Excerpts from "The Traveller's Guide to Gallia"
An pre-EWI Atlantic Publication (circa 1890)
Perhaps one of the most relaxing destinations in Gallia is the countryside. As a nation that had newly won its independence from occupation during the Industrial Revolution, much of it has still remained an agrarian society. Even Gallia's largest cities—Randgriz and Vasel—still retain a rustic atmosphere in comparison to the Atlantic's sprawling metropolitan regions. Gallia has a myriad number of countryside towns and villages, all worth visiting.
Bruhl is perhaps the most famous for its twin mills, formerly the property of a Gallian baron. Indeed, Bruhl's wheat and barley harvest is quite good, and should you be lucky enough to visit in October or November, you may be able to taste the local bread and brew. It is also known for its May Day celebrations, where children race on the nearby grassy knolls to win a May bouquet of flowers.
Another one of the most curious villages is Mellsen, which lies next to the Eastern Mulberry River. A fishing village, Mellsen comes alive during the great trout and salmon migrations in early May. It is particularly well known for the "Mellsen Maze," a series of manmade dams, waterwheels, and cascades that lead many of the fish to a hatchery, where a number of the fish are raised by man in safe ponds and later released. Mellsen's stretch of river is also home to the rare Mulberry Sturgeon, so named because of the black caviar's appearance and its faintly sweet aroma. Among some superstitious villagers, the sturgeon are worshipped as an emissary of the Valkyrur themselves.
The culture of a Gallian village is a warm and friendly one. Refreshed by the country air and soil, the Gallians live very peaceful, healthy lives. Indeed, the saying goes: "A breath of Gallian air nourishes more than bread and milk." Perhaps it is for this reason celebrities—Gallian, Eastern, or Western—retreat to these villages, not only for refreshment, but also to flee publicity. The villagers, as an unspoken rule, keep to their own and do not draw attention to people, natives or not.
To the amateur anthropologist, the Gallian lifestyle in these villages is fascinating due to its similarity to pre-Industrial ways of life. For example, Gallia still preserves in its culture after almost two hundred years a way of dress among its women. Unmarried women from the age of 14 up to the age of 30 wear a short dress with long stockings, known as the "Gallian Dress." This attire often bears the colors of Gallia's or the governing nobility's coat of arms. Upon the lady's marriage or 30th birthday, however, their wardrobe changes to a longer dress, much like that of our own womenfolk.