As Madarch is so isolated from the rest of the world, and that multiple nations, the members of the Union Parliament, send their prisoners from a variety of backgrounds here, the culture of the Madarch colonies is distinct and tumultuous. The people being sent here share one thing in common- They are Sengl, and they have done something to piss off people in power far across the sea. The career criminal, the revolutionary, the inconvenient, and the powerful who crossed the wrong Sengl share their distaste for the colonial authorities while carrying their native culture with them. The colony denies them expressions of a Madarchic culture, the only thing that unites the prisoners in their eyes is that they are prisoners. The penal colonies on Madarch are new, and the direction they will take in history, politics, and the arts is just starting to begin.
Madarch has its own language of sorts, the Union Pidgin, a pidgin language of eight different languages. It will usually be rendered as English since that’s supposed to be the “common” language in Pathfinder AKA the one we’re using to communicate, but in-universe it would look quite different (and notably different from elvish, which as rendered in-universe is just based on English)
Founding day is the day that the first penal colony on Madarch was founded. A new era was declared for its founding, setting Madarch's calendar year to 0. It's celebrated with a decorated march by the Guard, and the erection of a public monument representing the year's achievements.
Seven queens day is the day that the seven Wyrm sister queens were all finally defeated by the ancient Sengl, and the beginning of their own downfall. It's celebrated with a public performance representing the arrival of the Wyrm sisters, their tyranny over Sengl, and their dramatised downfalls. The sheriff is made to play the part of the Sthed-Igyd.
Outvoyage day is the day that Sengl began to sail away from Madarch to far-away lands, where countless years later they would eventually return.
Revelation day is the day that the Sthed-Igyd received the Revelation Perthynas after the defeat of Wyrm queen Nemeton, which instructed the founding of the original Clovic church, the most influential religion in world history. It is celebrated by most as a day of giving presents and dressing in costumes representing "good and evil." To Stallislond Holbytlan who may practice Orthodox Clovic truth, it's a day of isolated meditation and reflection on the balances of these forces in one's life and community.
It’s a coming of age rite for dwarves that when they reach a certain age, they go and collect their key, and must find their own door. Dwarves outside of Byr still hold onto their key, or fashion their own as a tradition.
Excavation being the major mode of construction means that many dwarves are quite strong physically and mentally, holding firm belief in the transformative power of hard work and delighting in artistic and practical craftsmanship. However, this is the attitude held almost entirely by non-slave dwarves.
It is often disobedient slaves from Byr that are sent away to Madarch to work for its recolonisation. While multiple nations in the Union Parliament have slavery, the dwarven slave is seen as the sympathetic example of the slave class worldwide. As such, many dwarves in Madarch have quite a troubled relationship with their childhood, almost seeing their sentence on Madarch as granting them more liberty than in Byr.
Due to children being used as resources to attain greater wealth, dwarven society is full of dwarves who were never really wanted by their family, just being born for the contents of their door. They are either enslaved within their own clan, or if their door falls into the outskirts where no clans have formed yet and are thus clanless, are also enslaved by other clans. Dwarven slaves perform primarily construction labour, mining, refining, and building living space and structures rather than agriculture, which is considered a privileged position.
As you probably already noticed, since a dwarves' clan is based on the shape of their given dagger, their clan is then not decided by their lineage like they would in human clans. Lineage is not seen with as much importance as what is chosen for you by the City of Doors, and children are raised by the whole clan rather than just the parents.
Like all Sengl, dwarves usually fall into the spectrum of a male and female sex which in dwarven society correspond to the memo and gini genders respectively. Dwarven clans are led by their oldest memo member, and dissonance with sub-conscious sex is discouraged and, in the very tight, close dwarven society, it is hard to stay closeted. After reconnecting with the other Sengl, many of these dwarves sought out a place among the gnomes, goblins, and orcs where they will be accepted and magically alter themselves. Memo dwarves are typically seen as hardy and artsy (in metal-works particularly) and style their beards in a sharp fashion. Gini dwarves are seen as more flexible and soft and less concerned with the arts as much as practical craftsmanship such as weaving and brewing. They style their beards in a wide fashion and often hold their sewing tools in them as a symbol of maternity.
