Nation of Materia

Territories

Officially, the Nation of Materia is the sole government of the entire dual-continent. In practical terms, however, the Nation only governs areas developed by its citizens.

Most towns and cities construct visible perimeters around farmland and town limits as an indication of the boundary between National sovereignty and the lawless wilderness.

The communities are all connected by roads, some wide and developed while others are simply heavily used trails. Any road or trail is considered a part of the Nation as well, but the smaller the road the more likely to encounter “purists.”

Government

Materia is a chartered democratic republic. Central government activities take place in Husen where a senate of elected officials meets to discuss new and current laws.

Instead of a single executive leader, executive power is shared by three Governors, one chosen from each of the three primary political organizations in the Senate. Depending on the type of decision being made, two or all three Governors must agree in order to enact their decision.

A monthly tax is collected with rates based on the size of property holdings, excluding farmland, rather than personal income or sales amounts. Business owners must also own the property upon which they conduct business. Wagons and ships are taxed differently than land, and also incur transport tariffs.

Law Enforcement & Crime

The Senate appoints circuit judges to travel between the cities and major towns to conduct trials and govern over law enforcement in the surrounding areas.

There is no military, however the government funds local sheriffs appointed by the regional judges, who in turn can appoint deputies based on their budget. This law enforcement has a primary purpose to protect border communities from purist attacks as well as violence and robbery by outlaws, citizens exiled to live without protections in the wilds for their crimes against communities. Beyond this service, officers protect citizens in all communities from other crimes and seek out those accused of unlawful violence or theft.

Despite being tasked with protecting border communities, these law officers are present more often in cities and towns, and are less often seen in villages and towns farther from the cities. This is caused by the sheriff budgets and assigned territories being based on census numbers and the number of taxed properties. Theft and violent crime is present in every community, however all are generally safe.

Trade and Careers

Commerce is an important part of everyday life. Starting and operating a business is simple, but also not very regulated. Complaints about quality of service or goods is often brought to community leaders or a circuit judge to determine if a consumer was intentionally wronged.

Anyone can start a business of any kind, whether it be lodging, foodservice, farming, distilling, retail, manufacturer, service or transportation business. Owning most businesses are long hour lifestyles, sometimes early morning to late at night or any time day or night. For this reason, many prefer to be employed rather than own a business and those business owners are often happy to pay others to help.

If you can imagine it, it might be a possibility for a job, whether you are a human or a pelaon. (Mods will tell you if it won’t work in the server.)

People

The people of the Nation of Materia cannot be summed up in any simple manner. There are several hundred unique species of pelaon, with minor varieties and family colorings within each species. Humans also show a variety of pigment and fur colorings. But no matter species or appearance, most citizens of the Nation of Materia see one another as equals. There are some small pockets of prejudice among various groups of pelaon or human, but these generally stay in the shadows.

Families

Families are important to many in the Nation. Population growth is encouraged, and often families will raise large families and raise educated and well cared for offspring with the hope that several will survive and become productive and successful parts of society.

Many pelaon species can raise clutches of several to a dozen offspring at a time, hatched from clutches of eggs, but many die of various illnesses or injuries before maturing to adults. Humans who do not lay eggs but give live birth, generally one child per breeding cycle, however their offspring are also susceptible to death at young ages due to diseases. Access to medicines have long aided human offspring to recover, however, and improvements to these medicines are beginning to aid pelaon young as well.

It is not uncommon for pelaon and human citizens to become attracted to one another and form a pairbond, often resulting in an official marriage. These relationships cannot result in offspring, however surrogate donor parents or adoption are options frequently used by these couples.

Traditions

Celebrations

Most towns, villages and cities often have their own unique traditions and celebrations. But some cover the entire nation.

Eclipses of the primary moon and the sun are celebrated by community feasts and games called Reunion Festivals, celebrating the reunion of the pelaon god Ruuk and his mate. Solar or lunar transits involving the three smaller moons are often reasons for ending work early for the day, meals with nearby extended family and friends, or smaller community celebrations. If the sun crosses the largest and any smaller moons, there is nationwide celebration. These are called Grand Reunion Festivals.

Bacam Day is an annual celebration of the arrival of humans in Materia and the nation that grew from their influence. There are parades and feasts in every major city and some of the larger towns.

Carnivore Hunting Traditions

Hunting has always been of traditional importance to pelaon carnivores. For some families and species, hunting pelaon herbivores is a rite of passage or a celebratory experience for life events. Those who choose to live within the Nation of Materia are expected to hold themselves to a special discipline and not hunt fellow citizens without being permitted. An abundance of game animals and livestock are raised to provide ample food for citizen carnivores as well as omnivores including the humans.

