Editing Morgrave High: Cultural Details

A place for recording some of the more unusual details of the cultures of various cast members of [[Morgrave High: Passing Marks]]

=Eladrin=
Most of the information here applies primarily to Pylas Pyrial, the Gate of Joy, to which [[Renaya Tilvaraen]] and her family are native.  Nonetheless, much of it is potentially more broadly applicable.
==Titles==
Fey nobility is more than just a simple title; it is a literal investiture with the powers of a given concept, and a transformation into a slightly different type of fey.  Normally, this is achieved by reaching sufficient personal potency to be able to swear to one of the overarching Fairy Courts, such as the seasonal courts, the Court of the Stars, or the Green Court.  Upon achieving nobility, the new noble takes one of a number of titles, based upon his or her focus and function within the court.  These titles may include:

* '''Coure''' are messengers, tricksters, and pages, generally serving greater fey of some sort.
* '''Bralani''' are wild fey, embodying untamed aspects of the natural world.
* '''Firre,''' are artisans, masters of art or industry and patrons of the same, and often embody methodical or creative forces.
* '''Tulanni''' are rulers, persons of particular inclination towards command and administration.  

==Courtship==
Eladrin have a somewhat hybrid approach to romantic affairs.  A "marriage" between two fey is referred to as a "lifebond," and shares most features with its human counterpart; the two partners cooperate to provide companionship to each other, aid in the advancement of each other's life goals, and to raise any children.  However, the Lifebond relationship is not strictly monogamous; many eladrin take mates even after forming a lifebond, generally for the specific purpose of producing offspring when that is otherwise impossible or undesirable, but occasionally just for the purpose of building outside bonds or relationships.  A mate is very much not a lifebond partner, however; the sharing of life that the latter implies is strictly absent from the former, which is more concerned with immediate desires or needs; while taking a mate is no mark upon one's lifebond relationship, behaving towards that person the same way one would to her lifebond partner would be the equivalent of adultery.

Courtship for the formation of a lifebond is a polyamorous affair; most eladrin take multiple suitors, accepting or seeking more or discarding them as their respective whims dictate.  It is rare for courtships between eladrin to last less than a decade, and anything below two is still modestly scandalous.  An eladrin's parents have no "approval" right in choice of partner, but can, and generally do, direct potential suitors at their children.

The formal courtship process of the eladrin is "codified" in a formal dance called ''Elphair Kal Dashirra'', The Lovers' Dance.  Rather than a set progression of steps, it is instead a set of responses to the other person's behavior, which essentially represents a myriad of possible courtship states.  Persons engaged in courtship use the various steps and states of the dance to describe how they stand relative to each other in terms of their emotional closeness.  Some of these states include:

* '''Kanshirr:'''  Person seeking to initiate a courtship. The kanshirr is the person who first develops interest in the other party; he or she is the one who proposes that they begin courting. 
* '''Shirran:''' The target of those affections. The shirran is the person whom the kanshirr wishes to begin courting. His or her response to those affections is the determining factor as to whether or not a courtship is begun, although of course a persistent kanshirr may maintain that state in the absence of acceptance until he or she chooses to give up. The specifics of the shirran's response may result in other states as well, but the most important one is acceptance.
* '''Salshirr:''' Welcome suitor. When the shirran agrees to initiate courtship, the kanshirr becomes a salshirr, because that person's affections are welcomed. The shirran generally also becomes a salshirr, because obviously the original kanshirr also welcomes the attentions or that person wouldn't have attempted to begin courting in the first place (though it is also possible for the shirran to move to a different state depending on the specifics of the response and the circumstances)
* '''Aishirr:''' Favored suitor. Given that most eladrin courtships are polyamorous, it is often necessary to designate how a given suitor stands, both relative to the other suitors and the person in question. An aishirr is a suitor who enjoys particular favor over any others, and is also an indication that the suitor is considered a serious potential candidate for eventual formation of a lifebond, rather than a casual courtship partner. Designation as an aishirr is thus a sign of particular interest on the part of his or her counterpart, although it lacks the finality of the next entry. It is roughly like designating the person as a "steady" in terms of its general expression of romantic interest; not quite a fiance, but more than just a boyfriend/girlfriend.
* '''Dashirr:''' Beloved. Your dashirr is the person you either intend to form, or already have formed, a lifebond with. Note however that the length of time between designation by both parties of each other as dashirr and the actual formation of the bond may be quite long, and it is possible to be pushed out from this state, of course. It does, however, essentially represent a declaration of love and serious intentions towards the other party.

==Family Ordering==
Because eladrin are exceptionally long lived, it is not uncommon for many, many generations of a family to be coextant.  As a result, most eladrin families belong to large Houses, which are meritocratic rather than primogeniture.  Because eladrin remain essentially young and healthy until their final years, many houses are, in fact, run by their eldest members, who have the advantage of experience over their descendants, but the position tends to follow who within the house has achieved the highest political office.  As a practical matter, though, the "head" status is largely honorary; because of the number of individual families within any given house, the amount of actual pull the head can exert is primarily determined by his or her own charisma and.

Because of the size of eladrin Houses, it is generally considered rude to address an eladrin by her family name; it implies that her only value is her membership in the larger structure, rather than acknowledging her capability as an individual.  The exceptions to this are the nominal heads of the Houses; addressing them by their house name is instead a sign of respect.  

When two eladrin decide to form a lifebond, if they are from different Houses, one of them will choose to essentially marry into the House of the other.  Additionally, children who are conceived in a mating relationship rather than within a lifebond pair are considered members of the family of only one of their parents, which is generally decided upon when the mating arrangement is initiated.  The child's other biological parent essentially cedes parental rights, although most such children maintain at least limited relationships with their other parent.  Socially, such children are generally treated as fairly distant relatives of the non-caregiving biological parent's family; the choice of other parent for one's child is often highly politically motivated, as it can help to build social bonds between families.  Conversely, half-blooded siblings with the same caregiving parents are considered identical to full siblings; generally no differentiation is drawn on this matter, so a half-brother who is raised by the same parents is generally simply referred to as a brother.

Some terminology used to address such family relations includes:

* '''Sifra:'''  A half-brother, who is a member of the unshared parent's family.  
* '''Silya:'''  A half-sister, who is a member of the unshared parent's family.

==Miscellany==
*  '''Sel Dashiri Kal Fallorum Den Velshar:'''  Translated as "In Honor of the Fallen Princess," this septet piece (for two vocalists, two cellos, an organ, a viola, and a violin) is based around the story of the final battle and subsequent funeral of a courageous princess of Shaelas Tiraleth, who fell defending that spire against a fomori invasion.  The violin part is the most musically challenging and forms the backbone of the entire piece, and is generally considered its most important part.  This part is Renaya's signature piece on violin.

=Umbragen=