Questionable Questing

I kind of feel like with this many kids and especially the use of magic, is creating some pretty serious repercussions that are just waiting to blow up later. Westeros is pretty lucky that it has an extensive history of discriminating and not trusting bastards and very clear rules about the eldest inheriting.

But pretty soon these younger siblings are going to realize if they get magically strong enough nobody's going to tell them no. Not even needing any killing, just being strong enough would convince the vassals to agree to new leadership if the current ruler was weak or indecisive.

And that is why we do not directly address in serious storytelling the problems of massive inbred families and just focus on how incest feeds into broodsow mothers birth daughter harems

Fair enough. lol. I'm just saying the big problem with easily accessible magic is every asshole with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove is going to use it too. And will make deals with dark gods, evil entities, and ancient monsters if they get arrogant or desperate enough.

That isn't a problem unless people go too far and that's the idea of having it ritualized. There are social codes for who to enchant and how. And Enchantment is a two way streak. Make someone super in love with you, you'll be changed to be super in love with them

Makes sense. I'm more worried about the more godly figures but I'm guessing they have their own rules they have to follow especially since if they start breaking them it invites other gods and pantheons to start breaking them, and nobody wants that because that Mutually assured destruction scenario for everyone involved.

Gods in general do not get to be super active in this setting to avoid that narrative nightmare. Me and Jackal do not want to deal with divine intervention.
So doms and subs, certain kind of clothings? Tattoes? Necklaces, ways to tell who's who in Moat Calin?

Dom and sub social groups in different trades and arts?

tattoos might not be widely available at first since this is a region that didn't have this tradition before magic, so it'll have to be imported over and that'll take some time to get established as a cultural norm. Same with really fancy jewelry or even certain dresses. This is the North and not just any part of it but a specifically very poor area.

But you do have the interesting mix of Riverlands culture, Northern ones, the Crannogmen men, and potentially even some Ironborn stuff depending on many of them survived when their brief little empire in the Riverlands was finally put down by the Targaryens. So you have a handy excuse to use a lot of stuff these groups have.

So from the Crannogmen you have poison, worship of the children, fashion and architecture that is very integrated with the forest and specifically designed to camouflage in. Plus pet alligators, or as they're called in books lion lizards. lol. From the Riverlands you have predominantly green colored clothing, emerald green not muddy green, building with water like bridges and water wheels.

I really like the cultural inspirations you are drawing on

Also stuff like a pretty devout relation with the Seven since they've face some pretty heavy wars and persecution over their religion from the North and the Ironborn, as well as a shockingly robust calvery tradition considering how muddy with rivers and hills their lands are. But really just used the geography and details from the books to form ideas for the culture you want.

The Ironborn, shockingly considering their religion of stealing, actually have some of the best iron and metal working in the Seven Kingdoms and they considering building something with your two hands as paying the Iron price and thus might have smithing competitions or trade shows where they exchange ideas. They also do a lot of fishing so their diets would include a lot of pickled stuff and brines.

That is canon?

Martin did something with Ironborn that wasn't rape and pillage?

The Ironborn probably consider calamari as a delicacy. Not just because Greyjoy house banner is a squid but also because hunting squids, with some species on earth without the magical bullshit of westeros can weigh up to a ton, can be incredibly dangerous. Plus calamari goes well with lemons which is something that would have to be entirely imported from places like Dorne.

Yeah, I know I was just as shocked as you. lol. They are named the Iron island specifically because the island is filled with iron, lead and tin. Of course most of the mining is done with slave labor since the ironborn view that as beneath them and thanks to volcanic activity on the island it's incredibly dangerous and kills of most of them after a couple years. But you can't win everything. lol

I sleep. Talk more Moat Calin later.

Plus apparently seven out of ten small folk on the islands are fishermen and that as well as a cod, sardines, and mackerel, the islands have natural kelp reefs filled with Lobsters and crabs that form most of their diets. Wouldn't be shocked if there was pearl producing oysters too, with pearl jewelry being a big export as well.