Ratchin

Ratchin is a Fultonian frontier river town close to the coast in the Northern Borderlands. Ratchin has a population that averages around 2,000, and is the third largest Fultonian settlement along the Fultonian coast between the Barony of Ashan and the end of the reach of Fultonian territory in Northern Fultar. Rachin is the most populated town in the Fultar Forest and is its commercial center hosting numerous fairs and events, most recently the Ascension of Chief Marshal Trant.

Demographics

People Ratchin itself is home to approximately 1,500 permanent inhabitants. Most of these are Fultonian, with small numbers of Celts, Bevilians, dwarves, and other foreigners. In addition there exists a transient population of an additional 150-200 persons, with highs of 300-600 people during peak festival and market times. Similar to much of Fultar, the area surrounding Ratchin is inhabited by a large rural population that represents about 90% of the area's human population. Unlike the Fultonian interior and similar much of the Fultonian borderlands a majority of this human population is non-Fultonian in ethnic heritage. Outside of Ratchin about thirteen to sixteen thousand people live within the Ratchin sphere of influence. With around six thousand consisting of Fultonian fisher folk, loggers, trappers, peasants, merchants, soldiers, mercenaries, and bandits. The remaining seven to nine thousand humans consist of five or six thousand Donian Celts, another thousand other Celtic tribes, and some Kozar, Alemani, Guar and Gypsies. These numbers only correspond to the Fultonian controlled region surrounding Ratchin. Outside of the Ratchin area the Fultonians are outnumbered on at least 50 to 1 ratio. The only Fultonians in these areas are the Imperial Army and Navy with five military forts, and a few trappers, traders and adventures. Religion Being mostly Fultonian the people of Ratchin primarily follow the religious practices of Fultar. Similar to humans of any land, magical or not, religion is a social fabric that gives meaning and structure to peoples lives. The existence of priestly magic and supernatural deities does not change this basic function of religion. The fact that priests ask for, and receive their deity's blessing in the form of magic and spells, gives weight to the importance of religion. However, because most clerics can do the same, the existence of magic rarely gives strength to any particular religious organization. And due to the existence of wizard magic and priests that follow "nature," "the spiritual essence of life, " or other non-deity based philosophies, god fearing priests in Fultar have not eliminated the agnostic and atheist. Despite the existence of non-believers and heretics religion is an everyday part of most Fultonians lives. While religion does not overwhelming control society, as in Medieval Europe, it still provides the primary cultural guide for much of society. The masses attend weekly, and some times daily services. Weddings, births, coronations and funerals are all presided over by priests, clerics or druids. Tya Nehru, Sennia, Hantithenus, Ram Kor and Ohgma all have temples in Ratchin. The temple of Tya Nehru has traditionally been the most important. Reflecting this status the temple of Tya Nehru is the largest and most commonly used. The temple of Tya Nehru also serves as a convent for young priestess in training. The few male priests in training are sent to the larger temple of Tya Nehru in the city of Critlip. The priests of Tya Nehru preside at most marriages and funerals, serve as official advisors to the Mayor, military and judges, and mediate disputes between and among merchants, peasants and nobles. These priests rarely pronounce edicts or make stark judgments, but their "advice" can be difficult to ignore. The aged matriarch Cornella Kum runs the temple of Tya Nehru. The matriarch has passed her better years and has recently lost interest in the daily activities of the temple and town of Ratchin. This has reduced the influence of her temple and fanned rumors of her potential replacement. Being of a traditional mind set she is a strong pluralist. Being both a pluralist temple and the largest temple in Ratchin there are numerous smaller shrines and altars to other Fultonian and Bevilian