Kemrian Culture

VALRON PLEASE STOP COPY PASTING MY LORE I SEE YOU DOING IT ???????? Kemrian Culture refers to the culture of Greater Kemria, in particular that of the urban center in the region, the capital city of Kumaur, as well as (to a lesser degree) Kairos, but excluding the outpost at Stoneguard.

As a general rule, Kemrian culture is that of borrowing, taking elements and influences from other nations and cultures in the region to create something distinctive.

The words of Kemria are : "Honourable in Duty".

Identity
The Kemrian identity is a complicated thing. Very little of the original culture of old Kumuur (dating back to the fall of the Valdreach Imperial Republic) remains in modern-day Kemria, which is now more influenced by its neighbours to the west and south instead of its historical ties to the Hanzeizh culture of Adytum and old Viodoxa to the east like the precursor culture in Kumuur did.

The most isolated and distant part of Silvay, Kemria tends to foster a somewhat independant mindset, lacking the reliance on the national or even provincial governments that many cities in Cymru do. Kumaur, Kairos, and Konstadt especially are self-sufficient due to their place in Sparwood Minor, while Stoneguard lies in the straits between Sparwood and Cymru, and thus has more contact with Cymrian Sirradra.

Influences
Much of early Kemrian culture comes from its neighbour in Eisenland, a nation that much of Kumaur's population came from during the Reunification Crisis. Much of the Kemrian citizenry in the early days of the region's revitalisation was composed of Eisenlandian politican refugees and their families from the collapsing Martial Republic as the Kaiser reclaimed control. Nowadays, Kumaur is still composed mostly of the descendents of these people and the sparse Silvish population that remained after the brutal Second Purple Insurrection, and retains its close ties to its sister city of Kaminhagen. Despite the distance between Kemria and Cymrian Silvay, Ryoujing has also had a strong influence on Kumaur, most easily seen in its clothing and architecture. With the Lord of Kemria being ethnically and culturally from Northern Sparwood, Kartek influence is also prevalent, especially Gertek culture.

Attitudes
It is a common attitude to be extremely grim and fatalistic, and the humour of the people of modern-day Kumaur is most often described as "uncomfortable" and "dry", and predominantly seems to be gallows humour. Celebration is a rare occurance and usually only reserved for a marriage, victory, or the coming of age of a healthy child. When celebrations do happen, they are spirited affairs with plenty of alcohol, food, and fanfare. Suspicion and wariness of "newcomers" is seen as normal, and Kemrians are a naturally distrustful and cautious people.

In their day to day lives, beyond the relatively gloomy attitudes, the people of the region are extremely hardworking and utilitarian. Everything is put towards the betterment of the province and improving the lives of its people.

Relationships
There are no laws in Kemria against same-sex or polygamous marriages, and large families communaly raising children are not unheard of. However it is generally frowned upon to take more than three spouses— though casual relationships are considered a different matter entirely, and even classified seperately under the legal system, as well as Kem'hara naming conventions. A formal marriage partner would be considered sel'vireh (ke sel when used in names), while a non-marriage relationship would be kes'vireh (yu kes when used in names). Children from these different partnerships are also subject to different naming conventions, with a married couple's children carrying the prefix es sen, and those from a kes'vireh relationship using es vel (if considered part of the sucession/inhereitnce) or yu vel (if acknowledged but not inheriting).

After marriage, Kemrians do not change their last name and will instead add their partner's name after their family name, while a child's family name is usually discussed before birth to prevent confusion on which parent's name they will take (usually the mother’s).

Clothing
Kumaur's climate is most importantly cold and damp, while the mainland is cold and marginally less humid. Storms are almost daily, and even during the summer the weather stays fairly cool. Cloth, leather, thread, and wool yarn are provided in quarterly allotments per person, as well as several pairs of shoes/boots a year (dependant on the job, and will be replaced regardless if worn down). Any other materials can be purchased at the market or from passing merchant ships at the port.

Dark colours are preferred, as they are lower maintainence to keep clean; greys, black, navy blue, olive green, and dark brown are the most common, though sweaters being off-white and undyed are also not infrequent. All dyes are based on natural pigments, such as indigo, tyrian, cochineal, tumeric, and ochre. These pigments can be overdyed and mixed to create new colours or darken others. Embroidery is often simple, usually geometric or natrual motifs in a similar colour of a different shade, or occasionally a contrasting colour. Buttons are often carved of bone or antler, though some are also made from brass.

