SCARS

Male children are taught from a young age the ways of war and the hunt. "It was said a youth of the Wagon Peoples was taught the bow, the quiva and the lance before their parents would consent to give him a name, for names are precious among the Wagon Peoples, as among Goreans in general, and they are not to be wasted on someone who is likely to die, one who cannot well handle the weapons of the hunt and war. Until the youth has mastered the bow, the quiva and the lance he is simply known as the first, or the second, and so on, son of such and such a father." (Nomads, p. 11) This creates a powerful incentive for the male children to excel. Otherwise, they fail to become fully accepted members of their society. This same type of education does not seem to occur with female children. "The Wagon Peoples value courage above all else." (Nomads, p. 16) The people of the tribes are expected to be courageous and they value courage in others as well. It is their primary virtue. "To a Tuchuk," said Harold, "success is courage-that is the important thing-courage itself-even if all else fails-that is success." (Nomads, p. 273) It was Tarl's display of courage that earned him permission to stay with the Tuchuks. Even though Tarl admitted to feeling fear, the fact that he remained courageous, unflinching from possible death, impressed the tribesmen. Courage is not the absence of fear, but it depends on how one handles that fear. This concern with courage is reflected in the infamous Scar Codes of the Wagon Peoples. You must earn these scars, and each such scar has a specific meaning attached to it. All of the tribes can read the meaning of these scars. The Courage Scar is a bright red scar and is always the highest scar on your face. It is obviously earned for showing courage and is a prerequisite for all other scars. Without this scar, you cannot pay court to a free woman, own a wagon, or own more than five bosk or three kailla. Not all wear their Courage Scar visibly, though, depending on the circumstances, it would be very rare. For example, Tarl earned a Courage Scar but never got one placed onto his face. Unfortunately, the names and meanings of the other possible scars were not provided in the books. For example, Kamchak bore seven scars on his face: red, yellow, blue, black, two more yellow, and one more black. We only know the meaning for the red scar. We do know that the other three Ubars were scarred differently from Kamchak. Simply having these scars created is a courageous act. Most of the scars are set in pairs, moving diagonally down from the side of the head toward the nose and chin. The scars are worked into the skin by needles and knives, using pigments and bosk dung, over a period of several days. This is obviously painful and some men have even died while having these scars affixed. The scars resemble corded chevrons. Such scarred visages present a fearsome image to their foes. The tribes also have facial tattooing but little is said about this matter and it is unknown if the tattoos also possess meaning or whether they are purely decorative. Scar Codes and Colors The scars are used as follows, readily acknowledging adapting the scar codes to the need of the camp: Scar Description Word Hex Red Courage Scar. Always the highest scar on the face. No other Scars may be given until the Courage Scar is earned. red FF0000 Yellow Loyalty Scar. Given to a warrior who has risked his life for a Home Stone or cause. gold FFD700 Blue Virtue Scar. Given to those true of heart in their actions and their words. blue 0000FF Black Valor Scar. Warriors receive this when they have demonstrated Their Honor and that of their Home Stone during times of conflict. black 000000 Green Is the scar of the Ubar. green 008000 Grey Is the scar of the camp Second-in-Command or Camp Second. grey 80808 Sky Blue Is the scar of the camp First Defender. skyblue 87CEEB Purple This denotes membership of Camp. purple 800080 Burnt Orange Is the slash of the Council. (Goes on both sides of title)   CC5500