[quote=@Letter Bee]
[@The Fated Fallen], used the Search Topic, and it seemed that no one is barred from using Gunpowder, but the strongest gunpowder weapons so far are flintlock pistols. So, okay, I can have those, as well as a sword.

Also, here's the Worldbuilding I want to do (It's my character's homeland):


[hider=My Hider]
[b]The Slavocracy of Giray[/b]

The Slavocracy of Giray is unique in that its ruling class, the bureaucracy as well as the elite battalions of its army, are made up of slaves, albeit slaves who have a higher wealth and social position than most 'freemen'. Although the 'acquisition' of said slaves includes means that are not morally defensible, those who are enslaved tend to get a gateway to the ruling classes if they are of sufficent talent. This leads to a love-hate relationship with the neighboring states, not helped or hindered by the fact that many slaves, when reaching adulthood, insist on forming links with their former homelands (IOTL, Mamluks funded the building of Churches in the Caucasus, while Jannissaries not only did the same, but sent money back to their home villages).

Either way, the Girayids are a great power, ruling over their Skyland of Asmara, as well as large tracts of ground land, and look to stay that way for a good while.

[b]The History of Giray - Brief[/b]

The Nation of Giray holds itself to be the heir of the legendary Rumite Empire, a nation that held large portions of its native continent, then declined to be replaced by several successor states, among them Giray. Whether this is true is not important; what is true was that the Girayids were led by a series of Sultans for time immaterial, who relied on a combination of paid free troops, allied tribes, and conscripts. 

It was one Sultan, Sultan Shah Rumi, who decided to institute a system not just of Slave Soldiers, trained from youth, but also Slave Bureaucrats, with the idea that as both categories were not only his property, but would be trained to be loyal to him from adolesence, they would stay faithful to him and his successors. Stayed faithful to him they did, their successors...not so much, with the last Sulatan being relegated to a ceremonial role before being disposed of, before the Slave Bureaucrats and the Mamluks (the new name for the Slave Soldiers) proclaimed that the one true head of state was the Nation of Giray itself, and that they were all slaves to an [i]idea[/i], not a single person (In practice, this meant that most power belonged in an oligarchy).

And so the nation of Giray began to conduct itself like any Great Power would...

[b]The Giray Slave System[/b]

The first step, and often the most traumatic, stage in the Giray Slave System is capture, preferably capture of young boys and girls aged 6 - 13, although older slaves of considerable talent are 'allowed' into the system. These captures are done through either using a network of spies and kidnappers to detect and 'nab' children of promising talent, using pirates and privateers to raid villages, or, in cases of war, killing the parents and taking the children for themselves. Either way, the future members of the ruling class are not given much, if any, choice in the matter.

Second step, after capture, is the 'accimitization', where the new slaves are basically treated with a combination of the carrot or the stick, whichever works. Each slave is given a comfortable quarters, several luxuries, and satisfaction of most physical needs...as well as a slave collar that can be used to trigger pain at any sign of disobedience, along with various other punishments on hand, each with the intent of promoting Stockholm Syndrome among the new captures. The slave collars stay on for two years, during which, it is hoped, the slaves would grow used to their situation.

Third step is 'training', which overlaps with the latter stages of acclimitzation. Slaves are divided, according to their skills, into Slave-Bureaucrats and Mamlukes, the first being, well, Bureaucrats, and the second being Warriors. In cases of high intelligence, there is even cross-training between Bureaucrat and Fighter, so as to improve coordination between the two arms of the state. This stage lasts till the slaves are 18, where they are declared 'Official Slaves of the State'.

Fourth step is active deployment, where the Mamluks and Bureaucrats do their jobs till retirement. Deployment begins at the age of 18, and lasts for decades. During this time, it is assumed that the 'Slaves of the State' are loyal to the state above all.

Before anyone asks: No, there are [i]no[/i] labor slaves in the Empire. There used to be, but now all labor is done by freemen or serfs.
[/hider]

[/quote]

That's an interesting setting. Perhaps grounds for a later adventure of intrigue and everyone getting tans? Assuming it's a sunny land where your character is from

Either way, you should tag [@IcePezz] into all of your posts