[center] [img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/69/f1/5e/69f15e76702c11aafce1fd0f859056a2.jpg[/img] In the land of Handon marriage and partnership is everything. It determines your future of not only you, but all those that will come after you. Marriage is the ultimate sign of trust and the majority of the legal system is devoted to writing up vows for the altar. Through this system alliances are made,subjugation is enforced and names rise or fall by the matters of the heart and cold shrewdness of the mind. The wise, King Merin, has stepped down from his throne on his 99th birthday to allow the new generation to obtain the seat. While a king can only be male, his authority and power spreads both to the queen and her house. Between the 10 houses an arena of personal happiness, distant love, power, politics, and ambition will open up for all nobility. Each man must gain the support of as many houses and popular commoner vote as he can from each land to claim the title of king. The brides to be dance with the young lords in a shuffle of obligations, duty, desire...and ruin. ---------------------- [b]On marriage: [/b] [hider] The idea of a divorce doesn't exist in Handon. To have an affair or leave a married partner is considered a crime equal to homicide. It is more a legal and cultural process than a religious one although some houses may have religious aspects tied to it, that has little baring on its societal impact. Working on a strong communal reputation, marrying "down" can spiral into a weaker family name. Marrying a criminal can move that stain onto your house, as you have sworn to abide them in all things. Vows are carefully tailored, serious, and binding contract. While Marriage can assure an alliance, a prince or bride can be married off for the purpose of pushing a vow that effectively turns the other house, and it assets in service to the first house. In Handon society it is considered normal to have double digit children in noble families."love", is still meant to be the purpose and motivator of marriage but this nothing more than a face. Arrangements can be made, and forced, if the house can keep the bride or groom to be silent. In Handon to say your not marrying for love is a reputation killer, even if everyone knows this without saying it. To have it implied is considered a dire offense equal to spitting on the person in question. [/hider] -------------- [b]Handon[/b] [hider] Handon is a large land to Rival America, Texas and Africa combined, connected only by a narrow path called, "Grey Valley", to another, much smaller kingdom inhabited primarily by a league of species that didn't want to live in human dominated society: [b]Gariang[/b] While Handon is prosperous in food, supplies, trade, cities, and culture Geriang has struggled due to a series of volcanic eruptions destroying most of their budding towns and reducing their farm lands barren. Handon itself is magical. Most people can use magical items for mundane task such as; levitating books or making a broom sweep by itself, but actual schools of magic requires decades of training at an academy in their respective lands. If you tried to use proper magic without training you'd more than likely hurt yourself than anyone else. Mages and Sorceress regularly have numerous scars from even monitored and controlled lessons in their fields. [/hider] [b]Kings and Queens[/b] [hider] Kings are the ultimate authority over the land and when they die it is traditional for the queen to step down too. Former queens reside in the Widows Castle with a cut from the treasury to ensure a happy and full life. Even a widowed queen is powerful and supremely rich but it is considered bad manners to try and marry her within 10 years of the Kings death. The biggest downfall is the queen must put up an air of constant sadness during this period, evidence of joy or flirting could ruin her. The Queen takes the kings seat when he is away. It is expected from the crown to lead wars at the generals camps, travel to handle land issues personally, aid the poor and be in person to hear problems when possible. In times of turmoil the Queen will more or less be the person at the throne, making all the large over sight decisions with her only restriction being any policy the king himself has made. but this is most the time not the case and the king can be expected to perform a traditional role of rule. [/hider] [/center] [color=goldenrod]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/color] [center][img] http://www.mamalisa.com/images/mother_goose/oldkingcole-national.gif [/img][/center] It was a strange day in court. Everyone had been invited from the lowest of the low in nobility and people found themselves in an unlikely crowd shuffling before the marvelous throne room before a single smiling, old man and a young announcer. [i]"The wise, king Merin steps down from the Crown. The throne is empty once more and Handon needs a ruler to retain the stability of the realm. We shall remember Merin as a kind, sensitive, and caring ruler, whom through his 79 years of service personally tackled the great poverty of the lesser lands 50 years ago. He aided our none-human neighbor of Geraing during their terrible tragedy, and whom, upon hearing of the lower houses being unable to feed the people during the farm famine sent out his