Living in the Kingdom
The devil's in the details...
Language
While the official language and the one still used by nobility is Damarian, due to the large influx of people over the past several years the modern common tongue is the predominant language of the Kingdom of the Bloodstone Lands, as well as Impiltur and Narfell. A bastardized form of the language, mixing common and dwarvish, is the argot of Vaasa. PCs speaking only common will be understood when visiting in Darmshall and other communities of Vaasa, but they may have a hard time understanding this odd dialect when it is spoken to them. In remote mountain settlements such as Tomrav, orcish has become the second tongue, taught to every child. This is a simple matter of survival. More than one person from Tomrav has had to talk his way out of an orcan stewing pot! Language eases communication between the races, and has led to a quieter, if not completely peaceful, coexistence between man and orc in this region.
Currency and Taxes
“If it’s good anywhere else, it’s good in Damara!” This popular saying spread among Damaran vendors when the currency of bloodstone bars collapsed. This situation is no longer the case. With the re-opening of the Bloodstone Mines and the peacetime expansion of all other mining operations, King Bunky has designed new currency for the Kingdom and is now minting coins. As a result, his government levies a 3% Kingdom Tax on all purchases made with outside coinage. Citizens of Bloodstone are required to pay annual taxes to their ruling noble in the amount of 1 month’s wages. This tax approximately equates to 3gp for peasants, 15gp for yeomen, and 30gp for merchants and artisans. Adventuring parties have to register annually and their charter costs 50gp per party level. Across Bloodstone, a platinum piece is referred to as a “sovereign”, a gold piece is referred to as a “crown”, a silver piece is referred to as a “shilling”, and a copper piece is referred to as a “penny”.
Services and Occupations
The common terms for a variety of occupations are listed below:
You get... From the...
Books Stationer or bookseller
Cloth Mercer
Hats Milliner or Hatter
Suit of Clothes Tailor
Shirts/Smocks Seamstress
Ready made clothes Draper
Arrows Fletcher
Bows Bowyer
Horseshoes Farrier
Other iron work Blacksmith
Armor Armorer
A Portrait Limner
Drugs, Herbs Apothecary
Barrels Cooper
Candles Chandler
Gloves Glover
Glass Windows Glazier
Tile for the roof Tiler
Saddles and bridles Saddler
Kitchen Knives Cutler
Furniture Joiner
In Town…
A Stapler Buys and sells raw wool; also silk and linen.
A Draper Deals in cloth (wholesale), plus some ready-made garments and dry goods.
A Mercer Is the cloth retailer: the local fabric store is a mercer’s shop. One may be a silk mercer or a wool mercer, for example.
On your own staff, your...
Man of Business is your accountant, and looks after your investments.
Steward oversees the running of your estates.
Factor does business for you in the Capitol or in another country.
Nurse takes care of infants and young children.
Wet Nurse breast feeds the baby (maybe as long as the first 2 years.)
Tutor educates your children.
Masters and Servants
Grooms are generic household serving men; for example grooms of the stable or grooms of the chamber. Females of the same order are called maids or serving maids, for example maid of the kitchen, maid of the chamber, or maid of the still room. Personal attendant is a descriptive term, not a job title – the proper title is “valet”. A valet is a servant performing duties chiefly relating to the person of his master. As a verb, servants say that they serve, or wait upon, or attend (but not “work for”) someone. Masters say that they are waited on or attended to by someone.
Credit, or reputation, has to do with one’s personal dignity or honor. A servant and master strive to do each other credit. As a noble, it is unbecoming to your dignity to carry your own shopping basket. As a noble’s servant, it is unbecoming to your dignity to let her. As a noble, it befits your dignity to dress yourself and your servants well. As a servant, you do your master credit by looking and behaving well. People do not dress their servants in rags.
Servants are not democrats. In general, they approve of the social order, just like their masters. And they intend to take advantage of it. A servant in a fine house expects (if he is clever) to rise in the world, improve his fortunes, and create an even better place for his children. A stable groom might aspire to become butler or steward in the same or a greater house. The pot boy might hope one day to be chief cook.
Servants take money from anyone. They will accept a tip for any service rendered. They expect to be tipped for delivering a gift or message. Their masters are aware of this, and do it themselves to other people’s servants. It is not considered dishonest unless loyalties become confused and compromised.
