Here are a few details about the world of the Merle Chronicles (and other stories that may be written in the future). They are in no particular order.
Here are a few details about the world of the Merle Chronicles (and other stories that may be written in the future). They are in no particular order.
April 8, 2007 at 8:37 am |
RELIGIONS OF ARNSMUL
Human gods:
(Western kingdom’s main religion)
Ido – Father/Mother of the Gods, Creator of the Universe
Eronn – God of Humankind, governing love, compassion, order and peace
Yxith – God of Humankind, governing anger, passion, chaos and war
Ido is worshipped by some “humanized” hobs, orcs and elves.
Eronn & Yxith are not worshipped by non-humans.
Many people embrace the idea that Eronn embodies good and Yxith embodies evil.
In a broader sense, the two gods represent the balance of forces in human nature.
Hobs:
Hob gods are based on the family. The major gods are the parental figures, the Mothers and the Fathers.
Archaic hob names ended in “-all” for males and “-ell” for females. This is no longer the practice.
Jullavall/Jullavell is a hermaphroditic god, as the task of instruction is neither inherently masculine nor inherently feminine.
The name used depends on the speaker and the context of its usage.
The gods are embodied in constellations of stars.
Gallerall the Disciplinarian
Jallabell the Provider
Allewall the Protector
Jullavall/Jullavell the Instructor
Kollabell the Nurturer
Orcs:
Gudakh is not a god, but he is sometimes worshipped and praised in a religious fashion.
The Axioms of Gudakh is considered by some scholars to be a holy text.
Orcs have gods for every aspect of nature.
They do not dare to name the gods for fear of earning their wrath.
When an orc wishes to appeal to a god, he will instead name that particular god’s works.
e.g. “O Pahk u’shoh, Pahk u’dira, Ude’i u’ghus, u’mi zehe!”
(O Father of the winds, Father of the waves, Mover of the clouds, hear me/listen to me!)
All orc gods are male, except for the goddess of the menstrual cycle and childbirth.
The sun is believed to be the physical body of the god of fire, heat, light, spring and summer.
The moon is believed to be the physical body of the god of ice, cold, darkness, fall and winter.
The stars are believed to be the eyes of all the gods.
Elves:
Very little is known of the religious beliefs/practices of the elves, save that they revere the sun, moon and stars.
No one outside of elven society knows what they represent to the elves.
April 8, 2007 at 8:39 am |
THE AXIOMS OF GUDAKH
1. The Five Axioms of Battle
i) Victory in battle is glory, and glory is a building block of honor.
Defeat in battle is disgrace, and disgrace destroys honor.
ii) There is but one law in battle, and that is to defeat the enemy.
He who meets defeat should never meet it alive, for he has broken the single law of battle, and has no honor.
There is no such thing as a tie or a draw, there is only victory or defeat.
Should neither side be able to claim victory, then both sides must claim defeat.
iii) There is no such thing as a “fair fight” or an “unfair fight.”
In battle, there is only victory and defeat, preparedness and unpreparedness.
He who enters a fight unprepared deserves defeat and the disgrace that follows.
iv) The victor is entitled to the properties of the defeated.
The victor claims the former honor of the defeated as his own, as well as his home and his family.
Should the family of the defeated find the victor to be dishonorable, the only recourse is for the family to forfeit their lives and die with honor.
v) Honor is symbolized by the trophies of the kill.
All who see them will know the honor of the victor, the glory of the battle and the shame of the defeated.
2. The Five Axioms of Honor
i) A man without honor is nothing.
It is better to die honorably than to live without honor.
Should a man lose all of his honor, he is an Outcast.
ii) A man’s honor is tied to his property and his ability to provide for his family and his tribe.
A man’s property is anything he can reasonably defend and claim as his own.
A man’s wives and daughters are considered to be his property.
Should a man lose property, by theft or disaster or war, he has failed to defend it and has lost honor.
Should a man lose all of his property, by theft or disaster or war, he has failed to defend it and has lost all honor.
A man’s properties are forfeitted him and his family should he lose all honor by means other than total theft or destruction.
Should the man regain his honor by dying honorably, his properties will be returned to his sons if any still live to claim it.
Should a man fail once to provide for his family or his tribe, he has lost half of his honor.
Should a man fail twice to provide for his family or his tribe, he has lost all of his honor and is named an Outcast.
iii) A man without honor cannot disgrace himself, for he has already lost everything.
He can only redeem himself and his family by choosing to die honorably.
Should a man be unable to redeem his own honor because he has died in a dishonorable manner, his eldest son may elect to die in his stead.
Should the eldest son die honorably and redeem his father’s name, honor is restored to the family.
iv) Small losses of honor can be redeemed by great glory and great success in battle or in the hunt.
Great losses of honor can be redeemed only by honorable death.
v) The patrician’s honor is carried by the sons, whether great or small.
A family’s honor is only as great as its patrician.
Should the patrician lose a part of his honor, his sons also bear the weight of his shame.
Should the patrician lose his honor entirely, the family shall be shunned and their name cursed by the tribe until the family’s honor is redeemed by the sons.
