Slavery

Different legal and policy frameworks (or lack thereof) have been used to govern the practice of slavery in Acarn over the last few centuries. Generally speaking, humanoids prisoners were turned to slaves as part of a conflict. Magical brands or tattoos can be placed by any trained spellcaster of sufficient power upon a prisoner. Some magical items were created to allow non-spellcaster to create slaves with ease. In most jurisdictions, these devices are heavily regulated and taxed per usage. The mark created are uniquely tied to the device that made it. Generally, brands have been abandoned in favor of magical stamps. In additional to being painless, the tattoos created by the stamping method can be transformed to visually reflect a transfer of ownership. They are still inexorably tied to the creating device or original caster but that verification requires an arcane examination. One remaining “advantage” is that the magical removal of slave mark does not heal the scar left by the branding process.

The slave mark visually identifies the status of the individual and also binds it to a master. The master need not be the caster and ownership can be transferred. The master can always instinctively sense the direction and distance toward a slave. The master can also decide to inflict pain to the slave. The owner can decide how much pain can be inflicted but the maximal amount and kind of pain is determined by the slave mark itself. This is usually an intense burning sensation that can stun any individual. Multiple variants exists, with some marks providing more than one option, such as paralysing fear, inducing vomiting, painless incapacitation, cold burning, feeling of being crushed, etc.

Some sophisticated slave marks allow the master to delegate his powers over the slave to a subordinate via some item, usually a magical pendant or bracelet. This delegation can be revoked at will.

In all jurisdictions, using Remove Curse to remove the slave mark carries the same legal jeopardy as stealing or destroying the slave. In most cases, slave marks bear an additional seal that certifies that the slave was acquired legitimately within a given jurisdiction and create a material cost to using Remove Curse to dispel the mark. The cost for removing the seal is always ten times the cost incurred to creating it.

Local practices

Throughout its history, the Thamassa Empire has wholeheartedly embraced slavery, particularly in its wars against the Dwarven and Elven kingdoms. Government or mercenary troops hired by the Empire are required to hand over prisoners that couldn’t be ransomed to the Imperial Slavery Office which would brand (and later stamp) them as slaves, certify their origin, and sell them to slavers who would retail them across the Empire. Imperial law forbids the enslavement of individuals living within a conquered land, restricting the practice to towns and cities during their conquest. The exact date of when a territory is officially conquered was always up to interpretation. This meant that civilians and enemy deserters needed to avoid the Imperial troops for several days if not a few weeks before returning home. The practice was adopted that once the Imperial flags flew over a settlement, conquest was official. This led some Imperial commanders to stall the raising of the flags for a couple of days in order to collect more slaves, in exchange for kickbacks from well connected slavers. Imperial administrators generally frowned upon this practice for large settlement since it prolongs the time it takes for it to return to normal economic activity.

In the post Empire space, the practices were mostly kept intact: prisoners taken during conflicts can be enslaved. The issuance of marking authority, creation of marking devices and auditing of their use for taxation purposes was kept by most jurisdiction, however the certification process and application of seals was entirely delegated to the Banking Houses, even within the Empire itself. The Banking Federation as a whole lobbies all states to maintain a uniform standard for the practice of enslavement to ensure that certified slaves can be sold across Acarn with little impediment.

Banking Houses enforce the norm that no individual is enslaved outside of conflict period. However there is no standard for how slaves are treated. Generally, it is unlawful to starve, mutilate or cause permanent damage to slaves. They are otherwise treated as property. Many jurisdiction put some modest limits on the tasks that a slave can be forced to perform. This is often based on the race of the slave. Children of slaves are legally the property of the slave’s master though the master must cover the cost of marking, certifying and caring for the child.

Tasnica does not allow the creation of slaves within its territory and its prisoners are either ransomed, executed or released. It does allow the ownership and sale of slaves. It is one of the few jurisdiction in which the children of slaves are not slaves themselves (since no slaves can be created within the Republic). Slave mothers can keep the babies as long as their master’s allow but the Republic requires four years of care. Afterwards, the children become wards of the state. They are provided food, lodging and education up to the age of fifteen and must serve in the military until they turn nineteen. There is a political movement to emancipate all slaves that started along with the decolonizing movement of the 3030’s. It has lost some steam since the formation of the Third Republic and some former colonies actually now allow the creation of slaves. On the other hand, some vassal states have banned slavery within their territory altogether, partially to avoid the costs of taking care of the children of slaves.

Matango never developed the practice of slavery. When confronted with the practice via the flow of refugees during the Great War, the Kingdom decided that it would not tolerate it within its territory. In fact, a royal decree states that no penalty, criminal or civil, can be imposed for the removal of slave marks within its border. While the government does not provide this service, several charities exists within Matango that can cover the cost of removal but their resources are limited. Other, more pragmatic groups, offer to cover the cost of removal in exchange for a few years of indentured servitude, which is allowed under Matango law. While the Banking Federation lobbied hard against this decree, Matango’s physical isolation and the slave marks themselves mitigate the risk of large numbers of runaway slaves.