Empire of Eboracum: A faction led and created by Roland. Has a Logrus, which is called the Aurellis. Home to a number of gods. Roughly 1 in 5 of the population 12 or older are enslaved by the rest. Has death matches in gladiatorial arenas for entertainment. Connected to the Outside at Casablanca.
Federation: The Federation is the antithesis of the Empire and was created as a sort of mirror effect when Roland created the Aurellis. While they do not keep slaves, reliable documentation confirms that they eat their academic failures and felons, raise humans as food, and forage for additional humans in foreign parts to supplement their food supply. They have repeatedly taken actions against St. James on the Outside.
Machine: A faction devoted to destroying all life and replacing it with sentient machines. Some of their machines are exceptionally good at impersonating humans. Lead by Andreas.
Reich: A Nazi faction very akin to 1938-43 Germany of St. James, except that they hate shape shifters, and murder them in black magic rituals. Led by Rupert. Shares the same central Shadow as, and formerly at war with Sable. Connected to the Outside at Sanguine. Enemies of the Machine.
Sable: A moderate kingdom led by Robert. 1940s England-equivalent with magical replacements for tech. Has a Pattern. Home to the Sable Magical College. Shares the same central Shadow as, and formerly at war with, the Reich. Connected to the Outside at Murray and St. James.
Technocracy: A technological faction. It opposes the Machine. Led by Andrew.
This is another page that needs a bit of expansion. I’ll try some input for the Empire (Eboricum). I spent years there at Mage School and now in Casablanca in the External Empire. I am not native but I may be able to fill in a bit more detail.
“Empire of Eboracum: A faction led and created by Roland. Has a Logrus, which is called the Aurellis. Home to a number of gods. Roughly 1 in 5 of the population 12 or older are enslaved by the rest. Has death matches in gladiatorial arenas for entertainment. Connected to the Outside at Casablanca.”
The Empire of Eboracum was created by Roland in a sort of pocket universe that has come to be known as the “Inside”. He was later joined by Robert who created realms there and subsequently other multiverses have sprung up there.
At Eboracum’s creation, a twin complement was created that came to be known as the Federation, run by Roland’s counterpart, Randol Yorke. Enmity and a more or less perpetual state of war exists between Roland and Randol’s realms.
Eboracum is roughly modeled on an earthlike version of the Roman Empire. The cultural values and political system of an Emperor and a Senate with a pantheon of Gods mirrors that template. The present Emperor is Sirius I. The Empress is Sirenna, a woman bred especially to wed the Emperor, and who does not appear to share in the functions of government openly.
Recently, Casablanca was ‘promoted’ from a Gateway world to a full multiverse and is now titled the External Empire of Eboricum. It is ruled by Regens George I and Regensia Arnhilde. It is autonomous in its lawmaking capability but follows the same cultural and legal models for most things.
The values of the Empire center on military prowess and economic commerce. There are cultural aspects of Empire life, Roland was originally interested in Theatre after all and is an Illusion Mage; however most of the cultural weight appears to be on military skill, commerce and sexuality.
The age of legal majority in the Empire is 12.
Religion:
Eboricum’s gods are covered in a separate section; however, it is important to realize that prayer to the gods there does result in action. Similarly, disrespect to the gods is not an academic exercise of belief. Visitors are urged to leave notions of free speech and their opinions at home on this point if they wish to avoid giving insult or suffering immediate censure and punishment.
Economics:
It is very important to understand that debt and financial competency is a huge issue in the Empire. There is hardly any borrowing, no mortgages in the way a St. James person would expect, no credit cards or revolving payment plans, no lending money at interest; and the present banking system has newly been revised by Greg Erikson from St. James to reflect some modern business practices but within a much more restrictive structure that is culturally appropriate.
A person is expected to live within their means and support themselves and their household. If they do not, they end up sold into slavery. Even a fairly trivial amount of money can be cause for enslavement. Visitors to the Empire should be very careful not to accumulate an unpaid bill for this reason.
Previously, an arrangement existed where Spec Ops members had limited diplomatic status within the Empire and their financial needs (within limits) were met by diplomatic funds, avoiding embarrassment. It is unclear whether that arrangement still persists given the change of leadership at SpecOps. One should not count on this!
Law and the Military:
The Empire maintains a large standing military and uses its personnel for offense, defense, and civil/police purposes. Any military member may exercise police authority if circumstances warrant it.
Law in the Empire comes from several sources and can be confusing to follow at times. Law is pronounced by the Gods (Divine Law), by the Emperor’s Decree (Imperial Decree), by the Senate (Senatorial Decrees and Edicts) and by local councils for civil administration. Any conflicts are generally sorted out in that order.
There are elections by region for representation at the local council and Senate levels.
