Lysian

Lysians are tall and slender pale skinned and fair haired people from the large plains of the Aidelian Isles, Lysians are agriculturalists and known for their architecture and strong feudal system of lords and knights, with a monarch wielding absolute power.

About a half of the Lysian population is now free, but bound in serfdom, although they posses more rights than slaves, serfs are obligated to work the land of their lord and cannot leave or learn another trade.

The Lysian have a particularly long and unpleasant relationship with the neighboring Pycti; whom they view as uncultured louts and brutish barbarians, while the Pycti in turn view them as pompous fools and resent them from their history of intruding upon Pycti lands.

## Culture

### Martial Traditions

Lysian fighting styles are known for their personal duels with swords and pistols, but in warfare favors heavily armored knights acting as shock cavalry. These are supported largely by conscripted armed with whatever their lord deigns give them, and mercenaries hired at premium price.

### Cuisine

Food in the Kingdom of Lys is more sharply divided between the poor and wealthy than anywhere else within the Isles. Lysian court cuisine is world renowned (or infamous) for what many perceive as its excess. With an extreme reliance on expensive foreign spices, and complicated techniques.

#### Courtly Cuisine

Lysian nobles have an aversion to vegetables (which are seen as undignified) and thus their diet is overwhelmingly dependent on meat, herbs, and pastry. Lysian cuisine also relies on heavy amounts of butter and heavy creams, used to make rich sauces to accompany dishes. Verjus, a liquid made of unripe grape is a common sour condiment.

To ensure their constant supply of meat, it is forbidden for non-noble to hunt or fish without their lord's permission within the Kingdom's forests and rivers, a privilege they only allow at an expensive price tag.

Lysian bakers are considered the best of the world, making difficult pastries such as croissants, mille-feuilles, stuffed breads, rolls, and tarts.

The aristocracy tend to favor expensive spiced wines either from the south of the kingdom or imported from Svenia. The poor typically drink beer instead.

Lysian feasts are known to be extravagant affairs with sometimes hundreds of different dishes.

Some Noble dishes include;

* Foie gras
* Cake soaked in spiced wine
* Baked Meringue
* Tarte Tatin
* Duck a L'orange
* Coq au vin
* Snails poached in butter
* Cheese souflé
* Cockentrice: a mock witchbeast made of two or more animals stitched together, roasted and doused in saffron sauce.
* Rôti sans pareil: A dish composed of a progression of 17 birds stuffed into one another.
* Galantine of Swan

#### Peasant Cuisine

Meanwhile the poor within the kingdom mostly rely on bread and vegetables as the core of their diet, with eggs as most common animal product as chickens are often bought and bred by peasantry, those who can afford will buy a piglet in spring and slaughter it and salt it in the winter.

Common ingredients include; wheat, barley, rye, peas, leeks, onions, chard, celery, lettuce, parsnip, carrot, spinach, and turnips. Apples, pears, walnuts, and currants are fruits locally grown. Lysian produce probably the largest amount and variety of cheese, which are famous the world over.

Some common peasant dishes include;

* Pease pottage
* Pot au feu, braised meat and vegetables
* Ham, Cheese and Egg sandwich
* Cassoulet; sausages and broad beans
* Onion Soup
* Chicken and leek soup
* Ratatouille; stewed vegetables
* Gratin; sliced vegetables baked with cheese
* Quiche; eggs baked in pastry

### Entertainment

The Lysian pride themselves as the most sophisticated people in the Isles, and their entertainment tends to be far more complex than others, most famous of which are their formal opera and theater. Lysian musical orchestra make use of hundreds of players using the newest most expensive instruments that exist.

In the old cities of Lys, jousting remains popular among traditionalists although its military relevance has in large part faded. Grand tournaments are held every year for various martial professions such as sword fighting, quarterstaff, and archery.

Noble lords particularly fancy hunting both by themselves and through the use of trained hawks and hounds.

The Lysian gentry and nobility look down on games of chances and favor games of strategy such as chess, philosopher's game, fox & geese, nine men's morris, and Alquerques, even organizing grand tournaments for these games.

The landed people often play a game of Colf, where one attempts to hit a ball into specially designated holes in the least amount of hits using a long-handled mallet.

### Macaroni Fashion

The Macaroni fashion movement is embraced by wealthy male members of Lysian society, primarily the idle rich such as lower noble sons. Macaroni fashion embraces a mix of foreign trend as well as extravagant decoration such as silk, lace, embroidery. Macaroni are most well known for their use of powdered wings which can reach extreme sizes and length.