Solmarri Culture

# Architecture

Due to every architect having a workfore of undead, they are not bound by such things as labour laws or pay, as such most buildings in the Solmarr are an architectural marvel. Even the smallest building will have gilded mouldings and be painted with bright, intricate designs. Most pigments tend to be made from naturally occuring minerals but there is a large industry in developing new colours (see the Visual Arts section below). Buildings tend to be made of sun dried brick that is then covered in stucco and further decorated, they also tend to be very tall putting more emphasis on multiple stories than large floor plans. Average buildings will have about five to seven storeys with one to two rooms poor floor. Rooftops are usually flat and often have verandas and/or gardens on them.

# Art

## Literature and Poetry

Philosophy and philisophical discussions are very popular in Solmarri society with most works of fiction able to be traced back to one philisophical argument or other. Poetry is very popular with most poets expected to spend months or even years perfecting a single poem. It is also very common for most writers to dictate to severeal undead writers instead of actually doing the writing themselves, this meant that even before the printing press, recreation of books was very easy so there has almost always been a very high level of literacy.

## Music and Dance

As with most things in the Solmarr, there is an encouragement to innovate so there are many weird and wonderful instruments used within their music. Few people are content to simply learn the standard pieces and instead try to find a way to put their own twist on things. It is very uncommon for undead to take part in music but not unhead of.

## Theatre

Incredibly popular, most plays are whole day events going into 9 or even 15 acts. There's one famous play that was thirty-six hours long with a portion of it being played through mass castings of the Dream spell so the audience could sleep without missing anything.

## Visual Arts

Painted sculptures and stained glass are the most popular forms of art within the Solmarr. All tend to be incredibly colurful with little negative space or minimalism. Any artist who discovers a new shade will be sure to include in all of their artworks and will be praised for it.

# Clothing

## Traditional Dress

It is difficult to sum up Solmarri dress in a coherent way as there is little unity. With every clothes maker free to pursue their talents to the highest degree, they are constantly attempting to out do each other and so the styles within the Solmarr are incredibly varied. Skirts, dresses, trousers, cloaks, shawls, coats, shirts, tunics; all manner of clothing is seen on the ordinary street. Even in more modest areas, clothing will be incredibly varied with only simple under clothes bearing any basic similarity. Regardless of styles, all clothing tends to be dyed in rich colours. Embroidery tends to be rarer as there is usually more of an emphasis on jewellery and accessories such scarves, hats and belts.

While dead belonging to the state tend to wear simple robes of white, grey or black, privately owned undead tend to be dressed up however their owner wishes. No undead however wears shoes, so among the living shoes are a matter of great importance.

With so much extravagence and a lot of ways to easily mimic that of richness, it can be difficult for an outsider to easily denote rank. This comes in the form of makeup and nail art. Common folk tend to paint their nails in pastels, nobles tend to use stronger gem like colours. Mages or government workers tend to use dark colours with gems or gold to decorate while individuals in the priesthood use special metallic sheaths over their nails. Priests paint their faces to look like various symbolic representations of the domains they most closely serve.

## Modern Trends

Influences through the mages' association has led to many, especially mages, to adopt some of the simpler and less extravangent fashions of the outside world. This is often considered strange by most of the Solmarr.

# Food

Due to the ease of farming, there is very little scarcity in terms of food. Most dishes use seasonings such as saffron, fennel, aniseed and star anise as they are the most common herbs. Sugar is a relatively new import, with neither cane nor beat naturally growing within the country. Before foods tended to be sweetened with fruits or honey. The basis of most foods is couscous.

# Sports

There are two types of sports within the Solmarr; those played by the living and those played by the dead *directed* by the living. The latter is often described as outsiders as some 'bizarre life sized form of chess'.