Slavery:
Slavery serves multiple purposes within the Empire and there are a number of ways that one may end up as a slave. Contrary to the information above, it is possible for children to become slaves; however, no one can be born a slave legally in the Empire.
A person may become a slave through: debt and bankruptcy, prisoner of war, criminal conduct, mental incompetency, or voluntarily. Most slavery terms are a minimum of five years; however those based as punishment may occasionally be shorter. Slavery for debt lasts until the debt is paid off with the price raised at sale being set against the debt and a small fee paid by the slave owner monthly going towards the slave’s debt. It is possible to accrue a debt that results in a de facto life sentence.
Voluntary slavery is typically contracted for five year periods with the funds raised being kept in trust for the slave upon completion minus handling fees. Many look upon this option as a chance to raise funds to start a business or learn a trade. Others find slavery a personal lifestyle choice. Some few slaves actually wield significant authority in unique positions, but these are specialist slaves in unique circumstances.
Slavery is generally seen as a way to make use and take care of people who, for whatever reason, can not take care of themselves or insist on making bad decisions.
A number of laws exist regarding the treatment of slaves. There are limits to legal punishment and penalties for abuse of a slave. Adult slaves, above 12, forfeit the right to refuse sexual intercourse and rape is not possible for a slave. Sexual conduct with anyone under 12, even a slave, is punishable under law for anyone over 12 and the penalties are severe. Involving a slave in magical practices is also illegal. Using a slave to commit a crime can result in punishment for the owner giving the orders.
A note about collar colors…
Ordinary slaves wear black collars with inscriptions bearing their identification and owner’s name. Occasionally you will see slaves with purple collars or collars with purple banding, these are specialist slaves owned by the Emperor or the Regensia. It should be noted that a slave with a purple collar is said to be acting on the ruler’s behalf and may legally give enforceable orders to free persons. This is rare but does occur for a few unique slaves. An ordinary slave may occasionally be given an owner’s signet or written authority to conduct business on their owner’s behalf, in which case they are given the courtesy and authority that might be extended to a free person within the limits of their orders.
Gold collars denote priests of the Divine Selene. These are free persons who minister to slaves and see to their welfare on the Goddess’s behalf.
Silver or white collars denote an individual who is life bonded. Life bondeds are technically free but are teh de facto property and responsibility of the person they are bonded to. They are not protected by the laws that prevent the abuse of slaves and their bond partner may injure or kill them without legal consequences if they so choose. Life bonding is a purely voluntary arrangement.
The Arena:
Blood sport is popular in the Empire and entirely legal. Many activities that would generate law suits on St. James are no problem in the Empire and the rule is very much, ‘if you are stupid enough to agree to it…its your problem’.
The Arena is a special case and hugely popular. Originally this was limited to slave gladiators, but recently free gladiators are starting to take part under slightly different rules.
Slave gladiators are all volunteers. A slave may choose the arena as an alternative to their allotted term of enslavement, remove a death sentence or to eliminate debts that would be otherwise impossible to meet and result in a life sentence. Slave gladiators are permitted to keep in trust a portion of their winnings, it is the only slavery condition that mandates this option for a slave; although some owners of ordinary slaves with special skills will permit slaves to contribute more than the monthly fee to resolve their debts.
A gladiator must survive 25 fights in the Arena, their first being against wild animals, the rest against humans. Mid way through, they are flogged for the amusement of the crowd to see how much pain they can stand before passing out.
Gudrun: Thank you *very* much for the additional information. I apologize for the slightly snarky tone on my prior reply. I was reacting to the critical tone without realizing the depth and quality of the information and analysis travelling with it.
Not a problem.
And your tone was quite in keeping with a newly minted member of an organization feeling loyal. That’s always a good thing.
It is hard being new and navigating the rocks in a new organization. And really, a snarkly attitude to me is your best course in terms of organizational acceptance with other unit members. 🙂
If what I say has some value to you, that’s great. Others here will also have things to say which will be of value to you, and as usual, it will be a tricky thing to sort out what is most helpful to you as a unit member going forward.
Good luck to you.
When you say ‘…rape is not possible for a slave.’ I believe that means that rape is not legally possible. Non-consensual sexual intercourse is more or less a fact of life for many slaves if I understand how slavery works in the Empire.
As far as I am concerned non-consensual sex is always rape regardless of what the local laws may say.
I do indeed mean it is not legally possible.
One of the purposes of these contrasts is to point out the differences in law and custom.
From the Empire perspective, a criminal slave or debtor loses rights under law and is obliged to perform whatever act may help redeem their economic or social debt. The voluntary slave knowingly sacrifices the right to decline sex.
It is a difficult concept for individuals from St. James to abide. The forced sexual intercourse with prisoners of war also goes against rules of armed conflict and permitted conduct in treatment of a captive.
However, each realm has its own laws, customs and usage. Those who would travel or does business in these realms must find a way to comes to terms with this.
