Sea-Folk

A people-group from the Eastsong Cycle

Sea-folk hailed from the eastern coastal regions of the Elder World. Significant numbers of sea-folk joined the Children of the Rising Sun, the lost-folk confederation, during the latter’s migration from the central mountains and wastes to the Fledgling World.

The sea-folk submitted to the laws of the lost-folk, to the Children’s council of judges, and to the rule of the prophet-kings. By the Fourth Epoch, the sea-folk had a reputation of deep reverence for the royal line, whom one sect claimed to include only a single, immortal being.

Sea-folk men distinguished themselves primarily by shaving their heads. They also wore well-groomed beards, the length of which corresponded with a man’s age. Women wore their hair in multiple braids; social status, rather than age, determined the exact number. Fewer sea-folk than steppe-folk intermarried with lost-folk houses.

After the Children of the Rising Sun founded Danuh in the Third Epoch, few sea-folk dwelt outside the city itself. Many sea-folk became merchants, artisans, and fishermen. In wartime, they bolstered the ranks of the Danoan infantry. Compared to the steppe-folk, sea-folk were more likely to be bureaucrats, and a few reached the highest ranks of royal courtiers.

From the earliest days, sea-folk cultivated a tradition of the Wright, or the Forever-King, as a divine storyteller.