Masks
The most distinctive part of a Kemrian appearance is the covering of the face. When in public, Kemrians usually wear masks, veils, and other coverings to hide ones face, only removing them in private settings and/or around friends and family. This originates in both Kumaur's reliance on rebreather systems and gas masks, as well as the High Lord's distinctive masked visage. Outside of the capital city itself, decorative masks and veils take the place of the more robust gas masks of Kumaur. Kairosi civilians may wear veiled hats to keep out of the sun while farming and to deter insects, while a sailor in Stoneguard may only wear goggles and a bandanna around her lower face to maintain a full field of view. There is no particular guidelines on how much face should be covered, or how a mask should be worn.

They are often heavily decorated, especially celestial (such as the Kemrian sun and stars or Silvish moon) or animal motifs, while Kemrian military units will commonly have their masks painted like skulls.

Accessories
Some other things that may be encountered are the amulets used as identification seals to access certain buildings in town. The amulets are usually made from wood or iron, though higher clearance ones may be made from other materials, and contain a small redstone circuit that can display the basic information of the owner, such as name, identification number, and a small portrait. These charms can be decorated (childen especially like to attach things like small feathers or shells to them) and are often worn tied to the belt, or stored in a specialised pocket in one's garments.

Due to the wet climate, a type of raised wooden clog or sandal known as ko'gai may be worn to keep one's shoes or feet from getting wet, as well as keeping one's clothes clean (especially formal wear). They are often made of a lightweight, unfinished wood (though some for formal occasions are laquered and carved), with straps/cords for either independant wear or tying on when wearing boots or shoes. Ko'gai are often simple a piece of solid wood forming the sole with 1-3 wooden 'teeth' raising it up from the ground (most commonly 2, with one at the heel and one at the ball of the foot), often with a metal or leather attachment where they touch the ground in order to extend their life span. Ko'gai are often carved from one piece of wood, but some are made from individual peices carefully connected by carefully interlocking the segments. When worn, they make a distinctive clicking sound as the user walks, and due to the inflexible nature of the wood, water, dirt, and mud are not flipped up onto the back of the wearer's legs.

Casual
Due to the generally unpleasant weather of the island, residents tend to wear heavier, utilitarian clothing designed for function over form. Staying warm and dry is the foremost objective of all casual clothing, as most people spend their days at work or in school. Common day to day wear for Kemrians would include their base layers (often linen or cotton imported from mainland Sirradra or Kairos as well as woolen socks), a second layer for insulation, a heavy woolen sweater, wool or gabardine trousers held up by suspenders, a gaberdine or wool overcoat, heavy leather boots (often accompanied by leg wraps for added insulation), a warm wool or fur hat (often in the Tovarishan style), and gloves. Fur (especially rabbit and/or caribou) and shearling lining on cloaks or in gloves are seen outside of work environments. On the rare warm-weather days, all schools and businesses are allowed to have the day off, and clothing reflects the fashion of Ryoujing to the south- layered cotton, linen, and silks in light colours.

There is little to no disctinction between male and female clothing; almost everyone wears trousers in the workplace, though some people may prefer to wear skirts and dresses during days off. Young children usually often wear skirts as well, and are allowed to decide how they would prefer to dress during primary school.

Formal/Upper Class
Like casual wear, there is no gendered clothing in Kemria, even in formal or ceremonial clothing, though certain things are often seen as more feminine or masculine depending on the style. Many formal styles are modelled after the fashions of Northern Sparwood, as well as various trends from Ryoujing, and elaborate embroidery is often present on the outermost layers, especially in more 'feminine' clothing, though it is not always of bright colours. Like the lower classes, fur is once again a common presence in clothing, though differs in the animal it comes from-- sea otter, fox, and mink are all often found, along with seal skin. To deal with the cold, there are often several warm layers under flowier, lighter outer layers, often silks and muslins dyed coloufully. The upper classes and formal wear feature less dark colours as a whole (though dark colours may still be popular), demonstrating that the clothing is not used for labour or that the wearer can afford to keep the fabric clean. People may sometimes wear wide-brimmed hats (often made of straw but covered by embroidered silk) with long, translucent veils, especially during the short warm season, as a way to deter flies and protect from the sun, while the hats without veils (and often without the silk covering) are popular as well through all classes.

