Aurumi
Referring to someone who hails from the Golden Kingdom of Aurum. People from here tend to take on a more Meiji-Era Japanese or Pre-Colonial Indian aesthetic.
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Indian or Japanese names are the norm.
Masculine names
Indian or Japanese names are the norm.
Unisex names
Indian or Japanese names are the norm.
Family names
Names from this land tend to borrow from Japanese or Indian naming conventions, though there is some influence from other regions.
Other names
Unlike the other four regions, Jayshra or its variants are not common names in Aurumo. This is done so as not to dilute the significance of the the Vermillion Sage's name.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
In Aurum children are often taught Aurumo before they are taught Feroxian. This is not out of malice, but rather because Aurumo was written as an analog to Zealor, and any child who have any inclination toward magic will be easier to find. The majority of 1-3 year old children sent to the Syzigic Monastery at Koinonia tend to be from Aurumo due to this.
Culture and cultural heritage
Culture draws heavily from pre-british Raj India mixed with Edo Period Japanese culture. Though not as regimented, the spirit of the styles come from a healthy amalgamation mixed with some emphasis on scientific discovery over superstition.
Shared customary codes and values
The Ars Arcanum written by Jayshra Maho'Doa is a treatise on living and how to attain spiritual enlightenment. In it are 360 chapters, each detailing life from personal finance, love, occupation, aesthetics, but also detailing scientific thoery, medicine, history, etc. It is an extremely dense book at over 100,000,000 stanzas, but Jayshra Maho'Doa was known for being thorough.
Average technological level
Most of their techonological advacements come in the form of magitechnology. Though years behind what would be seen in Ravnica and Faerun, Aurum is the closest to mastering Magitech to harness magical energies from planes or using magic to craft constructs for labor.
Common Etiquette rules
Cleanliness and Order are the most important appearances one can strive for. It is considered polite to be clean and orderly around guests and when presenting one's self. Should a laborer need to meet with a non laborer for something important, then it is considered hospitable to allow the laborer to clean themselves for one hour.
Art & Architecture
Heavy in reference to the Pahari style or the Edo Period of japan.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
Ara'Valia
The largest festival of the year in Aurumo, known as the "Week of Lights," and "Celebration of Knowledge over Ignorance." It is marked by a family setting up a Shrine outside their house, with six unlit lanterns to light the streets and shrines for others to see. During this week libraries and places of knowledge like schools open their halls to the populace to explore and learn, instead of needing approval or a permit. Religious sites become places of lore and history, where the clergy tell stories and share discoveries with people across their local landscape. The celebration is marked by 6 days of celebration, starting on Saysday and ending on Valsday.- Saysday: (Day of Self) People set up a Shrine outside their houses, with the Dusk Mage at the center, showing trinkets and notes related to their family's accomplishments. Marriages, births, graduations, occupations, and whatnot are all celebrated with a single lit lantern at the front.
- Golsday: (Day of Friendship) Neighbors are to go to their friends or family's houses, where they can put an offering or trinket to show their connection to the family. Merchant partners will often leave a small amount of their wares (like brewers will leave a small jar of grains, or smiths with leave a trusted hammer at a friend's Shrine.) It is the duty of one of these friends to light the second lantern.
- Lord's Day (Day of Community) On this day it is expected for someone to find a person in the community in need of services or aid and to dedicate their time. Be it helping fix a house, or offering food, or even volunteering at a hospital or library, people are expected to seek out a way to give back to their community on this day. At dusk the third lantern is lit.
- Feast Day: (Day of Knowledge) On this day libraries, academies, museums, and other institutions of knowledge open their doors to the populace for free. Acolytes and Academics are expected to help showcase or guide people through the various wonders of their studies. Often this is when academies will put on presentations, put on plays, and share with the community. This is often the most uproarious day. At dusk the Fourth Lantern is lit.
- Arsday (Day of Family) After all the festivities of the previous days, this day is when the family is expected to spend the most time with one another. Usually restaraunts are closed, and no work is expected to be done. Just family rituals shared by the blood members of a given family. In the older days this was considered the best day to be wed, but this has since fallen out of practice. At dusk, the fifth lantern is lit.
- Valsday: (Day of Remembrance) On this day, the communities are to take down their Shrines but keep their lanterns lit. At dusk, the local Acolytes, led by the Head Priest or Priestess then makes a path across town in the shape of the symbol of the Dusk Mage. As they pass by the houses, singing chants for a glorious new year in reverence to the Dusk Mage, families are to light the last of the six lanterns and take them as they follow the Head Priest(ess) in the march. The Head Priest/Priestess then leads them to the community's most sacred natural preserve (sometimes a bluff overlooking the town, sometimes a river that extends down the sea.) Here they are to send off their lanterns so that they either float down the river or are taken by the sky in a beautiful send off. This is often called The Spirit's Precession.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
A child's birth is a celebrated affair. Often the family will throw a party for their children, but only after being allowed to spend a "Grace period" with them for 3 months. This is so the parents can properly bond with their child.
Common Myths and Legends
The Story of the Golden Tree
The Forging of the 8 holy blades.
The Battle of Viper and Hawk
The Leshen of Widowtree
Historical figures
Jayshra Maho'Doa - One of the Divine Four's Chosen.
Kagura of the Dusk - 3rd High Priest of the Zygallic Church, first Dusk Mage denominated.
Matsuri Ron Varditha - Constructed the Dusk Mage Monasteries
Kaziya Zuhara - First Headmaster of the Daikkoku Monastery, wrote the first treatises on Court Proceedings.
Lord Masahiro Kaldos - Instigator of the Kaldos Rebellion
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Many beauty ideals come from use of magic or magical artifacts to decorate one's self. The more wealthy one is, the more they are expected to wear clothing or accessories that accentuate this. Many of the working class get around this by dressing up or making themselves as neat or clean as possible. In order the things considered attractive are, from least to greatest:
- Cleanliness
- Orderliness
- Functional Quality of Basic Needs (food, water, shelter)
- Aesthetic Intricacy of non-essential things.
- Opulence
- Magical Aptitude
Gender Ideals
While men and women are often given separate roles, thanks to the Dusk Mage's appearance being strictly non-gendered, it is not uncommon that the lines for what men and women wear or present themselves with are blurred. This is more common among elves, not so much the other races though. Should a non-elven person attempt to recreate this they are often considered unusual but only rarely are they despised (often despising non-gender conforming people is seen among the populace as a "we understand it's not your thing but chill.")
Courtship Ideals
The act of intimacy in Aurumo is rarely one that is done without heavy parental or familial involvement. People are allowed to choose their loved ones, but whether such a marriage or wedding is supported by the family depends heavily on the parents/guardians. If parents/guardians approve of said marriage then the families of both would consider it a joyous occasion and try to find ways to integrate both families into one unit.
In the occasion it is not approved, however, the couple are allowed to persist but will do so without support from the family. Often if a unapproved relationship reaches marriage then the couple is often expected to move far and away from the rest of the family. There they are often considered family, but distantly related despite blood ties.
Major organizations
The Golden Nobility - Name of the 8 noble families.
Ivory Tower - The most prestigious monastery for followers of the Dusk Mage.
The Vermillion Sages - Archmages who are considered the most powerful mages in the empire.
The Dusk Mage Denomination - A branch of the Holy Zygallic Church.
Parent ethnicities
Encompassed species
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