Guidebook
Mainlands
culture
If not a tad materialistic, Mainlanders are shrewd and resourceful. They know how to make life more organized and, consequently, more complex. They are skeptics in the face of superstition.professions
Mainlanders run the gambit of professions. Many are employed as soldiers, scholars, and tradesmen across the three primary guilds. politics
It comes as no surprise that most are Royalists.
Mainlanders have long been imperialistic to a fault. They were quick to recognize what offered power—hunting rights—and pounced on capitalizing that resource for all that it was worth. Shrewd and careful in business, Mainlanders are a clever sort that recognize how to employ their resources to their service. As such, their various conquests have proved quite successful. The only problem is that they lack the wild abandon of the Highlanders. Organization and regiment can only make up for so much passion before the war machine grinds to an impasse. Thankfully, there was plenty of time and energy to eventually wear down the rebels and bring Rionnach tightly into the crown's palm.
That said, the Mainlanders have brought some important innovation to the north of Rionnach. They outlawed witch trials and instituted due process. Though corruption exists in any system, they tried to produce a law based on fairness and equal opportunity. Thriving on education pursuits and curiosities, Mainlanders expanded the College of Eòlas and have instuted many programmes to help the less fortunate have access to resources. That said, there is a toss up between the luxuries of regulation and the loss of freedoms—and here lies the gross tensions between the Mainland and the Highland.
The law gives Mainlanders a sense of superiority regarding the exiling of Prince Jacob and his mother Queen Aileene. They are bitter that the Highlanders never quite took to their customs and they view natives of north Rionnach as untamed if not downright brutal. A Mainlander works so that her life will be easier, not so that she can preserve an archaic institution of living and dying by the sword. She seeks something softer, something that can be attained through joint efforts and banding together for a unified social cause.
But not many others see it that way.
Common Features
Mainlanders are a fairly colorful bunch. They often have a multitude of pelt colors and are best known for their violet eyes. In terms of shape and size, Mainlanders have a tendancy to be smaller. A handfull know a smattering of Gaelic and some have a grasp on French, Spanish, and/or German. They tend to find the Highlanders quite ridiculous (or stupid) due to their superstitions.
