Introducing the Clans - Part 3: Shinnoah

It's now time to introduce the most confusing clan. If you read through my 6/7th revision on Wattpad and have a hard time understanding the Shinnoahn's behavior and moods, then you're not alone. I haven't figured it out yet either. But here's what I do know about them.

The Shinnoahn Clan

• Clan Name: Shinnoah
  
• Pronunciation: shee NO ah
  
• How They Interpret Their Name: Lovers of Knowledge
  
• Clan Color: Purple
  
• Clan Symbol: The Triple Flame
  
• Location on the Map: Northern portion of the continent of Sheromoth, bordered on its northern, eastern and western coasts by oceans and seas.
  
• Terrain Type: Mountains, hardy forests, scrub forests, and plains, rocky coastal areas
  
• Shrine & Current Guardian: Mt. Charan Temple sits atop Mt. Charan in the south-central part of Shinnoah. The current guardian is Seth Yi'in (seth yee EEN).
  
• Capital City: Oxyl (OX yil)
  
• Language: O'an (OH ahn)
  
• Type of Government: Ruled by a High Consulate, usually a single person, but not always, and can be male or female. The High Consulate is elected by the Senyas (elders) of the villages. The Senyas are not elected. They earn the title by performing deeds of heroism or by conducting themselves well. How can you tell a Senya apart from other villagers? By their deeds and conduct. The Senya keep order in the villages.
  
• Current High Consulate: For the first time in recorded history, the Shinnoahn High Consulate consists of three people. Not only that, they are triplets. Kalanit (kah lahn EET), Kaleb (kah LEB), & Keiyn (kay YIN) Madel (mah DELL) are the sister and brothers who currently hold the position.
  
• General Conduct: Here's where it gets iffy. They seem to be quite moody and unpredictable when it comes to dealing with outsiders. But with each other, there might be some kind of code that exists to let them know what's truth and what's not. They deal honestly with each other, for the most part. They prize physical beauty and those unfortunate enough to have physical birth defects are often times ridiculed, even to the point of being abandoned by their own families. (No world is perfect. Sad truth.) Oh, and they like to speak in riddles, I think. Yetsye thinks to herself at one point that the guardian is deliberately trying to provoke her with his waspish words and actions. She's probably right. (Leila is refreshingly different, at least when we first meet her in Ripples.)
  
• Tolerance Level: Toward out-clanners, they are fairly tolerant, but since none of them can easily figure out what the Shinnoahns mean by their strange behavior and speech, negotiations can be tricky. They won't kill a trespasser out-right. That person would be taken to the High Consulate for judgement.
  
• Naming: Shinnoahn society is mostly patriarchal and every child born takes the surname of the father, unless the father is unknown. Then the child would have no surname, branding them bistarra which I think is pretty self-explanatory. I chose the names from northern European backgrounds and changed up the spellings a bit to reflect my own realm.
  
• Religion: They serve the one creator deity which they call Tugansol, "life giver." Their religious practices are still a bit of a mystery but they are not so religious that it keeps them from being sociable...well, in their own strange way.
  
• Housing: They build houses of wood, either planks or logs, and paint them bright colors. They are usually square (because they have a thing for squares and straight lines). The only variation is in the roof lines which are curved, kind of like historic Russian architecture.
  
• Clothing Style: They are the most medieval when it comes to clothing style. The females wear brightly colored and patterned skirts and flowing shirts topped with corsets. Sometimes, they wear head scarves. (Think stereotypical gypsy, though the Shinnoahns like to put down roots.) The men wear more muted colors in general. Their breeches are long and straight-legged. They wear thin shirts with either a vest or coat over them. It is not unusual to see a Shinnoahn wearing a fur garment, since they live in the coldest regions of Sheromoth.
  
• Favorite Foods: Bon'jiis! Their bon'jiis are world famous, especially among children. They are most similar to Japanese mochi but the outer shell is not like gummy candy. And they are much sweeter. The inside is filled with a sweet-tart cream. Bixn (most like oxen, but across between them and bison) milk can be used to make cheeses, butter, and cream.
  
• Exports: They are woodworkers (furniture, carvings, utensils, etc.), quarriers (various types of stone), sculptors, tile-smiths, glaziers, sailors, and map-makers.