"I love it here, and here loves me. Back in the Blackwood I was a half-pint half-breed, barely worth notice. Here, I am exotic, lovely, wise, mysterious. It is pretty easy to have good company if I walk into any inn from here to Vithersby. Only have to watch myself in Rackam, outside of Sybalus, people get pretty racist there."

-Half-Elf Carouser, Berrian Nailo

The Cultures of Adra Minoris

Adra Minoris is far smaller, and in many ways, less important than Adra Majoris. Many consider it to in fact be a de jure component of Adra Minoris, and this is not hard to see why - the two share common cultural and economic roots, and both were once almost entirely ruled from Eldios. However, Adra Minoris sits at the convergence of the world, a middle point between Adra Majoris, Qualaxi, and Arathia. Therefore, the cultural influences there are diffuse and complex, often seeming a mishmash of different cultures. And yet, Adra Minoris is uniquely its own, with unique archaeological and magical influences. For example, Adra Minoris sits  along the Arcane Meridian, and thus its woods, rivers, and glades are often filled with strange and magical creatures and events. And yet, it is also the most homogenous population of humans in the world, with whatever native populations once lived there having been wiped out long before the remembered times. And so, its primary physical and cultural export are humans to the rest of the world.

          The western islands of Martum and Haeland both host Arissian sympathies, and attempt to maintain more refined and tactful means of diplomacy and societal construction. Meanwhile, the populations of Halstat and Rackam are fiercely anti-Arissian, vowing never to let the halfling overlords return to their safe-shores. These differing political views only throw gasoline on the fire that is the rivalry between the Haelish and the Halish, who are said to bitterly war with each other until the end of days.

          The most common race found in Adra Minoris is by far humans, though there are also a great deal of orcs, dwarves, and halflings. You might want your character's culture to be of Adra Minoris if they are independent and stubborn, highly industrial, skeptical of strange entities, practical to the nth degree, or have trouble among refined and civilized company. This is of course very broad-strokes, and you should have a look at the following cultures to learn more about the subtleties of each:

Haelish Culture: The people of the isle of Haeland, known to be the most refined of the isles.

Halish Culture: The people of the isle of Halstat, the largest and most powerful of the isles.

Martish Culture: The people of the Martish Isles, known for their martial vigor.

Old Halish Culture: Now a shrinking minority, the people who hold on to the culture of Old Halstat, completely rejecting any Arissian influence.

Rackish Culture: The people of the chiefdoms of Rackam, and its single developed port.

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