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Le Monde de Greyhawk
par Armenfrast
   
  Angle  

Power and Factions




Peoples of the Land



Later sections will say much more about particular factions (royal houses, social classes, etc.). What follows here is a simple introduction to the peoples of the Aerdi lands, a foundation for later, more detailed accounts.


Humans

Humans historically have been dominant within Aerdy, and remain the rulers, nobles, mages, sages, and artisans of the lands. There is no specific discrimination against demihumans; it is simply that the lands of the kingdom include very few areas (hills, mountains, etc.) where demihumans traditionally have made their livings and homes.

A dwarven or gnome face is still stared at by many folk in some smaller cities and towns in Aerdi, simply because they are an unusual sight. Humans have run all affairs of the nation here for a long, long time.

The Aerdi are Oeridians, of course, but not many of Aerdy's people are pureblood Aerdi. Lesser Oeridian tribes joined the successful migration of the Aerdi ever eastward. To the south of the kingdom, the Aerdi interbred with Suel people, and to the east and northeast the Oeridian-Flan mix is common (especially in the Sea Barons lands, and on into Ratik). The Oeridian-Suel and Oeridian-Flan mixes are fairer skinned than Aerdi purebloods.

There is little discrimination on the basis of human race, since intermixing has been the norm for many centuries. However, some broad distinctions can be noted.

Oeridian-Suel: These folk tend toward evil alignments more predominantly than purebloods. An aptitude for magic runs strongly in certain families, especially for more subtle, arcane, and evil (necromantic) magics. Oeridian-Suel people are often cunning, sly, and distrusted by others.

This is far less true of the Suel-Oeridian mix which dominates the lands of the Sea Barons. A certain degree of cruelty and cowardice is found there, but these folk are more straightforward and less magically adept.

Purebloods: Old Oeridian blood dominates the great central plains lands and royalty (with exceptions noted in gazetteer chapters). Oeridian stock tends to the practical, straightforward, and unimaginative. At least, this is true nowadays, although it was not always so -- else, the Oeridians would not have been such magnificent colonialists. Rather, those Oeridians who resist mixing with other peoples and stay pureblooded are those who tend to be distrustful of what they do not know, and consequently lacking in imagination and creativity. Nonetheless, hard work, honesty, and loyalty are the positive side of these folk.

Oeridian-Flan: Because this mix is found to the north and east, which has always been frontier territory, the Oeridian-Flan people tend to be self reliant, more Chaotic than others, and rugged, hardy, and adventurous. Customs, such as festival rituals, greetings, burial practices, and even religious and superstitious beliefs, show clearly the affinity with the barbarians of the north, even if most Oeridian-Flan folk are settled and "civilized" these days. A rougher, less "cultured," and more forthright people, Oeridian-Flan people are inclined to resent others in Aerdy, feeling that many are milksops, living an easy life in the rich central lands, and have some contempt for them.

These are, of course, generalizations, but like all stereotypes they have some truth in them, or else they would not have become stereotypes. Nonetheless, humans should not be thought of as a single, monolithic bloc, even within the broad racial mixes.

To be sure, Common is spoken everywhere, since Old Oeridian is the root of the Common tongue. But regional dialects are strong. The rural folk of Ahlissa, for example, would struggle to understand the urbanites of Eastfair without them speaking very slowly. What's more, different provinces within Aerdy have peoples with very different typical personalities. For example, the meanness of the men of Ountsy is as legendary as the laziness of the men of the central plains lands. The gazetteer chapters give much more detail on such regional differences.


Demihumans

Conversely, the only demihuman race of any real note within Aerdi are elves, because of their presence in the Adri and Grandwood forests. There are a handful of evil half-elves serving Aerdi noblemen, but they are rarities. These areas always have been important because of their resources, and elves play a dominant role in dealing with woodsmen and Aerdi merchants who come to trade in the fruits of the forests.

