Relarian Day-to-Day Life

## Clothing

Relarian people are often recognized by their olive or slightly darker complexions. Both women and men keep their black or dark brown hair long and curly. They will often use oils and other fragrant substances that will enhance the shine and glow of their hair.

Relarian clothing is usually earth-toned for every class but the Royalty. Loose, comfortable linen or cotton tops are typical for women and dark brown or black pants are common for women and men. Occasionally, richer women who are not of the Royal class will wear dark purple or dark green buttoned tops and closely-fitted, floor-length skirts, but they are typically of the merchant class in Sepkuneo.

For formal occasions, women will usually wear floor-length, loosely fitting dresses. The necklines will often plunge fairly low, and it is not considered unseemly or improper. Formal dresses will usually be dark burgundy, canary yellow, or pale pink, for joyous affairs, and pale blue or grey for more somber occasions. Men will typically wear simple, black, loose-fitting buttoned tops and close-fitting black pants with knee-length leather boots for all formal occasions.

Women keep their ears pierced and often wear wooden earrings and other jewelry. Some metals can be found in the mountains to the North of Nuveneo, and those are often hammered into jewelry as well.

Yellow and red are the colors of royalty, and Relarian royals typically wear very bright, vibrant colors. Both men and women of Relarian royal background typically pierce their left nostril around the age of 13 and wear a small gold hoop throughout their lives.

Owing to the hot, damp climate, many of those not of the royal class living on the borders of the Cesoln Jungle in Baenneo wear particularly loose-fitting, sleeveless garments in a deep black or dark green and do not wear jewelry or any additional adornment.

## Diet

The diet of Relarian is mostly based on local variations of rice, lentils, wetlands-friendly vegetables, and fruits. *Chili* is the most common type of rice eaten by people of all classes. This is a type of black rice that is grown throughout Zikwimmeo.

There is almost no meat in Relarian diet, although water-based animals are occasionally eaten, particularly certain species of crabs and shrimp of the Tylhr Bay that are transported throughout the kingdom. To the North, Sepkuneo has a moderate shrimping industry as well to provide seafood to the northern regions of the kingdom.

The only meat consumed with any regularity in Relarian are during religious ceremonies, particularly preparing Relarian armies before going into battle. The primary ancient Relarian religion, *Baenyok*, the Religion of the Two Forests, suggests that eating the flesh of land-dwelling creatures increases a being’s aggressive and primal urges, and should therefore only be done in a time of violence.

## Climate

Relarian has a very damp climate, and the Cesoln Jungle region is, indeed, classified as subtropical (in places, tropical). The large number of water bodies throughout the kingdom prevents the temperature from getting too low, even during “colder” months, and except for the tallest mountains in the North, the kingdom almost never gets any snow. Additionally, the ample geographical and geological structures - mountains, forests, jungles, and bodies of water - mean that the temperature doesn’t fluctuate too dramatically between night and day.

The Forest of Mist is the only region of Relarian that experiences abnormally low temperatures, attributed to the dark, mysterious mist that is constantly settled over the trees of the forest. Occasionally, the mist creeps beyond the borders of the forest, and settlements that the mist touches experience bizarre, dark events. For example, in the year 1003 AE, mist settled over the village of Resa, immediately to the East of the forest, for 3 days.

During that time, 15 villagers turned up dead, slaughtered in a ritualistic fashion with precise cuts that removed their livers and lungs. Local superstition caused the villagers to surmise that the *Machawerin*, a legendary witch of the Forest of Mist, had crawled out of her home in the trees of the forest to find suitable sacrifices to renew various parts of her body. According to local beliefs, this ritual, completed every 7-12 years, allows the witch to live for eternity, refreshing her body as organs age and die.

Even two weeks later, when the authorities of Sepkuneo who were investigating the deaths, discovered an unknown nude, disheveled man living just inside the forest eating roasted remains of a liver, the people said that the man was a servant of the Machawerin, and they had given him liver to eat as a reward for helping them in a dark but important task.

## Arts & Culture

Although there are very localized music and dance traditions in Relarian, they are not very popular throughout Atemnity. Most local towns have their own unique style of dance and the different towns and districts often have dance competitions to show the unique styling of their own traditional folk dances.

