Okay, so I wasn't really satisifed with the explanations I got for why the Jmen look like they do, so I made up my own:
The fur coats: these are robes that the Heron Guard wore during their initiation ceremonies. The rite takes place up in the mountains where it's cold. Maybe part of the initiation involves hunting down a bear and taking its skin--I can't decide on that.
The necklace: I had a really hard time with this one. In the end I decided that it was a string of bird skulls, a holdover from the days before the worship of Wyrd when the original Heron Guard were shamans of the old, earth-based religion.
The tiles: well, we all know about the tiles.
The shovel: When the Guard threw away their swords the first thing they did was bury the old emperor (who, out of lack of better evidence, I'm assuming is Ceiscoran). They needed to defend against ghols who wanted the body and they found the shovels worked admirably, so they've held on to them.
Okay, that's my take on the whole thing. I needed some kind of explanation for the levels I'm writing. I'd apreciate it if someone could either knock me down and show me why these are utterly wrong or--hoping against hope--maybe even acceptable.
Thanks!