The elven presence is important because of the way elves have become a bastion of resistance to the changes in Aerdi under the House of Naelax; while the wood elves (and fewer high and gray elves) have adhered to the values of Good, they have even more strongly tended to emphasize the value of Chaos, and self determination.

There is little doubt that resistance to Ivid's oppression, and those of his forefathers', have been made easier because elves retreated into seclusion and self sufficiency rather than moving to aid those who opposed the overkings more directly. Times are changing, and the druids and rangers of the east find many allies among the elves now. In the Grandwood and Lone Heath in particular, the alliances of elves with humans are vital to the defense of homelands. Still, many such as the Sentinels of the Adri, or the grugach, remain aloof and uncaring of the fate of humanity.

The other demihuman races are not of importance in nationwide terms, though a few pockets of dwarves, gnomes and halflings are of note in specific areas.


Humanoids

An increasing number of humanoid mercenaries have been employed within Aerdy. Originally, their use was confined to the Naelax lands, and especially in the North Province, where Bone March humanoids are used as troops. Ivid himself introduced the fierce Euroz into Rauxes as an elite guard. Recruiting humanoids from the Bone March has become an increasingly common practice outside of the southern lands; some are also recruited from the small enclaves in the Grandwood.

The advantage to the rulers who paid such armies was an instant manpower boost. While the new armies had to be paid, the full productive capacity of the land could still be maintained. Men who might at other times have been recruited forcibly into poorly equipped peasant levies with wretched morale and training could stick with what they were good at -- growing food and making goods -- while the orcish militia arrived with fair equipment, fair discipline, and real eagerness for the fray.

During and since the wars, however, these militia and mercenaries have become a major menace in many Aerdy lands, even outside the holdings of those who originally recruited them. With some rulers penniless, some executed and leaving a power vacuum in their lands, and others insane or unable to act, the orcs and the rarer hobgoblins have often become freebooters. They raid, pillage, and go where they please.

Only in North Province, where Herzog Grace Grenell actively allied with the Bone March against Nyrond, are these troops still reliably under the control of the ruler.

These roaming orc mercenaries are having a good time of it, especially in central lands where the opposition to them is weak and the pickings rich. The orcs have grown wily and smart, and they have altered the practice of warfare and skirmishing in Aerdy. The most famous example of this is the desertion of Prince Trellar's orcish mercenaries to the city of Pontylver in an abortive sacking of that city in Coldeven, CY 585.

Against Trellar's orders, the orcs put up their siege engines and sent a chieftain-emissary into Pontylver. Offered a better pay rate by the city's ruler, the orcs spent two long days in financial discussions before they promptly turned right around and massacred Trellar together with his armies. This has set an interesting precedent for further warfare within Aerdy.

Indeed, in some lands the orcs have settled down and built towns. The most notable examples are the coastal orcs of Montesser on the Spindrift Sound. Thousands of miles from home, with few orcish priests to rabble-rouse them, these members of an non-influential orcish tribe simply decided that two years of marching was enough and a warm summer with plenty of sun and food in the belly was appealing. Such peaceability is distinctly unusual, however.


The Royal Houses



There are literally thousands of Aerdi men calling themselves "princes." The politics of the royal houses of Aerdi are subtle and complex, often confusing to outsiders.

Historically, a handful of royal houses have formed the aristocracy of Aerdy. Their relative importance has in some cases waxed and waned historically, in others stayed the same. Some royal houses are strongly identified with land holdings in a particular area, such as the Crandens in Almor, and the Torquanns in southeastern Aerdy. Others have been primarily identified with "spheres of concern," such as the aggressive, soldiering Naelax and the House of Darmen, always to the fore in commerce and trade.

As a thumbnail sketch, the major royal houses of note are:

Naelax: Ruling Royal House, major landholders, noted for their penchant for building large scale, formidable castles and fortifications -- and for their vanity.

Rax-Nyrond: The Rax line is officially extinct, but there are some illegitimate descendants of Nasri who claim a line to the malachite throne, and historically the house is of major importance because of its junior branch and the foundation of Nyrond.

