Atrian values

The simplest and broadest statement of Atrian beliefs would be that they are a rejection of Republican values. Whereas the Republic is an ancient culture self-absorbed with its rituals and customs and is keenly concerned with the past and with equality, the a common belief in the league is that stones sink and cream floats – when left to nature, the best succeed and the worst fail and that is how it should be.

A more nuanced appreciation of Atrian values would be that the basic concepts of propriety and fair dealings have been modified and adapted by the contact with the many cultures with whom the Atrian League has trade. The finest minds and strongest bodies create opportunities and take advantage of them. If a person is of low station or of high, it is because of their capabilities and that, given the right circumstance, anyone can better themselves. In a similar vein, one speaks of the station, privileges and capabilities of women compared to men. There are many who regard women as delicate and flighty creatures ruled by emotion, compared to men, who are robust and wise with a mind ruled by logic and reason. It is, afterall, the men alone who can understand the Tables of the Moon and, in a general sense, men make superior navigators. This apparent disparity is mitigated by the fact that only women can become water-singers and, as long as any can recall, have always been more attuned to the mystic arts.

Another strong belief in the League is the strong devotion to personal liberty. In the heart of every Atrian, they are captain of their own ship, head of their own company and master of their own fate. Any perceived compromise or infringement on this naturally given right is considered a personal insult and usurpation of their place in the natural world.

Combining the above two thoughts into a further theory, each of the sexes recognize and understand their own kind better than they do the other and are known to seek out their company. Therefore, it should come as no great surprize that the Atrian League is a firm supporter of homosexual relations. Indeed, these relations are the cornerstone for Patronage.

Finally, there is the veneration of nature and, subsequently, of beauty. This theme comes up in the culture of the League in different ways (which shall be addressed later) but is most prevalent in the accumulation of objects and living things which are considered to be of aesthetic value.

Spiritual Beliefs
While there are some few Atrians who hold to the ‘old ways’ of animism and veneration of the Tanáradodé, such beliefs are considered parochial and backwards-thinking. The great philosophers and theologians of the day are using the tools of logic, reason and mathematical formulae to discern the true nature of the universe and to explain the mystical and mundane nature of the world around them.

Prominent schools in this consider the nature of matter, the mutability of the natural world, the constituency of what is and methods of analyzing the natural world. Amoung the more prominent schools of thought at this time are the Aetheticisians (who believe that beauty is a function of specific elements in specific proportions), Diaphysists (who assert that there are two states of matter (being and non-being)), the Monophysists (who believe that nothing is permanent or real, save for in the mind of the observer) and the Quadracletians (who believe that everything is made of differing combinations of the four prime elements).

These concerns have an ethical and social dynamic in addition to the obvious matter of science, for an understanding into the structure of the universe and its creation gives a better understanding of one’s place in it and provides a unified, coherent system of ethics and acceptable social behaviour.