Guidebook

Culture & Laws

Daily Life

Daily life in Rionnach, Saora, and the greater world consists of fairly domestic activities: tend to your family and yourself. Some barter for meat from professional hunters when their guild or pack duties do not allow them the time to hunt. Others carve out a few precious moments to immerse themselves in nature and return with a deer for their kin. Some wolves live close to their families while others have traveled far due to guild or pack work. For example, a soldier in the Imperial Army will live near home if he was born and raised in Yorkshire. However, if he'd been whelped in Perth, then he's longing for the Highlands while doing drills down south. All of this goes to say that day-to-day roleplaying will not change too much but there is a wealth of factors to think about when immersing yourself in this world. The only difference is that wolves have to pick an allegiance to one or the other: Rionnach or Saora. Wolves that choose Rionnach are limited to the Lowlands and the Mainlands while Saoran wolves are limited to the Highlands. Currently, the borders are not open so wolves must tred with caution past the carefully patrolled borders in the Lowlands.

Questions to ask yourself: Where was your character born? Where is your character's guild or pack located? Do they appreciate the distance, do they hate it? Were they raised comfortably? Do they adhere to the stereotype of their nationality? Do they appreciate the complex, nation-style life in Rionnach or would they prefer a more lawless life with fewer restraints such as in the Hinterlands?

Rionnach Laws

Enshrined here are the laws of Rionnach. Rionnach is governed by a monarchy now that parliament was abolished by King Adamh. It has a socialistic-capitalistic blend for its economy. All important roles in Rionnach's government are filled by NPCs in order to ensure an egalitarian member base. All existant laws reflect King Adamh's rule and are subject to change as the government evolves.

Criminal behavior of the standard variety (theft, rape, murder, pillaging, recreational drug use, prostitution) is punishable by death. The burden of proof in court for capital punishment is beyond all reasonable doubt. Rionnach adheres to habeas corpus and lawyers from the college will offer a defense for those accused.

All that live in Rionnach must participate in some way to the greater fabric of Rionnach—this can be through participating in the economy (selling food, medicine, services), serving in the army, or obtaining a scholarship to study in the college/staff the public hospitals. Taxes are paid in the form of food/medicines (commonwealth) gifted to the government for redistribution and hours of service spent (army/college).

Medical care is free and a basic right

Education is not free and is earned either through tuition payments (again of hours spent of service, food, medicine by a family member/sponsor) or scholarships (where the student agrees to give hours of service to the crown)

Foreigners are often difficult to catch in the system but, when encountered, will be given a grace period before they are required to contribute in order to remain in Rionnach as a citizen

Failure to invest in the nation leads to rights being revoked (medical care, scholarship opportunities) and potential jail time

Divorce is legal if fault can be proven in court. No-fault divorce does not yet exist.

There is both private and communal property. Often only the wealthy own property (and they are expected to pay additional taxes on it).

Witch trials are illegal—a practice common in the Highlands where witchcraft is viewed with fear and witches are often burned. Mainlanders do not believe in witches and find the practice of conducting witch trials and burning witches to be foolish, superstitious, and brutal.

Slavery and indentured servitude are illegal. Servants for a family will often enter into one of two deals: they will gain hunting / land rights on the family's property and pay their own taxes -or- the family will pay taxes for the servant as well but grant no additional rights.

Theatre and songs have recently been lifted from censorship—King Adamh has relaxed these laws in particular in order to champion free speech.

Attacking the King and/or a member parliament is punishable by death if intent and means to carry out the attack can be proven in a court of law.

Rionnach does not suffer from institutionalized homophobia or sexism. Culturally, all sexualities are accepted and the sexes are viewed as equal.

Saora Laws

Enshrined here are the laws of Saora. Saora is governed by a monarchy & representative government composed of clan chiefs. King Jacob has veto power but, for most issues, votes alongside the clan chiefs to determine the laws that Saora holds. Each town has a slightly different economy but, in general, Saora adheres to more of a barter economy in which goods and services are traded. As in Rionnach, all important roles in Saora's government are filled by NPCs in order to ensure an egalitarian member base. Listed here are only the laws that are different from Rionnach — anything not explicitly stated here as different is assumed to be the same between the nations.

Each town's individual laws and rules are largely maintained by the clans that control the town. A clan's power is imparted by its size. Affiliated wolves have more benefits than unaffiliated ones, as clans often trade more kindly within their own ranks. Similar to Rionnach as a whole, all towns expect wolves to contribute in some manner.

There are no guaraunteed rights in the same sence that Rionnach reinforces the right to medicine, but wolves can reasonably expect to receive medical care and educational access so long as they do their best to provide goods or services of comparable worth in return.

Divorce is legal and marriages are actually not recorded as wolves are free to handle that themselves.

Witch trials are legal and anyone suspected of being a witch or incurring the wrath of the Fae willingly risks being the subject of suspicion.

Books

Amid the crumbling structures left by humans, some have found books and learned the written word. Though none are being manufactured and many are succumbing to the elements, there is a fairly robust collection in the College of Eolas and throughout the campuses of the School of Saora. Some find reading to be a trivial pursuit what with the delicate pages, the small text, and the difficulty of turning a page. Others think it is simply fascinating. Books are rare so do keep this in mind when considering your own character's library.

Messengers

Given the large scale of Rionnach, Saora, and the Hinterlands, corvids are used as a messenger system. Due to their impeccable ability to mimic sounds and recognize faces, a well-trained corvid is an invaluable resource. Of course, the key word is well-trained. It takes a year of deliberate training to produce a bird that can memorize a message, fly in the right direction, and find the intended listener. As such, most utilize common birds trained in Ayr to deliver messages. Common birds roost within major cities and can be sent as needed. The service is free to an extent—anyone abusing it will have their privileges revoked. Still, some have managed to train their own birbs.
Acceptable corvids are: crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, and nutcrackers

Sending a Message (IC)
1. Have or borrow a corvid. You may purchase one from the market place or use a common bird trained by the Ayr. All cities have roosts that are maintained.
2. Corvids are trained to memorize names, roost locations in Rionnach, Saora, and the Hinterlands, and messages. When provided this information, the bird will fly to the mentioned town and squawk the name of the intended recipient. Young acolytes working at the roosts will spread the word that a message is here for that person.
3. Once the intended recipient visits the roost, the acolytes will arrange for them to listen to the message in a private room and, if they choose, send a message back.
4. Corvids always know the way home, so those with their own personal bird will need to provide some form of home base so that the bird can find them again.

Sending a Message (OOC)

1. Go to the messenger board
2. Make a thread following the format listed here
3. Tag the person and respond. All messages are considered confidential between characters unless you want to plot a message getting stolen.