The Lorath have a rich and interesting culture that has evolved and changed throughout their history.
The Lorath have many traditions and holidays they observe throughout their lives.
The Lorath religion called Path of the Ascended is based on the mythology of the god Ifmir and his sister, the goddess Voxphine.
The religion emerged around the same time in the history as the Lorath exile into the underground. It holds that Voxphine and Ifmir, once mortals, ascended to divinity after laying down their lives in the protection of the Lorath during their flight to exile. Voxphine, who is held higher in regards to the religion, is seen as a Goddess of Wisdom and Life, while Ifmir is seen as a God of Knowledge and Death. Their roles play heavily into the Matriarchal style of society for the Lorath.
Lorath society has become dominated by Clan Houses that arranged by the four castes of the species. The Tur'Lista, Occhesta, Fyunnen, Llamnel, all form the major houses. The Lorath tend to breed within their same houses.
The Tur'Lista live a life of Rulers and tend to sit on an ivory throne above the other houses. They keep their household size to four; two parents and two children. They tend to live somewhat isolated from the general populace save for advisors, servants and the heads of the houses.
The Occhesta tend to live more in single-family homes. Less importance is placed on a community living style outside of normal neighbors and families can range in one child, to multiple children.
The Fyunnen tend to live in communal settings and dominate the Lorath Self Defense Force. They hold the military lifestyle in the greatest regard and pride themselves on their role as the defenders of their kind. Their family units tend to be more like legions, where rank and order provide structure and discipline. Men tend to handle more of the domestic duties than females.
The Llamnel usually find themselves in small communities of various families built usually around farmlands and nature. They tend to co-op with other families, everyone helping everyone with various jobs and duties to the betterment of the community at large, though individual families tend to fall more in line with their bonded animals. Pack animal types tend to have larger families, while those who bond with solitary animals may have smaller families.
Names for the Lorath at times can be confusing, often longer than other races. They typically contain for or five parts to it. The first is their rank or position within society, such as Queen, Researcher, High General, Technician and so on. The second is the Formal name, used in formal situations or to convey trust or anger with someone. This part of the name often has one or two apostrophes, but is not always needed. The third part of the name is the informal name, used in casual conversation with friends and often given to new acquaintances. It is often descriptive of the Lorath themselves and is given to them during their coming of age ceremony. The fourth part varies between houses, the Fyunnen often forgoing it, which is the individual family name. And finally is the House name, denoting which house they belong to.
Examples:
The Lorath celebrate several holidays throughout the year.
31日 4月 - 3日 5月 (June 7th-14th)
The Festival of the Ascended is the remembrance of the Lorath exile into the underground during their war with the Helashio. The holiday is a time of reflection and unity for the Lorath and is generally celebrated with visits to the shrines of Voxphine and Ifmir. The festival also features massive community feast celebrations and includes all of the castes. Males and females tend to wear the Necklace of the Ascended during this festival which features the Shield and Hammer. The shield symbolizes Voxphine's protection of the people, and the hammer symbolizes Ifmir's guidance towards their advancement as a species.
28日 5月 - 30日 5月 (July 14th-16th)
Moon Fall is a solemn holiday remember those Lorath lost during the Moonfall Incident. When the Mishhuvurthyar forces, led by Melisson and using the guise of friendship, deceived the Lorath and dropped a moon on the planet. Thanks to the heroics of the YSS Sakura and her crew at the time, the damage was minimalized to the point of saving the race and the planet from near outright destruction. This event in history is celebrated over three days, the three days of the meeting, the fight, and the aftermath. Families visit shrines and monuments made in dedication to those lost in the catastrophe and typically hold smaller feasts within family units in order to remember friends and family lost.
17日 1月 - 23日 1月 (January 20th-27th)
The Festival of Retribution is a festival celebrating the end of the war with the Helashio and the official end of their five-thousand-year exile into the underground. It is a week celebrated with great feasts, historical reenactments, visits to historical sites, military parades, sporting events, cultural showcases and any other number of smaller side events that showcase the wonder of what the Lorath were able to accomplish in their time in exile and since.
17日 2月 - 8日 3月 (Entire Month of March)
The Festival of Diversity is a celebration of the four houses and their histories. Each week in the month is dedicated to one house at a time, starting with the Fyunnen, followed by the Llamnel, the Occhesta and ending with the Tur'Lista. Each week showcases the history of the house, what they contribute to society, and a bit about their house's daily lives. It gives everyone a chance to see what it is like for a bit to live like the other houses.
Please consult Lorath Language for information about the Lorath language.
Lorath society has a diverse and thriving interest in the arts.
The Lorath are artistic and creative people. Their visual art tends to be diverse in technique and style depending on the house they belong to.
The Llamnel enjoy more natural art forms such as painting using paints derived from various plants or insects and tend to produce more art with captures of landscape or the environment around them. The Occhesta tend to prefer more abstract art that focuses on digital sources and graphic design done on computers. The Fyunnen often focus on photography which provides a reference to the time or place of a battle or conflict in military history and portraits of important members of the military.
The Tur'Lista often sample arts from all the other houses, and are fond of representing the diversity of the Lorath people in their collections.
The Lorath tend to enjoy non-fictional texts like historical documents or educational and research pieces that feature personal accounts of discoveries or advancements that affect their species as a whole. Their few fictional works tend to be stories about the Lorath condition, epic journeys or stories featuring a member of their society that overcame great odds with magical powers or extraordinary technology that has not yet been developed.
Lorath architecture is observed to be ultra-modern and has a very industrial appearance. They tend to focus on functionality rather than aesthetic appearance. A grand structure to their people would be a building that served a great purpose towards the advancement of their society or hold historical significance by honoring an event or time in history where they as a people overcome adversity. Designs tend to focus on community and collective effort and often have design features like high ceilings to accommodate members of the Fyunnen caste.
The Lorath have a fairly diverse taste in music. Their main genres include Tribal and Folk, Electronic Dance Music and Rock. Music much like their literature tends to focus on cultural issues and the advancement of their society as a whole. The themes of unity and cooperation between the houses often dominate music played on military vessels or at official events. They also have a reserved classification of music which is devoted to the Path of the Ascended and the worship of Ifmir and Voxphine.
Much like the Lorath literature, there is a heavy focus on historical reenactments and non-fiction. However recently their theatre has expanded to include some science fiction and stories that feature members of their society that overcame great odds with magical powers or extraordinary technology that has not yet been developed.
The Lorath have their own exotic cuisine, which since YE 29 has expanded to include fusions and influences from other cultures in the Kikyo Sector. Their native cuisines tend to be powerfully flavored or spiced and some are laced with plants or herbs that have mind-altering effects. The average person consumes three to four meals per day, and in all houses, except the Occhesta they are served communally.
Andrew and Sageshooter created this article on 2020/02/10 11:13. Original was written by another user but has no approval date.