[Ragman]

Cuisine

Being an island surrounded by water from all sides, seafood is a common dish served in Secyclion culture. Fishes, crustaceans, even the seemingly more exotic octopus and squids are plentiful, and done in much more different ways compared to the mainland. Fishes are almost always grilled, and shrimps are deshelled and mixed with a dressing that contains saffron and rosemary, tossed in olive oil.

Traditional dishes are heavily spiced, especially meat dishes, because meat such as beef and chicken are hard to come by on the island. Spices that are used are usually rosemary, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon grass. For more highly prized meats such as venison and certain species of quails, vanilla and red saffron, a variety of saffron native to the Eunesian isles is used instead.

Most of the Secyclion food are cooked with a small portion of dried and grated coconut flesh to substitute for rice and wheat based foods. Because the flesh is already sweet in nature, most sauces of Secyclion are also slightly sweet to allow it to mix well with the coconut. They are usually baked while the ingredients tossed into ceramic pits, and sweetened cheese placed over the food and melted into the dish.

The affluent who are able to afford better usually have pita bread topped with lamb and meat chunks with sweet sauce, a dish which is common amongst the rest of the Eunesian Isles.

Costumes

Materials used for Secyclion costumes vary from season to season. The stifling summer sees the people opting for lighter cotton wear, with the more extravagant opting for silk or chiffon imported from the mainland. Women tend to wear sleeveless dresses with a ruffled torso, a thin belt adorning their small waists. Another variation is to take two large pieces of unsewen clothes and draped and secured over their bodies. Make up is usually done thinly, only on the eyes, unless there is a special occasion that requires more elaborate care. The same goes for accessories, the womenfolk tend for simple necklace, or a bracelet on their arms while the man are elaborate and flashy with their choice of clothes.

A colored shirt with slightly loose sleeves, usually plain is worn underneath ornately sewn jackets that usually carry the designs of animals or flora prints. The dress, or the Fustanella is also worn, and this is actually the clothing article which the man takes the most pride in maintaining. A Secyclion saying is that 'A man can be judged by the quality of his Fustanella.', and a man who does not wear his Fustanella properly is often disrespected and ridiculed. The number of plaits in the Fustanella also depicts seniority nonverbally. An example would be the Lord Thane Count Charon, who once wore a Fustanella with seven thousand plaits. A simple hat without a brim is also worn for men, with a long strap of leather or hairs from the horse's tail usually attached to the end of it though in recent times, the ribbon has also been substituting the more expensive leathers and animal hair. The fashion from mainland is being loathed to be boorish and low class, especially wide brimmed hats which is considered a fashion faux pas on the island.

The main definition of a Secyclion costume is it's Fustanella for men, while women tend for single dresses that are usually iron-gray in colors, or at least less colorful than their male counterpart. The material of their clothes vary differently from season to season. It is also considered poor taste for a woman to wear brighter colors if there are men in her company. Bright colors represent authority and figurehead traditionally. Black is a color frowned upon because it is the color of mourning, and young children are not allowed to touch black at all.

Children are usually garbed in miniature versions of the adults, though usually in blues and whites to represent purity and childhood innocence. Floral designs are accentuated for girls, who may also wear a version of more ribbonly dress that would flutter behind them as they move. Stockings are also worn in colder weathers, together with shoes that are made of soft supple leather to allow them to climb easily as compared to wearing stiff shoes and rope sandals are secured up to their knees for both male and females during the dry seasons.

During periods of heatwave however, it is deemed proper for men to merely walk in public in their loincloths, worn like a skirt or an apron, with its ends carefully folded and secured so that it ends up with a tail that trials behind. The head gears are not worn anymore, though leather straps are somethings wrapped around their foreheads and ending with a tail as well. Sometimes a half-cloak is also worn, covering one shoulder (usually the right), and pinned to secure it in position.

Womenfolk tend to be required to preserve their modesties, though they may opt for shorter skirts as well made entirely out of ribbons that are secured together to form a plaited dress. Floral prints are predominant in feminine clothes, and using flowers to decorate their own hair is something almost ever Secyclion women do.

Religion

Despite the strong influence of the Church in the mainland, Secyclion, like the rest of the Eunesian Isles, do not have a strong presence of the Church. Many religious beliefs are somewhat primitive, and are spiritual and animalistic based. Most Secyclionians, if they are religious, believe that all things contain spirits, or a certain degree of sentience. This is why they would try not to harm or kill any other living thing indiscriminately, for this may anger the spirits.

An example would be a large tree. Animals and nature that have out of the ordinary traits are considered to be 'blessed'. An extremely large tree hence, would be considered by Secyclionians to be blessed. Another example would be a bird with two heads, or a spider with nine legs. An additional or positive change in nature is translated into a blessing to the Islanders, while conversing a decrease or a negative change, such as a snake with one eye, a Ram with three legs, are believed to be cursed and should be avoided.

