Weekly Challenge (May 28): Bans and Tabooos

In sienai society, wearing clothes is considered taboo. Heck, before the other races discovered them, they didn't even have a concept of clothes. Some explanation: Sienai can't see. Or rather, they can see, but with echolocation. They see the shapes of everything; and get used to seeing the shapes of their friends the way we get used to seeing faces. As such, wearing clothes that would disrupt the shape is considered offensive, as you wouldn't be recognized and it would seem as if you don't like your friends.

So how did the sienai solve this once the other races moved to their land and they moved to their land? Well, sienai that have lived in cosmopolitan societies for generations can usually get by wearing normal clothes and recognize friends by the shape of their faces; other sienai have taken to wear bodypaint. Thick paint that covers the naughty bits whilst not disrupting their shapes. A common exception to this taboo is military outfits, but then you don't want to be seen.

Of the two sienai nations - Kos Lhadrang and Eidrengos - is Eidrengos the most progressive as they've gone to great lengths to ensure people can wear clothes without being prosecuted. In Kos Lhadrang, however, wearing so much as underpants can lend you jail time. Just one of the many disagreements they have.

There is a reason (Smell of Turpentine) food is extremely bland. Because they communicate with smell, fragrant food appears to be talking to them. It would be as if we tried to eat a hamburger that was constantly telling us it is content, or rum-raisin ice cream screaming "FUCK ME, I'M HORNY". Often, this lack of smell leads to a lack of flavor, as well.

And if you're entertaining (Smell of Turpentine) guests, never, ever, on any accounts, serve them borscht made with bone-marrow stock. It smells just like the smell injured (Smell of Turpentine) young make. And given the level of care that the stinkers bestow upon their young, this can be a gut/heart-wrenching experience for them.

Among the Lakemen, there is a group of taboos surrounding metals.

It is considered extremely taboo for anyone but a title-holding metalsmith to melt iron: as accessible iron is very rare in the region, it cannot be wasted, which an unskilled metalworker is likely to do. For the same reason, it is forbidden for all but the highest-ranking metalsmiths to experiment with alloys of iron, as none of this precious metal can ever be wasted.

It is also considered taboo to make an alloy with gold, as gold is seen as a liar's metal (it is shiny and precious and incites greed in men, but in a pre-medieval society it has very few practical uses). Especially forbidden is any alloy of gold and silver, as silver is the primary metal used in coinage and livery. Adding gold to silver is seen as tantamount to debasing the royal metal and undermining the economy, but more symbolically it is seen as introducing lies (represented by gold) to trade (represented by silver). Merchants found to be trading in electrum (a silver-gold alloy) can have both their hands chopped off.

Interestingly, wearing gold in the form of jewelry is not seen as unacceptable, though in polite society it is slightly frowned upon. Gold jewelry is often used as a bold and ostentatious fashion statement among the merchant class; symbolically declaring "I am a liar, and that's how I got rich, but none of you are going to call me out on it because I'm that rich."

The Lakemen take their metallurgy very seriously.

High Heels are banned in the Xipharian Empire. For Xipharians height is an important symbol of power and status. This is because there is a direct correlation between a Xipharian's height and how strong and smart they are. The tallest Xipharian is their Empress, who only stands slightly taller than the rest of the Xipharians. To assert her dominance over her subjects, she started wearing high heels to appear even taller. To ensure that no one would come close, she banned high heeled footwear in her empire. This ban applies to both Xipharians and Humans. While this doesn't stop all humans from being taller than her, she still remains taller than most humans.

If you are caught wearing them, they will be confiscated and destroyed. You could face up to one month of servitude. If you are caught selling them, they will be confiscated and destroyed. You could also lose your business license for a year. If they are found at customs, they will be confiscated and destroyed. If you are visiting the empire, you will be asked to remove them and they will be stored until you leave the empire. Visitors that refuse to remove their high heels will not be allowed entry. These regulations apply to the empire and anywhere under its control.

While Xipharians are generally fine with this law, some humans are angered by this law. Those against the law will sometimes wear them in public to protest the regime.

Fun fact: Many people joke that the height of the Empress' heels when you are summoned before her is an indicator of how much trouble you're in.

