The Summerlands (SUH-mer-landz)

Government

As one of the stronger corporeal undead, the vampires tend to dominate the autocratic court of the Summerlands. Led by a Triumvirate of Vampire Counts, the Summer Court nevertheless plays host to a number of Lords, be they vampire, beholder, wraith, etc.   Less powerful undead such as skeletons, zombies, etc, form the backbone of the working class of the Summerlands, supplying building materiels, foodstuffs, etc.   Non-undead races such as Drow, Humans, etc. are often present in major cities. On the surface, these retainers are “employed” by the Summer Court as living foodstuffs for the Vampire Lords. How accurate that “employment” is remains subject to interpretation.   The “laws” of the Summerlands are present but more or less lip service. The only actual rules are “Don’t Get Caught” and “Don’t Destabilize the Court’s Power”  

The Summer Court

Midnight Count Frederick von Bek
Dusk Count Immaline Winter
Twilight Count Michel von Carstein
 

Culture

Heritage: Dhampir, Reborn   Monsters & Undead
In the Mythic Age, the Summerlands were a wild country of warring beast tribes, beholders, illithids, and the like. Over the last thousand years, it has become a haven for sentient Undead and remains more or less cosmopolitan of races which might otherwise be too inhuman to fit into polite society.   Dumping Ground of the World
The Summerlands are the place where the countries of the world send their undesirables—most often sentient undead, but occasionally more difficult members of other races or those whose appearance are a little too inhuman.   Inside the Summerlands, most creatures live within the Night Cities, though there are occasional communes of living races out in the wilds.   Dead by Daylight
The Summerlands are dotted by innumerable “dead” villages where, due to Akmon’s curse, the undead sleep the daytime away or simply remain hidden out of sight. Once the sun sets, however, the village comes “alive” with activity as the various non-sentient undead servitors go about their duties farming, mining, etc. under the magical direction of their Vampire Lords.   Rigid Elegance and Depraved Decadence
The Summer Court is a place of elegance, pomp, and circumstance with themes of lavish decadence—a mask over the monstrous nature of many of the Court’s citizens and subjects.  

Cultural Norms

A Facade of Society
The Summerlands prides itself on being “civilized” and maintains a rigid expectation that open displays of public barbarism and monstrousness are expressly taboo and will result in social shunning and stigma faster than almost anything else.   Courtesy or Else
As a result of their monstrous nature, the Summerlands are rigidly formal and courteous in public or formal settings. Rudeness is simply not tolerated and anyone attempting to provoke another into revealing the monster underneath is swiftly handled.   Don’t Get Caught
The unwritten rule of the Summerlands is that everyone is scheming in some fashion for power, position, rank, etc. The only thing worse than being rude is being stupid. If a scheme becomes public and fails, that particular member of the Summer Court can expect their prospects to fall considerably. By the same token, a successful scheme that eliminates a rival without the schemer being caught, even if everyone secretly knows, can elevate the schemer to new heights.   Necromantic Discretion
Discreet Necromancy, in order to maintain non-sentient undead for work or house guards, is politely ignored as a matter of personal housekeeping. Indiscreet Necromancy, demon summoning, or attempts to amass undead hordes are swiftly resolved by the Vampire Counts and their Lords.  

Military

Noble House Guards
Each Lord of the Court maintains a House Guard of lesser undead, non-sentient servitors, and occasional living guardsmen. House Guards are expected to defend the Summerlands when called upon by the Vampire Counts, but more often are used in small scale skirmishes between various Lords as a means of “proxy war”. So long as those skirmishes remain small, contained, and do not destabilize the country, the Vampire Counts do not intervene.  

Economy

Excellent Exporter
As the majority of the citizens of the Summerlands don’t need to eat, and there is plenty of wide open space, most of the rural areas are set up as farmlands and worked during the nighttime by non-sentient undead. While the Summerlands maintains its own mines, refineries, etc., the reality is that aside from some lavish choices, much of the raw material that can be safely mined by non-sentient workers gets exported as well.  

