The Most Serene Ratpublic of Orilgio
Strength in Gold-Gold, Power in Gold-Gold!
History
While it is the Warrior and the Conqueror who gets much of the glory in the annals of history, it is the Administrator who makes all of their accomplishments possible and their tales record for generations to come. The rats of Origlio proudly claim descendant from Dhogez Goldeneye, a powerful steward for Ironclaw Catslayer who had done the logistics for his army as well as organizing many aspects of Ironclaw’s armies and realm.
In recognition of his services, Ironclaw rewarded Dhogez with a small store called “Orologio d’Oro”. Once a family own watch and jewelry shop in the time of the Creators, had become the Kingdom of Origlio after Dhogez couldn’t quite make out what the words said atop the shop due to him missing an eye. It was not as large or as grand as the fiefs given to the generals or warriors of Ironclaw, but Dhogez was wise enough to understand that Ironclaw had to placate his generals by rewarding them handsomely less they rebelled.
At first, the darkened glass windows of didn’t seem to hold much, but upon exploration it was discovered the Ironclaw had blessed them with a massive trove of gold and timekeepers! So thankful was Dhogez and his followers that not once did they ever try to rebel or show dissent to the great Ironclaw! Using their new-found wealth and timekeepers, the Kingdom of Origlio soon became wealthy from trade and unlocked the secrets of clockwork in the form of Cogsmithing.
As the generations past, it was only a matter of time until a bad ruler came along and forced the hand of the people. King Gutbuster the Greasy had rose to power with more sins than chins and more chins than sins. Completely ineffectual and disliked, he was said to not only eaten Smalls but also other Rats! It was this when the wealthy nobles who would go on to form the Merchant Clans decided to overthrow their king, using their wealth to bribe all his guards and leaving him open for assassination.
With their fat, lazy king now tied up and thrown over the side of a railing, left at the mercy of the Mall, the nobles did something unspeakable and in a case of extreme willpower and goodwill (by rat standards), they decided no one rat should hold all power and thus formed the Merchant Clans and the elected position of Merchant Lord. From there on, the wealth and power of the Ratpublic of Origlio only grew as more and more trade posts sprung up and caravans and ships crossed the mall regularly.
The current Merchant Lord is one Lokier Swiftsilver of House Ritter.
Leadership
Viewing themselves as “enlightened” and “civilized”, the Ratpublic does away with the cruel, barbaric and simplistic notion of pack alpha is leader. No, instead they are built upon the foundations of representation and voting! Never mind the fact that only a select few people can actually vote and all of said voting is held between feuding Merchant Clans and its governmental wheels are polished with blood and gold, but small details.
In truth the Ratpublic is controlled by a handful of Merchant Clans (sometimes known as Merchant Families/Packs/Dens/Houses/etc) who are headed by a Patrician with notable members of them being called Merchant Princes. Together they vote for a Merchant Lord who has functionally unlimited power but is tether by a council comprising of the other Merchant Clans and serves for life. Whether said life sentence be for five seconds or five years all depends on how crafty and cunning the person in question is. Bloodlines and personal skill are undoubtedly valued, true political clout and power comes in the form of gold backed up by prestige. A rat could be the most well-known and prestigious member of a famous family with deeds innumerable, but if he can’t count any gold to his name, he is nothing.
Famously, while the Ratpublic’s government has little public bloodshed like in some tribal cultures, the amount of politicking, wheeling and dealing, intrigue and assassination that goes on behind the scene can easily overwhelm anyone not born into it. Anyone who isn’t always at the top of their game and on top of their finances can see their power crumble in mere seconds. However, such cut-throat politics has made the Merchant Clans cunning and crafty beyond many other rats in the Mall (if not a little paranoid) and is a mark of pride that they often use to get others to do their bidding.
Territory and Resources
The primary holding of the Ratpublic is the remains of an old family owned jewelry and watch store named Orogoio d’Oro, the Golden Watch, whose name they misinterpreted and used as the basis of Origlio. Their holding is small but heavily built up with many diverse levels and platforms, held up by supports or even hanging from the ceiling. Clockwork machinery is everywhere from manually operated elevators to conveyer systems to contraptions to help with manufacturing. The “capital building” is located in the husk of a large, ancient grandfather clock said to have been older than the Creators themselves with its interior clock face now used as the meeting place of all the patrician families.
Through a system of clockwork gauges and pumps, water is pumped into many hanging gardens or large-scale plant pots now used to grow crops needed to feed the populace. Worms are even raised in select enclosed dirt pastures although only the super-rich can afford to feast upon such a delicacy such as worm roast. There is a constant ticking all through Origlio from its machinery and a constant chattering of merchants in markets and bazars. Locals have managed to drown out such white noise to but many outsiders who visit, the noise is defending and often keeps them up at night and unable to focus, something which Origlian negotiators have taken advantage of in the past.
