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Imperial Thrilltor rules over four kindgoms and the frontier lands up to the Grey river. The humans as diverse as the tribes which spawned them. Thrilltor: The seat of the Imperor, Thrilltor is the center for learning and culture within the Empire. The capital city named for the ancient tribe is rivaled only by Elliel in beauty and size. Amour is becoming limited to the military and nobility as advancements in culture and technology make it's use unecessary amongst the common men. The saber or rapier is the weapon of choice amongst men of learning. Thrilltorian society is ruled by blood. Those of 'TrueBlood' are afforded full rights of citizenship, including the right to bear arms, the right to own land, the right to own slaves and the right state their opinion in the onclave. Those of 'SomeBlood' have the right to bear arms, and the right to own slaves and land, but aren't allowed to participate in the onclave. 'NoBlood' of sufficient status are allowed to purchase the right to bear arms, and have slaves, but cannot own land and are not allowed in the onclave. Those without status are afforded none of these rights. The Onclave of Thrilltor is designed to counsel the Emperour. Once a month, the onclave meets in the Throneroom of the Imperial Palace. The Emperour presides over cases of Imperial interest. Speakers for both sides of an issue present their case to the assebled TrueBloods. Then, votes are cast by means of a marble, black or white, depending upon the siding of the voter, placed within a box. The marbles are counted as the next issue is presented. The Emperour takes this information as the will of the people, and although he is able to override this, he generally acts upon this will. The city walls of Thrilltor, as well as many of the older buildings, including the palace, are of Dwarven craftmanship. The city itself is strictly divided amongst the various city 'Blood'. Truebloods live in the luxurious center section of town, surrounding the Palace. This section contains high temples and cathedrals, built with Dwarven hands. Extravagant manors with gardens and lawns dominate this area. The second layer of the city is the domain of the Somebloods. Many find that their status between the Aristocracy and the Craftmans' class is very conducive to mercantile events. They are disdained by the Truebloods because of their plebian interests, and by the Nobloods because of their ties to the Aristocracy. Nobloods of status are allowed to live within this area as well, including visiting foriegn dignitaries. The Nobloods surround the others, both on the inside and the outside of the city walls. They are craftsmen, farmers, mendicant Priests and monks, among others. They have few rights. They are looked down upon by both the upper classes, but are quite willing to ignore their presence anyway. They remember that Thrilltor rose to power on the backs of an unknown son of an uknown tribe. Kesh: The negro tribes of the west have remained loyal to thier ancestrial ways. Thier society is ruled by an intricate system of family clans. At each seasonal equinox, a small band of warriors from each clan meet, and from this group, a family is elected protectorate of the people. This family enjoys special status until the next Holy day, when another is elected. The Kesh have no written language, and Storytellers are considered sacred Holy men. Keshite is the primary language and only scholars and Storytellers speak Thrilltorian. Trading is the primary means of aquiring what you need. Thrilltorian money is accepted, but only in the majour cities. The Thrilltorian plains continue through this area until they rise sharply into the foothills of the Taliensen mountains. Algaria: Occupying the craggy land to the north of the Mod, the Algarians have always been loyal subjects of the Thrilltorian. The nobility are often well educated, and rule honestly and for the good of the poeple. To their credit, the peasentry are better off than one would expect. Each man is considered a free man, working for his Landlord. His Landlord in turn works for an Earl who reports to the Algarian King. Each landholder feels obligated to defend his Landlord's holdings from invasion, and while there is no standing army, a well amred militia can be raised at a moments notice. Cynthia: Currantly occupied by the Cynthian rebellion. Spawned in Ghelton, the rebellion overwhelmed the token Thrilltorian garrisons from Ghelton to MacMillan and by the tyme the Empire had realised what was happening, the Cynthians were firmly entrenched. Cynthian nobles carry rapiers and sabers. They seek the total destruction of the Thrilltorian Empire. They rule with an iron fist and those who do not comply are found floating in the river the next morning. The Cynthians gear a great deal of money and resources into war research, including the genetic and magickal manipulation of organisms into living weapons. The nobility of Old Cynthia speak Thrilltorian, but the commoners all speak a language called Ballic. Rover's Den is a small port city on the Mod. Well within Cynthian territory, Rover's Den still remains more or less and independent port. Even before Cynthian occupation, Rover's Den was a smuggling haven. It was ruled by Maxmillion Creed, a cruel and twisted individual who delighted devising new ways to fufill his sadistic phantisies. It remained in Creed's power, up untill