Birth-blade

A birth-blade is a bone blade that grows on a Uulans right hand at puberty.

Puberty ritual
During puberty, both male and female young Uulans are given a task to slay a *FAUNA* in order to prove they are worthy of it. If the test is passed, a seal of approval is tattooed on the blade. Failure just means lack of seal. Although a lack of a tattoo can bring stigma, most people will not look for it.

Law
All Uulan citizens in densly populated settlements are required by law to carry a sheathe over their birth-blades to protect others' safety. If a person is caught not carrying their sheathe in public, they are fined with '''*CURRENCY*. '''It is illegal to cut off anyone's birth-blade, and the offense is punished with the severity of a punishment for rape: banishment into the wild with the entire right arm cut-off.

Function
In most urban settlements, the blade has little to no function. In the more bucolic parts of the province, the blade is used for hunting. Birth-blades are used in murder exclusively when it is anact of personal revenge or a xenophobic, hate crime against a non-Uulan.

Stigma
In the past, people with no birth-blade were looked upon with empathy and sincere sadness because those who didn't have it were mostly victims of hate crimes, or other brutal crimes, but in recent times, younger generations started cutting them off in protest to the wars and assassinations made across the land by the hand of Uulans. Ergo, those who do not have birth-blades are considered as traitors, and may be subjected to insults or even assaults.