If one is in the Empire and attempts to inflict a penalty based on a St. James viewpoint, you will find yourself in legal difficulties.
At one point we discussed your plans for a group to hunt down and prosecute rapists. At the time I mentioned that I didn’t think vigilantism was appropriate and that your plans did not take into account differences of law and custom. This is perhaps a good example of how very differently law and morality is shaped from one culture to another.
Mens Rea is recognized as a cornerstone of St. James law, perhaps this will help if nothing else does. Legally one may assign responsibility for an act, but establishing an ability to appreciate guilt is necessary prior to levying certain penalties.
This may apply in terms of Amberites as well. Amber does not grant status to anyone who is not “real” or recognized by the Amber royal family. Murder, rape, enslavement, torture, assault…of a person they define as a Shadow dweller, however innocent, under their law and custom is not actionable. It is little more than an action with a virtual person.
And I think most non-Amberites, would find that hard to accept as well.
It should be noted that the ‘age of legal majority’ probably relates back to the Roman connections as people definitely got married younger in the Roman times.
We apparently, on missions, go into a wide variety of realms. Does anyone know if there is an orientation document regarding basic rules of Spec Ops agent behavior in various realms, with an outline of general behavior, permitted behavior negotiated with these realms within the scope of operational activities, and St. James’ history regarding extradition of their agents? If not, do we have a legal department I can go speak with?
At the time of my service I was unaware of any such document. Ani did not mention the existence of one either.
My suggestion is that you take this question to Col. Broyles.
I did ask about authority to act within US borders, and that is only loosely falling under Patriot Act statutes.
An additional problem arising from the non enlightenedment policy is that we cannot act in many cases due to lack of legal authority. In other realms, magic use can be at least investigated and the user required to show licenses and documentation. Here our best bet is a clause in unauthorized technology, environmental hazardous substance acts, or the FCC for unauthorized electromagnetic transmission…which is weak at best and doesn’t work.
We have limited abilities as a military organization to act against US citizens due to Posse Comitatus laws. When we were FBI we had more ability to arrest within US borders and cooperative agreements for on world overseas operations.
We can’t bust unauthorized off worlders for immigration violations or force people to register presence on world…this leads to investigative delays when innocent off-worlders are discovered while we are tracking down a suspicious event.
Its a mess.
And that’s before we step off world.
If its a question of Empire, Reich, Casablanca, and Sable…there are existing organizations there to interface with and you should probably contact them before you mess about on their patch and get yourself arrested. They probably have more resources in any case and a joint effort could probably be arranged.
I can’t speak for other realms but you should be careful about renditioning prisoners across realms, I don’t think there is legal authority for it and you would probably be guilty of kidnapping.
I think your question has merit. Good luck.
If you are headed into an area outside of the states, let Col. Broyles or some of the better connected agents know. Our general approach is to make contact with friendly locals in similar organizations to our own. It is all kept pretty murky legality-wise, but that seems to be how most of the universe prefers to work.
It may limit our ability to claim authority, but it also ruffles far fewer feathers and leaves the door open for diplomacy.
If you really want to dive into the legal complexities of the multi-verse, I suggest speaking with Jade. If anyone knows the lay of the land there, it is her.
‘The Universe’ has not, to my knowledge, expressed a preference for murkiness.
If you are going to Sable, they have very competent military and intelligence gathering agencies. Ask Col. Broyles to contact them, or you could ask for Duke Richard or the Keys to liaise for you, or you could contact the appropriate organization directly and request a joint operation, a remit for actions and so on. You definitely can make a case against a known criminal and ask for a local warrant to be issued, or for the intelligence services to rendition someone for you if Duke Richard or King Robert sign off on it.
If your issue is with the Reich, my suggestion is you contact Obrstgr. Jorge von Raeder. He holds high military rank, is a ranking civilian member of the nobility, and a personal friend of the RFSS. If anyone will be able to smooth the waters for you, he can. He has consulted to SpecOps on many previous occasions.
If you have concerns in the Empire or External Empire, you should probably contact Graeme Helgram. He is presently the senior ranking law enforcement officer in Casablanca. He was a previous leader at Spec Ops. He is a ranking military member and of the nobility in the Empire, and exceptionally well connected. He is your best bet for liaison.
You might also ask me if its a very unofficial matter or a personal issue. I hold no rank or office, but would be happy to advise you as best I may.
If you are headed to the Technocracy, Duke Richard is your best St. James contact. Andrew is King Robert’s son, so Sable contacts will usually be able to contact Andrew if you have no direct connection yourself.
If you have concerns in Amber, Bill Macey is the St. James ambassador. You should probably consult him or Duke Richard or both. This may work for Parys as well, I’m not sure but its a place to start.
For the Courts, I can’t advise you given the upheaval there at the moment.
