Galdusian

'Galdusian' refers to those who were born in, or have strong cultural heritage from, the two Galdusian continents of Sula and Nortez. The race most likely to be Galdusian is the spellbinders, which make up the vast majority of modern Galdusian populations, however necromancers are also Galdusian in nature as a minority, while humans who've long since been exploited by spellbinders as slaves or augmentees are often considered to be culturally Galdusian.
A society driven primarily by the pursuit of an orderly world without scarcity that allows its population to focus on the higher pursuits of life, Galdusians are often stereotyped as pretentious stick-in-the-muds with genocidal/supremacist tendencies at worst, and classy artisans with unparalleled magical knowledge at best.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Feminine names tend to end in the 'a' sound, though in the case of human augmentees (who, when not born in the Demidium Breeding Facility, are usually renamed from their Jaranese birth names) 'el' is a common suffix too. Unlike family names, there's not noticeable differences between various Galdusian cultures, just between spellbinders/augmentees.
Spellbinder examples: Quira, Serella, Altera, Quissera, Corea, Lusera.
Augmentee examples: Ariel, Laminel, Pluriel, Antorea, Alina, Suriel.

Masculine names

Masculine names tend to end in 'is', 'i', 'o', and 'us', the latter generally associated with nobility. 'is' and 'i' meanwhile are generally considered to be 'outer city' Galdusian names. Galdusian-Arkheran male names have long since metamorphosed to fit Arkheran sensibilities, far more than their feminine equivalents. Augmentee males, interestingly, occasionally have the noble 'us', but usually with names that mean much more primal, animalistic, or brutal things, as opposed to names related to the abstract and precious metals most Galdusian nobility has.
Galdusian spellbinder examples: Sorelli, Vieri, Lesteris, Luxifros, Varus, Revidus.
Galdusian augmentee examples: Brutus, Conditor, Saltor, Ferrus, Decor, Canus.
Galdusian-Arkheran examples: Plutyn, Rowyn, Mortyn, Atlas, Sontaro, Sumero.

Unisex names

Galdusian names are generally strongly gendered, but there is one distinct case of gender-neutral naming: For the increasingly-rare event (except for in Nova Tertia) of merged ascension. In the days of inefficient ascension, oftentimes one soul associated with an ascension stone wasn't enough to power an ascended form, and as such, multiple souls would ascend together to form a conglomerate being. In the case of former breeders, this often would be a couple hoping to be mentally together forever, leading to a bigendered being. Usually their name would be a combination of their formerly separate beings' original names.
Galdusian examples: Lucora, Alteris, Saltora, Quixos, Luxinda, Serevus.

Family names

Galdusians for the most part don't have family names unless part of the citadel elite, or in the case of Galdusian-Arkherans, part of nobility/knighthood. The most consistent suffix is 'as' or 'us', and use of 'ae' and 'x' sounds are semi-common. In Sula, 'a' or 'ae' as a starting sound is common.
Nortezian examples: Kiraxas, Erasmus, Ulnuras, Argentus, Priseris, Quistas.
Sulari examples: Aeternus, Aurelion, Aes, Parthensis, Auras, Albas.
Galdusian-Arkheran examples: Abraxas, Soren, Wrathaek, Khanas, Aranael, Lumos.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

The languages spoken in Galdus are all evolved from the original imperial language of the Golden Galdusian Empire, known in the contemporary world as 'Old Galdusian'. This language is still preserved in the form of ancient texts, magic textbooks, and Arkheran/Ilazari academia, however most people speak Nortezian in Nortez and Sulari in Sula, both variants of Old Galdusian contorted by time.
While the ascendants of the inner cities, able to easily gate between their nations' megalopolises, have a more homogenised idea of what 'Nortezian' and 'Sulari' as languages are, the outer cities, being so large and disconnected, have extremely variable dialects, connected only by the writing systems of Nortezian and Sulari (themselves similar, but often read differently).