several years ago, when a small party of warriors broke free from Creed's control and slew him. Chaos erupted as rival factions struggled for dominance. No one, however was strong enough to take control, and a state of anarchy persisted. Rover's Den once again became a haven for those of shady character. This didn't change once the Cynthians moved in. The local populace ignored the Cynthian claim to rulership. When the Cynthians tried to enforce that rulership they found the locals had teeth ... sharp teeth! The relatively small garrison of troops stationed there remain only to protect the Cynthian provencial lord, Seth Hammer. The Frontier: The frontier is the mass of land streching from the Silver River to the Grey River. Thrilltorian by name only, the inhabitants of this land are mostly autonimous. This area is known for it's egalitarian views toward race and creed. All the races of the realms can be found here, often within the same small farming town, or fishing village. The main language spoken here is Thrilltorian, but you will find individuals speaking everything else, from Ballic, to Bugbear. The independence of these lands has grown a strong individualist streak through it's people, and many are wary of strangers; prefering to live alone, or with those they have known for years. The law in this area is the law of the sword. Each town is likely to have it's own constobule and/or militia, but these individual peacekeepers answer only to the town councils. Great tracks of wilderness separate towns from each other, and travel is often limited to one or two sister villages no more than a day or two away. Creatures of all kind wander the areas between town, and settlements often have walls with gates that close by night. Platiglio, on the Mod, is the largest settlement in the frontier and one of the grandest cities in all of the Empire. Renown throughout the realms for it's library, it has become a center of learning and culture. Being a majour port city, it has become a center of commerce. Being a free city, it has become a haven for smugglers, theives and pirates. These three cultures clash and meld within the city walls. The Elves of Elliel She rules over the elves as head of a paliment of the leading Merchant houses and Guild/Colleges. Each house is vying for poower and only her wisdom and magick stand between her and an assassin's blade at any given moment. Her decisions are final, but she allows parliament a great amount of leeway. Various secret and open alliances between the houses make for a delicate balance of power. The pariment is 'elected' but only the most rich and powerful can afford to 'buy' their way in and only the highly educated can vote. This tends to ensure that the same people remain in parlament perpetually. Elves value three things: Intelligence, Power, and Money. They are disdainful of ignorance and even the poorest of peasants in the field have had remedial education. They hate brute force, preferring flashier 'stylistic' efforts. This leads them to perfer fencing and martial arts to brawling and hacking. This is a tie between them and the Halflings to the south, and many merchants send their sons and daughters to study with Halfling sword masters. They have developed elaborate fencing styles and the gentlemen's choice of weapon is the rapier or sabre. Elven noblemen do not wear armour, but put their trust in their skill, often fighting with two weapons, a main-gauche or dagger in the off hand to parry. Additionally, the Elves have developed elaborate martial arts styles, designed to use style and finesse to beat their opponet unarmed. They have very elaborate theories of aesthetics that are reflected in their special building designs and artwork. Sleek, angular and geometric, their buildings and art reflect the order they see around them. They prefer loose, colourful silken shirts and trousers to tight fitting jerkins and pants. Their foods are often prepared as much for their colour and texture as for their taste. Elven religion often seems to outsiderst to be atheism. The highly examined theology puts it far beyond the reach of less intellectually inclined peoples. Great philosophers have arisen from the schools and universities at Andor. They see the divine as the manifest in the particular. Each Elf therefore has an obligation to make the most of his or her life. In approximating perfection, they manifest that divinity in their own lives, thus becomeing divine. The quest for power often dominates Elven lives. From small village councils to the titanic Merchant houses, Elves often try to elevate themselves above others, and doing it at the wexpense of others is seen as an acceptable method of accomplishing this goal. However this is done via intrigue and well laid plans as assassination is viewed as bad form. It is a challenge of wit to scheme someone out of positioin a, any dolt can hide in the shadows with a poison knife. Still, elves have been known to fall from an assassin's dart when all attempts otherwise have failed. Magick is also highly valued, as another form of power. The Magus College in Emalion is a powerful force in Elven politics and many Merchant houses are led by Magus. Many elves have studied magick to some degree, although only a few of them every attain any great degree of mastery. Money is the third factor that dominates Elven life, because it is a way for any intelligent elf to gain power. The free market