Outland Clans

“The Free People of the Sky”

“We don’t need your cities, your guilds, or your rules. The Aether provides. Community protects. Freedom matters.”

Quick Reference

Outland Clans - The Free People

Overview

“Outland Clans” is catch-all term for independent communities rejecting centralized authority: Storm-Sailors living permanently in Howling Expanse, farming communities like Windmere maintaining traditional ways, Periphery scavengers, isolated settlements, and nomadic groups. They’re unified by what they reject (cities, guilds, governments) rather than what they embrace.

Each clan operates autonomously: own leadership, customs, economy. They cooperate occasionally (mutual defense, trade), but resist any attempts at consolidation. The Sky-Guild calls them “backwards.” Ironhold calls them “ungovernable.” They call themselves “free.”

Life in clans is harder than cities: more danger, fewer resources, less specialization. But clans preserve autonomy, traditions, and self-determination that urbanites sacrifice for safety. The question: Is freedom worth hardship? Clans answer yes.

Major Clan Types

Storm-Sailors

Location: Howling Expanse (permanent aerial nomads)

Lifestyle: - Never land (ships = homes) - Navigate storms (expertise unmatched) - Self-sufficient (fishing, salvage, minimal trade)

Culture: - Clan-based (extended families) - Oral traditions - Storm worship (natural religion, not constellation) - Isolationist (distrust “soft-sky dwellers”)

Notable: - Storm-Captain Kiera Windcaller (clan leader) - Engineer Torven Ironhull (ship designer)

Skills: - Unmatched piloting - Storm prediction - Zero-gravity combat - Engineering (necessity-driven)

Traditional Farming Communities

Location: Stable islands (Windmere Farms, Thornvale, others)

Lifestyle: - Agriculture (traditional methods) - Communal living - Elder-led (gerontocracy) - Minimal outside contact

Culture: - Conservative (traditions sacred) - Hierarchical (age = authority) - Collective decision-making - Suspicious of innovation

Notable: - Elder Talvyn (Windmere leader)

Challenges: - Youth exodus (seeking opportunity) - Stagnation (refusing adaptation) - Exploitation (Guild pays low for goods)

Periphery Scavengers

Location: Periphery ruins, Scavenger’s Roost

Lifestyle: - Salvage (ruins exploration) - Trading (artifacts, materials) - Transient (follow opportunities) - Dangerous (high mortality)

Culture: - Independent (cooperation occasional) - Pragmatic (survival-focused) - Meritocratic (skill matters) - Respectful (Old Marna’s influence)

Notable: - Old Marna (unofficial leader)

Skills: - Ruin navigation - Artifact identification - Survival (harsh conditions)

Isolated Settlements

Location: Scattered (minor islands, hidden places)

Lifestyle: Varies by settlement

Common Traits: - Small (50-300 people) - Self-governing - Minimal outside contact - Diverse (each unique)

Examples: - Thornvale (quiet farming) - Haven-Rest (travelers’ stop) - Saltwind Isle (fishing community)

Organization (Lack Thereof)

No Central Authority

Reality: - Each clan autonomous - No unified leadership - No central policy - No collective military

Coordination: - Occasional gatherings (rare) - Trade relationships - Mutual defense agreements (specific, temporary) - Information sharing (irregular)

Common Values

Autonomy: Self-governance paramount

Tradition: Old ways valued

Community: Clan > individual (but clan < federation)

Distrust: Central authority rejected

Self-Reliance: Dependency weakness

Relationships

With Sky-Guild

Guild Perspective: - Clans are clients (sell raw goods cheap) - Backwards (inefficient methods) - Exploitable (lack market knowledge)

Clan Perspective: - Guild necessary evil (needed for trade) - Exploitative (pay too little) - Resented (but tolerated)

Reality: - Unequal relationship - Guild benefits more - Clans have few alternatives

With Settlements

Skyport Eos: - Trade relationship (clan goods sold) - Cultural distance (different values) - Elder Mira respectful

Ironhold: - Mutual distrust (Vask sees disorder, clans see tyranny) - Minimal interaction - Potential conscription fears

With Each Other

Storm-Sailors: Most isolated (rarely interact with other clans)

Farmers: Occasional cooperation (trade, marriages)

Scavengers: Mobile (interact with many)

Generally: Loose association, not federation

Strengths

Resilience: Decentralized (no single point of failure)

Adaptability: Diverse approaches (various solutions)

Expertise: Specialized skills (Storm-Sailors navigation, scavenger knowledge)

Independence: Can’t be controlled (frustrating to authorities)

Vulnerabilities

Fragmentation: No unified defense

Exploitation: Individually weak (economically)

