You lived in Vaelandris, the City in the Sky, on a floating island held
aloft due to some lost miracle of Old Magic that even the greatest of modern
scholars don't fully understand. This place is the ancestral home of the
Vaelandrii and is one of the few places untouched by the Blight due to its
location. You could have been born before or after the Blight.

The beauty of your home is unparalleled, a floating sanctuary far from the
troubles of the Groundfolk, both historical and present. Being separated
from other people and societies has given you a certain aloofness and
insularity.

Vaelandrians are known for their love of the arts, music, fashion, and
politics. While many nobles plot their way to greater influence with the
Queen, commoners seek influence with the nobles, foreign traders, or anyone
who can help elevate their status. Social climbing is a virtue. Vaelandrians
typically try to project an air of sophistication, regardless of their
station in life. This comes across in their clothing choices, mannerisms, or
the company they are seen to be keeping.

Vaelandrians prefer to speak in the Vael tongue, generally viewing other
languages, including the common language, as crude and ill-suited for
conveying the richness of conversation. Vaelandrian nobility and others of
importance also learn a gestural language known as Foldspeak, which involves
the delicate and subtle motions of a hand fan. This was historically used to
avoid eavesdropping of important conversations by servants.

Few choose to leave Vaelandris, generally viewing the rest of the world as
dangerous, uncivilized, or quite literally beaneath them. Those that do make
a life for themselves elsewhere often eschew the traditions of Vaelandris as
being too insular. Accordingly, few non-Vaelandrii people take up residence
in Vaelandris, as the culture clash can be challenging to navigate.

When the Blight came, most of the Vaelandrians who lived in their floating
citadel were largely apathetic about it, either being woefully uninformed
about its danger or choosing to dismiss it as a Groundfolk problem. After
all, it did not affect the daily lives of Vaelandrians. Some of those
Groundfolk still hold a grudge about this and believe that Vaelandris either
caused the Blight or at the very least shirked their responsibility as a
powerful nation to do something about it.

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