Among the Daskie there is a strong taboo against eating the larvae of the Sweet Beetle. Daskie food is unimaginable bland. Dried fish, capybara, and wild grain is all most Daskins will ever eat as the dry plains of their homeland has little else to give. However, in the lagoons around lake Ocas there is a very special insect known as the Sweet Beetle. The Beetle itself tastes disgusting but its larvae, found in rotting swamp trees, is delicious. Fatty like bacon but sweet like sugar, it’s the only good food a Daskie will ever have access to. Sadly, the Larvae is extremely difficult to get. The lagoons are chalked full of flesh eating swarms of fish and Karrow (giant hive beasts). More than just the risk of death, the lagoons are seen as the vile shadow of lake Ocas, which the Daskie worship, so all things of the lagoon are inherently taboo. The larvae themselves have become a symbol for decadence and moral indecency, the term grub eater being used to denounce those of poor character. Despite the social and bodily risk, everyone from the lowest fisherman to the highest priestess covets the larvae of the Sweet Beetle.

There are for great taboos:

1. Incest.

2. Kinslaying.

3. Damaging sacred place.

4. Violation of sacred hospitality.

Allegedly they are only things gods won't tolerate and insist on not commiting them. First two have mainly biological reasons, last two have mainly societal reasons. It affects people by working as deterrent. Gods let you do pretty much everything without punishment, but these things bother them so much that they will curse you. And even if they don't, you are banished from entire ethnic group and killing you isn't considered crime.

Most of the rules are the ramblings of a semi-insane lich. He's almost entirely benevolent, though, so most people go along with it for the free food, housing, clothing, etc. The relatively few injust ones are taken away fairly quickly too, once he sobers up.

Just some of the many edicts are:

No elves. Report all elves to your closest authority figure for removal, be that a skeleton, policehumanoid, or civil servant. Remember- Elves breed rapidly. Just one can cause an infestation.

If you happen to be a skeleton, No bone carving. Find some other way to show how unique you are, like your personality, or paint.

No telepath hogging. Your neighbourhood telepaths are a convenience. Please help keep them convenient by limiting communications to others to less than 10 minutes at a time.

No hereditary titles. You are not better than anyone based on the deeds of your great great grandfather. You are all equal beneath me.

It is illegal to kill any swans. They're all mine. Kill some other birds if you must. Actually, All the ravens are mine too. And crows, since they're similar and you might get a raven by mistake

The new railway will not kill you unless you stand in front of it. Please do not do so. It will ruin your precious skeleton.

No slavery. Any slave who makes it into the city borders is freed from whoever was enslaving them.

Copies of my new romance novel, Pride and mandatory equality for all: A treatise, Will be delivered to every household. Failure to provide your copy upon request will result in a four shilling fine, whereupon you will be provided with a new copy.

No fly tipping mana crystals. While they may be dangerous, and will kill any regular humanoid within days of prolonged contact, dispose of them at your nearest civic authority building, where I'll dispose of them personally

No guns. And no going under the city. Ever. That means you, dwarves. I mean it. On pain of death, then having your ghost tortured forever. Also, I'll resurrect your corpse as a zombie and use it to clean the sewers.

On Caudol, there is a taboo against men and women sleeping in the same bed. Nobody remembers quite how this rule originated, but those who follow it tend to have more restful nights and happier marriages, so the tradition has been preserved.

There is also a ban on following certain religions, which are collectively known as the "black faiths". Some of the banned religions are genuinely immoral/dangerous, and some are illegal only because they contradict the orthodoxy of the ruling class. Religious services are held either underground, in abandoned buildings, or within secret chambers.

In my setting four elemental lords have imprisoned a entire city in a pocket dimension. Everything looks as it did in the "real world" except everything is controlled by these four powerful Primordials. Early in the story a lone conman discovers this illusion and is successful in a plot to kill one of these lords, who now pose as the leaders of four large and powerful merchants guilds which control the illusory city. The death of this powerful elemental lord causes three thousand plus people within the illusory city to pop out of existence and transport back to the "real world", it also causes all of the stars to go out (as this was the being responsible for this part of the illusion).