system allows for anyone to try and market whatever they can come up with -- with one exception. Magick in any shape or form cannot be sold. The Magus College moved quickly to secure it's monopoly and only they have the right to give out magick, magick items, etc in return for 'favors'. Still, the bazaar in Andor is a remarkable sight, and just aboutanything a person could want from the ordinary to the truly bizzare is on sale. The elves welcome anyone to market, no matter where it comes from, money spends. Market is the one place where elven prejudices and biases are set aside. Due to the massive influence of the elven Merchant houses, the weights of coin throughout the realms have been standerdized. A Thrilltorian gold piece is equal in value to an Orcian gold piece. The Royal Army is made up of ranks of foot soldiers in chain and wielding pikes and longswords, longbownman, cavalry and ranks of minour mages. Elves are generally distrustful of the 'brutish dwarves and humans. They respec halflings as warriors, but that respect doesn't extend much beyond that. They hate their treacherous Sylvan Cousins, and have nothing but disdain for the ignorant brutish Orcs. Elven society is suprisingly eqalitarian and women are afforded every opportunity that men are. The capitol city of Elliel was created specifically to be the gem of the Elven kingdom. The original plans of the city were a walled square with the palace in the center. As the population grew, it quickly outdistanced the walls, a second wall, in the shape of a diamond inscribing the first wall was built. Soon, these walls too, were outground. To the south east the Aristocracy expanded, building a third wall around their private Elliel. To the Northwest, a fourth set of walls were built to encircle both the merchantile class, and the University. Although Elliel was to be the gem of the Elven kingdom, Andor with it's bizaare has stolen the crown. Built around the great marketplace in the center of town, Andor spreads away in tendrals of merchant houses. Each family sponsoring a ray of merchants and craftsmen spreading away from the marketplace. Each ray of town is unofficially 'ruled' by the merchant house sponsoring it. However, all pretense of territorialism is lost in the marketplace. The old city of Emalion remains stately and serene, built in the foothills of the Taliensen mountains. Still populated by "Old Family" Emalion, is much quieter and slow than either of her sister cities. Built on the hills, the city itself is a series of terraces, each with a wall and gate. Normally the gates are open and are gathering places, sporting small bars that fill in the afternoon with elderly elves seeking community and companionship. The Members of the Elven Paliament:
The real governing comes from Joruri, in the Honshu province, home of the Shogun, Inoshishi Neki. The Shogun rules through military might. Originally devised as protectorate of the Hills, the Shogun took command of the government in stead of the Emperour. In order to keep control, the Shogun institued serveral policies. First, the family of each warrior lord spends half of the year in the palace of the Shogun. This makes for a treacherous court, put deters Samurai from laying siege to the Shogun's Palace. Additionally, the Shogun established the Order of the White Dragon. Construed of Psionicists whose primary job is to search throughout the realm for treachery or heresy. Also, the Shogun retains the right to sieze and distribute land as he sees fit. With these controls in place, the Shogun rules over the Halflings with an Iron hand. Halfing society has three classes. The warrior aritocracy, the peasents, and the merchants, in that order. In reality, the merchants have the money and the aristocracy often finds itself indebted to them. The peasents exist solely for the Shogunate to tax, often taking as much as 40%. Three quarters of all halflings are naturally psionic, having either wild talents or are trained psionicists. Monastaries exist throughout the land, where halfling men try to better themselves through self understanding. They strive to separate themselves from the rest of the world in order to concentrate on enlightenment. Other psionicists exist, for less noble purposes. The Order of the White Dragon serves the Shogunate, seeking out treason, outsiders, or wild psionicists with powers that could be dangerous to the Shogun. The Clawed Tiger Shinobi sect is a splinter group of the nijitsu clan, Black Tiger, which seeks to utilize psionics as well as stealth and cunning to fulfill the taskings of those with enough money to buy a death.. The Whooping Crane sect of monks seeks enlightenment in the domination of both mind and body. They combine martail arts training as well as psionic devotions. They see all of life as a balance of both creation and destruction. The Shogunate is very territorial. Noone is allowed to enter the hills unescorted. Regular patrols wander the hills looking for outsiders and those found are given two choices, leave, or sleep the sleep of the hereafter. The Elves to the north have trade relations with some Samurai, but those relations are strictly regulated by the Shogunate. The Halfling swordsmen are some of the most renown in the world. Warriors from any of the realms would pay years of servitude to study under a Halfling Master. Various family styles of combat have risen, passed down from father to son to grandson. |