WickedThought

So, next week, starting on Monday and ending on Friday, I’ll be posting the rules for creating a character. If you follow along, by the end of the week, you will have a complete character.

Be ready.

VIRTUES & LESSONS
The best of us are always looking to take care for the worst of us.
–    Virtues, Cassias Aldophus

Everyone is always looking for a place to put the knife.
– Lessons, Cyrin Ildelvi
 

The virtues of chivalry can be traced back to the dark times after the fall of the Old Empire. They were rules to guide the fighting man, to give him a sense of right and wrong. What they have developed into is a way of life to guide those who hold thousands of lives in their hands.
When questions of honor arise, the ven turn to a single book, the official treaties on the subject. Virtues, a treatise on honor and chivalry was written by a man named Cassias Aldophus. A document over two hundred years old, Virtues directs nobles through the dark morass of moral ambiguity.

(You can read the entirety of Aldophus’ text later in this book.)

The purpose of chivalry is to maintain society, to inhibit the wicked, and empower the righteous. It is a goal, not a destination. The ven are flawed, imperfect creatures, and chivalry gives them an ideal to aspire to. The notions of chivalry can be traced to those dark times when no government or social order stood, when warrior-kings ruled at whim. Thus, chivalry is in direct opposition to “might makes right.” Instead, chivalry espouses the notion of “noble obligation,” that is, the strong have an obligation to protect the weak.

Only the ruling class is expected to be chivalrous; the peasant out in the field is too busy to concern himself with matters of honor and duty. But to what was quickly becoming known as the “nobility,” this code of ethics was seen as the only thing keeping them from falling back into a world of chaos.

In the courts of the ven, they tell stories of noble knights and modest ladies. Tales of chivalry and romance. Stories. But we all know the difference between stories and reality.

Knights are trusted to self-monitor their behavior, the ultimate “honor system.” The truth of the matter is far from the ideal. Knights and ladies operate under the veneer of chivalry, but in fact, the realities of court life demand an entirely different kind of code.

This alternate code was first publicly addressed in an anonymous book entitled Lessons. The sheer boldness of the volume caused a near panic in the Senate as the nameless author used real Senators (under thinly veiled pseudonyms) to illustrate his points. The book advocated a philosophy we would call real politic. It advocated dishonesty, deception, and even murder. While Virtues clearly stated that one’s methods were just as important as the outcome, Lessons disagreed entirely. The ends were all and the means were nothing.

The anonymous author of Lessons was eventually revealed after his death. His name was Cyrin Ildelvi, a man with no title or claim of Blood: he was a lowly clerk working in the Senate. His position gave him the means to learn all manner of secrets and his lowly position gave him perfect anonymity. His daughter found her father’s original papers and delivered them to the Senate, hoping to gain some manner of favor for her discovery. She died shortly thereafter with no official investigation.

Since then, the Senate and courts have played out their dramas with two philosophies, using them both as weapons in their private wars.

AELDANA DE SHANRU TALA
“The world has no mercy.”

The world that surrounds the ven is full of danger. The jungles are populated with deadly creatures—some of which defy reason. The Season of Storms lasts more than half the year. Skimming the seas are leviathans, just waiting for the unwary sailor or fisherman. Travel requires bodyguards, roadmen, trained in the ways of the world.

When the ven speak of the world, they call her Shanru Tala, “the merciless mother.” The ven pray to many spirits, but not to Shanru Tala. She will not hear prayers. Scholars cannot agree on whether or not she even cares for her children. Some say she treats them harshly so they may grow strong. Others argue that she cast her children from her bosom because she hates them and wants them to suffer before they die. Petitioning her with prayer is useless. Only fools whisper her name for help.

This attitude of self-reliance has found its way into the very heart of ven culture. Every child is expected to stand on his own. Those who rely on others are weak and worthy of ridicule, scorn and even violence. Those who cannot protect themselves do not deserve mercy or justice. Even the ven legal system reflects this callous attitude (see below).

Those who are strong, those who grow from their suffering, those who prove themselves worthy may gain a blessing from the cruel mother, but none dare thank her. Speaking her name will only draw her attention and no sane man wants that.

While Shanri is filled with exotic fauna and flora, most of it is incredibly dangerous. Knowledge of what a ven can and cannot eat, where he should and should not go are invaluable. Fruits and vegetables are in abundance although collecting seeds is a risky venture. Also, mining is much riskier on Shanri than it is over on our side of the pond. Things live in the ground, drawn by sound and vibration. This makes most precious and semi-precious stones and minerals incredibly rare. Iron is a luxury as are gold, silver and copper. Most stones strong enough for architecture are also in scarcity. Not because they are hard to find, but because the world does not give them up without a fight.

Fortunately, the remains of the sorcerer-kings take up the need for most architecture. The ven prefer living in the ancient mansions of their masters, reveling in the homes where once they were slaves. The buildings themselves stand with the aid of sorcery unknown to the ven. Hallways that seem to go on forever, rooms too large for the structure to hold, secret passages, invisible doors. The buildings have secrets the ven are only beginning to discover.

VANLU DE URAN
“History is watching.”

What the ven can see is only half the world. There is also the uran shanvu, “the invisible world,” the world of ghosts, spirits and specters. The ven know these things surround them all the time. The invisible world influences the visible world in real and powerful ways.

When the ven say their history is watching them, it is not a colorful metaphor. Unless a ven is murdered, he does not truly die. Instead, as he ages, his blood cools, his reflexes slow, his mind becomes jumbled with dreams, and his body begins secreting a thick substance not unlike a spider’s web. The ven call this process “seeking solace.” Ven lifespan is about 150 to 200 years. Solace begins anywhere within that time.

The process can take anywhere from a year to fifty years. When it is complete, the ven is wrapped in a thick cocoon, completely cut off from the rest of the world… except for his mind. A mind under the effects of solace is powerful—more powerful than before—but it is also in a different state. The solace mind speaks in metaphors and symbols, unable to utilize waking speech. But it can communicate, and often does, to family members and friends through visions and dreams. A ven who is trained to do so may send signals back to a mind in solace, although communication is difficult at best.

To a ven, one of his foremost concerns is keeping the favor of his ancestors whom he feels watch him from solace. The power of their semi-conscious minds can bless him or curse him, depending on his behavior and how he maintains the good name of his family. As such, the ven practice elaborate rituals to keep those in solace happy and content. Letting an ancestor go without praise or worship is a sure way to draw that ancestor’s wrath.

The presence of such beings deeply influences ven culture. They use rituals to please kind spirits and wards to keep evil spirits at bay. The ven have enormous tomes of spirit names, giving them access to powerful magics, binding spirits to objects and places, whether they are cooperative or not.