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Kroashent: Marie's Bestiary of Alvez - Teuz
🕑 Added 2021-05-04 22:29:45 +0000 UTCPictured: A Teuz girl sits on the Sourth of the Liger River, outside of Naoned.
The Teuz - The Korrigan of the Meadows
Physical Attributes
The Teuz are a bipedal ungulate race of Korrigan, sharing physical traits of Bediz and hooved animals, most commonly goats and deer. Their legs, covered in short fur, end in cloven hooves, although a common mutation results in uncloven hooves. All Teuz possess tails, which are typically short and pointing straight up, although others possess longer, ropelike tails tipped with a tuft of fur. From the waist up, Teuz resemble Bediz, covered in skin and light hair. Their arms are proportioned similar to those of the Bediz, ending with 4 digit hands, 3 fingers and an opposable thumb.
Teuz are shorter than the average Bediz, ranging between 1 and 1.5 m in height. Of the Korrigan peoples, they possess the widest range of physiquesOf the Korrigan peoples, the Teuz have one of the widest ranges of physiques, ranging in frame from petite and slim to stocky and muscled, with features ranging from fair to rugged. The skin-tone of the Teuz generally reflects those of the Bediz population, with the notable exception of vibrantly red-coloured variants. Their furs are typically found in shades of black, browns and grey, with white fur being uncommon, but not rare. Teuz possess the most varied range of Fae ears, ranging from animalistic, typically resembling those of goats, horses and cows, to sharply pointed ears parallel to the head similar to the Bediz. Teuz all have horns, ranging from small nubs to impressively curved ram horns to deer-like antlers. They typically have large, round eyes and flat noses, but there are exceptions among individuals and communities.
Habitats and Geographic Distribution
Also called the Korrigan of the Meadows, the Teuz typically reside in relatively flat, grassy plains regions, with a focus on agricultural development. A versatile people, they thrive in all manner of biomes across Letha and the Fortunate Isles, often living in small, but well-spread out communities of 1 to 50 families. residing in simple housed of stone and thatch, although other local materials may be substituted. These cozy and well kept dwellings are often built with a communal sleeping chamber located in an elevated loft above common areas like kitchen and dining rooms, which make up the social centers of Teuz life. Kitchens and dining rooms are always separate, but easily accessible form one another. While Teuz are less reliant on the extra-spatial dimensions found in other Faerie architecture, the effect is still in play, with interiors being slightly larger than the exterior dimensions would allow, a trend that applies especially to the aforementioned dining facilities and storage spaces, with a Teuz home supporting all manner of large and well hidden pantries, boxes and cupboards built into the walls, floors and furniture. Apocryphal stories credit the Teuz with the creation of the Gwele-Kloz (Box-Bed) and Bank-Tossel (Bench Safe), found in many Bretoned homes. Animals are typically kept in an attached wing of the house, accessible from the interior and exterior.
Teuz have integrated heavily into Bediz society, typically living in villages and hamlets near population centers or along roads, appearing on local maps and taxation ledgers. Teuz rarely live within walled cities or towns themselves, instead traveling into the city while living in the countryside. Younger and more enterprising Teuz may establish more permanent lodging and business in urban areas. Some exceptions, like the hortillonnages of Samaraobriva or the islands of Naoned support permanent populations, slices of pastoral agricultural land within the confines of the city.
Teuz will travel to markets, both mundane and magical, in small carts or boats, and are much more open in their travel habits than other Fae peoples, sharing portions of the road openly with Bediz. They are not constrained to the same physical constraints of these and are known to vanish around corners and over hills as they take unseen shortcuts and hidden side paths to their destination with supernatural speed and efficiency.
Dietary Habits
The Teuz diet consists mainly of buckwheat, legumes, mushrooms, berries and cereals, as well as eggs and dairy. They are typically vegetarian and do not eat meat, poultry or fish. Unlike other Korrigan, they do not consume Foyson, but rather tangible food. Teuz diet is typically self-sufficient, growing their own crops, raising chickens and cro sith, a breed of Faerie cow that produces large quantities of milk. A staple of Teuz cuisine is a cake made of oatmeal, barley and buckwheat, which is often sold at markets, providing excellent nutritional value.
