Culture

It’s difficult to provide a comprehensive account of such a diverse culture as that of these islands. The barbarians of Rung, Kargomites, Saphynians and Paratornians all have very different attitudes to life, celebrate different occasions and so on. Still, there are some commonalities and main features of each island.

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FORMING A FAMILY
There are few legal differences between men and women in Trakoria. People of any gender can get an education, run a business, make a career in the military or own property. There is also little obstacle to people living together in intimate relationships in any constellations they want.

However, in such a legalistic and market-oriented society, marriage is important, if not so much for the symbolic meaning of the ritual, as for the legal consequences in terms of property ownership and inheritance. It is thus the nuptial contract that is read aloud, accompanied by pomp and circumstance, during a wedding ceremony, much like two merchant houses might celebrate an important business venture together.

This view of marriage also means that same-sex relationships are not seen as very controversial.

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SEX
Sex is not seen as something dramatic, mysterious or scandalous. It’s more akin to food - it should be enjoyable, and is for many also a need that requires satisfying on regularish basis. However, only adolescents would think it ok to engage in such activities in public, or during occasions where it would not be very appropriate. Seen such on stage or during fertility rights, however, would not shock anyone.

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MUSIC AND DANCE
This is popular all over the islands. Drums, flutes and bells are common, as are some unique instruments, like the trompet, which is like a small bugle, and often used to play march music. A Kordophone is something between a violin and a mandoline. It’s often used to accompany a singer.

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SMICKELBOARD
The single most characteristically popular item is, however, the smickelboard, a strategic board game (think chess). Any public house on any of the islands and in any culture will have one, no matter how crude. Among the nobles, the boards and pieces are often ridiculously ornate and expensive. It also fuels the gambling industry, since many competitions involve heavy betting, and if there’s one thing any Trakorian is honour bound to do, it is to pay debts incurred by losing a game of smickelboard. The number of optional rules and classic moves developed through the decades and centuries could easily fill a library.