Should the patrician die honorably, his honor is transferred to the eldest son.
Should the patrician have no sons, his honor is transferred to the husband of his eldest daughter.
Should a man have no children, his honor is transferred to his primary wife, and to the man that takes her as a wife afterward.
Should a man have no wives, his honor dies with him.
3. The Five Axioms of Family
i) The patrician is the Absolute Authority of the family.
The eldest son is the Second Authority of the family when he reaches full tribal status.
The younger sons are the Third Authority of the family when they reach full tribal status, their rank dictated by the order of their births.
The primary wife is the Fourth Authority of the family.
The sons shall retain their positions of authority until such time as they marry and begin their own family.
When there are no sons, the primary wife is the Second Authority until such time as a son is born.
ii) The patrician is to the family as a farmer is to his stead.
The farmer who plants the seed but tends not the sprouts deserves only starvation and knows nothing of honor.
The farmer who makes no effort to fend off the wolves deserves no sheep.
The farmer who works the soil and tends his animals and crops with vigilance and care shall reap rewards greater than even the sum of his efforts.
iii) The patrician shall take as many wives as is his pleasure, but the first wife he chooses is the primary wife.
The patrician shall remain faithful to his wives, and the wives shall remain faithful to the husband.
Should the husband commit an infidelity, he shall be punished by the tribe, according to tribal custom, and shall lose honor.
Should any wife commit an infidelity, she shall be killed to satisfy the lost honor of the husband.
Should the primary wife die, the patrician shall immediately name a new primary wife of his current secondary wives.
Should the primary wife die and there are no secondary wives from which the husband may name a successor, he shall take a new woman as his primary wife.
iv) When a boy is born, he will receive the blessings of the tribe and be marked on the belly and the back.
When the boy survives his first hunt or his first battle, he shall receive the honors of the tribe and be marked on the arms and the legs.
When a man has achieved full tribal status, he will be marked on the face and head.
He will then heed the counsel of his father and select a primary wife.
When a man has married, he will be marked on the hands and feet.
A man so marked shall have the blessings of the tribe to start his own family.
v) The sanctity and prosperity of the family is the primary concern of the wives and daughters.
The sanctity and prosperity of the family is the seconday concern of the patrician and the sons, after the sanctity and prosperity of the tribe.
4. The Five Axioms of Tribe
i) The tribe is the chief concern of all men, above all things.
Those who cannot actively defend the tribe against its enemies shall support it by feeding, clothing, mending and otherwise supplying and aiding those who can.
Those who are too weak to support the tribe are permitted to forfeit their lives and die honorably.
ii) The Elder Chief is the Absolute Authority of the tribe.
The Elder Council is the Second Authority of the tribe.
The Warrior Chief is the Third Authority of the tribe.
The Warrior Captains are the Fourth Authority of the tribe.
The Warriors are the Fifth Authority of the tribe.
The Hunters are the Sixth Authority of the tribe.
The Craftsmen are the Seventh Authority of the tribe.
The Farmers are the Eighth Authority of the tribe.
The Eldest Sons are the Ninth Authority of the tribe.
The Lesser Sons are the Tenth Authority of the tribe.
The Primary Wives are the Eleventh Authority of the tribe.
The Lesser Wives are the Twelfth Authority of the tribe.
April 8, 2007 at 8:42 am |
AXIOMS (cont’d)
4. The Five Axioms of Tribe
i) The tribe is the chief concern of all men, above all things.
Those who cannot actively defend the tribe against its enemies shall support it by feeding, clothing, mending and otherwise supplying and aiding those who can.
Those who are too weak to support the tribe are permitted to forfeit their lives and die honorably.
ii) The Elder Chief is the Absolute Authority of the tribe.
The Elder Council is the Second Authority of the tribe.
The Warrior Chief is the Third Authority of the tribe.
The Warrior Captains are the Fourth Authority of the tribe.
The Warriors are the Fifth Authority of the tribe.
The Hunters are the Sixth Authority of the tribe.
The Craftsmen are the Seventh Authority of the tribe.
The Farmers are the Eighth Authority of the tribe.
The Eldest Sons are the Ninth Authority of the tribe.
The Lesser Sons are the Tenth Authority of the tribe.
The Primary Wives are the Eleventh Authority of the tribe.
The Lesser Wives are the Twelfth Authority of the tribe.
The Daughters are the Thirteenth Authority of the tribe.
The Infirm are the Fourteenth Authority of the tribe.
The Slaves are the Fifteenth Authority of the tribe.
The Prisoners are the Sixteenth Authority of the tribe.
The Livestock is the Seventeenth Authority of the tribe.
The Outcasts must answer to all other levels of authority.
The Shaman lives outside of the authority structure and is not subject to the heirarchy, though they may still command Outcasts.
iii) The Elder Chief may be contested for Absolute Authority at any time, by any full-status man of Tenth Authority or higher.
The Elder Chief must accept any valid challenge to his authority and defend his position.
Should the Elder Chief claim victory over his challenger, he has claim to all properties of the defeated.
