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How do you flesh out cultures realistically?
I've got a fantasy setting that I've sort of backburnered for the time being, with a pretty [big setting](http://i.imgur.com/s1Q05.jpg). Each continent for the most part has a different race, and while the story focuses on the fallout from a world war, the whole thing is pretty... well, I can't seem to bring myself to have the countries in open hostilities with each other. Even going back to the past, I can't bring myself to have anything with lasting repercussions except by an outside force (like back in pre-history when evil Gods ruled) **EDIT**: Now that I'm awake, the races... [although it seems I lost most of my notes, so some of the placenames I'm bullshitting] * A, B, and C on [the map](http://i.imgur.com/s1Q05.jpg) [sorry, bad photo] are where in prehistory the **Old Gods** fell. The Great Serpent **Leviathan**, Queen of the Ocean, fell at C; **Ziz**, Ruler of the Sky, the Great Bird, fell at B; and **Bahamut**, Lord of Earth and Flame, the Great Beast, fell in A; they fell to Vindae and once they awoke continued their cosmic, eternal battle, until they were once again sealed away. Each is long gone, but their children still roam the world in the form of the animals *Wurms*, *Wyvern*, and *Behemoths*. Legend has it that Bahamut was defeated by the Rat King, and as such his children are afraid of rodents *[A nod to the terrestrial old wives' tale about elephants]* * The **Hume** - One of the *Dwarf* races, and smack dab in the middle of everything^[**D**], the Hume have a varied culture in the country of **Vanae**. Because of the *Milky Way Road*, running from the North all the way to the South goes right through them, they're one of the most prosperous countries. The Hume are a tough race, known for their versatility [translation: They're humans] * The **Dwyrin** - Another of the *Dwarven* races, strong and wiry with hollow bones, their ancestral home is in the mountains^[**F**], where those hollow bones keep them light on their feet. They have a culture steeped in tradition, both of worship and reverence of ancestors, and a need to be independent. Dwyrin are spiritualists, who long ago are said to have perfected the secrets of the art of *Alchemy*, allowing the trained to heal through meditation, or knit bones with a touch. Somewhere along the line, a Dwyrin priest also realized you could *break* bones as well. The city of *Dwarvholme* was carved literally by hand, with hundreds of alchemists punching the rock away and carving the stone pagoda in the culdera of the city. [translation: sort of like Chinese dwarves with magic kung fu] * The **Alvain** - An *Elven* race, originating in **Arlenwyn** and separated from most of the world by the Albin Mountain range^[**F**]. They're tall, willowy, and often pale, with pointed ears and wide eyes. Despite the cold, foggy landscape, the Alvain are technologically advanced, one of the races best suited to understanding the art of *Sorcery*, and most prone to being Sorcerers, to the point that Alvain not born with the gift of Sorcery are often seen as second class citizens. They've used their skill with magic and *Runeography* to construct automatons and weaponry, and during the last age 20 years ago, an Alvain rose to power who decided he wanted the world, and a scheme was hatched that caused the Vanae-Utgardi War. When the two countries realized they'd been tricked, things erupted into a world war, fighting against the advanced technology of the Alvain. The war is over, but tensions still run. [translation: Elves. Nazi elves with robots and laser beams] * The **Urkai** - one of the *Orc* races, tall, with tan skin, often reaching a dark reddish hue, the Urkai make their homes in the deserts^[**H**] of **Utgard**. Urkai are also one of the few races with horns, two small spikes coming from their foreheads, or temples, often decorated with bits of jewelry. They're highly religious, worshiping a living deity known as the *High Priestess* in the capital of *December*. Most make their living farming, tending to their flocks, and avoiding the scorching heat, but many live within the cities, including *Zaza*, the Jewel of the Desert. They're the race most likely to become *Espers*, and more than any other culture consider them to be the Gifts of the Gods. Espers are still quite rare, although it's said that the *Glassers*, a secret sect meant to protect the Priestess and maintain balance, knows the secret of passing along a taste the gifts of esperism. Despite this, the Urkai are known to be scientists, developing explosive powders and complicated gizmos. A mind that doesn't think is already dead. During the war twenty years ago, Alvain assassins murdered the High Priestess, framing the country of Vanae, and setting off a world war. It was only after finding a missive crossing through the July Desert that Arlenwyn was shown to be the true enemy. [translation: Araby, with a few