The Rill!  A beautiful comb-shaped archipelago whose largest island is a closely-guarded secret paradise!  Hey, can you hear strange music?  Home to the merry Rillmen!


The Rill Proper: Nobody goes to the Rill.  That's just a truth.  The Rillmen are wanderers, and they all know the Rill is their starting point, but what's the point in looking for something in the place you came from?  The Torchbearers come here for attunement, and they never speak about what happens during their ceremony.  On the outer islands live the Great-Uncles and Great-Aunts, the eldest of the Torchbearers, who conduct initiates on the journey of their Attunement to the forbidden, largest isle.

The Rillmen: Rillmen are a sight as ubiquitous as the sky, they wander everywhere, performing, trading, and doing smithwork for their money.  Anywhere a wanderer has an edge, the Rillmen have found a niche, and their impressive grasp of the Flame Dance sorceries don't hurt, either.  Not every Rillman is a Flame Dancer, but the very vast majority of all Flame Dancers in the world are Rillmen, and it's an art they charge exorbitant amounts to teach outsiders.  Of course,actual Rillmen learn for free, if they have the talent and inclination.  Physically, Rillmen have dark, coffee-colored skins, dark hair, and dark eyes.  This isn't uniform, however, the Rillmen will take anyone who marries into a Family-Ship as another Rillman.

Torchbearers: Rillmen attuned to the Flame Dance style of sorcery.  Although successful attunement renders them sterile, they serve as respected elders, mediators, and matchmakers, taking on the entirety of the Rillmen as their family.  Surprisingly, there are no partially attuned Torchbearers, which makes little sense, but it is unusual that on deciding to become attuned, a Rillman will go to the Rill on a secret, ritualized, journey, and upon completing it decides if he wishes to be a Torchbearer.

Greetings: Formally, "Have you found the last dance?"  The proper response is to say "Not yet, have you?" And to seal the greeting, the first speaker replies with "Not yet, but the search goes on." Torchbearers call every Rillman or Rillwoman "Nephew" or "Niece", and fellow Torchbearers "Sister" or "Brother".  Furthermore, Torchbearers are referred to as "Uncle" or "Aunt" by non-Torchbearers, even those older than themselves.  Obviously, the Torchbearers use the the formal greetings more than most, but it's also common when the Father or Mother of a Family-Ship welcomes another Rillman onto their vessel.

The Rillmen and Luck: There are some strange superstitions about Rillmen.  While they might experience casual distrust, in some places, it's a common belief in rural areas that it's simply bad luck to kill a Rillman.  Others scoff at this, attributing it simply to the stupidity needed to try and mug someone who is very likely a Flame-Dancing pyromancer.  Still, scholars have pointed to at least a few fragmentary records of contact with nations that enslaved or tried to exterminate the Rillmen abruptly...ceasing.

...Mina knows why, why don't you ask her?


The Rillmen and Family: Family is all that the wandering Rillmen have, most of the time, and family is incredibly important to the people of  the Rill.  Family-Ships are massive, ornately-decorated, even gaudy sunships that serve as a sort of floating castle for an entire clan of Rillmen, their spouses, and their children.  Every year, great Meets are held at locations out in the open sky, with massive, broad sunships engineered specifically to serve as dance halls.  Other ships pull up alongside, lay down bridges, and lower safety nets, to form a sort of temporary open-air city.  Food is served, dances are held (on specially-treated floors to avoid a catastrophic fire), and alcohol is drunk in vast amounts.  A great deal of matchmaking is done during these Meets, as it is taboo to marry within one's own Family-Ship, and the presence of a Torchbearer is welcomed during these proceedings.  Duels are forbidden during a Meet.  The joke goes that you hear a Family-Ship before you see it, music being common even into the depths of the night.

The Rillmen and Duels: The Rillmen duel.  When a dispute has become so heated that no ending other than blood will quench it, two Rillmen will face each other on land (this is not negotiable, duels are not permitted aboard ships) and fight to first blood, usually using short, straight blades.  At least three impartial witnesses are needed for the duel to have legal standing.