Vytuian
Vytuian is a term used to describe the complex and often confusing (to outside observers) layers of relations and associations of the established Elven culture within the borders of the Realm of Naru. These Elves, numbering an estimated 650,000 souls, have lived within the lands of Naru for more than 2,700 years as a very hierarchical and structured society sharing a common language and history but with a quite varied political, moral and spiritual view of the world.
The Vytuian Elves have an amazingly long history within the lands they call Naru, stretching back to their arrival sometime around the year 2,730 BF. With the completion of what scholars call the Great Exodus from the far west of the continent, the lands of Naru were settled and established by as many as 220,000 Elves with an already divided culture. At some point during the Exodus, their was a split in the leadership of the people that prompted roughly 2/3 of the Elves to follow a different route than the one followed by the spiritual authority that had, to that point, been directing the migration east. This spiritual leader, Ghan'a Nari, continued to follow her prophetic visions to the mountains of northern Naru and the sacred lake, Naris All. The 2/3 of Elves that chose to follow a different route to this promised land became known as Vagarru and their journey to Naru would last an additional century and find them seen as outsiders in a society already established by the Narra who remained true to the directions of Nari.
These separatists of the Exodus peoples settled mainly in the southern and central portions of the lands of Naru. Traditional family and clan histories show that the majority of these Elves (nearly 150,000 in number) became what would today be termed agricolus, or farmers, ranchers and workers of the land. Many took to mining, building and crafting the roads and canals that would help in the establishment of the Realm as a cohesive and functional society. Many also settled in the northern regions as servus, or what would now be described as peasants or serfs tied to a specific location with a bond of labor or service.
Naming Traditions
Family names
Family and clan names are typically placed ahead of given names in Vytuian tradition. Thus, Kel'a Bron (the Autarch of Naru) is a member of the Kelii family with the given name Bron.
Culture
Culture and cultural heritage
Vytuian society is rigidly divided into a complex system of castes and ranks, from the ruling elite down to the most menial laborer, and an individual's place within a cast is almost always considered permanent. Movement between castes is extremely rare and often quite problematic for the Elves involved. All castes maintain an adherence to a code of honor and conduct that systematically determines how individuals from one caste can and will interact with those of another. Breeches of this code of honor often result in ritualistic duals ranging in severity from tests of knowledge or physical strength and ability to highly structured fights to the death.
Shared customary codes and values
Since the settlement of Naru by the Elves, the acquisition and compilation of knowledge has been the primary cultural engine of the Vytuian Elves. While the powerful and elite of society see this in the functioning of such organizations as the Order of the Quinary and the various Sanctums established and maintained throughout the Realm, even the common servus caste see the value of knowing, understanding and maintaining the most efficient and effective means of all forms of labor and effort required to keep their society running. Thus, the common farmer of the Broken Plains of central Naru will take great pride in his ability to produce the most he can with the least amount of physical effort and the least negative impact on the natural environment, all as a matter of course.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
Vytuian society is a hierarchical society with a deeply entrenched system of ranks and castes. Governing authority and power is exclusively in the hands of the noble electus caste. These are the descendant families and clans of the very first settlers of the country, and the dedicated followers of Ghan'a Nari as she led her people to the shores of Naris All. Other castes include militarus, the mercatorus, the agricolus, the artificus, and at the bottom of society's structural ladder are the more than 150,000 servus Elves that are tied by labor and service requirements to a specific plot of land or industrial task.
Movement between these castes is exceptionally rare and, when it does occur, is not a pleasant or positive experience for the Elves involved. Resentment, bitterness, bigotry and outright violence has seemingly always resulted from such changes in social status.
Funerary and Memorial customs
The Elves of Naru inter their dead in collective cemeteries and mausoleums located throughout the Realm, the most famous and most visited being the catacombs of the City of Melorian under the Solitaria Gate. All major settlements of the Realm have large cemeteries where the excarnated remains of the honored dead are placed in vaults.
Major organizations
The largest and most obvious is the Elven Realm of Naru, but certain aspects and facets of Vytuian culture are still plainly evident in other cultures, such as the Prosk'aNara, the Vagari and even the Drowkin.