Isolation: Information/technology lag

Mortality: Harder life (higher death rates)

Youth Exodus: Talented leave for opportunities

Current Challenges

Economic Exploitation

Problem: Guild pays below fair value

Clan Response: - Some organize (collectively bargain) - Most accept (no alternative) - Growing resentment

Possibility: Coalition forming? (unlikely but possible)

Cultural Erosion

Youth: Want different lives - Cities offer opportunity - Traditional ways restrictive - Leaving in numbers

Elders: Resist change - Tradition is identity - Change threatens community - Increasingly rigid

Result: Demographic crisis (some clans depopulating)

External Pressures

Rot: Threatening traditional lands

Resources: Harder to acquire

Isolation: Increasingly untenable

Notable Clans & Figures

Storm-Sailors: - Kiera Windcaller’s clan (Howling Expanse) - [Others DM create]

Farmers: - Windmere Farms (Elder Talvyn) - Thornvale - [Others]

Scavengers: - Scavenger’s Roost community (Old Marna)

Isolated: - Various small settlements

Secrets

The Underground Alliance

Rumor: Some clans secretly coordinating

Purpose: - Collective bargaining (Guild) - Mutual defense - Cultural preservation

Reality: Unclear (evidence circumstantial)

If True: First step toward federation (clans would hate admitting it)

The Lost Clan

Legend: Clan discovered pre-Shattering sanctuary (fully functional)

Details: Disappeared (no contact for decades)

Speculation: - Found paradise (living secretly) - Died (expedition failed) - Myth (never existed)

Truth: Unknown

The Rot-Touched Clan

Rumor: Entire clan infected, surviving together

Location: Deep Murk (possibly)

Status: Full-Rot-Touched? Still conscious? All dead?

Evidence: Stories (no verification)

Joining a Clan

Membership Paths

Born Into Clan (Most Common): - Automatic membership (family ties) - Raised in clan culture (traditions, skills) - Expected to contribute (from childhood) - Leave only if exiled or choose to abandon (rare, shameful)

Marriage (Common): - Marry clan member (join their clan) - Adoption process (learn traditions, prove commitment) - Integration period (1-2 years, supervised) - Full acceptance (if prove worthy)

Adoption (Rare but Possible): - Outsider proves themselves (save clan member, provide critical service, demonstrate values) - Clan elders vote (must be unanimous) - Adoption ceremony (formal, binding) - Full membership (treated as born-clan)

Requirements for Adoption: - Useful skills (hunting, healing, piloting, etc.) - Clan values (self-reliance, community, honor) - Willingness to sacrifice (comfort for freedom) - Recommendation (from clan member) - Prove yourself (actions, not words)

Adoption Ceremony: - Elders gather (entire clan witnesses) - Candidate states why they want to join - Clan members voice support or opposition - Elders vote (must be unanimous) - If accepted: Blood oath (literal—small cut, blood mixed) - Given clan name (new identity) - Welcomed as family

The Blood Oath: > I swear by blood and bond: > I am clan. Clan is me. We are one. > I will protect clan as I protect myself. > I will share clan’s burdens and joys. > I will honor clan traditions and values. > I will never betray clan trust. > I am [clan name]. This is my family. This is my home. This is my life.

Daily Life in a Clan

Dawn: - Wake with family (multi-generational homes) - Breakfast (communal, simple) - Morning tasks assigned (everyone works)

Morning: - Farming Clans: Tend crops, animals, maintenance - Hunting Clans: Track game, set traps, patrol territory - Storm-Sailor Clans: Navigate storms, maintain ships, fish - Scavenger Clans: Explore ruins, salvage, trade

Midday: - Communal meal (entire clan gathers) - Rest (brief) - Continue work

Afternoon: - Continue primary tasks - Children learn (apprentice with adults) - Elders supervise (teach, guide, advise)

Evening: - Return home (if out) - Communal dinner (largest meal, social time) - Storytelling (elders share wisdom, history, legends) - Skill-sharing (teach children, practice crafts)

Night: - Family time (close bonds) - Preparation for tomorrow - Rest (early to bed, early to rise)

The Reality: Hard work, simple life - No luxuries (basic food, simple homes, worn clothes) - No security (one bad harvest, one Rot-Beast attack from disaster) - No comfort (weather, danger, uncertainty) - But: Freedom (no Guild, no Commandant, no rules but clan’s) - But: Community (family, belonging, purpose) - But: Pride (self-sufficient, independent, strong)

Clan Jargon and Slang

“Clan-Bound”: Loyal clan member (compliment)

“City-Soft”: Person from settlement (insult—implies weakness)

