The Elbéar consider themselves the One Tribe, which all humans in the City belong to. Although there are other groups out there, the Elbéar see them all as temporary off-shoots, and when the day comes and the City begins moving again, they will all join together once more into a single caravan. Currently, the Elbéar make their home in the Corral – the ancestral home of the tribe, where every clan has its own assigned Stack and every street and square has a name passed down through the generations.
The Elbéar are led by the chieftain – a man or woman with the skills and will needed to lead the tribe and to help them survive in a City that often seems to actively want to harm them. Whenever necessary, the Council of Elders - the matriarchs and patriarchs of the many clans that make up the tribe - elect a new chieftain to lead the tribe. For the sake of stability, that chieftain is often the son or daughter of the previous chieftain; provided they have proven their worth.
The Elbéar know two things for sure: one is the Work and the other is the Debt. The Work is what every Elbéar is expected to do for the City – every day, come rain or shine, wercrus are sent out into the City to perform whatever tasks the Bozes require. The Loretellers, going back to the First Elders, speak of the Work, and although not even the shamans fully understand what exactly it is they do, all Elbéar know the Work is of utmost importance, and the foundation of the compact they have with the Bozes.
The Debt is something that is both communal and individual. The shamans claim that when the Hunger came, and the other Cities came alive and consumed their inhabitants, the ancestors of the Elbéar were saved by the Bozes. In return, they do the Work, as a tribe. But every Elbéar must also individually work off their Debt: those that can participate in wercrus, but equally important are those who stay behind to grow food, take care of the children or mend clothes. They say that one day the Elbéar will have finally worked off their Debt, and that day they will be permitted to leave the City.
When not doing the Work or otherwise paying down the Debt, the Elbéar pride themselves on their oral tradition: their Loretellers can recite stories dating back to the earliest days of the tribe, to the time of the First Elders, and every Elbéar tribesman enjoys sitting down around a campfire to share a story. Storytelling serves two purposes: one is entertainment, and the other is education. In a City that is ever-changing, where its very fabric is alive, a story correctly told can save lives – or just provide an evening of escape. Stories of beautiful Sirens luring men to their doom, glowing Leviathans sailing between skyscrapers, Dragons in the sky and golem-apes with golden eyes looking for the chosen one…