Military
During wartime, Kemrian combat uniforms tend to be faded olive drab or a plain grey reinforced fabric, but more often than not will be cobbled together from scavenged gear, and once in theater of combat, gear becomes less standardised as troops adapt to the environment and enemy.

All soldiers wear armbands displaying their unit insignia, as well as designations of rank and job. Also mandatory are the iron-diamond alloy helmets issued to troops, designed similarly to Eisenlandian military helmets with the intention of protecting from shrapnel and debris. These helmets are able to be connected directly to miltary-issue rebreather units in place of a chin strap and are particularly effective in protecting the head, neck, and ears. Troops often wear them with goggles as well, to keep dirt and debris out of the eyes when working. Masks are often painted with monstrous designs, or in the case of the Reaver units, skulls.

Dress uniforms are composed of a long, high-collared, asymmetrical dark grey-blue coat with brass buttons and a quilted red lining (revealed with a single open lapel), secured with a leather belt carrying a brass belt buckle embossed with the Sirradrii bull. Pants are in the same colour as the coat and tucked into tall, laced leather boots matching the belt (compared to shorter hobnailed boots used in combat). The uniform is accompanied by an armband displaying their unit insignia or the Sirradrii flag, a peaked cap in the Eisenlandian style, leather gloves, and aiguillettes denoting campaigns participated in. Medals are not worn, and seen as unnecessary waste of materials, as bravery is expected and commonplace, therefore Kumaura troops are not recognised with special rewards.

Armour
Since Kemrians are rarely combat troops and tend to favour being engineers when on the field, they wear less armour compared to other units, as it is seen as preferable to ensure that forward deployed combat units are geared as compared to those behind the front line. Beyond the helmets, when possible Kemrians will also wear chestplates, gauntlets, greaves, and sometimes pauldrons. Armour is often an iron-diamond alloy like the helmets, though diamond-netherite alloys are present in higher ranks, and some Kumaura officers from wealthier families wear pure netherite.

Armour is often plain, and even the High Lord of Kemria, Llyre es vel Volaerys, and his indulgent netherite armour are not particularly embellished, instead only bearing the Kemrian sun and stars embossed on his gorget and otherwise prioritising function over form. Troops may mark things such as bracers or helmets with a tally of their kills or successfull missions

Body Modifications
Within Kemria there are two primary forms of body modification-- ornementation and replacement, both self exlanatory. Within ornamentation the most common forms are piercings and tattoos, while replacement would include willingly removing body parts to have mechanical replacements.

Piercings are most commonly in the ears, though a singular ring in the center of the lower lip is sometimes worn by married members of the older, wealtheir Kemrian clans. Traditionally, tattoos are most commonly found on the face and hands, most often on the chin and forehead. Tattoos are hand-poked and often symbolic to the person recieving them.

Augumentations are less common than other forms of body moficiation due to the pain involved with removing or adding limbs-- mechanical or organic. Many limbs are made of a diamond-alloy, though some people have netherite alloy limbs.

Cuisine
Note: There will likely be an additional page discussing individual dishes made in the near future, because food is fun to discuss and says a lot about the people.

Kemrian foods are intended to reduce the waste from an animal while also feeding the most amount of people in the harsh environment of the region. Food is often predominantly served hot, heavily spiced, with meat or seafood, accompanied by colder sides. Rations of meat, vegetables, milk, and grains are provided by the government to ensure that all people are recieving at least the necessary nutrients, but citizens are allowed to hunt, fish, forage, grow, or purchase any additional ingredients they might want.

The most common methods of food preparation would be stir frying, boiling, smoking/drying, pickling, or grilling over hot charcoal. Homes often have an open hearth, as well as wood or coal-burning stoves and some sort of brazier used for holding hot coals as well as grilling meats and heating tea. Bread ovens are communal and function throughout most of the day, every day, though some households would opt to have a smaller private one and prepare their own bread.

