Society and Culture
Being sapient people, riftclaws have a thriving culture of their own, and the name that members of the culture refer to themselves as is Vaskharr.
As the Vaskharr are capable of interdimensional travel, they can settle in any environment they please provided the place is uninhabited, or the locals are friendly towards them. In general they prefer warmer climates, so the majority of Vaskharr settlements are found in deserts, savannas, and monsoon plains. In many cases, Vaskharr-led settlements tend to be somewhat nomadic, travelling pre-established routes between specific campsites over the course of the year. While they don't usually build permanent dwellings, they do build permanent structures like raised crop beds, voidwing hives, livestock pens, fire pits and tent foundations.
However, many Vaskharr have integrated into other cultures, living peacefully alongside other sapient beings such as humans, aliens, and anthropomorphic beings. They can live quite comfortably in colder climates provided they can keep their homes warm year-round. Vaskharr can be found in hundreds of worlds across a dozen frames, but are notably quite common on Terra, an alternate Earth created by the collision of two separate universes during an aborted Fall. Terra is home to the largest of the Vaskharr populations, the Red-Sands clan, which inhabits a significant amount of the north-western portion of Australia and is integrated with much of the non-Vaskharr population throughout the world.
In traditional Vaskharr societies, clans operate in an almost eusocial manner. Individuals sort themselves into castes according to what they want to contribute to the clan, and children are raised communally (although not in isolation from their parents). The clans themselves are governed by a council of elders, all of whom are volunteers and are elected by all adult Vaskharr to serve three year terms.
Family and Kinship
The traditional Vaskharr family structure is a polyamorous relationship of 3-5 adults and their children. Monogamous pairs aren't frowned upon, but it's relatively uncommon outside of non-riftclaw Vaskharr who grew up outside the clans. Vaskharr have a rudimentary concept of marriage, in that the partners of a relationship can affirm their commitment to each other, but even de facto relationships confer protections in the eyes of Vaskharr society. Partners are usually given preference in disputes regarding custody of children, inheritance and medical care over other family members.
As the family structure involves more than two parents, Vaskharr have three different words for parent, depending on how they're related. The biological mother is referred to as arra, the biological father as oure and non-biological parents as neni. Vaskharr bloodlines are matrilineal, and a child's clan affiliation is always the same as their arra.
Rather than place the burden of raising children on the families themselves, Vaskharr instead raise their children in creches, small groups of 8-12 children of similar ages cared for by a member of the Guardian caste, a dedicated childcare worker. The exact care the children receive is based on their species; baby riftclaws are raised in creches from the egg, spending time with their parents when they are not working, while the children of other species stay with their biological parent for a time after birth, then join the creche when they reach the developmental level of a human toddler.
Creche-mates are not considered siblings, but often remain friends with each other for most of their lives. At the age of 5-6, once everyone who needs to has undergone first metamorphosis, they begin attending day classes with a Scholar to learn reading, writing, and other important life skills. At this point they become more independent, and tend to spend a lot more time with either their own-- or each others'-- parents rather than their Guardian, who will take another group on in a year or so.
It's not unusual for children to remain with their parents, or to pitch tents nearby their parents', until well into adulthood. There isn't much societal pressure for children to "move out", so often they stay until they feel ready, or meet someone they like enough to move.
Societal Structure and Caste System
Caste is not decided at birth, nor is it assigned according to bloodline. Most young Vaskharr choose their caste upon reaching age of majority (for riftclaw Vaskharr, this is signified by the loss of the baby claws). There is a training period for new caste members, but individuals are permitted to change castes at any time they desire if they're unsatisfied with their current caste.
Joining a caste confers a title and honorary pronouns.
Members of the Hunter caste are responsible for sourcing the bulk of the food for the clan, an extremely important job considering how much food young riftclaws need to metamorphose. They also manage protection for the camps, scouting areas before the rest of the clan moves in, and defending their people from outside threats. Hunters go by the pronouns li/lir/lin (li is a hunter, lir speciality is ambush hunting, it's always exciting to see lin in action).
