Having spent time, voluntarily or not, in contact with Elysian citizens, you have likely found that Tel culture is widely misrepresented as well as derided. The referenda in particular are generally made out to be more harmful than they really are, as people have a choice in what issues to take an interest in (although it would be frowned upon to not vote on anything) and the politicians who arrange the issues to be voted on are at least somewhat competent at working out which options are consistent with existing policies (even if no politician can truly be good at their job). Although the Elysians regard the Tel's lack of territorial expansion as a failure, many Tel consider the rate of Elysian expansion as reckless and unnecessary.

One of the main tenets of Tarzhda, the Tel religion, is the importance of community. Just as every living thing has a soul but there's no hard boundary on what's a single living thing, if a community is sufficiently cohesive then by contributing to its welfare, members can become part of something greater than they could be individually. This principle operates at every level of society, from a block of flats to the whole empire.

In any given stellar system the stars give the greatest contribution to the community, providing the main necessity for life. They are also almost alive in their own right, and are by far the longest-lived member of the community, providing continuity through their constant presence and support. As such, the stars (particularly local stars) are given great respect. For example, it would be awfully discourteous to try to force someone into supporting a community they don't want. This means that many important decisions, such as the terraforming or settlement of a new planet, are always preceded by taking auspices by interpretation of stellar activity.

It is not uncommon to believe that the stars are even able to perform miracles within their spheres of influence, but official doctrine makes no statement either way and this belief is often viewed as mere superstition.

Well-known religious symbols include a coral-like creature native to TelRast (half way between one organism and many), superconductors (demonstrating that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts) and of course, stars.

Religious services are held regularly in all major settlements. These consist of prayer, speeches by members of the community, general socialisation and discussions of practical things that need to be done for the benefit of the community. There is also a shared meal, prepared beforehand in the temple by anyone with the time to spare, using ingredients provided by all of the attendees. Attendance is not compulsory but consistently not attending is stigmatised and may be viewed as suspicious.

The closest analogue to marriage in Tel culture occurs between 2 (or occasionally more) people to celebrate and recognize their unity. It does not involve promises of permanent commitment, although all involved would hope that the relationship lasts. It also isn't specific to romantically involved couples, though that is the most common case. The ceremony lasts from one (astronomical) noon to the next, and involves dancing, prayers, and symbolic gifts from each of the members of the couple to the couple as a group. The couple is also given a name of its own (in a similar style to personal names), separate from those of its members.

Possession is not about hostility. Possession is the dutiful and civilised recognition of each other's work and personal space. How can gifting something be a gesture of goodwill if you doesn't know to whom it belongs in the first place? How can you respect yourself if you don't respect your rights to what is yours?

Shared ownership of goods requires additional care. Usage of communal resources is only acceptable with the clear consensus of the owner(s), which usually has to be explicit. Each individual member of the group has no claim to the goods; the only owner is the group itself, which only works for groups seen as sufficiently cohesive. As such, the act of sharing can be strongly symbolic and is not generally done lightly. A common example of this would be eating a meal outside of a community¹⁾ with other Tel who don't already know each other well. The host gifts each attendee food i.e. what is on your plate. There is no communal dish from which to help yourself, no bottle in the middle of the table. If you wish to have something extra – even salt – you will ask for it from your host, who will (presumably, since they have invited you to dinner) gladly gift it. A right to this resource can never be assumed.

From a young age, Tel learn how to assert their ownership and defer to others'. They learn that if you do not defend what's rightfully yours, you do not defend yourself. That situation should not arise, because you should never overstep the boundaries. This is easy to avoid, because your society helpfully makes boundaries extremely clear. It's all very neat.

To breach this social more is pardonable only by those who really can not be expected to understand: small children, for example, or people with dementia. The population of Redemption Reform Facility notably does not include these demographics.

Most of the information the Elysians possess on Telbau is correct: its phonemes, the naming conventions. The small number of Elysians who speak Telbau is widely held to be shameful on their part, but in the prison it holds a distinct advantage for private exchange between compatriots. The flipside is that its use exposes you to hostility: inmates been known to be beaten up solely for speaking Telbau. Better be discrete.

The crucial thing that Elysians, by and large, don't understand about Tel names is the system of formality. Your parents, your children and your best friends call you by one name, your first syllable, your most intimate: other inmates in Workgroup Delta do not have the right to call you that. They should acknowledge their distance by acknowledging your further names: two or three, depending on whether you have a cordial relationship or have just met. Again, this comes back to ownership. The name is yours, and by presuming to shorten your full name prematurely, they do not respect something owned wholly and uniquely by you.

Following the settlement of LoTyun ('New Prima'²⁾), without taking appropriate auspices or even seeking the opinion of the Tel, it was long hoped that the Elysians would take the hostile messages and fuck off. When it transpired that the Elysians were coming to claim – steal – LoTyun, by that time blasphemously appropriated and terraformed, the media storm was vitriolic. The rest is history.

Of note, the Tel government always denied involvement in the destruction of LoTyun/'New Prima'³⁾ by the unique WMD. The media, the priesthood and NGOs were almost uniformly incensed by the devastation of the planet. Statement after statement was released by the Tel government claiming ignorance and innocence, and asking what their motives would be for blowing up the planet over which hostilities started. Granted, it killed an awful lot of Elysians who had settled there in the intervening decade… and granted, LoTyun was more or less a ruined rock by that point…

Still, there were public figures and commentators in whose eyes the destruction of LoTyun was an act of war by the Elysians. No evidence surfaced on either side. After war was declared and fresh horrors began to pile up, the arguments over the WMD's origin faded into yesterday's news.