Torquann: An Oeridian-Flan-Suel mix, this house has dominated commerce and trade along the eastern coastal provinces. Traditionally aloof in politics, this house has a long, long history of dour, hard, depressive rulers whose lands suffer heavy taxation and repressive laws.

Garasteth: The House of Garasteth is feared for its mages and sages, and for its inscrutablity and arcane knowledge. The house is not much given to temporal power, but sees itself as a guardian of true Oeridian culture and wisdom. The house is increasingly influential among local rulers given the threat of the Suloise Scarlet Brotherhood to the south (and in the Lordship of the Isles). Garasteth rulers are hard, cold, cruel individuals, but they are to be feared on account of their devotion to learning and their formidable intellects.

Cranden: Once the royal house, the Crandens have dominated Almor and Ahlissa for centuries. A worldly, urbane aristocracy, their prestige plummeted with the secession of Almor and the abortive attempt to ally South Province with the Iron League. The House of Naelax moved swiftly to remove control of these provinces from Cranden, but the other houses were not prepared to see Cranden wholly destroyed and exerted pressure which even the overkings could not wholly resist. The House of Cranden is important because it resists the more insane evils of the overking, and the old affinity with the Iron League is not completely lost. Irongate and Sunndi have friends they trust among the lesser princes of this house.

Darmen: Often thought flighty and trivial by the more powerful political houses, the House of Darmen has devoted itself to trade and commerce and found its niche there. Easily the richest house, Darmen has massive landholdings from eastern Ahlissa through the central provinces with their rich and fertile plains, even as far as North Province. The House of Darmen believes itself fated to be the next Ruling Royal House, with its ambitious young Prince Xavener employing a sensible long term strategy. Xavener has no intention of wasting his armies assaulting Rauxes. Instead, he bankrolls mercenaries for competing houses elsewhere. Often, he bankrolls both sides. That way, he is certain to back the winner -- who will owe him a very large favor. When the time comes, with everyone else's armies decimated, Xavener will call in those favors and march on Rauxes. Such is his plan, at any rate. However, not all in the House of Darmen support him.

There are no formal heads of houses. Power, more than seniority, -- except in the case of the House of Garasteth -- brings deference. Still, with major princes owning lands so far apart and so extensive, it is difficult for any one to truly dominate the rest.

There have always been land struggles, intrigues, and rivalries between and within these houses, of course. The most bitter between-house rivalries are the Naelax/Rax-Nyrond feud, and the Torquann-Garasteth feud. Where these are important, they are described in the gazetteer chapters. However, the houses have historically avoided their intrigues breaking out into war, with exceptions such as the Turmoil between Crowns -- but that was a war over the Throne itself. They have done so in two ways; through cross fostering, and dynastic marriages.


Royal Fostering



It has been common practice in Aerdy for centuries for the recognized heir of one royal house to be fostered from age two or three until early adulthood, about age 14, by the leading family of another royal house. Gradually, this practice spread until it became commonplace among all princely families. The original idea was that the fostered child would be a hostage to ensure peace, and at the same time would learn the values and ideas of other houses. It worked, in that one house would often not attack the lands of another for fear that its own heir would be slain.

Since the accession of Ivid I, however, such fostering only became common among families who actually trusted each other, an increasingly unlikely state of affairs. Nonetheless, knowing who has fostered whom among Aerdi royalty is often vital to understanding local politics.


Marriage and Property



Royal marriages are a complex business. Originally, while inheritance of property followed the male line, the marriage partners took the family name of the pre-eminent royal house in the match. In the beginning this was not too difficult, as a fairly clear pecking order of royal houses could be agreed.

However, as Aerdy grew in size, and especially as some houses came to eminence not through landholdings (the traditional indicator of eminence) but through trade or learning and magical skills, very complex negotiations had to be engineered. Sometimes, two houses would agree on a tradeoff, whereby two marriages would take place at the same time, with each pair taking the name of the other house to ensure equity.

