Hey all, welcome back to another World Lore Wednesday! In this post, we’ll be talking some more about Marròs some more - going over the other big city on the continent (albeit in less detail) as well as a few of the traditions permeating Marren culture. You should also read the first post on Marròs if you haven’t read it already

But first - if you haven’t already, don’t forget to follow us over on Twitch so you can see this post put into action! We have episode 3 of How Not to End the World coming tonight, so make sure you don’t miss it!

En Cerolle (en-serr-roll)

Despite it not achieving the title of “Perl of Marròs”, En Cerolle stands as a noticeably less-problematic city than Aquilla. In particular, while a wealth gap still exists, few struggle to find work or gainful employment due to the Dayboards - a long boardwalk along the coast with fliers, employers, and other labor-seekers - at least compared to similarly-sized cities in Unatowa.

Likewise, while Aquilla bustles with act`ivity at nearly all hours, En Cerolle occupies the sleepier end of the spectrum - with few staying out past 10pm. To whit: while you might find a good game of cards or dice in the taverns, you can expect the game to take a more subdued tone out of respect for nearby sleeping patrons (a consideration that would never make its way into an Aquillan tavern)

The City itself thrives due to the aqueducts, built and maintained by the Dwarves of the Silverstone Collective to the south in exchange for autonomy and good deals on trade. Standing as a testament to the good will between Dwarves and Humans, the aqueduct brings in fresh water from the streams and rivers of the Godscar Mountains - supplying the city’s many baths, fountains, wells, and other public amenities.

In addition to the Aqueducts and the Dayboards, you’ll also find Drugg’s Lifts, bridging the gap between Upper and Lower En Cerolle (separated by the Mist’s Edge cliffs - the large black line on the left side of the drawing). Towans operate the lifts manually, but due to their sturdy stone construction and impeccable balance, they allow quick traversal between Larrosè and the North/South Water neighborhoods. They’re dotted once every few blocks along Mists Edge.

There’s a lot more to talk about here (I gave each of the districts the same treatment for En Cerolle that I did for Aquilla) but in the interest of space and time, it’ll have to wait for the world guide coming out later this year. If you’re interested, be sure to subscribe to our mailing list below to get notified when it’s available!

Marren Culture

Marrens come with olive skin, and clock in a bit taller than average. Both men and women wear long hair with beads, jewels, and other ornamentation woven in. They tend to wear lighting clothing, both in heft and color, due to the mild climate - even in the twilight days of Unatowa, Marrens rarely experience days warmer than 90 degrees, or colder than 60 (even as nights run far longer than usual).

Marrens built their culture around indulgence and comfort. While many Marrens do possess a strong work ethic (contrary to popular belief/common prejudice) nearly all view hard work as a means to an end, rather than an end unto itself. You work hard tilling fields or laying brick so that, when the long night comes, you spend your nights comfortably sipping wine and strumming your guitar, content in knowing the day’s work has run dry and you have nothing left to do until the (metaphorical) bowl refills tomorrow.

This culture built around leisure and crafting has lead to a few traditions:

The Festival of Color

During the winter months, Marren craftsmen and women busy themselves turning the year’s harvest into usable goods. In the first days of the month of The Dawn (we’ll get an explanation of the world calendar in a future post) Marrens celebrate their hard work by displaying their goods for all to see - especially in the main city centers of Aquilla and En Cerolle. Vineyards tap their finest barrel, Weavers proudly display their textiles, Smithies show off their ever-more-complex decorative blades and tools - often smelted with exotic minerals to produce spectacular red, blue, and green metals. In all cases, the community focuses on color and vibrancy, resulting in an explosion of color and sensory information that often overwhelms those from quieter, more subdued communities.

The Last Stay

Rather than going on their Honeymoon, newly weds spend a week at the wife’s childhood home (or, should it be necesssary, whoever considers themselves the more “wife-ish” of the two) after getting married. The parents, meanwhile, go on a trip somewhere - after which, the community expects the newlyweds to move in together somewhere new.

Parents view this as a good excuse to get away, and often turn it into an opportunity to pamper themselves if they have the means (Marren weddings tend to become incredibly involved - with the parents generally in charge of most of the organization). The newlyweds, meanwhile, view the act of sleeping together in the wife’s childhood home as a briefly-breakable taboo, leading to some… interesting phenomenon in popular culture, to say the least

God Worship

Marrens often view themselves as pan-religious. They often worship multiple gods, and switch fluidly between worshiping one or the other, while taking none too seriously at any given point in time. This makes clerics uncommon in Marren society, although those that do exist exhibit much greater tolerance and understanding of members of alternative denominations than most clerics. Irratian clerics, for instance, tend to come off as stiff, stuffy, or judgemental by comparison

This leads to a situation where Marren towns build many shrines, churches, and chapels, but without dedicating any to a particular patron deity. It also means a lot of cross pollination occurs between the different religions.

All that said, Marrens tend to connect more strongly to Ga’el and Uluun’e than the other gods.

Anyway, that’s all we have for today. Be sure to follow us on your social media of choice to get more like this! (buttons below). Also, don’t forget to tune in tonight for How Not to End the World episode 3, broadcasting on Twitch and Mixer at 5:30pmPST, and arriving on VoD on YouTube this Saturday at 7am PST.