own cooks and supplies to those in need, despite reducing his families own meals to breed and water for 3 years. A grand celebration of his achievements, his long rule, and considerate heart will take place at the end of the month, and then the long competition for his successors will take place"[/i] and with that. Merin, despite his age stood up straight. Took a short bow. His classic smile beaming as he spoke with a voice full of youth [center][color=lemonchiffon][i]"It was a pleasure to serve you all. Good luck"[/i][/color] [/center] and simply placed his crown on the throne before walking out. [color=goldenrod]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/color] [center][img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/The_bookkeeper_by_van_Dijk.jpg/440px-The_bookkeeper_by_van_Dijk.jpg[/img][/center] The day of your registration was the day that you would truly become a noble, apparently blood isn't enough, it requires ink to finish the process. To make it to this day was the mark that you had been fully accepted by your house, and deletes any chance of being what in Handon would call, [i]"Invisible Blood"[/i], yet you were not prepared. Not prepared for the mind numbing drudgery of spending your entire day marching in different offices, for different reasons, to get different orders, and be told that somehow this makes your name more your name than it was before. The day had left you behind as you went to the very top office of the tower. Upon entering you see a man still in his pajamas despite the sun only starting to set. Ink is splattered everywhere, and on everything. It appears he is a very early sleeper or he has simply learned that he no time to change. He looks at you, a rounded smile with a small nod. [center][i]"Yes, sire. This is the last form"[/i][/center] [color=goldenrod][h3][u][b]Registration of Current Nobles[/b][/u][/h3] [b][u]The Name of the Noble:[/u][/b][/color] [i]"Please sign here, sire."[/i] [color=goldenrod][u][b]The House of which said noble belongs:[/b][/u][/color] [i]"Ah, truly a notable family." [/i] [color=goldenrod][u][b]Current Age of said Noble:[/b][/u][/color] [i]I argued the rudeness of it, but the scribes demand it.[/i] [color=goldenrod][u][b]House History:[/b][/u][/color] [i] "Self explanatory, sire. You've probably be forced to write this a hundred times already."[/i] [color=goldenrod][u][b]Lands and Ownership:[/b][/u][/color] [i]"Any lands, acres, villages and notable items."[/i] [color=goldenrod][u][b]Autobiographical Knowledge:[/b][/u][/color] [i]"For the lore books, sire. We will keep it locked up until you're 50th birthday as law demands."[/i] [color=goldenrod][u][b]Portrait:[/b][/u][/color] [i]"If you don't have a painting to spare, for whatever reason, I will write down a description of you." [/i] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [hider= CSHEET AND ITS BCODE TO COPY] [code] [color=goldenrod][h3][u][b]Registration of Current Nobles[/b][/u][/h3] [b][u]The Name of the Noble:[/u][/b][/color] your name and any titles. [color=goldenrod][u][b]The House of which said noble belongs:[/b][/u][/color] the name of your house [/i] [color=goldenrod][u][b]Current Age of said Noble:[/b][/u][/color] min 18 max 36 [color=goldenrod][u][b]House History:[/b][/u][/color] Rough, quick scan of what your house is known for, how they came to power. And a banner. [color=goldenrod][u][b]Lands and Ownership:[/b][/u][/color] Where do you rule. How much. Farm lands primarily or barracks ectr. [color=goldenrod][u][b]Autobiographical Knowledge:[/b][/u][/color] Essentially your character history themselves. How they were raised. [color=goldenrod][u][b]Portrait:[/b][/u][/color] your look. You may use a picture of any type or simply describe it. If you describe it. I won't hold you to a long description. I won't beat you for keeping only a paragraph or so. [/code] [/hider] ----------------------------------- Empty Spots ----------------------------------------- HOUSE BOSANDA: By [@sisyphus] HOUSE VEROLIN by [@viciousmarrow] HOUSE AP'ARTHMAEL by [@snagglepuss89] HOUSE NOIRE by [@silverink] HOUSE PHOENIX by [@the muse] HOUSE VIDOKAR by [@hannibal] house 7 house 8 house 9 house 10 [b]----------------------------------------[/b] Geriang 1 [b]-----------------------------------------[/b] OOC RULES Min post are expected to be 2 paragraphs with a max being 5. I am mostly relying on player judgement for this. This is mostly a prefered guideline than a strict rule, if the gist of your pertinent actions/content in your post can be summed up in 1 sentence EG: "I walk over and said hello" it probably should be below that max. To make a character you can pretty much design your own house, history and land as a part of Handon. They may be a none-human species although they should still be relatively compatible with human society. As this is a society that is strongly linked around marriage and coupling. Sentient wolves probably wouldn't fit in here. Geriang is an entire foreign kingdom and besides what little is noted, that is also free to fill in the lore. It will require a creative and odd monster, however, as it's gimmick is that it is a foreign place of none-humans. The more creative you are, the better chances your sheet will be accepted. [@Infamous Empath][@POOHEAD189][@Sentel][@Hannibal][@snake153][@Snagglepuss89][@FantasyChic][@Sisyphus]