Depending on final word count, this might make it into the worldbook. Dunno yet.
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Huddle Culture
There was more of one than you’d think. The Dominion had expectations on behavior, and an inflexible attitude on acceptable deviations from it by their slaves. The Dominion also saw no particular reason why superfluous servants could not be thrown back into the nearest huddle whenever it was convenient. Mindwiping was theoretically both common, and effective. In practice, it was generally the latter, but not the former. The Universal Dominion had, and still somehow has, a fundamental problem with taking non-mages seriously.
As a result, there are commonalities. For example, most huddles speak the Dominion’s version of English, and typically have at least one person who can even read it. This is tolerated because even the Dominion finds it easier to send a written message via magic than, horror of horrors, visit a huddle on those rare occasions when it’s necessary. Basic math is somewhat more common, because it’s useful for keeping track of what little surplus resources huddles acquire. There is always somebody in nominal charge, who is usually not one of the readers. Their official title is ‘Scapegoat,’ which gives an idea as to why.
A decidedly not tolerated cultural trait in huddles is their underground faith. Huddles largely follow a monotheistic faith. The Alliance’s research theologians think it was originally derived from Islam, but centuries of repression have stripped it down considerably. All that seems to have survived is their name for God – ‘Lah’ – a recognizable version of the Golden Rule, and a general avoidance of meat as being ‘unclean.’ Huddlers do not avoid alcohol, but they never drink recreationally. Alcohol is a medication and a painkiller, and is thus used to treat both physical and psychological ailments. Huddlers are also extremely aware of the limitations of such treatments, but they typically don’t have anything else to work with.