Today we are going to learn about Rinadrion, students. Please turn to page 342 in your 'Civilizations of the World' textbook...
Ha ha! Anyways, Rinadrion can basically be described in one word: warlike. Their whole culture is centered around war, and their main gods are: Rinard (this is where the country gets its name); Kelvessus; and Hirdoff. Rinard is basically the main god, and he's depicted as a warrior. Kelvessus is the god of the wounded soldiers, and Hirdoff is the god of the soldiers who have fallen in battle. They also have a very important goddess of healing named Thelaya.
The lesser gods and goddesses are for planting and prosperity.
From the time that a boy is old enough to hold a fairly hefty stick, his father begins teaching him how to fight. By the time he is fourteen, he is ready to enter the army. All the fourteen year old boys go to the palace, and the commander of the army chooses a number of them to serve in the army for five years.
There are dwarves that live in the mountains, and are paid by the king to make things for the palace. They basically have their own society, and are not obligated to send any of their sons to join the army. However, in the even of an invasion, they must help defend the land.
Girls are raised to run farms by themselves, since often their father and/or brother(s) will be in the army.
Rinadrion is well known for its war-singing; it is a proven fact that it keeps the soldiers’ morale up. War-singing begins low and deep, and goes on, rising until it reaches a thrilling and uplifting conclusion. It is usually sung to keep time with the marching. There are no instrumental accompaniments, so that every man's hands will be free.
Rinard, the greatest of the gods, is honored every four months by a huge military procession through the streets of Cavaris, the royal city. As each column of soldiers passes under the great statue of Rinard, they lift their weapons in salute.
When a boy reaches twelve years of age, he is given a sword by his father. On a girl’s twelfth birthday she is given a young workhorse colt, or a calf. Birthdays are usually not celebrated, only marked on the calendar.
Great Rinadrion victories against the enemy are celebrated with feasts and dancing.
Rinadrion is almost always at war. There are certain factions within the country which take the extreme opposite, and are pacifists. They are despised by most of the Rinadrions, and tend to live in small, close knit, isolated groups.
If anyone has any questions about Rinadrion, please feel free to ask them! I hope you've enjoyed this section. Belvia will be up next.
Just wanted to let you know that I am really enjoying this series of posts. Your world and the countries and cultures within it are very well-developed and fascinating to read about. I feel like I could sit down with a book of this world's history, non-fiction style, and have a great time with it.
ReplyDeleteRinadrion sounds like an interesting place. I thought it was very interesting and well-thought-out that girls are taught to operate farms by themselves since their men are so often out at war. One question: boys are chosen at age 14 to serve in the army for five years. Are they then free at age 19 to pursue other means of livelihood, or do they usually stay in for longer? Basically, is the army composed of strictly teenagers, or are there older soldiers as well?
Yes, there's a lot of older soldiers in the army. Since war is so ingrained in their culture, that's usually what most men want to do. If they do decide not to stay in the army, then they usually will go back to farming or whatever. A soldier's pay is pretty good, as well :)
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the compliment! I'm glad you like my countries :)