Tortles
The Tortles are a race of intelligent tortoise-like humanoids indigenous to the southern hemisphere of the Alliance. Tortles are reptilian-looking humanoids with large shells on their backs that were capable of containing their entire bodies. They have leathery skin that varies between olive-green to blue-green hues. The dorsal portion of their shells was usually darker than their skins, while the ventral portion was lighter, usually with yellowish tones. Tortles rarely wear any clothing, favoring instead belts and harnesses to carry their belongings. They have little tolerance for cold, and usually migrated away from temperate areas when winter approached. Although generally poor swimmers, Tortles were capable of floating on water and could hold their breath for over an hour. Their high buoyancy granted them the ability to cross swamps, mud, and quicksand with little difficulty. They are a very nomadic people, and very few large, established communities of Tortles exist in one place except for the Tortles of the Salt Bay. They are a humble people who live for the here and now, rarely worrying about what the next day will bring. What many Tortles consider a simple life, others might call a life of adventure.
Origins
The origins of the Tortles started with the first reptiles in the year 800. Turtles who had been exposed to the raw, untethered power of the dragons began to evolve remarkably quick. Tortls are often born near sandy coastlines, but as soon as they're able to walk on two legs, they become eager survivalists ready to explore the world. A Tortle hatches from a thick-shelled egg and usually spends the first few weeks of life crawling on all fours. Tortles usually mate near the end of their lifespan and lay as many as a dozen eggs in a fortified, well-guarded area. The parents spend the remainder of their lives guarding their eggs and children, and sharing a lifetime of knowledge and belongings before they die. If a Tortle is orphaned before they can received belongings, they will naturally gather possessions to collect before heading off into the world just like their parents did.
Culture
Most Tortles carry the notion of having their houses on their backs, which means that they rarely feel homesick or the need to lay roots in any single place. They are eager to learn new customs and find beauty in the most ordinary things. Tortles love to socialize with each other, sharing information such as lucrative trade opportunities, or where the best baked salmon is. Most Tortles see the world as a thing of beauty, even in its most ordinary setting. Despite spending much of their lives isolated, Tortles liked to form strong friendships. It's through these friendships that they learn new customs and cultures to adopt into their own.
Tortle Names
Tortles prefer simple, non-gender-speicifc names that are usually no more than two syllables. If a Tortle doesn't like its name for whatever reason, it simply changes it. A Tortle can change its name as many times as it please and might go through dozens of names throughout its life. Tortles don't have surnames or family names.
Tortle Names: Baka, Damu, Gar, Grok, Gura, Ini, Jappa, Krull, Lim, Lop, Nulka, Olo, Quee, Queg, Sunny, Tibor, Uhok, Xopa, Yog
Communities and Collectives
Communities
In the rare event that more than one Tortle settles into one place and builds a community, they are often no large than 30-40 Tortles at most. These communities often exist for the sole purpose of trade, whether it be goods or services between the community and interested visitors. The population of these communities fluctuates greatly since Tortles are a naturally nomadic people. There have been occasions of whole villages or communities vanishing right off the map once the group decides to move elsewhere, or disband entirely in search of something new. These communities usually have a loose hierarchy where a small number of the Tortles form a council, or hold community meetings if the community is small enough. Leadership usually takes form of an elected council or a shaman, who usually ends up passing their duties on to another Tortle out of sheer boredom.
Pilgrimages
When a group of Tortles decides to travel together for a long enough duration, or if a community decides to move on, they form what is called a Pilgrimage. The journey is almost always never religious, and Tortles took this term from the first expeditionary races who they believed just liked to travel a lot. So, the Tortles took the term and used it to describe when a large group of their people up and leaves together on a nomadic journey. These Pilgrimages can last anywhere from a few days to a few months. The duration depends on whether the Pilgrimage begins with a destination in mind, or if they simply wish to wander to their heart's content. Pilgrimages consist of all members of the community or group, often escorted by armed warriors, or sellswords, if the former is unavailable, and led by a number of designated pathfinders that guide them all.
Religion
Tortles don't have their own pantheon of Gods, but often worship the Gods of other races. It can sometimes be as simple as them hearing stories or legends they like related to a God, and choose to worship that God. Tortles believe that the sun and moon watch over them and all creatures. On the off-chance that both are present in the sky, Tortles feel exceptionally at peace. And anxious when neither is present. If at all possible, a Tortle will avoid being underground where neither the sun nor moon are present.
Lore
Trade Economy
Due to their highly nomadic nature, early Tortles were instrumental to introducing the pricing of raw goods. Early Tortles often physically introduced one culture's goods, services, and culture to others. This allowed for them to find an average price or equal exchange of goods between all of the transactions and trade they've made. Eventually, when they'd arrive to trade or barter within a community, they would already have a set price or exchange rate of goods in mind based off of past trades. The town and settlements they visited eventually adopted the prices and rates, fine-tuned it, and created the first systems of pricing of goods and services. While some price differences between towns and cities still exists, there is a general range that everyone sticks to, to keep the economy balanced.
