Culture
Art, Music, and Literature
Art is one of the few professions that isn't limited by caste or magic. While certain types of magic may aid in creating art (ex. air magicians are known to produce good musicians), artists have been known to come from any caste. There have been some books, artworks, and musicals that were banned for criticizing the caste system.
Visual arts in Alesseia are known for using vibrant colors and miniscule details. Weaving, pottery, and woodworking are the most famous forms of artistry in the country. Various plant extracts were used as dyes including cacao, onion, tomato, and molasses. A species of plantain native to Alesseia called abaca provides fiber that is commonly used as a textile.
Some famous musical artists include Mila Valentine, Alison Swan, Lizi Flynn, Tanya Queen, Dove Town, and Drew Lefebvre. Some famous bands include Telepathy, Chilljam, Hulk Voice, Alley Lads, One Dimension, My Alchemical Passion, Chaos! at the Club, Radiation Rascal, Inamorata, Twentyone Aeronauts, and Waniance.
Clothing
It is expected for a person to dress up in the color of their aura. While it is not illegal to do so, dressing up in a color other than that of their aura's is frowned upon; it holds multiple negative connotations, either a person rejecting their own identity or a person being too poor to afford their color. Neutral colors, the colors that auras will never be in such as white, gray, and black, are decent alternatives to wearing one's color.
Higher castes tend to wear flashier and brighter clothing while lower castes tend to wear the opposite. Higher castes are capable of owning clothes made of silk, velvet, and damask, while the lower castes stick to cotton, linen, and flannel.
Cuisine
Most dishes are capable of being stored without refrigeration for days on end. Alesseian dishes may differ from household to household as ingredients are often approximated rather than measured. Food is generally served all at once excluding dessert. Alesseians normally eat with a spoon and fork, although lower castes tend to eat with their hands.
Rice is a staple in the Alesseian diet, save those who reside in Sorenair and Atlantis. It is often steamed and normally eaten as an accompaniment for meat, seafood, and vegetables. Alesseians also enjoy rice soaked in sauce or broth from the main dish. They often serve fried rice for breakfast.
Religion
Worship in Alesseia focuses on nature and magic, focusing on life and the essence of psyche. There are special mountains, volcanoes, and waterfalls all over the country that are places of worship. These places, along with certain plains, are focal points of magic. Shrines and castles tend to be built near these magical focal points. Carinor contains the strongest focal points while Akiluran contains the most focal points. Sorenair is the only region that has no natural focal points.
There's a strong idea of fate and destiny in Alesseia. Tadhana, also known as Fate, the Weaver, or the Storyteller, is the supreme god. They are imagined as a humanoid with body parts of various humanoid species, weaving the fabric of fate and destiny for everyone. They are colored with all the colors of the rainbow.
Religious leaders in Alesseia are known as shamans. Most shamans are blessed with psyche or life magic. However, there exist a few shamans that are oracles. Oracles are those with divination capabilities. They say that those with strong enough magic to see the future are capable of altering fate. Oracles can issue prophecies, stories that dictate fate, but normally this ends in the death of the oracle.
The World's Rebirth
A popular Alesseian myth is that the world has died at least once and then was rebirthed.
They say that the former inhabitants of the world had no magic, as magic was only reserved for the gods. Without magic, the humanoids stole too much from the world's resources. They ended up wrecking the original world beyond repair. Tadhana could see no more future for the world, so they ordered for the destruction of all life.
But as Tadhana was about to destroy the last few humanoids, the humanoids begged. They said that they had no powers, that they were too weak to properly survive in the world, and that was why they turned greedy. If only they weren't weak, the humanoids said, then they would have never turned that way.
Tadhana thought about what the humanoids had said. Tadhana told them that if the humanoids could survive a hundred days in the old world of death, Tadhana would give birth to a new world for them.
There are many myths of what happened during the hundred days of death, but they all end the same way: the humanoids survived and Tadhana allowed life to prosper once again. However, this time Tadhana decided to give all living creatures the gift of magic. The magic was unique for each individual, all dependent on the type of job the human was suited for.
Tadhana's Children
There are several minor gods and goddesses, but Tadhana and their seven children are the most important ones. Each of their children represent an aspect of life. They all played important roles in giving the world life once again.
