New Morilanta Culture

[Kender Bard]

An In-Depth Look At
New Morilanta

Temperament and Trending Traits
To say that the people of New Morilanta are cold, cruel individuals is putting it mildly. However, there’s more than meets the eye (and rumor) of the average Morilantan. Externally, much of the stereotypes that exist about Morilantans hold true. How you act in public and around anyone but the closest allies largely depends on your status. Morilanta is a society that is dominated by class and caste rules. If you are born to a poor, but free family, you are still amongst the lowest of the low. Morilantan free-men peasants can still very easily end up in the slave caste if they are not careful. A peasant Morilantan must display a carefully mixed demeanor of proper obeisance to all superiors and a tense, wary readiness to everyone else. If someone appears to be a little too quick to kiss the feet of others, they may be perceived as lacking in power (in whatever form that entails. ‘Power’ is a vague, if all-important, word in the Morilantan language. Power can refer to physical power, money, or status.) The weak are quickly snapped up by the stronger and often pressed into service, usually becoming a slave.

Slaves are of course the lowest class possible. They are things, not people, or tools at the very best. They are expendable and replaceable. How a slave acts may depend largely upon their owner but the overall rules still apply; complete obedience and loyalty. It is possible for a slave to rise to the freeman class through the death of their owner (and assuming no one else captures or inherits them) or by being granted the boon by their owners (though this rarely happens.)

The individuals that fall into the middle class are those who are not at the top of the power structure but are far above the average peasant. These people usually have money or connections enough to guarantee them their safety from the dredges of the society but not from their peers or from their superiors. This is where much of the political action begins to take place and so a middle class citizen of Morilanta must show refinement with an edge of survival savagery. Poise, refinement, manners, and other niceties are strictly observed as a way of weeding out those who ‘don’t belong.’ This knowledge is usually obtained through family and so acts as a mark of your breeding and family. It is also possible to be refined by a patron and so also means that you at least have connections to someone of status. However, the ‘edge of savagery’ means being unafraid to drop threats and to be willing to push the lower castes into submission. It shows that you are not complacent in your station. Individuals caught napping, so to speak, will be seen as undeserving of their comfortable lifestyle and quickly pushed out of the game (usually through murder) in order to seize assets and expand one’s own power.

Middle class individuals may rise to the upper class only through the amassing of power. Either they can bring an upper class family to its knees and assume its place after seizing its assets or they can be lifted up to the ranks by patronage, much like how the lower classes may find themselves lifted to the middle class. Patronage usually comes about by forming an alliance against a temporary mutual enemy or through blackmail. On a rare occasion, it comes about by a family hoping to curry favor with a potential rising star and maintain a fast and hard alliance.

Finally, the upper class must act in a manner similar to the middle class but with far more subtleties. At this point in the ‘game,’ you are expected to have enough power to no longer need to be concerned with threats to your safety. This is, of course, a complete fabrication but it is the appearance that is important. Complete civility is demanded at this level of living. However, an individual who does not take measures to protect their assets (or bring down enemies and rivals) will be quickly cut down. Because of the demand to show calmness and complete confidence, all dealings must be as subtle and unseen as possible. An individual who shows their aggressions and plots too openly may find themselves labeled as disgraced by their peers. Individuals given this stigma rarely last very long. People shown to be too ruthless for polite society are open to blatant attacks from all quarters (after all, they started the aggression.)

On the other side of this, people who are able to maintain their position with all illicit dealings being kept strictly out of public viewing are respected and feared by all. There is never a point in which a person becomes ‘untouchable’ unless they simply manage to avoid being killed or overthrown throughout their life. These people become Morilantan legends for there are so few who have ever managed such a feat.

On all levels the matters of friendship and family are handled much the same though there are nuances of difference. This will be covered in the ‘family’ section.