Dwarves have excelled far past the rest of the world in military engineering and weaponry, as well as advanced tools, however they're quite possessive of what they see as their “conceptual property”. The sculptures and underground structures that the dwarves have created are wonders of the world, not to mention the already mysterious, ancient and beautiful City of Doors. This makes Byr a very popular place for travelers to visit and chronicle their stay, as one could spend a decade here and still find new sights to marvel at. Tattoos are a traditional dwarvish practice. The main style of tattoo, the lifespiral, is a spiral pattern starting at the nape of the neck and is expanded every year. The spiral has small details that communicate information about the dwarf's life over time.
Dwarven humour is very centered around puns. Most of the time, they do not translate very well, though I've been told they are really funny in their original language. Here's an example:
“Two elves stand next to each other. They hug and make eleven!”
Dwarven language is based on toki pona as the dwarves language began to grow around short, succinct and simple working language that would be heard clearly even when echoed down a long mine-shaft, and whose glyphs could be easily carved into stone.
Crafts day is a day celebrating crafts of all kinds, from toys to bridges to weapons to carts. All forms of creation are treasured and the powerful creativity and innovation of Sengl is special. Celebrations typically include the creation of something, no matter how small or modest. Public showcases are held where any dwarf can show off what they have made. These crafts are often gifted to other dwarves and between clans as a show of ally/friendship. Despite the spirit of the holiday being to celebrate all crafts, precious and/or rare materials are still favoured by many dwarves.
The elf-descendents did not share the full ability to see the Third Sky, instead it acted more like a curse, plaguing them with false visions that grow more frequent and worse as they age. The elf-descendents share a sort of complex about the barrier between them and their true elven ancestry, no matter how far back that goes. Some wish they could be true elves, to share in their abstract omniscience and triviality, while others see the true elves like one sees an annoying and embarrassing parent.
Thanks to the knowledge of their fate at any moment granted by the visions from the Third Sky, their lives focus on the development of magic and art, and the unique and powerful intertwining of the two. When one refers to elves, they usually mean the elf-descendents, as the true elves remain isolated in their desert and their mountains, acting unserious and frivolous about the world’s issues and esoteric with their art. Rarely will someone visit the true elves, even an elf-descendent, and not be quickly turned back by their strange ways.
As sexual and gender expression are seen purely as predetermined fate like everything else, including all variations of these that one may be, the elves apply their abstract artistry to these concepts and treat them like an artform themselves. Genders are not typically seen as linked to sex, and also come and go somewhat like artistic trends in the real world.
Elven language is based on English, as that’s the language that I’m writing the elves lore in.
A holiday among elf-descendents who feel connected to their true-elf ancestry. The day is the anniversay of when the true-elves reconnected with other Sengl, one of the major events that began all of the reconnection between Sengl. Elf-descendents meet together for mass vision-making, learning about their meanings and the interpretations of their fates together.
After prolonged exposure to the forest, its plants and animals, and the Peris, the gnomes began to change psychologically generation to generation, picking up the eccentricity and boundless curiosity of the Peris. A serious gnome is very hard to come by unless their ancestry has been far from the forest for a long time.
Gnomes are known to wear tall, colourful caps which are said to sprout a cap like a mushroom when a gnome has discovered something that piques their interest. This is apparently one of the reproductive methods taught to them by the Peris.
The gnomish language is based on persian, as the peris were winged nature spirits in ancient Persian mythology that may have heavily influenced the germanic and eurasian settlers in europe that would go on to develop the fairies we’re more familiar with.
