From: tuff@ellis.uchicago.edu (Geoff Tuffli)
Subject: ARTICLE: Petrocea Empire (islandic culture)
Reply-To: tuff@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 23:38:11 GMT

Rostar/Belgarion      dwb@krypton.mankato.msus.edu	[ P E T R O C E A ]

	The Islandic Empire, known to its indigenous folk as Petrocea(can be
interpreted 2 ways: 'Star of the Sea', or 'Stars in the Sea'), is a
collection of 13 islands strewn across the Kerst Ocean, which lies to
the North and East of the Ohs Empire. It was formed several thousand 
years ago in a pact between 5 kings. Over time, so much intermarriage took
place between the kings' households that, genetically speaking, each king's
family was indistinguishable from the next. It was at this point that the
alliance between the islands evolved into an empire.
	This empire was composed of the Emperor and 12 duchies (13, actually...
the Emperor himself was considered a duke). Each duchy's jurisdiction
is over its island and the waters immediately surrounding it. Eventually,
2 of the duchies became powerful enough that each of them was considered a 
kingdom in its own right. As things stand now in Petrocea, here is a list
of the most powerful people and groups:

1)	The Emperor
2)	2 Kings. The King of Shantos rules over 5 islands, while the King
	of Jadet rules over 8. They seldom agree with each other(or with the
	Emperor, for that matter) on any major issues.
3) 	13 Dukes/Duchesses(including the Emperor). For some reason not
	understood, the Emperor retains his status as a duke, but the kings do
	not. Interestingly enough, this means the Emperor is subject to the
	authority of the King of Shantos in matters involving his own duchy.
4)	The Assembly of Magi. This is the current Emperor's most trusted
	group of advisors. As such, they are extremely powerful throughout
	Petrocea.
5)	Congress of the Admiralty. This group plays an important role by 
	necessity. The geography(oceanography? *grin*) of Petrocea makes the
	navy, and thus the Congress, crucial to the Empire's survival.
6)	Senate of Merchants. Due to the massive economic strength of Petrocea,
	this group is of major importance. They are often at odds with the 
	duchies over taxes and such, and are almost constantly competing with
	them for the favor of the Emperor.

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             	      	 ALLIANCES AND CONFLICTS

	Many of these 6 divisions have strong ties and conflicts with the other
divisions. For instance, the Congress of Magi is made up of 3 groups: Wizards,
Conjurers, and Warlocks. Wizards are often found in the company of a King,
Duke, or even the Emperor. Conjurers often sell their services, and thereby
maintain close ties with the merchants. The Warlocks perfect their magical
skills dealing with the "Arts" of war. Because of this, they are allied
with the Admiralty. Obviously, magic has seeped into just about every facet
of life in Petrocea. Magi are assumed to be the allies of everyone, and
therefore have few real enemies within the Empire.
	The Emperor's duchy lies under jurisdiction of the King of Shantos.
Some extremely interesting political situations hae arisen because of this king
and the Emperor occasionally being at odds with one another. Several times,
the Emperor has ordered the execution of the king, or the king has ordered
the execution of the duke(Emperor). These occasions are rare. The most 
notable instance of this happening was six hundred years ago. The King of
Shantos and the Emperor ordered _each others'_ executions. The Emperor
had no surviving family, and after a short battle the King of Jadet 
ascended to the Imperial Throne. His first act as Emperor was an Imperial
Decree that the ruler of the Imperial Duchy could NOT be executed. This
Emperor's family(the Tirsani) has been ruling ever since, and is still quite
powerful and popular throughout the Empire. For a time the family retained
control of its original duchy(as well as that of the deceased Emperor), but
eventually it passed on to the cousin of another duke. In this way, the
Imperial Duchy remained the same duchy it always had been.

	In a previous listing, I listed six of the most powerful groups in the
Empire. That listing, however, was not accurate as far as distribution of power
is concerned. Below is a more accurate picture:

1)	Emperor and Empress rule jointly, by decree.
2)	Kings and Dukes have no direct effect on Imperial Policy. They are
	autonomous within their own realms, however, and often use political
	pressures on other groups who have gained favor with the Imperial
	Family.
3)	Assembly of Magi holds considerable power, along with the trust of the
	Emperor(and that of nearly the entire populace).
4)	Congress of the Admiralty is strongly liked by the Emperor(he was at
	one time a Warlock, and therefore is used to working closely with the 
	Admiralty).
5)	Senate of Merchants, while not on the best of terms with the Emperor,
	is extremely powerful simply because of its wealth(and its tendency
	to 'share' that wealth).

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                      		MAGIC IN PETROCEA

	Magic in the Islandic Empire is _strictly_ under jurisdiction of
the Assembly of Magi. Anyone caught practicing magic without the prior
knowledge and approval of the Assembly faces dire consequences. Magic is
practiced as follows:

1)	Conjuration: Practiced by Conjurers/Conjuresses(Falisti). This is
	'day-to-day' magic, such as enhancing food growth, minor weather
	control, and healing.
	This group often hires out to the general populace to permorm tasks
	that might be difficult or take a long time if done through mundane
	means.
2)	Wizardry: Practiced by Wizards/Wizardesses(Paristi).  Wizards are often
	found as companions of the rich and powerful. They dn't get paid in
	gold, as do the Conjurers. Rather, they get room and board for their
	work, and use what free time they manage to get to gather knowledge and
	practice their craft.
3)	Wytchcraft: Practiced by Warlocks/Witches(Moristi). This form of magic
	deals with the 'Arts' of making war. Due to his natural talents and 
	abilities, the current Emperor was once a Warlock. This sometimes shows
	in his policies, which spawned the phrase, 'Once a Warlock, always a 
	Warlock.' The Warlocks are granted room, board, etc. by the government,
	much as if they were part of the military. Almost all of their time is
	spent on bettering their skills. It should be noted that of all the
	Magi, the Warlocks are fewest in number.

