Selenes

The Selenes are a fictional people described in speculative fiction and worldbuilding contexts. This article provides a concise, neutral overview of their imagined culture, geography, and history as used in fictional settings.

Geography and society: In the canonical fictional depictions, the Selenes inhabit a coastal archipelago and a nearby fertile delta along a temperate sea. Their major urban centers are often portrayed as fortified port towns with dense markets and ceremonial harbors. Social organization typically centers on a dual leadership structure comprising a Lunar High Priestess and a Council of Elders, supplemented by skilled guilds of sailors, metalworkers, and farmers. Education emphasizes navigation, astronomy, and crafts, with an emphasis on communal rites and patronage of arts.

Language and culture: The Selenic language is usually described as agglutinative, with a writing system that records lunar cycles and maritime events. Their art frequently features lunar motifs, tides, and stylized sea creatures, reflecting a maritime worldview. Bronzeworking, ceramics, and shipbuilding are central crafts, often tied to religious and ceremonial functions. Religious life commonly centers on lunar worship and seasonal rites linked to tides, harvests, and celestial events.

History and economy: In these fictional histories, the Selenes develop extensive coastal trade networks, exchanging ceramics, textiles, and metal goods with neighboring inland kingdoms. They are depicted as city-states within a loose confederation, sometimes allied by marriage alliances and shared rituals. Environmental changes, shifts in trade routes, or external pressures are often used in narratives to explain periods of decline or reorganization.

Legacy and usage: The Selenes remain a common archetype in worldbuilding and fantasy fiction as a lunar-oriented, maritime civilization. They serve as a reference point for themes of navigation, ritual astronomy, and coastal urban life in imagined worlds.