Jobs
For the greater part, Morilanta manages to be a self-sustaining economy. They must be, after all; their greatest trade is in the slave market. In Contrasta, Morilanta’s only neighboring country would have no dealings with them outside of war and so Morilanta quickly grew to be perfectly sustainable without foreign trade. However, their sudden loss of numerous resources have resulted in a complete shaking up of their economy. In an attempt regain these lost resources, a black market has formed in the heart of Morilanta and the greatest amount of jobs can be found involving this and the slave trade which still thrives.

Slave catchers, breakers, teachers, and finders are all perfectly acceptable and respected jobs. Merchants of all kinds are also greatly sought after, particularly those skilled in duplicity of the outside nations so that they might bring home rare goods that can be then sold for outrageous prices.

Most Morilantans carry dual jobs, however, depending on what it is that they do. A normal business may also cater to a completely different, more sinister clientel on the side. For example, the local apothecary who gives out medicines may also sell poisons on demand. A coachman or groom might also offer to smuggle things and people to and from places. Breeders of various animals have also taken to breeding monsters and hybrids for a pretty penny. Morilanta’s love of putting its most shameful side discreetly out of view means that there’s often a darker side to just about any occupation in Morilanta that isn’t already gruesome to begin with. How well these services are advertised depends on whether it is catering to the lower classes or the upper classes, but all are aware of this simple fact of Morilantan life.

Education
Education is of importance to Morilantans—if you’re of the proper caste, of course. Slaves are only taught what their masters deem necessary. Usually, that is nothing. The lower classes learn what they can from experience or training, but like slaves, most remain wallowing in ignorance. The middle class, filled mostly with entrepreneurs and craftsmen, learn trades from whomever they are apprenticed to, like many places in the world. Naturally, the master will attempt to leave the apprentice missing on some important skills so as not to become suddenly replaceable. The apprentice usually strives to uncover these secrets or figure them out for himself so that he may take over his master’s business or become a rival.

The noble born are given private tutors to teach them everything that their parents or guardians feel is appropriate for them to know. This may mean a whole cast of tutors, though often parents lend a hand in teaching their children where necessary so as to reduce the amount of staff involved in the rearing of their children.

Food
Perhaps surprisingly, Morilanta boasts a powerful sweet tooth, and many dishes will be sweetened if possible; for example, meats will be served with jams when appropriate, sweet potatoes are the favored vegetable, and most meals offer a serving of sweet rolls. Naturally, dessert is the most anticipated meal of the day.

With the change in climate and available food sources, however, there has been a subtle shift from sweetly prepared meals to bitter—the second flavor of choice, though most Morilantans prefer bitter drinks rather than food. The Morilantans have also begun to slowly absorb Rondian and Crystalander cuisine into their food, due to the abundance of seafood available to them.

Fashion
Morilantans boast a unique cultural fashion sense when it comes to dressing up. Though slaves and the poorer classes must make do with whatever they can (generally buying up cast offs of the upper class and making repairs where possible, or even combining outfits to make a new patchwork version), the middle and upper classes take great pleasure in their appearances.

Women generally wear an extremely stiff bodice with a tight wrap beneath to help shape their bosoms as they desire. They wear nothing over this bodice, leaving their arms, upper chest, and neck bare. Some bodices, however, are fitted with sleeves though these are always made of a very sheer material. If the bodice does not boast sleeves, Morilantan women will either leave their arms bare or wear elbow length gloves.

Attached to the bodice is a dress; Morilantan dresses are usually black or another very dark color and multilayered so they are also very voluptuous. The final layer of the dress is usually split so as to reveal the dark under-layers. The top layer is normally a different, lighter color, and will generally match the color of the bodice.

Chokers are highly fashionable in place of necklaces. Chokers can range from a simple band about the neck to an elaborate affair that covers the entire upper chest. For an accessory, most women prefer to wear shawls. Women who prefer wearing their hair up and with a decoration of some kind may also sport veils. All jewelry is considered pleasant, though women tend to favor ‘delicate’ styles with very thin chains and bands.