	Above is the _basic_ organization of magic in Petrocea. It should be
noted that very few powers are limited to one type of magic -- most just 
manifest themselves in different ways for each order. I won't go into more
detail in magic here, but I hereby volunteer to come up with a practical,
workable magic system for the MUSH.

****I'm still working on magic for Petrocea(as well as the MUSH as a whole).
    Hopefully, in a couple days, I'll have a more detailed info on how
    the magic system will work :)

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           		           ECONOMY OF PETROCEA

	Economically, the islands/duchies of the Empire are extremely dependent
upon one another. The loss of even one or two of these islands would probably
send Petrocea into a devastating depression. I've come up with names for the
duchies, but not yet with geography or other specifics, so the following
table of who produces what is quite general.

1)	3 major agricultural islands.
2)	One island provides freshwater fish and seafood.
3)	4 islands are major suppliers of wood(for ships, houses, etc.).
4)	2 islands produce major amounts of livestock, while 3 others contribute
	lesser amounts(although generally better quality).
5)	One island's inhabitants are strongly prone to magic(30% of the
	Empire's Magi are born here).
6)	2 Islands combined turn out 40-some percent of the Empire's 'mundane'
	workforce.

	This interdependence among islands serves to hold the empire together
more effectively than nearly all other factors. The various political
factions
of Petrocea all know that every duchy is crucial to the survival of all the 
others. There are only 2 islands which could support a population if
independent of the other duchies. Incidentally, these 2 islands were the
_last_ to be inhabited by humans, discovered only 200 years before the 
formation of the Empire.

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                     		 CULTURE OF PETROCEA

	The culture of Petrocea is quite varied. Many islands have traditions,
customs, and holidays of their own, which are celebrated on none of the other
islands. On a broader level, each kingdom also has its own customs, traditions,
and holidays. And still to come, we have the Imperial customs, traditions,
holidays, celebrated throughout the Empire. Here are several Imperial holidays:

1) Emperor's Day: This falls on the Emperor's birthday. Because of this,
	the date(obviously) is subject to change.
2)	Praelisti(Week of the Magi): Yes, it _is_ a week-long holiday
	(holy-week?)
	Note however, that the on the Petrocean calendar, a week consists of
	only 4 days.
3)	Unification Day: Marks the day on which the Pact of Empire was
	ratified and signed. It is considered the single most important
	holiday in the Empire.
4)	Tarsantium: Marks the day on which Peltor Tirsani, first of the Tirsani
	line of Emperors, ascended to the Imperial Throne.
5)	Continent Day: Marks the day on which the Petroceans first encountered
	The Ohs Empire.
6)	Praeltok("Victory Week"):Yep, another 'Holiweek'. One abnormality
	though-Due to inconsistencies in the Petrocean calendar, which is based
	loosely on the tides, this 'week' is only 3 days long.
7)	Astipro(Night of Mourning): This holiday is actually 'celebrated'
	at night. It is reserved to mourn the birth of an emperor who lost a
	major war just over a thousand years ago.

There are, of course, many additional holidays yet to be expounded upon.
It is important to remember two things when considering the numerous
week-long holidays:

1)	A Petrocean week is only 4 days long.
2)	The Petrocean year is about 570 days long.


                       		    CUSTOMS

1) Meals
	a) Petroceans are very wary of who they share a meal with. Each
		evening meal includes two rituals: The passing of the wine and
		The circle of trust. A Petrocean would never _think_ of
		sharing a cup with someone he does not know, and the Circle of
		Trust is just what the name implies.
	b)	If a Petrocean is right handed he eats with his left hand,
		and vice versa. This is symbolic of the fact that meal is a
		time to relax. Ambidextrous persons(almost exclusively Magi)
		are allowed to use either hand.
	c)	At the morning meal, spouses serve and feed each other. This is
		symbolic of several things:
		1)	Husband and wife rely on and trust each other
		2)	The spouses' love for each other.

2)	Family Life
	a)	In Petrocea, marriage is for life.
	b)	Generally, husband and wife share hosehold tasks and other work
		equally, and spend equal amounts of time with the children(when
		possible).
	c)	Family includes: Parents, unmarried sons & daughters, married
		sons & daughters, AND sons- & daughters-in-law. This makes for
		extensive family networks, as married people have 3 families:
		Their own, their parents, and their spouse's parents.
	
3) Religion
	a) In general, Petroceans recognize only nature and the universe
		itself(but more specifically, the ocean) as being greater
		than the Empire.
	b)	There are several minor  religions worshipped by _small_ groups
		in _remote_ parts of the Empire, that have no political
		power whatsoever.
	c)	Magi are prohibited from belonging to a religion(Imperial
		Decree).

4)	Status quo/Tradition
	a)	The Petroceans tend to be a very conservative society. Very
		little changes, and very slowly.
	b)	They are a very ceremonia and ritualistic society. Certain
		rituals must _always_ be observed. (NOTE: Some customs which
		are normally mandatory are waived during times of war or
		other emergencies.)
	c)	Tradition dictates that Emperors almost always have _some_
		kind of background in magic -- either as Magi themselves, 
		studying it extensively, or having one or several of the
		Magi as a mentor/teacher.

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-Derek Broughten


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