Twice-Departed
| The Twice-Departed | |
| Leader | None |
| System | Razor's Rift |
| Homeworld | Various |
| Capital | Li'gon |
| Allies | Belaul |
| Enemies | Unknown |
The Twice-Departed (so named because they are once removed from the original Departed) are a society of "outcasts", mostly made up of Jin, though they are accepting and welcoming of nearly everyone willing to provide service for their community, and several people of many different races have joined them since their founding. However, they tend to be wary of outside interference from the sector at large, fearing that calling too much attention to themselves will disrupt their way of life, or that of their allies the Belaul.
The Twice-Departed were founded in 212 AE by Viraj Ne'hoti, a Jin man who was a former A'Khwa-Zhe - more commonly known as a Soulhunter in the Blood Ark - and pilot of the Li'gon, the ship the Twice-Departed now reside in. In the culmination of the Second War of the Ishvana, Ne'hoti knew that the Li'gon and its crew could either die with great honor with the rest of the fleet, or escape unnoticed, saving himself, his pregnant wife, and his fleet. Knowing that his ship had no chance in the battle and was merely a distraction to draw fire from the Ark, Ne'hoti chose to escape and crash land on the planet Paperweight, in flagrant disregard for usual Jin customs.
At first life upon Paperweight was harsh, though the colony slowly acclimated to life in the tundra, owing their survival largely to the native Belaul, who chose to help and guide them after many great discussions in which they discovered a strange kinship.
Preferring to be left alone for the most part, the Belaul consider the Twice-Departed their allies, though they remain a comfortable distance from them except for important discussions of planet-wide importance, and also to trade now and again at the shops set up outside the Li'gon.
Culture
Priorities To most Jin, life is about preparing for the end of life. This is not the case with most of the Jin of the Li'gon. While the Twice-Departed do take death seriously and consider a good death a high priority, to most of the Twice-Departed, a good death is meaningless without a good life, and they make this their greatest goal. Helping each other and providing for others is considered a duty, and a selfishness and disregard for others is thought of as the worst quality someone could have.
Though the Jin descended from the original Twice-Departed are generally far removed from the Jin culture of the rest of the sector, they are not incredibly different in temperament. They tend towards being thoughtful and philosophical, with a preference for minimalism and simplicity. Their differences lie in their willingness to be open and emotional with each other, and their lack of strict rules of decorum. The Jin of the Li'gon are much more of a warm people, displaying community values but also a live and let live philosophy. Many of the others who live in the Li'gon, not just the Jin, have similar personalities, though individuality is encouraged and celebrated, and their similarity is more of a cultural norm rather than something that is forced on anyone.
Relationships Relationships with family and the community at large are generally quite important to the people of the Li'gon, though of course whether individuals choose to marry or have children is a personal decision that each person is expected to make for themselves. On the Li'gon, families look like whatever you want them to look like, without much judgment or concern from others as long as nobody is being hurt. The colony tends towards open-mindedness and acceptance in matters of sex, though it is not something that is often discussed in public, not because of a stigma but because the people tend to have their more personal conversations in private, with only those closest to them.
How do they treat 'other's? Unlike the Jin of the Ark, the Twice-Departed do not consider old age, disability or disfigurement a burden or a reason to embrace premature death, but rather a chance to give back to the community by helping those who cannot help themselves. Often a person who is sick or infirm will choose themselves when they wish to die. Assisted suicide is not uncommon, and it is usually performed by the Ossuary, who considers it a sacred duty. It is uncommon for loved ones to choose to accompany their departed to the next life, mostly because many of the Jin of the Li'gon would consider this to be wasteful, though it is a custom that is respected if one chooses it, as is assisted suicide for any reason, and though the colony urges much soul searching and forethought before considering this option, bodily autonomy is heavily respected.
Those with visible disfigurements are not looked upon with scorn, in fact, it is almost the opposite for many of the Jin of the Li'gon - the deformities reflect a closeness to the mythological Fereshteh, who has much more sympathetic folklore among the Twice-Departed than the Jin of the Ark. While it is uncommon for most grown people of the Li'gon to actually believe that a deformity has anything to do with the person that is disfigured, the colonists still tend to regard such people with a quiet respect much more so than pity or revulsion.
