11.2 30 Lore Questions
1. Write from the perspective of an outsider of your lair, what is their first impression? How have they discovered this group? How are they greeted?
- Nowadays, the greeting will be much warmer than in Gilgamesh's time. It is still mandatory to bring the newcomers to the current ruler aka the Scorpion King. After that, one is pretty much free to go wherever.
2. Are there any important figures in history involved in your lair? Who are they and why are they significant?
Gilgamesh - first pharaoh king
Vic - second pharaoh king
The Scorpion King - third pharaoh king
Rah - god
Móðr - Rah's son
Sparda & Eva - first gen babylon guardians and Eva is Gilgamesh's sister
3. How has history constructed & molded your lair’s culture, morals and ideals, if at all?
- Their culture molded from a more aztec type to a more egyptian type, but their morals have pretty much stayed the same aka no morals. Ideals, well... raise as high as you can, but don't fly too close to the sun or you'll burn; this has somewhat been spawned by the clan's phrase "Not all that glitters is gold". Gilgamesh clearly had problems with this.
4. What do your lair members do for entertainment, at both a personal & societal level?
- There's the Neon Mirror club where most of the dragons go to chill and play arcade games, eat, gamble or just chat with their friends. Not all of the dragons go here though and some just like to read in the Lasgalen Court's public library or practise their fighting skills.
5. What is your lair’s attitude to nature? How does it work in reference to their architecture? Is pollution a issue?
- Nature and ecosystem are important things in the clan and they drive to keep their environment as healthy as possible.
6. Are there any customs around hatching? Who is present? Is there any members who specialize in the care of eggs or hatchlings? Are eggs ever hatched too early?
- The parents are usually only present. It is considered rude to have anyone else watch the hatching process and intruders are chased off by one parent. And thus the parents are also responsible for the care of the unhatched eggs. No eggs are hatched too early but it is possible for them to rot if they don't hatch in a timely manner. If this happens, the parents are usually shunned for neglect and seen as 'bad eggs' or infertile. If another abandons their mate and hatchlings or otherwise cannot be present during the hatchings, it is considered bad luck for the whole clan. This happened when Dante was hatching his and Vergil’s first nest but as Dante was in III Delta Kaising their parents decided to hide the fact that Vergil did not know about Nero until the kit was well into adulthood.
7. What level of technology do they have available to them? Is it similar to ours, or specially adapted to solve issues relative to their world? If so, who has made this technology available to them?
- Their technology is pretty medieval excluding the use of Akashic Records and the Seven Lamps of Architecture.
8. How do religious beliefs play a role in everyday life? Is there an organised clergy?
- Yup, Priests of Ra and in regards to the Law of One, the Lasgalen Court is an active group of believers of that religion.
9. Who holds authority or is looked up to in their society? Do they hold any real power, or is it more of a concept?
- The Scorpion King is the current king but there is a belief that Gilgamesh will still rise to power someday.
10. What values or traits are sought after? Does it vary from species to species? What will some do to achieve these aspects of themselves?
- Admirable traits among the clan are fighter, loyal, ambitious, cunning, selfless but powerful. As to how one can obtain such traits depends on the dragon themselves.
11. Does your society have folk tales, mythology, traditional rituals? Where do they originate? Do they have any truth to them?
- Yes, the Lost Legends which is definitely based on actual facts and happenings of the clan. Móðr has a few rituals assigned to him that the Priests of Ra practice.
12. What is considered a ‘nuclear’ family (basic social unit)? What is considered ‘extended’ family?
- Parents and kits, sometimes grandparents, are the basic unit while uncles/aunts and cousins are the extended family. Half-siblings/stepparents/etc are often not cansidered family at all by kits or outsiders and this is often forbidden anyways. Once you make eggs with someone you stay with that partner.
13. Are there any rights of passage or milestones that a generally accepted or striven for? Are there different standards for different genders or breeds?
- Generally speaking, the standards of each gender differ from what we are used to in real life. I guess you could say there is kind of an alpha/beta/omega dynamic -trope going on in the sense that there are he/him pronoun-using dragons who have carried and laid eggs and she/her pronoun-using dragons who have sired eggs, the former of which is somewhat more common in Chernogorsk. However, changing ones gender on a whim is still not achievable. The clan will most likely determine if one is female or male just by going with their pronouns, the pose is just to determine if one will sire or carry eggs and that too will determine the abo-dynamic.
