Stops at ancient waystones involve offerings of salt and wine, symbolizing the blood spilt in defense of their home. The journey concludes with a great feast at the family hearth, where tales of legendary cavaliers and battles are recounted. Before the winter sets in, Marcher communities gather to "bind" their shields in a symbolic act of unity and readiness. Families paint their sigils onto wooden shields and tie them together in communal halls, pledging to protect one another through the harsh season. This ritual swears a truce in the many blood-feuds which exist between the families in each region, the Marchers being quite willing to hold grudges for entire generations.

The horse is central to Marcher life, and special rituals are performed before every major journey. A local elder will brush the horse’s mane with watered wine and whisper protective charms, ensuring safe passage and strong hooves.