Shared customary codes and values

Galdusian society revolves around order, as seen by the rigid nature of their very cities, whose forms are planned as square grids, each road a vein and each cluster of buildings a tissue. A breeder who stands out is generally viewed with suspicion merely on that alone, at least in Nortez, whereas in Sula, more bold ambition and arrogance is accepted (and to a degree, expected, especially in Nova Tertia). The way of Bold Individualism is fraught with challenges in Galdus, and the ambitious should expect to be questioned and hindered every step of the way, hence it's usually easier just to be another part of the self-multiplying, eternal Galdusian machine.

Average technological level

Galdusian society has attained the most advanced magitech in the world, exceeding even the likes of the Ikinamese. Not only was the conversion of one's soul into magical 'data' embedded into a arcana-infused conduit (usually a stone) the hallmark invention before Galdus was even truly an empire, modern Galdus has large, mostly-automated magic-infused buildings which are capable of alerting unrest, delivering food, altering itself according to magic users' commands within, and even providing on-demand information using basic command panels operated by touch.
While books are still there in the form of antiques, most modern works are inscribed using panels which house multiple 'pages' accessed by sliding one's finger left or right. In addition, wands crafted by Galdusians are the best in the world save the semi-legendary Kakajuan wands, able to place mortals at the arcana level of weak ascendants. They also have an extensive 'gate' system, essentially a grid of reliable teleportation devices, as opposed to the unreliable portals created by godspeakers. Their citadels are also capable of magically invoking storms, which are summarily used to produce sustainable power through magical turbines throughout the behemoth buildings.

Common Etiquette rules

Bowing with one's whole body as a gesture (rather than the stiff bows of the Oukinese and Himataki Yukishimans) is common practice between breeders and their 'betters', inner-city ascendants or citadel nobility. Nods of acknowledgement are common in breeders between equals. Ascendants, being without bodies, have unusual gestures to greet, including singular pulses of light from their ascension stones and in some cases, using their form-definers, simulated versions of the breeders' gestures between equals.
Generally, breeders are expected to be silent and pliable around inner-city ascendants, who in turn are silent around citadel nobility. Questioning of authority is strongly disapproved of, especially in Nortez, while in Sula mere disapproval isn't doled out, but active punishment, due to the Sulari's greater emphasis on the strong ruling, rather than ruling and order being an aim in itself as in Nortezian culture.
When reading ancient literature and old magical texts, it is politest to speak in Old Galdusian. Poetry is also preferred to be written in Old Galdusian, with modern Galdusian tongues being considered too 'vulgar' by comparison.

Common Dress code

Breeders in the outer cities are expected to wear Galdusian kimonos/yukatas, generally in the colours associated with their city. These are, for Moneri, Demidium, Nova Tertia, Quattrus, Pentatum and Hextolis respectively, Red-White, Blue-Yellow, Gold-Black, Blue-Green, Gold-White, and Blue-Red. Inner-city ascendants are freer to define their form as they wish, some opting to take the forms of metallic/cloth animals such as cranes, wyverns, and lizards. Citadel ascendants are much the same, while fleshly citadel dwellers usually have more expressive, individualised clothing, often incorporating tassels and foreign fashions.

Art & Architecture

Galdusian culture was once defined by its artistry, in particular its poetry and architecture. Alabaster statues, pillars and an overall angular, square style of building was common, while poetry in Galdus was marked by its appreciation of abstract concepts and magical expression, given strict form under iambic pentameter.
Ilazari-style free and blank verse has come into style in Quattrus, but mostly poetry has remained the same. Modern Galdusian architecture, however, is unrecognisable compared to its ancestral roots, now consisting of uniform, exactly-measured towers of redstone-lined black rocks, often volcanic substrates such as obsidian and basalt, smoothed out into unchanging tall cuboids with glowing redstone veins.
Old-style Galdusian architecture is still preserved in some areas of the megalopolises' inner cities, with the outer cities and citadels alike being largely consumed by modern Galdusian sensibilities. In Arkhera, however, fondness for the old Galdusian way of building never quite subsided, and so there are numerous estates that mimic their former colonising nation's old ways.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

Birth is a horrific affair for spellbinders in general, and so Galdusians rarely name their child until it's born; if the mother dies during childbirth, the general rule is to name the child after the mother, either through name duplication or masculation. If a mother survives a birth, they are generally hailed as a brave warrior or adventurer who has faced a grand ordeal, and are pampered for days afterwards. As such, male childcare expectations are relatively high, either due to a dead mother or a mother who is resting and being praised.