Food Culture
If you're to ask a Tortle for exact measurements in a dish, you'll probably get a shrug or grunt, and see them pointing at their palm. Because many early Tortles couldn't be bothered to figure out measurements, they cooked and seasoned food according to how good it tastes. This meant for a lot of food poisoning early on, but eventually resulted in delicious, hearty, sweet and savory meals. Tortles normally always cook more food than necessary either to share with a friend for later, or have some extra when they're traveling. When a Tortle invites you for a meal, it's seen as a sign of respect and friendship, as sharing a meal is an incredible intimate affair in Tortle culture. Tortles seldom use utensils to eat and will use their hands to eat to keep the intimacy of enjoying a meal. It's incredibly rude to begin eating without the permission of the host, usually the cook, or to leave food on your plate. Only take what you can eat, and eat all you take. Tortles will often go hungry to see their guests or family fed first in cases of food shortages.
A Kawali is a large feast, held normally on birthdays or holidays, where an overabundance of food is prepared. If a Tortle invites you to their Kawali it is a sincere sign of trust and friendship, and rejecting one means to reject their offer of friendship. A Kawali takes two to three days of preparation, from harvesting, gathering, hunting, and preparing the food and the site of the celebration. Music, laughter, the pattering of dancing feet, and crackling of food over an open fire fill a Kawali. Most important is what's called the center feast, a large animal such as a wild boar or large cattle, that's been hunted, stuffed, and slow-roasted over an open fire. It is a central part of the feast and can be enjoyed with any stage of the meal, including dessert.
Recipes
Turon
Ingredients
- Twelve 8-inch square spring roll wrappers
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 6 ripe plantain bananas, peeled and halved lengthwise
- 2 pieces ripe jackfruit in syrup patted dry with paper towels and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
- Vegetable oil or other neutral oil for frying
Directions
- Fill a shallow medium bowl with the brown sugar and a second smaller bowl with water. Prepare one spring roll wrapper so it resembles a diamond with the point facing you.
- Toss one banana slice in the sugar until coated on all sides. Set the sugar-coated banana slice horizontally in the center of the wrapper. Top with two slices of jackfruit.
- Starting with the point closest to you, fold the wrapper over the banana, tucking the point underneath the banana. Fold the right and left points of the wrapper over the banana like an envelope and roll tightly away from you, leaving about 2 inches of the top point exposed. Dip your finger into water, moisten the point, then finish rolling to seal. The same method you would use to roll a burrito. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and banana slices; do not let rolled Turon sit for more than 1 hour before frying. Reserve remaining brown sugar.
- Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. In a 12-inch cast iron skillet, heat 1/2 inch of oil over medium heat to 350°F. Using tongs, add half of the Turon rolls to the oil in a single layer. Fry Turon, flipping occasionally, until golden brown all over, about 3 minutes. Adjust heat as needed to return to and then maintain a frying temperature of 350°F. Transfer Turon to prepared wire rack. Return oil to 350°F and repeat with remaining Turon.
- Adjust heat to increase oil temperature to 375°F (190°C). Add reserved brown sugar to the oil, stirring with tongs to spread it out evenly (it will begin to melt and turn slightly darker in color). Working quickly, use the tongs to return Turon to the skillet, moving them around constantly and flipping once halfway through, until Turon are glazed all over in caramel, about 1 minute.
- Using tongs, return Turon to the wire rack and cool slightly until the caramel has set, about 3 minutes. Serve immediately with a scoop of your favorite ice cream.
Lechon Kawali
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. pork belly
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons whole pepper corn
- 5 pieces dried bay leaves
- 3 cups cooking Oil
- 4.25 cups Water
Directions
- Pour water on cooking pot. Boil.
- Add the pork belly and 1 tablespoon of salt. Season with pepper and bay leaves. Boil for 30 minutes or until meat gets tender.
- Remove the meat from the pot and let it cool down for a few minutes.
- Spread 1 tablespoon of salt on the pork belly. Make sure to distribute it evenly on all sections.
- Start to deep fry the boiled meat. Heat oil on a cooking pot.
- Carefully put each piece of boiled pork belly into the hot oil. Fry until crispy. Turn the meat over to completely fry the opposite side until crispy. You can use the cover of the pot to cover it while oil splatters, but do not cover completely as steam will be trapped and cause more splatters.
- Remove the meat from the cooking pot. Arrange on a wire rack to cool down. Slice according to desired portions.
- Serve with lechon sauce and white rice.