Teuz Society
Teuz live in extended family units in single dwellings, which in turn are part of larger hamlet communities. Teuz hamlets are typically widely spread farming communities, with several hectares between residences. These are typically loosely centered around some communal feature, such as a tumulus, rounded hill or cromlech, and defined along major routes by Kalvar (Boundary Stones). Teuz will not live within Bediz settlements, but are often found on the rural outskirts, traveling into the cities for market days and festivals. Teuz hamlets, despite their relative distance, are typically tight-knit communities, with families interacting regularly. Teuz often consider their non-teuz neighbors within their Kalvar-bounded communities as part of the larger social group and interact fairly regularly. Teuz families are typically led by one or two individuals, while the community is loosely governed by a council of elder family members. A Boleguéan is almost always a member of this council, either living in the community or with strong contacts with them, similar to a parish priest.
History
The Teuz first appeared in Bedoaur after the War of the Elrking, settling in areas largely abandoned by Bediz fleeing the conflicts. Some accounts, however, place Teuz forces at the Battle of Meneziou Are, predating the Erlking's campaign by several years. What is known is that after establishing small agrarian communities across Letha, a mass migration from the Fortunate Isles added to their numbers in Flandrez and Breizh. These communities, left largely undisturbed, thrived and offered much needed assistance to struggling Bediz during the calamities of the following 3 centuries, establishing themselves as hardworking and peaceful farmers. Lacking the interest, cohesion or political will to establish their own geopolitical presence, they instead integrated into local Korrigan and Bediz societies as semi-autonomous traders, vanishing into the mounds and hills when threatened. Tensions have sometimes flared, such as during the Heresy of Albi, when Teuz were persecuted by allies of the Southern Church, but for the most part, relations between the Teuz and their neighbors have been largely peaceful and mutually beneficial.
Naming Traditions
Moreso than other Korrigan peoples, the Teuz are quick to adopt the naming conventions and styles of their neighbors, with the notable lack of surnames; instead identifying themselves by the good or service they provide, most typically the primary agricultural resource of their home region. For example, "de Pomme" (of the apple) is a common "surname" among Norman Teuz and "Ed Du" (Buckwheat) is common among the Bretoned Troupes. Teuz use longer family names exclusively among their own kind, for example "de pommes dorées croustillantes de l'arbre noué près du ruisseau" (of the crisp golden apples from the knotted tree by the brook) in place of "de Pomme". These names grow in complexity when specificity is required, and is typically only used once in formal identification.
Marie's Personal Notes:
The Teuz are certainly one of the most ubiquitous of the Korrigan peoples, having spread across most of Letha in the centuries since the Tear, to the point it seems strange to me to write about them in the same way as I would the Kornikaned or the avian Tempestarri. Even in the Gallian Crownlands, where my family's fief in Melun is found, I would often meet Teuz merchants or farmers, and the one troupe, the "maïs de la courbe de la rivière" (of the Riverbend Corn), were frequent guests at are table. But, I have been informed that the Teuz, while common on Continental Letha and the Fortunate Isles, are not found past the Sea of Wine or the Mor Kreizdouar, so in the interest of completeness, should this humble book find itself in the vaunted libraries of Iram of the Pillars, I have included them.
In Gallia and other sovereignties of Letha, the Teuz are legally considered to be free tenants subjects to the taxation of the crown and nobility, but not bound to the land. Unlike some of the more independent-minded Fae, the Teuz seem to acknowledge and even participate in Bediz political systems. In some cities, even in Gallia and the Cloth Cities, Teuz may even be considered full citizens, which has given them some clout in the formation of the Broceliande League and similar political entities. They seem to have similar relationships with the Boleguéans, Kriores and Boudics, but are often at odds with the Kornikaneds of the forest, who often attempt to raid the cro sith farms of the Teuz, as well as the Tohoseguéannets, with whom they have some grudge I have not been able to fully understand. Kathalia Bisclavret, who hails from Ar Mor Emrodez expressed surprise that the Boleguéans serve as outside mediators, insisting that the Fées-des-Houles, the Korrigan of the Swells, fill this role. This interesting development, left unshared until after I had finished this entry, does serve to illustrate that, even for a well-known people like the Teuz, mysteries still remain to be explored.
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Val's Notes: In Breton folklore, the Korrigan, the Fae of Brittany similar to the Sidhe of Ireland or the Tylwyth Teg of Wales, is generally used as a blanket term, rather than describing a particular type of creature. Many of the Korrigan are described as having hooves, so I decided to pay tribute to that with the inclusion of the Teuz as one of the more commonly seen Korrigan of Breizh, to the point where many, such as Marie, consider them their default ideal of the Korrigan peoples. I combined many of their traits with the Welsh Glastig, which are more consistenly described for physcial appearance. The Teuz shown is wearing a clothing inspired by traditional Breton clothing, with an elaborate lace coiffe.
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