Editing Flamepunk: The Hadar Families (section)

==Hadar Culture==

===Honor among the Hadar===

There is a saying that there is no honor among thieves, but rest assured this quaint idiom would be entirely foreign to the Hadar.

The central pillars of Hadar belief is honor, known as ''ird'' (for women) and ''sharaf'' (for men). There are distinctions between these two, most notably the fact that a woman's ''ird'', once lost, can never be regained. Since women own all property within Hadar society, as long as their ''ird'' is intact, the loss of ''ird'' can pitch an entire family group onto the street. By contrast, a man's ''sharaf'' can be lost and regained. In both cases, Hadar's honor is her unquestioned word and unimpeachable integrity, the promise that when she says a thing will be done, it is done. 

Honor is so essential to the way of Hadar life that no insult is greater than impugning the honor of another Hadar. In a sense, the denigration of one's honor is worse than murder: a Hadar without honor is no Hadar, and when his flame goes out, he will be spat upon by his mother and sisters, and forgotten. 

On the other hand, the Hadar rarely expect non-Hadar to understand, much less adhere to, their unique code. The word of an outsider is worth only as much as they can provide to back it up. It is the rare person who has earned the respect of a Hadar to the point that their word is good enough. 

===Conflicts of Honor===

Since Hadar families are often in conflict with each other, it is inevitable that one Hadar will insult the honor of another. In most cases, questions of honor are settled in the old-fashioned way, by fists, feet, and blades. A savage beating, or even a murder, is by no means an unusual event among the Hadar.

The problem with such a rigid code of honor is that such exchanges, between two individuals, can quickly cascade into a blood feud between Families. The Hadar have, over the millennia, recognized that it was not always in the best interest of the Families to allow such endless feuding to continue to the detriment of the Hadar people. Avenging one's honor is one thing, but to act like blood-crazed savages is unbecoming. Thus, for those Hadar who seek it - or are forced to seek it by family - there exist a set of traditions and customs to resolve disputes and questions of honor among the Families.

Such arbitrations are handled by Family elders, and their word is law. If both parties accept the final ruling of the elders, then the conflict is over. However, it is the right of the parties to the dispute to singly or together refuse to accept a ruling from the elders. In such a case, the parties must undergo a trial. This trial may be an ordeal - usually painful, such as the ''bisha'a'' lie detection test - that both parties must undergo and be judged on; it may be a formal trial wherein witnesses and testimony are presented; or, in some cases, it is a simple duel. The most painful ordeals and duels are reserved for the most grievous conflicts.