If you are headed anywhere else, its strictly an op so the niceties of local coordination are not going to be necessary in all likelihood.
For us going out bound there are official channels, they can be used appropriately.
I guess our definitions of ‘offical channels’ differ. I’d consider most of your suggestions to be great examples of how to use the murky back channels. If a person can convince any of the people you’ve mentioned of their cause, a lot of trouble can be avoided. However, be wary of taking them for granted. Every one of them is in a delicate situation and has bigger troubles than Spec Ops on their plates.
The individuals suggested all serve in official capacities within their respective regimes. They all are subject to official duties and responsibilities as part of those positions and within their remit they tend to act accordingly.
There is nothing back channel about it unless you preface your request with a specific need to make the matter unofficial, which after they hear what you say they may or may not be able to treat as an off the books issue depending on what their duty requires.
Whenever you contact an off world representative it is assumed they have objectives of their own. That is a given.
The people you are approaching generally have very well defined, official spheres of influence and powers to act. In contrast, the only thing murky about is that YOU may not have standing to approach them on the matter given the precarious legal and political position of spec ops and its reputation off world.
What differs primarily Annabelle is your tendency to see operating off the books as a norm rather than an exception.
The off world powers have evolved a fairly efficient degree of cooperation in matters that involve more than one realm and there is an equivalent of ‘Interpol’ requests, where one force will alert another of a threat that is capable of jumping boundaries.
Where this falls down is that St. James is in a poor position to reciprocate. We have such a weak internal ability to enforce order that a cooperative agreement with us is more or less like a cooperative agreement with a South American drug cartel on sharing narco trafficking investigations.
An example for me recently was an individual that first came to light in the Empire as part of a demon smuggling/human food trafficking ring. There were indications that the individual was an unregistered mage who was engaging in illegal, cross realm slaving and potentially was a mental conditioning expert.
Although the individual elluded an initial attempt at capture (his associates were taken), an alert was put out across aware realms, through the mage guilds and the piloting guilds, and in commercial circles. The military was also alerted. In short, we put out a BOLO (Be on the look out) on him.
Who on St. James could such a BOLO be delivered to? With what reliability?
I am strongly suspicious this individual had something to do with Lydia’s families recent troubles and I personally suspect ties to Gou’ald/Federation human harvesting efforts. Over time I hope we learn more and either confirm my suspicion or act to apprehend both parties for their separate offenses.
It cuts both ways. If you hope to gain professional cooperation and be taken seriously you have to have something to offer in return. While St. James’ internal capacity for enforcing order remains low, we are in a diminished position to ask for cooperation externally.
May I graciously request that you move Animus from your “strictly an op” list to your “provide BOLO alerts” list: both your personal lists, Gudrun, and those of the “we” you reference? Our Embassy on Casablanca is presently headed by Daniel Russ, and our Embassy on St. James is presently headed by Sandy Elgar; both are lovely people. Feel free to drop by for a chat if you’d like!
Can I ask where you Embassy is located on St James? I feel I should pop in and say hello.
Jade,
It was an unintended omission. I was responding regarding the Inside under this thread primarily. Animus is an external realm.
It is good to hear that Animus has established a St. James embassy and has extended itself to Casablanca.
Perhaps as Animus foreign minister, you would be willing to provide an expanded write up for Animus? As I mentioned to Mathilda regarding Parys, it doesn’t need to include compromising information or information of military value (the other write ups of friendly powers have not delved into those areas), just the sorts of things that would help a potential visitor or SpecOps person who needs to coordinate an activity.
But including the location of your embassies, the names of your Ambassadors and the services provided (entry visas, law enforcement coordination or whatever applies in the particular case) would no doubt be helpful to many. It might also assist in getting your Ambassadors invited to the appropriate occasions and included in activities.
As to my personal list…I have none seeing as I have no official capacity that would require one.
If your Ambassador has been officially received by the Court of the External Empire, I am sure that they have already begun working with your ambassador in terms of coordinating law enforcement response, most likely with Graeme Helgram I would think.
I am certain your conversations would best be had with those with official standing rather than a private citizen such as myself. I would not take up your ambassadors’ time unnecessarily as I have never been invited to Animus and have no dealings there.
Gudrun: My apologies, I had gained the impression that you were a spokeswoman for the Casablanca Vikings. Regardless, I hope you will forgive any presumption, but it strikes me that you are at times distressed at the lack of genuinely good people in the business. You might enjoy talking with Daniel.
Bill: The Animus Corporation on St. James is headquartered at [address in Quantico]; if you find yourself in Casablanca, we are easily located at [appropriately upscale address]; you most likely already know from Amber that when you’re back there you can talk with Yeya Donnell or her people at [appropriately upscale address]. And of course, any of us can get in touch with the rest of the network.