A common tool for cooking and is a type of knife known as a saakiaq, which is a curved blade (around 15cm/6 in) attached to a perpendicular handle (often made from antler or whalebone) by two tines. Due to its shape, it allows for more force to be centered on the blade, which makes cutting harder foods easier. Saakiaq are used in a rocking motion, and can easily be used one handed, leaving the other free. The other common utensils are chopsticks (like nearby Ryoujing) and spoons- forks are rarely used, and eating most foods with ones' hands is considered poor manners.

Animals
The only animals kept by households are often small birds (such as sparrows, pigeons, quail, and bantams) or rabbits (meat and fur breeds). The primary livestock kept are a type of domesticated caribou (which can also be ridden or used as pack animals, quite the sight outside of Kemria), as well as a particular breed of cattle historically derived from breeding and crossing back of domestic cattle imported from Cymru to the local breeds of yak which are more suited to the cold climate. Other animals in the region include sheep, goats, pigs, and various fur-bearing animals such as mink. Horses and caribou are used for burden and labour.

Wild game is very popular– hunting seabirds, turtles, and crabs along the shoreline is a common pastime for children, and twice a year (in the summer and early winter), seal hunts are sponsored by the government, with several hundred seals being killed per year. Even less common, and not part of the government-based programs, is whale or dolphin meat, considered a delicacy. However, hunts are rare.

Slaughtering of animals is done as quickly as possible, while trying to preserve as much of the usable material as possible. Blood is almost always collected and used for other dishes, and organs are cooked or fed to other animals such as dogs. Organ meats and less 'traditional' cuts such as cheek meat, tongue, brain, and stomach are eaten while intestines are often saved to make sausages. The eyes are always discarded, often buried where the animal was killed. Bones are used, either for food (stock making or bone marrow), tools (sewing needles, buttons, and other such small items) or art (scrimshaw and jewlery), as is the fur or skin.

Additionally, large dogs are bred and raised for hunting large prey such as boar, bears, and wild deer. These dogs often have high wolf content, producing large, social, and intelligent pups well adapted to the cold climate, harsh terrtain, and demanding hunts. These dogs can also be used to pull light loads.

Common Ingredients
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 * Carbs
 * Rice (especially short grain and sticky rice)
 * Noodles (wheat or rice-based)
 * Bread (baked loafs and flatbreads, steamed buns in the Ryoujing style, or fried flatbreads)
 * Potatoes
 * Dumplings and Buns (often filled with meat or vegetables)
 * Proteins
 * Caribou
 * Rabbit
 * Small Poultry
 * Seal
 * Fish & Seafood (especially eel, salmon, mackerel, cod, crab, sea urchin, sea snails, and squid)
 * Eggs
 * Tofu
 * Misc. Wild Game (turtles, seabirds, whale, etc)
 * Fruit & Vegetables
 * Kelp
 * Radishes
 * Peppers
 * Garlic & Onions
 * Ginger
 * Stone Fruit (cherries, plums, apricots, etc)
 * Cabbage & Mustard (most plants in the Brassica family)
 * Bamboo Shoots
 * Soybeans
 * Sunflowers
 * Misc. Wild Greens and Roots
 * Mushrooms
 * Berries
 * Winter Melon
 * Wild Berries
 * Dairy Products
 * Milk (caribou/reindeer, khaina, and sheep are most common)
 * Cheese (especially hard cheeses)
 * Yoghurt
 * Drinks & Alcohol
 * Tea
 * Soy Milk
 * Butter Tea
 * Beer/Ale
 * Mead
 * Rice Wine (hot or cold)

Popular Dishes

 * Breakfast – Common Kemrian breakfast foods include predominantly starches, as meat is usually reserved for later in the day, though some families will eat grilled fish with their morning meal. An example meal could consist of rice porridge served with fried eggs, blood sausage, steamed buns, and fresh soy milk (served hot).


 * Lunch – Lunch is the least "standard" of the meals in Kemria, predominantly because it is usually provided by the employer or school, thusly depends strongly on the season, harvests, and economy, though hot, fresh food is always a consistent guarantee. A common lunch meal for students could consist of tea, rice, a side of pickled vegetables, grilled salmon, and a kelp-based broth, while a meal provided to a factory worker could consist of fresh bread, tea eggs, cheese, pickled vegetables, hot butter tea, and thick seal meat and potato stew with vegetables.


