Nostian noble families

Paxia

Paxia is one of the most well known of the Nostian noble families, both for its great successes as well as for its epics failures and controversial politics. Of all the families, Paxia has the most impure blood, largely because it makes a policy of having particularly wealthy or accomplished commoners marry into the family. They are often known for making risky investments and trying new and innovative ideas, for example many of the first Nostian sea vessels were sponsored by Paxian money. As a result of they practices they are one of, if not the, wealthiest Nostian families. They are, however, less respected by some of the more conservative families.

Paxian nobles aren't as martially inclined as nobles of other families. Many prefer to become merchants, explorer, or scholars instead of soldiers or generals. Because of this, Paxia depends more heavily on citizen mercenaries than other noble families. They also tend to get less involved in direct conquests of new territory for the Empire and as a result have a little less actual land than do other families - though they more than make up for being land poor by their ability to make other investments including loans to other families and to the Imperial Government.

Some philosophers within the Paxia family have gotten in trouble for expressing republican leaning or ideas about emancipation or egalitarianism. Though the family staunchly rejects such controversial political ideologies, they are known for their liberal views about the proper place of commoners.

Paxians very more in appearance than do other noble Nostian because they have more mixed blood. They tend to be slightly shorter than other nobles and have slightly darker skin. They tend to spend a lot of time and money on their clothing and often set fashion trends among the Nostian nobility. Some Paxian women have stopped shaving their heads and eyebrows, sometimes even growing their hair long and flowing. Stereotypically, members of the Paxia family are charismatic as well as reckless.

Laeth

The family of Laeth tend to be the most scholarly of the Nostian families. They spend much of their family wealth on libraries and science. They have some of the most brilliant philosophers, engineers, and Androcus all all the families. About half of the time, the Androcus Megalos is selected from the Laeth family, which gives them a lot of political sway because of the powers that the Androcus Megalos has.

Despite being scholars, the Laeth family does not neglect warfare or combat. Virtually every Laeth male serves his family in combat, some for life. The Laeth family looks at war as a science and many of their great minds are dedicated to studying the art of arms and warfare. Because of this, Laeth often has some of the most successful generals. They often create new and more effective siege machines, poisons, ship designs, and even higher quality steel. Their engineers are also able to construct some of the most spectacular buildings in all the Empire. For the good of the Empire as well as exorbitant fees, the Laeth family does sell its knowledge and innovations to other families, though it tries to keep them one step behind. The Laeth family were major contributers to the design and construction of the Nostian navy and have participated in the construction of most of Nostia's roads, walls, aqueducts, sewers, and other advancements that have made the Empire so successful. Many other families are distrustful of the Laeth family, suspecting them of keeping secret knowledge that could be used to help the Empire but that the Laeth family is too greedy to share.

The Laeth family tend to have slightly lighter skin and eyes than many other Nostian, in fact among the Laeth family bright green eyes are fairly common. They tend to dress in a somewhat conservative or boring clothing by noble standards, but nothing really noteworthy. Other families tend to think of Laethans as smart but scatter brained, having theoretical knowledge but no common sense.

Valiana

The Valiana are considered the most strange, bizarre, and fanatical of all Nostian families, They are looked at this way because of their rejection of the institution of slavery. While just as racist and nationalistic as other Nostians, the Valiana believe that for the Nostian Empire to be truly great, it must survive purely on the labor of Nostians and not survive because of the work of inferior races. This opinion outrages many other Nostian families who see slavery as the backbone of the Empire and view the Valiana philosophy as dangerously bordering on abolitionist. The Valiana family insist that they have no desire free any slaves or to encourage attempts at escape or revolt, rather that they simply want slaves to be phased out and not allowed to reproduce - effectively an Athavi genocide. Some Valiana nobles own a few slaves secretly, sex slaves or other personal servants.

Because the Valiana have no slaves in their territory, the hard labor must be done be Nostian citizens. This increases the price of goods and services within Valiana territory substantially as well as as irritates some commoners in the region who often do jobs that are only fit for slaves in the domains of other families. On the plus side, the Valiana have more land available for common families to have their own family farms and many commons from all over the Empire come to Valiana lands to start a new life for themselves that may not be possible elsewhere in the Empire where most of the land is worked by slaves. As a result, the Valiana have large numbers of peasants to draw upon in times of war - so Valiana armies are the largest of any of the families in Nostia even though they are largely made up of relatively poor peasants who are often under trained. Many such commoners are willing to risk their lives, though, at the chance for a farm of their own.

