The Selesnyans
10-12-2005, 04:15
Selesnyan Factbook:
Administration:
Selesnya is a theocracy with equity of all living beings being the core of their belief. Therefore, their government is extremely decentralized with no official leadership. However, there are some members of Selesnyan society who perform roles similiar to that of typical administrative functions.
To speak upon behalf of visitors is the Chorus, a group of Selesnyan Devotees who's knowledge of Selesnyan belief has become so advanced that they can speak as one. Singular candidates for the Chorus are sent to foreign lands as representatives of Selesnya. They generally wear robes of white Selesnyan cloth dyed with a fading green along the bottom. Their primary distinctive feature, however, is the crown of leaves carved of Selesnyan steel and dyed gold.
The main of the administration are the couriers, mounted messengers who send word between the various farming townships and the capitol of Vitu-Ghazi. Their attire consists of pockets for holding the parchment messages, brown vests and pants over green padded shirts, and a spear which can hold a torch at its head to light the path during night journeys and signal their approach.
Commerce:
Since Selesnyan doctrine supports equality, this ultimately requires selflessness to avoid bringing about feelings of superiority or inferiority. This means that there cannot be any motivators for greed. Therefore, there is no economy in Selesnya in the traditional sense. Everyone provides for the community their good or service, and they receive from the community whatever they need to live a reasonably pleasent lifestyle. Aside from food from the rural districts and wood from the trees, Selesnya lives off of four distinct products economically.
Selesnyan clay is made in a process similiar to that in which mud bricks are made. However, instead of mixing water with dirt, sap from the greatwood trees that shape the capitol are used. Due to the sap's nature, the dirt is destructured and solidified into a substance nearly as strong as stone, with a pale tan appearance. Due to the period of creation when the clay is unstable, it can be shaped to form various crafts as well as construction material.
Selesnyan steel is made by furnishing forged iron with greatwood sap. This allows it a degree of flexibility for asthetic reshaping before it solidifies into Selesnyan steel. Although it is only as strong as iron, the sap worked into the metal allows it to endure natural decay like stainless steel.
Selesnyan cloth is made from greatwood fibers harvested as leftover material from construction of new treetop communes. The long, thin fibers are dried out of the internal sap through baking in the sun before being soaked in water, giving them flexibility and strength like that of rope.This material is what is generally used to make clothing in Selesnya.
Selesnyan dye is made by mixing greatwood sap with water. The higher the concentration of sap, the more the color shifts from yellow to green. The longer the cloth is emmersed in the dye, the brighter the color when it is removed.
Education:
The Selesnyan education system is considered a lifelong process. At infancy children are taken from their parents to be raised by caregivers, who generally raise a half dozen infants at a time. Once a child becomes old enough to walk and talk properly, they are brought down the tree to an education center, where they are taught according to the role that best suits them based on their physical and mental development. The counsels who make such judgements have always been able to find a desirable role for each youth, if not the ideal one.
Those educated in manual roles receive equal parts physical training, education in whatever field they are to enter, and Selesnyan doctrine. Once they are physically mature, they have learned enough to begin practicing under the aid of a member of the field more experienced than them. After three years of such an apprenticeship, the youth takes up a home in the tree communes.
Those taught in fields requiring dexterity and skill forsake the physical training for education in their field. Once they are physically mature, they go through the same three year apprenticeship to their own status as a member of their role and resident of a commune.
Those taught in fields strictly regarding information forsake the physical training for further study of Selesnyan doctrine, as it provides training for whatever field they may be taking on. Five years after physically maturing, such students automatically take up their role in society, skipping the apprentice process, as field experience is not neccesary for such tasks as they bear.
Enviroment:
Due to the Selesnyan belief that life is to be valued above all else, the country's enviromental standards are borderline insane. All of their products are created naturally, their metals being imported from more developed nations nearby. All of the citizens of Selesnya do their part to preserve the enviroment of their nation.
Health:
Although it does not have as advanced of technologies as neighboring nations, Selesnya still has access to a wide variety of plantlife in its smaller forests that provide for just about every medical resource neccesary to survive the ravages of the natural world. Such medicines are prepared by the apothecaries in the rural areas and shipped to the capitol to be stored until needed.
Law and Order:
Although the community can generally enforce the law on its own, there can be those who did not quite settle after moving into Selesnya or were defiant by genetic predisposition. These individuals are tracked down and detained by votaries to be brought to the proper facilities for reteaching in Selesnyan doctrine. The votaries are also tasked with disaster containment and prevention.
Military:
Those deemed best suited for the military fall into one of three roles. Although the military has no commander, their traditional form of combat has proven adequate for generations.
