R.I.S. Dossier: Ciellans

R.I.S. Dossier: Ciellans.
The Ciellans are one of the peoples which inhabit the Royal Archipelago. They consider themselves to be “freemen”, that is, inhabitants of the “Free Cities”. However, their culture and style of government is more reminiscent of the peoples of Myzia; with most of the population consisting of serfs. Quite unlike the burghers who constitute the backbone of other “Free” states. Ciellan society is organized along feudal lines. Society is divided into legally distinct “estates”, which are subject to different laws and expectations. These are, in order of political influence, the nobility, the clergy, and the peasantry. These three groups could further be subdivided into subcategories based on legal rights and social status. In addition, there are burghers present on Ciello. Mainly in the city of Reddingfield, whose culture is more reminiscent of other “Free Cities”.
The Peasantry:
The peasantry of Ciello constitute around 90% of the total population. The vast majority of these consist of farmers. But the category also includes craftsmen, artisans, and merchants. Along with anyone else not a member of the nobility or the clergy. Many of these would be considered burghers in other “Free Cities”.
Economically there is often a great deal of difference between the peasants. Certain merchants can often be wealthier than minor nobility. Some of the free farmers may own more land than a landed knight or a village priest. Yet the vast majority of the peasantry consists of serfs, renting the land which they farm from a noble lord. Unable to leave the estate, marry, or seek other employment without the permission of their liege. Serfs are dependant on their lord for protection, and justice. They have few rights beyond whatever their liege grants them. Free farmers are more fortunate. Their rights are guaranteed by law, and they may appeal to the duke or the count for justice. They may also bring cases to court without the aid or a lord and are permitted to assemble and cooperate without the interference of either the nobility or clergy. Yet even they are expected to look to their “betters” for leadership.
Most Ciellans live their entire lives on the edge of disaster. One bad harvest could send the unlucky serf them into starvation. A free farmer might see himself forced to sell his lands and services should disease take his oxen. Feuds between neighbouring nobles always leaves the fields of farmers trampled, and their villages burned. Raids from the sea often see the old killed, and the young and able carried off into slavery. In these conditions it is no wonder that the average Ciellan values stability above all else. The farmer who sells himself into serfdom does so in the hope that his new overlord will provide him protection from brigands, and earth to till so he might feed his family. Liberties are secondary to survival. That Ciellans are also weary of strangers should come as no surprise. Only time and effort will win a Ciellan’s trust. But once earned it is only lost with great difficulty.
Religion also holds a special place in the heart of the Ciellan population. For most people the priests of Sol are the only providers of healthcare and education. The clergy are also the only ones, save perhaps the duke (on a good day) who provide peasants with protection from their lords. In hard times faith provides the promise of a better tomorrow, either here on the Material, or in the hereafter. Most festivals, holydays and celebrations have a religious element. The Ciellans believe that most that is good in the world is ultimately the work of Sol. Religion also provides a powerful buttress for the social order. The Church teaches that the earthly order reflects that of heaven. There Sol rules, served by a hierarchy of angels. Much like the duke rules a hierarchy of nobles and peasants. The peasantry does not long for the liberties which our people enjoys. The peasants may envy the rights and liberties of the Free Farmer, or the cities Burghers. But he does not feel his own lot to be fundamentally unjust. After all, his lot is as it is because of a solemn oath, sworn by himself or an ancestor. Revolts may sometimes call for relief from “oppression”. But what these malcontents want is not to be treated as equals of the nobles, or indeed to be made free farmers. Their revolts are normally reactions to increases in rents, or new laws and restrictions. Their goal is almost invariably the restoration of the “old ways”. There is a widespread cultural belief that things “used to be better”. It is believed that in the olden days things were as they should be. The responsibility of the rulers is to maintain and restore the old order of things, not to innovate and improve on it. This is not only a belief amongst the lower order. The clergy and nobility also tend to hold to this belief.
Community is central to the life of Ciellans. Family and village are pillars in the life of any Ciellan. Loyalty to family comes above all other concerns for the average person. To be unable to support one’s close relatives is shameful beyond all else. Meanwhile the village to which the Ciellan belongs almost constitutes a family of its own. To facilitate friendships between families, and to avoid inbreeding in these small communities arranged marriages are common, although usually undertaken only after consultation and agreement from those concerned. Most people will only leave their village a few times in their lives. Thus, maintaining good relations with one’s neighbours is paramount. Asked which values makes for a good neighbour the Ciellans would refer to the four “H”’s: Honesty, honour, hard work and hospitality.
In short then; the peasantry values stability, religion and community. If one wishes to insert oneself into Ciellan peasant society one must either invest a great deal of time to win trust among the locals; or else employ more creative methods of infiltration.
The Clergy:
Like most of the former “Imperial Realms” the dominant religion on Ciello is the Church of Sol. This is something of a misnomer, since there is no one unified Church. Rather, there are several monastics, knightly and charitable orders who amongst themselves have constructed an internal hierarchy based on prestige, power and the say-so of the secular authorities.
Every Ciellan settlement worth the name plays host to a religious institution of some sort. This may be merely a small chapel, served by a village priest who spends the majority of his time farming his own soil like his peasant neighbours; or it could be a grand monastery, host to dozens of monks and priests, with armed professionals employed for its protection – and everything in between. Towns which play host to large churches or monasteries are considered fortunate, since these sites usually play host to paladins and clerics proficient with healing magics. It is rare divine practitioners to settle in small towns. Thus diseased peasants, and pregnant women often journey for days or weeks to receive the magical blessings available at major religious sites. Of course, these services are rarely free, and provide the Church with a vast income.
