Gather round, folks. All those weird Latakian jargon and cultural quirks that have since been mentioned or revealed are collected here.
(A/N: Meya will update this gradually as the poor lass learns more of her world)
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Latakia
Map of Latakia
Latakia is a small, feudalistic kingdom made up of numerous tribes and autonomous communities that had seceded from the Empire of Nostra. Cordoned from the rest of the world by mountains to the west and north, and by the ocean to the east and south, and being once under the rule of an expansionist empire, most Latakians are wary of outsiders. Coupled with being mostly a physically similar (though culturally diverse) race, Latakians are afraid of people who look different from them (Like Greeneyes, Tyldornians and Southern Islanders).
The shape of Latakia is roughly hexagonal. With the capital city of Aynor at its heart, it is divided into six triangular regions named after the regional capital: Icemeet (N), Easthaven (NE), Damerel (SE), Aquar (S), Meriton (SW), and Hythe (NW).
(P.S. Hadrian and Crosset lies in the area near the border between Meriton and Hythe, called the central-west.)
Latakia has two routes of sea trade: Easthaven Port; where ore ships would depart for Everglen, and merchant ships from Tyldorn carrying fabric, artisan glass and other luxury goods would dock, and Southmeathe Port; where merchant ships from the Southern Isles [A/N: I swear I'm not thinking of Frozen while writing this] carrying spices and tropical crops would dock.
Latakia is also still connected to Nostra by way of the treacherous Zarel Pass, which used to be and still is the main and only means of land transportation between the two countries, from the time when Latakia was part of Nostra's colony. The Pass is a narrow path which meanders horizontally across the canyonlands of Neverend Heights and Zarel River. Plagued by frequent earthquakes and rockfalls, poisonous gas, sudden volcano eruptions, and ice avalanches in winter, travelers must traverse it with the aid of experienced navigators or risk being lost forever in the canyon mazes.
Heavily manned and guarded by Amplevale Fortress on Latakia's side, and Chione's Lair on Nostra's side, in principle, only emissaries and merchants are allowed through after thorough checks for weapons, books and other smuggled innovations and intelligence, and tension is almost always at its height. Yet, there are, of course, occasional spies...
Religion
Religion is very influential in Latakian politics. The High Priest would usually serve on the King's Royal Council and hold significant sway over the direction of the country. For example, The Mining Ban was enacted by King Edward II Wynn after High Priest Uriel IV made an amendment in the Holy Scriptures, claiming that mining would bring forth divine punishment.
Countryside manors do not necessarily abide by the Central Church's interpretation in all aspects, or may have a different cult, sect or belief system altogether. Since religion in Latakia is highly political, manorial Lords may exploit the Holy Scriptures in ways which best serve their personal ideals or interests.
Compared to our real world, in general, manors in Damerel, Easthaven and Aquar tend to be more progressive (due to mild climates and sea trade), while Meriton, Hythe and Icemeet are rather conservative.
Some notable characteristics of conservative manors are strict belief in religion of some kind, high influence of religion on laws and politics, limiting the rights of women or men (i.e. Hyacinth) and discouraging literacy and education for commoners. Progressive manors are generally more lenient when it comes to religion, the sacred and the secular are segregated, and equality, use of machinery and literacy are promoted.
Crosset is moderately conservative, whereas Hadrian is among the most progressive manors in Meriton. As depicted, both men and women of all social standings in Hadrian are encouraged to pursue education. Hadrian men don't mind much whether their wives are still pure or not, whereas in Crosset a woman's chastity is taken very seriously when it comes to marriage (or re-marriage).
Freda and Chione (Free-dah and Kai-oh-nee)
Freda is the Goddess of Creation. She is believed to have given Latakas Wynn, later known as the Founder and First King of Latakia, guidance and assistance to drive the demoness Chione away from Neverend Heights, a mountain range which lies across the west and north of Latakia. To quell Latakia's rebellion, Chione had been drawing fire and brimstone from the depths of the earth, to rain upon Latakia through calamitous volcanic explosions which carve rivers of fire into the land.
Once she had tamed the Heights and allowed Latakia to be rebuilt as an independent state, Freda resides in the caldera on the peak of Neverend Heights. The once lava-filled caldera is now lush and abundant, nourished by a lake with rainbow-colored waters. Thus, rainbows are believed to have been created by rainwater from Freda's caldera lake.
The Latakian Central Church is dedicated to her worship. The High Priest of the Central Church and other high-ranking priests are tasked with receiving Freda's divine guidance through prayers and offerings, and communicating them to the King and the people through the Holy Scriptures.