Dowries for brides became the subject of negotiations which could last for months. In one legendary case, the negotiations dragged on 27 years, until the bride to be fell out of a carriage and was stomped into an early grave by the following cavalry detachment.

Another problem must be added to this. Inheritance is not a simple business. A ruling noble (prince) leaves his landholdings to one heir (son), but his wealth other than landholdings is distributed equally to all his male heirs, and all of them may also call themselves "prince."

This leads to a bewildering hierarchy among princes. At the top are the big landholders. Next are those who have inherited a fair sum of wealth, usually in the form of lesser landholdings, since the eldest son may make a deal with his brothers, giving them land in return for the money he needs to run his estates. Finally, there are those who inherited almost no money from wastrel or incompetent fathers. A subtle and complex social etiquette, almost impossible for outsiders to understand, regulates the behavior of these different shades of "princes" toward each other.

Some princes are very powerful men, owning hundreds of thousands of square miles of land. Some princes have but a few coins in their pocket and hardly know where the next meal is coming from.

All this makes for extraordinary politics. A prince might cash in his house affiliation for a decent dowry one year, and the next year could decide to switch back if this seems like a smart thing to do (e.g., to avoid an attack on his lands by a house which is a rival to the one he has married into).

Increasingly, princes only use their first names, "Prince Carrdren," instead of the old form of their titles, "Prince Carrdren of Torquann." Some use their place of residence in their title, since this is a nod in the direction of their house affiliation without being blatant or definitive about it. For example, "Prince Carrdren of Montrey" implies that the man is of the Torquann House, since they dominate landholdings around Montrey. But their ownership isn't exclusive, so this leaves room for doubt. Shifting affiliations, and disguise of one's own real loyalties, and a willingness to ditch them when needs be, have become a hallmark of the past two generations of Aerdi princes. This helps explain the wretched mess the country has got itself into.


Animus Nobles



A special note must be made of these monsters. Individual rulers are described in depth later, but a general point which must be kept in mind is that their troops, and subjects, are generally terrified of them.

It is one thing to serve an evil, cruel, cunning ruler. It is quite another to serve an inhuman monster with no need of rest or sleep -- with cold rages incapable of human comprehension, which can bring men to their knees with but a wave of its hand.

The dread these creatures inspire explains much behavior which might otherwise seem hard to understand.


Nobles, Merchants, and Peasants



Aristocrats

As noted, not all princes are landholders, but almost all major landholders are princes (with some "secondary aristocracy"; see below).

No man can hold a land grant without the permission of the overking, and this prevents any freeman-peasant from becoming a landed aristocrat.

Technically, as in so many other lands in the Flanaess, the overking grants landholdings to princes. Historically this amounted simply to the overking acknowledging land ownership by houses, and accepting the responsibility of mediating disputes about such ownership.

Since Aerdy is a huge land, the princes then appointed landholding liegemen, sometimes lesser princes. Such liegemen either leased land from princes, bought it (very unusual, but the House of Darmen made important gains this way), or were even more rarely given a land grant by a grateful prince in return for an important service. Almost always, whatever the arrangement, the liegeman had permanent obligations to the prince -- payment of taxes, and making some or all of his soldiery available in times of need, were the usual burdens.

These liegemen form the bulk of the "secondary aristocracy" of Aerdy; the Dukes, Barons, Counts, and so on. Some are genuinely powerful in their own right, with sizeable estates and large castles. Others are petty despots who paid a goodly sum to a prince to grant them such a title. Only the overking, or a prince who is head of a royal house, can grant such titles; poor princes are often willing to sell a title.

The House of Darmen has a strong representation in this secondary aristocracy, often through the women of the house who marry outside of royalty and whose husbands then buy or acquire a barony or duchy. The important point here is that these secondary titles mean relatively little. A baron in Furyondy is a powerful man with a sizeable army and much land; in Aerdy, he may have but a few acres and a couple of dozen mercenary thugs at his back. So, just as with princes, other aristocrats come in all shapes and sizes.

