Me: Hello Svensteel, how are you today?
Svensteel: I am as good as Gederath!
Me: Well... good than?
Svensteel: Aye! 'Tis good!
Me: Whatever you say... I'll never get you guys's weird sayings... lets get on with it then! I shall ask you some questions about your homeland. And you answer them. Easy enough?
Svensteel: Thou may start!
Me: I will start with the ethics and culture of the Kylor...
Me: What is the most desired/most valuable stuff in this society — gold, jewels, drugs, money, furs, reindeer, etc.? Is this a race/culture for whom non-material things (information, time) are the most valuable things? How did they get that way?
Svensteel: Spirituality. Yes. They were made to be that way.
Me: What things are considered normal and acceptable in this society that would not be considered normal or acceptable in yours? (Examples: dueling, drugs, polygamy, infanticide.)
Svensteel: Dueling is considered normal.
Me: What things are considered shocking in this society that are not considered shocking in yours — e.g., showing a woman’s ankles, eating left-handed, reading in public? What would be the reaction of an ordinary person who sees someone doing one of these things — to turn away, call the cops, draw a sword and challenge the offender to a duel, etc.?
Svensteel: Piercing ones body, cutting of women’s hair, women not wearing dresses or tunics. Tattoos or markings on ones skin.
Me: What are the acceptable limits to honesty in this society? Are “white lies” acceptable socially, or is lying in any form considered beyond the pall? Is thievery an accepted, if disreputable, occupation, or is it a crime?
Svensteel: Lying that causes harm, and all forms of thievery are both against the law.
Me: Is a binding oath unbreakable no matter what, or can you get out of it if the other party turns out to be evil scum or if you weren’t fully informed? What is considered the right thing to do if two oaths come into conflict — do you have to decide as best you can, hold to the most recent oath, hold to the oath to the most/least powerful person, commit suicide?
Svensteel: An oath is unbreakable. Unless you are taken to the high priests and at least three fourths of the priests must agree to break the oath. If two oaths are in conflict you keep the oath of the most powerful/rich/spiritual person. Suicide is an big option for important oaths.
Me: What are attitudes toward ownership? What constitutes “theft” and what can be stolen — gems, gold, someone’s good name or reputation? Are thieves independent criminals, members of an illegal guild, business people licensed by law, or what?
Svensteel: Everything constitutes to something that can be stolen. Thieves come alone and with guilds. They are thieving against the law in Kylor. If another race comes to Kylor they will be banished and sentenced to the punishment in their own country. If they are banished from their own country they are sent to another, if the person is banished from all cities he is killed.
Me: Who is considered a citizen, with the rights and privileges thereof? What are those rights and privileges (voting, protection from thieves, the right to a hearing in Rome) and what responsibilities go along with them (jury duty, providing funds or knights for the lord’s army?
Svensteel: If a Kylor is in ownership of a house he is considered a citizen. Women are when married or under a father. They must pay taxes according to the amount of people in their house.
Me: Are there certain classes of people (wizards, foreigners, children, peasants, women) who have fewer legal rights or less recourse than full citizens? Why? Are they considered mentally or morally deficient, a danger to the state, or is there some other rationale?
Svensteel: Some people are looked down upon if they had disgraceful ancestors. And they are treated worse then others and are made to do the more hard labor with less pay instead of higher ranking jobs.
Me: Is there a group of people who do not have full rights in this culture? Why not? Are they considered mentally or morally deficient, a danger to the state, or is there some other rational?
Svensteel: Rebellious guilds that worship evil gods are banished from rights for being against the high priests will and against the will of the gods. Yes; they are considered danger to the country.
Me: What are the controversial subjects in this culture?
Svensteel: War.
Me: What things can you start a friendly argument about in any bar?
Svensteel: What the all-powerful god is, or which god they serve.
Me: What things will automatically start an unfriendly argument?
Svensteel: Being rude to ones ancestors.
Me: What are the social taboos — what things are “not done,” like wearing a bathing suit to the office? What things are not talked about? What would happen if someone did?
Svensteel: Walking into the monastery without completing cleansing rituals. If they did they would be punished as it says in the books of law.
Me: What are the biggest social faux pas — burping loudly at a formal banquet, drawing steel in the presence of a queen/noble, asking a dwarf whether it’s male or female? What subjects or actions cause embarrassment or discomfort?
Svensteel: Unmarried men can not touch or touch the clothing of unmarried women, when over the age of twelve.
Me: What are the society’s mores regarding courtship, marriage and family? Is marriage primarily a civil or a religious institution?
Svensteel: A proposal and a gift from the husband. Then one year of courtship and a wedding. It is a religious institution.
Me: Who are the persons or groups to which one automatically has a duty simply by being born — one’s family, one’s town/city, one’s country, one’s ruler/president, the gods?
Svensteel: Your occupation is chosen by the high priests and the gods when you turn fourteen.
Me: What is the hierarchy of duty among them — is it considered more noble to follow your mother’s teaching or to follow your emperor’s orders?
Svensteel: It is more noble to follow the god’s will then anyone else’s.
Me: What are the standards of beauty for people? Paintings and sculpture? Clothes and furniture? How do they differ from the standards in your culture (example: a country which considers fatness a highly desirable beauty trait)? How do standard of beauty reflect the physical traits of the various races (examples: dwarves might consider excessive height unattractive; werewolves might be attracted by long teeth or a particular scent)?
Svensteel: Women are found attractive if they acquire many different skills (E.G. Sowing, baking, fishing) and by having long hair. All are honored if they are favored by the gods. For men; small ears are found to be beautiful.
Me: Who are this culture’s historic heroes and villains (e.g., Washington and Lincoln in the U.S.; Henry V in England, etc.)? Why are they admired as heroes/villains and what does this say about the people who admire them?
Svensteel: Svensteel was looked up upon by Kylor because of his courage and his perfect spirituality: giving him great powers which all Kylor yearn after. The gods; Ixion, Telem. Holom, Hazor and Zorah are looked as villians as all who follow them.
Me: What is the ideal life that people aspire to? Do people mostly want to retire to a little house in the country, buy the most “toys,” serve in the army/navy?
Svensteel: They desire perfect spirituality and to retire into the temple.
Me: What kinds of people are the rebels and outcasts of this society? How does society deal with them? What actions or ideas will get you made an official outcast/exile? What happens to people who don’t fit the accepted social order — do they have their own sections of town, or are they invisible (“in the closet”), or do they get kicked out of the country altogether?
Svensteel: Anyone with other religions are looked down upon and banished. Or being faithful to evil gods. They flee to other smaller towns or hide away.
Me: Who are the arbiters of ethics (as opposed to law)? How did they get to be arbiters? Who are the social arbiters?
Svensteel: Simply everyone around.
Me: Which ethical/moral decisions are considered the province of religion, and which are not?
Svensteel: All are.
Me: *Yawns* Ok Svensteel... the night is nearing. I am tiring.
Svensteel: Aye; we will pick this up again some other post.
Me: Yeah... I don't want to give anyone too big of a monster post.
