Rafters

Raft People or more commonly Rafters is the Martian Common name for the Zodi People, a culture of Nomadic Tribes that wander the coasts of Mars. The Rafters claim to comprise the oldest culture on Mars, this is disputed by Cryons. Due to prejudice and stereotype Rafters often find themselves the subject of persecution and violence in the areas where they wander.

History
The True Origins of the Rafters are unclear, as their Oral Histories greatly exaggerate the amount of time passed, and also tend to vary between Zodi. There are however some common elements between these tales.

In Rafter Folklore, at some point in the distant past, an Empire, usually called the Anotoi, covered all of Mars, commanding the Aether with an iron fist. This allowed them to create enormous cities, and exploit the Regolithal Depths. This path was warned against by the Stella, who decried the arrogance of the Anotoi. They were ignored, for the Anotoi were ruled by Pulsars, powerful sorcerers, who upset the natural cycles of Mars and the Universe. This would come to a head when the Anotoi declared war on the Constella, the Gods of the Night Sky, and attempted to place themselves among the stars, for this the Anotoi were shattered with a Great Constellar Lightning, and the Aether was freed from their grip. The Stella, meeting at the shore of Alba Mons, then came together, and formed the 12 Zodi from their followers, each dedicated to a particular Constellan. Each Constellan granted of their chosen peoples a Great Pod of Starwhals to hunt and feed upon, which would travel in alignment with the stars, travelling by day, and stopping by night, and stopping to allow the tribes to rest during the time of their Patron. And so the 12 Zodi came to separate.

The Truth of these tales are questionable, and vary between different Rafter Groups, however, it remains one of the most vivid surviving descriptions of The Regression, and likely contains a grain of truth.

The Zodi
The Zodi is the Rafter Term for an indivudal Tribe of their number, in the rare occasions where they refer to their people as a whole they refer to themselves as the Zodia, though it is more common for them just to use the term Zodi, as their Zodi is the only group of Rafters that they are likely to ever meet.

The Zodi are each divided into a number of Clans, with this number varying depending on the number of stars in their Patron Constellan's form. Despite this, each Zodi is roughly the same size as any other Zodi, at an average of Thirty Thousand in each. These Clans are each headed by a Stellan, a Clan Mother, who records all of the True Names of those within her tribe. She also performs other religious rituals, such as marking the procession of the equinox, and when the Constellar Time's begin and end. She is also the primary conflict resolver within her Clan, and when she makes a decision on something it is generally considered final, up to and including expelling a member of her Clan when they have committed some grave offence. However, a Stellan will generally not wield her power with extreme Zeal, as she will be the only one among her Clan who's true name is known to them, and they will be able to warp her name by this knowledge.

The Zodiarch
When the Constellan that a Zodi is devoted to looms large in the sky, the Zodi will begin to come to a stop, constructing a temporary city made of reeds from their Rafts. Once all of the clans of the Zodi have come to a halt, the Stella will all come together and speak for about a day, to decide upon someone to appoint as the Zodiarch, who will be the absolute ruler of the Zodi for the time that they are all settled. This is usually the man who is the best hunter among the whole Zodi.

The Primary responsibility of the Zodiarch is to organize the religious festivals, and feasts that are held, and to help in ensuring that certain duties of the Stella, such as punishment and conflict resolution, are carried out while the Stella are busy consulting with the Constellan, finding the True Names of newborns, and officating weddings. He also takes responsibility for defending the Zodi from any outside threats that may take issue with the settling, either through trading the skins and horns of Starwhals for residence, or by organizing the Zodi's hunters into a defensive fighting force.

At the end of the Zodiarch's reign the Stella are able to judge the actions of the Zodiarch, and can decide to punish the Zodiarch if they have reason to believe that he abused his power. For this reason, while the Zodiarch will tend to be more involved in day to day runnings than the Stella, he will generally not be too harsh in his punishments, even for crimes which might earn it when given by a Stellan.

Rafts
The name "Rafter" comes from large Reed Rafts, usually with the bottom hull covered by a layer of Starwhal Skin, which the Rafters either drag along, or pilot alongside them as they walk, with the sails only fast enough under most circumstances to keep up with the Rafter's walking pace, which is considerably faster than most Martians. However, the sails of these rafts can be quickly reconfigured to go faster, in order to go hunting or to escape from attack. These rafts contain all of the possessions of the Rafters, with each family having at least one Sailraft, alongside other smaller rafts to carry other objects while being dragged along. Children will often sit in a Family's Sailraft until they are old enough to walk themselves.

