Falamorska
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Introduction
The Falamorska, known commonly as the Morska, are a nomadic tribe of seafaring humans whose history dates back thousands of years. Masters of shipbuilding, navigation and aquatic survival, they are renowned merchants, traders and, on occassion, fierce pirates who make their home on the high seas of Katayvan. Generally peaceful, albeit with a tendency to disregard law and order, the Morksa trade with abandon as they pull from the sea's resources. Their harsh guttural language which involves the spoken word and hand gestures and their fondness for liquor makes them seem outwardly less advanced than some other races; however, their matchless knowledge of aquatic survival, sailing and navigation make them the envy of many as do their sleek fast ships.
History
While much of their history is shrouded in myth and legend, scholars know that the Morska abandoned their ancestral homeland in favor of a life wandering the high seas. Historians believe that they were once residents of an ancient chain of island and already possessed a certain affinity to the open waters. Whether they abandoned their old home out of choice or necessity is either unknown or a secret closely guarded by the Morska. Several historical accounts from the oral tradition of the Ferami suggest that the Morska may have been instrumental in helping the bold warriors escape the destruction of their home island and settle off the coasts of Chemer.
Customs
The Falamorska are excellent merchants and some say they have amassed far greater wealth than one would imagine by the looks of them. Generally clad in simple, loose garments that allows for freedom of movement while protecting them from the harsh sun, it’s not unusually to see them sporting attire originally crafted for other races re-tailored for their own uses. Their language is one that consists of as many hand gestures as spoken word and each of them can revert to a crude version of sign language that involves no spoken words.
It is rare, but not unheard of, for some Falamorska to engage in piracy. They do this not out of malice or greed. All Falamorska believe that the seas are open to all. No rule of king holds claim on the seas and that if a ship crew lacks the proper skill to evade them, then giving up their goods is a sort of tithe as a punishment for poor seamanship. Most of these raids end with minimal bloodshed. The Falamorska are excellent swordsmen and have a unique fighting style that takes advantage of the pitching and swaying of a ship on the high seas.
These sea gypsies prefer the open seas but will often take small boats to shore where they’ll trade salt, rare shells, pearls, fish, crab, lobster, inks, whale blubber and fish oils for fresh water, their beloved alcohol, lumber, spices and clothing. They have a love/hate relationship with the Talayi. While the Falamorska and Talayi have conducted lucrative business together, the few Morska who engage piracy have been known to prey upon Talayi merchant ships and sell the ill-gotten wares back to the Talayan- at a reasonable discount, of course.
The Falamorska have no known system of government. Rather, each individual belongs to a floating village consisting of numerous boats and barges strung together that drifts along with the currents of the seas. There are even rumors of a vast floating city populated by many thousands of Morska somewhere far out at sea. Since there are no leaders, wise-men or kings to these villages, it’s not quite known how decisions in these villages and cities are made.
While not a matriarchal society, most Morska’s trading ships (and pirate vessels) are often captained by women. This is because their culture is more of a meritocracy - the one with the most skill/talent takes a leadership role. However, each person on a ship has a say in the decision- making process and the concept of a mutiny is so unheard of in Morskan society that they don’t even have a word for it. Since their culture is based on merit, male-female roles are interchangeable. If the female shows the greater aptitude for trading or sailing, it then becomes the male’s role to be the home-maker. He’ll raise the children and handle all domestic responsibilities. In that role, he becomes the decision-maker with regards to his duties.
An interesting note: each and every Falamorska have an innate ability to find their home village no matter how long they’ve been away from it and regardless of where it may have drifted. While many originally believed this to be some magical power, it’s been proven that it’s their matchless knowledge of tides, weather patterns and currents that allow them to calculate the most likely location of their home. Outsiders are generally not welcome on these floating villages, but if one has wares to trade, they will find themselves more than tolerated. Their commerce is barter-based and they only use gold when dealing with non Falamorska.
Appearance
The average Morska man weighs between 80 crowns to 90 crowns and measures between 7 rands to 8 rands in height. The women usually weigh less and are slightly shorter than their male counterparts. Most of the people from this culture retain lean swimmers' builds, and due to their constant exposure to sea and sun, they often sport deep tans and thick skin. Though most of the Morskans are born with dark or brown hair, again, their constant exposure to salt water and sunlight bleaches their hair to much lighter colors. Most wear their hair shoulder length and braided with shells and small pearls to decorate the tips of their braids.
Designed to be quickly removed yet protective, most Morskan clothing involves strategic wrappings worn close to the body and designed for easy movement without parts that can be caught in oars or pulleys. Most of their garb consists of adaptation of clothing from other cultures due to the fact that living on water makes for a very poor textile industry, but a highly varied market of trade.
Ships
Morska ships are the envy of all races. Long and sleek and usually sporting a single wide, rectangular patchwork sail, Morska sailing ships are built to withstand the harshest storms and cross vast distances with amazing speed. Their maneuverability is unparalleled to the degree that naval officers charged with curtailing Morska piracy often speak of how the sea-faring gypsies literally sailed circles around their warship.
While their ships are generally constructed from whatever materials the Falamorska could acquire through trade, they remain magnificently constructed with all types of wood seamlessly fit together and waterproofed to perfection. Often, the Morska will paint intricate murals on the sides of their ships. Their ships are the prized possessions of the Morska and despite their culture being one of trade, the Morska will never sell a Morskan ship. Many believe that they consider their ships community property while others say the Morskans believe their ship-building prowess is god-given and therefore the sale of such a vessel would be sacrilege.
SEE ALSO: Races