Hehe, Casablanca Vikings? Um, not that I know of but it would make a great name for a local sports team, we can export a MN tradition. I’ll have to mention that to someone its too good not to act on.
The term you are probably wanting to use is: Asgarde. The senior members of the family lines carry that name or take that last name on becoming part of the ruling First Daughter Line. The Asgarde refers to a group of family lines, the Eriksons are one branch of the family. There are several St. James based branches of the family that have chosen to remain, there are others that live in Shadow on other worlds, and there are some that have settled on Casablanca.
The Head of the Asgarde is Arnhilde, Regensia of the External Empire. There are local senior leaders on St. James. On Casablanca, Kari often takes the local family head duties as Arnhilde’s chief of staff both for Imperial and family responsiblities.
Ani, towards the end of her life after having successfully challenged Vygdis, did become part of the First Daughter line and had more official standing as a diplomat-ish sort of person. But for much of her life she was as I am, merely a member of a very large family.
I am Arnhilde’s foster daughter, by blood I am her cousin. Fosterage is a long established practice in our families and is not a casual relationship or honorary. That said, Arnhilde is of the old order and has 13 living daughters of her own blood and a passel of sons…over 20 natural kids, I don’t recall exactly how many sons she has off hand.
So, you see, I am only a private individual and have no special privileges. But like most of the family, I have a number of chores that come my way…more than most given my relationship to Arnhilde.
I find many good people in many places, including SpecOps. I’m always willing to meet more.
David and I are not splashy entertainers like most of the Empire Aristocrats. We are invited everywhere because of David’s position, but we rarely reciprocate with large formal parties. It has earned us a reputation as a bit stodgy because we don’t offer orgiastic entertainments for our guests and stick to small gatherings of people who might actually know each others’ names and want to converse.
I will speak to David and arrange for a time to invite your new Ambassadors to dinner if they won’t mind the more modest style we keep.
Meanwhile, I have left a set of courtesy tickets at the ‘on call’ desk at Donner Excursions (Mission: To provide the most radical experience possible, dude). We offer mixed day entertainment options:
Option 1: Morning skiing, lunch and shopping at the Casablanca Market, afternoon surfing followed by dinner on the beach.
Option 2: Morning choice of surfing or trophy fishing, lunch on the beach, afternoon on the ski slopes, and a traditional dinner with Berber natives.
Option 3: Camel trekking, star watching and traditional Oud music, overnight camping under the stars. Hang gliding at sunrise in the mountains and lunch, your choice of skiing or surfing in the afternoon and a return to Casa.
All excursions are professionally guided, safety mages are present to minimize risk of injury or provide healing if necessary.
It may be that your Embassy personnel will want to acquaint themselves with the local sights and have a bit of fun. Please enjoy as my treat.
(OOC to Madeleine and Andi:
I’ve been to Quantico. Its a military base with a gate town. If you haven’t seen a military gate town its comprised of dry cleaners, seamstress/tailor shops, cheap lunch counters, stores selling mil spec boots that won’t eat your feet like the issue ones do, and scummy bars with whatever nightlife the local town ordinances will allow.
You have to show ID to get in the gate, its not like before 9/11 when civilians could come and go with some regularity.
On base you need a host tenant agreement with the government for a facility.
This may all be tedious reality and maybe you don’t care if there aren’t so many visitors to your embassy?
But probably you’d want to put it in Alexandria, which is a toney DC close in burb and close commuting distance to Quantico. Or DC itself. The prices will be higher but the amenities will be nice.
If you try to stick an upscale building just outside of Quantico, it will stick out a mile. Its mostly housing for military families that got off post sep rations. The average house there is not really in keeping with the other houses found in the counties surrounding DC.
Up to you but just a thought. I was last there in 2003 to buy boots.)
A slave gladiator that wins & survives the 24 fights against opponents, the initial contest against the lions, and flogging (which would be week 13 if you fought in such a fashion without a loss) also gains citizenship in the Empire. This citizenship applies to them on the inside as well as in Casablanca.
By contrast, Sable citizenship can be obtained by getting a Sable citizen to sponsor you, establishing that you have a place to live and a means of supporting yourself, and swearing an oath of loyalty to king and country.
Some amendment for the Reich entry…
“Reich: A Nazi faction very akin to 1938-43 Germany of St. James, except that they hate shape shifters, and murder them in black magic rituals. Led by Rupert. Shares the same central Shadow as, and formerly at war with Sable. Connected to the Outside at Sanguine. Enemies of the Machine.”
For this I’m relying on Ani’s notes. As a disclaimer, despite a lifelong personal friendship with Jorge von Raeader, Ani’s experiences with the RFSS did color her views quite negatively. I will try to distill the least personal of her observations. She spent several years in fast time training with Obstgrp. von Raeder, the RFSS and instructors from the Reich military and civilian mage corps.