 * Dinner – Dinner is usually eaten with the family when possible, or at least not alone. Dinner tends to be richer and heavier than the other meals throughout the day, as the night in Kumaur is often very cold. Thus, meat is featured more, as are grains, noodles, and dumplings. Fried foods also become more popular for dinner, especially in the winter. Soups, stews, curries, and other such dishes are often present on the dinner table, often bulked up even more with the addition of things like rice and lentils, as well as grilled meat skewers, dried fish, and hot rice wine.


 * Sides – Pickled vegetables are extremely common side dishes, particularly popular are pickled radishes, mustard root, and cabbage (similar to kimchi), though melon rind, cucumber, and onions are also commonly preserved in this way. Tea eggs and meat or vegetable buns are a quick snack and often packed with lunches as a side. More exotic (to outsiders) would be muk'taaq (from Kemrian words for whale and fat)– whale skin and blubber– which is sometimes breaded and fried and served with sauce, or various types of seal meat (such as jerky, cracklins, or blubber). Cakes made of blood from an animal mixed with oats or rice, spices, and suet (similar to black pudding or blood sausage) are also popular, though other preparations for blood are equally commonplace. Pates made of various organ meats such as liver and brain mixed with fat are not uncommon, and served with bread. Various hard cheeses are also common sides, along with chili and/or garlic oil.


 * Desserts – Overly sweet flavours are not popular in Kumuar and Kemria as a whole, and most deserts are either only mildly sweetened or rely on natural sugars in fruits or other ingredients. Popular treats are sticky rice cakes (often filled with black sesame, red bean, or peanuts), sunflower-seed halva, dried apricots in syrup, egg tarts, custards, sweetheart cake (a type of flaky pastry filled with winter melon, sesame, and almond paste), and Gertek boortsog cakes (fried dough served with sweet cream, jam, and honey). In winter, sometimes children are given candied crabapples. Sliced fruits are also popular snacks whenever they are in season, as is a form of frozen desert prepared uring the colder moths known as ik'taaq (from the Kemrian words for ice and fat), consisting of a whipped fat or tallow (such as caribou tallow or seal oil), ground up dried fish or meat, berries, and honey, whipped until fluffy before it is allowed to freeze. Ik'taaq is particularly popular with children.


 * Special Occasion or Seasonal – Some foods are less common, and saved for holidays, festivals, and celebration. Usually these foods are made from less common or seasonal ingredients. In spring, this could include bamboo shoots, fresh seal meat, rhubarb, and fern fiddleheads. During the midsummer festival, dishes could include whole sparrows stuffed with rice, meat, and raisins, as well as other dishes like fresh berries, nettle, young tuna, shark meat, fresh herbs, and dormice. Summer is also usually when the first seal hunt, as well as whale hunting takes place. Beginning in the autumn, mushrooms are often harvested, along with abalone, scallops, elderberries, hickory, and persimmons. In winter, hot pot is also a common meal for families, and often eaten during midwinter holidays. Additionally, the second seal hunts of the year take place in the early winter, so fresh seal meat is once again often on the menu for some time before the rest is smoked or dried to last for the rest of the year.

Seal & Whale Hunting
The twice-yearly seal hunts in Kemria are seen as rather controversial-- or at least the smaller summer hunt is. Seals are born in late spring, and before they are weaned and begin to lose their baby fat, around three months old, are often hunted. Strict regulations are placed on the amount of seal pups culled during this season, often less than 100 total taken. Even more regulated is the harvest of whitecoat pups, or seal pups slightly less than two weeks old who still have the fluffy white fur they are born with. Whitecoat meat and fur are considered luxuries, and often exported, though some wealthier citizens may own things made from or lined with the plush fur. Seal pups are killed during the early morning while the mothers are hunting, as it is seen as unecessarily cruel to kill a young animal in front of its mother.

The winter hunt is larger, and also highly regulated by the local government. After the summer hunt, all young seals are protected until they are two years old (distinguishable by their size and coat patterns), as well as any pregnant females, no matter the age. Unlike the summer hunt, which takes place on the shore, the winter hunts are often done on small boats using harpoons or rifles In both instances, the goal is to kill the seals as quickly and cleanly as possible to prevent additional suffering to the animals, often aiming for the head. Failing a clean kill with a ranged weapon, seals are dispactched quickly by slitting the throat or severing of the spine.

Whale hunting is a bit more complicated. During certain seasons, usually the summer and spring, the muk'an hvalur, or whale driving is permitted, though it does not happen every year. Hvalur only takes place when a pod of whales or dolphins enters the region of the eastern coast of Kumaur, allowing for fishing boats to drive the pod towards the small northeastern bay, which is then closed off by heavy nets. Young calves and nursing or pregnant females are not permitted to be hunted, and it is only considered acceptable to take at a maximum 25% of the pod. Once the whales are selected, the ones that have not been marked for slaughter are driven out of the bay once the nets have been lowered, and hunters kill the remaining whales after bringing them up onto the sand by severing the spine and arteries using a specialised spear behind the blowhole. Afterwards, the animals are butchered and the meat is distributed as needed. To outsiders, hvalur is often seen as rather brutal, since the water is often dyed red for som time with the blood, but the slaughter is done as quickly and humanely as possible, and there is no active attempt to search for the whales. Some years they may be no hvalur, while in other years there may be multiple hunts.

Language
The native language of Kemria is known as Kemhara. It is a fairly simple language, possessing a subject-object-verb structure, no verb tenses, no article (such as 'the') and no gendered words (save for the differentiation between male and female animals). Words are often mono or bisyllabic, with compound words being used to form phrases. There is a high reliance on alveolar and post-alveolar phonemes, and has a somewhat guttaral, trilling sound that is distinctly alien as compared the Eisendel in the west, Silvish to the south, and Hanzeizh in the east. Traveller's Tongue is spoken with an accent, which is distinctive from most other accents but most easily comparable to a lighter, less harsh version of the Eisenlandian accent.

Additionally, children in Kumaur are taught multiple languages in school, predominantly Hanzeizh, as it is the Sirradrii national language, and Traveller's Tongue. However, Silvish and Eisendel are both commonly spoken on the island as well, but quickly being abandoned in favour of Kem'hara.

Numbers are calculated in segments of ten, and words are often short and compounded with others to create more complex ideas.

Kemrian Sign Language
Due to the industrial noise, stormy weather, and masks, sometimes spoken words can be difficult to hear in Kumaur, thus Kemrian sign language was born out of necessity for communication. It is based loosely off of military hand signals, and incorporates both hands, though many words can be "said" using only one hand. Most residents are at least able to maintain basic conversation in KSL, if not being fluent.

Writing System
The Kemhara writing system is based on a simple alphabet, and is read from right to left, and top to bottom.

Entertainment
While Kumaur is a relatively serious city, the people do have leisure time and often enjoy their evenings with family, board games, gambling, music, and some sports.

Children often play games similar to those from Ryoujing, such as fede-zhi, in which players attempt to keep a weighted bundle of bells, feathers, and other small trinkets in the air without the use of their hands, as well as hafuqiu, where the bundle is replaced by a ball made of stitched and quilted fabric, filled with scraps of fabric surrounding a bell and is used to play a sort of handball-like game. Some hafu balls are so elaborately decorated they cannot be used in game and are more of a display of sewing and embroidery skill. Tag is common, but hide-and-seek is highly discouraged due to the dangerous environment of Kumaur. Playing soldier is also a frequent game, and mock battles are held in the streets with wooden swords and weapons, and occasionally adults will join as the opposing force for younger children to fight against. Children are often encouraged to play outside during times of nice weather, as it is fairly rare. Toys are often carved from whalebone or treated wood.

Most board games are 1 on 1, most popularly games such as Weigoqi, where two players attempt to surround eachothers pieces on a 19x19 board, Cine (played often on the weigoqi board) in which the players attempt to control as much of the board as possible based on dice throws and strategy, and other competitive strategy games. Chess and checkers are also popular, though not as common.

Other time-passing common hobbies are knitting, scrimshaw and woodworking, needlework and embroidery, falconry, fishing, and music.

Instruments
Kemrian music rarely involves more than a few instruments, often only a solo instrumentalist, and anything more than a quartet is unusual. Kemrian music is often considered strange and unpleasant by outsiders due to the presence of uncommon instruments and strange tuning, tones, and sounds. It is often described as haunting.

The most notable and common instrument is known as the nihera, a crank turned rosin-wheel string instrument. The nihera possesses 2 sets of keys (usuall 24), which are used to alter the pitch of the sound much like frets, the first row being the main key the instrument is tuned to, while the second set of keys are chromatic tones. Nihera usually have between three to five strings, having 2-3 drone strings and 1-2 chromatic melody strings (though sometimes the second chromatic string is replaced with a diatonic string). Occasionally nihera will have an additional sympathetic string. These strings are usually made of animal gut, though some players prefer metal-wound drone strings for the lower pitched sound, and all strings are wrapped with fibers, usually cotton, and melody strings are often shimmed by having small pieces of paper placed bweteen the string and bridge of the instrument to adjust their height above the wheel surface. Nihera are often elaborately decorated with inlaid and carved exteriors, and outside of Kemria are fairly uncommon due to their unusual sound and the isolationist nature of the region. The sound is commonly described as the cross between a violin, bagpipes, and accordion.

Other instruments that can be found are other keyed chordophones like the nykelharpa imported from mainland Cymrian Silvay, toha (a circular, upright zither or harp with 44 strings designed to be played by 2 people at once) and other zither-family instruments, Gertek horse-head fiddles, plucked and strummed strings similar to the pipa or shamisen found in Ryoujing, along with the huqin family of instruments also from Ryoujing. Some crossover between percussion and strings can also be found in the anhera, a bowed string instrument where sound is transmitted through coiled metal springs to frame drums, producing the distinct sound of Kemria's most well-known musical pieces, trausang-ge. Instruments like horns, woodwinds, and flutes are uncommon, while percussion, especially drums made of hide and shakers made from dried gourds, and other simple instruments, are fairly common.

In particular interest, there is only one regular, notable situation in which wind instruments are used-- in the aformentioned trausang-ge ("grief song" in Kemhara). It is a slow dirge played on a large overtone flute (based on the fujara) known as a hantiiq, and accompanied by the anhera. Trausang is a particularly important type of music, played during funeral processions. The most common forms are after the death of a partner, child, or parent. Each piece is unique, and composed as part as funerary rites by the family and played during the mourning period.

Singing is usually done outside of Kumaur itself, or at least within the protective confines of one's home, in the hills on festival nights, or in the harbour. Kemrian music is often thusly relgated to sea shanties and marching songs (due to the influence of Tortugan pirates docking in the city), lullabies, or recitations of old tales. Throat singing, or khotajaq, is also fairly common, especially with storytellers, and reindeer herders in mainland Kemria use a type of herding call similar to Scandinavian kulning in order to call the animals back to a camp or a certain pasture.

Technology
Redstone-based technology is fairly common in Kumaur, with water wheels, windmills, and lightning rods all playing a part in powering the cities factories, docks, and homes. Redstone also fuels the rebreather systems that citizens wear. Due to the high prevalance of redstone in the city, redstone sickness is also somewhat common, though often only mild cases due to the respiratory protection the rebreathers offer. Innovations with redstone tech also allow for the creation of inventions such as the Kemrian Automatic Portrait Machine. Redstone-based prosthetics are also commonplace as replacements for limbs and appendages lost in war or accidents.

War innovation is also not uncommon in the city, as the core of Kumaur's economy is the production and development of equiptment and weapons for the Sirradrii military. Kumaura troops also often take roles as combat engineers in wartime, and thusly have spearheaded the development of several types of explosives used for excavation of trenches, saps, and tunnels, as well as breaching charges. Attempts to make weapons capable of effectively launching smaller explosive charges (often incindiary or containing shrapnel) have been successful, but not widely rolled out due to the relative lack of effect as compared to the price of production and fielding such devices. Continued development is also in place regarding the production and fielding of mechanised war engines.