The most common form of fighting unit in the armies of Selesnya is the Phalanx, a formation of halberdiers with tower shields strong enough to stop a bullet, and large enough to protect the wielder completely. They also wear platemail for an extra protective measure, in case of a flank attack against which the Phalanx is most vulnerable.
After the Phalanxs, the most common combatant is the Sagittar. These archers are also trained skirmishers, able to move across the land with incredible speed and strike from incredible distances. Should they be forced into close combat, Sagittars carry handaxes that double as the means to make new arrows from branches. They generally wear chainmail shirts with gauntlets and greaves as their armor.
Finally, there are the cavalry units known as the Equenauts. They wield longspears in combat, and have armor similiar to the barding of their mounts. They tend to be used to run down a retreating foe or move around to take out siege weapons.
Public Transportation:
Public Transportation in Selesnya tends to be unneccesary, as each block of the capitol and each rural community had every neccecity within walking distance. However, should one need to reach a particular individual or make their way through the capitol, carriages and wayfinders help them reach their destination in a timely manner.
Religion: Since religion is a standard part of government and education in Selesnya, the Conclave is the exclusive and dominant religion of Selesnya. The teachings are basic, focusing on selflessness, loyalty, value of life, and equality of all beings. Those who go to foreign lands to preach on behalf of the conclave are referred to as Evangels, despite their lack of association with Christianity.
The Capitol:
The design of the capitol city of Vitu-Ghazi is basic enough. The city has overcome the ground level of an entire forest of greatwood trees, a close relative to the redwood. The city's layout is built around the trees, with each intersection being a roundabout centered around them. The various city blocks are complex systems of interconnected structures layered upon one another, like the villages of pueblo indians. However, the residential areas of Vitu-Ghazi are built into the trees themselves, connected to different levels by rope ladders and one another by bridges.
The Rural Areas:
The rural communities are built like the city blocks of Vitu-Ghazi, but centered around a small grove of young greatwoods instead of a single ancient greatwood. The houses are part of the stacked structures, and all such facilities are able to house roughly a half dozen people, regardless of what form they are built in. Surrounding these towns are the farms upon which the locals work, and dirt roads connecting the towns to one another. The towns are generally a day's walk from one another, including time to rest.
Important Details:
The population demographics show a majority of caucasian humans at roughly 40%, but blacks and elves are tied at roughly 20% and hispanics taking up 10%. The remaining 10% are mixes of the different races and species. Selesnya uses fantasy level technology, but has no magic and interacts with modern nations as well.
Administration:
Selesnya is a theocracy with equity of all living beings being the core of their belief. Therefore, their government is extremely decentralized with no official leadership. However, there are some members of Selesnyan society who perform roles similiar to that of typical administrative functions.
To speak upon behalf of visitors is the Chorus, a group of Selesnyan Devotees who's knowledge of Selesnyan belief has become so advanced that they can speak as one. Singular candidates for the Chorus are sent to foreign lands as representatives of Selesnya. They generally wear robes of white Selesnyan cloth dyed with a fading green along the bottom. Their primary distinctive feature, however, is the crown of leaves carved of Selesnyan steel and dyed gold.
The main of the administration are the couriers, mounted messengers who send word between the various farming townships and the capitol of Vitu-Ghazi. Their attire consists of pockets for holding the parchment messages, brown vests and pants over green padded shirts, and a spear which can hold a torch at its head to light the path during night journeys and signal their approach.
Commerce:
Since Selesnyan doctrine supports equality, this ultimately requires selflessness to avoid bringing about feelings of superiority or inferiority. This means that there cannot be any motivators for greed. Therefore, there is no economy in Selesnya in the traditional sense. Everyone provides for the community their good or service, and they receive from the community whatever they need to live a reasonably pleasent lifestyle. Aside from food from the rural districts and wood from the trees, Selesnya lives off of four distinct products economically.
Selesnyan clay is made in a process similiar to that in which mud bricks are made. However, instead of mixing water with dirt, sap from the greatwood trees that shape the capitol are used. Due to the sap's nature, the dirt is destructured and solidified into a substance nearly as strong as stone, with a pale tan appearance. Due to the period of creation when the clay is unstable, it can be shaped to form various crafts as well as construction material.
Selesnyan steel is made by furnishing forged iron with greatwood sap. This allows it a degree of flexibility for asthetic reshaping before it solidifies into Selesnyan steel. Although it is only as strong as iron, the sap worked into the metal allows it to endure natural decay like stainless steel.
Selesnyan cloth is made from greatwood fibers harvested as leftover material from construction of new treetop communes. The long, thin fibers are dried out of the internal sap through baking in the sun before being soaked in water, giving them flexibility and strength like that of rope.This material is what is generally used to make clothing in Selesnya.