“Storm-Born”: Born during storm (special destiny, Storm-Sailor belief)

“Void-Walker”: Skilled at zero-gravity movement (compliment)

“Anchor-Chained”: Too attached to one place (insult—clans value mobility)

“Guild-Touched”: Corrupted by greed (serious insult)

“Elder-Wise”: Respecting traditional knowledge (virtue)

“Youth-Foolish”: Ignoring elder wisdom (vice)

“Blood-Kin”: Adopted clan member (equal to born-clan)

“The Moot”: Gathering of multiple clans (important event)

“Clan-Broke”: Exiled from clan (worst fate possible)

“Storm-Luck”: Surviving impossible odds (Storm-Sailor term)

Internal Dynamics

Clan Governance

Elder Council (Each Clan): - 3-7 elders (oldest, wisest, most respected) - Decisions by consensus (debate until agreement) - Authority: Absolute within clan (but earned, not imposed) - Replacement: When elder dies, clan selects replacement

The Moot (Inter-Clan Gathering): - Occurs annually (or when crisis demands) - All clans send representatives (usually elders) - Discuss: Trade, defense, disputes, shared threats - Decisions: Non-binding (each clan sovereign) - Purpose: Coordination without hierarchy

Dispute Resolution: - Within clan: Elders mediate - Between clans: Moot mediates - Between clan and outsider: Clan supports member (right or wrong)

Generational Tensions

Elders (Traditionalists): - Value: Clan traditions, self-sufficiency, independence - Fear: Youth abandoning clan life (exodus to cities) - Method: Preserve traditions, resist change, teach values - Concern: Clan culture dying (youth don’t appreciate it)

Youth (Modernizers): - Value: Opportunity, comfort, advancement - Desire: City life (easier, more options, less isolation) - Method: Question traditions, seek alternatives, leave clan - Frustration: Clan life is hard (why suffer when cities offer more?)

The Conflict: Every clan experiences this - Youth leave (seeking opportunities) - Elders mourn (losing next generation) - Clans shrink (fewer young people) - Culture fades (traditions not passed down) - No solution (can’t force youth to stay, can’t make clan life easier)

Inter-Clan Relationships

Allied Clans: - Trade partnerships (mutual benefit) - Marriage exchanges (strengthen bonds) - Mutual defense (help in crisis) - Cultural similarity (shared values)

Rival Clans: - Territory disputes (hunting grounds, salvage rights) - Historical grudges (feuds lasting generations) - Cultural differences (conflicting values) - Competition (resources, prestige, pride)

Neutral Clans: - Minimal contact (geographic distance) - Occasional trade (pragmatic) - Mutual respect (live and let live)

The Moot’s Role: Prevent conflicts from escalating - Mediate disputes (neutral ground) - Facilitate trade (economic interdependence) - Coordinate defense (shared threats) - Maintain peace (mostly successful)

Clan Traditions and Customs

Coming-of-Age Rituals

The Sky-Walk (Most Common): - Youth must cross between two islands using only rope - No safety equipment (tether-belt is cheating) - Witnesses watch (clan gathers) - Success: Welcomed as adult - Failure: Death (falls are unforgiving) - Purpose: Prove courage, skill, commitment - Age: 15 (usually)

The First Hunt (Hunting Clans): - Youth must kill Rot-Beast or dangerous creature - Solo (no help allowed) - Bring back trophy (proof of kill) - Success: Welcomed as hunter - Failure: Try again (or die trying) - Purpose: Prove capability, face fear

The Storm-Ride (Storm-Sailors): - Youth must pilot ship through Aether-Storm - Solo (no assistance) - Survive and return (that’s all) - Success: Welcomed as Storm-Sailor - Failure: Death (storms are merciless) - Purpose: Prove you belong to storms

The Long Walk (Some Clans): - Youth must travel alone to distant location and return - No supplies (must survive by skill) - Duration: Weeks to months - Success: Welcomed as adult - Failure: Death or return in shame - Purpose: Prove self-sufficiency

Marriage Customs

Courtship: - Practical (not romantic—survival matters) - Youth choose (but elders advise) - Demonstration of capability (can you provide? Protect? Contribute?) - Negotiation (between families)

Ceremony: - Simple (no elaborate rituals) - Elders preside - Vows exchanged (commitment to each other and clan) - Blood-bond (small cuts, blood mixed—literal bonding) - Feast (clan celebrates, if resources allow)

Marriage Types: - Monogamous (most common) - Polygamous (rare, usually after war when men scarce) - Partnership (practical arrangement, not love) - Love (rare but celebrated when it happens)