Chione is the evil sorceress of Nostra who once ruled a fortress on the peak of Neverend Heights. Once favoring fire and brimstone, she is now believed to be the harbinger of winter (to challenge Freda, who embodies spring). Driven deep underground and sealed there by Freda, she channels her powers through her green-eyed minions to sow discord, bring misfortune and create general mischief and strife for Freda's people out of spite. It is believed excessive mining would help Chione tunnel back up to the surface to challenge Freda again.
Fyr (Fee-ur)
Rower of the Raft and Freda's husband. He ferries departed souls on his raft of stone, down the river of fire to the black lake at the center of the Earth to judge them. The souls of those who in life have been faithful to Freda and decent would float, and Fyr would take them to Neverend Heights to join Freda in her caldera, while vile souls would sink to the bowels of the lake from the weight of their sins, and go on to nourish the earth as repayment.
It is believed the waterfalls and rivers of Latakia are created by Freda and Fyr's combined streams of passion. (A/N: You know what I mean.)
Much like people of any culture, Latakians would often swear by Freda, Fyr and Chione. And in the case of Chione, specifically her (sometimes saggy) ninnies (breasts).
People
Latakia is a feudal, hierarchical society.
At the top of the pyramid is the King and his immediate family in the capital of Aynor. The incumbent king and queen in this timeline are Alden and Zephyr Corbyn. Their heir is Prince Halcyon.
Next are the regional dukes: six noble clans that rule each of Latakia's six regions (or duchies).
[For example: Sir Christopher Merilith is the son of Duke Merilith, who rules Meriton. Marquess Fratengarde is the retired elder brother of Duke Fratengarde, Queen Zephyr's father who currently rules Hythe.]
One step further down are the manorial lords. These noblemen are given settlements in the countryside to rule over, in exchange for providing food and troops to the regional dukes or the King. These clans may be descended from royal ancestors, or knighted commoners.
In Latakia, the lowest noble title is Lord. All noblemen and women without ruling duty are simply called "Lord" or "Lady". Only those with royal blood can ascend to the title of Count, Earl or Marquess. Duke is reserved for regional clans only. Thus, even though Kellis Hadrian is a powerful manorial lord, because of his ancestor's commoner background, he could not rise above the rank of Baron.
[A/N: I see a number of readers refer to Coris, Zier, Arinel and other noblemen/women as "royalty". However, these characters who feature heavily in the story are not royalty, but nobility; freemen who are knighted and given land to rule by royalty, and their families.
I think they're quite similar to The Lannisters and The Starks in Game of Thrones. Note that they are not called Prince Coris, Prince Zier and Princess Arinel but Lord Coris, Lord Zier and Lady Arinel, and Meya refers to them as my liege/my lord and my lady, instead of your majesty/your highness. In fact, if everything goes as planned, we won't get to see any royalty until the very end of the story, or maybe not at all...]
All noble clans have their own signature color, which they will usually wear during formal occasions. The color must be easily distinguishable, and as commoners will no longer be able to use this color once it has been designated as a noble color, as a rule the dye should be derived from a rare material that could be procured and sourced only by the noble clan itself.
As fashion trends come and go, trickling from nobility and the rich in cities and towns to countryside manors, commoners would seek to emulate the colors of noble clans. Of course, they were not allowed to use the exact dye, neither do they have the means nor the money to source the raw materials. This was where dyers (like Silmaryl Tupkin in Silver and Emerald) come in. These dye experts, who were often textile traders, would experiment to create colors with a passing similarity to noble colors (too close would risk sumptuary laws) using affordable local materials.
Known noble colors
Crosset Green: A pale gray-green color derived from cured spores of the snow fern, which can only be found on the northern section of Neverend Heights in Icemeet.
Hadrian Red: A vivid blood-red derived from the Hadrian Rose, which is a new strain of roses developed and cultivated only in Hadrian Castle. Formerly created by crushing poisonous realgar crystals found near the western section of Neverend Heights.
Graye Gray: A dark gray derived from the sand of Graye River, which flows only in their Lord's Forest.
Jaise Black: An iridescent black color derived from iron salt and powdered beetle wings. Before the Mining Ban, it was derived from powdered Jet ore mined in Jaise.
Safyre Blue: A costly, bright ultramarine blue derived from powdered Lapis Lazuli mined in Everglen. Before the Mining Ban, the Safyres used Lapis Lazuli mined from the Blue Mountains near their town.
Hyacinth Violet: A reddish violet color derived from a blend of locally cultivated cochineal and powdered Lapis Lazuli from Everglen.
