Slavery
Blood, magic and chains
The practice of using forced labor by unwilling workers, also known as Slavery, is a common trade in Namyria. Almost every country in the realm uses slavery as a profitable trade, and in some cases, as a social structure or policy. This was brought into common practice after the Dark King Xarros and his hundred year tyranny of the Age of Darkness employed slavery almost universally in his persecution of all non-Elf races.
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History
The act of forcing people to do labour against their will and freedom is as old as civilization itself. Many were enslaved during wars, or invasions from less civilized cultures. The major spread of slavery came after the dark king Xarros began his quest for Elf supremacy and domination. He engineered several methods of slavery, ranging from mundane to alchemical and even purely magical.
After his mysterious vanishing and the beginning of the Age of Light, all the nations under his control became independent once more, but retained some form of slavery within their realm, both as a profitable trade, and a useful method of social or criminal control. This is the most lasting mark the hundred-year grasp of the Briador Forests has left on modern civilization.
Entry
Becoming a slave is a tragic act for any intelligent creature, for it goes against the most intelligent nature of all: free will. Still, there are many ways in which an individual can become a slave.
Imprisonment
Debtors, criminals or war prisoners might find their sentences to be carried out as servants and slaves rather than prisoners. Many nations, like Hynia, make great profit by having to spend very few resources on the imprisonment of very rare individuals, and simply selling the criminals to the highest bidder. The binding of these slaves tends to be limited in time, only months or years at a time, varying per sentence. A life sentence, therefore, signifies a life as a slave.
Money
A slave is valuable, and those in poverty or need of resources will sometimes trade themselves in exchange for comfortable sums of money for their families and loved ones. Almost every nation in the world will accept a willing slave, regardless of origin.
Escape
Life is hard. One might find themselves on the wrong side of someone very powerful or very dangerous, or may have done something to justify an expeditious retreat. Some resort to shielding themselves in the anonymity of being one more in the ranks of slaves, to escape these situations.
Methods
There are many ways to strip an individual of their freedom and force them to follow commands. These methods vary in their source, applicability, rate of success, and on damages caused to the enslaved individual.
Cuffs & Chains
One of the oldest methods known to civilization. Cuffs and chains to restrain and weigh down the individual. This system is universal, independent of access to arcane or rare resources, since all that is needed is some strong metal. Larger, stronger, or magically infused races or individuals might have an easier time breaking out of these, but arcane or divine countermeasures can be applied on top to strengthen the material and nullify any dangerous abilities the individuals might have.
Many nations without access to arcane supplies rely on this, such as Varhöm for their miners, and Thuur, since they mostly enslave weaker races.
Briadori Bracelets
After the end of Xarros' reign, the kings of the Briador Forests saw a potential dark lord in every individual with an arcane persuasion, and thus sought out methods of containment, anti-arcane enchantments that would nullify the magic of anyone wielding them, as well as containing them.
Using divine enchantments, they came up with special chainless tethers that allow for free movement and action within a fixed range of a specially designed anchor, and don't allow proximity within the small range, as well as nullification of any arcane-based abilities. Thus, the enslaved is trapped in a ring, unable to tamper with the anchor, and unable to escape. The anchors can be placed at regular intervals, building "paths" for the slaves to walk through, but not out of. The theoretical strength needed to break out of these is far greater than any individual could amass without supernatural means.
Alchemical Dependecy
A particularly insidious method, it places tethers, not on the individual's body, but rather on their mind. By creating alchemical compounds and substances that are used to repeatedly produce feelings of euphoria or pleasure in the consumer, it becomes addicted. If the slave is truly as desperate as they will most surely become once the effects of withdrawal begin to take over their body, they will do just about anything for another dose.
One of the most peculiar aspects of this method is the variations in the preparation and ingredients. Dozens of herbs, fungi, and animal parts exist that can be distilled into drugs of this sort. However, most times the concoction carries an arcane component to it, making it unique in it's particular effects, and worse yet, causing a dependency that can only be sated through the exclusive consumption of the same compound. Those who become addicted to these substances, will not find satisfaction in any other compound of the sort. This proves to be a highly reliable method of subjugation.
There are few organizations who openly use such drugs, since they are harmful for the value of the merchandise. They become immediately dependent on a highly specialized compound, the recipe of which is usually sold at an added cost, making them harder to sell. If the compound used is low quality, there can even be permanent damages to the slave. Added to this, it doesn't allow for a clean liberation of the individual in case their servitude was a criminal sentence or contract slavery with a fixed end. The most common employers of this method are underground crime syndicates, or the nation of Eferia, who not only legalized the method, but openly employs it for its military service and secret operations.
Bloodbinding
Through an arcane ritual using the blood of the enslaved individual and a magic brand on their body, one can create a binding of blood. This connects the slave to a specially designed flask or phylactery, which can be used to locate them from any location, and to cause them physical pain with but a command. The intensity of the pain can be regulated, but can never be lethal.
If the flask suffers any critical damage or is entirely cleaned of blood, the enchantment wears off, freeing the slave. For this reason, the flasks themselves are usually stored in vaults either by the owners of the slave, or by the local slavers guilds, protected from any who would attempt to tamper with them.
This method is the most common in the nation of Hynia, who popularized it.
Trade
Selling and buying slaves is one of the most profitable trades of the new era. There is an abundance of criminals, war prisoners or those desperate and poor. Slaves are used for just about anything: war, household servitude, artisan's assistants, prostitution, even scholarly work, so there is just as many buyers as there is offer. The nation that makes the most profit from this trade is the Dunes of Athus, located in an economically advantageous position, at the center of the known world. They tax all trade that goes through their land, making their greatest dividends as a toll booth rather than selling their products.
Society
The practice of Slavery is commonly accepted in most societies of Namyria. While there are some who object to the cruelty of the practice, and compare it to the acts of Xarros, most of society simply agrees that it is an effective method to combat crime, keep the money flowing, and provide jobs for the slave guilds.
Slaver's Guilds
Being such a profitable industry means there is much to be lost, or to be done wrong. The slaver's guilds are there to prevent any such problems. The Guilds are the most economically empowered group in most nations, managing the trade of slaves acting as slave markets, controlling the registration of all slaves, to prevent any irregularities or any unjust enslavement, and the retrieval of any misplaced property.
The Godess of Slavery
Prior to the Age of Darkness and the practices Xarros brought with it, slavery was already in practice, only less popular. One of the most proficient and terrifying slavers in existence prior to Xarros was Larzier, a slavemistress from the Hemanian kingdom, now Hynia. In the Age of Heroes, she managed to enslave thousands into her own private army, using only the supernatural powers of persuasion she possessed. When she transcended and became an Anaetherial she became the patron deity of slavers and the trade.
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