The first week of the Autumn, immediately after the Autumn Equinox is the period of time where Secyclionians mourn for their dead. Lanterns are being released into the skies, where they eventually drift until they cannot be seen through the thick volcanic smoke. Secyclionians believe that in order for their spirits to leave this plane of existence to move to the higher plane, their bodies would have to be cremated and their remains scattered over the seas and back into Nature.

While the Temple of Ioaness and Diana both exists on Secyclion, it is Carmelya that has earned the most followers in recent Eras, given her area of influence over Nature has more of a direct impact on the Islanders than any other Gods of the Pantheon.


Music and Dance

Music has always been integral to the Secyclion culture, which is very diverse themes and even from the usage of instruments from those of the mainland Empire. Music are always used in festivals, celebrations or even in death. Instruments are closely linked to the kind of events where music is played, and dance is almost always accompanied with music, for the two are usually inseparable themes, especially in Secyclion.

Music is always played in the modes which is determined by the kind of idea or the kind of emotion that it invokes. To the Secyclionians, a strange fact would be that music does not have to sound aesthetically pleasing to the ears, but the important point was to observe the strict rules and laws of observing the modes. For example, the lower keys are played and combined together to lament, while medium and higher pitches are used in happier and heroic modes.

The most noticeable and unique part of Secyclion culture is the usage of drums. Drums are never used in sad occasions, and only during victory marches, the Thane's birthday and the reviewing of the military. Drums come in all forms of shape and sizes and always played with the hand. Percussion instruments are only accompaniments to the Drums, who is almost always the main focus. It is needless to say that Drummers are usually the star of the performance, and are often played solo, or accompanied by other instruments that are on the sidelines.

Dances usually depict historical scenes, and it's steps and movement have been passed down for generations. Dancers almost always begins with the performers holding a still position before the first chorus, and usually ends when they congregate once more in the original position. Leaps and acrobatics are not to be confused with dances, which emphasizes greatly on the leg movement and twirls on the body. The tapping of ankles and rhythmic movements of the hands.

Art -- Emphasis of Noble penchant for still life and landscape

Secyclion art has very much evolved from the same roots as the rest of the Eunesian Isles, though the island's artists are prominent for the use of strong colors. Their artwork is usually characterized by deep and powerful color tones, and the expressiveness of architecture. Buildings and especially attention to details for buildings are deeply emphasized.

Another obvious feature of Secyclion art is in its portraits. Portraits are usually done from the side view, and the person in the painting is almost always surrounded by an architecture relief native to Secyclion, be it domes, or arches, pillars and even arched gates. Elaborately painted pillars are usually placed at the base of the person depicted, and flags and jeweled cloth are also a common accompaniment to the painting, either draping from the archways or pillars.

Secyclion paint is very expensive and sought by painters who wish to paint their themes with bright and lurid hues.

Their dyes' make are complex, mixed traditionally with dried coloring that are usually obtained from flowers, ground and mixed with egg yolks, and spices, with a tincture of volcanic ash and oil.

Superstition and Quirks

Like most of the Eunesian Isles, Secyclion is not short of her own cultural quirks which are very different from the mainland, most of them stems from a rich cultural history that has evolved over the centuries, and some are drawn from folklore and myths that are continue to pass down to the younger generations.

The first deals with the color of clothing and the mixture of colors, especially black and red. Because Red-tipped Gannets are considered bad luck and harbingers of doom and destruction, the wearing of black with reds indicate extreme bad luck, and there have been incidences where visitors are turned away from the porting on the island if they are wearing black and red lest they offend the eyes of the local.

Black is also the color of mourning, and is not worn by locals except during the Cycle of Remembrance.

The praising of children to their face is also considered bad luck, for children are educated to learn things through the hard way, and encouraged to think and fend for themselves even at a very young age. Praising children causes conceitedness and arrogance in them, two traits which are especially abhorred on the island city. This kind of praising is also believed to put a 'jinx' on the child, and children who are praised often when they are young usually turn out to be bad eggs when they grow older, according to Secyclion belief.

Because Secyclionians believe in the existence of spiritual entities, both good and bad spirits must exists. Names are considered to be sacred to the the islanders, who have to undergo special rites before being named. Offering the name of oneself is a significance of trust and goodwill, and according to Secyclion legend, once the evil spirits know of the names of the living, they are able to influence bad behavior in them, and sneak into their dreams to cause sickness. It is extremely offensive, thus to call a Secyclionian by their full names at night, for doing so is exposing him or her to the evil spirits, who will 'hear' of their name and use it to cause all kinds of mischief.