Wynn Blue: An elegant blue-gray (pale cobalt blue) derived from crushed cobalt glass (smalt). Once the color of the long-reigning royal house, the Wynns, it became available for use by commoners after Alden Corbyn, the current king, deposed the incumbent tyrant, Devind the Demented. Even then, smalt (and cobalt) is a rare and costly material; only nobility and artists (who had nobility as patrons) could afford it, and though a dyer had succeeded in replicating True Wynn Blue, cheaper close alternatives (like the one developed by Silmaryl in Silver and Emerald) were more popular.
The Hadrians
Motto: Duty and Atonement
Insignia: Two ornate swords crossed before a crown
Color: Hadrian Red
Culture: Progressive
Current Leader: Baron Kellis Hadrian (41)
The Hadrians claim to be descended from Drinian Hadrian, a Glennian human who migrated to Latakia on dragonback. After settling down in western Latakia, the Hadrians initially became blacksmiths, and later rose to prominence as nobility with the knighting of Maxus Hadrian by King Edward II Wynn. Their main purpose revolves around protecting The Axel, a mysterious Nostran artifact stolen to Latakia by Maxus and his Fellowship; fellow miners and villagers who had been imprisoned in Nostra after the Fall of Rutgarth.
The current leader is Baron Kellis Hadrian. His wife, Baroness Sylvia (nee Noxx), bore him two sons: Corien (Coris) and Zier. As Hadrian discourages polygamy, the Baron has no known mistress nor bastard children.
In his childhood, Lord Coris is notorious for his obesity and obnoxious nature, but is lauded for his sharp intellect.
Baron Kellis is currently in charge of seven Manors, making Hadrian the most powerful and wealthy noble clan in the central-western countryside after the Crossets were disgraced. Manors under Hadrian rule are peaceful and relatively prosperous, and the Hadrians are generally well-received by people in the West as fair and able rulers.
Being situated in a fertile area with mild weather conditions, Hadrian is abundant in crops. Coupled with its main duty of protection, Hadrian is more inclined to local defense and support duty. The main strategic role of Hadrian to Latakia is providing troops and supplies to Amplevale Fortress, the western line of defense against Nostran Invasion.
The Amplevales are a staunch ally of the Hadrians. Baron Kellis's younger sister Kyrel married Lord Sytus Amplevale and has a son, Simon, who is currently training as Kellis's squire, and five-year-old twin daughters Serella and Serulda.
The Crossets
Motto: Hewn of Ice and Stone
Insignia: Snow Fern growing on peak of Neverend Heights
Color: Crosset Green (Grayish green), derived from the Snow Fern spores
Culture: Conservative-Patriarchial
Current Leader: Lord Olivis Crosset (67)
The Crossets were once a powerful noble clan in central-western Latakia, with control of eight manors. They originated from Icemeet, and have an ancestral castle there. Following his disastrous handling (or lack thereof) of the Crosset Famine, Marquess Crosset was demoted to Lord. Manors under his rule are distributed to the rule of the Hadrians and the Noxxes , and it is rumored that King Alden is still somewhat "grounding" him years later.
Lord Crosset has several mistresses besides his wife, and fathered three bastard daughters. Two of them, Olewyn and Inissa, had died of an inherited blood condition. His one legitimate son, Sir Klythe, who had been serving as Baron Hadrian's squire, is currently missing, leaving him with his only surviving bastard daughter born of an alchemist's assistant, Arinel.
Lady Arinel is famous for her dramatic birth. She was born by a caesarean section as her mother Erina lay dying from inhaling toxic fumes, after a fire broke out in her master's lab, hence her alias, "The Orphan in the Ashes".
The Hilds
Motto: We Shall Return
Insignia: Dragon flying over Everglen Sea
The Hilds are a family of poor cottagers (serfs/villeins) that has lived in Crosset Manor for seven generations. The current patriarch is Mirram Hild, a gruff, hardworking farmer with a rigid moral code. His wife, Alanna Clariden of Noxx, was once a travelling singer famous for her birdsong voice, dubbed "The Song of May Day". The couple has seven surviving children:
Marovel "Maro" (22): Eldest son and heir. Though poor, his gentle, righteous nature renders him a niche hit among the young ladies of Crosset.
Marinia "Marin" (20): Eldest daughter. Copper-haired, fair-skinned, with ice-blue eyes, she is widely considered to be the most beautiful young woman in Crosset, and is the reigning May Queen.
