Dragons of Tirenia

Tirenians have a number of traditions and superstitions about death and the dead. They believe that receiving the last rites before dying is important, to give the best chance of reaching Paradiso, or minimising the time that must be spent in Purgatorio. Tirenians believe in the importance of burial. In early times, people believed the soul and the body remained connected even after death, while cremation would annihilate the body and the soul. This belief may be derived from the actual effects of dragonfire. This is why burning is saved as the greatest punishment for the very worst criminals. La Salvatrice herself died after being burnt at the stake, although in her case it clearly did not affect the state of her soul.  Even in these modern days, folk belief about the importance of burial continues. Tirenians believe in burying the body. The funeral is to encourage the soul of the departed to move on; for this reason, Tirenians believe in dressing in dark colours, acting sombe...

Tirenians do not have the same need for privacy as we do today. They are happy to wash and defecate in public places. The very rich have their own private bathing facilities at home, but most urban Tirenians in large cities use the public bathhouses. These are not divided by gender, which leads to stories of immorality at the bathhouses. Some people feel that this public bathing is what allowed the terrible Great Death to spread so quickly. There are also some priests who feel that excessive bathing is a sign of vanity, and who let themselves become positively disgusting as a sign of their piety, but this is unusual. Meanwhile, rural Tirenians have outdoor privies, while an urban Tirenian would probably use a chamber pot, which is emptied into the street. Poorer citizens will use a public toilet, which would empty directly into the river. During the night, ‘night soil men’ come with their wagons to collect the waste and take out of the city to be reused as fertiliser. Disease is rampan...

Despite what the songs of bards might suggest, love and marriage are two very different things in Tirenia. Marriages are matters of politics or convenience more than romance, and arranged marriages are the norm. Both men and women are able to marry once they become adults at 17 years old, but typically men delay for a while to pursue political or career aspirations (or sow wild oats). Accordingly, the groom is typically a decade older than the wife or more.  In aristocratic society, marriage is the cornerstone of politics, and so betrothals will be arranged years before the wedding. The bride’s family is expected to pay a lavish dowry, and some cities have public funds available to help pay dowries for orphans. The groom is also expected to give lavish gifts to the bride and her family. One of the most notable gifts is the marriage chest: a trunk painted with romantic or erotic images for transporting the possessions of the bride to her new home. The actual marriage consists of...

The cuisine of Tirenia is highly regional, but new foods are constantly being introduced and incorporated into existing recipes. Many of the staples of modern Italian cooking have not yet arrived in Tirenia. Pasta arrived later in Tirenia than it did in Italy, but has been accepted as a popular new foreign food in the last generation. Tomatoes will be discovered shortly, and player characters may be responsible for introducing them; alternatively, they may be among the first to try them.  Rice, bread and fresh vegetables are the staples of the Tirenian diet. Thick, porridge-like soups, supplemented with beans and mushrooms for protein is a common working-class meal. The wealthy are able to eat a more heavily meat-based diet, especially game meats, poultry and fish. This meat might be boiled or fried. Cheese is also popular, and every region has its own special cheese. In the centre and north of Tirenia, sausages and salami are popular; olives are common in the south. Coastal ar...

A confraternity is a voluntary organisation of lay people who are gathered to do good deeds (as defined by the church). Working together, they are able to accomplish greater things than they would be able to do individually. For example, the Confraternita di San Camillo sponsors a paupers' hospital in Vanzenia, and ensures that there is care available to even the very poor in the city. Others sponsor festivals, offer charity for the poor, bury paupers, pray for the souls of the living or the dead, or encourage the arts. Some confraternities are powerful social organisations, whose members reap immense benefits from the connections that they make, and may also engage in trade or other enterprises together; others have anonymous membership. A confraternity may be open to all, or it may be restricted by social class, sex, age or citizenship: however, they tend to be one of the more 'open' institutions, where people of all parts of society can work together for the public good....

Even a poor Tirenian is affluent enough to be able to afford multiple different outfits, and to have their 'church best'. However, those of great wealth would wear elaborate clothes made of expensive materials as a visual sign of their success. At the most extreme, some cities have had to enact laws restricting fashion to restrict opulent displays of wealth. Male fashion is designed to enlarge the upper body and emphasize the lower body. Men wear belted tunics or overcoats over fitted waistcoats. Detachable, often slashed sleeves are common. The hemline is above the knee, although some men wear it up to the thigh; as a result, the codpiece is a recent development. On their legs, men wear close-fitting tights or hose. Some men will wear bright colours to stand out; others prefer darker tones to give an impression of seriousness. Servants and courtiers of the dragons will often wear coloured hose to match their dragon, as a symbol of loyalty. There is also an increased intere...

Tirenia uses a calendar very similar to our own. It was first compiled by the Auromian Empire, who counted years from the ascension of the first Golden Emperor; years were called A. A., standing for Anno Auri (Golden Years). After the fall of the Empire and the coming of La Salvatrice,  the count of years was restarted by the church, and years are now called A. S., standing for Anno Salvatricis (Year of the Saviour). The current year is 1016 A.S. Every year is divided into thirteen months. Twelve of these months are normal months of 29 days, which is one cycle of Sorella Anziana,  the yellow moon. The thirteenth month is a special holiday month held over the winter. It is designed to keep the year in track with Tellaia's movement around the sun, and is 17 days long, or 19 days long every eight years - which is one cycle of the moons Sorellina or Sorellona . The church is responsible for declaring when these extra two days are to be inserted into the calendar. The thirteen mo...