Entertainment Like the Jin of the Ark, they too love to participate in re-enactments of historical battles, scenes, and stories, though it is more for a love of storytelling and sharing than escaping their society's strict rules of decorum, as there are none on the Li'gon. They love to share history, folklore, and philosophy, celebrating not only their own people but stories from other cultures as well.
They are great fans of artwork in any form, be it visual, written, or musical, and they love to display and share their works for the community to admire, making the entire ship somewhat of a living, ever changing art gallery. Their traditional art is somewhat tribal, and they focus on lots of wood and bone carvings, taking inspiration both from traditional Jin art as well as Belaul influences. They also love to paint with watercolors made from local berries, giving Paperweight's local art something of a tell-tale color palette.
The people of the Li'gon also have a love for martial arts, meditation and sparring, embracing not just the Jin arts of Ir-Vothiam but also that of ShiDhuk, mainly the Jidi tradition of the Shen people, as well as the Belaul practice of Sk'rualo, which is heavy on the invoking of animal spirits. While participation is certainly optional, most participate to some degree. Some people engage in these practices more than others, some considering it to be a good way to work out and keep in shape for the harshness of life on the tundra, while others consider the meditations to be a good practice for their mental health or spiritual growth, and others still that appreciate both.
Religion Many Jin of the Li'gon still worship the death god called T'rath, though their practices of worship would be considered very unorthodox to many traditional Jin. Still others do not believe in T'rath at all, or find more meaning in the mythological Jin figure Fereshteh, while some even embrace Belaul spiritual figures instead. The Li'gon is a place of many different religions, and curiosity and philosophical discussion of one's viewpoints is encouraged, while fanaticism and fundamentalism is not. Many services in the temple involve readings from a myriad of different religions, and the congregation is encouraged to interpret them in whatever way brings them fulfillment.
Food The people of the Li'gon attempt to accommodate all dietary preferences as best as they can with their limited food options, though vegans will have a hard time surviving without off world assistance. Life on the tundra can be very harsh, with most of the food being supplied by fisherpeople and hunter gatherers. The diet includes a lot of fish, as it is the most plentiful resource, as well as hocavi, pinniluna, crystalline stoat, frost salamander, b'goru, ta'anrou and the other creatures found in the tundra. Many fish and other creatures are traditionally eaten frozen, raw, or boiled, with very little mixture of ingredients and with very few spices added - it is not uncommon for the fisherpeople of the colony to eat some of their catch as they catch it, for sustenance and strength - and it is common for the colony to try to use every part of the animal if they can. Belaul spiritualism is big on animal spirits and even non-sentient creatures being highly important in the tapestry of life, which over time has spilled over heavily into the culture of the Jin of the Li'gon.
This also means that to the Jin of the Li'gon, eating a sentient creature is not much different than eating a non-sentient, as both are considered equally important. This is not to say that the Jin routinely take part in cannibalism, nor would they ever murder each other for sustenance, but cannibalism in general is not as taboo on Paperweight as it might be elsewhere. Stuck in an emergency situation somewhere on the planet, with no other resources, it would be considered wasteful and disrespectful not to eat the dead, though such a thing would be considered an unusual funerary custom in times of excess.
Most of the colony will eat only two large meals a day, lunch and dinner, but it is very common for the colonists to snack throughout the day, to keep up their strength.
Throughout the day, Twice-Departed fisherpeople and hunters will place large slabs of meat, blubber, and other killed or prepared foods in the metal troughs in the communal kitchen. From here, anyone in the colony is able to take some. At these times, no one is obliged to join in the meal, but it is there for anyone who wants it, kept edible until it is gone by the technology in the troughs. Anything in excess is stored in deep freeze.
The community is notable for their practice of food sharing, a form of food distribution where one or several people catch the food and share with the entire community. To the people of the Li'gon, foods as well as other objects associated with hunting, fishing, and gathering are more or less communal property, belonging not to individuals but to the community as large. Food is not meant to be saved for the family who has hunted, fished, gathered, or purchased it, but instead for anyone who is in need of it. In fact, the people of the Li'gon often consider asking for food to be poor manners, as the fact that it is communal is meant to be unspoken, and assuming otherwise can be taken as an offense, though they tend to be patient and kind with outsiders who make this mistake.
Once their food stores reach a certain level of security, the Twice-Departed gift any excess to their Belaul neighbors.