### Clayware and Dishware

Relarian is best-known for its exported clayware, the *aruchyanae* made from clay found in the Tylhr Gulf. Art as a whole in Relarian tends to be utilitarian more than aesthetic, including other forms of metal and clay bowls and utensils.

There is also a popular form of painted bowl and plateware known as *akwayanae* that feature intricate scenes of Relarian agrarian life painted with a “watercolor” aesthetic. These are actually most often created by non-farmers, and are therefore relatively controversial, as some claim that it takes advantage of the agrarian way of life for financial gains. *Akwayanae* is most often painted by young, artistic royals and distributed by merchants.

### Amulets and Religious Icons

Older and more modern religious statues and amulets are also popular both for spiritual and superstitious purposes. Some members of the Royalty also use statues of older gods or divine symbols and motifs as fashionable pieces for their houses. Common people also purchase these items, particularly defensive amulets and fertility totems, for superstition, even if they do not practice older religions.

### Music

Relarian is not well-known in Atemnity for its performing arts, but it is popular in local communities to play the *kiitim*, an ancient instrument similar to the sitar, and to accompany it with local Relerian folk songs. Most taverns and pubs will feature a *kiitimer* or *kiitimerin*, a player of this instrument who has often been trained for over fifteen years.

## Transportation

Infrastructure in Relarian is overseen by the Malayikim, which oversees the maintenance of all roads and public throughways. One of the most important maintained transport routes in Relerian is the system of ferry boats that runs between the shore of Zikwimmeo and the capital district of Baenneo.

There is also a single military-run boat that runs between Zikwimmeo and Chexenmochatt’ once every month to bring new prisoners to the island, as appropriate.

Portals in Relarian are strictly monitored in Baenkatior by the portal control office, the *Ammeireo*. An officer working in this office is called an *Ammeiriteen (*plural *Ammeiriteenin*). The Ammeireo reviews and processes all portal requests and issue declarations, either approving, declining, or requesting more information about the request, as appropriate. The office also reviews all instances of illegal portals, tracking those who portal successfully to issue warnings or sentences, or traveling to places with specific portalling freezes to release those who have been trapped between portals.

## Communications

The most common communication system in Relarian is the *paechim*, a magically-paired set of ink pens. Once the two pens are attuned to one another through a spell cast by a Guardian, whenever one of the pens begins writing something, regardless of where it is in Atemnity, the other pen will begin writing as well. Typically, every settlement (or a settlement nearby) has a *paechubim*, a “pair house” much like a telegraph office or a post office where one can rent a pen paired with another pen in the desired location to send a message or report.

There are also carefully-monitored covert lines that allow Konassors/Kuinessuir and other government or military figures to communicate discreetly in a way that automatically encodes the message on the other side so that only a trained Guardian can read the message and disseminated to the recipients as appropriate.

In the event that a message cannot be conveyed via *paechim* or a package needs to be sent, one of the more lucrative private businesses that can be set up in Relerian is that of horse freight. This business is known as a *trierajim*, or a “horse delivery” system. These businesses typically employ between 5 and 15 riders who travel with cargo for a fee, a slightly larger one for private delivery and a lower one if the package can be included on a trip to the general region with other packages and parcels.

Larger *trierajim* often keep to one or two *cifim*, rhinoceros-type animals with three horns up their snouts that are common in Zikwimmeo. These beasts are able to both carry and pull much larger loads than horses.

As portalling is so strictly monitored and controlled in Relerian, those sending sensitive material that they want to track often do so with a portal messenger, as the messenger’s movements will be on record in case anything happens to the package.

## Finance

Finance is only controlled in Relarian in order to meet basic requirements of Atemnian currency. Previously a barter system was in place, and while the Konassim may be called in specific disputes, individuals were trusted to conduct their own bartering, whether it was through pieces of gold, fabric, food, or any other material.

There is an Overseer of Finance in Baenkatior that monitors use of currency in the kingdom. His or her office also determines any issues of counterfeit or accusations of theft or fraud during bartering. Most of these disputes are settled by local authorities and the local Konassim, but may be elevated to the capital in the event of exorbitant forgery or theft.