Divorce: - Allowed (but rare) - Elders mediate (try to reconcile) - If irreconcilable: Separation (one usually leaves clan) - Children: Stay with clan (community raises them)

Death and Burial

Clan Funerals: - Body prepared (washed, wrapped in clan colors) - Elders speak (honor deceased, share stories) - Sky-burial (weighted, dropped into Aether) - Mourning (7 days, clan supports family) - Memorial (name carved into clan stone)

Warrior’s Death (Honored): - Died protecting clan (highest honor) - Special ceremony (entire clan participates) - Weapons buried with them (or passed to worthy successor) - Songs sung (remembering their deeds) - Legacy (children proud, clan remembers forever)

Shameful Death (Rare): - Died betraying clan (exile, cowardice, etc.) - Minimal ceremony (required, but brief) - No memorial (name not carved) - Not spoken of (forgotten deliberately)

Festivals and Celebrations

Harvest Festival (Farming Clans): - Celebrate successful harvest - Feast (rare abundance) - Music, dancing, joy - Thanks to Voyager and Forge

Storm-Riding Festival (Storm-Sailors): - Celebrate surviving another year - Competitions (piloting, combat, endurance) - Stories (legendary storms, close calls) - Honor the dead (many lost to storms)

The Moot Gathering (Annual): - All clans send representatives - Trade, negotiate, celebrate - Inter-clan marriages arranged - Cultural exchange - Rare moment of unity

Success Stories

The United Defense (Year 251 S.)

Crisis: Ironhold military threatened Outland territories Clan Response: Multiple clans coordinated defense (unprecedented) Result: Stalemate (Ironhold withdrew) Legacy: Clans can unite (when necessary)

The Famine Survival (Year 251 S.)

Crisis: Crop failure (Guild redistributed food, but not to Outlands) Clan Response: Mutual aid (clans shared resources) Result: Survived without Guild help Legacy: Proved self-sufficiency (don’t need cities)

The Storm-Mapping (Year 267 S.)

Achievement: Storm-Sailors mapped safe routes through Howling Expanse Impact: Safer travel, new trade routes, economic opportunity Shared: With other clans (not Guild—spite) Legacy: Clan knowledge is valuable

Failures and Challenges

The Youth Exodus (Ongoing)

Problem: Young people leaving for cities Rate: 20-30% of youth (per generation) Reasons: Opportunities, comfort, easier life Impact: Clans shrinking, aging, losing culture Response: Elders plead, threaten, mourn (nothing works) Reality: Can’t force youth to stay

The Guild Pressure (Ongoing)

Problem: Economic exploitation (low prices, high fees) Impact: Clans barely profitable (subsistence) Response: Resist (refuse Guild membership, barter instead) Reality: Guild has power (can’t truly resist) Compromise: Tolerate exploitation (survival requires trade)

The Rot Advance (Ongoing)

Problem: Rot consuming frontier territories Impact: Clans displaced (lose homes, hunting grounds) Response: Retreat (find new territories) Reality: Running out of clean islands Fear: Eventually nowhere left to go

In-World Documents

Clan Elder’s Teaching

Listen, children. I’ll tell you why we’re clan.

Cities offer safety. Walls, guards, Guild protection. Sounds good, right?

But walls are cages. Guards are watchers. Guild protection is leash.

We offer freedom. Hard freedom. Dangerous freedom. But freedom.

You’ll work harder than city folk. You’ll eat simpler food. You’ll face more danger.

But you’ll be free. You’ll be clan. You’ll be family.

Cities have rules. We have traditions. Cities have laws. We have honor. Cities have Guild. We have each other.

Some of you will leave. Seek city life. We’ll mourn you. But we won’t stop you.

Because freedom means choice. Even choice to leave.

But remember: City offers comfort. Clan offers meaning.

Choose wisely. You can’t unchoose.

—Elder Talvyn, teaching youth

Storm-Sailor’s Log

Day 47, Year 287 S.

Storm today. Category 4. Black Tempest formation. Lightning everywhere. Wind screaming.

We rode it. Sailed through chaos. Danced with death. Survived.

City folk would have hidden. Prayed. Waited for safety.

We flew into it. Because that’s what Storm-Sailors do.

The storm is beautiful. From inside. From outside, it’s terror. But we’re inside. Always.

We’re born in wind. We live in chaos. We die in flight.

It’s enough. It’s everything.

—Storm-Captain Kiera Windcaller

Clan Adoption Ceremony (Transcript)

ADOPTION OF OUTSIDER THERON

Elder Talvyn: Theron Cityborn, you seek to join our clan. Why?

Theron: Because I’m tired of walls. Tired of rules. Tired of being told how to live. I want freedom. I want family. I want meaning.

