See Part 1 here, Overview and Geography

Context: This is a world gazette article for a videogame in production by my studio called FromLight. I also intend to package up this lore and setting as a TTRPG setting.

Culture and Clothing

Culture

Rhentairi Culture reflects the Rhentairi people themselves, a bit dismissive of authority, pragmatic, hard working, and while not the most renowned warriors, they are respected for their steadfast resolve. 

Historically Rhentairi culture has been primarily influenced (and drawn from) Ghairadori culture, and after Ghairador's dissolution, Aubregine culture. That said, there is a bit of cultural overlap from Merinna, Aerinmark, and Halle, but most more distrust and distance from the Vorrderrni and Erderrni culture. 

General Traits

A general trend for Rhentairi culture, style, music, and arts is to start with something very solid and basic, and focus on some minimalist but intricate level of decor, flash, or style. The Rhentairi are well known for "simple first, then rich if we can". Ostentatious shows of wealth are generally frowned upon however, as decadence is hallmark to Rhentair former parent country, Ghairador (and its successor state Aubregeon). 

Architecture

Architecture in Rhentair follows a number of local styles, all tied towards what guild a certain district or hearthstead is closest to. For example, a Hearthstead like Dolenn, on the edge of the Sottirn mountains, is heavily geared towards the use of timber structures, with fieldstone as a base. Other areas, like in Rhentair city, where the Mason's Guild reigns, will have brickwork. This is part an expression of guild pride, and part expression of the initial expertise these (especially more remote) areas have to employ. 

There is also a marked difference in architecture between the remote Hearthsteads, hearthland Hearthsteads, and the larger cities. 

Cities

The cities in Rhentair tend to have taller, multi story buildings that extend out over the road surfaces. The overhanging areas are typically considered pedestrian paths and other covered spaces for outdoor gathering, eating, and drinking. Notable exceptions to this rule are temples, which if they are not directly built in local Forlorn ruins, and build to emulate them in style (if not in build), and local guard barracks, which nearly always manifest as a gated courtyard in between two two-story buildings with little to no overhang. Often these courtyards will have an internal stable and forge as well. 

Other exceptions, as mentioned above, related to how some of Rhentair's cities are built in, around, and over Forlorn ruins. The surface ruins are cleared and over incorporated in artistically with the prevailing Rhentairi style of architecture, providing a poignant counterpoint to the generally very consistent urban architure of the cities. These incorporated buildings are also often the oldest buildings and generally those buildings maintained and owned by the wealthiest families of Rhentair. 

Hearthland Hearthsteads

These fortified villages typically are beginning to have  more and more larger, overhanging buildings built in the same manner as the cities. These buildings are typically built and added onto, either until the size reaches sufficient capacity to managed the growing population or the entire building necessitates being torn down and rebuilt from scratch. This leads the central areas of the hearthsteads to have a mixture of newer buildings and haphazard older buildings. The largest building in these  villages will be the merchant house compound, which serves as an internal traveling waystation for multiple guilds and their representatives. 

Second to the Merchant House compound, which at this point of development has several large buildings internally, will be the Hearthstead's Hearth Hall, which is the primary inn, tavern and public house (although usually there are multiple, smaller taverns by this point) and the Landritt's Hall, which hosts the Landsritt, their family, their men-at-arms, and also serves as the village jail and City Hall. 

Remote Hearthsteads

Frontier Hearthsteads are known to require three things for success, a sturdy wall, a sturdy people, and an inn to keep both around. 

Typically these hearthsteads begin with a hearthhall and a palisade wall. The most successful once will integrate natural obstacles so as to completely defend the hearthstead as fast as possible. The next building that goes up is the Landritts Hall, supporting the fighting force that maintains safety for the Hearthstead. At this point in constructure, readily available natural materials are used (timber, fieldstone) and the halls are typically recessed in the ground to provide natural cooling and insulation. 

As time allows, families will move into separate cottages, and the chartering guild (most hearthsteads have one, but they aren't required) will often build a Merchants House and invite a member of the Merchants guild to visit and potentially stay as a representative. Oftentimes, these representatives stay for a year or two before cycling out, but sometimes they settle permanently, having built a life in that Hearthstead. 

The Merchants House is typically situated behind its own palisade within the walls of the hearthstead, and is typically placed where it has plenty of room to expand. 

Next, the immediate needs of the Hearthstead are further fortification, more houses built, and hopefully necessities like forges, apothecaries, and general merchants, which up to this point had been running out of wagons akin to house mercenary caravans carry out their business. 

Only at this point of development does one see architectural embellishments start to appear, particularly on the higher status buildings such as the Hearth Hall, Landritts Hall, and the palisade outside the Merchants House. 

Style / Dress / Fashion

Rhentairi fashion is very muted, typically with deeper colors but plain fabrics and limits on how much jewelry individuals display. This rule does not apply to high ranking guilders, merchants, or the aristocracy who will often times ensure they are wearing no more than one, but one elaborate and intricate piece of jewelry. Different seasons bring different sets of jewelry in vogue, with brooches popular in Rhentair's often times vicious winters, necklaces, bracelets, and rings in Spring and Summer, and epaulets, torcs, and tiaras for fall and the early parts of winter (considered festival season). 

In terms of clothing, silk, velvet, brocade, and other exotic or expensive fineries are almost unseen in all classes in Rhentair. Some members of the aristocracy try to introduce them into high fashion but generally the populace and old gentry ignore these, as they are too akin to the fashions seen coming out of Aubregeon. 

Simple tunics are popular for men, layered according to the weather, with the most extreme climates showing outerwear and thick cloaks designed to keep and capture warmth. Fur is a common affection, both in urban high society and in the remote areas for maintaining warmth. Otherwise fabric is often linen, jute, or tanned leather is used for most clothing. Men will also wear trousers or breeches that are often times tighter than not, especially in the higher society and amongst young bachelors. 

Traditional garb for women includes dresses in the cities, and more established hearthsteads (it is considered a sign of stability when women get to dress like "city women" again), but more typically includes a light flowing linen pant that often has hanging toggles or a sash tie (often brightly colored) below the knee. This allows a woman to quickly tie up her lower part of her pants and take an active role in the hearthstead's defense, where they often take place using spears or crossbows. 

The common style for women for upper garments is to have a most flowing tunic but one that is held in place by an almost corset like vest. This vest is often made of leather, and has little defense value but is a common hanging spot for what is known as a "Lady Pin", which is a narrow, stiletto like dagger wielded almost universally by women as they come to their age of majority. Wealthier women have more elaborate decorations on this dagger, to the point of rendering it useless, but for common and frontier women it is a deadly implement that Rhentairi women are all to ready to brandish, leading to the common refrain that "Forgiveness is the last thing a Rhentairi man asks before he dies".