Selesnyan dye is made by mixing greatwood sap with water. The higher the concentration of sap, the more the color shifts from yellow to green. The longer the cloth is emmersed in the dye, the brighter the color when it is removed.
Education:
The Selesnyan education system is considered a lifelong process. At infancy children are taken from their parents to be raised by caregivers, who generally raise a half dozen infants at a time. Once a child becomes old enough to walk and talk properly, they are brought down the tree to an education center, where they are taught according to the role that best suits them based on their physical and mental development. The counsels who make such judgements have always been able to find a desirable role for each youth, if not the ideal one.
Those educated in manual roles receive equal parts physical training, education in whatever field they are to enter, and Selesnyan doctrine. Once they are physically mature, they have learned enough to begin practicing under the aid of a member of the field more experienced than them. After three years of such an apprenticeship, the youth takes up a home in the tree communes.
Those taught in fields requiring dexterity and skill forsake the physical training for education in their field. Once they are physically mature, they go through the same three year apprenticeship to their own status as a member of their role and resident of a commune.
Those taught in fields strictly regarding information forsake the physical training for further study of Selesnyan doctrine, as it provides training for whatever field they may be taking on. Five years after physically maturing, such students automatically take up their role in society, skipping the apprentice process, as field experience is not neccesary for such tasks as they bear.
Enviroment:
Due to the Selesnyan belief that life is to be valued above all else, the country's enviromental standards are borderline insane. All of their products are created naturally, their metals being imported from more developed nations nearby. All of the citizens of Selesnya do their part to preserve the enviroment of their nation.
Health:
Although it does not have as advanced of technologies as neighboring nations, Selesnya still has access to a wide variety of plantlife in its smaller forests that provide for just about every medical resource neccesary to survive the ravages of the natural world. Such medicines are prepared by the apothecaries in the rural areas and shipped to the capitol to be stored until needed.
Law and Order:
Although the community can generally enforce the law on its own, there can be those who did not quite settle after moving into Selesnya or were defiant by genetic predisposition. These individuals are tracked down and detained by votaries to be brought to the proper facilities for reteaching in Selesnyan doctrine. The votaries are also tasked with disaster containment and prevention.
Military:
Those deemed best suited for the military fall into one of three roles. Although the military has no commander, their traditional form of combat has proven adequate for generations.
The most common form of fighting unit in the armies of Selesnya is the Phalanx, a formation of halberdiers with tower shields strong enough to stop a bullet, and large enough to protect the wielder completely. They also wear platemail for an extra protective measure, in case of a flank attack against which the Phalanx is most vulnerable.
After the Phalanxs, the most common combatant is the Sagittar. These archers are also trained skirmishers, able to move across the land with incredible speed and strike from incredible distances. Should they be forced into close combat, Sagittars carry handaxes that double as the means to make new arrows from branches. They generally wear chainmail shirts with gauntlets and greaves as their armor.
Finally, there are the cavalry units known as the Equenauts. They wield longspears in combat, and have armor similiar to the barding of their mounts. They tend to be used to run down a retreating foe or move around to take out siege weapons.
Public Transportation:
Public Transportation in Selesnya tends to be unneccesary, as each block of the capitol and each rural community had every neccecity within walking distance. However, should one need to reach a particular individual or make their way through the capitol, carriages and wayfinders help them reach their destination in a timely manner.
Religion: Since religion is a standard part of government and education in Selesnya, the Conclave is the exclusive and dominant religion of Selesnya. The teachings are basic, focusing on selflessness, loyalty, value of life, and equality of all beings. Those who go to foreign lands to preach on behalf of the conclave are referred to as Evangels, despite their lack of association with Christianity.
The Capitol:
The design of the capitol city of Vitu-Ghazi is basic enough. The city has overcome the ground level of an entire forest of greatwood trees, a close relative to the redwood. The city's layout is built around the trees, with each intersection being a roundabout centered around them. The various city blocks are complex systems of interconnected structures layered upon one another, like the villages of pueblo indians. However, the residential areas of Vitu-Ghazi are built into the trees themselves, connected to different levels by rope ladders and one another by bridges.
The Rural Areas:
The rural communities are built like the city blocks of Vitu-Ghazi, but centered around a small grove of young greatwoods instead of a single ancient greatwood. The houses are part of the stacked structures, and all such facilities are able to house roughly a half dozen people, regardless of what form they are built in. Surrounding these towns are the farms upon which the locals work, and dirt roads connecting the towns to one another. The towns are generally a day's walk from one another, including time to rest.
Important Details:
The population demographics show a majority of caucasian humans at roughly 40%, but blacks and elves are tied at roughly 20% and hispanics taking up 10%. The remaining 10% are mixes of the different races and species. Selesnya uses fantasy level technology, but has no magic and interacts with modern nations as well.