Starwhals
Rafters feed primarily on Starwhals, aquatic mammals which travel in enormous pods that circle off the coasts of Mars. For an unknown reason, these pods move almost precisely in accordance with the Ecliptic, allowing the Stella to keep the tribe in line with these pods which are essential to their survival. This is also the reason that the clans of each Zodi are spread out when not settled, so that no one area of the pod is overtaxed, which would harm the Constellar Navigation of the Zodi.

The Skins of Starwhals are a valuable commodity outside of Rafter communities, as they have a property allowing them to keep one cool in places that are hot, and keep one especially warm in places that are cold. The Horns of the Starwhals, while having no similar special properties are also valuable, and used as a medicine and in potions.

True Names and Marriage
Rafters place a special significance in names, with each Rafter having a Callen, a name which is known to everyone, and a True Name, which is known only to the person themselves and their Stellan. This is because they believe that if one's true name is known to many, it will lead to their True Name becoming warped, as the thoughts of others begin to attach themselves to the name, and this will then harm the Soul of the person, especially if these thoughts are negative. For example, if one's true name is known, and they are thought of as being greedy, their greed will grow to destructive extremes. Having one's true name be known to their Stellan is essential to staying in the tribe, and even those who are exiled have a chance to return as long as their Stellan lives, for their Stellan will not pass their name on to their successor if they are expelled.

True Names are especially important in Rafter Marriages, as Spouses are also allowed to know one's True Name. While technically, any exchange of true names by two individuals is considered to be a marriage by the Rafters, it is seem as less destructive if a Stellan organizes the process. This is in order to ensure that the marriage enters the memory of the Clan, making it more legitimate.

Religion
Rafter Religion centers around 12 Gods known as the Constella. The Constella are visible in the night sky, and lie along the Ecliptic. In Rafter Mythology the Constella travel through the night sky much like the Rafters themselves travel along the coast, bringing their particular blessings when they are visible in the sky. Alongside the Constella are the Luminari, Seven Minor Deities who are not worshipped, but serve the Constella, and help provide context to the messages the Constella deliver in the sky.

The Constella are essential when discovering the True names of a Rafter, with the Stellan of the Clan that a child is born into looking at Constella and how they related to the Luminari at the time in order to deduce that essential part of the Child's soul that is their true name. Other messages can be read by the Stella in a similar manner, such as omens of good or ill fortune, or an individual persons potential future actions.

The True Names of the Constella are treated much like the True Name of any Rafter, with the only ones to know the True Name of a Constellan being the Stella of a Zodi. As such the Stella are not allowed to marry, as they are considered to be married to the Constellan themselves.

Rafters beleive that when they die, their souls will live on, inhabiting the body of another Rafter within their Clan, with the same True Name. As their souls reincarnate, they grow with new experiences, until eventually their souls combust in what is called a Suparanovan, in which much of this Spiritual Mass will join a cloud of energy, which will coalesce from the lives of those who have lived to form new souls. However, the core of their soul will live one more time, with a new name, reflecting its transformation into a Pulsar, and causing releases of wildly chaotic Aether. If ones True Name is forgotten by the Clan before their death, their soul will not reincarnate into the Rafters, and will instead either disappear or be placed in a body outside of their Zodi.

Aether
The Rafter relationship with the Aether is a complex one. The idea of one of their number devoting themselves to a Godly AI, making a Pact with a Patron, or taking up an ancient Spellpad is considered to be patently absurd, as all of these actions would very blatantly break the eternal cycle that the Rafters devote their lives to. There are however two forms of Magic which exist within Rafter communities, Sorcerors and Druids.

Sorcerors are referred to by Rafters as Pulsars, and are believed to be the result of the core of a soul which has undergone a Suparanovan, the expelling of excess experience to form new souls. This core, with some holes in it from the shearing of its past lives, takes on a new True Name, and sucks in Aetheric Energy, and releases it in a chaotic manner, in ways which could greatly disrupt the Zodi that the Pulsar is born into. For this reason the birth of a Pulsar is seen as a bad omen, and while Pulsars can become good members of Rafter society, they are not expected to stay for their whole lives, usually being Exiled eventually when a release of Wild Magic creates too much damage to ignore.

Rafter Druids are usually called Healers by their Zodi, and are usually trained from a young age in the craft. There is a species of Algae which harmlessly grows in their Rafts as they move along. This Algae has powerful psychedelic effects which allow the user to channel their Brainwaves in a way that is able to affect the Aether. This allows the Healers to channel the Aether in a way that respects the life around them, and helps them in healing members of their Tribe, though when possible they use non-Aetheric methods of treatment, only using Magic as a sort of last resort.