The Twelve Skies
After The Black Riots, governments fell apart. Military organizations and law enforcement failed, and the world saw the rise of The Pauper Kings, warlords who battle for territory in numerous places across world. Some of them looked to the sky, and saw a different kind of territory.
The Sky Barrons are the Pauper Kings of the sky. They saw the sky as real estate just waiting to be taken, and not necessarily by the kings on the surface. They have gained such power that no airship can leave port in safety without going through a liaison at the sky dock for a travel pass. The 12 Skies are territories above the surface of the earth. Each sky has a border and is patrolled by the house of a baron or the ruling houses bannermen. There are 12 regions of the sky that are officially recognized by the Barrons.
These regions are further broken down into smaller territories based on how each baron wishes to run their skies. Some maintain complete control over their entire territory such as the Exiles of Erin, to have several Bannerman but do not sky and titles. The House of Patriots on the other hand, only operate in a single City dividing up their entire territory among many of their bannermen.
The Sky Barrons are the Pauper Kings of the sky. They saw the sky as real estate just waiting to be taken, and not necessarily by the kings on the surface. They have gained such power that no airship can leave port in safety without going through a liaison at the sky dock for a travel pass. The 12 Skies are territories above the surface of the earth. Each sky has a border and is patrolled by the house of a baron or the ruling houses bannermen. There are 12 regions of the sky that are officially recognized by the Barrons.
These regions are further broken down into smaller territories based on how each baron wishes to run their skies. Some maintain complete control over their entire territory such as the Exiles of Erin, to have several Bannerman but do not sky and titles. The House of Patriots on the other hand, only operate in a single City dividing up their entire territory among many of their bannermen.
Politics and Intrigue
All of The Sky Barrons agree to work together to some degree in a government organization. This organization is named Polaris, a poetic addition meant to demonstrate that each Baron is a guiding star. By no means does this mean they are unified without adversity. Every house even among the Lesser houses has an agenda and they all want to get the best part of a deal. They are aware of this fact and are aware that everyone wants to end up on top, as such they have created a system of government among themselves. This form of politics is similar to Americas division of federal and state politics, only there are no elected officials and no single leader. Instead, ot is democratic and every house has a voice, but for the lesser houses that voice comes second to their baron. Once every quarter of the year, The Sky Barrons meet on the floating Isle named The Morrigan. THE MORRIGAN hovers in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, several miles from THE GAELIC SEA.
While each Sky Region has its own method of government dictated by the ruling house, these laws cannot go against rules established by Polaris. These rules involve taxation on imports, borders and expansion of those borders, terms of engagement, yearly goals, and more.
The Archivist
On every issue voted on in Polaris, every baron gets a determined number of votes. This number is dictated by The Archivist, a position held for a year and one year only in one's lifetime. The Archivist is a man or woman who calculates the worth of each barron and how many votes they may have in an unbiased and discreet manner. The Archivist does this by taking the time to analyze yearly profit made by the subject, whether the subject is dependent or independent ( meaning a Barron or a Bannerman.), and the overall military power the subject maintains. Every year the The Sky Barrons present The Archivist with a detailed Ledger detailing money earned and lost as well as munitions, industrial assets, airships that fly their flag and military personnel at their disposal.
Just Business
The Sky Barrons do not claim any kind of moral authority. They are very much so aware of their questionable actions and are also aware that the other Barons are just as questionable. Regardless of any other factors involved, they will always seek to benefit their house more than anything else. Betrayals are remarkably common and doing everything you can to shift things in your favor is viewed as simply doing business. Very few among them take these betrayals personally, as they would do just the same in kind. These betrayals usually involve loopholes in the various laws established by Polaris, actively withholding what is needed from each other without substantial compensation that is often worth far more than what is needed, and sometimes even outright attacking one another should they catch each other in Free Skies.
Glossary
- Sky region: a Sky Region is effectively a way of looking at the sky as a distinct region or geography. Sky regions begin 4000 m above the ground and should a vessel travel above that point they are no longer in the territory of the ground below them.
- Barrons: The Sky Barrons are a culture of individuals who primarily live their lives in Airship silver on the islands in the sky. They're divided into houses in every house has a leader, the bar on of the house.
- Bannermen the bannermen are lesser houses, mercenary companies, thanes, and other allies of the house that work for a barron and their house. They may own and operate land under the houses supervision and with permission.
Which house pays the best? *loads 7 barrel rapid fire shotgun with poisoned bullets that I got from http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-914 , drops shotgun, shotgun fires, miraculously isn't dead*
I... Idk... That's a damn good question. Techniqually it'd be the house of exiles... but I'm not sure yet lol! Now how'd that escape contoanment!