Valianans tend to have lighter hair color than other Nostians, light to medium brown instead of dark brown or black. Their clothing is typical for Nostian nobles, perhaps a little cheaper. They are generally thought to be friendly and outgoing if somewhat overly talkative or loud.

Marozia

The Marozia family has a tradition of being from the plains and being expert horsemen. To a large degree, they have kept this tradition alive and make a good bit of their wealth from herding, breeding, and selling horses. They have also always been known as one of the families that is willing to go new places and brave the wilderness or barbarian lands. The Marozia family thus is often at the forefront of wars or missions or explore new territory or colonize new areas. The Marozia family also sends out explorers and diplomats to discover new nations and cultures, either for trade and diplomacy or for future conquest. The Marozia family has also been instrumental in laying the foundations of Nostia's transportation and communication system - from building roads through the vast wildernesses within the empire to delivers mail or messages in a relatively short amount across vast spaces, the Merozia family has helped to make it happen.

Marozia owns vast expanses of land, more so than any other family. Most of this land though is on the open plains or in areas where it is hard to farm or build cities. This suits the Marozia family just fine, because their herdsman can use such land for horse pasteur or for other semi-nomdic herding. The Marozia family is known for its use of cavalry in war and its charioteers are thought to be the best in all of Nostia. Now as chariots are becoming obsolete, the Marozia family relies more heavily on horse archers than on chariots. They are also becoming interested in sailing, as it is one method of exploration that they have ignored in the past.

Marozia tend to be more darkly complected than most Nostians, having bronze skin, black hair, and hazel colored eyes. They tend to dress in simple fashions, though sometimes they wear exotic clothing styles from the farthest reaches of the Empire. Marozians are thought to be cheery and optimistic, always up for a challenge and seeing life as an adventure.

Charath

Charath is the most conservative family in Nostia. They believe in following the old ways and the words of Tarnost the Great. They still believe in prophecy and in the purity of noble blood. The Charath family is the only family to still practice close relative inbreeding, so many of the Charath family marry siblings or first cousins. Charath are the most pure blooded of the Nostian families, and do not believe in marrying outside of their family with either noble or commoner. They also hold Nostian commoners in low regard, seeing them almost as an inferior species barely above slaves.

Because of disdain towards commoners, few commoners chose to live within Charath land or swear fealty to them, this means that they rely more heavily on slave labor and on the work of their own nobility than many other families. This also means that they hardly ever hire citizen mercenaries to fight for them in war - meaning that a huge percentage of Charath nobles are professional soldiers. The Charath believe in big families, so the women of the family are often married at a young age and encouraged to have as many children as possible. The very large Charath families help to counter their lower life span from genetic disease and from attrition in war. Charath females usually have lower status within their family than most noble families because their primary role is seen as having babies and taking care of them. Charath owns some of the most fertile and valuable land in all of Nostia, inherited by them from their glorious ancestors. Charath men who survive their youth as a soldier or women past child bearing age often enter the political arena to protect the family's interests there. Despite their strange ways, the Charath family are masters of both military and political battle.

Charathians have a strange look about them. Sometimes they have oddly shaped heads, an extra finger or toe, or other peculiar traits from too much inbreeding. The clothing they wear is based on extremely old styles, sometimes going back to the Old Nostian Empire. They are also thought to behave in unusual ways as well, from quirky personalities to downright insanity.

Sarturi

The Sarturi family see the superiority of Nostians being their physical superiority over weaker races and their ability to crush them militarily. As such, they see martial prowess as the most important trait a noble can have and military conquest as the greatest achievement. Because of this, every Sarturi male becomes a soldier and many women do as well. For the Sarturi, other professions are for the weak and cowardly. The Sarturi do not appreciate stealth or deception on the battlefield, they believe that the greatest warriors are those who charge into the enemy and fight to the death. Because of this, they favor units of heavy cavalry or heavy infantry before archers or light cavalry.

The Saturi family has very little land holdings. The family sells a large percentage of the land it acquires in conquest to other families - something almost unheard of for the other families to do. They don't think of themselves as farmers or businessmen, they don't want to oversee plowing fields or worry about the cost of grain or plows, they believe that it is their duty to conquer and destroy the inferior peoples of the earth. So they sell most of their land and use the money to hire or train more soldiers, equip their armies, and to supply them with supplies while on campaign. The spoils of said campaigns - wealth, land, and slaves - are in turn used to fund more military ventures. Because of this, the Sarturi have perhaps the strongest army of any of the noble families, but many think that their families power and influence is a house of cards because they have no substantial assets to fall back if war fails to provide adequate profits. The Sarturi sometimes ignore the intrigues of court to their own detriment.