Harvesters are responsible for the tending and harvesting of most agricultural goods grown by the clans. This includes raising the insects used to supplement the common diet, tending to the fruits and vegetables needed for the nutrition of non-riftclaw Vaskharr and the crops used to craft goods, and gathering other wild-sown ingredients. Harvesters are referred to as nei/neir/nen (nei is one of the best at picking those delicate orchids without damaging them with neir claws, watching nen work is fascinating).
Guardians and Consorts are two sides of the same coin; Guardians tend to the eggs and hatchlings of the clan, while Consorts help bring more into the world. With riftclaws being an endangered species, the Vaskharr have a strong focus on caring for any children the clans have-- as well as happily taking orphans and the unwanted and raising them just as lovingly.
Guardians are responsible for the bulk of childcare from egg to first metamorphosis, keeping nests warm and making sure their charges are happy, safe and fed. Each Guardian usually takes charge of a "creche" of 8-12 children, usually in the same age group, and creches usually remain within the care of the same Guardian until they age out of early childcare. Guardians are addressed as di/dir/din (di is very good with the children, they sure do love to climb on din and pull at dir spines).
Consorts are those who have dedicated themselves to preserving riftclaws as a species, having many more children over their lifespans than most. Consorts often travel freely between clans and the subgroups within them, serving as professional escorts, and in doing so help diversify the gene pool. Consorts are referred to as ra/rei/ran (ra is visiting from Broken-Sticks, I'd love to speak with ran about rei travels).
Scholars are dedicated historians and information collectors, teachers and keepers of the bloodline registers. They perform a lot of advisory tasks, like helping settle migratory routes, as well as handle most of the schooling for young Vaskharr. Vaskharr who complete schooling with other species will often be referred to as Scholars as well as a sign of respect, even if they don't choose to join the caste proper. Scholars are referred to as ki/kir/kin (ki studied medicine for several years at a Terran university, you can ask kin what kir opinion is).
Artisans are those who create goods for both use within the clans and trading with other societies. They are the source of much of the clans' housing, weaponry, tools and art, as well as more specialised goods like the shed skin clothing. Artisans aren't required to provide goods for trade to be part of the caste, however-- those who simply wish to create art for personal enjoyment are also included. Artisans are known as ba/bar/ban (I bought a new coat from ban, the way ba stitches designs into bar fabric is incredible).
Vaskharr children are considered casteless until they lose their baby claws and choose what they'd prefer to do as a career, but still participate in training classes for hunting, harvesting and crafting as they age. All Vaskharr children are referred to as ei/eir/en (have you seen your sibling? Ei left home today without eir shawl. Can you take it to en?).
Adult Vaskharr who cannot work due to long term illness, disability, or other issues are either referred to by their original title, or by the neutral Companion. It's unusual for any Vaskharr to remain outside of a caste for long, however-- alongside smaller, less energy intensive tasks that can be performed with only a pair of hands, there are always eggs that need to be cared for, which is a low-needs activity most can contribute without much stress to the individual.
Vaskharr generally retire from active duty around 200, after which case they are referred to either as their former title, or as Elder.
Vaskharr who live outside of the clans, or who interact frequently with non-Vaskharr, will usually choose titles and pronouns from the local language according to personal preference.
Language
All Vaskharr speak dialects of voidtongue, which are recognisable by all other voidtongue speakers. The ability to travel interdimensionally, as well as the fact that the majority of clan members communicate via Atlas and the trawl, prevents the language from becoming isolated enough to mutate beyond recognition.
Voidtongue utilises a lot of odd trills and subsonic growls alongside human-audible vocalisations. Non-riftclaw Vaskharr that can't make the exact sounds can approximate as desired. It also has a verbal shorthand of sounds that aren’t necessarily words, but communicate warnings, moods or questions to those in the immediate vicinity.
The voidtongue alphabet is phonetic in nature but has a lot of modifiers to depict certain trills and growls. There is no official translation of voidtongue into non-voidtongue lettering, with most riftclaws adapting it to their local language’s alphabet on the fly. This can look incomprehensible to outsiders, but most voidtongue speakers can intuit what is meant by how the letters sound.
Most Vaskharr speak more than one language, as voidtongue is their native tongue, but they often need to communicate with other species who have no familiarity with the language.