This is three-day holiday dedicated to silly pranks, jokers tricks, and funny larks. The days were chosen by the timing of pranksterish Peris attacks. Despite how it sounds, Sengl in Hosshal must take these days very seriously. On the first day, Sengl work together to figure out how to defend themselves from the pranks the Peris will launch on the Sengl population the next day. The second day is spent using these tactics to avoid being pranked. Peris pranks have a more... Intense schadenfreude than a typical Sengl would think to utilise. The third day is spent reconciling with the Peris for their gags, by counterpranking them. This makes everyone happy, except possibly those injured on the previous day.
Because of many generations spent hiding from beasts in the jungle, goblins tend to be skittish and jumpier than others, though this impulse is controlled well enough by most.
It's said that at its peak the great nation of Gwyrth was the most beautiful and rich in the world. This still holds true, as their fight against the humans goes strong to this day, and goblins are instilled with centuries of traditions, stories, knowledge of the arts and drama and warfare, intimate familiarity with the parts of animals and a highly developed animistic religion similar to the Madarchic ancient legend's Igyd and Ewfforia.
Goblins from the jungle are often seen as the worlds best marksmen and snipers, having developed a rigorous approach to shooting as well as advanced ranged weaponry. This was developed after a long period of fighting the large birds that would attack goblin cities on the canopy, but the problem isn't so bad anymore now that any bird could be hit out of the air from a merhale away.
Due to the ongoing war between goblins and humans in the Farlands, even fellow human prisoners in Madarch may look poorly on goblins.
The goblin language is based on egyptian arabic because of Egypt's fame for its culture and long, continuous history.
Old masters day is dedicated to the "old masters", the genius loci of the jungle and by extension the genius loci of all places. Celebrations are vibrant, thought to call the genius loci to join the festivities in the form of a Sengl, who would not be recognised in the crowd. Food made only of local ingredients, music and development of natural areas to promote animal inhabitation are among the most common activities. Others may celebrate in a more quiet manner. Druid circles following Gwyrth or Gwyrth-influence animism hold special annual communion with genius loci on this day.
With their island being quite a barren place, holbytlan value wide, open spaces like a virtue, something that should be striven for as the ideal of freedom. Much of holbytlan fiction presents “good” spaces as flat, open and bright and “bad” spaces as particularly closed up, dark, and musty. Holbytlan homes are completely open, sheds being used exclusively to shelter objects from rain and snow. This is something they share with the equine, whose bodies are made to navigate open spaces quickly. Mining is done only on the surface in wide quarries rather than in deep tunnels, so metal is not particularly common in favour of ceramics, which the frequent rainfall makes both an easy and difficult venture.
While holbytlan recognise sexual variety among themselves, since they still in the modern day adhere closely to a very orthodox view and method of Madarchic religion and belief, the idea of someone being variant is not particularly important, as they identify much more strongly with a unified idea of themselves and other Sengl (which until recently, they considered the mori to not be, though they are now considered Chretyr) as all the same, and the same extends to race. Among a particular strain of these Madarchic orthodox, they disagree with Formagrad's notions of Sengl variation, pointing to the holbytlan's still very close resemblance to their Stheihaol bretheren (they are practically the only people in the modern day that use those terms) and the orcs towards their fellow Untouched. Basically, their concept of divergence within Sengl is consistent with ancient Madarchic divisions, though they criticise the decisions the Sthed-Igyd made regarding them. This also unfortunately means that some holbytlan look on the Chretyr, back then called simply “anifail”, with hesitancy and suspicion, with that adopted prejudice against animals.
Despite the adoption of a Formagrad-like approach to reeducation regarding the attitude of the old nationalistic holbytlan towards the equine, the development is still very recent and much work needs to be done to change the minds of and suppress the elements of the old society who still remain antagonistic towards the equine, and the holbtyla government that has befriended them for good.