Sarturians tend to be large in statue and build, even more so than other Nostian nobles. They tend to be fit and strong, for virtually all family members exercise and practice combat. Stereotypically, members of the Sarturi family are arrogant and rude, proud of their reputation as the world's greatest warriors and ready to prove their mettle in a fight.

Arella

Arella is a family with some of the strangest political views. The Arella family strongly protested the unification of the New Nostian Empire, fearing that it would strip the family patriarchs of their power and influence. They also believed that only Tarnost the Great's return can truly reunite the Empire. They eventually chose to join with the new Empire, but only with great protestation. They still have a tradition of opposing Imperial power and trying to separate themselves from Imperial politics and influence. Because of this attitude, they usually seek land and investments as far from Tarnost city as possible - often in the wild areas at the edge of the border or on islands off the northern coast. They also follow their own military traditions entirely separate from the Polidelphos techniques that are popular among the other families - they don't want their kinsmen or commoners exposed to the influence of other families or that of the Emperor.

They also tend to stay out of Imperial politics unless it is to protest what they see as an increase in the Emperor's power or to support a decrease in the Emperor's power. Many families respect the position of the Arella family, even if they think that it is a bit extreme. Because they tend to isolate themselves from the rest of the Empire both economically and politically, they tend to be poorer than the other families. Despite this, they are respected for their position as many nobles believe they have kept their autonomy because of Arellan principles. Arella is the most mysterious family in Nostia, since they tend to keep to themselves few families know exactly what sorts of things the Arellans are up to.

Arellans tend to be shorter than other Nostian nobles. The men also virtually all go bald early, losing all of their hair by the time they hit thirty. They tend to have their own fashions that are distinct from what is popular at court. In terms of personality, they tend to be a bit quiet and aloof with outsiders, though within their family the tend to be more warm and friendly.

Vasta

The Vasta family own some of the most valuable mines in Nostia. They supply most of the mineral needs of Nostia from copper, tin, silver, gold, iron, coal, and precious stones. They also own many of the Nostian quarries where stone is taken from the create the vast public works, roads, and palaces which define many Nostian cities. Most of their holding are in the mountainous west or arid southern parts of Nostia, land poor for farming but rich in minerals. Because of the hard and dangerous work that mining minerals and quarrying stone requires, the Vasta need a never ending flow of slaves.

Most Nostian prefer Athavi slaves, those who are small and docile and known to be safe and well behaved. Such slaves are more expensive, though, than newly captured or purchased slaves. First generation slaves are likely to be larger and stronger, but also more aggressive and disobedient, willing to fight back or try to escape. As a result, these dangerous slaves are far cheaper. Such cheap labor is exactly what the Vasta want, because working in the mines and quarries is so harsh that most slaves only last a few years. The Vasta buy huge numbers of newly captured or purchased slaves and work them in unrelentingly cruel conditions - work them to death in fact in just a few years. To prevent the slaves from revolting, plotting escape, or even slacking on the job, the Vasta routinely use horrific punishments inflicted both on the innocent and the guilty as a warning for others not to dare escape. For such slaves there is no hope of escape or mercy only of a quick death.

Because of their need of slaves, the Vasta are the family with the closest connection to both the D'Potri and the Yetsheh, who capture or buy many first generation slaves to sell to the Vasta. The Vasta also try to participate in military campaigns for the opportunity to capture fresh slaves or even new mining land.

The Vasta tend to be short and squat compared to other Nostians and a little bit lighter skinned. They tend to wear expensive clothing of traditional styles often with jewelry. The Vasta have a reputation of being quiet and introspective, intelligent but shy.

Zaranza

The Zaranza family are more superstitious and mystical than are any other family. While most families have abandoned the use of prophesy, the Zaranza are obsessed with it. A huge number of the Zaranza family are prophets and it is a family tradition that only prophets can become the family patriarch. Even family members who are not prophets still believe in using hallucinogenic mushrooms to gain special insights into the future or about themselves. Every battle the Zaranza fight or investment they make is done under the direction of prophets, and amazingly enough, the Zaranza family seem to have amazing luck when it comes to making the right choices.

