[OOC] 🌸 Doma Pride Information

[Doma Lands]

 

[Doma Lands]

In Ancient times, the world was void, and water. In this void, a great kami came to the world, and spied the vast emptiness - and chose to act. The stars were first, placed in the sky, followed by the moon and the sun. Next was the land - islands at first, and then main lands, forming the earth. Then, the great one birthed of itself the first kami, the gods of their new realm. Finally, the great one made the mortals, or so it was told.

For countless generations the mortals roamed and squabbled, pitting the kami they followed against one another as they fought amidst themselves. One Kami, troubled by the fighting, decided to find peace, and descended as a mortal, and stole to the other side in the night, selecting a male of kind eyes to sire her mortal children.

When this Great Kami returned to her followers and gave birth to cubs obviously born of a lowly male of their enemies, there was shock; until she spoke it was time for peace. Her eldest son, named Jimmu, soon became respected as he grew -- and known more for his compassion to all. Jimmu bargained for peace among the tribes fighting, and brought them together to one land, considered consecrated by the kami. And here, the seer declared the kami bade the pride live as one people. The people, in return, chose to declare Jimmu the first King, and his brothers and sisters princes and princesses. When Jimmu died, there was a cave his body was placed in, and the den consecrated as a shrine holy to Jimmu, believed to live on as a kami himself in his own bones.

As time passed in the pride, the differences that brewed war melted into a culture that unified and strengthened the pride, and those whom joined it. They came to respect those whom embodied honor and goodness and eschew those whom destroyed and wrought misery, and knew prosperity for their choice.

It was during the reign of Lord Kaien that the prosperity known by the Doman pride was due to change. During his reign a group of rogues fleeing plague and despair came to the Domans seeking a haven - sanctuary. The king, wishing to help, took them in, welcoming them to stay in his den as private guests. However grateful, the pride was struck by plague. The pride grew ill and the illness spread, forcing Kaien to send his only child, Hien, away. Kaien, whom stood as a beloved king, did not survive. When the majority of Doma lie dead, it seemed the remainder, as the prince, scattered....



But the Doman ways were not lost. Early in Kaien's reign, a young female, running away from home, stumbled on the prince, and was brought before Kaien. Hearing of the girl's home and her reason to leave - to find help for her people - Kaien adopted the female as his own. The female, known then as Laif, was taught as any Doman; raised as one of the royal litter despite her external birth. As the pride then was prosperous, as a very young adult, Laif confided in her kin her wish to retrieve her own kin, and to bear them unto Doma for their freedom.

Laif did not return until after the plague wiped a majority out - and after many and more fled. She had been unable to find her kin, hearing only tales of her half siblings, and saw to the dead of Doma, giving their last rights. Finding her adopted brother missing with his retainer, and finding Lord Kaien dead, the female chose not to leave Doma to ruin - instead accepting that if she was to save her family, discovering her adoptive father's form meant the gods, the kami, wished for her to serve her duty as the princess of the Domans - to rise as the pride Shogun until Hien was found dead or alive, until the pride restored, and, if need be, until divinity was returned to the royal house, and so, turned to begin seeking to rebuild her chosen home, by restoring both old houses whom scattered, and those anew.

 

[Doma Lands]

Domans are all about Bushido - a code of morality that guides all, from the Royal House, to the lowest peasant. Bushido is a moral code, and while those who do not fully embrace it are welcomed, it makes proving one's worth to a higher house extremely difficult.

While many will often seek to right wrongs or repair debts, Bushido can and often does lead to hari kiri... ritualized suicide under watch to ensure one does not back out, in the most dire circumstances. This, however, is extremely rare, and highly discouraged. More often, the dishonored will be placed in servitude to those whom they have wronged until the debt is repaid.

Day to day life is often relaxed and easygoing - Domans come and leave as they please and some seek peaceful relations with outsiders. Rogues are allowed to wander in, all species of SoA (regular and familiar) are welcome, and color is of no importance.

Doman Family Life

Family is very important in Doma - more so than Bushido. The parents of litters are often supported in old age by their eldest children, and the young are expected to learn from their elders. The elderly are not expected to hunt or provide anything but their wisdom, and are respected (even if they're sometimes senile). Families will take in the orphaned or abandoned cubs of parents or siblings, as well as any foundlings.

Domans favor marriage over flings, but flings do happen. When flings occur, the female and her cubs are looked after by an elder relative. Often a pride member may step up and offer to wed the female and adopt her cubs as his own. In these cases, though, the female does not get to accept nor decline. This decision will be made by the family seeing to her and her cubs. Sometimes, however, a female has no family, or the one with cubs is a male. In such cases, the cubs are given the single parents' rank, and the parent may decide for themselves to accept any mating proposals.

