The Seven Bells
Lore
When one thinks of the wick tribes of Anaxas, one tends to think of the nomads of the Red Crow or the Yellow Eye. One rarely thinks of the cities and towns. And one may never think of Vienda at all. Yet even in that great city, full of galdori politicos, human merchants and laborers, and unaffiliated wicks, there are still tribes. Even if they do not call themselves such.
The Seven Bells is one such cryptic tribe of Vienda. They have no single leader, no recognized Durg. Instead there are the Aunties and the Uncles, the Grandfathers, and most of all, the Grandmothers. The eldest, savviest women of the Seven Bells are its foremost judges, law givers, and leaders in times of plenty and times of crisis. The Grandmothers, assembled as The Confabulation are the arbiters of squabbles, adjudicators of disputes, and the arrangers of various matters. Woe to anyone who crosses a Confabulation’s decisions.
Various clans and families make up the Seven Bells, and each of these has a number of elders who might sit in a Confabulation to sort out some dispute or other. It is more or less understood as ‘they way things are done’ rather than any sort of formalized political structure. Family business. Confabulations are not exactly official groups, just a collection, mostly of grannies, who come together to sort things out amongst their families. Still, there is a sense that the Seven Bells is a distinct entity, a lineage and a set of customs, practices, lore, and ties that have their origins in the murky past.
The exact origins of the Seven Bells is not clear. They seem to be autochthonous to Vienda and have no clear relation or affiliation with the more nomadic tribes. Certainly references to them only began appearing in works from the last five hundred years, but descriptions of clans and families of Viendan wicks whose mode of life and customs are akin to the Seven Bells go back to some the earliest of urban chronicles.
Even the name is subject to debate, at least among the Seven Bells themselves and the few scholars who have made it their work to study this crypto-tribe. It is generally thought that the name arises from the tradition of teaching children how to work a crowd as pickpockets by affixing seven bells to a dummy and having the child practice picking all the pockets until they can reliably ring none of the bells. Others argue that it was the union of seven clans of wicks within Vienda that led to the name, and the pick-pocketing tradition fixed upon seven bells as a result.
By tradition, the Seven Bells are concentrated in occupations of semi-legality, outright crime, and various intertwined occupations. Scrap dealers, pawn brokers, scroungers, smugglers, spivs, fences and thieves are all time honored professions. Skilled artisan trades, especially locksmithing, jewelry making, and clockmaking are not uncommon and indeed are highly prised. They do adhere, not so much to a strict code of conduct, but rather to a set of precepts built up over the years to guide their actions and to encode useful advice in aphorisms and stock phrases. Some are now obscure or seemingly meaningless, others are quite practical. It covers thievery, commerce, social relations, and familial ties.
Membership in the Seven Bells was traditionally matrilineal, but in recent centuries it has more or less become bi-lineal. Any close descendant of a Grandmother or Grandfather is considered to be a natural member. Further, unlike the nomadic tribes, there is a strong tradition of adoption in the Seven Bells, so much so that there are a non-trivial number of human members, both as recent adoptees and as the descendants of adoptees of yore.
The Seven Bells tends to be endogamous, forming a distinct community with traditional names, familial bonds, rituals, and customs all their own. Still, they are very much a people of the city, and they pride themselves in their ancient connection to Vienda and as storehouses of local lore.
The Seven Bells is one such cryptic tribe of Vienda. They have no single leader, no recognized Durg. Instead there are the Aunties and the Uncles, the Grandfathers, and most of all, the Grandmothers. The eldest, savviest women of the Seven Bells are its foremost judges, law givers, and leaders in times of plenty and times of crisis. The Grandmothers, assembled as The Confabulation are the arbiters of squabbles, adjudicators of disputes, and the arrangers of various matters. Woe to anyone who crosses a Confabulation’s decisions.
Various clans and families make up the Seven Bells, and each of these has a number of elders who might sit in a Confabulation to sort out some dispute or other. It is more or less understood as ‘they way things are done’ rather than any sort of formalized political structure. Family business. Confabulations are not exactly official groups, just a collection, mostly of grannies, who come together to sort things out amongst their families. Still, there is a sense that the Seven Bells is a distinct entity, a lineage and a set of customs, practices, lore, and ties that have their origins in the murky past.
The exact origins of the Seven Bells is not clear. They seem to be autochthonous to Vienda and have no clear relation or affiliation with the more nomadic tribes. Certainly references to them only began appearing in works from the last five hundred years, but descriptions of clans and families of Viendan wicks whose mode of life and customs are akin to the Seven Bells go back to some the earliest of urban chronicles.
Even the name is subject to debate, at least among the Seven Bells themselves and the few scholars who have made it their work to study this crypto-tribe. It is generally thought that the name arises from the tradition of teaching children how to work a crowd as pickpockets by affixing seven bells to a dummy and having the child practice picking all the pockets until they can reliably ring none of the bells. Others argue that it was the union of seven clans of wicks within Vienda that led to the name, and the pick-pocketing tradition fixed upon seven bells as a result.
By tradition, the Seven Bells are concentrated in occupations of semi-legality, outright crime, and various intertwined occupations. Scrap dealers, pawn brokers, scroungers, smugglers, spivs, fences and thieves are all time honored professions. Skilled artisan trades, especially locksmithing, jewelry making, and clockmaking are not uncommon and indeed are highly prised. They do adhere, not so much to a strict code of conduct, but rather to a set of precepts built up over the years to guide their actions and to encode useful advice in aphorisms and stock phrases. Some are now obscure or seemingly meaningless, others are quite practical. It covers thievery, commerce, social relations, and familial ties.
Membership in the Seven Bells was traditionally matrilineal, but in recent centuries it has more or less become bi-lineal. Any close descendant of a Grandmother or Grandfather is considered to be a natural member. Further, unlike the nomadic tribes, there is a strong tradition of adoption in the Seven Bells, so much so that there are a non-trivial number of human members, both as recent adoptees and as the descendants of adoptees of yore.
The Seven Bells tends to be endogamous, forming a distinct community with traditional names, familial bonds, rituals, and customs all their own. Still, they are very much a people of the city, and they pride themselves in their ancient connection to Vienda and as storehouses of local lore.
Being a set of Traditional Surnames
- Arkwright
- Baltholover
- Blackwater
- Catchpole
- Compeyson
- Craddock
- Dazley
- Dove
- Fletcher
- Finching
- Gride
- Lonsdale
- Moriarty
- Pim
- Plunkett
- Pulford
- Raglan
- Roake
- Shand
- Sneed
- Trig
- Turpin
- Warrow
- Wilde
A Sample from the Litany of the Seven Bells
- A wise thief does not steal at home
- A proper thief never steals from family
- A good thief is a good neighbor
- Be wary of too-lucrative jobs. They come with heavy costs
- No chain shall bind you, no fetters will mar your wrists (taken literally by many in that all rings, bracelets and other jewelry are never solid, but always have a gap)
- The bigger the smile, the sharper the knife
- First and foremost, plan your escape
- Never steal more than you can carry
- Revenge is a sucker’s game
- A threat to family is a threat to all
- Never forget how to dance
- Mistrust, but verify
- Never trust a man who always smiles
- No one can steal what is in your head
- If you cannot act in silence, do not act at all
- Be a rumor, not a legend
- All legends come to a bad end
- If you give a gift, do not expect one in return
- A loyal ally is worth more than any job
- Never be afraid to refuse an offer