The Zaranza family also believes in the sacred divinity of Tarnost the Great and that he will one day return to Nostia. Many scholars with the family pour over texts written by Tarnost the Great to see if they can properly interpret his word and see if they can find hints of prophesies of the future. The Zaranza family is also politically active, often seeking to make the laws of the Empire stay in keeping with the words of Tarnost.

The Zaranza family has a variety of diverse investments. Despite their seeming good luck and financial success, many other families are unwilling to become involved in Zaranza projects because of the Zaranza family's reputation for being unstable and even crazy.

Zaranzans tend to be a bit taller than average for Nostian nobles and go gray prematurely, often having entirely white hair by the age of thirty or forty. They dress in the standard clothing of Nostian nobility, though sometime they prefer darker more somber colors. They have a reputation as being flighty and scatterbrained or as being undependable or likely to change their minds or their emotional state on a moments notice. Of course, they are known for being crazy prophets as well.

Thesa

The Thesa, family more than any other, fulfills the stereotype of debauched and decadent Nostian who occupy their days with orgies, drinking, and drug use. In the early days of their family, they invested heavily in the growing of poppies to supply their craving for opiates. As the Nostian Empire began to sell the drug to other nations via the Yetsheh, the Thesa family became extremely wealthy in both foreign trade goods and in slaves. This great wealth only served to reinforce their hedonistic desires. With their money they have built some of the most opulent palaces in all of the Empire, their pleasure galleys are legendary for their size and splendor, and they are known to throw the greatest celebrations in all the world.

The Thesa family is also active in politics. They make many connections with their lavish parties and tempt many nobles with their beautiful slaves, sweet wine or mead, or high quality opium. Because the family makes so many friends, they have political clout unlike few other families and can often put pressure on others via their wealth or influence to get their way. Its said that if the Thesa family did not spend so much of their time and money on seeking pleasure that they would be the most powerful of all the families. The military strength of the Thesa family is relatively small, since many of the family nobles would rather attend wild orgies than practice war arts or go to battle. Because of this, they rely more heavily on citizen mercenaries than any other family or use their political clout to receive backing from the Imperial army in times of need. They also have some of the closest connection to the Yetsheh of any family, since they rely on them to maintain their wealth.

Thesans resemble most other Nostians, perhaps a little less in shape since they don't spend much time fighting or training for combat. They dress in bright and gaudy colors, often to show their great with the use of exotic fabrics or precious metals, at least when they aren't going nude or otherwise underdressed. They have a reputation for being fun loving and carefree, to the point of uselessness or self destruction in some cases.

Harra

The Harra family is the largest Nostian family. They firmly believe that the duty of a woman is to have children and to increase the size of her family. So women in the Harra family are barred from warfare, politics, careers, and sometimes even the pleasure distractions of noble life. The Harra have huge families and as a result can send their men to battle more frequently without worrying about suffering too many casualties. Because of this the Harra are usually at the forefront of every war and are the ones most often beating the drum for conquest. They don't favor trade relations with other nations or peaceful alliances, they prefer direct conquest.
Harra noblemen also have a policy of taking commoner wives from within their territory, letting each noble Harra male have a harem of both noble and common wives. The idea was that this would allow the Harra family to grow even larger, though in practice the family is growing so large that it is eliminating the citizenry within its territories. The majority of free Nostian within Harra domains are Harra nobles, with a relatively small number of middle class commoners. This has spread family wealth thin and forced many Harra nobles into relative poverty. It also causes a lot of controversy among the other families who see the Harra as diluting their noble blood and making themselves inferior as well as dangerously blurring the line between noble and commoner.

Harrans have the most common look about them, being noticeably short than the average noble as a little darker skinned as well. They are often impoverished by noble standards and are forced to wear cheap or old clothing. Harran men are known to be aggressive and determined, traits that serve them well in an overpopulated and relatively poor family, while the women are uncharacteristically quiet and passive for Nostian noble ladies.

Karaxi

The Karaxi family are the oldest family in Nostia. They trace their existence back to Tarnost the Great's brother and highest general Karaxus and his daughter Karaxi who married Tarnost the great and bore him a large family - the Karaxi.The Karaxi are very proud of their heritage and believe that they are honor bound to excel and to be best among the families, not only in personal endeavors but in defense of the Empire. The Karaxi have a personal code of honor that directs them not to flee from the enemy or to compromise their morals, and strangely enough, to offer truces and to obey their word of honor as well. The Karaxi family are among the most loyal to the emperor and are the nobles who most support the Imperial army and the interests of the centralized Nostian state - believing that it is their duty to give loyalty to the emperor as Tarnost's successor.

