Imperial Culture

*See also: Inecurian Cuisine*

The Nesarian Empire is home to many diverse peoples and cultures, but thousands of years of intermingling has led to many aspects of their cultures blending. This predominantly took the form of Elvic culture - specifically, Nesarian culture - bleeding out into others, however the non-Elvic cultures have also had a profound effect upon the collective "Imperial culture".

Generally speaking, it was only those cultures which were similar to each other to begin with which experienced any significant degree of mixing; Kutaeoha, Kalzuranur and Chalparna all have cultures quite distinct from the rest of Inecuria, meaning they inevitably had the least influence outside their borders and were influenced the least by outsiders, meanwhile there was notable cultural exchange between other countries, and all the Elvic countries had a significant degree of cross-cultural pollination.

## Hairstyles

Hair is closely associated with identity in all the Imperial cultures, and there are many common traits shared among the nations which were present even before unification under the Empire, strongly suggesting they originated in ancient pre-Annihilation civilisations and were continued by their descendants.

Imperial people, following the example of Elvetan teaching and Elvic culture, strongly oppose the idea of dyeing hair, particularly in unnatural colours, and particularly to hide greyness; most Elvetans cite the verse in the Ticai Baca stating that "white hair is a crown of honour".

Though most modern Imperial people no longer adhere to the traditional hairstyles of their particular nation, and tend to have whatever hair they think looks nicest, there are still many who do.

### Warrior's Ponytail

In virtually all Imperial nations with few exceptions, a ponytail gathered low (at the nape of the neck) is the symbol of a warrior. Modern Imperial people still take this seriously, and show serious disapproval to civilians who wear this hairstyle.

Traditionally, soldiers who flee from battle have their ponytails sliced off, as do those who are about to be executed for military crimes. Cutting the ponytail off a soldier who died in battle is regarded as an extremely disrespectful and insulting act.

The warrior's ponytail is almost always left loose, though from the 17th to late 19th centuries it was fashionable to tie a thin ribbon around it. The Asmocarians historically braided their ponytails, though this fell in and out of fashion over the centuries.

### Masculine Hairstyles

With the exception of the warrior's ponytail, the hair of men tends not to vary much across the Empire. Calsunarians and Kuahi Orcs tend to sport the shortest hair, and Elvic folk generally have the longest (reaching as low as the chin). Only the Kuahi males can be said to have a truly distinctive hairstlye, as their hair is traditionally clean-shaven at the sides but long on top, tied back either in a ponytail (for warriors) or a tight bun (for civilians). The men of the other nations tend not to have a distinct manner of styling their hair besides length.

In most countries, facial hair is traditionally grown out, but kept short. The Kalzuranuris and Chalparnis favour moustaches over full bears, and only a few nations traditionally have clean-shaven men, which are generally those who have very weak facial hair to begin with; the Elavitan and Eshérian Elves, the Black Elves, and the northern coastal Rulcarians. Theysmar men seemingly have no preference, as both bearded and clean-shaven Theysmarel are common, but the *Linggeythel* (abnormally tall and strong males with stronger hair and more horns) are seemingly exclusively bearded.