The reeds and weeds that grow on Stallislond lend themselves very nicely to be smoked. While not an ancient Madarchic tradition, indulging heavily in “pipeweed” is a holbytla original. The smoke has a calming, soothing effect on the mind, and smells delicious. Over time it may damage your lungs, but holbytlan find it worth it. Pipe culture is an important part of a holbytla's life, and oftentimes they are made quite large, so much so that others might mistake the pipe for a cudgel.
Their language is based on welsh, and is considered the closest representation of what ancient Madarchic may have sounded like. Most places, things and concepts regarding Madarch are named in the holbytla language.
Since human civilisation was founded as a continuation of the powerful, wealthy noble houses who held command in ancient Madarch, the nobility remains intact in Diofyn as royal families ruling over kingdoms. Diofyn's royal family is a mark of national pride to most, the family who was able to dominate all other human kingdoms and take their power as their own, wielding it over them, and controlling the lords. This exercise in wealth is often spent on appeasing- or placating- the civilians in Diofyn and elsewhere, to gain approval for the royal family. The royal family themselves have cemented themselves as a cultural monument, implacable and immovable, giving the people an intimate ruler, a muse for the arts, or an intimidating foe if they wish to speak ill of the family. Many people in Diofyn and the other human kingdoms see the Diofyn royal family almost like entertainment, and the royal family definitely plays up a performance. Other civilisations in the world call them the “jester kings” behind their backs for their sometimes embarrassing displays of drama.
The land the human kingdoms occupy are rich with marble, which is used extensively in the arts for sculptures. Sculpting is a very popular art form and even poor artists can afford the material in its large amounts. Focusing on shaping things in three dimensions has let humans understand the form of the Sengl body in a deep and intimate way, which is said by art historians to be responsible for Diofyn's advancements in medicine.
Throughout the years the human kingdoms took particular interest in non-magical medicine as they all found themselves either threatened or embroiled in war, which would grow extremely costly if they couldn't keep soldiers alive by treating wounds and preventing infection. Combat medicinal tactics fed academic study which informed the field of medicine which was applied by all the surgeons, combat-medics or not. Even now, human medicine impresses many across the world, and thankfully the knowledge is not kept secret.
Their language is based on latin because the idea kinda came from the roman expansion in Italy.
Orcs raised in Formagrad have tough principles and high standards of action taught to them. When arguing with an orc, if you aren't just as rigorous and methodical as they are, you'll feel like you're talking to a brick wall, or that they won't take you seriously. Other Sengl may feel like orcs are stubborn because of their steadfast beliefs but this isn't really the case. The orcs are actually quite dynamic and progressive in their beliefs and thought processes, you just have to meet them at their own level. And considering such rigorous philosophical and political education occurs nowhere outside of the universities anywhere else in the world, you probably won't meet them at their own level.
Formagradnik education is prized the world over for its quality and ubiquitousness. Literacy is nearly 90%, compared to a global average of around 55%.
Ancient Madarch is seen as it rightly is, an old and long-dead place that is only understood through legends and exaggerations. Barely any claim to a connection with ancient Madarch is real after all this time, and orcs might be careful around someone who identifies with this ancient culture. The Pakt Mira does not oppose the settlement of the island recognised as Madarch on principle, it is important to explore and find a better understanding of that ancient past, but condemns the Union Parliament for its penal colonies, slavery, exploitation and attitude towards the island and its monstrous inhabitants themselves. The Union Parliament calls them anghenfil sympathisers for this. This opposition to an ancient Madarchic identity puts Formagrad at odds with the holbytlan on Stallislond.
Equity and equality is a strong principle held by nearly every orc, and they are not afraid at all to assert this principle wherever it would not be applied. Even outside of Formagrad, it's often orcs leading equality movements and organisations.
The orcish language is based on russian.
