The Undead Courts
Most of the territories in Ariath are located in a single place. This is not true for the Undead-- the Undead exist across Ariath, and have largely organized themselves into four distinct regions. These regions are termed Courts: the Court of Cups, the Court of Coins, the Court of Wands, and the Court of Swords. The leaders of these lands, the Princes and Princesses, govern their four domains as a unified Kingdom: they act within accordance of a document known as the Treaty of the Suits. The Courts oversee actions of all non-Wicked Undead across Ariath; they are directly opposed to both mindless and Wicked Undead. For all of their differences, the Courts are unified against Wickedness, and consider Wicked Undead to be a plague upon Ariath. The Courts are extremely powerful, and weed out the Wicked with a manicured determination. Because of the pervasive power of the Courts, most non-Wicked Undead seek to ally themselves under the governance of one of these four houses.
While the Courts will offer limited hospitality to any non-Wicked Undead, extended sanctuary is only given to those who the Courts have formally accepted. While this is not a difficult process, it involves some amount of bureaucracy and risk. In order to join the Courts, individuals must demonstrate their personal worth to the leader of the Court. Individuals seek an audience with representatives, and undergo a specific test or trial designed by the Courts. The outcome of this test determines whether or not an individual may enter a houses. Individuals may attempt and fail an unlimited number of times. However, most individuals do not survive multiple failures.
Since the lands of the Undead are referred to as “courts,” and their rulers “princesses and princes,” it is easy to assume that they are places of aristocratic decorum and civility. As anyone familiar with the Courts will tell you, however, this could not be further from the truth. The Courts are organized around the principle of ritual violence: this violence takes place in the form of controlled gang warfare between the four regions within the Courts. Every year, the princes and princesses of the Courts meet and determine the dates of War; they then determine the locations of this warfare. The specifics of the violence are brought to the courts, and organized warfare is enacted between participating houses. All those who participate in the Wars do so voluntarily, and understand the events as (potentially) to-the-death honor combat. Those outside of the Courts know little of what transpires during this time: however, it has been said that despite the attention to logistical organization, the events themselves are brutal, traumatic, and ruthlessly destructive. Many legends, within and outside the Courtlands, exist about the terrors that exist in these wars.
Many who do not understand the condition of the Undead hear of the Wars, and condemn the Undead as hopelessly Wicked. The Undead, however, understand that the purpose of such violence is, in fact, to stave off Wickedness. The Prince of Swords, speaking with those outside the Courts, once said, “All Undead are as incurable addicts: they cannot deny their hunger for vice, and their inevitable preference for Wickedness. By supplying participants in the Court with the opportunity for ritualized violence, we offer the starving man the brief satisfaction of food, and, for a few months, he does not steal.” The Prince then nodded to the historical past, and said, “I have been alive for hundreds and hundreds of years. It has always been our duty, as those touched by Dark Spirits, to fight against those who have fallen to such Wickedness. There are no better equipped to handle such matters.”
Representatives of the Courts are always willing to meet with non-Wicked Undead-- indeed, there is the general consensus that the Courts are constantly watching all Undead. Because the Courts are open about their role, the formation of the four courts are readily known. The first court is the Court of Swords-- lead by the Prince of Swords this house prizes rationality, strategy, tactics, knowledge, ambition, and restrained civility. Its members are often highly competent geniuses with penchants for diplomacy and guile. The second Court, the Court of Wands, is lead by the Princess of Wands, and is the house that celebrates creativity, expression, philosophy, inspiration, and beauty-- it is a house that values storytellers, musicians, artists, and, if truth be told, lunatics. The third house, the Court of Coins, headed by the Princess of Coins, is the court of luxury, decadence, generosity, wealth, and pleasure. Sometimes dismissively referred to as a house of gluttons and degenerates, the Court of Coins is also the only house that will universally offer hospitality to all who seek it. The fourth and final house is the Court of Cups-- associated with potential, energy, creation, and persistence, the Court of Cups, though in many ways the most mundane of the four Courts, is also the Court to which belong the best and most intimidating combatants.
For reasons largely unknown, the Court houses quietly disdain most forms of religious worship-- formally, the courts are areligious. While they will not exclude someone who is a Follower of a Faith, they do not look particularly favorably on such individuals.
While the Undead Courts are somewhat insular in their goings-on, their existence is well-known by all Folk. They are generally regarded with no small amount of distrust and dislike, due to their dark nature, but this varies widely depending on the individual.
(PCs may not enter game as accepted members of a Court. The may enter game with the intention to join a Court, but will have to pursue membership within game.)