As a result, the remaining lords (not quite as skilled at creating an effective starscape as their compatriot) cast a spell which meant that basically the denizens of the city never look up at night. Its not that they can't its that they have no need to, or simply don't see the point. If they tried to look up they'd suddenly remember they had somewhere to be, or feel like they need to go home for a nap.

So whilst it is not explicitly banned or taboo to look up at night, it is nigh-on impossible.

In Oth'Pouri culture, spherical mask-helmets must be worn at every waking hour, only to be removed while sleeping. Revealing one's actual face to anybody but family or a permanent mate is completely unacceptable. The masks themselves are pure, snow white spheres with small eye holes towards the bottom, fitting their unnaturally fleshy and flabby heads with eyes to the sides of their mouths. Only wealthy/powerful Oth'Pouri can add the symbolic set of concentric circles to their masks, with the number of circles representing rank. The first runs through the eyeholes, the others being progressively smaller. Those of true/highest nobility or esteem are allowed to adorn their masks with other personal designs.

Laws mandating mask-wearing are much more lax on colony worlds, but on the Oth'Pouri homeworld of Ezhai Haza one can expect to be punished viciously. The homeworld punishment for not wearing a mask in public is to have one sealed permanently to your head. The punishment for wearing a mask that is adorned with more circles/design than you are meant to have leads to the destruction of your mask and imprisonment anywhere in the empire, though. Races other than the Oth'Pouri are not expected to wear the cultural masks while in the empire, but it is considered polite and you will be much more respected if you make an effort to cover your face, albeit not with one of their cultural masks as they are sacred to the Oth'Pouri specifically.

It's quite taboo in the red god's kingdom to not wear a red item of clothing at all times. It is seen as blasphemy to not have the mark of the red god on you. Because of this most clothing worn and made in the red god's kingdom is red. That's probably the most oddball ban/taboo in my world. Besides that the taboos and bans include are letting metal rust in the Dwarven cultures is again blasphemous, using fire outside of incredibly strict rules in the jungle region is often punished by death. There's also stuff about never cutting open the large water sack the large lizards used as mounts in the deserts have as they are seen as sacred animals, however this often doesn't stop people cutting them open for water in a life or death situation.

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One of the greatest Taboos on Fjorn is raising the dead. While its very possible to do so, its extremely dangerous, not just for those involved, but for the world itself.

It goes into how magic works in the world. A lot like real life, everything is a cycle. The Three Prime Dragons that make up the world breathe life and magic energy into the world, which is recycled when living things die. A skilled mage could manipulate this cycle to ressurect the dead, however, if they do, they're stealing life and magic energy (the breath of the Primes) to do so.

If this is done on a large enough scale, it'll cause a skip in breath for the Primes. Sort of like sleep apnea, where you stop breathing in your sleep. Number one, this means no energy is cycled back into the world. Even worse, number two, this could awaken the Primes, and cause the end of the world.

Secondly, the people of Fjorn, regardless of culture, religion, etc understand that they must be in tune with the world itself. One cannot cast magic without harmonizing life and magic energy, and magic is an integral aspect of all life on Fjorn. To raise the dead, one must interrupt that harmony, so its seen as a grave sin. Also, respect for the dead is highly regarded.

And third, the Gods protect Fjorn. It is an afront to the Gods themselves, who sacrificed their power of Creation to protect Fjorn, for one to raise the dead. They'll punish the violator of this rule personally, as they see it as a challenge to their power, an insult to their sacrifice, and a threat to the world.

Literally the worst thing you can do on the world is raise the dead.

Dwarves from Omon Tadin shun any positive depiction of the sun or the sky in paintings, murals or engravings, especially on stone. This is one of the many reasons why Clan Starforge is greatly despised and ostracized by most dwarven clans. Acceptable public depiction of the sun or skies must be done so with heavy clouds or rain, or harmful avian fauna flying in the sky.

The orcs marauders have a total and utter ban on any kind of magic, and will execute any who uses it. This however, does not stop their archduke. Orc culture decides it's supreme ruler by whoever can kill their current one. The archduke has decided to become a lich, thus making him unable to be killed, and so he'll always be king. Marcus has to battle him as he supports the antagonist, but then he has to send his allies to look for the object he is keeping his soul in within his palace, so that he can be killed.