Coming of Age Rites

Most fleshly Galdusians who aren't explicitly after doing their part in breeding more Galdusians with their lover are expected to ascend at the age of adulthood, which in Galdus is eighteen. Once a decision is made, they're either converted into an ascendant or married off to their partner at eighteen, where they're expected to either move to the inner city or attempt to have children immediately, respectively. If a recently-ascended eighteen-year-old still has fleshly parents, they are expected to say their final goodbyes with a heartfelt thank you for their sacrifice, before permanently bidding their former fleshly life farewell.

Funerary and Memorial customs

Ascendants, being immortal, rarely die, so when they do, it is often considered an insurmountable tragedy to their friends. Ascendants have been known to enter periods of extended stone-based hibernation following their friends' deaths, with only their thoughts about mortality's precipice for company.
Breeders, meanwhile, vary. Galdusian necromancers often leave their own body in their will to their family, and so raising their corpse and thanking their long-lost soul for the dutiful servant is commonplace. The much more common spellbinders, however, will often spend days in mourning, keeping vigils over their corpse's casket until they allow themselves to let go, at which point they submit their loved one's body to a 'disposal gate', essentially a single use gate that transports the casket to the vast Galdusian wilderlands beyond the megalopoli.

Common Taboos

Galdusian society in general has taboos against anything that betrays the 'demure' and 'orderly' image of the society Old Galdus aimed to create. Complaints and civil unrest in breeders will be met with instant condemnation and likely 'disappearing' of dissenting individuals, and generally speaking, staying in one's fleshly body beyond safe fertility is considered unseemly unless among the citadel elite. The thread and Yukishima in general, being both human and antimagical, are also considered to be vile; the antimage elves of Elarond are similarly treated as horrid creatures. Traits carried over from instinctive spellbinder/necromantic revulsions include despising curvy and short beings, meaning that racism against humans and indeed most humanoids is common.

Historical figures

There are multiple historical rulers/philosophers Galdus remember for better or for worse, but the five all Galdusians will note (albeit Galdusian-Arkherans may not care as deeply about their cultural significance) are the following:
Galdurium, the First Emperor: The semi-mythical spellbinder who initially invented the process of ascension, and became the leading personality in a five-souled conglomerate ascendant, using his newly-improved magic to exploit the land of Sula with an efficiency and power unlike anything before, leading to untold prosperity and growth, which in turn led to the explosion of culture and urbanisation that led to Old Galdus and eventually, the Golden Galdusian Empire.
Emperor Audacium Aeternus, the Ruined Emperor: The last ruler of the Golden Galdusian Empire, who began Galdus's expansionist tendencies beyond the two continents that made the empire so great and ultimately led to the empire's vulnerability and collapse under the vengeful conquest of Plague Emperor Albedo, known as Andros to some. Currently exists as an impotent arcane pillar within the ruins of Ante Tertia.
Grand Ascendant Darvith, the Conglomeration of Minds: The current ruler of Sula whose historical impact as the Ruined Emperor's consigliere who allegedly attempted to council reason into Emperor Aeternus every step of the way. He is responsible for rebuilding both Tertia (in the form of Nova Tertia) and Sula in general, nurturing the imperial scion from the ashes of the Plague Empire and redefining Sula as the more brutal, meritocratic, individualist take on Galdusian culture. Is also the largest conglomerate ascendant in history.
Albedo of Demidium, the Plague Emperor: A disgruntled former indentured breeder whose escape from Demidium with augmented slaves resulted in the liberation of Ilazar from the overextended Golden Galdusian Empire, marking the twilight years of the once-great empire. An assassination would spur him onto liberating every colony from Emperor Aeternus, along with destroying Galdus itself, acquiring the husk of the Empire and making his own Plague Empire, then dying and leaving it to his daemonic lover, who left Galdus to regrow from the ashes. Widely reviled in Galdusian culture.
Weldum of Quattrus, the Eternal Duke: The first duke of the Galdusian Duchy of Nortez, that is, Nortez in its modern form. He ascended and proceeded to reevaluate everything that went wrong with the initial Galdusian experiment, and over his hundreds of years of contemplation, accepted that expansionism and an inability to accept other cultures was a major teething problem for the empire. As such, he retook only the northern three megalopolises of Galdus and strove to make a relatively small, but functional 'empire' to replace the heavy, collapsed Golden Galdusian Empire and its plagued successor alike. Eventually, he ceded control to the Kiraxas family in Hextolis, but remains a highly influential advisor of sorts, as well as controlling the westernmost (and therefore most likely to interact with foreigners) city of Nortez, Quattrus.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Galdusian society classically has an emphasis on simple beauty, generally expecting man and woman alike to wear simple pieces of bow-bound, wrapped clothing known as 'Galdusian kimonos' or 'Galdusian yukatas' by the wider, Soltelle-dominated world (despite being nothing like Wrenfall kimonos and only coincidentally similar to Oukinese ones). While some Galdusian-Arkherans will change up the traditional kimono with embroideries or wearing it off-shoulder to expose more skin, the traditional ideal is a chaste, body-covering outfit, even covering one's tail. Makeup is also anathema to the simplicity-loving Galdusians, who consider it a pollution of natural beauty.

