Opalians
Names
Opalian names tend to be very historical or Shakespereian sounding, most names are from either English, French, Irish, or Scottish origin. A prime example of this is Queen Ophelia, and High Mage Tania, each named after Hamlet's potential wife and Queen Titatina from A Midsummer Night's Dream respectively.
Culture
Opalian culture is very art oriented, with festivals every month to cele( )ate life, the royal family, and traditions. The majority of citizens are artists, with the most populous careers being musicians, dancers, and sculptors. Followed by those are tailors, painters, and farmers. The least populous jobs are blacksmithing, leatherworking, and labor.
Children are raised together, with no discrimination against each other as their economic status is deemed unimportant at that age. They're taught to respect each other, help those in need, and to love all things equally. An Opalian's parental social status does not transfer to the child automatically either. Adulthood is at 18, but your social status is not determined until you are 26.
As for the jewels that show your status, one small jewel is the lower class, two small jewels are the middle class, three small jewels is the upper class/nobility, one small jewel and one large jewel are magic users, four small jewels are the royal family, while three small jewels and one large jewel is the reigning monarch.
Because many humans and other races flee to Opheil to escape persecution regarding their love and unlawful punishment, and they are considered refugees until they become full citizens. They are not required to wear the jewels Opalians wear, but most do anyway for aesthetic reasons.
Fashion
Opalians dress in cooler colors like purples, greens, and blues, as well as silver and white. Taste in clothing varies between Opalian to Opalian, regardless of class. Although most women tend to do a few layers of translucent fa( )ics over one opaque garment, while males have one or two layers of opaque fa( )ic, with minimal translucent fa( )ics. Capes are very popular with the noblemen lately as well. Jewelry is commonly worn amongst women, though most of the time it is nothing too extravegant. All Opalanians dress modestly, with clothing never ending above the knees except for sleepwear worn in private.
Casual dress for Opalians varies on social class, with the higher your status the more formal it looks. The nobility's "casual" is the middle class' formal, while the middle class' casual is the lower class' formal. Nobility and the royal family almost always look very formal, with extravegant jewelry depending on the person.
Mages are always in dresses or robes, depending on their personal taste.
As for hair, hair style varies greatly between Opalians, regardless of class. Although one thing all Opalians do is dye the ends of their hair a color of their choosing, to make themselves closer to Bijou's image as a way to honor her and thank her for creating them.
Physiology
Opalians have pure white skin, and white hair which has a gradient dyed in the color of the person's liking. Eye color varies between shades of pinks, purples, and light blues, with light blues being the rarest. Albino Opalians have a slight blue tint to their white hair, and have white eyes. Opalian blood is a royal purple, and it is the source of their magic. They have power in their blood, but not all can access it. Because they age slightly slower than humans, they live to be until about 130. Pregnancy for Opalians lasts 11 months.
Magic
As said earlier, Opalian blood has magic in it, and is highly valued by many that don't know that only Opalians can use their magic. Opalian Magic is highly supportive in nature, such as healing spells, barriers, protection from spirits, etc. However High Mage Tania has been speaking with Queen Ophelia about researching combative magic...
Sexuality and Marriage
Opalians are highly accepting of everyone, regardless of what gender they like, or if they are born one gender, but feel like they are another. They support those who flee to Opheil because of persecution against them by their homeland for those very reasons as well. As for marriage, you can marry whoever you want and you are allowed to divorce if you so choose. Divorce is not frowned upon, but is understood by the vast majority of the population.
Military
The Opalian military is rather small, as they've never needed to fight a war until now. Now, that's not to say they aren't skilled in combat, as they are. Compared to most other countries Opheil is surprisingly difficult to defeat in war. The only countries that are greater in war strength to them have been conquered by Kearlye or are their allies now, but Kearlye is a much greater military strength
Religion and Morality
Religion in Opheil is primarily the worship of the goddess Bijou, Goddess of Love, Life, Jewels, and Justice. Bijou is their patron deity, as well as their creator. There are many gods and goddesses in their pantheon, but Bijou is praised the most. In the Opheil pantheon, Goddesses out number Gods by about 3 to 1.
Morals are taught from a very young age, everyone raised in Opheil knows the difference between right and wrong, and criminals are only punished if their crime is very severe, like murder, but then they are rehabilitated like those who commit light crimes like petty theft.
Geography
Opheil is mostly flat land, with only a few mointains within the borders of the country. To the south of the country is the Coral Sea, and many cities and towns are built on the coast. Heading north, towns and cities are scattered about with the capitol city of Ophiljou in the very center of the country.
Government
The government of Opheil is a monarchy where the first born takes the throne, no matter what gender they are. Below the monarch is the parliment, made up of 51 representatives of each town and city of Opheil, and below them is the nobility. Parliment members are voted for by the people of the town or city, and none of them are of noble blood. They serve for 4 years, and can only be elected up to 3 times. |