With the help of magic, astronomers in Tellaia have a good understanding of the bodies in their solar system. Tellaia is one of eight planets orbiting the sun Sole. It has three moons, called the Three Sisters. Further out are the stars, which have been divided into thirteen major constellations, each lending their name to a month. At the centre of the solar system is Sole, the sun, which does not move (as far as anyone knows). The first planet orbiting it is Fortuna. This is a small white planet, with an orbit of 53 days. It is associated with the element of Air, and the magic of Illusion. The second planet is Bellona. It is red, and about half the size of Tellaia. Its orbit is 97 days. It is associated with the element of Fire, and the magic of Evocation. The third planet is Amora. It is gold, and about three-quarters the size of Tellaia. Its orbit is 173 days. It is associated with the element of Water, and the magic of Enchantment. The fourth planet is Tellaia. It is a bl...

Before the time of the Auromian Empire or La Salvatrice, humans worshipped a wide array of gods. Many of these were based on natural phenomena, such as the sun and moon, or upon the personifications of human characteristics. Others were inspired by meetings between early humans and supernatural beings, particularly elementals and fairies. In some cases, it is hard to say whether a particular god was inspired by a spiritual being, or whether the spiritual being stepped into the role of a god that was already worshipped. Over time, as different tribes came into contact with each other, deities were syncretised: different sun gods were all assumed to be regional aspects of the same sun god, for instance. Finally, the Auromian Empire adopted many of the gods, and associated them with the sun, moon and planets. The greatest gold dragons ritually 'became' these gods, becoming a focus for human worship. The gods chosen by the Auromian Empire became the 'classical gods,' alth...

Wizards divide the world into five fundamental elements. Four of these are the common elements: air, earth, fire and water. The fifth is aether. Aether exists as an insubstantial energy, but it is affected by the three moons, just like water. It flows through invisible aetheric rivers above, below and through everything on Tellaia, and magic is made possible by its presence. Because the three moons converge over Tirenia, this means that aether is more concentrated there than anywhere else in the world. This is why it has always been the centre of supernatural attention in the world.  All beings are affected in some way by the aether flowing through them. Most animals and plants are unable to detect or retain aether. Spiritual beings exist purely as beings of aether. Only humans (and dragons) are composed equally of all five elements - this is why they are capable of performing magic. One of the most basic spells that all wizards learn is the ability to perceive aether around t...

Numerology is the belief that certain numbers are significant, and can be used to tell the future. In Tirenia, academics believe that the prime numbers - 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13 and so forth - are the most magical and important numbers, using the celestial bodies in the sky as proof. There are some who believe in the significance of other numbers, such as the pattern 1 1 2 3 5 8 11, and others who reject this by claiming that it is merely coincidence, and that many of the sets have been manipulated to make them fit the pattern - for example, there are more than two genders, and eight rather than seven schools of magic. Here are some things that occur in sets of prime numbers. One: One is not actually a prime number, but many numerologists count it as one. There is one world, Tellaia. There is one sun, and there is one true God whose name is not spoken. Two: Many things that are in opposition: for instance, there are good and evil dragons, heaven and hell, day and night, male an...

With the amount of trade that crosses the Mare Interno, it should come as no surprise that piracy is rife. Vanzenia and Staglia are almost continually at war to control sea trade, and so both sides employ pirates who will prey upon all ships that do not bear their own banner. There are also independent pirates who operate from Monte Mamiliano, southern Tirenia or from the Sahel. Due to the poverty of some communities in southern Tirenia, they are forced to rely upon piracy as a livelihood, and the pirates (who trade their stolen wares with the Beneventi) are feted as local heroes. These pirates are sometimes regarded as romantic figures. They rarely come to a good end, however, once they invariably come to the attention of both Vanzenia and Staglia. The pirate Barbarossa (Redbeard) is the most famous of the independent captains, who has managed to elude pirate hunters for a considerable time. He has managed to assemble an entire pirate fleet under his command. Pirates often work from...

With the cities of Tirenia growing rich from foreign trade, there are more and more shops growing up everywhere. Street vendors sell delicious food, while permanent shops display wares from around the world, and on festival days, vendors would assemble at the local market to offer the greatest range of products. Vanzenia is so rich, it claims to have a market every day! With such a range of products and merchants, a would-be buyer must be wary of being cheated - merchants are mean hagglers, but they might also use rigged scales, or lie about their goods. This is why the cities do their best to regulate the merchants to keep commerce as fair as possible. This is why most shops are open to the street, and why for expensive sales you might hire a public notary to witness it, so both sides could make sure the sale was fulfilled properly. Permanent shops are now common throughout even the smallest villages in Tirenia, but there is a much greater range of products on sale in a big city lik...