The Southard Family
The City of Cannon's ruling family, the iron fists crafting Warforged weaponry, the Southard Family is the very best of the Council of Families.
"The Southards are where you'd want to go if you had to replace your ... parts, Emforyusevinwonthree."
The Southard Family runs Southard City. They are the unquestionable rulers and controllers of the city's fate. Like other families of the Council of Families, the law says to look upon a member of the Family is a death sentence, unless you are one of the Servants of the Family, and forever silenced.
The city and the mines and the factory crafting Warforged Cannons are all one facility. One massive, ever growing building standing as a testament to the willpower of the Southard Family against the floods of their lands.
Family Structural Map
Grandfather Sal Southard
Corporate Executive Official
Mother Zisen Southard
Family Representative to the Council of Families
Young Master (or Mistress) (preferably three of them)
Cicana Southard, Zircon Southard, and Sal Southard II as the Head of Security, Head of Management, and Head of Personnel Relations.
Head of Security
- Cicana Southard of the Southard Family is specifically educated in matters of military and law in Southard City
Head of Management
- Zircon Southard of the Southard Family is specifically educated in matters of making policy, administration, and budgeting.
Head of Personnel Relations
- Sal Southard II of the Southard Family is specifically educated in matters of diplomacy, law, and health.
Non-Family Members
Security of Southard
- Servants are solely responsible for the safety of the The Southard Family, and are the only ones who are allowed to lay eyes upon Family members. This comes at the price of having their tongues cut out, however. It has been said the Servants communicate amongst each other and with their Masters or Mistresses through telepathy, or a secret hand language taught by the Servant Educators.
Management Branch
City Overseer
- Responsible for the operation of the City, Southard City Overseer has been the primary contact with the Head of Management of Southard City. The Overseer functions similarly to a District Council in Goltheris, or an Arle in Theydim. The Overseer is personally responsible for maintaining the budget and ensuring there is always an income flowing into the city.
Personnel Relations
Secretary of Records
- Responsible for the record keeping and record sharing, the Southard City Secretary of Records, Addick Scribe is reclusive and rarely seen when compared to Southard City's lively Overseer. Everything marked with the seal of the Secretary of Records, or the Head of Personnel Relations means the information is true, that it is legitimate. These include all contracts, trade agreements, announcements, and judicial mediations.
Servant Educators
and
Factory Law
- The Servant Educators instruct the Unserving on how to properly protect and serve the Families.
- The Factory Law is the organization who investigates City crimes and adjudicating the cases.
Exportation
and
Production
- Exportation is the department responsible for selling the products built in Southard City to other nations of Soplas.
- Production is the department responsible for providing goods for Importation to sell.
-
- There had once been a secretive branch of Southard City's ranks called the Department of Intelligence at this level, but during Sal Southard's time as Head of Management, there was an attempted coup where another city had managed to buy off the entire Department of Intelligence
Factory Code Writers
and
Inspectors
Factory Code Writers write the law for the Info-Speakers to spread once approved by Secretary of Records or Head of Personnel Relations.
Inspectors are the ones who investigate and present the evidence to the courts run by the Code Writers.
Acquisition
and
Upkeep
- Acquisition provide Production with everything needed running the mines, the factory, and civil projects.
- Upkeep, however, are those who ensure the city is functional, as well as inspecting everything to make sure they follow the codes.
Info-Speakers, the Living News
- Those who share the information of Council of Families and make sure citizens know what is truly going on in their homes. An Info-Speaker is forbidden by law to speak or print a lie, as this is also used as a means of protecting them in the case of informing the citizens of unpopular decisions. They are considered to be living news.
Miners,
Import,
Mechanics
and
Workers
- Under the supervision of Acquisition, Miners mine in the mines. Miners are seen as being reliable and brave, as they mine in the mines and are always racing against the floods.
- Importers bring goods in from outside the city. Importers are generally seen as the greatest source of dissent because they travel to other cities to bring the other city's influence back home.
- Mechanics repair what needs to be fixed mechanically.
- Workers ensure the city is still running or expanding as it should be to provide adequate housing.
Educators
and
Listeners
- Educators teach the young how to be productive and content employees of the city.
- Listeners help resolve personal issues they're approached with, as well as redirection to the truth instead of the lies from outside the city.
Public Agenda
The Southard Family runs Southard City with the promise of leading Soplas in the development of Warforged Cannons and Magic Guns
There have been rumors of some dissenters in other cities refusing to work, but they're only punishing themselves because they forget how happy and satisfying their work is!It has been said, a happy person is a person who is kept busy, and there is always more to be done. The Southard Family only want their citizens to be well educated, productive, and happy individuals, as they are leading the world away from the crude skills of blades and mud toward the future of gears and steel.