Examples *Rarities from Common to Rarest
*He/Him pronouns + Male pose = Alpha Male
**He/Him pronouns + Female pose = Omega Male
***She/Her pronouns + Female pose = Omega Female
****She/Her pronouns + Male pose = Alpha Female
*****It/They/etc. pronouns + Any pose = Beta
14. Are there any customs around death or the afterlife? Who preforms these? Is their life mourned, celebrated or something different?
- No celebrations, just exalting. Their parents, kits, etc. will mourn though.
15. What, if any, foods are considered a delicacy? How is food prepared? Is there any forbidden or taboo foods?
- None, Marcin is the cook so he prepares the food, and spices are used.
16. What is considered courteous? How do you treat a guest to your home?
- Treating ones spouse with respect is considered the pinnacle of courtesy; your spouse is your greatest ally. Guests are provided with small gifts upon visit.
17. What is your societies ideas regarding unity, do they have ‘marriage’ or something similar? Do they stay partners for life? Are friendships exclusively platonic?
- Relationships can form and change just as irl but their marriage is more of a mateship for life that is very, very rarely broken. And as mentioned earlier, your spouse is your greatest ally. Mateship is formed after the pair have swapped their Sunstones and have begun their courtship aka courting period none too differing from engagement.
18. Is there a system of education similar to ours? How do characters learn trade, skills, etc?
- Yes there is the daycare teacher Dopheld who teaches dragons until they reach full maturity aka when they can breed.
19. Is everyone literate? Are there different languages or dialect? Are books freely available in libraries, or restricted?
- Any scrolls from Lasgalen Court are located within the Pillar of the World and are obtainable to the public. This excludes the Akashic records that Kirei is in possession of; too dangerous to be freely read.
20. Are there any games played by the younger members of society? Nursery Rhymes?
- There is one rhyme telling about the first dragons ever to use sunstones - Jacaerys and Aemond. This goes to the melody of
Room of Angel from Silent Hill.
Blood of two,
joined as one ghosly flame
and song of shadows.
---
Two hearts as embers,
forged in fourteen fires...
---
A future promised in glass
of darkness and light.
21. Are there any specific genres of music originating in your lair? What does this involve?
- Chernogorsk's songs tend to somewhat consist of egyptian or indian sounding beats.
22. Are there any restrictions on magic or spells? What and why? If not, does this cause any issues?
- Necromancy is explicitly forbidden but there has been a few dragons known to use it, namely Ollvus and Iliev. It is considered a taboo to wake up loved ones from the dead but however Gilgamesh does not actively try to stop people from using necromancy. Just that the cost of losing ones mental health itself may be a lesson enough.
23. How is apparel treated? Does certain apparel indicate a rank, class or job?
- If you have Banner and Rogue apparel, that usually means you are a hockey player in Zentrum Sharks. Lasgalen Court had rings but that custom has been lost over time.
24. Is there any opposition or conflict from outside sources? How does this affect your group? Do they take a pacifist or militarism approach?
- Chernogorsk has historically had more of a militaristic approach to opposition and conflict with other nations.
25. Is imperialism, nationalism or similar ideologies present or enacted? What is the general response to these thoughts? Are they the majority?
26. Does your lair participate in trade or shipping? With who? How do they do this?
- Ice flight is their frequent trading partner, as was nature flight before the Night of Nocturne in 2022. When the clan was still in the Scarred Wastelands they traded with Earth flight. Nowadays they do not trade with Plague flight.
27. Are there any common domesticated animals used as livestock, labor or transport? How did this happen? Are they common place?
28. Are symbols a significant aspect of life? If they are, what are symbols, what do they mean? Are certain symbols worn?
29. How much social mobility is there? Is it easy to move between the classes? How would one go about it?
- The social structures are pretty lax, and in regards to romance and mating there is not really any opposion because one's mate is usually determined with the use of the sunstones.
30. Is there any flora or fauna specific to your lair? How does the ecosystem work?
- In the Catacomb City, should one stumble upon Joshua’s previous jail, it is possible to find a staircase behind what is seemingly just a wall. The staircase leads downwards, down seven stories and under that is a round cave with a hole in its floor, filled with lava said to be from Sornieth’s core.
The plantlife and animals there are the most curious creatures. A special flower is said to recide there; the Hades flower or Hanahaki flower, that causes a disease of the same name if one breathes in the fumes of said flower. The disease usually leads to death. However, rightly prepared, the flower can cure any other disease.
The pyramid has also poisonous spiders but the clanmembers have learned to bypass them over the decades they have lived there and some have even become immune.