Orders of knighthood are less important in Aerdy than in lands such as Furyondy and the Theocracy of the Pale. Questing knights bravely battling dangers and perils are uncommon in a land without mountains or hills, largely civilized, and mostly comprised of great swathes of arable land. Dragon killing isn't easy when the dragons just aren't there to be killed. Likewise, moralistic knights, such as the Templars of the Theocracy, are thin on the ground in a nation which has slowly slid into degeneracy for many generations.

The few orders of knighthood which exist are special, limited in number, and without much influence. The Knights Majestic of the Companion Guard are impressive servants of Ivid, to be sure, but beyond Rauxes they are of little note. Likewise, many local rulers have knights in their service, but these are "household knights." There is nothing to compare with the Knights of the Hart in Furyondy, Veluna, and farther abroad to the far west, for example. Finally, one might note that in a land where to be a baron or count may mean little or nothing, even some princes are paupers. The title of knight is hardly an ambition many cherish in their hearts.


Merchants

Merchants have played a vital role in the development of Aerdy. Dominated by the House of Darmen and those it appoints to guilds and societies, merchants have been the bankrollers for many a prince's ambitions. Because of the odd system of inheritance of money, many a ruling prince has had to borrow large sums to finance the support and expansion of his estates. Imperial edicts on what interest merchant-moneylenders can charge on borrowing has to be carefully balanced; the withdrawal of Darmen's goodwill would have a stultifying effect on Aerdy.

The famous charisma and charm of the House of Darmen has headed off resentment among noble borrowers, though, and the scions of this house have been prepared, at times, to write off some debits to keep things sweet with princes who they might want to call in favors from at a later time.

An example of how merchants have played a powerful role in Aerdy's growth is the Windmarch, the great series of trade fairs which travel through Aerdy west to east from Planting right through to Patchwall. The name comes from the old belief that the roads and paths used by anyone traveling from one fair to the next followed the prevailing wind, which usually comes from the west from late spring into late summer.

These fairs stimulate trade and barter and generate income and wealth for many -- from tolls on major roads, tavern taxes, hostelry bills, etc.

Merchants also have funded much of the growth of cities, paying for bridges, docks and wharves, and improvements which make trade easier. As a result, merchants who are not princes still hold exalted positions in Aerdy society. For example, wealthy merchants are the only men other than princes allowed to walk the central Great Way in Rauxes. Certain clothes, such as silks and guild regalia, only can be worn by merchants or guildmasters. For anyone else to wear them is a crime which is heavily punished.

However, Aerdy merchants are famously amoral. They have little in the way of principles, and they are perfectly prepared to rob a vendor or customer blind if they think they can get away with it.

This is less true when they deal with people they know. However, merchants gain kudos by fleecing some first time or ignorant buyer of his hard earned gold, and there is little principle to be found among these folk. Importantly, women play as active a role in trade as men, which is somewhat unusual in Aerdy life.

Lastly, there is a powerful class of "landed merchants." These are men who have bought, or taken a very long lease upon, sizeable landholdings and who in return become almost merchants in the service of their patron prince in exchange for the prince paying for the militia, men at arms, and the like who protect the merchant's land holdings.

In all respects, merchants have a social standing which skilled workers and artisans do not have. This is partly historical, because of the role of Zilchus's priesthood in the expansion of Aerdy, and partly a ruboff from royalty, since the House of Darmen has so many merchants among its number. Indeed, in addition to the "landed merchant" one might take note of the "merchant princes" which this house contains within its ranks.


Peasants

Aerdy always has been a feudal nation. There is no history of "free boroughs", democracy, towns run by elected burghers, or anything similar. Most of its people are, as their parents and grandparents were, feudal serf peasants.

Peasants have a life in Aerdy which is similar to life experienced by peasants anywhere.

