Merician Freehold

## Flag

Flag of the Merician Freehold

The **Merician Freehold**, (colloquially known as the "**Freehold**"), is a multi-system polity located at the edge of Tantalus Cluster, consisting of the Mericia and Meric's Keep Systems. Founded after the near-disastrous disappearance of a colony expedition in 0053 PCU, the Merician Freehold developed in isolation from the rest of the Tantalus Cluster for 157 years before re-establishing contact with the Centrum Assembly in 0210 PCU. Connected by Drift Gates to the Keeper's Dance and Axius Systems, the Merician Freehold has established itself as an important commercial engine of the Tantalus Cluster.

 History

### Exile

The Merician Freehold began as part of Santana Starworks' efforts to capitalize on the colonization market: in 0053 PCU, a colonisation fleet sent through a Drift Gate in what later became known as the Meric's Keep System was lost in the so-called Great Merician Exile after being struck by a solar flare on arrival in the target system. With most of the management team killed and unable to leave due to irreparable damage to their return gates, the chief engineer, Adam Meric, took command of the survivors.

Having discovered the system was rich in Drift and rare metals, Meric organized efforts to weld former ships into makeshift stations. To survive, the survivors mined out materials from the local asteroid belts. By the time of Meric's death, many of the stations had merged to form a floating city, which was later named Mericia in honour of Meric.

Having been isolated from the rest of civilization for many years, the people of Mericia had cultivated their own unique culture. Outside of Drift and rare metals, the lack of materials and gravity made the people of Mericia who they are today, having to adapt what was given to them. The people of Mericia are both flexible and resourceful, being able to live in space better than any ordinary planet dweller as well as being able to create ad-hoc products with what limited resources they had.

### Rediscovery

In the end, the missing Drift Gate components of the return gate were able to be reassembled through their ingenuity, allowing the people of Mericia to re-establish contact with the rest of Tantalus 157 years after their disappearance in 0210 PCU. Having been isolated for such a long time, the people of Mericia were already well entrenched in their way of life and refused Centran offers to resettle them on planets, instead adopting a policy of isolationism for their home system of Mericia. However, there is still some contact with the outside, in the form of Meric's Keep, a trading post created from the former Drift Gate that led to Mericia, which was now embedded into asteroid. Towershield Station was build alongside Meric's Keep to ensure the security of the trading post.

With the establishment of Meric's Keep, the Freehold broadened their expertise into trading and shipping, eventually becoming the dominant mercantile force in the entire cluster.

### The Great Famine and Frontier War

With the outbreak of the Frontier War between the Centrum Assembly and the Frontier Union in 0290 PCU, the Merician Freehold declared neutrality, but asserted its right to trade with both under the Treaty of Mizudori. Merician-made weapons such as Iteration-9 Spider Fighter Drones made their way to the Unioner war effort. This period also saw the foundation of the Merician State Guard to defend Merician assets. In the war's aftermath, the Merician Freehold became a full partner in the Avalon Exploratory Initiative, and Merician Treasure Ships accompanied the Avalon Expedition Fleet to the CDC-41-Gamma nebula in 0304 PCU in an effort to acquire new resources to reverse the Great Famine.

## Government and politics

The government of the Merician Freehold is based on the floating city of Mericia. Outside of trade, the Merician Freehold tends to stay out of the external affairs of Centrum Assembly and the Frontier Union, avoiding open conflict and staying neutral with the two larger entities.

For a long period the Merician Freehold lacked a traditional standing military, relying instead on a network of private military companies such as Schiltron Contractors. During the Frontier War, despite the Freehold's neutrality, the controversial decision was made to establish a Merician State Guard to protect Merician assets outside the Freehold. The State Guard is an often-disliked institution in the Freehold, as it put large numbers of Merician Freelancers out of work with private security firms.

## Economy and society

Born and raised on space stations or in asteroid habitats, Mericians generally shun planetbound life and take naturally to working in space. Known as Freelancers, Mericians find work as freighter crewmen, privateers, EVA technicians, and cartographers.

Merician society heavily values free enterprise: Merician merchant ships, in particular Treasure Ships, have become important elements of the Tantalus Cluster's trade network, and have brought enormous wealth to the Freehold. The Merician approach to free enterprise is such that for most of the Freehold's history, even national security was largely handled by private military companies.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Merician Freehold | The Sojourn Lore
2. ↑ The Sojourn: Worlds of Tantalus - The Centrum Assembly
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 *The Sojourn Visual Dictionary - Edition One*
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Mercenaries in the Merician Freehold | Official Lore Short