The good servant, like a good waiter, is attentive. The best servant is a little bit psychic. He is there when you need him but never hovers. He finds some virtuous occupation when you disappear. He is neither lewd nor vain, but maintains a respectable countenance, to the credit of his master. He is modest but never craven, humble but never base, candid but not insolent. The good master is proud but never despotic. He is patient, governing his household with fatherly care. He does not twist your sincere desire to serve into a sincere desire to punch him out. He lets you do your job. He maintains his superior station, as the gods have given it to him, by honorable behavior, not by argument.
A noble provides livery for his servants in both Summer and Winter weights and sometimes variant colors. Livery can mean uniform clothing, or a badge of the lord’s family on the sleeve, or a cloak in the lord’s colors with the livery badge on the shoulder. If you take a nobleman’s livery (sometimes called taking his cloth) you become his follower (that is, his servant) and you owe him loyalty and other services as required.
Weddings & Betrothals
While each faith and pantheon may have specific procedures for weddings and betrothals, these activities are pretty standardized across the Kingdom as couples marrying from different religions is commonplace. At a betrothal, the two people join hands. He gives her a ring to be worn on the right hand. It changes to the left at the wedding. They seal the contract with a kiss. If he has no good reason to break the marriage contract, he has to give back (double!) any tokens received, usually small gifts. Betrothals can be terminated by mutual consent. In certain circumstances, one can withdraw unilaterally if the other is:
· Guilty of heresy, apostasy, or infidelity
· Seriously disfigured
· Proved to be previously (and still) married
· Guilty of enmity or wickedness or drunkenness
· Or if a long separation has occurred between them.
Bridesmaids see to the floral decorations, make little flower bouquets as favors for the guests, and make the garland. The wedding garland should be rosemary and roses. The bride carries her garland till after the ceremony, afterwhich it goes on her head. A bride is not expected to wear a white dress. It can be any fashionable or current color and cut. Depending on the social status of the families, the bride might have a new gown made, or simply wear her best clothes, freshened up with new ribbons or flowers. She certainly wears flowers in her hair. However, the dress is an ordinary gown like any other. It is not a unique style, un-suitable for any other use and sentimentally preserved for later generations. Even a specially-made gown would become part of the lady’s ordinary wardrobe.
The intention to marry must be announced in the church three times; that is, on three consecutive holy days, in the couple’s parish(s). If the two people live in different parishes, the banns must be read in both. This allows time for any objections to be raised or pre-contracts to be discovered. Any marriage not published before hand is considered clandestine, and illegal. There is no set form of wedding invitation. People do, however, send messages to their friends and relations, and gifts are cheerfully received. If the wedding is at Court, everyone simply understands they are expected.
Any bridesmaids (i.e., the bride’s maids) help the bride to prepare, then they, the bride, the groom, the families, and all the guests assemble, and go in procession from the house or houses to the church. The bridal procession is generally noisy, accompanied by musicians, laughter, and bawdy jokes. Town councils have been known to complain about the general disorder. They all enter at once and stand through the solemn ritual. If the groom is not part of the procession, he meets the bride either at the door of the church or at the altar. The wedding is always a religious ceremony, conducted by a cleric or a monk. Since the church is open, anyone can attend as long as there is room, although fairly strict social order is observed. Poorer neighbors, tenants, and passers by stand at the back. Sometimes the costs of the day are defrayed by holding a “bride ale”, usually in the churchyard. There the bride sells cups of ale for as much as her friends will pay to help cover the costs of the event.
Merchants, Traders, Guilds, Caravans, Priakos, and Costers
The merchants of Heilogabalus are legendary in their power and influence, particularly if they band together as they did when they invited Bull Bunky into the city as King. Normally, however, individual merchant companies and guilds work at odds, each trying to corner one market or another.
Most trade within Bloodstone travels in caravans for safety, and the great majority of caravans are run by independent caravan masters who often display no bade or colors at all. These independent operations typically rely on adventurers for security, as adventurers are plentiful and expendable in the Kingdom of Bloodstone. A few caravans are sponsored by a noble, guild, or some type of alliance, and they usually bear the sigil of that place.
Large overland companies, which are usually created by the permanent amalgamation of smaller caravan companies in several geographical areas, are known as priakos. Alliances of small, independent companies into a caravan traveling group for safety are known as costers. Add to this all manner of temporary alliances, merchant consortiums, and adventuring companies, and a great many groups control and pursue trade in Bloodstone.
(C) 2008 Curtis M. Sawyer, All Rights Reserved