On the atoll, the atolhus live in small communities led by councils of elders. The adults are in complete communion emotionally with one another and always know what everyone is feeling. Privacy is an unknown concept among adults, but children are protected and allowed to grow and feel independently. The lagoon within the atoll is usually built over by a lattice of wooden walkways and buildings, under which the atolhus swim or boat or farm fish or other sealife. Property is a mixture of communally shared and small private enterprises used to trade with the outside world, heavily controlled by the elder councils.

Children are cared for by small extended families, taught by community schools, and follow the occupations of their families (usually a small selection in the extended family). By age 25, they are considered adults, and they are welcomed into the emotional hive of the community. They go through a special rite where they are baptised in the lagoon beneath a special temple called a pu'uwai. Once an atolhu reaches 400 years old, they are usually offered a place on a council. Some refuse, but most take their place.

The commonest roles in every community are fisher, gatherer, heartsoother, builder, shipwright, healer, navigator, sailor, and caretaker. There are no warriors in a normal atolhu community; instead, threats are met by communal emotional overwhelming. However, this does not mean that atolhu do not know how to defend themselves physically, as many, especially fishers, sailors, and gatherers, meet beasts that are a threat to them or face those who are hostile outside the main community. Those who are gifted at crafting liquid emotion (which they call lama) are well respected members of the community who provide for festivals and feasts.

Atolhu communities trade with other nearby maritime communities, using their empathic powers to protect their interests and make fair bargains. Serious crimes are dealt with by banishment. The perpetrator is given a small but stable raft, ten days of food (if possible) and clean water, and severed from the communal emotional hive.

Every community's pu'uwai is the center of their community. The head of the pu'uwai is the ha'i 'olelo, who speaks for the community with their god, the Burning Heart of the Sea, a volcano god (gender neutral) who knows what the world is feeling. They build islands, erupt when the world is angry, and protect the atolhu. The ha'i 'olelo communes with the volcano god, the atoll, the sea, and the world (a mix of priest and druid).

The communities have their own historical festivals celebrating different parts of their past, but they also have several celebrations that are nationwide: the Remembrance of Riant (the fifth day of the eleventh month), the Seafarer's Day (the first full moon of the ninth month), and the Day of Communion, when the whole community communes with the Burning Heart of the Sea (the last day of the third month).