Internal Currency
"Alright, so for all this, why don't you come over to my place and rebuild the east wall? The last flood broke through higher than it was supposed to."The Southard City, most of the locals trade in shift hours, barter, or will make work-agreements. These shift-exchanges are contract-based and occupation based. Certain individuals will adjust their priority lists to reflect the agreed upon exchange. Priority jumps can only be done with tasks that can be completed in less than a day, and without interrupting tasks assigned by the city.
"Not a problem, but only if you throw in a couple hours of your daughter's time to babysit my kids. My husband has been wanting to have a night where it's just us."
"I bet, Arnic. Sounds like we have a trade. Do we need a contract?"-Overheard conversation between Mr. Arnic Thrash (Worker) and Mr. Talis Carter (Import)
History
Ancient histories.
Many of the older records were damaged from the flooding of the first level of Southard City, before the second floor sank down to become the first floor. The Archives have been moved up to the fifth floor after the Sinkhole Incident, 120 years ago."What do you want?! Can't you see I am busy trying to restore these rec- oh, I need to legitimize something? Fine, fine, bring it to me, let me look over it. No! Not there! Over there! Why are you moving that? What? You think that's just a pile of rags? I'll have you know that that pile of rags as you call it is the exact procedure for if the Family does not have enough Young Masters or Mistresses to be the Heads of Security - oh, I'm sorry, is the very foundation of Southard too much for you to care about?!"
The Southard Family and the history of Southard City are tied, as there are no records predating the family about the city.
The earliest surviving records appear to be early drafts of the government as it stands currently, though tradition has the Head of Management rise to be the Corporate Executive Official when the previous Corporate Executive Official in unable to perform their duties, the Head of Personnel Relations rises to the rank of Family Representative in turn. These traditions have led to at least two civil wars within Southard City as that generation's Head of Security warred with the Head of Management over who would be the Corporate Executive Official, or warred with the Head of Personnel Relations over who would be the Family Representative. Many of the Heads of Security have died in tasks involving the defense or expansion of Southard.
According to the records being recreated by Addick Scribe, Southard Secretary of Records, when there were not enough heirs to properly divide the branches into three, Security would be split between Management and Personnel Relations, or in the rare case that the Family only had one heir, that one heir would be in charge of all three branches until they married and could divide their duties between each other.
Old History
During the The Southard Heirs Crisis, there was an abundance of Young Masters and Young Mistresses, but only one could be a Head of Personnel Relations, a Head of Management, or a Head of Security, and there weren't enough other members of other Families to avoid sibling-sibling marriages. The Corporate Executive Official of the time instead arranged for a competition for every heir to prove the deserved their position in the city, or as a spouse for another Family.
"Hm. You're granted access to ask me a question, any question, and you ask me if the The Southard Heirs Crisis was resolved through assassination? My dear, I'm afraid you've been misled. The heirs who did not earn a position left the The Five Cities to make their fortunes elsewhere, or took subsidiary positions that were created in that event. Every child in Southard City knows this, but you are from Hallomin City, and I know the The Hallomin Family had their own, similar events that did include assassinations. Feel free to compare your notes with the Secretary of Records."
Ciren Southard's promotion was one of the rare times a Family member succeeded the Corporate Executive Official position instead of the Head of Management, and she had done so by investigating rumors that turned out to be true of her sister overlooking the City Overseer's theft of profits belonging to the City.
The Sinkhole Incident, was an event when the floors of the entirety of Southard City sank below ground level. The mines were reportedly shut down for months while the caverns the lower floors became were evacuated and restructured. This event is reportedly one of the greatest construction projects of the The Five Cities.
Recent History
Grandfather Sal Southard
During Sal Southard's time as the Head of Management for Southard City, about 42 years ago, the Department of Intelligence had been bought out from another City in an desperate attempt to expand their dwindling control and power. Sal Southard and his sister destroyed the entire department, and as the act cost the death of his sister, Sal Southard banned the recreation of the department as a monumental law to his late sister. In retaliation, the Southards warred with the other city until it was nothing but ruins to be consumed by the swamp, and the citizens rescued from the devastation to Southard, with the agreement to never utter the name of the other city again.
The Great War
Since the end of the Department of Information, Southard City has been in a well-regulated state until the Great War, 36 years ago, when the Council of Families tried to expand all of the Families' influence and territory into the Contested Lands, like the other major governments had as well. The Great War created a technological boom as the Southard Family began to simplify and make the Warforged Cannons into smaller weapons, as well as ideveloping more mobile weapons that did not require binding the weapon to a Warforged and the very earliest models of Magic Guns.
