The Sigil

The sigil is the physical symbol of a free person's Oathbond. It is usually worn as a necklace or ring, or carried as a tattoo. The Oathbond should be honored whether or not a sigil is worn, but those who have one hold it very dear.

Design

The family emblem sits at the center. The color or background signals the wearer's city; the accent signals their station. There is no element representing the self — that is simply who the wearer is.

Placement

The neck and nape are never used for a sigil tattoo. That area is reserved for the half-circle mark of a slave, and no free person of any city would wear any tattoo there. See Slavery.

Loss and insult

To lose or damage one's own sigil is a grave misfortune. To steal or destroy another's is a grave insult — one of the few that will almost certainly end in a caeshmae (see The Duel).

At death

A sigil is usually buried with its owner or ritually destroyed. In Eldershore, the sigils of high-ranking members of a line are often enshrined as relics.

See also

• The Oathbond
• Slavery — the marks that replace it