In reading this article it is very important to avoid mistaking St. James history for the Inside Reich history. The parallels are strong, however the departures can be unexpected and misleading. As in most parallel world situations, or close shadows, it can be very confusing when the similarities and dissimilarities occur in unexpected ways.
Politics:
As a result of the creation of Sable, the Reich came into being as its complement/opposite. Robert de Lacy of Sable’s twin, Rupert de Latz, became the creator/founder of the Reich pattern and the Reichsfuhrer SS of the Nazi Party; however, as a twist of difference, this Reich retained a Kaiser. Kaiser Wilhelm is Robert’s son and agreed to come and be Kaiser of the Reich after the creation. The Kaiser is the ruler of the Reich in military and civilian terms, but RFSS Rupert is undoubtedly the most powerful man in the realm…with some inconvenient caveats from his perspective. There is a peculiar give and take between the Kaiser and the RFSS in terms of leadership.
The Inside Reich Nazi regime is highly authoritarian and bears strong similarities to the St. James Reich with its ideas of racial purity and superiority. A notable departure is that religious discrimination is less a factor, with discrimination against shape shifters being substituted. Shape shifters in the Reich were subject to forced servitude, incarceration, torture, medical experimentation, and execution for much of their history.
The irony being that the Kaiser, many of his family, the RFSS himself and other senior leaders were all shape shifters themselves.
Over time the attitude has shifted. Shape shifters with approved political leanings may be licensed by the government (Forstapo) and participate in normal life, hold offices, and serve in the military. The RFSS is now openly licensed as a shape shifter in his own realm.
Foreigners wishing to visit who are shape shifters must register for a license from the Forstapo at the time of their entry or as part of their visa.
Non-citizens in the Reich (this includes many who are born there) have limited political rights under law. Foreigners are not granted equal protection under law.
Armistice:
Recently the perpetual state of war between Reich and Sable ended in an Armistice. Hostilities have ceased between the two nations and borders normalized.
Magic:
In the Reich, sorcery requires licensure and an oath of allegiance to the Reich for Reich natives. For visitors, they must show licensure from another recognized realm such as Sable or the Empire and must abide by local laws while visiting. Visitors must declare their arcane abilities on their entry papers.
Ritual sorcery is legal for any who choose to participate.
The Reich requires all citizens and visitors to have current, valid papers in addition to ID bracelets. Being caught without them can lead to imprisonment and complications.
I believe we have a few people who have visited, and even studied in the Reich within Spec Ops. Perhaps they’d like to pop in and provide some more personal observations on the Reich.
A note on Citizenship and Rights…
Despite the variances in internal political opinion in the US on St. James regarding citizenship and rights, most individuals with a background in this culture proceed with certain assumptions about how they can expect to be treated by governments and legal systems.
This can cause problems for US citizens traveling abroad on St. James but even more so for St. James citizens traveling in other realms off-world.
It is best to not assume that the sorts of legal rights and Constitutional guarantees enjoyed here, even by non-citizen visitors, will apply anywhere else. In fact, they don’t.
Citizenship status in other realms varies widely for their own nationals. A brief summary insofar is as known to me (please correct if you see errors):
Sable: Closest to US cultural norms in that birth citizenship is assumed for its own nationals and visitors are generally provided the same protections under law as its own citizens.
Reich: Citizenship is not based on birth for Reich nationals and several classes of persons exist within the Reich depending on genetic heritage, political affiliation and local laws. Legal rights in the Reich exist largely only for their own native citizens, and are not extended to non-citizen natives or visitors from other realms. The disparity in legal protections, limitations to custodial conditions, and access to due process for citizens and non-citizens in the Reich is extreme. Visitors should not expect any considerations of counsel, due process, protections against self incrimination, trial by jury, notification of Embassy, or any other familiar practice.
Empire:
In the Empire, citizenship is not universal at birth.
Citizenship may be declared by birth nationals over the age of 12 who have no legal or financial entanglements and who are self supporting if they are not military members or affiliated with service to a temple. Serving military members who are not members of the aristocracy are not considered citizens and can not vote. Serving members and priests of an Empire deity are not citizens.
Females who have not declared themselves to be citizens, who still reside in their parents’ homes, who are married, or who have been taken as mistresses are not citizens. They are considered dependents and do not vote.
Slaves are not citizens.
Foreign nationals are not citizens.
A person who resides within the Empire for 5 years, and is not a dependent or in debt may declare citizenship by fiat.
There are several distinct legal systems within the Empire: civil, military, and divine. Each system has jurisdiction over separate classes of offenses and persons within the Empire. Military members are held accountable under the military justice system exclusively, with perhaps rare exceptions if an offense against divine law is at question. Temple dependents and priests are accountable under divine law only and their god or goddess is responsible for them. Pilots are accountable only to the Divine Alystyr and are largely unprosecutable for any offense that ALystyr cannot be moved to notice. All others tend to fall under civil legal provisions.
