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Compared to the other Six Kingdoms, the Kingdom of Hox is perhaps the one place where gender roles are the least defined. With a harsh climate and a small population, gender is far less important when compared to making a living in an unforgiving environment. While reproduction and continuing the species are both important and respected parts of survival among both galdori, humanity, and tekaa in Hox, how one chooses to present themselves and who, exactly, chooses to form a relationship and raise children is very open-ended among Hoxians as a whole.

Men and women of all races in the Kingdom take pride in their strength and self-reliance and in their contribution to their collective society as a whole (saatri). Outward displays of emotion are discouraged, though private affection and close-knit friendships are the hidden treasures of Hoxian culture. The foreign perception of Hox is that of a cold and aloof society, but in reality, subtle displays of emotion are more common than one would imagine. Instead of obvious, overtly public expressions, such things are instead beautifully shown through moving art, poetry and quiet conversations in the privacy and comfort of a close-knit family unit and home.

Galdori Society

Like most of their species, galdorkind in Hox have come to value the pursuit of knowledge, spiritual enlightenment, and magical excellence over defining the appearance of and roles necessary to male and female. Because of this as well as because of Hoxian galdori egalitarianism in government and relative cultural isolation, birth sex and gender presentation are considered the least regulated in the Six Kingdoms, much to the general confusion of their neighbors on more than one occasion. Often, Hoxians living abroad choose to conform to their Kingdom of residence's standards in acquiescence to both their new saatri (village culture) in an attempt to live simply in the oneness of all things (zkratas).

Women (and those who choose to identify as or present as women) are encouraged and directed to be the head of the chosen household, silently bearing hardship gracefully and ensuring the balance of the family. Men (and those who choose to identify as or present as men) are guided that if allowed to let emotion rule their decision-making, it is a sign of weakness, but outside of those fundamental ideals, there is little to no particular focus on one gender being superior to the other in terms of economic or social contribution. Everyone is expected to carry some part of the load in family living and in society as a whole, making Hox one of the most egalitarian cultures of the Six Kingdoms.

From the intellectual heights of academia to the duty of legislation to the dregs of the dirtiest farm work, galdori in Hox pride themselves in doing all things necessary to keep society going without the need for humanity, wicks, or even galdorkind beyond their borders.

Clothing among Hoxian galdori comes in many styles, though not all of it is necessarily gender-specific.

Childrearing is viewed as a very collective experience: extended family, neighbors, and entire villages raise children together, regardless of who bears them, even in the largest of cities such as Frecks. While University doesn't begin until coming of age, education through one's elders and family unit begins from an early age, often in the form of chores and directed play.

A Note on Passives

Even after coming of age, those few Hoxians who are revealed to have been born passive are not pressured into conforming to gender expectations any more than their magical peers, though they are technically not legally allowed to reproduce. While there have been movements in the past to offer sterilization to passives, no legislative measures have ever been unanimously passed.

Passives are not forbidden from mingling with each other nor from sexual relations amongst themselves, but there is a taboo surrounding passives forming relationships. It is also socially unacceptable if not considered immoral for passives to be in any kind of sexual relationship with galdorkind, humanity, or wicks.

Agender Presentation and Religion

The religious sect known as the Hexxos (carriers of the dead) are all considered agender (without gender) by Hoxian galdori as a whole, and are collectively referred to by the neutral pronoun cxîl in Deftung regardless of how they view themselves as individuals. Many members of the Hexxos are not, in fact, agender, but willingly give up their part in the gender binary in order to be considered fit to carry the dead to the grave-caverns. This sacrifice allegedly purifies them of earthly restraints.

Because the Hexxos are one of the few groups aware of raen, going so far as to offer them not only a sanctuary but also their own bodies as Vessels, this agender decision is perhaps also a special deference to their existence.

Within their isolated central community in Kzecka, the Hexxos are freer to live their lives as they see communally fit, and though the cultural perception of their religious order beyond the City of Temples is that the Carriers of the Dead are also asexual, this is not the case: relying on recruitment by interested Hoxians alone would most likely have spelled the end of the order decades ago due to their isolated and esoteric lives and the stigma surrounding the handling of the dead. Instead, Kzecka serves as a sort of safe place for those Hexxos who desire a family to do so without gender concerns.

Being agender or asexual in general is considered more of a spiritual choice than a personal one, and even outside of the Hexxos, the choice to live such a life is well-respected in Hox. Non-binary choices are not taboo, and while the kingdom does not receive many ex-patriots from the other Six Kingdoms, there are perhaps more foreigners who brave the altitudes and temperatures of the northernmost kingdom to live a life they choose free of judgment or persecution than for any other reason.

Galdori Sexuality

Sexual preferences and premarital sex are hardly issues in the Kingdom of Hox. While the social preference is that those who choose to have children form a legal union, especially as galdori who will eventually send those children to University, pairings are not relegated to male-female unions. Polyamory and polygamy are not unheard of in Hoxian galdorkind.

Sex in a culture that believes in suppressing the outward expression of emotion is perhaps a gift of utmost, private intimacy, though that does not mean that sexual exploration without any form of emotional commitment is not ever possible. Unlike the Kingdom of Anaxas, however, in general, Hoxians are a people who do not find sex something to shy away from before marriage and Hoxian galdori do not place a high value on virginity before a legal union, instead of placing a much higher value on an individual's willingness to work hard for their community and their future family, should they choose to have one.

The choice and ability to bear children is still a very important and worthwhile path in Hox, and one that tends to be given a lot of consideration by all couples, regardless of orientation. Those who choose to grow a family are well-honored among their peers, and it is one of the many reasons that passive births are still shameful.

Humankind

Among humanity, separated though they are from galdori in all aspects of Hoxian culture save for trading and government oversight, are for the most part just as pragmatic as their magical counterparts. While gender roles are perhaps more defined and somewhat given more emphasis when it comes to specificity in presentation with a preference toward birth-sex, humans have also chosen to focus on survival over the persecution of those who decide they do not fit in the expected norms. Relationships are more often to be seen most comfortably in human society as pairings, though there are rare, isolated villages of humans that do not have issues with polyamory or polygamous marriage.

While tolerant, humans who do not wish to conform to the expected gender binary tend to find themselves in their own social groups, or castes, occasionally forming their own villages, not out of fear of violence so much as out of a desire to support each other and live in collective peace.

Human Sexuality

One of the major differences between galdori and humanity in Hox can be found in their opinions on sex—humans tend to be a lot more guarded about their intimate expressions of feelings, and place a heavier emphasis on the importance of reserving such depths of openness with the individual one chooses to take as a spouse.

A Note on Wicks

Wicks in Hox are hardly any different from their counterparts in other Kingdoms: tribal, individually expressive, and more influenced by the cultures of Mugroba and Anaxas than Hox itself due to their nomadic natures, gender conformity is only practical on the surface for interactions made with other Kingdoms and not at all necessary within the free-spirited life lived by the tekaa.

Their views on sex and sexuality tend to be more open than galdorkind and humanity in general, but given the nature of Hoxian egalitarianism, wicks instead find themselves rather on par with the other races.