Cottonwood
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The Cottonwoods form a long tale of valor, honor, and glory but as all stories start they start with humble beginnings. The founders of the clan were two brothers, Boldrumir and Cyler both forest dwarfs both with a sense of unification with their forest brothers and sisters with these thoughts the Cottonwood clan began as the clan who wished to bring the Forest Dwarfs together. As Boldrumir’s and Cylers first steps into making their clan they had to decide on who will lead, Cyler being the more militaristic dwarf he wished to rule with an iron fist or Boldrumir with his sharp thinking and gentle words, Boldrumir won the little debate and became the first chief of the Cottonwood clan, his first orders as chief was simple 'bring the forest dwarfs home' and with that, the epic quest of Cotton started. This quest would take the clan through a rough saga, through which it greatly evolved and changed over the years but always stayed true to their core beliefs.
Contents
Appearance
The Cottonwoods have ginger or brown hair, ranging at 4'0" - 5'0" ft in height with different shades of green eyes some can also have purple eyes in rare cases. Cottonwoods normally wear rather simple nature-colored clothing to blend in with the forests surrounding their village. During the winter months, they are often seen packed with thick layers of fur and bare-chested during under the summer sun.
Newer Cottonwoods tend to have different shades of hair color from dark browns, light browns, blacks and of course the traditional ginger hair.
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Culture
The culture and ways of the clan throughout their history could be split in three main periods. The Cottonwoods of old during age in which the clan was founded and lead by Boldrumir Cottonwood in Axios and early Atlas. And the era of the reformed Cottonwoods, starting with Bjor Cottonwood in late Atlas up until Eerika Cottonwood in Arcas. And thirdly the hunting era of the clan starting with Beorn’s chieftainship after Eerika up until the present.
Cottonwoods are and began as a tribal clan where they follow only one ruler and follow the rulers words to the punch. The brutality and neutrality of the Cottonwoods of old allowed them to remain around during Axios of the time of the dwarven civil war.
The Cottonwoods under Bjor’s ruling were more calm then there older kin, living there life following their clan chief Bjor 'Sugar ****' Cottonwood who thought them to lay the focus more on enjoying life to the fullest. In his vision this was done with many feasts, and strengthening the bonds in between clan members.
The Cottonwoods tended to create their weapons with sticks, leaves and steel combining them all to make powerful mixed material weapons, there armors are created with the same materials however it is very common for a Cottonwood to run into battle wearing very little for Anbella, the Hearth Mother is protecting them, or so they believe. Later on Cottonwoods were also often seen carrying flint weaponry for they were very effective in their hunts.
Cottonwoods believe in the life of luxury where as soon as a hard days work is completed they would settle around the campfire enjoying feasts and talking with one another, however the Cottonwoods of Old tend to fight in their free time as well as feast which lessened during the second era of the clan.
The clan shifted its focus towards the hunt under Beorn’s chieftainship, which replaced the lack of this physical fighting, together with the craftsmanship which came with working the materials gathered from such hunts. The clan lived from these hunts and from the handle of these products with Hefrumm and the under realm of Urguan. Although the great drinking feasts of Beorn’s father Bjor stayed, the clan became known for their fierce hunters being the protectors of the woods surrounding the village which was gifted to them by the hearth mother, Anbella.
Trials
Though through time the Cottonwood trials changed the core idea always stayed the same. They’d need to hunt down a creature or beasts for varying purposes. In the old days this was to show the clan your strength and courage to be deemed worthy to be called a proper Cottonwood. Later on a religious ceremony under Bjor’s ruling was added to give the hunt more of a religious meaning. The trial hunts were now often done in little groups to prove to the clan the aspect teamwork and courage to save other clan members rather than blind courage. Further down the line the future clan member would need to find a use for every part of the creature they had hunted to show to Anbella the life of the creature would not be washed. During their trials they’d also need to delve into working the materials they gathered from the creature, creating something they’ll wear till their old days to remind them of their trials. Some examples of these would be a fur mantle, a boartusk dagger, a necklace or earring with the fangs or claws of the creature, etc. This would often be combined by a tattoo of the creature.
Traditions
The Cottonwoods of old had a tradition as old as the clan itself, where the clan chief could be challenged to one-on-one combat for his/her chieftainship. This could be done by any clan member but needed the approval of the elders to be done honorably. Though this tradition has disappeared in time, the chiefs past Boldrumir have never mentioned it nor deemed it unlawful.
Under Bjor the tradition of burying their fallen clan members in a sacred tree of ancestors was introduced. This tree of the hearth mother was always positioned in the center of the village making it that the sagas of such follow clan members would not be forgotten. They also often shared their drink with their ancestors by spilling some at the roots of the tree or simply during the funeral ceremony. Although they did not need a reason for their feasts, there were a few yearly ones introduced. They, for example, had a great harvesting feast to thank the hearth mother for her blessing upon their farmlands.
With the hunting culture of Beorn also came some new traditions. With the adapted trials it was now common for a Cottonwood to wear their great trophies of the hunt on them as they took much pride in those. This would start with them wearing something of choice from the creature or beast they had hunted down for their trial. This would go hand in hand with many Cottonwoods tattooing each great beast they had managed to slay on their body, as this tradition has the same origin as the previous one. Cottonwoods often fought with rather primitive materials, being rough copper, rusty scrap metal or flint knapped weapons. The usage of flint or volcanic glass had been brought into the clan by Beorn, who had been taught in working these materials through the technique of knapping by his father. Worked flint would be sharper than any common metal but rather brittle against solid materials like armor, making it perfect for most hunts. The working of this material would also require a lot of experience and be rather time-consuming.
Laws
The Laws of Cotton are broke up into four simple laws which all the clan members obey.
