Cultural customs
Over the Centuries, the human culture in Haven and specifically Gallica has developed several unique customs.
Everything grinds to a halt in winter. All the land gets snowed in and the sea freezes from the coast outwards for miles. There is no trade, no travel, no warfare and even things such as hunting or foraging are done very carefully as a blizzard or storm can quickly kill an unprepared person.
Worse, the frost-dragons of the cold north travel south to more 'warm' areas, and devour much of the livestock and worse, might permanently make their homes there. These beasts can often only be fought by professional Dragonslayers, which are very expensive.
The same also applies to a lesser extent for other monsters that can be driven to attack villages and towns out of starvation.
Houses
Houses on Haven are built with thick wood or stone walls as well as insulating materials to protect against the cold. To protect against monsters, houses are constructed with basements to serve as shelters during monster attacks. These basements will double as a pantries as well. Some Villages will have their basements linked up, to provide escape routes and for access to utilities like plumbing if the house is in a city.
Large stockpiles of wood are necessary to survive winter, and owning a stockpile of firewood is seen as valuable as having ready access to preserved food.
Settlements:
Villages and towns will be built with a wall surrounding them as much as possible to prevent intrusion by hostile beasts. Cities will be built extremely densely, with houses sometimes being constructed ontop of other houses, for it is easier than expanding the great walls that shield the populace.
Even farms, grain silos and cattle sheds, built on open land by necessity, will be built as close to defensive structures as possible and surrounded by fences. Settlements tend to be far apart but very dense.
Priests are scholars that have useful advice for most problems, be it societal, economic or domestic. They are often seen as the moral foundation of a village. Priests are seen as the agents of the gods and are often granted special privileges and honours.
Churches are centers of faith built of stone, able to serve as bastions in times where the village is under threat, and are often under some level of divine protection strengthening the defenses further.
Finally the holy books of the various faiths instruct the faithful on how they will find their way to that divinity's afterlife and what they shall find there, rather than having to face the uncertainty of not knowing where they will end up once they die.
Diseases and Healing
Priests are also healers, both able to cure wounds with their magic and treat illnesses with their medicinal knowledge. Still, they do not have access to some cheap cure-all. They often can only treat symptoms and with many diseases cannot help at all.
Only very high-ranking priests can use their magic to cure things such as deformed limbs or cancer, and they are very rare.
During times of plague, the medicinal infrastructure of any settlement will be overwhelmed, the few acolytes, priests and alchemists struggling to treat hundreds of patients with inadequate supplies. During such times it is common to enact quarantine upon afflicted residents and settlements or even city districts to contain the spread.
If the disease is deadly, mass graves are common.
Over time, and due to historical events it has become custom to make this as hard as possible for those fiends.
It is common practise for the bodies of the dead are to be cremated wherever possible. If cremation is too expensive, (such as during winter), the bodies are to be returned to the grasp of the earth in sufficient depth. However only vain nobles regularly leave their bodies intact if they have the choice.
Criminals and exiles are not cremated, they are only ever buried. This is because due to the culture that developed around the deadly winter, building a funeral pyre for outcasts was seen as a waste of precious firewood. The firewood was deemed as more valuable than the honor of a criminal.
Where possible, burial sites are consecrated by priests, particularly the worshipers of Erra or Cydonna. It is believed that improperly done burials cause difficulties for the soul on their journey to the afterlife, so it is seen as very important.
Common folk know that there is a Spirit World and that the beings there can hurt humans if they are not kept away or appeased.
Appeasing is done mainly through festivals and through minor daily rituals such as prayers or the creating of talismans.
Is it expected that a priest bless any new building to ward off evil spirits.
The House owners are encouraged to decorate the house further with charms and warding seals to keep malicious spirits at bay. This works to keep minor malicious spirits way and make the property unpleasant and uncomfortable to those that can't be kept awy entirely.
Furthermore, the House owners often leave out offerings such as scented candles and to attract spirits of good fortune.
Additionally, survival in Haven can be very difficult, making reliance on your fellow man a necessity for survival. Nobody likes a freeloader. In human society, everybody contributes in whatever way they are able.
As such, good deeds are rewarded, even when no payment was promised. If you help somebody they will deliver payment for services rendered to the best of their ability, be it in money, favors or material goods.
Winter Cold and Monsters
Everything in Havens culture is affected by winter, due to the sheer change it brings about.Everything grinds to a halt in winter. All the land gets snowed in and the sea freezes from the coast outwards for miles. There is no trade, no travel, no warfare and even things such as hunting or foraging are done very carefully as a blizzard or storm can quickly kill an unprepared person.
