-- ReginaldGusto - 10 Jun 2015

Faction-Fighters:

The Factions were groups of Kieran fighers, something between a gang, a militia, and an organized crime family--what on modern Earth might be closest to a motorcycle club (ie: Hell's Angels, Sons of Anarchy, etc). The fighting faction system existed in all classes, all regions, and across all Kieran religions and political dispositions, and even in the childrens' schools. Factions were often chosen arbitrarily, and competition for membership in the good factions was fierce. Fighting was done with pugilism, wrestling, and every size of stick from an eight inch cudgel to a sixteen foot tent-pole and all in between. Bladed weapons, firearms, and farm implements were considered to be dishonorable. The most popular weapons were short thick cudgels, lead-loaded /ailpeen/ (between two and three feet with a heavy knob on the end, usually of oak, ash, or blackthorn), the /shillelagh/ (longer and heavier than an ailpeen and usually spiked along its length), the /hurley/ (field hockey stick), and the tent-wattle.

Leadership was usually an older, wiser faction-fighter, and there was usually a "Man in the Gap," a champion. The men would fight, either in one on one duels or in masse, and the women (usually mothers, daughters, and sisters) would do auxilliary work like weapons preparation and tending the wounded. Fights were for any reason or no reason. Challenges usually took on a capricious tone, such as, "Black's the white of me eye! Who dares says black's not the white a' me eye?!" or, "Ram's horns! Nothin's curvier than ram's horns! Who says anything's curvier than ram's horns?!" Another popular way to pick a fight was to drag your coat behind you, hoping someone would step on it. If two factions were to duel en masse, it was customary for their leaders to "Say hello," or exchange a blow each in greeting to each other before the match started. It was very common for factions who came to the battle with more fighters than the other to share extra fighters to even the odds. It was considered dishonorable not to fight to the best of your ability no matter which side you served on.

The most popular place for the faction fights was a faire called Donnybrook, but as politics began to play more and more of a role in the factions, they eventually degenerated into the Shanavests and the Caravats, essentially two political parties, and all rules of the fights were forsaken as the two factions devolved into rival militias. At this time the faction-fighting tradition fell into disuse.