Follow your chief
Respect your clan
Never Kinslay
Stay loyal to Anbella
With these simple rules the Cottonwoods govern themselves for there tribal ways do not need long laws or laws about property they only need respect and loyalty
History
Axios
The Cottonwoods were formed under two Brothers a more head strong, gentle Cottonwood known as Boldrumir Cottonwood and his younger hot headed brother Cyler Cottonwood, both sons of the wildly known Ozneat Treebeard. The Cottonwoods were a two man clan working the fields of Jornheimwhere there goal was very simple back then, to find and reunite there Brothers and Sisters of the forest. During there time the Cottonwoods were much more peaceful speaking to both the Frostbeards and the Grand Kingdom of Urguan dwarves as there equals during the War of the Beards gaining the title of Common clan from both rivaling Kingdoms thanks to the leadership of Boldrumir Cottonwood. During Boldrumirs rule the Cottonwoods gained fame and began to grow until the end of the War of the Beards where they remained in there farm lands where they collected a decent amount of kin until the world ended and they fled on ships to the new lands.
Early Atlas
During Atlas Boldrumir Cottonwood remained the Chief of Cotton he moved the Cottonwoods from there allies within the newly formed Kingdom of Kaz'Ulrah to the rivaling settlement known as the Confederation of Hammers where the Cottonwoods showed up with numbers offering to join the Confederation giving them addition manpower which can be used to defend there lands against the hostile Kingdom of Kaz'Ulrah. During there time of construction of there new village Boldrumir appointed his brother Cyler Cottonwood to be the war chief, a newly formed title created for him to lead the military affairs of the Cottonwood clan from this simple decision the Cottonwoods became a militaristic then they once was they matched the current military power of the Confederation a mountain dwarf clan known as the Silverveins.
The Cottonwoods within the Confederation had a rivalry with the Silverveins due to there Clan Father Edel Silvervein who openly mocked the Cottonwoods in manpower and military power until the point where the Silverveins would decide to become a threat to the Cottonwoods. Since Boldrumir wanted a peaceful settlement which Cyler heavily disapproved of leading to Cyler launching counter attacks upon the clan, small physical and verbal conflicts would happen between the two clans but this conflict escalated quickly during a meeting of the Confederation where Edel Silvervein openly mocked the Chief of Cotton to the council, highly annoyed Cyler Cottonwood decided to throw an attack upon the Silvercity keep of the Silverveins. which lead to a poor display by the Silverveins where they hid within there keep unwanted to come face the horde. The Silverveins stayed in defeat as the Cottonwood forces left the city burning down there village to find a new location as they were kicked from the Confederation as Edel Silvervein called the attack an attack on all of the Confed.
The Cottonwoods created a new village where Boldrumir ruled once again until he took long walks slowly turning insane having the non diplomatic Cyler Cottonwood to run the village due to Boldrumir's madness and lack of leadership the Cottonwoods of Old faded away until Boldrumir found a forest dwarf by the name of Bjor 'Sugar Tits' Cottonwood who took the title of Chief of Cotton and with that Boldrumir left for a long walk.
The leadership of Chief Bjor ‘Sugartits’ Cottonwood would be more easy going than the previous Chief. He wanted to focus on the community of his clan, with a familial bond between all members as a goal and on getting the best out of life.
Late Atlas
During late Atlas the Cottonwoods under new leadership reformed under Bjor 'Sugar Tits' Cottonwood a completely new chapter for the Cottonwoods, for Bjor wasn't like the old Cottonwoods, he was kind, loving, friendly, respectful, ruled in peace. The earlier days of Bjor 'Sugar Tits' Cottonwoods leadership he struggled to find his kin like the old Cottonwoods there just wasn't any forest dwarves to be found all hiding, so for many years the title of Chief of Cotton was an empty title.
As Bjor 'Sugar Tits' Cottonwood gives up hope on finding any other Forest Dwarves some members of the Cottonwoods of old would turn up within the Kingdom of Kaz'Ulrah. Excited Bjor 'Sugar Tits' Cottonwood would quick introduce himself to these members, revealing that these dwarves was lead by Thelnir Cottonwood who was an old elder of the clan and wouldn't follow Bjor back to the founding lands of Cotton, for Bjor reformed the Cottonwood alliance with the Confederation of Hammers. Determined Thelnir stood his ground upon the matter setting up a small outpost within Garrond's Vale in the lands of Kaz'Ulrah where he and his followers stayed with him.
During this time there was talk of the legitimacy of Bjors claim to the Chief of Cotton with rumors of the Champion of Cotton crowned for his combat skills would challenge Bjor 'Sugar Tits' Cottonwood for chieftain. As the old Cottonwoods disapproved of certain things of the newer Cottonwoods they didn't fully rejoin there brothers and sisters making it that Bjor 'Sugar Tits' Cottonwood held the title but Thelnir would be a rebel force but this conflict was resolved diplomatically. During the return the old Cottonwoods took dislike to the Silverveins for there pass crimes, which was soon resolved when Bjor signed the silver-wood alliance a non-aggression pact between the two clans. As time passed the older Cottonwoods faded away with no solid leadership, they traveled away from other dwarves.
As the Old left Bjor 'Sugar Tits' Cottonwood once again he remained alone for some time until he stumbled upon other Forest Dwarves which joined Bjor 'Sugar Tits' Cottonwood in his village he made for his kin. As Bjor 'Sugar Tits' Cottonwood village expanded from clanless and new clans emerged some remained lesser clans but the most noticeable clan the Treebeards
Notable Members
Ozneat Treebeard, Father of the First
Boldrumir Cottonwood, The Founder
Cyler Cottonwood, The Bear
Bjor 'Sugar Tits' Cottonwood, The Reformer