Men wear much more simple outfits. Leather is considered an attractive material for most of men’s clothing. A Morilantan man will normally wear an open chest tunic (usually in a V cut) and a leather doublet over that. The doublet is usually buttoned completely closed, though young men tend to wear theirs with the first few buttons undone so as to expose part of their chest, especially if they are particularly fit. Comfortable, but form fitting pants are cut only calf-length and boots that are normally knee length are worn over them. Capes of varying length and cuts are the height of male fashion in Morilanta; most men have at least two, one for home that is short and loose and one for outdoors which is longer and more elegant, often sporting a house crest.

Chain link clasps and belts with tooled designs and custom belt buckles are the normal accessories. Some men also favor heavy rings. Earrings are also an acceptable jewelry for men, though not many choose to wear them.

For both sexes, feathers, flowers, and other little odds and ends serve a dual purpose of conveying meanings as well as adding a bit of flair to one’s outfit. Morilanta has an almost separate language entirely of symbols and a fair portion of it goes into their manner of dress, making some form of accessory almost indispensable.

Leisure
There are two forms of leisure in Morilanta, and though individuals are free to dabble in both, and will find willing partners in each category, they are generally split into the lower class leisure activities and the upper class. The lower classes tend to favor competitions of strength and quickness and other displays of physical prowess. Dueling, wrestling, races, and various games of sport are all highly popular. The recently built arena has become the center of all entertainment for most lower class Morilantans as well as the upper class who enjoy a spectator position to the games (and who also enjoy gambling on the winners.)

The rest of Morilanta greatly enjoys puzzles and mind games, particularly wordplay. Gatherings will often feature time-passing activities such as riddles, storytelling, and similar activities. There is an extraordinarily popular game called “so he said.” This is a storytelling and memory game as well as a chance for individuals to display their skill in subtly twisting facts. The game begins when a story is told. This story is written down and read aloud to the room of participants. Afterwards, it is folded and sealed and the group must break into small pairs. They then retell the story to one another until several partners had been exchanged. Then individuals begin to tell their story to the room as a whole until the majority comes to a consensus that one particular retelling is as close to the actual truth as possible. The written story’s seal is broken and examined. The individual who managed to make the most alterations to the written story in the retelling and still be passed off as truth is considered the ‘winner’ though there are usually no formal declarations as such.

Family
No other nation quite treats family and friends the way Morilanta does, though some characteristics can be shared with other nations with more hidebound inheritance laws.

Bastard children are generally unacceptable to the upper class and are tossed away or given over to the church after birth as a live sacrifice. This is especially true if a child was born of rape. The lower classes often do not carry unwanted children to term, though, and will abort their pregnancies with an overdose of babybane or ingesting some other poison. Most upper class women do not have a choice in the matter if the child is legitimately conceived, however. If they are able to determine their pregnancy before their husbands, it is possible that they could take steps to rid themselves of the child. However, if found out by their husbands, many husbands will react severely with their wives for such blatant disregard of their own wishes.

The firstborn male is generally heir to the family, though if no male is produced, a female may inherit. Most sonless fathers prefer to use their daughters as bargaining chips for alliances with other families. Marrying away a family estate through a daughter to another family is considered the highest form of alliance, for it is truly a way of simply sacrificing one’s assets to the least hated enemy.

Marriage is never out of love. Some couples may begin to develop feelings of love or at least affection, but those that do so, and recognize it as such, will keep the fact under concealment and display only interest and, at most, mild concern for one another. As all marriages are in, some way, business related, it is easy enough for couples to claim that the benefit of staying with one another and seeing to each other’s safety outweighs any gain made from striking off on their own. At times, this is even true.

Adultery is common but considered an act that must be carried out discreetly. If a man sleeps with a married woman, he is essentially stealing another man’s property. A married man may ‘lend’ his wife to another if he is feeling extremely generous, but such affairs are usually only in an attempt to gain an edge over someone else. A woman in bed may be able to weasel secrets out of an enemy; or a husband not feeling charitable to his wife, either, may frame them in a public accusation of adultery and try to gain compensation through the offending party’s assets.

