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According to Jerahl, the D'ni spirit of inquiry was first awoken by the extreme powers of the rocks. Learning to control those powers was their beginning as a species.
The D'ni society was centered around a Guild system, which existed since Garternay. Each of these organizations had specific tasks and roles. The Guilds were also the basis of the D'ni education. D'ni was a class society, and Guild membership, especially in its highest ranks, was considered prestigious.[1] The D'ni people didn't have servants or a word for servant.[2] The role of women in D'ni society is somewhat unclear; it does not seem that they join Guilds. They seem to occupy more of a familial supportive role. Women were eligible only for Minor Guilds education, only since 3500.[3]
The D'ni lived in the bleak cavern, however their culture depended on the technology of writing and visiting other Ages, the infinite universes of the Great Tree of Possibilities; the same technology that brought them to the Cavern in the first place. The Ages they wrote gave them access to lush and fertile worlds, which they exploited for food as well as materials. It's no wonder that among the Guilds, the Guild of Writers was the most important and prestigious.[4] Their contact, relationship and dependence on the native peoples of the Ages (called "Outsiders") was a controversial chapter in their history.
Religion[]
D'ni religion was centered around the worship of a Maker or Yahvo, who created not only the universe, but each and every of the infinite Ages in the Great Tree of Possibilities. Significant events and social trends in D'ni history often had to do with the interpretation of the will of the Maker by prophets; there were also periods of religious confusion. Ri'neref, the founder of the D'ni civilization, dedicated their existence inside the bleak Cavern, and the founding of their Guilds, to the better understanding of the Maker's will.[5][6]
The D'ni people believed that marriage was an important and considered a lifetime commitment. It was also an important part of a relationship with Yahvo as it taught and revealed the necessary requirements for taygahn. As such, all citizens were expected to marry. [7]
Social Hierarchy[]
At first, there was little in the way of a class society, such a high ideal faded quickly. The D'ni people were again unified, but started to separate again during the time of King Ji.[8] By the time of the Fall of D'ni, there were seven distinct classes, as identified by Tricia Lawson.
There were several obvious attempts to reach out and unify the classes, such as Common Libraries, Major Guild scholarships, renovation of poorer districts, but they didn't do much.
High Class[]
- Elite
- Guild Members
- Upper Class
Lower Class[]
- Middle Class
- High Poor
- Low Poor
- The Least
Education[]
At first, the young D'ni people studied in the Common Schools for 6 years (age 10 to 16) and then entered society.
In 1124 Guild Master Ti'lanar of the Legislators submitted his paper "Minor Guilds" where he criticized the contemporary system that a small elite of the guilds held the knowledge, and proposed the creation of minor guilds to expand the knowledge.
King Mararon was upset that so many of his own people were falling by the wayside. He agreed with the paper and following its suggestions:
- He placed the common schools under the Guild of Legislators
- Set higher standards for instructors and longer workdays.
- Raised the studying years to 15 years (age 5 to 20).
- From there, students could enter one of the new minor Guilds, including Architecture (a branch of the Guild of Stone Masons), Miners, and Educators, and Bankers among others.[10]
Only men were eligible for Minor Guild education, but in 3500 women became as well.[11]
Education and the Guilds had always been thought of as inseparable. However in 4500, Guild Master Kinef of the Guild of Legislators brought forth a proposal that would allow the use of private education separate from the Guilds. The proposal eventually passed by a slim margin but private education never really received near the admiration and respect from the public and thus never truly succeeded.[12]
Οnce it was possible for the lower D'ni classes to attend the schools but later they became so expensive and prestigious that their graduates became a very high class among themselves.[13]