Legal provisions apply equally in most cases in the Empire for citizens and non-citizens with the exception that criminal laws apply differently in the case of slaves. Dependents and children may be subject to legal penalties based on the financial failings or criminal actions of the head of household.
‘Sins of the Father’ laws exist for certain crimes in the Empire. This means that dependents of a law breaker can be held criminally culpable and be penalized for the head of house’s actions. An example would be a failure in fiduciary duty on the part of someone charged with public finances or the Emperor’s accounts, malfeasance results in the punishment of the person responsible and the enslavement of the entire household.
There is no legal protection for Ambassadors and diplomatic personnel of foreign powers at war with the Empire. These individuals are seized and enslaved upon apprehension. No grace period is allowed.
Casablanca and the External Empire follows most of the same legal guidelines with the exception that foreign nationals who are non-citizens may legally work and earn income in the External Empire, whereas they may not in Eboricum.
Non-citizen foreigners are generally subject to the same legal penalties and protections as native born Imperials.
A note on social mores:
(Please feel free to offer additional information or contradictions as your experiences have varied.)
Confidence level: Medium, further data preferred, subjective observations, limited scope of observations.
When visiting other realms it can help to have a general sense of what conduct may be considered normal and inoffensive.
Sable: Tends to be a conservative society with social values and public behavioral standards more similar to 1940-1950 US St. James. Dress is conservative, women may wear trousers but it is less common than skirts. Overt public displays of affection are discrete and modest. Sexuality is considered very private. Religion is largely monotheistic Christian variant with two dominant Christian sects. Family composition is in keeping with the nuclear, two-parent household ideal with extended relatives. Alternative sexuality is not obvious in public life. Sexual mores favor monogamy and committed relationships.
Reich: Similar to the entry for Sable, with exceptions in terms of a titular State version of generic religion, and a more widespread cultural practice of a Norse based polytheism. There is some indication that in private, the social and sexual scene is more diverse and considerably wilder; however this appears to be kept behind closed doors and restricted to a limited circle of social peers. Publicly, the traditional family norm is vaunted as the cultural ideal.
Empire: The Empire’s social customs and wildly different sexual morality are the largest adjustment for most St. James visitors. The age of consent at 12 is considerably lower than expected. The use of slaves for sexual gratification and their availability renders St. James notions of personal conduct backward.
Adultery in the Empire is defined as a married individual having a BABY with someone not their spouse or mistress if either parent is married. Simply having sex with someone not your spouse does not qualify as adultery or even questionable conduct. A person from St. James who declines an offer of sex based on their marriage vows will at best be taken for quaint, possibly laughed at, or even may give offense to those unfamiliar with St. James who can’t imagine a refusal on that grounds.
Attending parties or accepting private invitations, it will be common for an Imperial host to offer a bed slave or slaves, bath slaves who perform sexual services, or outright orgies as entertainment. Individuals should be prepared to cope in such circumstances and should make arrangements within existing St. James relationships to deal with any unexpected stresses this environment might cause.
It should be noted that while slaves cannot decline sex by law, in practice some slaves, particularly senior or specialist slaves, may have privileges to do so within their own Houses. It is also possible a host may have a preferred slave. Therefore it is courteous to inquire of your host if there are any restrictions you should adhere to during your visit.
The exception to the sexually charged environment is relations with minors. It is prosecutable to have sex with anyone under 12, and it is prosecutable to have sex in the view or hearing of anyone age 8 or below. You should take care when visiting houses with children and many such houses will display plaques warning visitors that children are present in public areas of the home.
In terms of dress, near nudity in public is not unusual. Communal baths are the norm. Highly provocative dress is stylish. Body art, piercings and tattoos are highly fashionable.
Parties and sporting entertainments are sometimes mixed. Betting is a national pastime. Recreational drug use is common, with only a few prohibited substances. The Arena is the primary sporting contest and it is normal to follow particular gladiators or spend the day at a series of fights.
Some suggested expansion for the Federation entry:
“Federation: The Federation is the antithesis of the Empire and was created as a sort of mirror effect when Roland created the Aurellis. While they do not keep slaves, reliable documentation confirms that they eat their academic failures and felons, raise humans as food, and forage for additional humans in foreign parts to supplement their food supply. They have repeatedly taken actions against St. James on the Outside.”
Source: Personal interactions with captured personnel or other direct sources, and Ani Erikson’s conversations with Jorge von Raeder.
The Federation was first formed as a twin complement of Eboricum. Randol Yorke became Roland’s conterpart as an effect of the creation effort. The Empire and Federation came into conflict very early on in their history and have remained so ever since.
