Talk:Kingdom of Emlyn

Expanded lore on Emlyn for native charactres and estate holders; social order, world view, knights, quirks, family and religious practices.

Usage warning

This page represents expanded lore for the players of Emlyn. It is geared towards those who are interested in playing natives or estate owners. One of the real values of Sanctuary is that it is home to travelers who bring all manner of unique perseptive to our role-play. No aspect of this page or any other on this wiki should be used to brow-beat, shame or belittle another player. If for some reason, you meet someone playing a native who is off page, please instead bring the issue to one of the admins or the kingdom leader that we might handle it respectfully.

Overview

Note From Lara

Like the other kingdoms, there are aspects of Emlyn that are in great shift since the fall of the Thorn King. Yet, Emlyn was one of the kingdoms most "okay" with the worship so they are transitioning slowly, and many devoted Thorn King families still live in the kingdom. Certainly the emerging non-humans of the kingdom have been quickest to push back on Thorn King traditions, but it is a culture still in flux. The religion is returning in many ways to an earlier earth-based practice, but the core virtue beliefs remain intact.

We have given you an overview of their social structure and world view, along with a selection of unique traits to help the players develop a unique Emlyn culture. When looking for inspiration look to the late Norman time period (prior to the signing of the Magna Carta), Lord of the Rings, Welsh and Irish Gaelic lore and the Crusades.

View of Other Kingdoms

What and how the players role-play will have more to do with how each kingdom interacts with the other, but here are some general thoughts that might be in the minds of a native.

• Kraestrat is assumed to be filled with nightmares, witches, vampires, werewolves, and power-hungry irresponsible practitioners.
• Raeyithia was once their greatest ally, but since the overthrowing of the Thorn King, there has been growing concern that either the Orcs or one of the Tuatha de Dannan would come to power.
• Midrvegr, if not for the kingdom's own inherent arrogance about who does and doesn't count, would share many traditions with ancient Emlyn. Unfortunately, Midrvegr has never forgiven Emlyn for the forced conversion centuries ago.
• Andus is a confusing relationship for Emlyn. Certainly in the beginning the monotheistic Andalusians were accepted by the incoming Andals and the worship of the Thorn King. Once the power of the Thorn King took over the rest of the continent, crusades to convert Andus would be fitfully started and ended. It has historically been a rocky relationship. But now with the divergent changes to religion in both countries, they are struggling to understand what if any commonalities the two countries do have.

Social Order

A strong sense of honor and the precepts of the code of virtue (Dana & The Seven or The Eight-Fold Path), is the moral compass for those of Emlyn. Whatever they feel is the right, virtuous path, is not only the one they tread, but the one they feel others should follow as well — even if such steadfast devotion to their sense of right can in turn lead to conflict with others.

Those of Emlyn’s aim, of abiding by what they feel is right is meted out by a variety of ways.

For example, some may choose to reside in the catacombs of Port Leon and harness the magic of old that derives deep within the vast ancient vaults below the city. None who follow such a path would outright say they are creating and harboring magical weapons of mass destruction, however that is ultimately the result of such pursuits. These individuals would be adept at knowing the elemental focal points within the catacombs (wind, water, fire, earth), though their specialty would likely fall into one domain. They would also likely have studied the ancient texts in the underground library. They would do this attempting to protect the world against the abuse of magic.

Others may seek fulfillment by upholding the virtues and keeping the feral evils of the realm at bay. Utilizing a combined skillset of both mounted knights and trained forest rangers, those of Emlyn are often known as “masters of the wild.” They make it a regular habit to track down rogue ogres, humans and beasts on the mainland and to keep the roads safe.

No matter the direct path one of Emlyn may take, their sense of righteousness strongly dictates their path in life. They as a people believe themselves to be gatekeepers between the dead and the living. They detest the undead. In fact, it is this very belief which has prompted their custom of burying their dead out at sea—so that the dead may pass and not rise in turn to something unnatural.

They are so dead set on their ideals and beliefs, they can often come across to others as judgemental and rigid. Their unbending nature, in actuality, can be seen as both a strength and a weakness.