Great Awakening
In the last of the active days of the The Great War, 30 years ago, there was the Great Awakening, when the Warforged ceased to be merely obedient machines of war, but had confirmable souls. The Great Awakening caused the Great War to stop, as everyone, including the Southards, had to consider what soul-possessing Warforged would mean for their governments and citizenry.
Foreign Relations
Over all, the Family Representative Zisen Southard has been continuing the tradition of treating every other government, including other cities within the Five Cities, as potential customers. As the seller, the merchant knows what the customer wants before they arrive, and what the customer can afford.This has resulted in a mixed collection of reactions from other governments.
Military
The Southard family is protected by their Servants of the Family, though the Inspectors are the primary ranks of the military and take orders from Head of Security in times of war.Territories
The Southard Family controls the area around Southard City, and are bordering the Hallomin Family's territory around their city. Like with the other City-States, the Southard Family's influence weakens the further from their city one travels to, but every city and family hold influence on their neighbors based on their industrial needs.Technology
The technology is powered through heating up a liquid into gas to turn gears, but several gears must be cranked by hand or through magic to operate properly. Much of the style of how things are built are like what one could find within a Goltherine clock, but on a larger scale.Assets
Southard City is a factory, it is a mine, and it is a city. The City is always under threat of sinking into the swamp due to floods and erosion.Agriculture and Industry
As Southard City is a city in a swamp region of Soplas, agriculture is difficult to maintain, but fishing, mining, and the factory's industries are booming.Education
"Education is the foundation of a strong society. We teach our children how to think, how to reason, and how to find truth when others spew their lies."
Education is valuable for producing adults who will be helpful to the community. All education is under the jurisdiction of Head of Personnel Relations because Personnel Relations is a tie between the people and the government, as Info-Speakers, Listeners, and Educators are part of the regular citizen's community.
Compared to Thydian education, less emphasis is placed on history, and more emphasis is placed on educating children in mathematics. As Info-Speakers write the news for even the near illiterate outsiders to Southard City, reading is only taught well enough for the children to begin their secondary education in their future trade or occupations.
Show spoiler
Education is a weapon to help The Family retain control over the city.
Infrastructure
Show spoiler
Southard City is not a safe place to live or work in, as the swamp waters rise up on the ground floor to mid-calf levels on a human, and the mines are constantly under threat of drowning while there is a race to keep mining further down in order to keep the current chambers drier.
"Advancement has a price, and you're worth every copper."
Founding Date
Foundation Date Records are currently lost, Addick Scribe is still searching for the date, as his predecessors had been working on before him.
Type
Political, Family
Capital
Demonym
Southards
Government System
Despotism
Power Structure
Autonomous area
Currency
Outsiders are traded with the platinum-gold-silver-copper coin currency as the Adrakian Empire instated, and sometimes with the exchange of goods.
Each coin is pressed with one side showing the emblem of the Families, and the other side with the Southard Family crest. [placeholder bbcode for in-article anchorhere about internal-use currency]
Each coin is pressed with one side showing the emblem of the Families, and the other side with the Southard Family crest. [placeholder bbcode for in-article anchorhere about internal-use currency]
Major Exports
Southard City mostly exports their fine-crafted Warforged Cannons to wherever Warforged are assembled, and Magic Guns to other cities for Servants of the Family to use in protecting members of their Families.
The mines, while not as rich in Arfosian, are turning to be very rich in clay, fresh water pockets, and bog iron.
Major Imports
The Southard Family, and Southard City are somewhat dependent on outside areas providing them with the magic enhancing ore Arfosian, as their own mines have been flooding faster than expected, but are also revealing to be poorer mines for Arfosian.
Legislative Body
Factory Code Writers present potential drafts for laws, Factory Law works with the Secretary of Records to rewrite the proposals to be approved of by the Head of Personnel Relations, Head of Management, and Head of Security.
"Personnel provides the context, Management expects the practicality, and Security provides enforcement when it comes to the laws of Southard City."
Judicial Body
The criminal courts are under the jurisdiction of the Factory Law, but are split between the Inspectors who provide the evidence, and the Factory Code Writers who argue the interpretation of the evidence until a conclusion is met with a judge as a mediatory figure.
Civil Law, however, is under the jurisdiction of the Info-Speakers and the Secretary of Records as all sides present their arguments until a conclusion is reached with a judge as a mediatory figure.
Parent Organization
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities
