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Culture
Antierra has a culture in which humility and reservation are espoused. It is considered incredibly forward to touch another person. However, equality between the sexes is also quite strong, and women are free to serve in military and other typically male roles �if they can prove that their biological disadvantage strength-wise does not mean they perform worse than any other man. Reticence is prized; public displays of intense emotion are seen as a worrying lack of control, a hint that the person might let emotion cloud their judgment in whatever job they do. The one time that emotion is okay to show is while singing or listening to music; although Antierra lacks any tradition of dance, and the austere environment severely dampens any other forms of art, the country is renowned for its musicians and emotive music. On a completely different note, family ties are strong, and religion is a strictly personal concern; some people believe in a God, while others adhere to the older, more traditional worship of one�s ancestors. Sacrifice for the common good and devotion to duty are looked upon as more inspiring than any one individual�s personal triumphs (in the real world, Antierrans would probably be communist or socialist).

Other popular art forms and diversions in Antierra are weapon skills shows/contests, poetry or prose readings, and debates.

Government
(Executive and Judicial)
Antierra is feudalistic�for the most part. They have a king (or queen), and four noble Houses, imaginatively named North, East, South, and West. The crown is passed from House to House instead of father to son; namely, if the current king was Lord of the East, when he dies the Southern Lord takes the kingship (and the Southern head-of-House title is passed on to the next in line). There is also a fifth, psuedo-House that contains the kingdom�s judicial and executive system. Antierra�s army is part of this Fifth House, although each House provides guards and other law enforcers for their own lands. Law is taught by this Fifth House, and all judges owe their allegiance first to this House, rather than whatever House they originated from.

The government also owns some lands of its own, to support the king �these lands change ownership with the crown.

There are generally three careers available within the Fifth House; that of a judge, a soldier, or a watchman. Judges study the laws of Antierra, and double as lawyers. Watchmen are the policemen (of the king�s lands), and soldiers are kind of self-explanatory.

One additional post available within the Fifth House is that of diennar. Diennars are the official spies and assassins of Antierra; as well as political targets, they may be called upon to hunt down a particularly nasty or elusive criminal. They generally work alone, although they may be assigned as a special bodyguard or required to work with groups of soldiers.

(Legislative)
Traditionally, the monarch of Antierra makes new laws and taxes. However, his decisions can be vetoed only if all three Houses disagree with it (remember, the monarch always comes from one of the Four Houses). The King, upon his ascension, may also assign new Hands. The King�s Right and Left Hands are the leaders of the army and foreign policy branches of the government �usually. There have been monarchs in Antierra�s past who preferred to oversee the army or foreign policy themselves, and therefore the King�s (or Queen�s) Hands were assigned to lead the legislature and the army or nation relations. However, since most of the kingdom�s power lies in its legislature, and the King has the last say on anything either the army or diplomats do, most monarchs choose not to switch things around that way. Customarily, the Left Hand leads the army, and the Right leads foreign policy.

Geography
Surrounded by craggy mountains, Antierra exports mainly metals and stone; however, it is not a country that is heavily into trade, either, bordering on isolationist. Although the soil is generally only so-so, Antierra provides enough food from the plains around its major river, and the hill-country to the north (through ranching), to support itself, and is generally self-sufficient.

It�s largest export is that of athar, a metal found only in its northern mountains. Almost as strong as steel, athar is an incredibly dark grey color, commonly mistaken for being black.

Antierra is known for its skilled metalworkers and jewelry-makers.

Clothing
Both sexes wear fitted clothing that typically covers them from the neck down, including gloves; girls get brownie points for wearing a veil as well. The typical outfit consists of pants, shirt, tunic, and gloves; although it�s not technically indecent to go without a tunic or gloves, it would be on a similar level as a guy going without a shirt on in today�s culture. Tunics may close up either the front or the sides, but they generally are split all the way down to the hem instead of being slip-on, and close up through either lacing or frogging (ribbon that loops over a button). Sleeves are always long and narrow, and tend to be either slightly bloused towards the ends or slightly flared �for both sexes. Pants are usually undecorated (most of the decoration tends to be on the tunic), and may be either loose or fitted �in Antierran society, fitted breeches or thin cloth tends to be �flirtatious�, since no skin can be shown. Women also wear skirts instead of pants, or dresses without a tunic.

The most peculiar part of Antierran style is the footwear. Their boots always lace up the back of the calf, when they lace up --some merely slip on. They range from mid-calf to knee-height, and usually have some design stamped into the leather, but they never turn over at the top like C�danan boots.

Antierran clothing is generally made of solid-colored cloth, and in pastel or somber shades; dark red is unusual, bright red nonexistent. The same goes for green. Embroidery is commonly used as decoration instead of frills or lace, although the colors are the same as fabrics; nothing too bright.

Antierran jewelry, however, may use brightly-colored stones. It is uncommon, but not unusual. Jewelry tends to be delicately made and not ostentatious; it is considered in bad taste to wear more than two or three small pieces, and three is pushing it�

Hair is always pulled back, and usually long because that makes it easier to control. Women usually wear it up in buns or braid-crowns, etc, while men can get away with a short ponytail.

Miscellaneous
The Antierran accent consists of a more rounded tone in the vowels, vaguely similar to an English accent. They speak more in the backs of the their throats, enunciate their consonants meticulously, and tend to speak with deliberation.

Magic
Antierra is almost devoid of magic; few are born with strong abilities, and what children do have some talent for it, are taught to suppress it. This curious phenemenon is perhaps due to their unique natural resource, athar. One of the metal�s properities is that of diminshing magic; it seems to soak it up like a sponge, breaking weak spells, and severely limiting the power of strong ones. The only magic �if it can be called that- that flourishes in Antierra is that of runecraft: the crafting of athar into symbols that can somewhat control its magic-eating ability. For example, a runewarden may create a charm to break spells within a certain area around the wearer, or a charm to break only spells aimed at the wearer.