Architecture
Homes and buildings in Kumaur are built in a similar style to those in Ryoujing, though much less colourful. Homes are primarily constructed from deepslate, blackstone, bone, and spruce wood, though the air can slowly corrode untreated wood. All homes are able to be sealed completely from the outside in order to filter the air, allowing people to remain at home with no rebreather system. These systems are constructed by redstone mechanics and powered by the lightning rods that sit on every home to collect the energy from the frequent storms in the area. These also power the klaxon alarms that warn residents of particularly bad weather, raids, increased Verhzgene concentration in the air, or other emergencies. Underground construction is fairly common as well, and there are several large windmills planned for construction on the island in order to harness the high wind prevalent in certain regions of the island. In homes, there is a space before entering the rest of the house functioning as an 'airlock' of sorts, allowing for occupants to remove their coats, masks, shoes, etc. before entering.

Some larger houses (most notably in the castle itself and armoury) employ a particular form of construction which make the floorboards in a corridor creak as pressure is applied, the resulting sounds similar to birdsong, which would allow anyone inside to be aware if someone was trying to break in or somewhere they should not be. Windows are usually 3 layers, with thick glass, a partially-sealable sliding wooden layer to manage light levels, and a sliding paper screen adding decoration to the room.

Interior decoration is usually, in the spirit of Kumaur, rather utilitarian. Most furniture is low to the ground, and made from natural materials and in plain, simple colours. Floors are often tatami mats.

In Kairos, the houses are much more colourful, and have less influence from Ryoujing. Herders often live in large tents similar to those found in northern Sparwood with the Gertek peoples of Kartek.

Warfare
Though already mentioned in the people and clothing section of this page, there is of particular note the place of Kemrians in the greater military of the Autokratoria. Making up a good portion of the logistical element of an army on campaign is the Kemrian Engineers Korps, which primarily specialises in trench and seige tactics, as well as chemical warfare. Artillery and other explosives are a mainstay in the Korps, and their members are often proficient in establishing tunnel networks for infiltration and defense. Once the Korps is dug in, it will take hell and high water both to force them from their trenches.

To make up for the Korps' small size (only slightly larger than a standad battalion at 1,200 troops), they focus heavily on the use of heavy artillery, explosives, and chemical warfare, particularly toxic gases like chlorine and mustard gas, flooding enemy positions in a noxious haze and then burying the survivors under unrelenting barrages from artillery. Even beyond this, Kemrians excel in infiltrating the opposing lines, either via saps and tunnels dug beneath no man's land, or trench raids in the night. While not as glorious as a victory on the conventional battlefield in the eyes of most, the Korps is well aware of its limitations and the steps it must take to be able to maintain its reputation. A soldier who joins the forward deployed raiding units, known as Reavers, has already accepted their own death, and paints their mask with a skull's visage.

Thus, Kemrian soldiers are almost always willing to die. Sapper's tunnels are rigged wto detonate when compromised, burying the engineer and anyone foolish enough to follow them into the twisting warren making up the underground network alive. If they're lucky, their body might be excavated after the battle, but most of the enemy are not given that dignity. Many reavers carry live explosives on their person, with the express intention of taking out as many of the enemy as they are able to when it becomes clear that there is little to no chance of survival. Bravery is expected, not the exception, and it is seen as a great honour to die in the name of Kemria. There is no medal or award for anything short of abnormal success in the face of adversity, as the cultural mindset of Kemrians tends to shun or look down upon useless or pointless ceremony for what they would consider to be normal and expected behaviour. This, along with the nature of Kemrian officers, tends to drive a wedge between most Sirradrii units and the Korps. Whereas most officers aim to reduce casualties, the mindset of many Korps officers is 'victory at any cost'. Entire units will be thrown into the meat grinder for a singular breakthrough into the enemy lines if needed, and officers are willing to fight and die with their soldiers to secure a victory for the greater operational force. This difference in ideals often spells disaster for any Sirradrii unit with a Korps officer placed in charge of it, and morale is often low when this happens, unless one side is willing to compromise or adjust their thinking, while a Kemrian platoon with a Sirradrii officer might find their captain a coward, and take it upon themselves to secure the position and tactical success, with or without permission.

Kemrian engineers were involved in digging the trenches around Voskovy during the Paradise Wars during the formation of the Certarian Empire, as well as the underground network of tunnels beneath Kumaur itself. During peactime, they are often mobilised to assist in the contruction of the metro network between the cities.