Racial Structure

There exists within Emlyn the following groups of people:

• Human families that are predominately of Andal stock that still keep Thorn King ways.
• Those of the sea are comprised of Frem and those who are friendly to the Fremish culture. This culture will hold to older more Gaelic traditions, are particularly clannish and wary of strangers. They will have a culture that ranges from that of the Iron Born (but with no Drowned God) to that of the Gyptians.
• Even more ancient families of Dúnedain stock who converted to the Thorn King but keep their faith secret: first the Noldorians and then Peredhil. This group currently represents the largest political body within the kingdom, and Emlyn is experiencing a quiet but renewed age of elvish scholarship and the magical sciences.
• Non-human groups such as the Cathe Nghêl have started to send ambassadors and emissaries to local human settlements and the capital.

Social Structure

Emlyn is a traditional feudal system as might be expected. You can read more on the feudal system in Gurps Middle Ages from page 18.

World View

The ancient people of Emlyn saw the world as a place on the borders of possibility, as both mysterious and familiar. They accepted magic and the Otherworld as easily as the grass and trees. They accepted wondrous occurrences and strange things found in the fields. They loved to hear tales of mysterious places far away and of great heroes long ago. If those great heroes turned up one day out of the mists looking for lodging, they were welcomed.

Much of that would change with the arrival of the Andals and the introduction of the Thorn King religion who would set the premise that magic and the supernatural were things to be feared and destroyed rather then embraced and welcomed.

Yet both their ancient and modern world view formed a people who don't expect the world to be completely predictable, nor do they seek an explanation for everything. Those of Emlyn accepted this approach to the world, and would find our mechanistic world-view strange – and probably amusing. The how and why of the world is arcane and better left alone. Their attitude to magic and wonders was, “Practitioners may meddle with that sort of thing, but while a warrior isn’t surprised by it, he doesn’t ask questions about it either.”

This doesn’t mean that they don't care what happened to them. They care very much for their honor, their clan, and their reputations; everything that is important to the common man of Emlyn, particularly to the hero, is important personally.

The day-to-day reality of their life is very real and more concerned with their dealings with other people of Emlyn than with the gods, spirits, or other magical beings. The worst thing that could happen to a hero of Emlyn is to be thought poorly of by his peers; he would genuinely prefer death.

While most of Emlyn consider restraint a virtue, they have the ability to throw themselves into their endeavors, to give all they had to what they were doing. While they are not a naturally generous people, when they do give, they give with both hands. “If the brown leaves falling in the woods were gold, if the waves of the sea were silver, Finn would have given away the whole of it.”

Those of Emlyn live as if their history and lore is real and truthful, not simply a collection of fables or parables. Theirs is not a sanitized world-view: if a woman claimed to discovered the image of her true love in a raven tearing at a bloody carcass in the snow she would be believed. It is perhaps easy to understand, with hindsight, how the ancient people of Emlyn were so easily converted to the religion of the Thorn King, and why even today they are quick to believe in the reality of the supernatural.

They find nothing in the natural world disgusting, or shameful. The only shameful things were human behaviors – refusing a fair fight, telling lies (as opposed to speaking less than the whole truth), dishonoring one's family, king or god, et cetera. While they believe there were many joys to be found, even the greatest joys were touched with sadness. A story might be thigh-slappingly funny in the middle, it often ended on a down-note; the hero could be struck down in his prime, or live to melancholy old age to tell the stories of great days gone by to the next generation.

The greatest wish of a hero was that the story of his deeds would live on; thus storytellers and bards are highly honored and lavishly rewarded. It is also easy for the common person of Cuivienen to tell what stories originated in Emlyn versus those of Midrvegr, Raeyithia or Andus.

Negative Traits

Much like their capital city of Caerleon, the people of Emlyn tend to hide their true selves. They tend to be wary of strangers at first. Most often they are not open-handed with gifts or their gold. While their appearance is rarely shabby, their clothing, homes and personal items do not reflect their personal wealth.

They typically struggle with the subtlety of politics, having difficulty embracing belief systems not their own. This trait, certainly true of their elven ancestors, was reinforced during the long centuries of the Thorn King Era. They are, at best, a touch arrogant in their belief of what is right and wrong and at worst totally obtuse when it comes to putting themselves in the shoes of a political rival.

Knights

Knights are a traditional makeup of the Emlyn social order, but they are far more sophisticated than the often brutish cavaliers of earth's middle ages or the fanatical templars of the crusade. Knights of Emlyn bring the role to the pinnacle of its development in the lands of Cuivienen with a wicked combination of the UO Virtues, the Ranger skills of the Dúnedain (similiar to the of the Dyrling Pard of Comraich), and centuries of highly structured warfare. They have come a long way from the warfare of their Cimmerian and Gaelic ancestors, no longer barbaric hordes with limited tactics, they have reached an elite level of tactics and discipline.