Because of their great pride in their lineage, the Karaxi are the most tattooed of any Nostian nobles. The Karaxian nobles have long stories and genealogies tattooed upon their flesh, covering almost every visible surface with the great heroism of some ancestor or the intricate calligraphy of countless names. This makes the Karaxians the most recognizable of all Nostian families as well, since their tattoos are so numerous. Though they often claim to be the greatest family in every regard, in truth their pride often gets in the way and causes them to overestimate their worth, accomplishments, or abilities. Among wealth, influence, and military capability they are only about average among the families though many other families do appreciate their sense of honor and bravery on the battlefield. Despite the respect they earn from their honorable behavior, they are disliked among many family for what some see as brown nosing with the emperor.

Karaxians are easy to tell from other Nostians, as they are covered with far more tattoos, sometimes even their faces are covered. They also tend to wear more revealing clothing so that their tattoos may be seen more easily. They are known for having a sense of honor and fairness, being honest in political dealing and cool under pressure - they are also insufferably arrogant and prideful making them one of the more disliked families despite their morals.

Anxa

The Anxa family is most well known for its tradition of being lead by a Matriarch instead of a Patriarch. Though they are by no means ruled by women, women of note do tend to come from this family more often than others and women do tend to hold more positions of power in Anxa than in most families. Anxa are known for their interest in Imperial politics and are often behind pushes for changes in the system and are quick to criticize the policies of other families or Imperial law itself.

Anxa has average land holdings, though their expertise in the political arena allows them to have a lot of sway among the other families because of favors they can provide or strings they can pull. The Anxa family are one of the only noble families who still fully believe in the powers of prophesy and set their agenda in part on what their family prophets tell them. It is said that the Anxa family knows more secrets than any other, in part because of their prophets and also because of their intense interest in affairs and court. The Anxa family has a relatively small military force, it is known for its Fox soldiers as the founder of the Fox Polidephos was a member of Anxa. Most members of the Anxa family prefer the political arena to war, so most only serve a short term in their army before retiring to a life of politics and intrigues. Anxa are one of the small Nostian families, perhaps because the active women in their family have less time for pregnancy and children. Because of this, a some Anxan noblemen will take common women as second wives to increase the size of their families.

Anxan tend be a bit more thickly built than most Nostians, fat as well as muscular. The way they dress doesn't stand out from other Nostian nobility. They are known to be manipulators and liars, almost up to something or trying to get an advantage and so are often considered untrustworthy.

Elachi

The Elachi are a family of modest means. Once a house of relatively high status and influence, a number of bad investments, foolish patriarchs, and military blunders have cost them the majority of their ancestral lands and wealth. The Elachi now try to maintain what little wealth and influence there family has left by playing the political game and trying to stay in the good graces of power powerful families or of the emperor. They also occasionally marry outside the family to bring in wealthy commoners or successful merchants into the fold, though encourage those who enter into such marriages to keep a low profile so that they do not anger the more conservative families. Many support increasing the power of the emperor, as they have less to lose from such a policy.

Because they have relatively little land and relatively few commoners under their control, the nobles of the Elachi family must do most of their fighting for themselves. They also tend to be willing to take on more dangerous or lowly tasks that other nobles would refuse because of the risk or hardship. Much of the remaining family land is in relatively desolate parts of the Empire such as arid regions, great wildernesses, or areas plagued by barbarian raids. This has caused the Elachi nobles to become a bit more rugged and used to hardship and constant danger than the majority of Nostian nobility. It also means that nobles of the Elachi are often willing to do new and dangerous things that offer big rewards for high risks. Because of this, the Elachi have been some of the nobles who are most willing to take part in exploring the northern islands and fighting in the Nostian navy. They are also the nobles most willing to get their hands dirty personally with difficult tasks. Sometimes, Elachi noblemen serve as bodyguards or mercenaries for some of the wealthier but less martially inclined families.

The Elachi family, being ashamed of the actions of some of their ancestors, have fewer tattoos than any other Nostian family, perhaps only a few here or there. The men of the family also shave their heads and some of their beards, leaving only a goatee. The Elachi family are known to be quiet and serious, even humble if the word could ever be used to describe Nostians.

