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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 26 2008, 02:08 PM (161 Views) | |
| mystickitsune | Jun 26 2008, 02:08 PM Post #1 |
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Culture- Though the culture of Elciptia is so diverse that it is very hard to give it a coherent description, there are a few things that hold true across the board. Trade- Trade in Ecliptia is usually through barter, especially in towns and villages. If you grow corn, you trade the blacksmith corn for horseshoes. But in cities and for certain things, money is silver. Silver comes in ingots, which weigh about and ounce and are cut into certain weights for use as money. A whole ingot is called a ginkou and is quite a lot of money, enough to buy a really good horse, and two ingots could buy a house in the city or a small farm. A half-ginkou, or gink, will buy you a good meal and decent room at a good inn, or a goat, or would pay the rent of a modest flat in the city. Any smaller denomination is usually pressed into coin shape. The largest coin is called a quarter, because that's what it is. A quarter might buy you a chicken, or a decent shirt, or pair of shoes, a bottle of medium wine, a simple potion, or a sandwhich from a street vendor. A jot, (an eightth of an ingot) will get you a loaf of brown bread, or an apple, or a candle, or any small necessity. A drab, half a jot, on its own might get you a glass of beer at a cheap tavern, or a chicken leg, or coouple pieces of bread, or a used article of clothing from a rag shop. A shim, half a drab, won't get you much of anything really, though at a cheap tavern they might give you a crust of bread and a place to sleep on the floor. Language-There are many different languages spoken in Ecliptia. What we will translate as 'English' is Celestial. Almost everyone speak Celestial to some degree, since it is taught in all schools. The Celestial equivalent to latin is Old Celestial. No one speaks this fluently, or natively, it is the language of High Magic. Drakine is the language of dragons, many people speak a smidgeon of this, especially if they are well-bred. Here's a list of the other languages, who speaks them and how common they are. Elvish- Elves and unicorns have this as their native tongue, but it is a very common language to know, second only to Celestial. Dwarrow-Dwarves speak this, and dragons of the line of Aireth are encouraged to learn if they can. But it is a very secret language, known to but a few. Gnomish-This is spoken by gnomes, and almost all kitsune also know it. Among other peoples it is a moderately common langauge, speakers of gnomish could expect to be at least partly understood by about a quarter of the populace. Fae-Spoken natively by fairies, naiads and dryads, and often learnt by unicorns and fauns. It is about as common as gnomish, and a good language to learn if you like to know the gossip. Merrow-The lnaguage of the depths. Merrow and selkies speak this language, as do all dragons of the Piscis and Cancean lines. Sea elves also often learn this. Out on the sea, almost everyone will speak fluent Merrow, but on land, it is vanishingly rare. Felaryn- The language of cat-poeple, spoken only by them and some dragons of Aquariat, a rare and secret language. Sylvan- Spoken by many races natively. Centaurs, kitsune, fauns, and werewolves all speak this natively. In the northern half of Ecliptia, its about as common as elvish, but in the cities and southern elciptia, only about one in ten people speak any sort of sylvan. Icaryn- The language of the bird-people of the mountains. Spoken mainly by them and by the dragons of Virgoth. Also a common musical language. It is not a secret, but it is a difficult language, and its about as common as sylvan in the city. Noxin- Spoken natively only by vampires and nagi, most other people would never even admit to knowing a single word in this language, for its aasociation with darkness. Yet many dragons of the Scorpican line speak at least some Noxin, and it is not forbidden, just rare. Food and Drink- Food on Ecliptia is very similar to food on Earth. They raise the same kinds of animals (cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens etc.) and have the same kinds of fruits and vegetables (apples, corn, oranges, broccoli, tomatoes). They also have many of the processed food that we have come to enjoy, like cheese, chocolate and pasta. The main difference is the availability and regional popularity of these foods. Most people on Ecliptia eat far less meat and dairy than we do. The reason for this is, there are no refridgerators, and only rich people can afford to have their food preserved by magic. This also means that food is available seasonally, and the cheapest food is still what is grown locally. Also things that we have come to think of as staples, like cheese and pasta are rather expensive here, because they have to be made by hand. There is no such thing as a supermarket. Meat is bought from the butcher, eggs, cheese and milk from the creamery, bread from the bakery and fruits and veggies from the greengrocer. Prepared meals may be bought in inns and restaraunts, and also from street vendors. There will be special sections in the announcements board to discuss what the common foods are for the province and season. Drinks are a completely different matter. In the city, only the very rich have running water in their homes. Most people who live in the city apartments share a sink and privy with everyone, and baths are at the local bathose, there are no showers. Privys for both the rich and poor are stone holes with maybe a polished wooden seat. The waste goes into the cistern, and the whole thing is kept clean either by magic or by servants. Toilet paper has been around for a while, but its definitely not as comfy as modern toilet tissue. So the point is, getting clean water can be an issue, especially in the city. Most people drink ale, or tea. There are of course many varities of alcoholic drinks available, including mead, wine, and whiskey. Hot liquid chocolate and mulled cider are popular winter drinks. Coffee is also a drink gaining in popularity. In more rural areas though, clean water can be got from the well, most farms have a well, and villages tend to have a common one in the center. So the drinking water is better...but the privy tends to be a bit more rustic, except in inns. Clothing- the amount and type of clothing varies greatly among the races. Humans and dwarves tend to wear the most clothes, usually a tunic, pants, boots, and a leather vest and belt, and a cloak. It is not unusual to see a woman wearing pants especially if they are working. Only noble ladies wear skirts all the time. Elves, gnomes and kitsune wear a little less, they seem to feel the weather less, so they tend to wear just a loose tunic and trews, or even just cropped pants and a vest. Fairies hardly bother to wear anything, except when at large size, and even then they are scantily clad. Felaryn generally only wear pants, though in public a female might also wear a vest. Vampires do tend to wear voluminous robes and cloaks in dark colors and icaryn are also fond of loose robes when they are dressing up. Many other races, including dragon wear nothing but jewelry. Also, occupation has a lot of effect on what a person would wear. Animals- As said before, Ecliptia has most of the same animals we do, and then they have a few, like pheonixes, chimeras and manticores, that we do not. The strange animals are rare and thought to be mage-bred. Most of the time, in the city or in the village all the animals will be ones you know. In the city, people do keep pets, especially cats. Dogs and birds are also common pets. The rich also keep fish in ponds and fountains. Some people, especially magicians, may have other, wilder pets as well. Occuptation- In Ecliptia, everyone has an occupation of some kind. If you don't contribute, you don't eat. Even the old and infirm watch the children and mend the clothes. Children do chores around the house. In the city, most people either work for the temple, or they are merchants, artists, craftsmen or servants. Of course there are a few thieves as well. The poor are cared for by the Temple occasionally, but if you don't have a job you tend to sleep on the streets. Just remember that when making a character. Equality- In Ecliptia, all races and sexes are seen as equal. In polite society, no one would expect to be put down or treated differently because of their sex or race. But some people do have prejiduces, and in some provinces the law is not always enforced in the more isolated areas. |
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2:33 PM Jul 11