As marriage can occur between any species or gender, adoption is quite common in Doma - not only by families, but single parents. Nobles are especially known to adopt, often bringing in those of lower rank to train and claim as their own kin and to preserve the family. While those not yet considered adult are often chosen, adult adoption is very much accepted in the pride as a means to preserve the old ways.

Bushido - The Doman Way

Bushido is a code of morality broken up into 8 tenants, which the pride attempts to live by. Those held closest to Bushido in rank are the Royal family, followed by the Samurai, whom are expected to live - and die - by these tenants.Those least expected and often allowed leeway are the Shinobi.

The 8 tenants of Bushido are: Righteousness, Respect, Courage, Compassion, Integrity, Honor, Loyalty and Self Control. These tenants are held by those of pride members with a good moral core and a strong grasp of what is good and right. While some flexibility is accepted in the right circumstances, it is often in tandem to other tenants of Bushido. For example, fleeing the plague, while not the courageous option, preserved many bloodlines and was thus explainable. Bushido often shaped many of the pride's young since birth, and while (to some) it is seen as the cause for the plague, it is considered the salvation of the pride to others.

 

[Doma Lands]

In Doma, the land is sacred and the pride surrounded by gods. The gods, called kami, may be the major winged gods, or ancestral, heroic, or venerated spirits found in bones, stones, locations, and more.

As an example, First King Jimmu was believed to become a kami in his own right. His bones lie deep within Doman territory (in a sacred cavern) and are often tended to by the priests. A more recent example of a mortal considered to become a kami is Lord Kaien, who died tending to the sick during the plague. His soul is now the kami of a smooth white stone found by his body.

Many families will preserve ancestral treasures and artifacts as protective sigils. They are believed to allow the ancestors to protect the pride. Tokens, such as feathers or baubles, will often be placed in shrines after the recipient has passed on, and pride members will leave offerings at shrines to the kami.

When gods visit the pride, more often than not, most pride members will be in awe or shock and the gods are permitted to roam as they please - to a point. Malicious gods are treated as demons and may be attacked by the Samurai and Shinobi.


Seers

The Domans recognize seers as a result of god-mortal couplings, and as such, seers are considered of divine blood. These pride members (including children of lower classes) enjoy slightly better life options, as seers may select any rank not of a royal standing. They will sometimes enjoy adoption by noble houses... including the royal house, as a seer-Shogun already bears cubs of divine blood.


Doman naming traditions

The Domans practice a rather old naming tradition that began during Jimmu's reign. When cubs are born, or rogue cubs adopted, they are raised with a child's name. These names are traditionally short and may reflect a virtue or trait the parents wish for their child to grow or develop.

At adolescence, a Doman youth will begin training in their rank for adulthood, and when they complete training, they receive an adult name reflecting the end of adolescence. Adult names are a token of pride, while using a childhood name is seen as a cutesy childish nickname from one's youth.

Rogue cubs brought into the pride will usually be treated as having a child's name. The exception to this are adults that are joining. Adult species are believed to have sufficient life experience to not be a child, and as such, usually maintain their names.

Child names are a critical part of a Doman's life, as it is believed to affect how a child grows and matures. Similarly, Domans favor traditional names. (Japanese, Chinese, or Korean names)

 

[Doma Lands]

The original royal bloodline was born from a mortal male and a female goddess. While that female's identity is lost to myth, the bloodline persists as did the name - often by both adoption and cub birth. When times of dire need occur, an adopted member of the royal house may step in as Shogun and must seek out a god to birth cubs and restore divinity to the line.

The royal family does not differentiate between adopted and born-in cubs, and a child with no mate or in an infertile relationship may adopt a cub to serve as the Doman heir. The rulers born from a divine line of the royal house are thus the King or Queen. However, non-divine blood are known as the Shogun.

A King or Queen and a Shogun - Is there difference?

When the Shogun is called to power, it means one of divine blood is missing, or dead. In such times, a member of the royal family who was adopted will step into the ruling state of Shogun. In that respect, a Shogun is nothing more than the pride's leader until a King or Queen is found, or a cub of divine parentage is born to the Shogun.

While in control the Shogun is treated similarly to a King or a Queen. They were raised alongside the heir(s) or groomed to be Shogun, thus retaining their own traditional retainer or guard, and protecting the royal house's ways.