The clergy is tasked with the spiritual welfare of the people, and they are formally the most elevated of the estates, although their power and wealth is secondary to that of the nobility. The clergy is also takes with protecting their “flock” from more material threats, mainly the arcane. Sorcery, wizardry, and the druidic arts are heavily restricted on Ciello. Only those mages authorized by the Circle may practice their art, and only then in service of a nobleman or a guild. It is the knightly orders which handle the grim business of tracking down and executing rogue mages. Secular authorities are sometimes called on to aid in these hunts, but ultimate jurisdiction always remains with the Church. Heresy and blasphemy are other offenses which the Church is responsible for policing. The various temples to Sol are considered sacred, and not subject to the authority of the lords. Similarly, the clergy considers it their prerogative to move as they please across secular boundaries without restriction.
In exchange for all these rights the clergy provides the nobility with several benefits. Legitimacy is chief amongst these. No lord is considered legitimate by the people unless he has the backing of the local clergy. A nobleman who is abandoned by the priests will soon find himself with a revolt on his hands. Nobles often grant religious orders lands and privileges to encourage the building of major temples or monasteries on their own lands. This practice has made the clergy major landowners on Ciello. The clergy are drawn from many walks of life. They fulfil half a hundred different roles and are spread out across the island. Thus, their outlooks vary vastly. There is little in common between the poor monk, toiling in obscurity in the fields, and the High Priest in his palace in Cunaris. Only faith unites them, and perhaps not even that.
Infiltration of the clergy is simple. The active recruitment of new members of the clergy provides easy entry into their ranks. The frequent movement of members provides a convenient cover should suspicions arise. The importance of personal connections and wealth for advancement should provide ample opportunity for the enterprising agent.
The Nobility:
The Ciellan “nobility” descends largely from the various rebels, bandits and warlords who defeated the Rex Amellianus Fabii (may his soul be forever lost) in the consulate of Julia and Castor. Following their victory, the leaders of the victorious rebels quickly fell into infighting. Warbands crisscrossed the island, fighting for supremacy. This proved impossible to achieve for any one of them. Eventually their conflict died down, and Ciello was split into a hundred tiny pieces. Each one ruled by a warlord and his band of armed “knights”. These men quickly set about subjugating the local population to their rule. They constructed castles on every hillock to better control the farmers and protect their spoils. They warred against their neighbours to acquire more booty, and to expand the reach of their protection rackets. Over time these warlords came to see themselves as distinct from the peasants they exploited. They developed social norms, rules and beliefs which marked them out as “above” the common throng. They adopted the Myzian “chivalric code”. Within a decade of their conquest most of these men had already fabricated elaborate genealogies to prove their decent from famous heroes, to better justify their tyrannical rule. In this way did the current ruling class on Ciello arise.
Over time the more powerful of these “nobles” subjugated others of their kind and formed a strict hierarchy among themselves. Not all nobles are born equal. The maintenance of their internal hierarchy is almost as important to the High Nobility as the continued subjugation of the peasantry. In general, we can divide the nobility into three categories: The High Nobility, the Landed Gentry, and the Unlanded Knights.
The High Nobility are the great lords of Ciello, and their immediate families. Five families can be counted in this category. The Belaroths of Cunaris, the Aldershalls of Aldershall, the Vendra of Lavello, the Madruzzo of Merata, and the Varano of Perano. Of these the Belaroths and the Aldershall are the most powerful, and their subsequent enmity stretched back centuries. The high nobility believes themselves an aristocracy amongst the nobility. If other noblemen are born to rule, then members of these families feel themselves chosen by Sol himself. They often seek to mark their elevation above the “lesser nobles” in visible ways. Whether by hosting vast balls at huge expense, or by hiring famous scholars from afar to instruct their children. This is not merely vanity. The High Nobility know they stand atop a hill, surrounded by hungry wolves. Only by displaying their superiority do they keep their hungry brethren at bay.
The landed gentry consists of the many nobles spread out across Ciello, ruling small fiefs while in vassalage to more powerful lords. These men and women’s chief concern is to maintain their separation and dominance over their subjects. Many of these minor nobles are all too aware of how little truly separates them from their serfs. Fear of their victims often motivate these lords to brutal actions to maintain the social hierarchy. Landed nobles are always seeking to improve their lot, be it by a favourable marriage, or by pouncing on a weakened neighbour.
The Unlanded Knights are all those nobles who have no lands of their own. Most often these people swear themselves to the service of a more powerful lord and serve as their armed retinue and administrators on their estates. Those who do not find such positions often end up as mercenaries or adventurers, hoping to scrape together the coin and influence to maintain their noble status.
The Ciellan nobility, like nobility elsewhere, believe that their rule is divinely blessed. It is believed that they possess innately qualities and virtues which makes them suited for leadership in peace and war. To maintain their separation from the common throng the nobility are expected to keep up appearances of wealth and grace. Manual labour, or skilled trades is all but forbidden. Yet the nobles of Ciello are not naïve. They know well how their ancestors attained their high ranks. Although they have refined their manner of rule and attempted to attain legitimacy through religion and tradition, the current nobility is aware that their power is only maintained at sword-point.
Due to the small size of the Ciellan nobility, it would be exceedingly difficult to insert agents into its ranks within a reasonable timeframe. The most efficient way of infiltration is through the ranks of their servants.