Children's Kingdoms

History

When The War of the Wendigoes happened, the death toll in Altairus led to the number of orphans skyrocketing. Orphanage infrastructure was quickly overwhelmed, and many of these orphans had to be turned away.

With no other place to go, many of these orphans created their own communities in relatively uninhabited parts of Altairus. Here they set up shantytowns, dubbed "Children's Kingdoms." With no other guardians to watch over them, the orphans took on the responsibility for caring for one another. Many of Altairus's orphans, including human children stranded in Altairus when the portals were sealed, grew up this way.

Government and Internal Workings

The name "Children's Kingdom" is a bit of a misnomer. While these shantytowns were indeed full of children, they are run more like democracies than like kingdoms. The towns are small enough for all residents to have their say in public decisions.

One of the reasons that Children's Kingdoms worked so well is that their populations consist of orphans of all faery races. Each orphan contributes their unique talents to help the community, whether that entails growing crops with Earth magic, constructing and animating machines, or using one's apothecary skills to deliver medicine to the community.

Infants, as one may expect, are not expected to perform any work. Older orphans take turns watching and caring for them until they are old enough to possess a special talent that they can contribute.

Public Perception

Many humans and faeries alike see Children's Kingdoms as a tragic consequence of the War. They view the orphans with pity and believe that they cannot possibly be happy like this.

However, many of the orphans who grew up in these shantytowns have many happy memories of their time in them. Growing up in this situation was undoubtedly difficult for them, yes, but not tragic. They see their time in the Children's Kingdoms as an experience that made them stronger and allowed them to develop their strengths in a way that the orphanages could not. After the War ended, many of the Children's Kingdoms became an alternative for orphans whom the system could not house.