"Huh. Probably not here. Well, some of them might be, but I'd be surprised if the air goes up all that high. Would be weird, for an island to have edges but not a top."

"Uh, I'm not sure if that is the same for our worlds, but the air sort of gets thinner until there is no more of it and the space between the world and the sun is just true emptiness."

"Huh. How can space be empty?"

"I really don't know how. I know that air falls towards the world like everything else and there is not infinite air around."

"Hm. Hadn't thought of it like that before." They arrive at the house, and she walks up to the door and knocks on the frame. A gangly boy, perhaps in his late teens or early twenties, answers after a few moments. 

He blinks his large eyes, then says, "Ah - Lady Tshu, it's good to see you. ...Who're they?"

She chuckles. "They're our new visitors. Didn't you notice their ship coming in?" He shakes his head, and she continues, "Anyways, they're heading up the coast ice-wards, and we figured you could give them some pointers about the journey, if you're not busy."

"Oh, no, not at all - I'm not really prepared for guests - um, come on in -." He steps aside to let them in; the space beyond is cramped, with no separate entry hall, just straight into the living space. There's a single large room, with a firepit in one corner, and a rolled up bedroll in another. There's no grand decorations, though the shelves are filled with books and papers. "Sorry about all this," he says, gesturing at the mess.

"Don't worry, it's not like we called ahead."

"Ah, well. Anyways. What did you need from me?"

"We are new to this world and we are afraid there are things too obvious to mention."

"Hm. Well, do you know about the ley yet? Or the civil war? There's also - politeness things, I guess. Like, painting your face is considered really crass? That sometimes trips up foreign students. And, like, staring is rude, don't talk too loudly or excitedly. Some of that tripped me up, out here manners are mostly about hospitality and friendliness, no one cares if you're loudly friendly, in the cities there's more of a focus on - presenting yourself well and nobly. People are a lot less helpful, too."

Notes.

"Does make up count? And what about a civil war?"

"Like, if it's noticeable at all?

"There was a civil war that officially ended a few months ago, it's how the Great Speaker rose to power. Usually the Great Speaker's elected by the council. Asheli was favored by the previous Speaker, but like half the council voted for her cousin, half voted for her, and then her cousin declared that the votes for her were invalid since there's never been a female Speaker before - it should've gone to a vote by the cities after that, but he just declared himself Speaker, and she declared him in defiance of the people's will, challenged him to a duel, and when he refused raised an army. Some parts of the country still are refusing to acknowledge that she's the Speaker now, though."

"Oh, joy. Are we likely to be forced to take a side or something?"

"I mean, she'll want you to acknowledge her as the Great Speaker if you come before her, but - pretty much all the ambassadors have. Her cousin's side is pretty much over, and if you're headed up the coast I doubt you'll run into any hold-outs."

"Acknowledgement was expected. At any rate that is good."

"Yeah. The war was - nasty - so a lot of areas don't have as many resources as they used to. Fields got burned, bridges got destroyed, all that sort of stuff. Asheli's been promising to improve trade and restore the countryside, not sure how much that's going to pan out. She did very publicly punish anyone who'd been involved in breaking discipline, so there's that at least."

"Um, other things... There's laws - okay, among things that trip up foreign students - we have personal property, don't take things without asking... Judges don't have to keep to existing law, they can do what they consider fair and just, though you can challenge that. Don't move property boundary markers, don't cause a public disturbance - that's mostly measured if it shuts down commerce or roads - don't seriously slander someone - truth's a defense, but that'll depend on the judge - don't get drunk in public, don't default on loans. In the big cities, commerce is technically supposed to happen in the marketplaces, but you can also go to the office or home of a merchant house to negotiate a private deal. If you're accused of a crime, you're allowed to defend yourself in court, and you can appeal decisions to a higher court. You can get help, but there isn't anyone who professionally helps the accused outside of the big cities."

"Okay, nothing too weird so far." She writes it down anyway.

"Yeah. I've heard some places have laws about what clothes you can wear. Um, don't insult the gods? Like, basically don't name a god and then insult them, or graffiti a temple. How illegal that is varies, but it's generally a really bad idea."

"What are the laws about what clothes one can wear? Back home some places vary about it... We can change into different shapes, but the process involves molting off skin and it's very gross and will ruin anything you're wearing."

"Some places let you strip off whenever and wherever. Some places let you strip off only to change shape. Some will require you to go somewhere private if you want to shift and they might not even offer little nooks for that." Adam offers as examples of what goes on back on their world.

"...Yeah, public nudity's generally not allowed here. I'm not sure of anywhere it is allowed. You have to have your genitals covered, is pretty much the gist of it, though some other cultures have more strict modesty rules. There are exceptions for species without external genitalia and for shapeshifters in an animal form, you might be able to petition for an exception under that? Or if it's an emergency. Um, other than that it's just - don't wear a uniform you're not entitled to, don't use the Speaker's insignia. There's at least one reality-island where they restrict certain colors and clothes to certain castes, though. Remember hearing about it."

"Do breasts count for the nudity rule? And an exception for emergencies is generally universal back home."

"Here, no, though most other reality-islands they do."

"Is the caste reality-island nearby?"

"I don't think so?"

"Alright, just checking."