Art
Vaskharr art tends to be wearable, worked into shelters, or otherwise portable. Artistic designs worked into clothing are common and often quite prized. Tent fabric is almost never solid; mottled and patterned tent fabric is common, and the fanciest have murals woven directly into the cloth.
Vaskharr art in isolation often focuses on patterns or simplified forms, but due to their proximity to other species, Vaskharr artists are often heavily influenced by their neighbours’ own forms of art. Many Vaskharr have joined other societies to learn their trades and art forms, before bringing those skills back to the clans and producing works that integrate what they’ve learned with their own cultural knowledge.
Vaskharr who develop particularly distinctive art styles are often in high demand in the inter-clan trade groups.
Vaskharr textiles are largely made of a specific variety of jute that they have been cultivating for centuries. This cultivar is a hardy variant of white jute, with soft blue flowers which is generally planted and left to its own devices before being harvested roughly 6 months later once the plants reach maturity. The harvested fibres are then spun into threads and used to make fabric for clothing, sacks and bags, rope, twine and tent canvas. Textiles are often the clans’ main export, and a major consideration of a migration route is a good place to farm the plants during the summer/wet season.
Animal products such as leather and fur make up a substantial amount of Vaskharr clothing and furnishings, and horn and bone are a popular medium for small keepsakes. These are generally byproducts of the food industry; Vaskharr endeavour not to waste much of their food sources.
One particularly unique good that full-blooded riftclaws can offer is clothing made of their own shed skin. Every riftclaw sheds once a year, and with prior treatment the skin can be removed in a single piece, after which it can be trained into the shape of an article of clothing. These unusual garments retain the shapeshifting properties of their donors, making them highly sought after. Riftclaw skin clothes are extremely durable, and are able to change colour, size, style and imitated fabric texture with training. Owners of the garments often claim that they develop their own likes and dislikes, such as always being warm for one person, but cold for another.
Food
Vaskharr cuisine tends to focus more on texture and novel presentation than flavour on average, as many riftclaws have a blunted sense of taste. Riftclaw dietary needs require a lot more protein, fat and connective tissue over plant matter, although they adapt their dishes to accommodate all members of the clan and supplement with plant-based dishes where appropriate. Common meals include roasts, stews, and curries, while many foods are dried or salted for a longer shelf life on the move. Vaskharr chefs will often enhance the appeal of a dish by garnishing it with wild splashes of colour.
Meat is the main feature of Vaskharr cuisine, and they aren't picky about where it comes from. Hunters pursue large and small game alike; recognisable Earth-type creatures such as kangaroos, deer, rabbits and wild pigs are as common a fixture in an average Vaskharr meal as aurochs, dinosaurs, native alien animals, and non-sapient voidbeasts.
Despite the limited taste senses of riftclaws, Vaskharr food is quite heavily flavoured; the Vaskharr bring a wide variety of herbs and spices wherever they settle, from common Earth ingredients to alien or alternate dimension plants that someone particularly liked. They quite like heat in their food, so chillies of various kinds are quite prized. They also raise voidwings-- jet black bees with electric blue eyes and stripes-- in hives for honey and honeycomb to add to various dishes.
Vaskharr plant crops along their migration routes, harvesting and replanting as they pass through. While riftclaws themselves can't digest much plant material, non-riftclaw Vaskharr often require it, and so the harvesting routine has been adapted to include foods for them as well. Food crops vary widely, from more domestic species like wheat, potatoes, carrots and corn to wilder ones that are carefully replanted to encourage extra growth. Riftbean coffee is also a very prized crop, as the roasted pips contain extremely high levels of caffeine, enough to actually affect beings with as much body mass as riftclaws.
Insects also feature quite heavily in the Vaskharr diet, with voidwing larvae being an easily farmed byproduct of voidwing honey production, as well as various beetle and moth grubs, ants and termites, and any other insect scavenged in the field.
Tools and Technology
Vaskharr technology is often limited by the technology level of the worlds they live in; if something can’t be explained away as “magic” or a technology on a similar level as that of the world they inhabit, it’s often kept hidden from outsiders as much as possible.
