Cover Image by Dall-e

Lunaegan Society

The Lunaegans are a people that live very in tune with nature and the main rule in their society is that everyone is inherently equal, each individual born requiring the help of the community around them as well as eventually growing old and requiring this help once again. They have built cities and villages around clearings in the forests for safety from wild animals and the ability to create farms. Their inherent magical and dexterous abilities make it easy for them to travel between these villages if they need to. The different groupings of Lunaegans have a long-standing kinship that includes trade. The magic that the Lunaegans have access to helps with their farming and their traveling, so those who have more power and natural talent in using it are given special lessons so that they can be of the most help to their own region. There is one big central city seen as the capital where anyone can go to further their studies if they choose to do so. In this central city, the central council of the Lunaegans takes residence, which is made up of chosen people among the highest ranks of all the different factions to rule as a democratic team. The council will meet regularly and through assigned messengers, and the decisions from this council will reach each of the villages in a timely manner. Decisions the overarching council resides over can include a call to send reinforcements for protection and calls to send resources to cities and villages that need them. 

Faction system

Within each village and city, the community is split up into different factions. All these factions are seen as equal and live in the same place without any separation except for the highest ranking Lunaegans. The highest ranking people live in the center of each village or city so that they can always be reached by those who need them and they can get to each edge of the city in the most optimized timespan. Every role is as important as the others and just as essential to creating a safe and thriving community. Everyone is taken care of by everyone else, even as they grow old and cannot work jobs anymore, which leads to a great sense of community within a city. The Lunaegans have a lot of trust in other Lunaegans because all of them live in a similar fashion, and each village and city has a connection to all the others. 

Farmers

There are the farmers who help nurture and grow the food for each individual city. These farms are toward the center of the cities so they are protected and easy to access for everyone. The farms include mainly food for survival, though they also include healing herbs and flowers needed by the healers. The farmed land is seen as sacred; thus, the process of farming and taking care of the land has to be done in specific ways to ensure they stay respectful of the natural way of things. The harvest is mostly left up to the natural progression, with the Lunaegans only stepping in when there is a sickness or investigation threatening the crop. 

Guardians

There are guardians that guard the city limits from predators by guiding and diverting predators away from the village. This is done without harming the predator unless it is absolutely necessary. All life is sacred and just like them, the predator is only doing the best they can to survive. This faction has also become the main source of the military of the Lunaegans, though they don’t fully believe in fighting the war and thus their main focus is protecting the forest and villages. The weapons they have are made from metals that can be harvested from the meteors that fall from the sky, as well as the rift that resulted from the big quake. The metal is from meteors making it so that the natural coloration is varied between blacks and silvers.

Educators

There are educators who, as a collective, create an ever-evolving curriculum to teach the children. The educators are always stimulating the young ones to control their magic and most of the teaching is done by honing it. They are taught how to use different plants and read the environment so that they can always take care of themselves and others. The educators are familiar with each of the factions and their role in the community, and sometimes when available someone that has earned a high ranking in a faction will aid the educators in giving lessons specific to their faction to show children their options. The children get to choose a faction as they reach a certain baseline of education. There they will learn the specific skills they need, and when they pass a specialized exam, they will join the ranks of the faction officially.

Religious faction

There is the religious faction, which typically has a close relationship with the educators. The innate magic of the Lunaegans and the wildlife are seen as a gift from the Deity Lunnadian. The religious faction is the keepers of the lore and mythos of the Lunaegans and their rituals and traditions. They have written accounts and ancient depictions in their possession that tell and show what happened in the past and how Lunnadian is protecting them. They make sure that the Lunaegans have respect for all of Lunnadian’s creations and treat them with respect, as well as using their magic for the good of the community and not for selfish reasons. The religious teachings are seen as the history of the community, and this strong sense of community is at the center of the Lunaegan social structure. This faction leads any religious rituals and sermons, this includes the final harvest, as well as the creation of items using metals from the meteors or rift. 

Healers and alchemists

There are healers and alchemists who are always looking out for those who get injured and sick. They use their magic and the nature around them to help them in their job. The healers tend to be very in tune with others' emotions and physical states, being able to tell if someone is sore or overexerted and happy to help them. The alchemists focus on working different plants into teas and medicine to help cure diseases and wounds. The alchemists and healers work in close relation to each other even though they technically specialize in different things. The alchemists create the potions, teas, and medicines that the healers use to treat patients, and because of this, they are part of the same faction. The specialization allows for each individual to focus on either recognizing what the patient needs or knowing the proper recipes by heart to quickly create the necessary remedy. 

Couriers

There is also a small collection of those who carry news and messages between cities and villages. They are the more dexterous ones that are able to easily traverse even the thickest parts of the forests. They are also responsible for guiding and protecting travelers since they know the quickest and safest routes to the different cities. They have a special cloak with badges that signify which city they hail from so that if there is anything wrong or if something were to happen to one of them they can always be returned to that village in the end. 

Duty of the Individual

The Lunaegans heavily focus on giving back to the community and helping each other. They value selflessness and selfish acts are heavily discouraged and can lead to being rejected by others and ostracized. The more someone uses the magic and nature around them for personal benefit, the more they will be seen as turning their back on Lunnadian and their society as a whole. An outcast Lunaegan will be made public knowledge, and it is nearly impossible for an outcast to find refuge in any Lunaegan city or village after they are outcast. Being an outcast is dangerous since the forests are dense and full of dangers and most outcasts are not heard of again after they are forced to leave the safety of the city. However, this is seen as the individual's own responsibility since they turned their back on society by giving in to their selfish desires, and so they are left to their own devices in the wild to take care of themselves.  There is always a way to come back, but it is a long and intense process. This is to ensure that the individual has truly had a change in behavior and is able to stop being selfish. The individual will have to pass multiple tests, some of these are obvious but others are done in secret to see if they genuinely have changed their behavior.