Elder Talvyn: Freedom is hard. Family demands sacrifice. Meaning requires work. Are you ready?

Theron: I am.

Elder Talvyn: Clan, speak. Does Theron belong?

Clan Member 1: He saved my daughter from Rot-Beast. He belongs.

Clan Member 2: He works hard. Never complains. He belongs.

Clan Member 3: He’s city-born. He’ll leave when life gets hard. He doesn’t belong.

Elder Talvyn: Elders, vote.

[Elders confer privately]

Elder Talvyn: Unanimous. Theron, you are clan.

[Blood oath taken, blood mixed, clan name given]

Elder Talvyn: You are no longer Theron Cityborn. You are Theron Stormblood. You are clan. You are family. You are home.

Welcome, brother.

Youth’s Farewell Letter

Dear Father,

I’m leaving. I’m sorry.

I know you’ll be disappointed. I know you’ll say I’m abandoning clan, betraying traditions, choosing comfort over honor.

You’re right. I am.

But I can’t do this anymore. The hard work, the danger, the isolation. I want more. I want opportunities. I want easier life.

I’m going to Skyport Eos. I’ll find work. I’ll build life. I’ll be comfortable.

I know that makes me weak. I know that makes me city-soft. I know that makes me traitor.

But I’m choosing it anyway.

I love you. I love clan. But I love myself more. And I can’t sacrifice my future for tradition.

I’m sorry. I hope you understand. I hope you forgive me.

But even if you don’t, I’m leaving.

Goodbye.

—Your son, Kael (soon to be just another city-dweller)

The Moot Declaration (Year 251 S.)

THE OUTLAND CLANS DECLARE

We are free peoples. We bow to no Guild, no Commandant, no Council.

We have survived three centuries without your walls, your rules, your “protection.”

We will survive three centuries more.

You call us backwards. We call ourselves free.

You call us poor. We call ourselves unbought.

You call us weak. We call ourselves strong.

We don’t need you. We never did. We never will.

Leave us alone. We’ll leave you alone.

But threaten us, and we unite. All clans. All warriors. All fury.

We are Outland. We are free. We are family.

Test us at your peril.

—The Moot, Year 251 S. (Response to Ironhold expansion)

Clan Song (Traditional)

We are the children of the void, We are the free, the unbought, the proud, No walls contain us, no rules constrain us, We are clan, we are family, we are loud.

The cities offer safety, we offer sky, The Guild offers wealth, we offer worth, The settlements offer comfort, we offer freedom, We choose the hard path, we choose the earth.

We work together, we fight together, We live together, we die together, We are clan, we are one, Forever and ever.

Quest Hooks

1. The Trade: Negotiate with clan (cultural navigation required, prove respect, earn trust)

2. The Defense: Help clan resist threat (Rot-Beasts, raiders, Guild pressure—prove yourself)

3. The Mediation: Resolve inter-clan dispute (both sides have valid claims, find compromise)

4. The Tradition: Participate in clan ritual/ceremony (Sky-Walk, First Hunt, Moot—cultural immersion)

5. The Exodus: Address youth leaving (help them leave, convince them to stay, or mediate conflict?)

6. The Alliance: Clans forming coalition (assist coordination, oppose threat to independence, or stay neutral?)

7. The Exploitation: Stop Guild abuse (challenge monopoly, organize resistance, face consequences)

8. The Lost Clan: Investigate disappearance (dangerous expedition, mystery, possible paradise or tragedy)

9. The Integration: Should clans join larger society? (Debate with elders, youth, outsiders—no easy answer)

10. The Storm: Live with Storm-Sailors (experience their life, learn their skills, face their dangers)

11. The Adoption: Seek clan membership (prove yourself, earn trust, undergo ceremony)

12. The Exile: Help exiled clan member (investigate why, seek redemption, or accept judgment?)

13. The Raid: Defend clan from attack (pirates, Rot-Beasts, military—protect family)

14. The Harvest: Participate in clan’s critical harvest (success means survival, failure means starvation)

15. The Moot: Attend inter-clan gathering (politics, trade, cultural exchange, witness unity)

Related Topics

• Storm-Captain Kiera Windcaller
• Elder Talvyn
• Old Marna
• Howling Expanse
• The Periphery
• Windmere Farms
• Scavenger’s Roost

“Cities offer safety. We offer freedom. Choose your priority.”

“The Guild calls us backwards. We survived three centuries without them. Who’s backwards?” — Clan saying

“Storm-Sailors don’t need solid ground. We’re born in wind, live in chaos, die in flight. It’s enough.” — Storm-Sailor proverb