Worse, the frost-dragons of the cold north travel south to more 'warm' areas, and devour much of the livestock and worse, might permanently make their homes there. These beasts can often only be fought by professional Dragonslayers, which are very expensive.
The same also applies to a lesser extent for other monsters that can be driven to attack villages and towns out of starvation.
Houses
Houses on Haven are built with thick wood or stone walls as well as insulating materials to protect against the cold. To protect against monsters, houses are constructed with basements to serve as shelters during monster attacks. These basements will double as a pantries as well. Some Villages will have their basements linked up, to provide escape routes and for access to utilities like plumbing if the house is in a city.
Large stockpiles of wood are necessary to survive winter, and owning a stockpile of firewood is seen as valuable as having ready access to preserved food.
Settlements:
Villages and towns will be built with a wall surrounding them as much as possible to prevent intrusion by hostile beasts. Cities will be built extremely densely, with houses sometimes being constructed ontop of other houses, for it is easier than expanding the great walls that shield the populace.
Even farms, grain silos and cattle sheds, built on open land by necessity, will be built as close to defensive structures as possible and surrounded by fences. Settlements tend to be far apart but very dense.
Religion, Funerals and Spirits
Religion
Religion is an integral part of most communities on Haven.Priests are scholars that have useful advice for most problems, be it societal, economic or domestic. They are often seen as the moral foundation of a village. Priests are seen as the agents of the gods and are often granted special privileges and honours.
Churches are centers of faith built of stone, able to serve as bastions in times where the village is under threat, and are often under some level of divine protection strengthening the defenses further.
Finally the holy books of the various faiths instruct the faithful on how they will find their way to that divinity's afterlife and what they shall find there, rather than having to face the uncertainty of not knowing where they will end up once they die.
Diseases and Healing
Priests are also healers, both able to cure wounds with their magic and treat illnesses with their medicinal knowledge. Still, they do not have access to some cheap cure-all. They often can only treat symptoms and with many diseases cannot help at all.
Only very high-ranking priests can use their magic to cure things such as deformed limbs or cancer, and they are very rare.
During times of plague, the medicinal infrastructure of any settlement will be overwhelmed, the few acolytes, priests and alchemists struggling to treat hundreds of patients with inadequate supplies. During such times it is common to enact quarantine upon afflicted residents and settlements or even city districts to contain the spread.
If the disease is deadly, mass graves are common.
Funerals
The Brass realms are a world where the dead can be defiled by dark magicians and worshipers of dark gods. To be made to rise again, to unwittingly harm their loved ones.Over time, and due to historical events it has become custom to make this as hard as possible for those fiends.
It is common practise for the bodies of the dead are to be cremated wherever possible. If cremation is too expensive, (such as during winter), the bodies are to be returned to the grasp of the earth in sufficient depth. However only vain nobles regularly leave their bodies intact if they have the choice.
Criminals and exiles are not cremated, they are only ever buried. This is because due to the culture that developed around the deadly winter, building a funeral pyre for outcasts was seen as a waste of precious firewood. The firewood was deemed as more valuable than the honor of a criminal.
Where possible, burial sites are consecrated by priests, particularly the worshipers of Erra or Cydonna. It is believed that improperly done burials cause difficulties for the soul on their journey to the afterlife, so it is seen as very important.
Spirits
Knowledge of spirits is available to everybody in society to varying degrees, mostly through folklore and the lectures of the local priests.Common folk know that there is a Spirit World and that the beings there can hurt humans if they are not kept away or appeased.
Appeasing is done mainly through festivals and through minor daily rituals such as prayers or the creating of talismans.
Is it expected that a priest bless any new building to ward off evil spirits.
The House owners are encouraged to decorate the house further with charms and warding seals to keep malicious spirits at bay. This works to keep minor malicious spirits way and make the property unpleasant and uncomfortable to those that can't be kept awy entirely.
Furthermore, the House owners often leave out offerings such as scented candles and to attract spirits of good fortune.
Miscellanious Customs
Give and Take
Nearly all religions on Haven preach that all should be compassionate to their fellow man. Not only that, but they also preach that one needs to repay one's debts.Additionally, survival in Haven can be very difficult, making reliance on your fellow man a necessity for survival. Nobody likes a freeloader. In human society, everybody contributes in whatever way they are able.
As such, good deeds are rewarded, even when no payment was promised. If you help somebody they will deliver payment for services rendered to the best of their ability, be it in money, favors or material goods.
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