Varenthian

The Varenthians bound their lives to the Sea Mother Mirrath. To pour wine into the surf was to honor her, to wear shell or pearl was to carry her blessing. Funerals cast the dead in plain white linen, their bodies anointed and consigned to the waves.   Varenthian life was also defined by cosmopolitan exchange. In the marketplace, Humans, Elves, Half-Elves, and foreigners mingled freely. Nobles patronized Elven artisans, Elves commissioned Human pearl-hunters, and Half-Elves often bridged both worlds.   The sport of Thaelorn was the beating heart of Varenthian culture, a spectacle of blood, drama, and devotion. It was not a pastime but a civic rite, where the sweat and cries of fighters were thought to please Mirrath, the Sea Mother, who received their offerings in the salt spray carried from the Bay of Varen. Varenthia’s bawdy houses and taverns were famous across the Bay of Varen. Sailors, merchants, nobles, and gladiators drank beneath the same roof, their stations suspended for an evening. Amphorae of wine and oil lamps lined painted walls, where frescoes of dolphins and dancers gleamed in the smoke. Music of lyres and flutes was ever-present, and games of dice and chance filled the tables. Drunken revelry was not frowned upon but embraced as proof of vitality. To drink deeply, to sing loudly, to dance until dawn was seen as offering joy to Mirrath, who was believed to delight in the abandon of her children. Soldiers and sailors mixed freely with prostitutes clad in sheer silks, their laughter echoing in the alleys long after the lamps burned low. Revelry was both civic glue and sacred rite. To feast together, regardless of station, was to affirm that all were Mirrath’s children. Outsiders often condemned the Varenthians as indulgent, but within the city, joy was no less a duty than piety.

Commoners wore short linen tunics and kilts in pale or earth tones, belted with rope or bronze. Shell pendants or small pearls served as tokens of fortune.

Sailors and Fishers favoured indigo-dyed cloth and netted sashes, their knives bound at the hip.

Soldiers of the Cohorts bore bronze cuirasses and greaves and were distinguished by sea-blue cloaks and shields painted with dolphins, waves, or ships’ prows.

Priestesses of Mirrath were bound by strict dress codes. Sea-green for novices, white for consecrated sisters, and silver-threaded blue for high officiants. Shells adorned their braids.

Nobles displayed wealth through imported Syamese silks in crimson or indigo, gold filigree, and heavy pearl jewelry.

Festival Dress was sheer and layered, dyed in sea-green, crimson, and indigo, with flowing sashes meant to echo the tides.

Common Council of Varenthia   Merchants Council of Varenthia