The majority of Vaskharr have access to smart devices in various forms; phones and tablets with photovoltaic screens and special chips that connect to the Atlas server in the void are common and freely given to any individual who desires one. These devices are often custom designed to fit in amongst the technology available in the worlds that they'll most often be seen in. A certain level of technological literacy is taught to children, because the ability to service and repair your own devices is often lifesaving for people who can become stranded in totally different worlds from their families.
The Atlas server is a MIDAI unit hidden deep within the void, a high-tech alien computer governed by the living brain of a riftclaw. Being positioned in the void allows Atlas to send and receive signals from any possible world provided the contacting device carries the custom void-aligned chips developed for interfacing with the system. Atlas himself serves as an omnipresent moderator, keeping an eye on any troublesome data that travels through the server hub and following up with individuals who seem to be in danger or distress. While Atlas wasn’t created by the Vaskharr, he’s been within the care of the Red-Sands clan since his discovery and serves as the backbone of both the Vaskharr internet and Terra’s “trawl”.
Vaskharr readily use the weaponry most common in the worlds they inhabit, but they tend to gravitate to spears, staves or polearms, with smaller blades like daggers taken as a close range option where claws would not be suitable. They have no qualms about using firearms, but as they don’t manufacture bullets or guns, they tend to use them more sparingly unless firearms and ammunition are easy to access in their particular world.
Governance
Each clan is lead by a council of representatives elected from the pool of adult riftclaws who have aged out of professional work. The size of the council varies from clan to clan, with Red-Sands having 60 members, and Painted-Rocks having about 30. Councils are responsible for making decisions on migration routes, crop quotas, managing trade agreements, granting scholarships for higher education outside the clans, assigning diplomats to allied societies, and deciding on penalties for crimes committed within the clan boundaries.
Council members are elected by votes among a clan, generally one each from each subgroup within the clan, but sometimes two or more if the subgroup is particularly large. Terms last between 3 and 5 years depending on the clan, and consecutive terms are explicitly disallowed. Serving as a council member is considered a civic duty, and the majority of retired Vaskharr are expected to serve at least one term during their lifespan.
Council votes on changing major policy or delivering a punishment require a clear majority (60%+) to pass. Typically the Vaskharr take a forgiving approach to crime committed within clan borders, as culturally this means that some aspect of their society has failed to provide. The only exception to this is the murder of children (of any species), which carries a penalty of exile/excommunication.
Trade
Due to their nomadic lifestyles, trade tends to occur in specific seasons rather than regularly throughout the year. Few clans end up directly interacting with non-Vaskharr industry, tending to sell goods themselves in open-air markets, or contracting with smaller independent merchants.
The Vaskharr do not use any form of currency within the clans themselves; everything necessary to live comfortably is provided as an aspect of participating in the caste system. Vaskharr will, however, trade goods and services for any local currencies that exist, as it allows them to participate in the local economies and acquire goods they otherwise couldn't. Money is generally held by appointed trade specialists and distributed where needed.
For most of the clans, the biggest exports are jute fibre and textiles. Rope, both coarse and fine-woven hessian, sacks, bags, tents and clothing are all offered for sale with Vaskharr artistic touches. Some food products brought to trade include riftbean coffee, voidwing honey, and various preserved meats. Handcrafted weapons are also on offer, either as art pieces or as genuine weapons.
Shedcraft garments tend to be more custom order than premade, but the occasional piece will find itself amongst the usual trade goods. Skilled shedcrafters are limited by the number of riftclaws willing to trade or sell their yearly shed, so the price of such a garment is very high.
Conflict
Despite being a relatively peaceful people, the Vaskharr do come into conflict with some other groups on occasion, outside of the usual friction of a distinctly non-human sapient species attempting to integrate into alien societies.
A particular iteration of humanity has made a sport of hunting down and killing riftclaws for their claws and skins, which can be fashioned into daggers that allow cross-dimension travel and make functional but inferior shedcrafts respectively. As the daggers especially are integral to their dimension-jumping raider lifestyle, these interdimensional hunters will actively pursue the clans whenever possible.
It is not unusual for the clans to pack up and leave areas where local peoples express discomfort with their presence in an attempt to avoid clashing with them. The hunters were friends, once, and they don't want to risk creating a second group of them.
The Vaskharr also often come into conflict with void wildlife and aberrations, especially when travelling between dimensions or defending any territory they hold within the void.