Alderaan

"as the saying goes, Coruscant is the heart of the Republic, so, to an extent, Alderaan is its' soul"

- A Holonet comment regarding Alderaan

**Alderaan**, located in the Galactic Core, is the second planet in the Alderaan system, and home of many famous Republicans, including Bail Organa and Ulic Qel-Droma. Renowned galaxy-wide for their planet's unspoiled beauty, refined culture, and commitment to peace, Alderaanians worked with and around the land to preserve as much of the natural surroundings as they could. Forming a respectful relationship with the native Killiks, the two groups have shared the planet as equal partners ever since the end of the Era of Terran Dominance.

However, Alderaan hasn't always been a peaceful world that it is now known as today. Back during the First Noble Rebellion, Alderaan was split between Pro-Alsakan Nobles and the Pro-Republic Commoners that resulted in the planet being torn apart in a civil war, resulting in a number of noble families being wiped out entirely or exiled, with those remaining giving up any titles they once held, albeit with only half of the family surviving. Several thousand years after this, Alderaan became the center for a Battle during the First Galactic War, and within the decades after it a Civil War that lasted for decades. But thereon, the planet dedicated itself to peace and became a primary voice within the Senate calling for diplomacy with the Imperium rather than full-scale war.

## Society and Culture

Alderaanian culture valued education, the performing, and fine arts, and peaceful resolutions to conflicts. The Alderaanians constantly sought a harmonious existence with their surroundings, evident in their integration of their architecture into the natural terrain of Alderaan. Alderaanians were known for their love of philosophy.

The average Alderaanian was very educated and cultured. Poets and artists thrived on Alderaan. The beauty moved the pens of poets, while the vast grasslands served as a canvas for grass paintings. Alderaan was also famous for its cuisine. The large variety of spices and herbs allowed chefs to experiment and create some of the finest dishes in the galaxy. Steamed Alderaanian spiced wine was a favored beverage among many.

### Pre-Rebellion

Before the creation of the Galactic Republic, Alderaanian culture and society was effectively dominated by its' vast and massive aristocracy, of which also played a significant role in the planets' politics, turning them into truly cutthroat affairs and not dissimilar to the politics of feudal societies of both past and present. Yet, there is still large aspects of this society that's still considerable foreign to those societies and cultures. The Primary difference between Alderaan's feudal society and all other worlds' feudal societies comes with its' unique tradition for its' nobles. Unlike other feudal societies which simply regards the people residing on their lands as apart of the land, Alderaanian custom and tradition dictates that Alderaanian nobles must adopt the people living on their lands as members of their families, rather then just servants of the land. Furthermore, it is expected that these newly adopted members of the family be given the same last name of the family as any by birth family member. In essence, this practice by the Alderaanian nobles blurs the line between nobility and commoners. However, the differences are still there enough to make the differences between the two classes evident. And not all Alderaanian nobles follow this practice either, the Thuls is one such example. Typically, the nobles only give the their name to their new family members but they rarely, if ever, allow them in their estates, with only a handful, like the Organas and the Antilles, opens their doors of their estates to their newly adopted kin and viewing as such. Regardless of the differences between the various nobles, all do use similar terms to discrete between the biological family and the adopted family, *Ohanau Matipale* and *Whanesa Matipale*, which translated from Alder as Core Family and Extended Family in Basic. Tellingly, there does not exist a word in Alder for orphan, the closest word for it in Alder is *Apokaati*, adopted kin in basic. This single word is a reflection of another custom that continues after the Alsakan Rebellion, that being the expectation that any and all parentless children to be adopted into the Core Family of a Noble family that child has been discovered in, not as another part of the extended family of those residing in the lands of a Alderaanian Noble.

### Post-Rebellion

Following the end of the Alsakan Rebellion, Alderaanian culture largely didn't change much, with the only true major change was the aspect of society that was dominated by the former Alderaanian aristocracy. But one of the major changes to occur to Alderaanian culture and society was the newfound value the people of Alderaan placed in their participation in the Galactic Senate. While Alderaanians have voiced their disagreements with the Republic, there is now a profound sense of patriotism and loyalty that's only rivaled by more jingoistic planets found in the Republic, even if Alderaanians would prefer peace most of the time, that does not mean that Alderaanians will not fight and defend the Republic in times of War. In fact, Alderaan has some of the highest recruitment ranks in the entire galaxy, be it in times of war or times of peace.