For many, however, livestock is not enough to sate these desires and traditions, and in a few cases specific dietary needs. Because of this, carnivores will often pass into the wilds and hunt purist pelaons. The right to do so has been upheld by the law, but doing so is at an individual’s own risk and no rescue is available if injured or trapped.

Herbivore pelaon citizens and even humans will occasionally provide permission to be hunted as prey, often if facing a life-ending illness, debilitating injury or physical disability or some other desire to end their life in such a fashion. In this case, as long as the consent is given in front of a community leader or judge, it is permitted by law.

Technology

When humans came from Aert, they came with technology, but were determined to only use what was necessary to survive. As such, it is said that the library writings from the earliest generations of human in Materia reference and explain some aspects of these machines although their confusing contents and incomprehensible details have lead to understanding of these writings being mere speculation. Basics of physics and “essential” technologies such as steam compression and simple agricultural machines are retained and taught to new generations. It is considered undesirable and in some cases illegal to introduce any technology that is not required to keep up with the minimum demand for production.

The most technologically advanced region of Materia is the industrial city of Pittston where steam powered winches pull mine carts from the deep mines, basic steam locomotives pull heavy loads of ore and finished iron, and hydroelectric and coal burning power is generated to illuminate carbon arc lamps in the mines and power fans to provide airflow in those same mines and the surrounding manufacturing facilities.

Similar simple electrical systems exist in the larger cities for important buildings. With at least one moon present in the sky nearly every night of the year and so many stars in the sky, electric lights outside of buildings is strongly discouraged by the government. Most nighttime lighting is provided by various forms of fat-oil lamp or fat and beeswax candle.

Most machines used are manually operated through crank, treadle, treadmill or treadwheel. Grist mills and some other businesses are built along waterways – either naturally occurring or manufactured through diverting water flow – to operate with a water wheel. Some windmills also exist for turning grindstones and machines but these are less common except for high altitude communities.

Transportation

(For vehicle specific information, click here to visit The Land page)

Nearly all transport in Materia involves manual labor of some kind. Most pelaons are capable of traveling on foot for long distances and at times at relatively quick speeds. Humans are less capable and often ride atop the back of- or in wagons pulled by- pelaons or farm animals (the latter being cheaper but often slower and less reliable, as the pelaons will need paid a fair wage yet can converse with passengers and understand needs for urgency.)

Cargo is hauled on wagons of various sizes pulled by horses or the strongest of pelaons, sometimes forming a train of wagons behind one to three pelaons working together. While hard work, being part of a wagon team is a desirable career for some as it pays well and offers a chance to meet many new people and see much of the country. Most wagoners do not keep a home but live on the road, spending nights at inns and taverns or camping along the edge of the roadway.

Often at least one human or smaller pelaons is employed by the wagoner no matter whether they are operating freight or passenger services, in order to assist in keeping the load or passengers secured, manage accounting, repair the cart and perform other tasks that a larger pelaon’s body may make difficult. These employees may also be tasked with providing additional personal care including bathing and medical assistance to the wagoner.

Mail is transported along the road by stagecoaches or smaller carts pulled by the fastest of pelaons. Each wagoner who wants to be able to receive mail while living on the road can register for an identification tag with the mail service and select mail pelaons are tasked with traveling up and down roadways checking each of these numbers against mail waiting to be delivered. Alternatively, wagoners can make agreements with frequented inns to hold their mail. The rest of the mail transport employees travel assigned routes between cities, towns and villages to drop off and collect mail at central post offices or village shops or inns assigned to distribute the mail. The stages often carry the longer distance mail.

Architecture

With the vast variety in climates and weather patterns across the continent, architecture varies drastically throughout the nation. Nearly all structures are designed with at least the ground floor features large enough to accommodate medium to large pelaons. Upper floors often only accommodate small-medium pelaons and humans.

Electricity and running water are only provided to important structures and/or in cities.

Much of the architecture is simple wood, brick, or stone wall construction, with doors and windows of wood or iron. Roofing ranges from thatching or wood shingle to thin iron, copper or tin plating.

Stone, especially marble, is most often seen in wealthy areas of the major cities, while rough stone and brick are commonly seen in other cities and larger towns. In smaller towns and villages, stone or brick is generally reserved for important buildings or businesses unless it is the more abundant material.

(Compared to real-life architecture, styles resembles a range from traditional “wild west” and small-town late 1800’s designs from across the United States, to classical northern European structures from the UK, France, Germany and others constructed before 1900.

In desert areas, some structures may resemble adobe brick homes of the American southwest and may include as much or more subterranean living area as above ground.

Architecture in Husen resembles a mix of styles from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.