Adem

An Adem warrior with only one hand might be more deadly than a common warrior with two, your grace. [...] Despite his deficiency.

– Kvothe to Lerand Alveron

The Adem are a matriarchal communal warrior society that center their lives around the Lethani, a Zen-like concept that encapsulates the perfect decision for the circumstance. They are comfortable with public sexual acts, but live music is viewed as a pornographic taboo.

Communication and language

At first glance, the Adem appear to be emotionless - they speak sparingly, avoid eye contact and maintain a blank facial expression. In truth, however, the Adem utilize a system of hand gestures to communicate various emotions. These gestures can provide subtleties to their complicated spoken language, where a word has multiple meanings (generally 3) depending on cadence and tone. While facial expressions are normally kept to a minimum, it is acceptable when in a family setting, however, public displays are considered to be in bad form.

The Adem do not usually feel the need to refrain from laughing or crying because they believe that basic and primal emotions should not be held in.