The Emlyn Knight is as comfortable in full plate as they are in chainmail and boiled leather. They are equally skilled with bow, pole arms, or blade and shield. They are skilled in guerrilla warfare, siege equipment and mounted combat. If they have one true failure it is their difficulty to anticipate the unexpected or unreasonable attack. Luckily they have a great deal of martial history that has taught them ways of dealing with past moves that can only be considered inane.

Thanes

An ancient tradition, those knights who act as the personal bodyguard and most loyal members of the regent's guard are known as Thanes.

Earl

Those who are land based nobility (estate-owners) are of the Earl rank.

Duke

(Emlyn has no estate currently definable as Ducal estates --- See Lara if you don't understand.)

Social Quirks

The Gesa

The gesa is a kind of personal taboo, a magical restriction or demand such as “Must be first to draw a weapon” or “Must not be woken from sleep.” If gesas were broken, swift and unpleasant retribution would inevitably follow. Those who would be heroes spent a lot of time trying to discover what their gesas are, and trying to do the best they could in the world before their gesas or disasters overtook them. The more heroic and important a person was, the more gesas surrounded him.

Often a hero has to choose between his gesas and his king or his friends. If he chooses to break a gesa, then he is knowingly inviting some doom on himself. If he chose not to, then he had to live with himself after betraying his honor. Sometimes circumstances forced the breaking of a gesa, especially in the case of death gesas when certain conditions had to be fulfilled before someone could die; a hero would try to keep these conditions secret, but they couldn’t be avoided forever.

Fasting

If someone was wronged by another (through the loss of property, the murder of a loved one, or any other offense), and if a challenge to single combat was not an honorable option (because one or both involved weren’t warriors), fasting was a recognized way of bringing a grievance against the offender.

The aggrieved person publicly announced his intention to fast, and then sat in front of his opponent’s house, allowed to drink water, but nothing more. The person in the house was honor-bound not to eat either while the plaintiff was fasting outside. If he did eat, he was obliged by hospitality to offer food to the faster outside, which was seen as an admission that the fasting person was in the right. The fasting continued until one party gave in and ate, at which point the other had won. If the person inside the house ate without offering the other anything, he lost all honor in the eyes of his peers.

The Hero’s Portion

One important tradition in the earl or king’s hall was that of the hero’s portion. When the meat was served in the hall, the largest or most savory portion was supposed to go to the greatest hero present. Great insult could be given if the hero’s portion were given to the wrong person. In some cases the meat was carved and then taken to each person individually. In other cases the carver would ask, “Who claims this portion?”

The Fitness of Things

Those of Emlyn have a great belief in the “fitness of things.” Honor is all-important to them, and this included telling the truth and playing fair. Many times in legends truth and fair play had great rewards. It was said that if the land had a fair king the land would burgeon and be filled to overflowing with fine crops and plentiful fishing and hunting. But a poor king led to the land becoming barren and lifeless.

Those of Emlyn are fond of calling the most dire results on themselves if they broke a bargain. A common oath when sealing a treaty or making an important promise was the Threefold Oath. They swore to their king in this fashion that they wouldn’t leave a battle: “Heaven is above us, and earth beneath us, and the sea is round about us. Unless the sky shall fall with its shower of stars on the ground where we are camped, or unless the earth shall be rent by an earthquake, or unless the waves of the blue sea come over the forests of the living world, we shall not give ground.”

Family

Marriage and Legitimacy

Emlyn has an interesting attitude to marriage. There was no marriage ceremony; if a man and woman lay down together with the intention of being married it legitimized their union. They may if they wish go before a priest or druid and have their union blessed. Sometimes there was a marriage feast, held in the house of the bride’s father. It is considered important to be married, however, many children are illegitimate, without any stigma attaching to them. And divorce for a variety of reasons was considered acceptable even during the age of the Thorn King. See More.

Family trees of any are very convoluted. Infidelity was generally considered humorous and not necessarily shameful, and this sexual freedom generally extended to women as well as men. Still, fidelity was respected and appreciated.

Rape

Rape was considered reprehensible, and entirely the fault of the rapist. It didn’t shame the victim, nor did the rapist gain the woman if he was prepared to offer matrimony, as in some cultures.

