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some of my own borrower lore!
Part 1.
🪲 above all else, borrowers are practical. Borrower culture can be fragmented as there’s so much space and slow communication between colonies and families, but practicality is the one thing that draws them all together. Function over form, always. Of course this is often a source of contention between older and younger generations.
🪲 bugs and small animals are so, so important to them. Mice are especially a popular source of meat, leather, and fur and sometimes also pets! Bugs are (sorry) a very important source of protein and wings/elytra/mandibles etc are often utilized with clothing and decor.
🪲 there are even borrowers who make a living breeding and trading different kinds of bugs. There is a specific species of glowworm/firefly that are exclusively borrower-bred and they make for great lighting implements in homes and dark places! let’s just say the gal who first bred them is something of a Nikola Tesla among borrowers.
🪲 borrowers are incredible at making things. You would be surprised at the things they can make! From a very young age they’re taught how to weave, sew, knit, build furniture, utilize houseland utilities (diverting drinking water for example), make secret passageways, make practical tools, and even make things with clay!
🪲 they are selectively social and sometimes nomadic. While some will choose to live in small underground or even forest colonies, many families elect to choose a “houseland” of their own. This houseland (part of/or a full human house) has many perks for a borrower, but they must also always be ready to leave at a moment’s notice if things go wrong.
🪲 as I said, borrowers are practical. However they’re also extremely resourceful and ingenious. There are borrower trade routes all over neighborhoods and towns and they trade so many different goods. Clay, wood, thread, and animal products are the most sought after. They can also send messages (mail, essentially) this way. Some families may be cut off from this network, but to others it’s a lifeline. It’s especially helpful for finding/corresponding with potential mates or long distance family.
🪲 they have their own slang and use of language! While many borrowers’ first language is that of their human hosts (this is a practical advantage) they also have their own languages and words for things. A human’s house is “houseland”, their own home may be called a “wall-nook, wall-place, floor-place” or any number of useful designations. “House” wouldn’t be a practical word for it as that doesn’t designate where it is. A human house/building is a landscape to them and this reflects in their language.
🪲 they have their own code language that is full of symbols to communicate. A borrower may leave a symbol in a house that means “danger, was seen here” or they may utilize symbols outdoors to point travelers in the right direction i.e. “food/lodging here, borrower family nearby ” or “danger, large animal spotted here/contaminated water or food/cats!!”
🪲 (most) borrowers have a complicated symbiotic relationship with humans. They’re revered by some in a way, but not in a religious sense. They’re feared more than anything and being “seen” is not only something to avoid, but it’s practically indoctrinated into a borrower from childhood that it’s a death sentence. Having any contact with a human is the biggest taboo a borrower can break and it will absolutely get them ostracized/exiled. It’s a very serious matter.
🪲 (most) borrowers don’t have religion, but the closest thing to it is definitely their relationship to humans and the big world around them. They know they’re inherently in danger from these things but that they also need them to survive, so it’s a complex relationship.