Mabaya: The red goddess of change, beauty, and revolution, Mabaya is known for rebirthing the world in her magic. She is commonly imagined as a phoenix in beast form.
Kahel: The orange god of power and strength, Kahel taught the humanoids how to fight against those who wanted to destroy the humanoids. He is commonly imagined as a wolf in beast form.
Kunig: The yellow god of intelligence and knowledge, Kunig is the patron god of wizards. He and Bughaw were the main educators of the humanoids. He is commonly imagined as a sphinx in beast form.
Luntian: The green god of healing and fertility, Luntian takes care of newborns and children. They are imagined as having both sets of genitals due to being the god of fertility. They are commonly imagined as a unicorn in beast form.
Bughaw: The blue goddess of fortune and willpower, Bughaw is a trickster who helped the humanoids learn to survive the hundred days of death. She and Kunig were the main educators of the humanoids. She is commonly imagined to be a dove in beast form.
Bilo: The indigo god of happiness and prosperity, Bilo allowed humanoids to discover joy in their lives during the hundred days of death. They are commonly imagined to be a dolphin in beast form.
Morado: The violet and pink god of magic and mayhem, Morado is the judge of life and death. They razed the original world in their magic of death. They are commonly imagined as a dragon in beast form.
Education
Most of the proletariat are not formally educated. Instead, they are tutored by their families and/or hired teachers. Only the upper castes, typically Castes 0 to 3, are expected to be in school from the ages of five to eighteen years old. The sole exception to this is university, a type of school open to all adults. In university, qualified adults may be trained in the rarer and more difficult forms of magic such as runes and psyche magic.
The higher the caste, the more likely it is that the person is literate. Because of the mediocre literacy rates, the most common mode of information distribution is through television and radio.
Leisure
Most people watch television and listen to the radio. Books, cellphones, and video games are a luxury for the middle and upper class. Sports are a common pastime, although it is banned for people to play in official matches with those outside their caste.
Social Frameworks
Humanoid species tend to stick with their own kind. Humans with humans, Sorens with Sorens, Atlanteans with Atlanteans. Relations between humans and Atlanteans are the friendliest when it comes to interspecies relations within the region.
While it is likely for immigrants to be living in the region, they are typically humans or disguised in human form. Alesseians are known to be friendly towards most types of immigrants, but they regard non-human immigrants with some suspicion.
Language
The official language of the country is Aleseya, although there are several different languages throughout the various regions. Aleseya is typically understood by every human in the country.
However, Sorens tend to prefer speaking and writing in their own native language. When speaking or writing in Aleseya, they may pepper the language with their own words. They also tend to sound more formal than most Alesseians.
Atlanteans, meanwhile, have difficulty communicating in spoken languages as a result of speaking entirely in sign language. Their grammar and sentence structures may be broken. Atlanteans that are more capable of speaking Aleseya properly tend to be from the noble and royal lineages.
Soren and Atlantean accents are more noticeable than the rest. Atlanteans tend to be much louder and emphasize their pronounciations. Sorens and Vinch people tend to be softer when speaking.
Ancient Aleseya
The ancient Aleseya script is a syllabic alphabet. It has been supplanted by the modern Alesseian alphabet for daily writings. However, the ancient Aleseya script is still in use for runic and glyph magic.
Sayings
Most sayings and interjections involve the word "fate" since Alesseians treat fate as a religious entity. Examples include:
- for fate's sake
- oh my fate
- fate be with you
- may fate bless you
Common Idioms
- "a dragon's solution" — an unorthodox solution ("Can you help me think of a dragon's solution for this problem?")
- "phoenix tale" — something that supposedly died but came back ("My Alchemical Passion's reunion was a phoenix tale.")
- "sphinx logic" — not easily understood ("They're teaching quantum mechanics? But that's sphinx logic!")
- "unicorn crap" — looks or sounds like trash, but is actually helpful ("I know it looks stupid, but I swear it's unicorn crap!")