gods. Similar to the national church of Tya Nehru about 70% of the clerics are female. The temple of Hantithenus is well kept, ancient building. Because of the importance of trade and the proximity of the ocean to Ratchin, the temple of Hantithenus is critically important to the local power brokers. Although Gebash (the patron city of Sennia) is close and agriculture is important, both Ratchin and Critlip were founded by colonists from the then city state of Fulton (the patron city of Hantithenus). This tends to give the people of Ratchin a slightly more urban and sophisticated outlook on life and their place in the world. High priest Rigamor Dalenus is a tall proud man with a nose that so exceeds Fultonian standards he has been nick named "the Gnome." Rigamor came from a family of merchant princes where at least one child has always become a priest of Hantithenus. Rigamor effectively manages his temple, serves as a mouthpiece for the petty bourgeois, and runs a local tavern and the town's only spice business. Rigamor's assistant, Donovan Talont, performs many of the daily services and training of lower priests. Surrounded by large expanses of farmlands, vineyards and pasturelands the temple of Sennia tends to serve the outlying population more than the town itself. Most of the temple priests work in the fields assisting the peasants. These clerics only return to receive instructions, report to the high priest and receive training. During most of the year there is little activity at the temple but during the planting and harvest festivals the priests of Sennia play as critical of roles as the priests of Ohgma. The current high priest is a portly, balding Fultonian man named Golan Tuck. Tuck is alcoholic, womanizing man that tirelessly works toward protecting the interests of the surrounding Fultonian peasants. Tuck resents the power druids have over nature and the druids eco-centric world view. However, unlike the former Imperial Governor Gangus Font, Tuck is not an anti-Celt bigot. In order to prove this Tuck's temple has small shrines to the Bevilian (Demeter) and Celtic goddess (Eostre) of agriculture. The temple of Ram Kor is a small spartan, military like building. The patron of this temple are the local militia, soldiers from the neighboring forts, mercenaries and a small, odd assortment of local merchants, peasants, nobility and laborers. In addition to serving the spiritual needs of its followers the temple trains warriors, assists mercenaries in obtaining employment and looks out for the interests of the local Imperial Army Commanders. The high priestess of this temple is an older, stoic Fultonian woman called Oswena. Oswena has served as a private body guard, a mercenary and a Fultonian Knight before being called to the faith. She has served in all the major wars and conflicts of her time including the Sua hills, Guar skirmishes, Celtic raids and internal battles between Fultonian lords. While her intellect is not renown she is feared for her ruthlessness and cunning. The temple of Ohgma serves as both a religious institution and the primary locus of entertainment in Ratchin. Inside the temple in a dug out Fultonian style amphitheater. Because of the rainy weather in Ratchin the Ohgma amphitheater, unlike most Fultonian amphitheaters, is completely covered. Fultonian and Bevilian plays (primarily tragedies and dark comedies) and operas, Celtic music and singing, and dances from Nubia to Bevil are all performed in the amphitheater. Events are commonly staged about twice a month, and nearly daily during festivals. While competitions are common, brash and violent fighting or dueling of any sort is not permitted. In addition to being the center of the little high culture Ratchin has to offer the temple of Ohgma also serves as a place of worship, prayer and music. A half dozen priests and an additional dozen musicians reside at the temple. Most of the priests are either specialty priests of music and standard Fultonian clerics, although at least one druid always resides at the temple. The current high priest is a middle aged Fultonian named Drantheus Coreel. Drantheus' earlier years were spent adventuring with bards, gypsies and other musically gifted nomads. The temple is well run and a fine example of organized chaos.