psychics/mutants. Whole country is *Prince of Persia*.] * The **Risar** - another of the *Orc* races, the Risar are nothing like their cousins on the other side of the ocean^[**I**]. The women of *Genievée* are tall, broad shouldered, and often sport scars from their required military service, and the same horns of the Urkai. Almost amazonian, they have a militocratic oligarchy, ruled over by a counsel of thirteen women. They carry weapons openly, as a status symbol, often with armour designed both for aesthetics and functionality (Risar belief is that the two together create perfection). Men, on the other hand, are thin and frail, often a full head or more shorter. They're treated like women would in other cultures, and often use the pronouns of women when they travel to other countries (the females use male or gender neutral ones). They can serve in the military (service allows you to vote), but are often left in nursing or long range positions. Much of Genievée is cut through by rivers, with the capital of Ouranos actually on the water itself. [Translation: I wanted to make a good version of drow, and went weird. Think the Iberian Peninsula with women. Or something.] * The **Darrow** - Although often called *Dark Elves*, these short, swarthy, pointy eared people are actually one of the *Dwarven* races. They live in the island nations of **Madakatsukoro**^[**J**]. Much like the Dwyrin, they revere their ancestors, and have a shamanistic religion that personifies everything, believing even household items can gain spirits. They strongly value Face, and have almost fetishized the sword, with many wearing them openly, much like in Genievée. As well as laws that prevent anyone but noble families to do so in some places. They've had a culture of isolationism until very recently, although their first major action in that time was to ally with the Alvain. [translation: Japan with short, dark skinned elves] * The **Trow** - Rare to see outside their ancestral homes, the volcanic islands^[**K**] **Muspell**, the trow are another *Elven* race, although they're quite different from the Alvain. They're taller, with much longer ears that point up over the tops of their heads, hawklike faces, and sharper teeth. They're also possessed of long tails that end in a tuft. Their skin is often mottled, with colours ranging from blue and greenish to brown, sporting various complexions. While rare, they do have a habit of turning up in the oddest places, with a culture that prides adventurism and action. They're consummate tale-tellers (or as some call them, liars), who love drink and women and singing. Strangely enough, they're also good historians, often researching the stories they tell very well, then embellishing. [Translation: Norse trolls. Also, mercenaries. Their home is kind of like Hawaii meets Iceland] * There's also the **Kobali**, down in the dense, treacherous jungles of *Zapotlizoc*^[**L**] which is thankfully separated from the rest of the world. Whether it's true or not, these greened skinned *orcs* are said to be violent, cannibalistic, and mired in ancient, dark religions with their horns dyed with blood and their skin pierced with bone. They're backwards savages, so the legends go. But, there is one multinational Vanae colony down at the tip. I forget the name of it, but it's a reference to the Ivory Coast. The *Kobali* and *Zapotlizoc* are basically a cross between Africa and South America, with the whole "Dark Heart of Africa" vibe played up. * Also, the Goddess **Elyon** is said to have woken up from the slumber that dreamed the world in the great valley at **G**. It's separated from the rest of the world by the tallest mountain range, and can only be gotten through by following the harshest desert valley for days between two mountain ranges filled with dangerous monsters. The Valley of Carybdis starts far south in the July Desert, and leads up to **Eden**, although few have made it that far. Once the Great Garden is reached, one must still get passed the stone gates as tall as the mountains themselves, carved not by erosion or nature nor by mortal hands, but instead the very dreams of the Mother during the First Dream, long before the Old Gods fell. The gate can only be opened by the First Children, Ash and Embla, or one of the incarnated Gods, who have been absent from the world itself for aeons. Within the Garden, the Tree of Life, the Tree of Death, and the World Tree are located, and if a mortal were to take their power for himself, he could rewrite Creation. [All this stuff is part of the main story, wherein a man who saw the horrors of the war and the way that his country was tricked deserts, winds up outside the gate, and is given a vision, as well as eight seeds of the sephirot that grant great the gift of the Gods. He then sees it as his destiny to open the gate, and remake the world into Paradise--all of which may be a ploy by outcaste Gods to once again reach Heaven, not giving a damn if someone destroys Earth] more