The anfylk of spring were the first of the fylkin breeds to be created. As a breed they’re intensely emotional and energetic. They’re overall happy and cheerful and while they do get upset, angry and sad they rarely stay that way for long. They have a generally cheerful outlook on life and they’re as likely to tell stories about things to come as about past adventures.
Marriage and Love[]
Even though they are the first breed of anfylk the Spring Fylk are the ones least bound by traditions and conventions. This is most apparent when looking at families and relations among spring fylkin. It is not uncommon that a Spring Fylk male fathers children on more than one female. Correspondingly it’s not uncommon that the children of a female Spring Fylk have different fathers.
Despite all this Spring Fylk still marry for life. The institution of marriage provides stability and security for a family, even though not all children may share the same biological father. Spring Fylk view marriage as a union of two souls in lifelong friendship rather than love. The sentiment is that love is too precious and fragile for it to be limited to only one person.
When one of the fylkin in a married couple finds new love it is not seen as a cause for jealousy but rather as a joy to share. It is also not a mark of shame for a fylkin when their partner finds a new love, rather it’s seen as a sign their partner is a loving and compassionate fylkin.
Hobbies and interests[]
Spring Fylk are known for their creativity and their penchant for the whimsical. Their burrows are sprawling mazes of tunnels and chambers and their gardens often have little labyrinths created from arrangements of shrubberies or flowerbeds.
Gardening is highly respected both as a hobby and as an occupation. Many spring fylk villages set aside areas of land to use for gardening by fylkin that don’t have access to their own gardens.
The celebrations of the spring fylk involve a lot of singing and dancing. The theater is a popular source of entertainment both for audience and performers. Respectable fylkin only perform in their home village but for unmarried fylk of age it is acceptable to tour and to perform plays in neighboring villages.
Worship[]
Apart from smoking the pipe the main forms of worship for Spring Fylk are dancing, singing, lovemaking and tending to bonsai trees.
It is customary among Spring Fylk that the parents present a young fylkin that’s completed their coming of age ritual with a bonsai tree. The tree is traditionally supposed to have been taken as a sapling from the bonsai tree belonging to the parent at the time the young fylkin was born. It is said that the tree can trace its lineage back through the ages by following the lineage of the fylkin it belongs to. At the gifting of the tree a story is told about how the sapling it came from can be traced back to a tree planted by Anna herself on the morning of the day she created the first of the Spring Fylk. This probably isn’t true except for in a few rare cases, but that’s beside the point.
Tending to the tree is a relaxing pastime that can be engaged in all year round. The little tree is also often used as a focus for reflection or meditation.
In modern society[]
As a general rule spring fylk avoid large cities. They prefer living in burrows in little countryside villages. When Spring Fylk do live in cities they tend to favor small cheap apartments. This is so that they can afford to rent a spot in one of the gardening districts at the edge of our just outside of town. A gardening district is an area where Spring Fylk and other gardening enthusiasts can rent a small area of land to use as their garden.
Those who are not able to afford a spot in a gardening district may volunteer for park maintenance duty, taking care of one of the public parks of the city. This involves a certain amount of gardening but also requires the fylk to keep the park clean and tidy, emptying rubbish bins and disposing of dog poo. Park maintenance duty is not a respected form of gardening but for less fortunate Spring Fylk in the cities it may be the only option available.
Spring Fylk living in cities tend to prefer jobs that involve being outdoors or which gives them the opportunite to express themselves creatively.