Government

Ratchin is a free city, and directly governed by a major and Council, which are chosen by the local guilds. The Crown, generally through the local Imperial Governor residing in Fort Shorbat, or military Commanders, exerts some influence and ultimate de facto rather than de jure veto power. Various nobles govern the outlying areas outside of Ratchin. While an outlying provincial region of Fultar, the nobility in and around Ratchin are still through and through Fultonian. Away from the pampered halls of the royal palace in Fulton and the sprawling peasant filled lands of central Fultar, the nobility in Ratchin are more rustic and grounded than their cousins. This does not mean a stronger benevolence toward the peasants. At times it can translate into a faint, although not strong, understanding that their position in the world is a social construct, not a divine truth. Being a border region the relationship between noble and commoner is strikingly different than in the Fultonian interior. Of the total human population surrounding Ratchin only about six thousand are of Fultonian ethnicity. Of these only half can be considered peasants. The existence of three thousand free farmers, trappers, fisher folk and herders is unique to the border regions. In the Fultonian interior freemen make up less than a fifth of the farming population. Ten different Fultonian nobles own land in the area surrounding Ratchin. These ten provide a broad cross section of the Fultonian nobility. Of the three largest noble land owners two are blooded and one is a high noble. The remaining lands are primarily owned by high nobility although two blooded nobles and a low noble also own estates. • Kassandra Banlanur: A high noble owning lands granted to her by the Queen for service in foreign wars. Her lands abut Celtic controlled area. She is the largest land owner with 600 peasants.
• Oned Darkin: A high noble managing the lands of a southern Fultonian Count (Count Avergan). It is rumored Oned is a bastard son of the blooded Count Avergan and that Oned is a pawn for Prince Verum De Lezst. The Count's lands are the second largest with 500 peasants.
• Lear Greg: The fourth son of a central Fultonian Count (Count Greganus). The large estate (400 peasants) is actually managed by an aged steward and Lord Lear is rumored to be a lazy, irresponsible lad. The remaining seven lands average 200 peasants and have small social, political and economic significance. The low noble is a merchant who married the only daughter of a knight to obtain his lands. One of the two lands owned by blooded nobles is a private hunting preserve, and the other is home to a pseudo-Machiavellian poet that has been exiled and under the protection of a powerful Baron. The four high nobles consist of a half-elven bastard, a third daughter of a Lord fulfilling a family obligation, a "retired" petty lord and a wealthy Suan human knight granted lands for loyalty to the Empire.

