Culture

The Demons Bay world culture is primarilly based on the culture of the parent planet, Irenio. See A pocket history of the Demons Bay world for additional information. I could go on for hours about all the nuances, but I won't. The following is a basic overview.

The culture is divided between the blod (the aristocracy) and the Clans.

The Clans:

The Clans are the descendants of the Specialists who were to set up the infrastructure for this world. When the gate was closed, they were unable to return to Irenio. They quickly learned that in order to care for the blod they needed to control the blod. Thus a system of pseudo-aristocracy developed, with the blod receiving everything they wanted or needed but with the Clans in total control. The Clans provide everything, from servants to palaces, but they also determine how and when (or if) those things will be provided. If the blod anger them sufficiently, they can withdraw their service and that representative of the blod is no longer provided with food, clothing, servants or housing. This seldom happens.

In order to support the blod, a system of thirds was developed. For each of the Clans, they divide their produce in thirds. In some areas this is thirds of the increase, in other areas a third of the total.

The first third is the blod's third. This is used to care for the blod, and if there is an excess it is divided and sent to other areas that may have a shortage.

The second third is the People's Third or the Clans third, and is used to care for those who have had bad luck or some other catastrophe. In many areas this is used to build roads, public buildings, and to pay salaries for any public servants.

The third division belongs to the individual.

The Clans also tend to go "serve the blod" for a short time as young adults, eliminating the requirement for a system of paid servants. This tradition of service also extends to serving the community, so roads and other public properties are often maintained by the individuals who use them.

As far as responsibilities, the Clans are divided along lines of ability rather than gender, although there are some gender divisions as well. They consider the insistence of the blod on gender divisions to be barbaric. If a woman of the Clans is denied the chance to serve the blod she will go crazy just as a man would.

There were originally three Clans that required direct contact with the blod. Those Clans were the Administrators, the Servants, and the Soldiers. As the breeding restrictions were relaxed (by necessity) and the Clans mixed, that need for personal service resulted in some of their descendants going mad if they were denied the ability to serve. The type of madness is based on Clan. A Builder wants to destroy. A Landsman will often go hunting and start killing wantonly. A Soldier wants to kill the blod.

The Clans use the same language as the blod, but primarily in the middle ranges and they have adapted it for their own use. Although some areas have developed a religion, their designers did not teach them about religion (deliberately) and so they have no primary religion across the world.

They do not believe in capital punishment or imprisonment for crimes. If a person commits a crime which is that serious he or she will be declared outcast and their name and description spread to all the administrators throughout the area. A lower level of crime is often expiated by the person declaring life-debt, in which they serve the community for the rest of their lives. The most stringent, used only for repeated and violent offenders, is to be declared Clanless. A person who is declared Clanless can not stop or settle, has no option of the sentence being remitted to something less stringent, and has no call on Clan law.

The blod:

The blod are the descendants of the original 5000 citizens. Their birthrate has remained low, so throughout history there are approximately 1000 to 10,000 of the clans to each one of the citizens, making it relatively easy to support them in most areas.

The blod culture is rigidly formal and deviation is not tolerated. A child taking up an "unsuitable" hobby is liable to be either sent to an area where that activity is not possible or have the requirements of the hobby destroyed. An unwanted child is usually sent into exile, since the Clans in most cases will not allow the parents to kill them. However, the percentage of male to female blod is much higher than it should be, about 60 to 40 rather than the more normal 49 to 51%. Because of this a system of brideprice has developed.

The blod language is tone conscious and divided into three general divisions. Men speak in the lower ranges, and the language itself is differentiated by gender. A word that means "blade" can be a sword when spoken of by a man but a needle when spoken of by a woman. If the woman wishes to speak of a sword, she must use the lowest range of the feminine. It is not unusual for people just meeting to sing together in order to establish the required range. There is also a children's language which is primarily in the middle ranges.

The majority of the blod are quite content with their life. They have everything they could want or need, and no responsibilities. The Clans, believing (incorrectly) that this was the intent of the blod ancestors, are careful to train the blod children in these traditions. This leads to a level of wanton dissipation and a high percentage of individuals who choose violent and often antisocial "hobbies," careless of how these things affect those around them.

Enough!

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