Morelia "Morel" (17): Second daughter. A consummate housekeeper and great chef. She is quite beautiful, with thick blonde hair and blue eyes. She is short-tempered, sharp-tongued, and dislikes socializing. She has a bit of a rivalry with Meya.
Maelaith Aine "Meya" (16): Third daughter and the only Greeneye in Crosset. Notorious for her strange strawberry-blonde hair, glowing acid-green eyes and rebellious behavior which brought about the Crosset Famine. Her name means "May Queen" in the Glennian Runes, as she was born on May Day. Meya gets along well with all her brothers, but has an ongoing rivalry with Morel, and is secretly jealous of Marin and Mistral.
Marcus (14): Second son and an aspiring merchant. Talkative, daring and fun-loving, he looks up to Meya.
Myron (13): Youngest son and an aspiring blacksmith. A rather timid, awkward blond boy who has a bent for art and crafts. Mirram has a soft spot for him.
Mistral (11): Youngest daughter and sweetheart of the family. She is good at weaving.
Other
The Armorheims: An honorable man and longtime friend of Mirram Hild, Draken Armorheim is a relatively well-to-do peasant farmer with a checkered past. Even before his embarrassing failure in kidnapping young Lord Coris Hadrian during the Crosset Famine, during a May Fest trip to Meriton, he had a passionate whirlwind affair with a local woman, which, unbeknownst to him then, later resulted in their son, Deke.
Unable to be together due to Draken being bound to Crosset as a peasant, Draken returned to Meriton the following May Fest and brought Deke back with him, to stop Deke's mother from being persecuted any further. Deke would travel to visit her during long holidays.
Children born out of wedlock are just as heavily frowned upon as their mothers, and Deke was often insulted and generally ostracized in Crosset, leading to his fast friendship with Meya, a Greeneye and fellow pariah.
The Boszels: Sagely and bighearted, Jason Boszel hails from a long line of Tyldornian merchants who had migrated to Latakia. Choosing to base his jewelry trade in the central-western route, in a medium-sized caravan, he found the love of his life in a Clardarthian peasant woman, whom he freed then brought along on his humble wagon. Sadly, she died soon after, due to complications arising from the difficult on-the-road birth of their first daughter, Jezia, whom Jason adored more than anything in the three lands.
Jason would later come to know the Hilds and the Armorheims through Meya, who enjoys coming to play with the lonely only child Jezia, admiring the precious stones Jason had on display, and listening to Jason's tales of his and his ancestors' journeys to various towns all over Latakia.
As a foreign-looking immigrant [A/N: Tyldornians have black hair, narrow black eyes and a softer facial bone structure. Much like Asians.], Jason sympathizes with Meya, the Greeneye girl who is ostracized simply for her appearance, and Deke, the farmer boy who is ridiculed for his illegal birth, and over the years became an occasional mentor and father figure to both of them.
Expressions
- Goodly Freda! : A Latakian exclamation of surprise and several other emotions similar to "My God!" or "By Joe!".
- Dunghead : A foolish person.
- Donghead : Equivalent of "d*ckhead". Nuff said.
- Fishbrain : A forgetful person. Since fish are believed to have short memory and, due to their large, protruding eyes, look perpetually surprised.
- Fyr! : (mildly vulgar) exclamation. Equivalent of "Hell" or "Damn".
- Chione's Ninnies/Fyr's Bollocks : (mildly vulgar) Exclamation. Equivalent of "Merlin's beard", in which "beard" can be replaced with other hilarious, profane body parts.
- The Heights : The equivalent of heaven in Latakian belief. Refers to Neverend Heights. (i.e. "By the Heights!")
- In the three lands : A Latakian figure of speech similar in meaning and usage to "on Earth". Refers to Latakia, Everglen and Nostra. (i.e. What in the three lands happened here?)
- To bring Fyr's Boat straight to one's dock : To bring disaster to someone.
- Lay off the rotten eggs : Similar to "Cut it out!" or "Knock it off!", an expression used to stop a bickering or petty fight, derived from how arch-enemies would chuck rotten eggs at each other's faces.
- Drown in Fyr's Lake : An exclamation of contempt and anger. Similar to "Go to Hell!" or "Go die!".
- I haven't got until Miracle Fest : A figure of speech signaling impatience and frustration. Equivalent to "I haven't got all day!". Since Miracle Fest comes round every four years, that's a very long time indeed.
- To [verb] one's innards out : A figure of speech describing something done viscerally extremely. Usually used with verbs to do with the mouth, such as cough, laugh, puke or yell.