Industry & Trade

Lying twenty leagues south of Critlip, Ratchin dominates the local economy. This regional dominance spreads in an area at least ten leagues north, at least fifteen leagues south and at least fifteen leagues east of the village itself. Ratchin's economic influence spreads beyond this area into the Fultonian, Shakanza (Shakanza are a multi-ethnic mix of humans, orges and orcs), Donian Celt and non-human regions of the Fultar Forest. The Fultonian, and even the entire Ugaron, economy is characterized by varying degrees of economic sophistication and primitive modes of production. The most important characteristics of the Fultonian economy are the slow rate of technological growth, limited nature of private property, lack of a market system, and the dominance of political and social relations. In a society where the most intelligent thinkers and scholars gravitate toward the magical arts technological change is slow. For example, agriculture improvements are tied to advancements in the magical arts and the blessing of priests. Changes in plow technology, crops, crop rotation are practically nonexistent. Fultonian peasants do not yet harness their oxen, still use the two crop rotation, and do not plant cover crops. There is no internal, systematic social rewards for technological advancement. In fact technological change is often discouraged. The nobility rarely pay attention to the details of running their estates and therefore do not have the knowledge to make changes. Those who have the knowledge to make progressive changes understand most gains in productivity often only fall into the hands of their lord. This slow rate of technological change and growth has lead to an essentially stable society. While wars, plagues and famine damage the fabric of society that fabric rarely transforms itself. Generations pass and the basic tools of farming, commerce, mining, etc. change very little. And those few great changes that occur are often the result of magical, not technological, advancement. In the Fultonian economy private property is limited right. Certain political or social positions are necessary to own land, some commodities and weapons of war. The ownership of property is dependent upon relationship between the various rulers and the ruled. A lord may revoke the right of a miller to operate his mill, the Empress may confiscate the lands of a church, or a lord may disallow the peasants from foraging in his forests. The idea that any private property is inviolate is unknown, just as a person is under certain social obligations to his society, peers and rulers. The Fultonian economic system is in the late stages of feudalism. In ancient times the Fultonian Empire was based on slave based agriculture, colonial expansion and overseas trade. In the recent past feudalism was supreme. In a feudal economy land is supreme. The blooded families owned all land. The blooded families granted land to lords in exchange for military service. At the bottom of society the peasants owed services to their lords in exchange for protection, and while not free they were not slaves. Today Fultar has the same feudal structure, but most of the relationships in society have become more complex and sophisticated. In addition, Fultar has regained her colonial might with colonies in the Isles and the Knives Coast. The Fultonian feudal system is not based upon market based free enterprise but a tradition bound, command and control structure. While commodities, commerce and trade all exist, most production and transactions occur under the dictates of tradition and existed power relations. The price of bread is dictated by history, tradition and the power relations between lord, miller, baker and the consumers, not the combined economic cost of the various inputs (wheat, labor, etc.). Finally, as can be discerned, political and social power dominate economic actions. Although powerful merchant princes, thieves guilds and adventurers gain power through the pursuit of money, they are the exception not the rule. Most riches come from holdings of social positions of power. The nobility, clergy, bards and others struggle for land and privileges that make them rich, they rarely become rich and then obtain riches to gain land and privileges. The economy of Ratchin is broken into three spheres of activity. The most obvious are the daily commercial activities. This includes the daily open air markets, the hustle of the inns and taverns, the ebb and flow of merchants passing though the town, and the commerce at the shops like the bakeries, barbers, vegetable merchants, and temples. These are both the businesses that must be open every day to serve the daily necessities of life, and the facilitation of the movement of merchandise to cater to the population of the greater Ratchin area. The daily "industrial" activity dominates the daily life of a minority of the population. This is not the industry of large factory like sweat shops but the smaller shops of craftsfolk. These are the masons, carpenters, cobblers, weavers, tailors, jewelers, chandlers and coopers, among others. Most of the craftsfolk are skilled independent business owners, which make up the town's petty bourgeois. In addition to these craftsfolk the petty bourgeois includes the town merchants; including wine sellers, inn keepers, cloths dealers, cattle and horse traders, and other importers and exporters. The petty bourgeois makes up about 90 families of around 110 distinct crafts and trades. With their families and apprentices they make up about a third of the population in Ratchin. Below is a near complete list of the number of each type of crafts folk or merchant. While there is strict regulation disallowing a tailor from repairing old clothes as to not compete with the old clothes dealers, some crafts overlap as the town goldsmith also works as a jeweler and an inn keeper also acts as a wine merchant. cobblers: 12 innkeepers: 8 furriers: 7 tailors: 6 barbers: 5 jewelers, bakers, old clothes dealers: 4 cattle merchants, masons, carpenters, weavers, chandlers, saddlers, mercers, coopers:3 wine merchants, horse traders, livestock dealers, scabbard makers, potters, hat makers, chicken butchers, purse makers, laundresses, oil merchants, meat butchers, fish merchants, black smiths, and beer sellers: 2 Buckle makers, spice merchants, painters, roofers, lock smiths, tanners, copyists, rug makers, harness makers, bleachers, cutlers, hay merchants, armorer, weapon smith, silversmith, gold smith, glove makers, wood sellers, wood carvers, bath housers, plasterers: 1 The third sphere of activity is that of the festivals and fairs. The various religious and cultural festivals are times of specific economic activity and cultural events. Mask and costume making and buying, gift exchanges, high alcohol consumption, wholesale cattle and horse markets, jousting, "rodeos," traveling circus', and other events occur during the various festivals and fairs. Three large fairs occur in the city of Ratchin. These are events when merchants from Critlip, other northern Fultonian towns and even Fulton come to Ratchin to sell their wares. Without expensive special orders this is the only time to purchase many types of merchandise. All three fairs occur from the beginning of spring to the middle of fall. Two of the fairs, the Cavalli and Mocca, center around horses and cattle. The third, Senenian, is the fall festival in honor of the agriculture goddess Sennia. Each of these fairs is cause for great jubilation among both the common populace and the petty bourgeois. The small fairs occur once a month. The smaller fairs, unlike the holiday like festivals, were established primarily for the craft shops open their doors to the populace. Buying and selling of most merchandise is not an everyday event. The monthly festival days allows craftsfolk to prepare their goods for a certain and maintain a fixed price for their merchandise, and allows the common folk a set time to purchase commodities. The existence of these smaller fairs does not disallow commerce on other days and is primarily for the benefit of people living outside of Ratchin.