Should the Elder Chief be defeated by his challenger, the challenger shall be recognized as the new Elder Chief, and shall have claim to all properties of the defeated.
Should the Elder Chief lose all honor and become Outcast, his position is forfeit and may be claimed by any worthy of his title.
In the event that the position of Elder Chief is contested, and no Elder Chief exists to defend it, the title shall be granted to the man who can prove himself most worthy in battle.
The Elder Chief can contest the position of any tribe member at any time and strip them of their rank and property.
The Elder Chief shall appoint the lesser offices at his discretion, as counselled by the Elder Council, and according to the custom of his tribe.
The Elder Chief must uphold and exemplify all tribal law and tradition.
The Elder Chief must heed the advice of the Elder Council and the Shaman, though he must decide himself if such advice is in the better interest of the tribe.
iv) The tribe must endeavor to hold its lands and its properties against its enemies.
The tribe must deal with any known threat to its existence in a decisive and timely manner, as counselled by the Elder Chief.
The tribe must not take more animals or other food from its lands than the lands can reasonably maintain and replenish for ten years to come.
Should the tribe expand beyond the land’s capability to support it, the tribe must proportionately expand its territory.
The Hunter who kills without discretion is an enemy of the tribe.
The Farmer who deadens the soil so that nothing will grow is an enemy of the tribe.
The Farmer who does not destroy diseased livestock in a timely fashion, before it spreads to other animals and makes them unfit for consumption or use, is an enemy of the tribe.
The Hunter who allows wild beasts to kill livestock is an enemy of the tribe.
v) Those who oppose the tribe are enemies, and shall be afforded no mercy.
Those who would steal from the tribe are enemies, and shall be afforded no mercy.
Those who would poison the tribe are enemies, and shall be afforded no mercy.
Those who would threaten the safety and sanctity of the tribe are enemies, and shall be afforded no mercy.
April 8, 2007 at 9:20 am |
REGIONS OF ARNSMUL
Arnsmul is the name of the continent on which the story takes place. It is divided among 3 separate, distinct human kingdoms, 1 elven nation and a large, unclaimed region roughly in the center.
Human Kingdoms:
1. Weyre, the westernmost kingdom and the largest by far. It is ruled by an hereditary king, and it takes two months to travel by horse from the eastern borders all the way to the west coast. Its population is rather sparse and spread out, though some of the cities are quite large. It is a prosperous nation and covers a wide variety of terrains and ecosystems, from the mountainous, frigid north to the warm, tropical south, and from the coastal west to the rolling plains in the east. Its eastern border is defined by a line of fort towns. These regions are habitually raided by the more aggressive orc tribes and goblin hordes. There are numerous hob homesteads scattered throughout Weyre, more heavily concentrated around the eastern plains. The hobs do not swear fealty to the human king, but they do attempt to abide by human laws when they do not contradict their own traditions.
2. Arwei, the southernmost kingdom, is a long and narrow region running along the southern coast. It is a trade route between Weyre and the elven nation of Edann in the far east. Its northern border is defined by the edge of the Black Hills, and this border is in a constant state of flux as it is contested with the orc tribes. Arwei is rather infamous for its massive shipping ports along the coast, as the kingdom is notoriously lenient in dealing with pirates.
3. Norric, the northernmost kingdom, is defined by the Norrician Mountain Range in the south, which separates it from the Black Hills Region and from Weyre. The plains and rugged steppes that lie north of these mountains, reaching all the way to the North Sea, are as unforgivingly rugged as the Norrician people. Norricians have a reputation among the other nations for being stubborn and harsh, though they consider themselves cultured and orderly. They have a very large, strong and disciplined military, which is important when a nation shares a border with brutal and organized orc tribes.
The Elven Nation of Edann
Little is known about this nation. It is heavily forested over most of its area, save for a few human-like cities in the south. The elves who live outside of the cities do not welcome foreign visitors and actively discourage exploration. The few cities in the south are the main centers of trade with Arwei and Weyre. They share a border with the Black Hills, but the orcs typically refuse to enter elven forests out of a deeply-ingrained sense of superstitious dread. Neither side contests this border, and there is an uneasy truce between Edann and the Black Hills. The elves do very little trading with Norric, and what little they do is by sea as the two nations are separated by a great bay. Little is known about elven culture beyond the trade cities, though the cities themselves are wondrous to behold.
The Black Hills
This very large region lies at the heart of Arnsmul. Parts of it are rugged and barren, largely uninhabitable by any except the hardiest orc tribes and the opportunistic goblin hordes. Other regions are lightly forested, and much of the center is dominated by a vast and pleasant savannah with rolling hills and valleys. Some call this area the ancestral home of the hobs. Indeed, a great many hom homesteads exist here. There are no towns or cities of any kind; only groupings of family farms and sprawling settlements too sparse to be called proper villages. Hob homesteads are the same everywhere, but they are more numerous here. The hobs live in a longstanding, easy truce with the orc tribes in the regions that they share, even trading with them from time to time. The Black Hills has no centralized government of any kind; each settlement is independently ruled, be it by orcish tribal law or hobbish family custom.