Gender Ideals

Regarding augmentation of looks, Galdusian society is relatively gender-agnostic, expecting long, naturally uncut hair in both genders. In terms of roles, modern Galdus is mostly gender-agnostic too, as there is no such thing as a 'breadwinner' in the post-scarcity society. The one aspect where this isn't the case is in politics; here, men are the heads of their houses, and in fleshly citadel families, if their wife is old or suffering from fertility issues, he's free to take concubines from the outer city. Female politicians, when ascended and not defined by who they're married to, tend to be diplomats and councilors, though consiglieres still tend to be men.

Courtship Ideals

Galdusian courtship traditionally is a demure, premeditated affair, with rather formal statements of intent and offers to dance being common means of a man declaring their interest in a woman, while a woman may invite a man to make a move by declaring their favour. Noble/citadel families will generally arrange marriages between their offspring, a tradition passed to Galdusian-Arkheran nobility, and fraternal incest to retain 'purity' is common in nobility.
However, in modern times there's been a paradigm shift in the lower classes as breeders in the outer cities have become increasingly disconnected from their inner city 'betters'' antiquated views, and instead tend to prefer to meet their lovers while drunk in dance halls or simply meeting them in places associated with their hobbies. Sex without marriage is also becoming increasingly common, especially in Sula, where breeding regulations are notably laxer.

Relationship Ideals

An ideal Galdusian marriage is one that is stable, functional, provides the appropriate amount of children, and then is secured permanently by the couple ascending once they are beyond breeding age. The particularly attached will undergo a merged ascension together, becoming one being whose thoughts are shared. Openness of intent and transparency, along with cooperation on goals, are generally considered to be good things in a Galdusian relationship. While in nobility, males are seen as the heads of their households, Galdusian lower-class breeders along with inner-city ascendants tend to view gender roles as more-or-less equal.

Major organizations

Galdusian Duchy of Nortez
Galdusian Freehold of Sula
Golden Galdusian Empire (historical)
Ilazari Plague Empire (historical)
Necromantic Colony of Arkhera (historical)

Encompassed species

• Angel
• Harvester
• Necromancer
• Spellbinder
• Spellbinder-Necromancer Hybrid

Related Organizations

• Elective Kingdom of Arkhera
• Freehold of Ilazar
• Order of the Shade
• R's Revolution
• Royal Electorate of Arkhera
• Sons of Sula

Related Locations

• Arkheran Isles
• Nortez
• Sula