Cultures on Jesenreth
For the sake of brevity and practicality, this essay will describe the cultures of various societies of Jesenreth in regards to five elements: food, clothing, the arts, customs, and taboos.
Ploi Drajit
Food
Being a huge, cosmopolitan metropolis, Ploi Drajit has cuisine from all over the world. At the same time, this fusion has also produced some dishes considered native to the city. Examples include preddil, a soup of boiled eggs and parsnips in a beer-infused broth, brekko pie, made with steamed crab meat, coriander, and olives, and blueberry wine.
Clothing
All manner of beings dressed in all manner of ways can be found in the big city, but normal dress for commoners is considered to be knee-length, belted tunics in dark colors and leather breeches for men, and straight, unbelted, light-colored dresses for women, possibly with one of a variety of hats. Men do not wear hats, but can wear scarves wrapped over the head. Nobility and the rich tend to wear finer versions of the same, often with elaborately decorated capes and obvious jewelry. Everyone wears heavy wool cloaks in the cold, and sandals and boots are the most common footwear.
The Arts
Entertainment for commoners typically goes no farther than in-home storytellers or musicians, and perhaps occasionally a visit to the fighting pit or colosseum spectacle. Most of them cannot read and have little time for art. The middle-class supports a vibrant book trade, and the concerts of bards. The rich love huge orchestra performances and elaborate balls and masques. Ploi Drajit is a city poor in public art, and busking is illegal.
Customs
When Drajitites meet each other, they typically hold up open left palms without touching, and say "Well seen, Gent/Lady". Citizens tend to stand close to each other and speak softly, raising one's voice or shouting is considered rude. When speaking to someone above your station, never make direct eye contact, and always sit with both feet on the ground. The work week is six days, the seventh day is for religion, and the eighth and ninth days are for rest. Walk quickly, and always carry pips for beggars, as giving to one brings Aloo's blessing.
Taboos
Don't discuss work outside of it. Don't be rude to a wealthy merchant or noble. Don't travel while sick. Never eat with your left hand, even if left-handed.
Dnalor
Food
Most Dnalor elves are vegetarian or vegan, but a few also eat fish and insects. They gather their fruit and vegetables from the forest and their gardens, and eat much of it raw, cooking only occasionally soups or stews with it. They are very fond of sweet wines.
Clothing
The elves dress simply but beautifully, with both sexes wearing elegant belted robes in a wide variety of colors, with brown, white, and deep green being most common colors in Dnalor. They commonly go bare foot, or wear only thin sandals.
The Arts
Elves are greater lovers of all forms of art, with all of them spending at least some of their long lives producing it. Many of the world's best poets, painters, playwrights, musicians, and sculptors are/were elven, and art training rivals swordplay and magic as the primary subject of an elven education. Art is found everywhere in their cities.
Customs
When meeting, elves briefly embrace each other, with no words. They do not marry, but simply "partner" for the hundred or so years necessary to produce and raise children (rarely more than two) to adulthood, and then separate without acrimony to return to their previous pursuits. They treat every elf as an equal, even when social stations are different. Other races may be looked down on as too flighty, shallow, or short-lived, but more pitied than hated. All genders are absolutely equal.
Taboos
Dnalor elven taboos include the eating of poultry or red meat, the color purple, and wearing hats.
Ufrealor
Food
The dwarves are fond of rich, hearty, strongly flavored food and drinks, often too spicy hot or too bitter to other races. Their staple foods are pork, mushrooms, cheese, and various kinds of thick greens that grow on mountain sides and hot peppers, all of which are invariably made into stews. They brew and consume huge amounts of beer, cider, and mead, and a few make wine.
Clothing
Dwarves dress primarily in wool, leather, and metal, heavy, thick, course garments in dark colors. Other races think dwarves live in their armor, but this is not exactly true. At home they may wear a simple shirt and trousers, or sleeveless robes. As they are usually working on something, dwarves often wear traveler's clothes, merchant's finery, aprons, eye protection, etc. Dwarven armor-making is very advanced, and considered by many to be the finest you can buy.
The Arts
Dwarves consider architecture, stone carving, jewelry-making, and weapon and armor making to be their primary arts, and they consider theirs to be the finest anywhere. Dwarves also have long traditions of oral epic poetry and martial song, and huge bodies of literature in those fields. Most armies have at least one warpoet as part of their company, and some have entire bands that march in to battle playing.
Customs
Dwarves employ very firm handshakes and hard back slaps when they meet each other, accompanied by loud greetings such as "Hail to you, old graybeard!" or "Well met, rock head!". They are very work-and-family oriented, value hard work and punctuality, and tend to be taciturn and no-nonsense. They don't get most humor, and tend to take things seriously and personally, holding grudges but also having very long friendships and debts. Once it is done with a dwarf, for good or ill, it is always done. Honor is all to a dwarf. They tend to either not marry at all, wedded to their jobs, or marry young and have large families. Male dwarves always have long beards, female dwarves always have long head hair, and both take much pride in their hair.
Taboos
Never touch a dwarf's beard or hair without permission, or insult his or her family, clan, or stronghold, unless you want to be in an immediate fight. Dwarves despise cowardice and betrayal, worst of all by other dwarves.
Akupura Sidol
Food
Tortles eat a large amount of seafood and ocean plants, supplemented by vegetables and fruits grown in their gardens. They rarely consume land animals. They also have a surprisingly vibrant and varied cuisine, with chefs and cooks having an honored place in their society.
Clothing
Due to having a shell, tortles wear little clothing, as they don't need it. In cold climates they will wear cloaks, and sometimes they drape themselves in fine sashes, scarves, or veils for fashion's sake. More common as an adornment than cloth is paint and tattoos, which they apply liberally. They wear sheathes for carrying weapons, and occasionally boots.
The Arts
Tortles have a rich tradition of visual art, particularly mural painting, architecture, and sculpture, and a huge literature of stories, but seldomly create music, and claim to not really understand it or its affect on other sapient creatures. They consider tattooing to be a high art form.
Customs
When tortles meet, their greeting is to stare into each other's eyes for a few seconds, without words or contact. They have nothing resembling small talk, and are notably blunt and earnest in their speech. They are prone to long, comfortable moments of silence, and then speaking again as if they had never stopped. They are very honest, and expect it of others. They mate early and for life, usually having several sets of children, though they are comfortable being away from their mates for long periods of time pursing different interests. They experience no loneliness in this, and fall back into married life easily. Generally they take all things calmly and are never rushed. They are a proud people however, and meet aggression with considerable force.
Taboos
The openness of tortles means little is taboo, save dishonesty, and possibly unnecessary rushing.
