The urban centers of the Lunar Heartland view themselves as the most perfect human society possible, living in accordance to divine laws and capable of great spiritual development. Governance is placed in the hands of the best – the members of the Yelm cult, who must rule with virtue and justice, avoid spiritual pollution, and act within the constraints of the proscriptive roles one is born into. Dara Happa (the collective name of the people of these cities) carefully proscribe male and female roles. Their society is strongly patriarchal – men are expected to marry women and sire children. Women are expected to be dutiful wives to their husbands and nurturing mothers to their children. The Earth is blessed and brought to life by the glorious Sun. Men are expected to protect, cherish, and love their wives, and acts to the contrary are viewed as extreme spiritual pollution.
Self-control is highly valued by Dara Happans. Men and women are expected to confine sex to within the marriage bonds, or in Ulerian rituals. Chastity is considered a precondition for many paths to higher spiritual development. Dayzatar represents the highest possible spiritual opportunities (outside of Lunar Illumination) but at the price of total non-interference in mundane society.
Clothing reflects this. Nudity is viewed as shameful by the Dara Happans. One never removes their Loincloth of Morality except in certain ritual precincts (such as the marriage bed or within a Uleria temple). Good people wear shoes or sandals at all time – one does not place one’s foot on the dirt!
The Lunar Way offers alternatives, and within the Lunar cults, women enjoy equal rights to men. As the Yelmic leadership IS Lunar, this means that effectively the Lunar Way has greatly moderated traditional Dara Happan patriarchy. The traditional cults such as Yelm, Dendara, Polaris, etc, which have thoroughly accepted the Red Goddess as part of the celestial heirarchy and acknowledge her place within that pantheon. Dara Happa is less multicultural than Dragon Pass or the Holy Country. Almost everyone is at least a lay member of a Lunar cult. Almost everyone speaks New Pelorian as their primary language. Most foreigners people encounter are merchants or slaves, or the occasional folk from the Provinces or the West Reaches.
So comparing the notes on Dara Happan society and Pelorian peasant culture, you can imagine the amount of social disdain most Dara Happans have for their peasantry.
The Seven Mothers and other Lunar cults help bridge that gap, but of course it is still there in the background.
Good Lunars go to their secret rites and do their transgressive sacred stuff, and then return to normal Dara Happan society where they look down on the peasants and barbarians for doing that stuff outside of sacred precincts! They act in accordance with the mysterious spiritual insights of the Red Goddess. She proved her claims at Castle Blue and the foolish reactionaries who allied with barbarians to raise the Tripolis in revolt got the just rewards. Who dares judge an Illuminate’s reasons?
So basically people in the Lunar Heartlands have three categories of social expectations:
- Peasants. They are crass, drunken, and worship their phalluses.
- Dara Happans. They are self-controlled, chaste, and avoid physical pollution.
- Lunar cultists. They follow the Red Goddess and so can both dive into pollution and cleanse themself of it, just like the Red Moon itself does.
What do Dara Happans do that gives them an advantage over Pelorians? Yelm gives you a LOT of advantages over Lodril. Plus things like associated cults, Lodril’s own obedience to his brother, etc.
In short, Yelm is an incredibly useful god for rulers. It has a nicely hierarchical system with someone clearly on the top, it gives lots of good rulership and smiting of foes magic, and it has good magic to bless your followers. He and Orlanth have basically the best Pantheon Leader magical packages (not surprising).
The Lunars have zero interest in sapping the Solar support base. It has has accepted the Red Goddess and is a key pillar in holding up the Empire.
Note that nearly all Dara Happans are Lunars.