- To take one's sweet Hadrian time : Usually jokingly leveled towards Hadrinians for their tardiness or lack of urgency in regards to any given issue. The Hadrian folk are known for their generally more laidback attitude and laxness when it comes to time.
- A feather's flight: An expression denoting (both literal and metaphorical) distance. A feather flies far on the wind.
Miscellany
Permit - Usually refers to either the Freeman Permit or the Travel Permit. The majority of Latakia's population are peasants in the countryside. They are bound to work the land for their Lord, and cannot travel outside their manor (town) except during long holidays (through obtaining the Travel Permit), or move to live in another town. Freedom can be gained by purchasing the Freeman Permit. However, it is quite costly. Most peasants could never achieve it in their lifetimes.
Dowry - In marriage, the dowry is money or valuables demanded by the groom's family from the bride's family (which existed in medieval European culture, and still exists in some cultures today). In Latakian culture, the amount of gold the bride's family must pay the groom's family is determined by the "Class" of the bride, first designated by castle officials when a woman comes of age (sixteen years old) and adjusted from time to time to reflect changes in the woman's life.
The Dowry Class is a rigid, harsh ranking system based on criteria such as the bride's wealth, social status, sexual history, criminal history, age, appearance and personality. Examples of desirable attributes and traits in a woman are clear fair skin, a willowy figure, a high and straight nose bridge, small nostrils, thin curved eyebrows, large eyes, thin bow lips, straight white teeth, long straight fair hair, lack of body hair, average height, shapely breasts and buttocks, chastity and modesty, to cite some.
The officially designated classes are Gold, Silver, Copper, Iron, Coal and Pebble, which symbolizes a woman's "worth" compared to each of the minerals. The general populace may also "designate" unofficial classes to remarkable women, such as Diamond for Marinia Hild and Dung for her younger sister Meya.
In royal and noble marriages, which are mostly political, the dowry system seldom apply, as the bride and groom's families often negotiate their own terms. For example, in the case of Lord Coris and Lady Arinel's marriage, Lord Coris waived the dowry for the Crossets.
In rare cases, the family of the groom may choose to receive the dowry only in ceremony and return it to the bride's family behind the lawmen's backs, to show respect for the bride and silently protest the unfair system.
In commoner families, daughters are sometimes expected to earn their own dowries, or face lifetime in a nunnery. In particularly conservative towns, women's choice of career may be very limited, and they also may not be eligible for inheritance. Daughters are pressured to be married off lest they be seen as a burden for their families. This may force peasant daughters to either work very hard or not work at all (as was the case with Meya and Marin, respectively)
In Hyacinth, which is a radically matriarchal town, the dowry and class system is instead forced upon men.
The Ice Pillory - A regular pillory or stock is a medieval punishment device consisting of a wooden block with holes for the head and hands (or even fingers). Perpetrators of petty crimes would often be sentenced to the pillory, and subjected to humiliation. The Ice Pillory, however, is a signature Crosset torture device dating back to the time when the Crosset Clan ruled over their hometown in frigid Icemeet. As being locked in ice for even as short as half an hour can result in severe pain, frostbite and necrosis, it is usually reserved for heinous crimes.
The Latakian Calendar
The people of Latakia divide their year into twelve months.
(A/N: The author, by sheer laziness and excessive love of the name "May" to symbolize her protagonist being born on May Day and having green eyes and et cetera, decided to name all the months similarly to the Gregorian Calendar. Despite the fact that Meya's name would make even less sense to non-English speaking countries, for example, her own home country)
In the Latakian Calendar, all twelve months contain 30 days each. After December 30th comes "The Fest of Freda", which lasts for six days, making for a total of 366 days.
(A/N: This is because of the author's neurotic preference for everything to be symmetrical. I don't on my life understand why Julius Caesar or whoever decided to change to the Solar Calandar couldn't have just created a week at the end of the year and dumped all the excess days there instead of spreading it out and giving the whole world misery for millenniums to come. And if you can't have it in real life, why not write it out in your fantasy world, eh? Predictably, author is also the type that couldn't stand not opening Messenger notifications.)
The way we Earthers later realize our 365-day year would result in a day short every four years, the Latakians later realized this would result in three excess days every four years for them.
Thus, every four years, between the end of June and the start of July, the Latakian Calendar would "stand still" for three days and nights. This period is called "Miracle Fest". The second day of Miracle Fest would also be the true "middle day" of the year (which normally doesn't exist as every normal year has 366 days).
Babies born during Miracle Fest consider themselves very unique, very lucky, or very unlucky. Depending on their mindset.