In the city of New Haven (Formerly called Sanctuary before the Civil War), it is forbidden to have guns or weapons of any kind, making it the only safe place in the whole Eastern wasteland. Every single person is checked by the guards at the gates, and although attacks do happen, they are quickly contained. This has lead to New Haven being the most successful city in trade, since it's the only one that guarantees safety for its people

The use of Precursor Augmentations are extremely taboo amongst practitioners of both Wizardry and Sorcery. These are highly complex magical artifacts that can be embedded into an individual's soul via reverse-engineered Arcane Surgery (performing surgery on the soul rather than on the physical body). By doing so, they can grant a variety of endowments that can be either beneficial, negative, or some measure of both. However, by doing so you must replace a portion of your soul with these artifacts, and that portion of your soul is lost forever even if you were to remove the artifact later on. As the soul is the vessel for the conduit of mana, doing so for magi are akin to amputation, which is why even the presence of such items cause extreme discomfort to any users of mana.

Visiting anything that supports a Ex-Immortal named Nermocra Cny.

He is the most feared Dracotanis (A Powerful Wizard in Forbidden Arts who is evil.)of all time.

His is also a ex-Dragcotonas(A powerful wizard in every type of magic)

And the first one to ever find the Sheep of King Lyanhep which gave him Immortality.

He was kicked out of The Immortals for practicing a Forbidden Art no as Killios Tonos.

Or supporting The Black One

And destroying sacred places.

Everything else is somewhat OK but can still be punished. The three mentioned will result in eternal torture and sent to Death's Hell which gives you eternal torture forever.

The first thing many travellers find when they first arrive on the planet Na'anu is the overwhelming dullness. Sure, their is beauty in the nature and an impressive order to society, yet everything is so similar. This can be all brought back to one man, the seemingly immortal dictator Na'an, which the land is named after.

When Na'an came into power he brought to the land wealth and prosperity but also many, many rules. Including but not limited to:

• Limited to no interaction between the three races of the planet (Orcs, Elves & Humans.) Being a human the only time you would ever get the chance to see an Orc would be if you are unlucky enough to be drafted into Heavy Labour in the outskirts of society where they reside as a career, or if you are drafted into law enforcement. As a human, the only time you would see an Elf was if you were in the big city named Na'ani. The Elves are the more learned race according to Na'an, himself being an Elf, they deal with many of the running of society and most jobs in Na'ani are given out to them in the draft.
• Introducing Na'anism, a system of social organization in which all property and possessions are regulated by the government and residents are set salary given to workers based on race, age and gender. The highest income earners being middle aged Elf Males, and the lowest earners being Orc Women of any age. If you are in anyway shown to have breached these set guidelines you, and your family are "strongly encouraged" to join a voluntary work camp or live an exiled life on a virtual realm known as "The Land Below"
• In no way, state or form are you allowed to speak poor of life on Na'anu. You are not to challenge the ideals set by the leader and if you pontificate about the Land Below or the Work Camps you risk being sent there yourself. If you are caught trying to court a member of a different race you, and both of your families are both immediately sent away, any other links to the rest of the world are made aware of your actions, and your lineage will be marked as tainted on the Na'anu registry.

There are many other horrifying things to speak of about the harsh reality that is Na'anu. Over my brief and terrifying stay on that floating rock I was formally briefed on the many taboos and bans set in place. Never in my life have I felt so helpless, vulnerable and completely desperate.

On the banks of the Hérn river, every tribe agrees on one thing, anyone branded with the traitor's mark is worth as much as dirt. themark is given by the priests of the river temple to murderers, blasphemers & traitors to your tribe, the red hot iron brand is pressed onto your forehead, creating a pattern of scars that look like the claw marks of a big cat, you're then thrown into the Hérn river, left to your own wits, people are forbidden from helping you, you can't enter any settlement. touching someone branded with the mark is a taboo. people are liable to hit you, stone you, kill you or even capture and torture you, once you have the mark your worth nothing.