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The people: Terrenian citizens are an amiable lot known as much for their rich history as they are for their courage and passion in the arts, the hard and soft sciences, and their tight knit social interactions and communities. Terrenians are proud and honorable, though not without their aberrations and deviancies, and are content to exist in harmony with nature than subject it to needless oppression and subjugation without impeding their significant industrial progress.
Over 83% of the population of Terrenus are Gaianist in nature. The remaining percentages belong to the various practices and customs expected of a nation with Terrenus' prodigious size and open-door policy in regards to immigration and naturalization. Gaianism shares roots with other cosmic religions in that the followers consider nature something worth revering and they go so far as to identify the earth as a conscious being. Gaianism advocates peace but does not preach blind pacifism or irrational devotion. All Gaianists share a strong distaste for beings termed "Unnatural" (Constructs or creatures that are 'perversions of life').
Some theorize that this phenomenon, of an almost wholly unified religion among a diverse people, is an unnatural condition while other, more pious, individuals say that this is the only state that a civilization can develop in when all other aspects of their lives have been satisfied.
Speaking relatively, Terrenus has a very high standard of physical fitness. The average citizen's daily regimen of repetitive physical activity (intensive horticulture, Teknu, herding, carpentry, smithing, and so on) coupled with high doses of cultural food and drink which positively impact health (mana tea, gorten fruit, Silker soup) provides the average citizen with the body and ability of a professional athlete. Recent sample data states that the vast majority of overweight citizen are owed to newborns, infants, and toddlers.
Despite its generally good-natured people, Terrenus is not without incident. They have their own fair share of criminals, vigilantes and outlaws.
The culture: Terrenian culture is deeply rooted in song, dance, harmless ritual, and superstition. The average Terrenian citizen has inherited from the generation before theirs at least two dozen different rituals and blessings for marriage, fidelity, harvests, luck, and health.
The (significantly expansive) Gaianist following of Terrenus, in accordance with their deification of the earth and its constituents, are known to use many minerals and crystals for ritualistic and meditative practices.
* Rituals
Coming of Age: At age 8, a child reaches what is known as 'the age of reason'. At this mark, children are aware of the moral consequences of their actions for the most part. Perhaps they will not grasp the utmost intricacies of the questions that haunt the souls of all men, but they will know what is right and what is wrong.
At 16, a child is physically and mentally developed enough to embrace the immediate and the long term consequences of moral actions and decisions. A 'man' (adult of either gender) is allowed to enlist in the military. In cases of proven aptitude or absolute necessary, children younger than 16 may voluntarily enlist.
When enlisted, they are taken to their respective camp where the opportunity to specialize is offered at various stage through one's military career. Those select few that are prodigies in their field are extended an invitation to attend the PeaceKeeper boot camp. It is a high honor to merely be invited, a higher honor to accept, and one of the most widely recognized medals of courage and strength to actually succeed.
Those that choose not to enlist are offered the option to enroll in a mentoring program where, conditional to the consent of the adult, the child is taught in a specific craft, trade or profession. A fair amount of the citizens join the church and enter into the clergy. Equally fair amounts learn their trade or profession from someone in their immediate or nuclear family, or close friends of the family. Being taught by a stranger is a rarity but not unheard of and not without merit. After all, it is said that the hero Jason of the Lions learned swordplay from a drifter he met roadside.
The coming of age is made permanent by traditional rituals that differ from family to family, and location to location.
Some past rituals include: wrestling a bear, bearing family tattoos, a dance performed around a full moon bonfire, or spending half a year in the wilderness.
Marriage: The marital rituals that we find in Terrenus are plentiful and diverse. For the sake of brevity, we will focus on the most commonly accepted practice.
On the day before the ceremony, a hand belonging to the groom is tied to a hand belonging to the wife, signifying a physical bond between the two individuals while acting as a test of patience and understanding. The bride and groom walk to their wedding, where children of both families will string ribbons across the street to be cut by the bride and groom in passing. Depending on the season, the streets are also covered in rose or lily petals.
The ceremony itself will take place outside or in a temple. There they are blessed by a Gaian priest of their choosing and are free to have the next week for festivities. During weddings the community will usually offer a tithe so that the couple can enjoy their week in peace without having to worry about work or finances.
Terrenian culture and Gaianistic religion does not emphasis monogamy but neither does it denounce it. Open relationships are the most common type of relationships in Terrenus. Terrenian perspective on this is that there is a clear divide between sex as entertainment and sex as an expression of love and the momentary fusion of two souls into one being. The latter can only be achieved by love; the former is merely a manner of recreation.
Even with this in mind, it is still not uncommon to find monogamists and serial monogamists. This practice is considered commonplace, and nothing odd stands out about it despite the widely accepted concept of an open relationship. It is merely a different way of life.
Architecture: Terrenian architecture is formed with hard angles and sweeping arches, their foundations expertly build to bear heavier loads than one would expect. Buildings are commonly made of limestone, tuff or marble taken from quarries, cut into large blocks and dressed.
The basic rectangular plan is surrounded by a colonnaded portico of columns on all sides and occasionally at the front and rear. Some buildings have a projecting head of columns that form the entrance while others feature a number of columns leading directly to the ceiling. Regardless of stylistic and aesthetic decisions, each quality distinct enough to be able to identify the architect on sight, it is clear that buildings in Terrenus can take a beating.
The roof of Terrenian buildings are covered with timber beams which are slathered in bitumen, to make them waterproof, and overlapped with terra cotta or marble tiles. All architects are well versed with the principles of the mason arch and exploit it, adding domes to whatever buildings where domes are sensible and reinforcing structural integrity.
One will occasionally spot a building with deposits of both rare and commonplace crystals; the larger the gem in place, the more common the crystal will be. In accordance with Gaianistic beliefs in the ability of crystals to focus resonant energy, one will occasionally see roofs studded with topaz or a single quartz fixture hanging from the ceiling.
Terrenian advancements in housing and public hygiene are impressive, even if not obvious to the casual observer or tourist. Clear examples of this are public and private baths, latrines, under-floor heating in the form of the self-perpetuated hypocaust, and piped water.
Possibly the most impressive aspect, from an urban planning point of view, are the multi-story apartment blocks that cater to a wide range of residential situations and found in the "middle class" sectors of towns. These buildings are intended solely for accommodation on a large scale and reach several floors in height.
Most buildings, from the residential to the government, are made out of stronger-than-iron ceramic, shaped and packed earth, varying forms of carbon, and precisely shaped metal in accordance to the Gaian ability and tradition.
National sport: Click here to read about Teknu.