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The Land of Eber
Jun. 28th, 2011 04:02 pmEber is a Mediterranean-like land with hot dry summers, cool wet winters and cradles the ocean and has large, natural harbors. Fishing and large plantations of fruit and sheep ranches feed the population along with many exotic imports. While much of the region is devoted to agriculture and cities there is still large swatches of untamed forests avoided due to fear of demons that dwell within.
There are copper and emerald mines dotted here and there but most minerals have to be imported.
It is a relatively small country in terms of size but it's almost total domination of access to the Maris Ocean makes it extremely wealthy and is known as the Nation of Trade. The shining Jewel of Eber is the city of Kapici, where the Lords sit to attend to the nation and the majority of the wealth centered. It is known for a beautiful sculpture of a Hippocampus in the city square.
The technological levels is Middle-Late Renaissance as books are affordable and widespread so all but the poorest class have some level of literacy, but only the wealthy can afford to own books just for pleasure. Wheel-lock firearms are coming into Eber from neighboring Volksheld as the clunky matchlock start to become a tool for the peasant.
Magic is low-key and often use for utility and cosmetic use - all spells regardless of the use requires the caster's blood as a component and only a small percentage of the population have enough "Spark" in their blood. One of the most commonly used spell is to imbue blood into a weapon so it would instantly come into the magician's hand when called. The second is the creation of wards to repel demons.
The Priests of the Old and New Gods can perform much more elaborate, Miraculous magic by borrowing their god's divinity - this will be covered under Deities of Eber.
There are rumors of warlocks who made deals with monsters, able to bind and summon the creatures between the stars and enslave people's minds. This will be covered in Deities of Eber.
The Government system is a form of Meritocratic Oligarchy in theory as the Thirteen Lords wield total power over the entire nation, governing all matters from law to trade to even the allowing or banning of certain religious practices. Each Lord comes from a family who had been elevated to nobility due to a great act they performed or by their talents by the High Lord. The Lord's Circle was once only five in number but increased over time but no new Lord has been appointed in a hundred years and it is suspected that the Circle will only remain at Thirteen.
The High Lord is the remnant of Eber's ruling family - the High Lord has special powers - the ability to recommend a new Lord, the renaming of a Citizen (so that they could wish to abandon an old life for the new), grant Citizenship for outsiders who wish to settle into Eber, and initiate pardons for capital crimes. The High Lord has a once a year absolute Veto power over the Circle's decision but he gets only one a year and thus he must exercise caution of what he wants to overrule.
The penal system is institutionalized slavery for non-capital crimes - where offenders are enslaved for a period of time depending on the severity of their crime and if they had been convicted before.
For first few months of their sentence they are watched over and instructed by appointed Disciplinarians (such as Eleuseus) in how to obey their future masters, how to be good and avoid trouble. Many will find a talent that the slave possesses and coax it mastery to fetch a higher fee and to nudge the slave into more respectable employment once their sentence is over.
(next: The institution and attitude of slavery in Eber)
There are copper and emerald mines dotted here and there but most minerals have to be imported.
It is a relatively small country in terms of size but it's almost total domination of access to the Maris Ocean makes it extremely wealthy and is known as the Nation of Trade. The shining Jewel of Eber is the city of Kapici, where the Lords sit to attend to the nation and the majority of the wealth centered. It is known for a beautiful sculpture of a Hippocampus in the city square.
The technological levels is Middle-Late Renaissance as books are affordable and widespread so all but the poorest class have some level of literacy, but only the wealthy can afford to own books just for pleasure. Wheel-lock firearms are coming into Eber from neighboring Volksheld as the clunky matchlock start to become a tool for the peasant.
Magic is low-key and often use for utility and cosmetic use - all spells regardless of the use requires the caster's blood as a component and only a small percentage of the population have enough "Spark" in their blood. One of the most commonly used spell is to imbue blood into a weapon so it would instantly come into the magician's hand when called. The second is the creation of wards to repel demons.
The Priests of the Old and New Gods can perform much more elaborate, Miraculous magic by borrowing their god's divinity - this will be covered under Deities of Eber.
There are rumors of warlocks who made deals with monsters, able to bind and summon the creatures between the stars and enslave people's minds. This will be covered in Deities of Eber.
The Government system is a form of Meritocratic Oligarchy in theory as the Thirteen Lords wield total power over the entire nation, governing all matters from law to trade to even the allowing or banning of certain religious practices. Each Lord comes from a family who had been elevated to nobility due to a great act they performed or by their talents by the High Lord. The Lord's Circle was once only five in number but increased over time but no new Lord has been appointed in a hundred years and it is suspected that the Circle will only remain at Thirteen.
The High Lord is the remnant of Eber's ruling family - the High Lord has special powers - the ability to recommend a new Lord, the renaming of a Citizen (so that they could wish to abandon an old life for the new), grant Citizenship for outsiders who wish to settle into Eber, and initiate pardons for capital crimes. The High Lord has a once a year absolute Veto power over the Circle's decision but he gets only one a year and thus he must exercise caution of what he wants to overrule.
The penal system is institutionalized slavery for non-capital crimes - where offenders are enslaved for a period of time depending on the severity of their crime and if they had been convicted before.
For first few months of their sentence they are watched over and instructed by appointed Disciplinarians (such as Eleuseus) in how to obey their future masters, how to be good and avoid trouble. Many will find a talent that the slave possesses and coax it mastery to fetch a higher fee and to nudge the slave into more respectable employment once their sentence is over.
(next: The institution and attitude of slavery in Eber)
