Northerners vs. Southerners: The Differences Euterpe's Altered Feudal System Females tend to run the Boreios Kingdom as Euterpe prefers one gender over the other. The main cities have an overseer as well, the woman who maintains the city and reports back to Euterpe. Overseers have lived in the land throughout their life and know everything about it, most are friendly with Euterpe too as Euterpe chooses who will become the Overseer. Men for the most part remain part of each class although they tend to appear more in the warrior classes. A Northern Lyrican’s rank can be discovered by looking at the amount of pearls upon their wardrobe: for a male, a strand of pearls can generally be found tied onto their mandatory belts or belt buckle while a female wears a tiara with the pearls. The pearls come in twos, depending on your rank while commoners do not show any pearls whatsoever. For instance, a female servant would have a string with two pearls upon her head while a warrior would have eight. The Boreios Kingdom also puts emphasis on ranks by who a citizen may or may not be able to marry. Only those of the same ranks will be able to marry if they want to keep their rank where it currently is. If a couple of different ranks marry each other, such as a commoner and artist, the Overseer will then declare them commoners for this choice. This may seem like harsh punishment but Euterpe believes that creativity lies in the blood of the parents and wants to keep the blood that produces the arts as pure as possible. Those of higher ranks tend to be more artistic and have superior creativity in all areas of arts and entertainment that appeal to Euterpe. If any citizen of nobility produced anything that did not stand for the soft and gentle nature of the Boreios Kingdom, Euterpe would just simply strip them of their rank if not already a commoner. When it comes to these ranks, Northerners are properly addressed by their ranks, such as “Queen Euterpe,” never Euterpe, or “Imperial ____.” Commoners are addressed only by their names to put more emphasis on the ranks. If a foreigner ever comes by, they either address them by the planet, moon, or country they were born in. For instance, one from the Notios Kingdom may be called “_____ of Notios” or sometimes a mutter of: “Pale-skinned filth.” Addressing individuals is a significant matter to the northerners and can mean punishment if not done properly. Euterpe, a stern queen, punishes her cilivians depending on their rank in addition. In the eyes of the queen, rank plays a significant role overall. If a Northerner of Cleric status performed a poor deed, Euterpe would strip them of their rank overall. Servants and commoners are the only exceptions to this rule, they are simply exiled from the kingdom altogether. Most of the punished end up in the Ygros Swamplands, a contested area that belongs to neither kingdom. Northerners even when punished by Euterpe, do not end up in the south due to their physical differences and tastes in art, which vary exceedingly from the southerners. By living in the Ygros Swamplands if in exile, the Northeners can produce whatever they please without worrying about it not suiting the kingdom. Sunkissed skin from the livid sun consistently beating down upon their lands, Northerners has anywhere from faintly tan to pink to deep brown skin. Those who are lighter-skinned may have a few freckles here and there or covering their entire bodies versus tanning often. Northerners do have a loosely set hair color ranging from shades of light blonde, white, and silver though there are few exceptions. It is rare any Northerner has a dark shade of hair unless they have a Southern relative. They also are a bit shorter than the Southerners; this is not always so with men but apparent when comparing women from both factions. Generally, Northerners can be found wearing pastels and bright colors. They prefer lighter clothing too due to their summery environment, especially in silk material. Northern women wear short gowns that at most, reach their knees. Jewels, ribbons, and lace seem to be ideal for the Northerners too, as the wealthier women can be found clad in ribbons, the tallest heels they can find, and the popular fashion style, sheer veils that reach their ankles and do not cover their face whatsoever. Most women, no matter what rank, can often be spotted lingering with a parasol in one hand. The veil and parasol serve more than just a fashion style for some, but a shield to block the sun from hitting their bodies. Women also wear one ring with an enormous, exotic stone on it, usually passed down from generation to generation or purchased by their lover although warriors, servants, and commoners tend to lack any rings. Northern men, on the other hand, sport sheer, flowy shirts that are quite lightweight and sometimes buttoned down. Even the warriors wear wispy armor since the afternoon sun is constantly beating down on them, they tend to look rather glamorous in battle versus intimidating. Some men even meander throughout towns without shirts, an issue that Euterpe could care less about. Lightweight pants are also popular in the Boreios Kingdom along with long necklaces worn with a trinket representing something about them, such as the the male Guardians bearing an emblem of protection. Every man is required to wear a belt of some sort so they can sport their rank depending on the number of pearls tied tightly to their belt. Another form of a belt that has grown quite popular is the belt pouch, a suede or leather belt with pouches containing valuables to the individual such as money in it. A lot of the younger men have also made it their duty to have a head covering too; they have removed all the hair from their head and tattooed it with an exotic design. While the Northerners sport lightwear, their queen does almost the opposite. Queen Euterpe maintains the same sort of fashion with lots of lace and ribbons but has added ruffles to the mix. Instead of her dress reaching her knees at most, her dresses are known to trail as much as a few feet behind her. The Boreios Kingdom enjoys showing their ranks and this is no exception; only Euterpe herself may wear such extravagant dresses so she may be spotted in a crowd miles away. Her dresses tend to replicate a wealthy French woman's attire from the reign of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Such fashion that Queen Euterpe would wear can be found here and here. Elitism wreaks throughout the Boreios Kingdom, even if the citizen is a mere peasant. This kingdom is full of nationalism and will do whatever they can to invoke a fight with the Notios Kingdom, to simply prove that they are better in every way. Oddly enough, this is ironic because Boreios is known for its lovely, upbeat, sometimes soft and cheery, music and conservatism. Northerners wish to have nothing to do with the Southerners even to the point of when in exile, preferring to stay in a place without much to offer versus moving into the south. |