## Religion

The primary religion of Relarian is known as *Baenyok*. This faith is more nominally or culturally practiced in major cities now, but many in rural areas still follow the religion strictly. More information about the religion can be found in the library, but some of the major characteristics of Baenyok are:

1. Belief that the Forest of Mist is the Cradle of Civilization and the foundation of life on Atemnity.
2. Civilization is protected by a wise, vengeful, and protective ancestral spirit named Q’luryan who lives in the forest.
3. Priests or ministers are not necessary to communicate with the spirits, so there are no priests or priestesses in the Baenyok faith. However, those who are more connected to magic are often more connected to various divine beings.
4. It is generally in poor taste to ingest the flesh of another animal, as humans ingest the stress and fear of other animals; a hearty and plant-based diet is the best diet for one keeping all of his or her tempers at ease

Baenyok’s most holy book, *Q’luryan Qaatib* (the Book of Q’luryan in an ancient form of Relerian) was published at least 3,000 years ago, and its author(s) are unknown. Many Relerian still believe that the book was written by Q’luryan in one of her lives.

## Language

All political and legal documents in Relarian are now composed in *Atemnim Noru*, or standard Atemnition, and most inhabitants of larger cities have adopted the Relarian dialect in standard conversation and interactions. All older documents still in circulation have also been translated into standard Atemnition. However, there is a “Relarian” dialect of Atemnition that many city dwellers still speak in private at home. Additionally, there are also still some older, entirely separate dialects of the language spoken in more regional areas. In rural communities, not all inhabitants speak and understand *Atemnim Noru*, although there has been a government push to do outreach to those communities and help to end their isolation.

The following are the five most common dialects or original languages found in Relarian:

* *Atelexorim* -- a dialect of Atemnition that is mostly found in small farming communities in the western part of the kingdom; one of the oldest forms of Atemnition still spoken in Relarian
* *Bertennim* -- a dialect spoken among the mountain people in the North of Nuveneo
* *Konnaurim* -- an old dialect still passed down by older royal families, especially of Baenneo; rarely spoken aloud anymore
* *Binaebannin* -- a language similar to, but separate from Atemnition; it is spoken only in rural communities in Baenneo, especially communities on the border and immediately inside the Cesoln Jungle

*Ax’teur* -- an original language of Relarian completely separate from Atemnition; this is a language used among those who live in the marshy, wet region between the Rikish Lakes and the Rakun Depths

## Health

Health in Relarian is overseen by the Kuinessuir in charge of Science and Agriculture. These Kuinessuir work closely with Zikwimmechulor to encourage students who attend the school and show promise in medicine to either go into veterinarian medicine or become doctors for humans throughout Relarian.

While regulations and restrictions are not as easy to uphold in rural districts, all children who attend government schools must be vaccinated against the most common illnesses in Relarian. Additionally, vaccination records must be presented when young people show up for Malayikim service.

While most cities and towns have local doctors to tend to the population, whether or not they were educated at school or whether they were apprenticed by a local doctor to learn the profession, within the last 50 years the government of Relarian has started a push to establish official Relarian hospitals -- entirely staffed with government-trained professionals -- placed in such a way that no community is more than 2 hours travel from hospital care.

## Intelligence

Little is known about Relarian’s intelligence network publicly, as its oversight does not fall under the offices of Foreign Affairs or the Military. Therefore, the following is *not* public knowledge to foreign governments (for the most part) or even most Relarian citizens not intimately involved in diplomacy and governance:

The Intelligence Oversight is managed directly by the Kuinessuir of Foreign Affairs and Diplomacy. Only the four members of the Konassim in charge of this area and the Monarch’s chief advisor (and therefore the monarch) have contact with the intelligence network.

The Overseer of Intelligence’s identity has never been known, although the identities of many spies and intelligence officers have been discovered. There are exactly 50 spies in Relarian's network at any given time, and each spy personally appoints and trains his or her successor in an unknown location in Baenkatior. The network turns over exactly every 50 years, and each new class appoints its own Overseer following training.

Once trained and sent on active duty, the intelligence officers never return to the mainland of Relarian. Instead, they use a series of manmade islands throughout Atemnity to set up office and convey news via *paechubim* technology. As soon as a message has been transmitted to the capital, they immediately destroy the surface upon which the communication was written.

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