Randol Yorke was the first Federation president with his wife, Swayvanna, as first lady. Swayvanna had connections and rank in Thelbane and Sarabann, being a daughter of Swayville. Her connection with Randol led to her becoming estranged from her connections on the Outside as political issues resolved themselves although its unclear to what extent these contacts may remain privately active.
Within the last year, Randol became quite ill and died. The nature of that illness is still being somewhat speculated on, however it is thought to have to do with a loyalty virus he was using to control his senior government officials backfiring. Many of the facilitators (individuals, usually very attractive females, used to infect important people with the loyalty virus through sexual contact) either died or became critically ill during the same time period. It is thought that the virus and its effects are no longer extant, although this is not entirely proved.
The present president of the Federation is Lincoln Troy-Abrahams and his first lady is Helen de Troy-Abrahams.
There is some speculation, largely by me, that recent information that has come into Spec Ops hands indicated that Randol has returned to life and may be seeking either to reclaim his old authority to set out on additional projects.
The Federation is reported to be a very different place socially and politically. Women in the Federation who are of legal age do not have the right to refuse sexual intercourse if the person requesting the act meets their registered price. Women are trained in sexual matters as part of formal education and go for yearly testing which sets their ‘prostitution index’, a multiplier used to determine the cost of a sexual activity depending on which ‘menu item’ is chosen. A woman’s prostitution index may vary with skill, social position, celebrity status, and other intangible items. However, if a person offers the appropriate sum for a stated activity, the woman may not decline and must provide value for the money. No female is exempt from this requirement.
The Federation also uses human meat as a food source. They have a governmental department dedicated to quality control and overseeing the food program. Individuals and businesses may apply to become part of this program much the way ranchers farm beef, pork or poultry in the US…the difference being that the animal protein source is human. Typically, criminals and those who are unable to meet academic standards become part of the ‘program’.
A leading family in the Federation are the Wolfe’s. They have involvement militarily and politically in Federation life. It is said that this family is particularly gifted both in military strategy and in mental compulsion. Evidence of this was seen recently in a communication system fielded by the Wolfes in action against Casablanca which literally rendered a message unreadable unless the receiving individual had been appropriately conditioned, and which left those conditioned unable to communicate the message except under specific circumstances.
There is some evidence that the Federation has been collaborating with the Gou’ald in harvesting humans from St. James. It may be that humans rejected as hosts by Gou’ald and who aren’t suitable as mining slaves are being recycled into the Federation food program, and that humans being breed in the food program are being vended to the Gou’ald as potential hosts or slaves. They share mutual aims in this regard.
There is also some evidence that the Federation have experimented with Gou’ald surrogates or hybrids, a sort of fake or lobotimized Gou’ald parasite, in an effort to attain Gou’ald abilities and interface with their tech without becoming a Gou’ald host.
Worth mentioning that the marraige to Swayvanna was only relatively recently, and that he was married to Larabelle (now Goddess of True Love in the Empire) before Randol looked to gain the aid of Swayvanna (and Sarrabann through the political marraige).
An additional note on Empire based slavery…
The Divine Selene intervenes to prevent harm or abuse to slaves. For voluntary slaves who find they are ‘in over their head’ and are unable to cope with the consequences of sexual use, they become “sex dolls”. Divine Selene puts their mind in a sort of virtual reality and leaves enough function in the body to do basic self care and follow directions. The slave is not cognitively present until their term of service concludes.
This is not a consideration offered to slaves taken for cause to the best of my understanding.
I leave it to the reader to determine for themselves whether this is better, worse, or as bad from a St. James perspective.
The Empire strongly believes in consequence and living with the results of choices and decisions, even bad ones. This is seen in law and common usage, civil matters, etc. The Divine Selene’s choice to do this is considered extraordinarily kind when viewed from within the cultural framework.
The Empire definition of rape:
“It is declared that a man rapes a free woman if he forces her to engage in a sexual act to which she did not consent, or from which, even if she did consent, she derives no pleasure, or from which even if she did consent, she suffers physical injury out of proportion to the pleasure she derives. The penalty for a first rape is flogging and 10 years slavery. The second rape is penalised by compulsory sexual transformation and a further 10 years slavery. A third rape is punishable by death. It is not possible in law to rape a slave.”
This applies only to free women who are not life bonded to the man involved.
“Men together may undertake acts of congress for the seeking of pleasure, without any offence, except in the case of rape: It is declared that a man rapes a free man if he forces him to engage in a sexual act to which he did not freely and fully consent. It is not possible in law to rape a slave. Male rape is punishable as with female rape.”
“It is recognised that a female or group of females may engage in congress with either a female or male, under duress or bondage. In either case, then the female definition of rape applies i.e. if the person did not consent, derives no pleasure, or receives injuries out of proportion with the pleasure, then a rape has taken place. The penalty for this offence is flogging, 100 lashes, and 10 years slavery. It is not possible for any free female to rape a slave under law.”