culture:balance:lynval [Wandering Star Role Play]

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===== Lynval Culture =====

==== Morals ====
Lynval are an inherently secretive people. Their civilization revolves around maintaining the hidden locations of their undercities. This, combined with their ruling council's mindlink style of government and access to telepathy instead of communicators results in a very dedicated if eerily united people.

==== Style ====
Lynval that go aboveground tend to be unified in their dress to confuse onlookers, but in the undercities styles range wildly. Stonework is the name of the game aboveground, but their whole mystique is due to the fact that very few outsiders have been to the undercities.

=== Fashion ===
There's two distinct lines of fashion for Lynval. The first belongs to those that work the fields aboveground for half the year, that maintain trade lines for Lynval. The unified fashion, as mentioned above, is meant to confuse onlookers and make it harder to track daily patterns. Shawls, masks, skirts, and bodywraps are the name of the game - anything to keep the body covered.

Underground, Lynvali dress more freely. Asymmetry is very popular among the peoples, especially in wrapped skirts and capes. Kneelength, patterned loincloths are another popular piece of apparel. Zigzag and net patterns are common attributes.

=== Architecture & Aesthetics ===
Aboveground domiciles are constructed simply and of stone and clay, to last the winter with little to no maintenance while they are uninhabited. The residents bring what they need to make the places liveable during the farming months.

==== Technology ====
Lynval, like the other Balance societies, blends technology and magic as much as possible for useful results. This is particularly apparent in their licensing of Hekate products and tunneling and teleportation network.

=== Tech Focus ===
Lynval invests heavily into tunneling technologies and have a relay-based magitek teleportation system called Litebolt. Litebolt is much shorter-ranged than the lightlock teleportation enchantments, but thanks to their regular placement through the undercities they network together to provide speedy, reliable transport throughout Lynval spaces. The Litebolt system relies on paired entry pads with a nearby monolith to dump people out without something like splicing occurring.

=== Magic ===
Lynval heavily focuses on magic. Like the other Balance socieities, Lynval has a magical talent that they pride themselves on beyond any other - Lucemancy, otherwise known as the ability to cast spells based on light, In particular, Lynvali make it a practice of bringing light into solid, lasting forms. The solid light construction plays a huge role in their architecture, and a key component of the lightlock transportation spell. They can also make arcane marks of a permanent or semipermanent later, which can be enchanted themselves.

Lucemancy, by and large, is used in Lynval to create bricks and beams, plates and platforms, that glow ambiently. This both aids in warding of Sothali interlopers and bathing their cities in a golden hue. Lightlocks are composed of six sides (with a removable piece for a door) forming a cube of no shadow. With this, a lynval can jump to any other lightlock - provided they aren't in use.

Additionally, their system of government relies on a form of mental connections. This is achieved through branding each decision-making official with an arcane mark on their forehead, which is linked to the others. Ones on the council meld minds to effectively hivemind and make decisions at a rapid pace, and they then mentally pass along the decisions to lower officials. A similar type of magic is used to give each lynvali their own method of ranged communication, through an arcane brand on their forefinger that, when pressed to the forehead, activates the ranged telepathy.

=== Psionics ===
Lynval, like all Balance Societies, focused so hard on magic during its history it quite simply forgot psionics existed. 

==== Agriculture ====
Lynval has mastered the art of underground terrariums thanks to their light magics, and enclosed parks exist with artificial suns. Much of their yearly produce is produced during the summer months, but they keep year round production underground.

=== Horticulture ===
Lynval grows Drum Grass aboveground in the summer, but in underground greenhouses they grow whatever variety of produce is in vogue at the time.

=== Fauna ===
Lynval keeps mass livestock grazing and raising at their northern border, tending to them year-round to keep their people fed. Underground, they tend to take nocturnal pets, including select species of rabbit.

=== Cooking ===
Thanks to their seasonal production (and very airtight storage thereof) of Drum Grass, Lynval has a great deal of unique beers to work with. That, combined with the dairies and various meats available from their massive livestock holdings lead to very hearty, filling dishes often cooked with booze.

==== Religion ====
Religion, while once a thing on Balance, faded out of public and private worship shortly after the kingdoms established themselves. 
==== Traditions ====
Lynval has two major national holdays - one celebrating the departure of the aboveground working Lynvali in early spring, and one for their return in early fall.

=== Birth and Death ===
>How do they celebrate birth? Do they mourn the dead? Etc.

====Government====
Lynval is a communal technocracy.

===Structure===
The highest of the government officials are the Council, an oligarchal group from several distinct noble families whose most experienced individuals are elected as heads of the family. The counciliaries conduct government through shared thought-magic that weaves their minds into one. Decisions are made, then passed along to other officials down the chain through their respective brands. This lends to a very efficient form of government, if a little cold.


===Leadership===
  * 

===Law and Crime===
Criminals are treated very uniquely under Lynval law. Rather than putting them in prison, they instead invoke social isolation through visible arcane marks. Brands have a specific meaning behind placement - hands are monetary theft, stomach is food theft, and so on. Brands start simple, but with repeat offenses they get more detail. The closer a criminal is to the location of their crime, the brighter the brands glow - forcing them to be shunned by their peers. The brands are always visible beneath clothing.

==== Subgroups ====