Aëdelan

If it's not beautiful, it's not worth building. Multi-coloured decorations on lightly-coloured materials is the ideal. Town squares have statues and possibly fountains. Everything has stylistic embelishments — often very colourful ones. Art is elaborate and filled with symbolism. To merely paint a landscape is unthinkable. There has to be a representation of ideas, important individuals, other planes, or something else. The most appreciated artists are those whose works can be interpreted in a multitude of ways.

Outsiders might be confused in an aëdelan city as any large building looks beautiful enough to be official. Official buildings can be recognised by their statues and other symbols.

When a child is a couple of weeks old, their family invites friends and relatives to celebrate. The child is also presented to a representative for the god of the household (or any official if no such person is available).

Schooling is highly valued by aëdelans and completing a formal exam in their late teens mark them being ready as adults. This has also brought about discrimination towards those who find it hard to pass the exam. Everyone is given the opportunity to take it in a way that suits them, but to never pass means to never fully be treated as an adult.

When someone dies, they are treated in accordance with the church of their household patron god. Even if there is no representation of such a church nearby, another priest will do their best to follow the other god's rituals. Unless the god's teachings say otherwise, bodies are entombed in local cemeteries. Larger cities might have graveyards connected to the temples of a god. The richer the person, the larger the tomb. A poor person might be able to afford a simple grave or a so-called oven crypt.

Being illiterate, slow-witted, or otherwise intellectually underperforming, is somewhat shameful. One should at least pretend to be educated. The same goes for making sure others know that you understand art, even if you have to fake it.

Being proper and displaying propriety are completely different things. The former isn't strictly necessary, breaking the latter is an absolute taboo. This means being faithful, dedicated to one's god and family, and seeking to better society through study. Treat everyone with respect and never act out of uncontrolled anger, fear, or hate. Passion is good — imposing on others is not. Always be polite. And you may break any and all taboos as long as you keep up appearances.

Aëdelian clothing is usually colourful renaissance-style clothing. This puts them in stark contrast to the cultures more common in south-eastern Allowadh. Even the lower classes combine this with expensive-looking jewellery. Of course, some is fake — painted iron and coloured glass.

While northern parts of the culture favour pale complexions over darker ones, the most important factor is an even skin tone. Darker or lighter areas means having to do labour in the sun rather than intellectual endeavours. Elaborate hairstyles, makeup and similar show a similar ability to focus on the finer things in life.

There are two social genders: feminine and masculine. These are typically determined at birth and assigned based on the perception of genitals. Some individuals transition from one to the other later in life, but while not considered wrong, it's a curiosity. Out of the two, feminine expressions are often considered slightly higher status. It is much more common for men to take on traditionally female attributes than the reverse.

Aëdelians do consider themselves egalitarian, but there is a distinct, if slight, slant in favour of women.

Any courting should be dramatic and romantic. Bonus points for creating a work of art, such as a song, to your beloved. But it isn't odd to pursue more than one relationship nor to accept more than one suitor. In fact, it is more or less expected for a young person seeking love to "try out" a few possibilities before settling if they can. It is only natural to try to understand the subject, after all.

Monogamous life-long marriage is the ideal to the aêdelans. Divorce is possible without a given cause, but considered out of the ordinary. Infidelity is a clear taboo. That said, having someone on the side is almost universally accepted to be an open secret. Everyone does it, but you don't talk about it. If there are children in your relationship that don't't look like their father, it is ignored by everyone. This keeps the divorce rates down, as unhappy spouses just get into a different relationship in supposed secrecy. Break-ups normally only happen in cases of abuse and other serious situations.

Every household has a patron god or Eidolon that they pray to for protection and favour. This doesn't prevent them from seeking out other gods, such as someone they grew up worshipping, but it does represent their ideals.