Laska

The Laska are a family of poets, historians, linguists, scribes, and arts. While the Laeth family has dedicated itself to the study of the physical world, the Laska family has dedicated itself to the study and glorification of humanity. The Laska family is known for its funding of the arts - of making possible beautiful paintings or sculptures of great Nostian heroes, of putting on plays that evoke deep emotions, of writing epic histories about the greatest moments of the Nostian Empire. Of course, the Laska make sure that the actions of their family and ancestors are portrayed in the most favorable light. Among the less educated commoners of Nostia, most believe that the Laska family is the one with the greatest warriors and most noble history, because the they saw it in a play or heard about it in a poem.

The Laska concern themselves with more than just entertainment. They also like to study culture and languages, sometimes even that of barbarians that the Empire has contact with or that the Nostians have conquered. The Laska family makes it a point to have their scholars learn all that they can about the religions, culture, language, and traditions of the people that the Empire conquers. The the libraries of the Laska family are books of long dead languages or descriptions of cultures that have long ceased to exist. The knowledge gained from the Laskans' study also helps to make contact with new barbarian tribes or to aid in diplomacy with groups with which Nostia already has contact. The Laska family also prides itself on knowing the state of mind of the commoners who live in its territories and to use it to their advantage. The Laskans don't care much for battle and would rather right about heroic exploits on the battlefield than live them, though the commoners who live on their land are often more than happy to defend their heroic and benevolent masters.

Members of the Laska family tend to be a little taller than the average Nostian noble, but thin as well with fine features. They tend to dress in relatively fine garments, but nothing to garish or controversial. Their personals vary considerably but they are often thought of as flighty or shallow, some Nostians would even call them cowards.

Kasara

The Kasara family is known primarily for its almost puritanical views on wealth, sex, and life in general. The Kasara family beliefs in dedicating oneself to furthering the family, the race, and the nation and that idle pursuits just distract from these goals. As a result, the Kasara family doesn't reside in the magnificent palaces that other nobles are known for but rather simple houses or fortresses designed for pragmatic reasons more than appearance or pleasure. Likewise, the nobles of Kasara frown on rampant promiscuity or wasting time on pleasurable or debauchery so they seldom if ever own sex slaves and they greater prize marital fidelity unlike almost every other Nostian family.

They seldom make risky investments, preferring to stick to farming and conquest. This means they tend to bring in less income than many other families, but they spend their money so conservatively its speculated that their treasuries are larger than those of even Paxia. Members of the family are often known for their bravery and honesty, sometimes too a fault. Because they are seen as honest and forthright, the opinion of the Kasara family tends to carry a lot of weight in political circles. The Kasara family are largely neutral on most political issues.

Kasarans tend to have lighter skin than typical Nostians but have darker hair, black or very dark brown. They tend to be leaner than other Nostians as well, seeing extra weight as a sign of sloth and gluttony. Kasarans usually where very plain garments, often of lower quality than what suits the nobility or of styles that have gone out of fashion. They are generally seen as dour and joyless by most Nostians, though with an admirable sense of honor.

Narcasi

Narcasi are a family that lived in exile from the rest of Nostian culture for many years. During the first great Empire, the Narcasi family was given lands in the far south western part of the Empire, a land of great mountains and dense forests, where snow is a common sight in the winter as well as rain in the summer. When the first Empire collapsed, the Narcasi and their domain became separated from the rest of the Imperial remnants for centuries until the formation of the new Empire brought the mainstream of Nostian culture back into contact with the Narcasi.

Over the centuries of separation the Narcasi developed many unusual costumes and characteristics, including letting their women grow their hair long to giving their slaves a disturbing amount of respect. They also have a speak an exotic dialect of the Nostian language that sometimes creates a barrier for communication between them and the rest of the Empire. Some of the noble families have great disdain for the Narcasi, believing their blood and culture to have degenerated away from what is truly Nostian, though while they are different, they clearly did recognize their Nostian noble heritage and honor that tradition when the Empire was reunified and that earned them a position at the table. Over the centuries as they have been exposed to the rest of Nostia and its culture, they have adapted somewhat to the rest of Nostia. They still keep some of their unusual costumes and beliefs though, much to the dismay of more conservative families. They also have some of their own military traditions as well, though they have also made use of the Polidephos system.

The Narcasi have usual features for Nostians, many of them have blonde or red hair - things almost never seen among most other Nostians. Some of their women also grow their hair long and flowing or braid it. Their tattoos tend to be unusual as well, using a different form of calligraphy that makes more use of geometric designs than purely letters. They have different clothing styles as well, sometimes wearing furs or animal bones as formal garb. Among other Nostians, the Narcasians are thought to have no manners or discretion, often being extremely blunt or forward.