Baibose (Civilization)

## Baibose

Race(s): Human

Status: Active

Population: 800,000 (350,000 in Baibose; 450,000 in Fioll)

Values: Power, Universalism, Hedonism

Excels at or Interested in: Religion, War, Architecture

Bad at or Disinterested in: Law, Cooking and preserving, architecture

Known Political Factions: Baibose rebels

Active Regions: Region to the east of Southern Region 2.

#### Happiness

Empowerment and Engagement: -1 (The Baibose people are self sufficient with pockets of poverty)

Meaning, Exploration, and Celebration: -2 ( New ideas are quickly sorted into support or opposition by entrenched factions)

Security and Hope: -2 (people horde supplies in excess of what they can use)

Trust, Humanitarianism, and Belonging: -1 (there is a lack of public spaces, though roles are taken by specific groups, like temples or country clubs)

#### Events

Succession Crisis (Crisis: -1 Meaning, Exploration, and Celebration, -3 Security and Hope): Though by tradition it is the eldest son who inherits the crown, the infallibility of the king's word means that a royal proclamation is usually made to make succession indisputable. There was a proclamation, in fact several, but due to the deaths of those candidates the succession was passed to Samuel, a distant relative of the king. He was sick when he was crowned and refused to name his eldest son to the throne before he died. This had happened before, and generally the support of the family was enough to overcome this technicality. However, Gayla, Samuel's wife and the mother of Samuel's son Stephen, refused to acknowledge his claim to the crown. She was imprisoned until she complied, but rebels freed her and now she runs a group of those who refuse to swear allegiance to Stephen. The return of Ter resulted in his immediate capture and incarceration, but he also has refused to endorse Stephen. The situation has not yet led to civil war, but the chances of that look greater by the day.

Ter's Demon Army (Problem: -1 Security and Hope, -1 Trust, Humanitarianism, and Belonging): The rumors that Ter was coming to bring order to Baibose at the head of an army of demons was confirmed during a great festival. The king's life was threatened and the festival was left in disarray. People are now even more nervous about not just the prospect of civil war, but demonic invasion, and it has left the pro-Stephen and pro-Ter factions even more divided.

### Description

A human kingdom (Bye-BOSE rhymes with nose) led by a patrilineal monarchy. The king's word is law because the king is descended from a divine being, the Ibo (ee-bow). The Ibo is a spirit that came from another world and took a human woman, remembered only as the Mother of Kings, as his wife. He brought the people together as a nation and asked them to follow his children's leadership before returning to his home realm. The king is the center of both religious and political power. Once crowned, a male of the royal bloodline becomes infallible and prophetic. There are entire cults dedicated to transcribing the offhand remarks of the king and trying to determine what portents they reveal. This means that the court system is rather challenging to understand for outsiders, as precedent and codification are not concepts with much weight. The king's most recent opinions or comments carry the most weight, sometimes interpreted to apply to situations which, on the surface, had no relevance to what he was saying.

The succession crisis has created what is normally a fixed point in society to become a schism point: those that believe King Stephen has the right to be king despite the lack of his family's support see him as infallible and questioning him is both illegal and blasphemous. Those who see him as an usurper believe he degrades the entire monarchy with his illicit actions and see him as a traitor. It's difficult to find compromise between these two extremes, but both come from the same core cultural value of cherishing the monarchy and the royal family. Aside from a few bar brawls and tense standoffs, people have kept the peace by staying quiet and waiting to see what happens with Stephen's family. The lines of these factions are dividing regionally, most often due to the relative prosperity of that region, with the more wealthy areas wanting to support the existing king and the poorer areas supporting change.

The people of Baibose were not quite prospering, but they were fine until recent events disrupted trade and brought legal uncertainty to society. Now certain vulnerable populations are truly poor, though not quite desperate, while those with means hoard goods in anticipation of more unrest in the future. The hoarding is, of course, a self-fulfilling prophesy as the shortages lead to more unrest which leads to people hoarding more. There is great uncertainty in the economic climate and people have abandoned new construction that is not funded by the crown. The emergence of absolute desperation will probably be the spark that ignites civil war, something King Stephen is desperate to avoid, so he has been spending from the treasury to ensure loyalty and avoid famine. This plan can only work for another year or so before his treasury is empty, which means he needs to find other sources of funding or end the uncertainty and bring back normal trade and commerce to his people.

Baibose is known for its diverse neighborhoods, often transforming radically from one street to another. Many styles and trends meet in Baibose and mix there, including districts dedicated to fine arts and "red light districts" involving drugs and the sex trade. Local militias have always been amateur affairs and haphazardly arranged, but currently there is a stronger presence from the national military than normal, anticipating the violence that might erupt from the current tension, but also tents with the royal crest have been set up to distribute food and basic needs. Temples are impressive and richly adorned, especially the great Temple of the Divine Couple. The military and religious communities have begun attracting more recruits as people look to them for stability.

In addition to the powerful clerics who serve the divine king (and who are similarly divided internally as the people, though they rarely show that publicly), the military has a large fortress at the border where they train powerful fighters to defend the land. The military has sided with King Stephen for now. There is also a reclusive academy of wizards who work in a remote region and try to stay above politics. Historically they have helped defend the kingdom from external threats, but otherwise keep to their studies and only act when their immediate lands are threatened... or their research is questioned or restricted. Thus far King Stephen has left them alone and they have done the same in return.