Religion

The Summerlands is predominantly a secular nation and religious beliefs are left to individuals so long as those beliefs do not harm the stability of the community.   Banned Religions:
Fuck Akmon. The harsh weight of Akmon’s curse over the undead means that worship of him is expressly forbidden.  

Holidays

The Summerlands do not have any particular holidays they celebrate.  

Night Cities

Each Vampire Count maintains direct control of one of three Night Cities, which are each a sprawling urban metropolis. Both coastal Night Cities have sprawling dock presences and what amounts to “orientation” centers to find places for new arrivals from the rest of the world.   Dusk City on the Western Coast
Twilight City on the Eastern Coast
Midnight City in the center of the Summerlands, and the home of the Summer Court   Each Night City is under a permanent and massive enchantment which cloaks the city in a perpetual nighttime. There is no passing of day or night though large clock towers tend to dot the city skylines for the benefit of maintaining some sense of time for its citizens.   Most citizens of the Night Cities Speak Undercommon, though they tend to also speak Common for the benefit of new arrivals.  

“We got a live one here!”   Jean-Paul Ede cracked an eye open and, only barely, managed to not flinch back from the toothless and rotting face in front of him that was… grinning. He slowly pushed himself up to a seated position, feeling the hard wood of the ship’s bulwark against his back. Jean-Paul wracked his brain, searching the ale and wine soaked memories as he tried to figure out where he was; this was, after all, his morning routine upon waking and the answer often changed with the day of the week and just how much he’d had to drink the night before.   Slowly, painfully slowly, it came back to him. The prior night had been drinking with the sailors. The sailors were crew on the ship he was on - The Heart of Nicodemus, and the grinning zombified face in front of him who was offering him one leathery hand to rise from the deck. Restraining his immediate desire to vomit, as that would be so dreadfully impolite, he took the offered hand and rose, looking out over the bulwark of the ship and marveling at the sight before him.   He’d heard tales of the Summerlands, and of the famous - or infamous he really didn’t care which - Night Cities which were shrouded in a perpetual twilight enchantment, but seeing the city himself was another matter entirely. The city’s tall and severe architecture rose from the ground like spears - all angled points and sharp edges. Row after row of buildings next to each other, and sprawling for what seemed like miles without end; and all of it dominated by the Dusk Keep in the center of the city where even he, an outsider, knew that one of the three Vampire Counts held their domain.   A shiver ran through him, and the zombified form of the halfling dock worker laughed at him. “Yea, that’s most folks' reaction the first time they realize they ain’t never going home again.”   For not the first time, Jean-Paul considered regretting the choices he’d made which brought him here; he’d pushed too hard, too fast, and been a little too loud in his desire to take the ideals of the Free Republic of Montaigne and spread them across Europa. After all, he’d reasoned, in the age of invention and innovation, where anyone would harness the power of the elementals for trade, movement, or simply power, why should the nobility retain power? Why shouldn’t the common people rise and overthrow the last vestiges of the Wizard Kings in the world, the dukes and their duchies, the Barons and their courts? Alas, some part of him mused, now it was never to be, and when he’d been betrayed and caught, the choices he was given was almost a simple one: Death… or Deathless. Execution or exile to the Summerlands.   He did not look forwards to the likely iron grip one of the deathless Vampire Counts was likely to hold over such a land, but as one of the small handful of folks in the country with a pulse, well, he had a valuable commodity to trade.   “Welcome to Dusk City,” the zombified Halfling said as the two of them stepped off the boat and the other … man… pointed one rotting finger towards a large, flat, building set into the edge of the docks.   “There,” the halfling continued. “The Welcome Center. You’ll be able to negotiate for who you’ll serve until you die or get turned.”   Jean-Paul couldn’t help the expression of irritation that washed over his face, but the halfling just smiled a rotting, toothless, smile back at him.   “Mind yer manners, heartbeat, and you’ll go far. Or you’ll be dinner. Good luck!”