The Culture
"We want to be free... Free to ride our machines without being hassled by the man!"
-Heavenly Blues in The Wild Angels
An Overview
The People
Motorcycle Clans (MC)
Religion and Mythology
History
An Overview
To best get an idea of what the Biker culture is like, you must first picture a modern-day motorcycle gang with all its stereotypes of being wild bad-asses. Then you must add an element of a "Cowboys and Indians" lifestyle, with their showdowns, ambushes and long days in the saddle. Finally you must add in some modern day militia type attitudes concerning the distrust, or even hate, of government, and pride in bearing arms to protect their rights. Mix all of this together an you have a "Stormrider".
A Stormrider's life is one of freedom, and few things upset them more than to be enclosed in walls, away from nature. However, nature can be a cruel mistress as many a Stormrider has lost their life to the River's of Fire and the Stalking Winds. Yet any true brother or sister would welcome these perils when compared to city life, where laws control the people like sheep
There is no exact date when the Stormrider culture began. People had been migrating out to ride the open plains since The Great Cataclysm, either in an attempt to escape the many new dangers the rifts brought, or later, to escape the tyranny of the rising new governments. However, over time people began to join one another, they began to share ideas and lifestyles, until eventually they were a culture unto themselves.
Motorcycle Clans (MC)
The standard social setting is the motorcycle clan. The Clan is the identity, no matter what collection of different races, ages, sexes, all are identified by what clan they belong too. Some clans are all of one race, or religion, or type (i.e. all crazy or all magicians), but the majority of MCs accept any who would ask to join. Life on the plains is a hard one, when not battling different armies (predominatly Coalition), other MCs or escaping the wrath of nature, MCs still have to sustain themselves, searching for food, fuel and ammunition. Therefore High Plains Drifters cannont sustain their numbers, and are constantly looking for those who would join their ranks.
Initiations
However, while MCs are constantly accepting new "recruits", more is required than just signing on a dotted line, individuals must first prove themselves to be accepted. Many MCs require that an individual prove themselves through a show of skill, or speed, or strength.
MC Titles
Once in an MC, there is a limited degree of heigharchy. There are only three positions within an MC, President, Warlord and Bard. Other than those three, all other were seperated into two groups, riders (and therefore fighters), and non-riders (fighters in only the most desperate of situations). Non-riders are typically women, the elders and children, though many women are riders too.
The President (or Prez) is the MC's leader, responsible for making decisions and providing supplies and equipment for the Clan. The Warlord is the Commander-in-cheif, in times of battle, it is the Warlord who is in charge, and can tell the Prez what to do. However in times of peace the warlord is typically the Prez's right-hand man. In certain cases the President is the Walord too, this happens when the best warrior also happens to be the best leader as well. Finally there is the Bard, who is simply the MC's entertainer, and is responsible for making songs and stories in praise of the MC's exploits.
Lodges
While being essentially nomadic, bikers can't ride in the snow, and therefore many have Lodges where they stay in the winter. Possession of a Lodge is at bit of a status symbol amoung MCs, those too poor to maintain a place for themselves must seek shelter in whatever they kind find. Depending on their size, an MC's Lodge can range in size from a Hotel/Saloon, to a large military style base. During the winter there is little to do. In addition, many Stormriders hate the confines of a building to begin with, and by the end of winter, many bikers are near mad from boredom and frustration. Song are sung, stories are told, games are played, yet still a good few bikers have died because those they roomed with heard them snore one too many times, or for the way they clipped their toenails. However this is a good time to fix and modify vehicles and weapons, repair armor and plan raids for the coming year.
Size, Names & Standards
The size of an MC can range from 40-50 total, into the hundreds. Anything larger is usually refered to as a Nation and is then broken in to several groups, which operate almost like seperate MCs, except all under the control of one leader.
The name of an MC can be anything from the Prez's last name, to a nickname given to them for some spectacular feat, to just something they all thought sounded cool. A MC name can change through time, however after a renaming, they tend to be considered a different MC.
To go with a name, an MC also has colors and a standard. Colors are just that, a set of colors that is used to identify different groups (like how Bloods and Crips are identified by their red and blue colors.) To accompy the name and colors is an MC standard, typically some type of banner or such, which is proudly displayed around their camp and during battle. The standard is typically associated with the name of the MC in some way, for example the Buringskulls' standard is a flaming bulls head which sits atop a pole, but other MCs, like the Smoking Mirrors might just have a collection of different animal skins and tailsmans for a standard.
Religion and Mythologies
On the Plains, the religions and belief are as numerous and different as the people themselves. However due to the Coming of Rifts and the defeat of civilization by the power of nature has caused a large conversion to basic nature worshipping religions. However, all types of religion are practiced, from Voodoo, to ancient Norse and greek religions, to standard Christianity, and any variation inbetween.
"Family" of Nature
Despite the large number of religions, certain general concepts are accepted by all, these are the "gods" of nature, Brother Wind, Sister Moon, Father Sun, Mother Earth and Mother Sky. Even those who do not believe in that religion will know and make reference to its concepts. The Religion also has certain ideas about properly avenging the dead before the can be laid to rest, a concept exploited by many as an excuse to seek revenge for fallen comrades.
more to come
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