As children are raised in a loveless house, rivalry is as commonplace as affection is in most normal homes. Assassinations of family members are frequent in order to climb the inheritance ladder. Though some families manage to create a harmony amongst each other’s members, assuring that everyone gains through the survival of the family as a whole. Sometimes overzealous family members may wipe out most of their family in an attempt to gain power only to find that their power base has eroded as a result and they, too, topple.

Religion
Though most of the Morilantan religion is described in the article Transient Evil, there is an overall aspect about worship in Morilanta that covers all of the Forces and is unique to the region. Morilantans have become repulsed by the traditional dogma and views of the Forces and have, instead, adopted and embraced the darker side of the Forces (or in Taed’s and Soahc’s case, more beneficial) believing that the Forces will give them greater favor and understanding for acknowledging a part of them that goes unspoken in other lands. They are given titles to reflect this: Etaf is the Bane of Hope, Efil is the Prolonger of Pain, Taed is the Merciful Death, Soahc is the Changebringer, Thuoth is the Hoarder of Secrets, and Worg is the Killer of Weakness.

The temple to the Forces in Darkthrone mimics that in Anarlina, being one of the largest structures and placed in extremely close proximity to the royal palace. During the reign of Nissar Negri and his high priestess and wife, Rajani, there was even a bridge built to connect the two buildings under Rajani’s demands. It is an octagonal building that comes to a dome which tapers to a sharp point. The building itself is made mostly out of stone and wood, the materials blackened as much as possible during the building process. The statues of the Forces appear as follows, with the statue of Evil (for there are multiple) so described as the primary statue which stands in the altar room:

Evil stands tall, reaching the ceiling, and appears as a comely young man, much younger than the other Forces, in fact, but still old enough to be called a man. He stares over all of the petitioner with sunken eyes but a look of smug satisfaction on his face. In one hand he holds up a heart with a dagger stuck clean through it. The other hand rests on the shoulder of a glowering mortal man. Both hands sport claws, the hand resting on the mortal digging deeply into his flesh. His equally clawed feet rest on the bodies of slain mortals. A pair of demonic wings spreads outwards, providing a backdrop to the gruesome scene.

Efil appears as an older being, his or her identity almost twisted beyond gender recognition, though longer hair suggests that Efil is a woman. Her face is twisted in an expression of the most exquisite pain and her body is covered in ragged cuts. Oozing pustules suggest that she has some horrid disease as well. She rests on one knee, a hand held outward almost begging passersby to end her suffering.

Taed is a robed man with an expression of pity and compassion. He holds in one hand a bloodstained knife while his other arm cradles a slain mortal, a cut across the throat suggesting Taed had slain the man. The slain man has an expression of peace on his face.

Etaf is depicted as a young woman with a haughty expression. She is covered in chains and her hands and feet are shackled, even as she holds several chains in one hand. Her chained ankles are attached to spikes nailed into what appears to be a cobblestone path. She looks at all mortals with a contemptuous sneer.

Thuoth is shown as a woman gagged firmly. She holds an enormous tome in her arms, but the book is wrapped in chains and locked. She does not seem at all uncomfortable with her plight; indeed, she seems to stare intently into the mind of every person who passes by, almost glaring.

Worg is shown as a muscular man. One hand is thrust backward against a similarly powerful looking mortal man as though to push him aside or to protect him. With his other hand, he rams a sickly, weak looking man clean through with a sword.

Soahc stands as a young man who would be handsome if his face were not split in two. One half shows a delighted grin while the other scowls with ferocity. In one hand he holds a pair of unbalanced scales while he holds the heavy, bottom scale lightly with a fingertip, evidently planning on tipping them the other way. At his feet is a double bladed sword and a broken chain.