Life in the Barrier

While life in the barriers is never exactly the same due to isolation, the invention of reliers, automatrams, and soulevers has allowed information, customs, values, etiquette, respectability, and the rules of society to trickle into towns from the Paramount, creating a uniform culture across Premier Esprit. One can't be caught disregarding social graces if they want to shine in the Suzerain's sovereignty.

Blood is Everything

Lineage

Value of Résonateurs

Grace

In the upper echelons of society, there is little more important than lineage, and at the peak are Résonateur bloodlines. Some can trace their heritage back to Eidolon's first Résonateurs, and these families go to great lengths to preserve that line. Arranged marriages are common, even within families. Ladies from Résonateur bloodlines rarely attend the academy, as combat is seen as too barbaric. The birthing bed is where they serve the bloodline.

Résonateur blood is valuable. Even outside of known bloodlines, being of Résonateur descent is considered an honor and a source of pride for patricians and plebians alike. In poor towns, it can even mean the difference between life and death. Only Résonateurs can pay the service for new Solenoids.

Résonateurs must travel for missions . . . and events tend to happen in towns. Whether it be in awe, thanks, or genuine affection, Résonateurs don't lack for attention and will at times indulge in the offerings. Women who bear children outside of marriage are typically scorned, but those who produce rare Résonateur children are extended certain graces for their contributions to the Paramount and to potentially desperate towns. Unfortunately, tolerance only goes so far and these women rarely wed.

Population Can Cause Ruin

Limited Space

Dying Settlements

Solenoid Expansion

Carefully monitoring the population might come off as excessive, but in towns where housing and available expansion are limited, it can mean the difference between living in prestige and wallowing in a slum. Seigneurs will annually review the population and arrange to relocate families to another town or city if necessary. For some towns, accepting outside families is seen as beneficial to bringing in new blood and acquiring potentially useful tradesmen.

On the other end of the spectrum are villages and towns who have too few citizens to continue for many more years. Despite their dire circumstances, these isolated villages tend to be wary of outsiders, and limited resources make it nearly impossible to take in others from nearby towns. These towns linger in a space where only determination and stubborn pride grow.

If overpopulation of a city becomes a consistent problem, the seigneur may petition the Sommet for a barrier expansion and gain an additional Solenoid. In these events, the chancelier or Sommet councilmen will meet with the seigneur to survey the city and evaluate the need.

Foreign Blood is . . . Tolerated

Buying Respect

Résonateurs from Abroad

While Éthéré Coeur and the major port cities boast healthy foreign populations, the majority of the Crest and inland towns prefer to keep their neighborhoods filled with Premier Espritans. Those that do break through the pale ceiling tend to be wealthy merchants or prestigious members of the Paramount.

Accepting Résonateur recruits from other countries is routinely performed and expected. However, these potential Résonateurs don't leave the academy without a proper Paramount education. All recruits are instructed in and expected to integrate into Premier Espritan culture, even if they return to their home countries. These foreign recruits are given language lessons and highly encouraged to hide their native accents.

Scorned Children

Foreign-blooded children born to Premier Espritans are usually seen as outcasts and inferior . . . and not just in Premier Esprit. Those with paler skin are tolerated better, with immigrants from Himinnhjarta and Heortefeld being seen as "acceptable" for marriage. But having the blood of a Résonateur supersedes all prejudices in towns desperate for a Solenoid.

Résonateurs Have Their Own Subculture

Émanation Etiquette

Émanations are Unique

Résonateurs and Marriage

Émanations are auras of emotions around people—an extension of the heart. Everyone has an émanation, but only Résonateurs can see and manipulate them. While contact between émanations is expected during combat, touching another Résonateur's émanation or their physical body without permission is considered highly invasive and offensive. Touching the émanation of a non-Résonateur is forbidden.

No two Résonateurs have the exact same émanation, though an ability's base form is inherited. Personality, experience, and individuality shape émanations into their final forms as they mature. Résonateurs from two bloodlines can develop abilities that combine traits from both lines, however, the power of an émanation is independent of lineage.

Despite their shared experiences and relations between recruits being common, the majority of Résonateurs prefer to marry and have relationships with non-Résonateurs after graduating due to the desire for emotional privacy. Résonateurs notice émanations before appearance and are drawn to certain people who catch their attention.

Names Reflect Birthplace

Of

Names Never Change

Embroidery as Language

Surnames do not exist in the Premier Esprit sovereignty. People are identified by their birth town using "of." Because of this, children sometimes have different names from their parents. For large cities, district names may also be included, and those born outside of Premier Esprit are also expected to include their homeland, lest they try to hide their foreign roots.

The name you are born with is the one you carry through life, even after marriage or relocation, but titles and ranks may be added. Dampened and Fluctuateurs tend to have their hometown names stripped, because no town wants to be associated with a criminal.

Due to the close community aspect of barriers, special jewelry or clothing to indicate marriage is considered unnecessary, though embroidery is a common way to show attachment. Embroidery is heavily utilized by the Paramount to indicate rank and affiliation, and wealthy families also tend to incorporate embroidered symbols to distinguish their lines from the common folk. Résonateur bloodlines pass down floral motifs.