Fostering

The custom of fosterage is wide-spread among the warrior classes. It isn't considered appropriate for parents to bring up their own children once they’d reached the age of reason, so parents choose suitable foster-parents (often blood relatives) and arranged for the child to live with them from the age of approximately seven years old. The children live with their foster-parents until aimsir togu, “the age of choice,” – 14 for a girl and 17 for a boy. At that age they could return home, remain with the foster-parents, or marry. During their fosterage they learned music, poetry, literature, fidchell, hurley, and the skills of war and single combat from their foster-parents and the clergy. They also absorbed the values of the community and the importance of honor. The ties formed at this time often last a lifetime. The relationship between the foster-parents and the child was often very close, and foster-brothers and -sisters were as close as blood relatives. Almost every Emlyn hero was fostered, and exceptions were so rare as to be notable.

It has even become a tradition for newly arriving travelers to be accepted as foster-children for a year or so, regardless of the traveler's age. This is especially true when a native family has few or no children of their own.

Religious Practices

The religion of Emlyn is both ancient and in its infancy. No organized religion has re-asserted itself, and all priests once in service to the Thorn King have been silenced -- some permanently, and others have gone into hiding. Yet as is to be expected in such a spiritual vacuum, a collection of wise men and women, healers, religious scholars, seers, midwives, and hermits stepped forward to fill needs within the kingdom-wide villages and communities.

It would be a slow growth of traditions that would begin to establish a de-centralized grass-roots religion that would loosely organize as part of the quarterly gatherings that coincide with the four yearly festivals kept throughout Cuivienen.

Some general traditions exist at this time

• Keepers of the "Eight-Fold Path" would claim the title of Druid while recognizing that other "druids" existed, those of Emlyn would distinguish themselves by claiming to be a "druid of the eight-fold path".
• Sacred groves, standing stones, and outdoor places would be preferred over churches.
• Demon summoning and any practice with the dead other then as shamanic ancestor worship is not accepted.
• The modern "pagan holidays" are not a part of this religion, instead four festivals unique to Sanctuary, but similar are practiced.

Druids

Among the druids of Emlyn the ancient ranking of bard, druid and ovate would change to be that of healer, guardian and seer. The healer druid's primary focus is on the spiritual healing of people on an individual basis. The guardian's role was that of cleric or priest to the local community and was responsible for performing any rites or rituals on behalf of the community. The seer are those who are religious scholars and diviners with skill in prediction.

Religious rites

Rites were performed by druids on behalf of the whole community, and were regarded as an important part of life, holding the balance of the world and the position of man within it. They involved complex invocations and rituals, often including animal (or even human) sacrifice. They had to be performed in exactly the same way each time; any stumbling over words, or any variation in what the druid was wearing or how sharp the knife was, could spoil the ritual, with disastrous consequences for the community.

Druid Guardian

The druid’s position as priest was really one of interpreter, explaining the wishes of the community to the gods and vice versa. As a courtesy, any important events in the community were announced to those in the Otherworld. Thus new kings were invested with solemn druidic ritual.

Appeasing Fate

As well as honoring the gods, the sacrifices, rituals, and festivals were seen as appeasing fate. Heroes assumed that fate concerned itself with them personally, and the most they expected druids to do for them was to reveal their gesas. The druid represented those members of society who had no separate, individual destinies.

The Festivals

There are four festivals held in the world, on the two equinoxes and two solstices. The fall equinox is a traditional end of harvest festival and most like Samhain. The spring equinox is a traditional planting and fertility festival like Beltane. The winter solstice is a celebration of one's ancestors and most like Imbolc. The summer solstice was a celebration of summer, with games and competitions and is most like Lughnasa. It is the equinoxes which are considered to be the times with the veil to the underworld thinnest.

Shamanism

The entire religious practice of Emlyn is heavily shamanic and animistic and thus such practices can be found at all levels of the Druidic order.

Holy Groves and Temples

In ancient time every center of habitation had a holy grove or “Nemed,” and most of the community’s worship took place here. Ideally it was planted with one of each magical tree. Sometimes it was entirely made up of one type of tree. Every grove was different, and had a different emphasis, set of rites, and effectiveness of intercessions, depending on what trees were present. A druid coming to a new grove needed to spend some time there growing used to the grove’s individual peculiarities before he could effectively perform a sacrifice there.

The Druids of Emlyn are replanting many of these groves that were torn down or allowed to grow wild during the time of the Thorn King.