Leshy are a special case because while they live in an interact with Sengl society quite commonly, they aren't actually Sengl, nor do they inhabit a single homeland as they are created by druids. In this way, they're seen everywhere but their very nature creates a real barrier between them and other Sengl. However, they are not treated poorly unless druids are looked down on wherever they originate from, and of course, leshy carry the culture, history, and sentiments of their creators, wherever they might be from and what they may believe.
The vanaran language is based on hindi.
The tengu language is based on japanese.
“O our Igyd, how you have been misplaced, stolen away by the conqueror! What a farce of benefaction they have fed us. I have seen it, your stone body penetrated by the vampyre, white ichor reduced to weight on a scale. Buried below the cairn, deader than the dead. Your love wrung from the children like a cloth, and injected with new lies and betrayals. Your truth is only now in the minds of the drug ridden elders, eyes cloudy, skin rift with wrinkles and tongues babbling. How I have come to know of you, no, the faint idea of you, that there was a truth before the lie, is your miracle. We will find you once more.” - Cadwyn, a holbytla poem dramatising the Outvoyage.
All three clover churches believe in a “clover”-like structure of reality, consisting of leaves surrounding a central stem/node. The clover is four-leafed. Two of the leaves are called the Leaves of Law, they are Tir Negythu and Teyrnas Ochr. The Leaves of Law are raw existence, the laws of “is” and “is not.” Tir Negythu contains negation, nothingness, void, empty sets, unbeing, etc. Teyrnas Ochr contains the cosmos, raw elemental power, mystical energies, time, etc.
The fundamental laws of what is and what is not necessarily bring the Leaves of Being into existence, known as Dros Deyrnas and O Dan Deyrnas. The Leaves of Being create immaterial, idealised metaphysical existences, and can contain consciousnesses in the form of “higher powers”, narrative entities that appear and disappear in fluctuations. Dros Deyrnas contains gods and other “good” celestial beings. O Dan Deyrnas contains evil entities like demons and infernal deities.
The stem is Parth Perthynas, and that is the material world that we live in, a natural consequence of the four leaves concepts crashing into each other. The stem could not survive without its leaves, and its leaves would fall apart without a stem to attach to. The balance of powers on Parth Perthynas determines the health of the Leaves of Being. If the forces of good and evil were to be skewed on Parth Perthynas, the leaves would become sick and threaten to wither.
Not much is left about the true, original form of the Clover church. Various followers of it after the Outvoyage, especially among the holbytlan, wrote supplementary and additional works that expand and canonise certain concepts. These works are called Perennials. They form the vast majority of written works in the church and are studied by all followers.
Sengl of the faith take sides in the balancing of Parth Perthynas, always striving for balance. However, there are two denominations of the Clover church, originating from the two Wyrm sisters of legend and universally discredited, that focus only on one side of the conflict. This isn't to say that the layman in any denomination regularly makes enemies of angels or demons, but it is a distinct philosophy one follows in their life.
“To hold true joy is to be tormented, so that you may look up and say 'thank you,' when Elation comes for thee.” - Thus Spake Agiyari, on Elation, p.54
The Basic church is a denomination of the Clover church and is on the side of Dros Deyrnas in the conflict on Parth Perthynas, who wish to let their legendary master the Wyrm Agiyari ascend to godhood to bring peace and eternal goodness to Parth Perthynas by cutting out the evil of O Dan Deyrnas.
“And we will raise ourselves past our station, to be what is only fair to be for having to suffer here on Earth. We will take what we are owed and become gods.” - Thus Spake Antimarix, on Parth Perthynas, p.12
The Acid church is a denomination of the Clover church on the side of O Dan Deyrnas in the conflict on Parth Perthynas, who wish to raise all living things on Parth Perthynas to the level of godhood as recompense for the suffering that the beings in Dros Deyrnas force us to go through for the sake of “balance.”
A monotheistic religion from [somewhere] centred on a god[ess?] named [Unnamed deity]. This deity is a manifestation of the ancient unity or oneness between all ancestries in the world, and in the far past had performed miracles to return Sengl to this unified state.