Common Insults
- manhid — used to describe a person who comes from a dalisay town; means "insensitive"
- hunter — used to describe a person who believes that only humanoids have souls
- monster — used derogatively to describe a creature
- stained — used to describe a person contaminated by spirit stains
Customs and Rituals
Marriage
Marriage is typically a sacred romantic tradition. It is a meeting of the souls; in a traditional religious wedding, a ritual is done in order to permanently bind the souls to each other. This gives the married couple's auras traces of their partner's colors. After marriage, it is expected that the couple would stay together for the rest of their lives. Divorce and extramarital sex are forbidden upon accomplishing this sacrament. A person is not allowed to remarry upon the death of their partner.
If a person wishes to wed someone without the religious aspects, they may instead partake in a civil union. A civil union is a legally bound process that ties one person to another without the religious affiliation. One cannot marry any person other than their legally bound partner while in the civil union. A civil union allows divorce and extramarital sex to happen. However, a couple in a civil union has fewer marital rights than those who are married.
If the lovers are of different castes, it is necessary for the lover in the lower caste to ask permission to marry from the parents of their partner. If permission is not granted, the marriage can be revoked. The married lovers would be legally penalized.
In a typical Alesseian wedding ceremony, the couple and their guests are brought to a shrine. The couple is first given blessing runes. Afterwards, they partake in a ritual that would permanently link their souls together. This link allows the married couple to do a number of things:
- sense when the other is near, in great pain, and dying
- communicate with primitive telepathy
- carry the soul of their partner after their partner's death
The wedding celebrants wear white with accents of their partner's color. The wedding guests wear the color of their associated wedding celebrant.
Death Rituals
Even before the discovery of the Realm of Lost Souls, Alesseians believed in life after death. The customs before and after the discovery did not change much.
Most Alesseian funerals tend to differ per region. A common tradition is that the mourners wear the color of the deceased.
Festivals
There are several festivals throughout Alesseia that are celebrated in their various regions and localities, but only three are celebrated throughout the whole country.
Fiesta de Alesseia
Fiesta de Alesseia is an annual national holiday in Alesseia celebrating the nationhood of the country. It is celebrated on June 1, the date when the seven regions signed the Treaty of Alesseia and Queen Alesseia Cepheus was crowned. It is also the date when the country was named in honor of the first ruler of Alesseia and when the caste system was officially established.
The festival is marked by several rainbows and multicolored banners, displaying the Alesseian emblem in several public areas. Majority of private and government workplaces and all schools are closed for the day. Several places hold parties and parades on the day.
Amarana's Day
Amarana's Day is an annual romantic holiday celebrated on July 15 in Alesseia. Its origins began when King Amarana Cepheus legalized same sex marriage in the year InsertDateHere. It has now evolved to celebrate all kinds of romantic love. While it is not a public holiday by any means, it is considered a special festival by the people to show their love for one another.
There are various ways of celebrating it. The most common way is to dedicate a gift to one's lover, typically one fashioned after the soul of the recipient. Common gifts include letters, chocolate, flowers, and performances. There is a tendency for people to save romantic events and activities — confessions, dates, proposals, and weddings — for this date. It is one of the few occasions that encourage a person to dress in a color different from that of their spirit's; those in romantic relationships are expected to dress up in the color of their partner.
A month after the festival, August 15, is a holiday known as Black Day. People who did not receive gifts during Amarana's Day celebrate the occasion by wearing black, eating dark chocolate with fellow singles, and lamenting their single life.
Festival of Rebirth
The Festival of Rebirth is an annual festival celebrated in Alesseia. The festival starting September 22, it culminates in the Eve of Reawakening, celebrated on December 31. It originated from the myth of the phoenix goddess Mabaya, who rebirthed the world in magic on the last day of the year.
Starting late September, it is normal to hear festival carols on the radio and see festival decorations being sold. The most popular decoration is the parol, a lantern meant to invoke the image of the goddess bringing the land back to life. Other decorations include fairy lights and tinsel.
Eventide
Eventide is an annual festival dedicated to the dead celebrated on September 22. It marks the beginning of the Festival of Rebirth. Set a hundred days before the Eve of Reawakening, it marks the day that the dragon god Morado razed the old world and sowed the seeds of life for the goddess Mabaya to regrow.
Eve of Reawakening
The Eve of Reawakening is an annual festival celebrated on the last day of the year. It marks the end of the Festival of Rebirth as well as the end of the year.
People celebrate it by giving gifts to each other. They also offer sacrifices to the gods and goddesses this way.