The huge Flanmi-Thelly river systems make central Aerdy a vast rolling plain of arable land, with river basins providing excellent land for growing grain and vegetables. Livestock farming becomes more important away from the regularly flooded river basins. Peasants include serfs, "freemen" who lease small farmholdings from the liegemen of princes or landed merchants, but they never own the land they cultivate.

Peasants are, ultimately, the property of the prince owning the land they farm on. In some areas, they are treated reasonably well; in others, atrociously, depending on the local ruler.

Not unlike Furyondy (as described in The Marklands), a peasant farmer works long hours tending his crops. He might have one or two oxen or cattle to help with plowing; he might share ownership of such beasts with a neighbor. He will have a few chickens for eggs and perhaps a goat for milk and cheese. He will not have a barn, or anything much beyond a simple dwelling, which may be even of mud and wattle in areas with little wood. He likely uses a liegeman's barn for his hay and perhaps even borrows the liegeman's wagons for taking goods to markets. The peasant might share his own dwelling with some of his animals, the better to look after them (keeping them warm in winter and away from raiders and poachers in the summer).

The peasant family will make cheese, whey, jams, and preserves from summer fruits bought at market. Some peasants do not have an oven, though, so making pies from meat, fowl, or even fish might be the province of the local baker-pieman.

When the time comes to pay his lord, the farmer will worry himself sick trying as best he can to be sure that the goods he must give are of acceptable quality and sufficient quantity.

Children of such families don't get educated; that's the exclusive province of aristocracy, merchants, and artisans.

Most peasants won't ever have seen a Gold Ivid. They live by barter. They take little to market, since they don't produce much more than they can eat on their small holdings. Often, most trade is done by the landholder himself. Again, the majority of peasants won't ever have traveled more than a few miles from the places there they were born, though along riverways where longer travel is feasible this may not be so.

So, this is a simple life, but the great shadow over Aerdy needs to be discussed here. From The Ashes gives Evil in all forms as the dominant alignment of the peoples of Aerdy. The nature and prevalence of Evil is discussed below, but is it really true that this is the dominant alignment for such ordinary folk?

The answer is both no and yes. No, because peasants don't truly have alignments. They wake up at some horrifying hour of the morning, toil at endless hours of drudgery in the fields, spend the few non-working days they have drinking themselves into a stupor, and then they get up and do it all over again.

One might indeed say there is a dominant alignment of NE; Neutral-Exhausted. These people are too tired to be good or evil.

However, it is equally true that the attitudes and behavior even of peasants has shifted toward the malign. Generations of increasingly cruel rulers, and the stalking of the lands by orcs, evil priests, and the like does takes its toll after years. One peasant might murder another for a single coin in his pocket -- or because he uttered some personal insult which might have simply led to a fistfight even 20 or 30 years past.

What was once an insular uncertainty toward outsiders and foreigners has turned into outright hostility -- even threats and possible attack in the hope of taking money, clothing, possessions, anything of value. The ordinary people have been affected by the changes among their rulers; they see Evil triumph, and they begin to affiliate with it themselves. This is, perhaps, the greatest of all the tragedies of this once great nation.

Yet, while such behavior is certainly evil, it has to be understood in part as a response to the recent changes in Aerdy. Ordinary people, often given to superstition, are afraid. The druid or priest who once blessed their crops and healed their wounds and injuries might be found on a sunny morning with a poisoned dagger in his back -- another victim of the Midnight Darkness agents.

A stranger seen on the outskirts of town could turn out to be a disguised fiend, or even a spy for an army seeking fields and crops to pillage for supplies. Even seeing soldiers of one's own landholder could herald an impossible demand for taxes, livestock, or worse. Life always has been hard for peasants, and with many evil rulers they were subject to humiliations and oppression they hated but learned to survive. Now, however, so many lands are submerged in a sea of chaos that almost nothing, no one, can be trusted. Small wonder that so many just take what they can, and regard might as right.

This is not true everywhere, of course, but this gloomy picture is all too accurate for most of Aerdy's people.



Rulership and Law
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