However, the true extend of the territorial claims of the Ratpublic lies far beyond the mere storefront. The Merchant Princes own a massive network of trade posts, merchant enclaves and scavenging outposts to fuel their mercantile empire. It’s with this network that they have become the wealthiest faction of rats and have eyes and ears over all corners of the mall. However, it’s not uncommon for some of these outposts to fall silent or come under attack and when the Ratpublic isn’t busy trying fighting amongst themselves, they will mount expeditions to reclaim the outposts. Or what’s left of them.
Culture and Faith
Opulence is a blessed life and poverty is a death sentence within the Ratpublic. As such, the pursuit of wealth is considered to at the top of any self-respecting rat’s priorities. They labor daily to feed the needs of the Merchant Clans, more than happy to try and get a leg up on their betters by whatever means they think they can successfully pull off. In such a materialistic culture, it is signs of wealth that are displayed proudly or whatever can be interpreted to mean wealth. The styles and manners of the Merchant Clans are imitated by the common folk in reverence.
Being taught a craft and mastering it is the common expectation for those living in the Ratpublic with both men and women having jobs to preform to gain money. Women typically have jobs they can better preform at home such as weaving or sewing or cooking prepared meals to be sold while men have more physically demanding jobs like smiting and manufacturing. Its long said in the Mall that if you need something, you go to the Ratpublic. And if you cannot find it in the Ratpublic’s markets, public or black, then it does not exist at all.
Those who aspire to go beyond the simple apprenticeship path can look to one of several major institutions of higher learning in Origlio. The College of Coggery is where engineers are taught the fine art of cogsmithing and clockwork that the Ratpublic runs on. The Schola Militarum d’Origlio is where those who hope to make a living by commanding mercenaries and soldiers go. The Collegia Alchema is dedicated to the art of healing and alchemy, and by extension poison. The Chamber of Iudexes trains the law bringers and iudexes to persecuit the criminal (usually those people who are too poor to be able to just bribe their way out). The Schola Fiancia is of course famous and high respected -as well as ludicrously expensive- being based on mercantile pursuits and business management with many Merchant Princes being sent here as well as foreign students.
Smalls are not given much thought of in Origlio. They are expected to work and labor just as everyone else in the eyes of the Merchant Clans (although they will ensure that a Small will never gain enough power to challenge or join their clan). Some Smalls have made a name for themselves by being experts craftsmen or being taken as mistresses by Merchant Princes. And while the government as a while cares little for the actions or wellbeing of the Smalls, being remarkably apathetic towards them in every regard, racism is still displayed by the common folk and if a Darkwing requires Smalls to feast on as part of a contract, the Ratpublic is more than happy to let them take whatever they want. A dark conspiracy floats around the lower levels of Origlio that somewhere, the Merchant Clans actually have a facility dedicated to literally breeding Small for the express purpose of use as living currency with its many mercenaries. Of course, such rumors are just the mutterings of the drunk and delusional. Are they?
The “wealth over all others” ideology extends its hands into religion in the Ratpublic, or the lack thereof. Zeal and devotion cannot buy titles thus making it a worthless endeavor in the eyes of the Ratpublic who pay lip service to both the Cult of the Creators and the Faith of Fire. If anything, they lean slightly more towards the side of the Creators as much of their wealth, knowledge and power derives from the old world.
During the “Great Schism”, the Ratpublic stayed neutral for most of the war, profiting buy selling to both sides and becoming even more wealthy in the process. It was only towards the end did they put their support behind the Creators which even than they only did half-heartedly. When the time for peace talks came, it was the Grandfather Clock of Origlio that was chosen as neutral grounds for peace talks.
That said, there are a few holy folks in Origlio and the Merchant Princes know what kind of money donations can bring in. As such there are a small handful but richly decorated and ornate churches and cathedrals to both the Faith of Fire and the Cult of the Creators that rival the finest temples either side can offer. Such is their splendor that some zealous followers from outside go on pilgrimages to Origlio just to see the masterfully built and exquisite decorated temples and cathedrals and most importantly, leave donations for their “gods”.Military
The Ratpublic of Origlio has a pitiful standing, native army, only really counting the personal retinues and household guards of the Merchant Princes and the Merchant Militia levies. The real bulk of the fighting strength of the Ratpublic comes in the form of mercenaries. Some are native born and take up arms to feed themselves, some are exiles or rouge warriors who defected from their home tribes, all united in the taste of gold and glory.
Leading these forces in most cases is a Paymaster and a Household Commander, the former responsible for the payment of all the mercenaries while the latter is the overall commander. The art of war has been turned into a military science in the Ratpublic with the Schola Militarum d’Origlio being dedicated to military science and leadership. Merchant Princes themselves sometimes will take to the field, not as any true test of arms, but because doing so gains them prestige and glory to use in the political carrier.
The most basic unit of a mercenary army in Origlio is the Condottere, mercenaries for hire who are seen in flavors of pikerats, halberdier, swordsrats and crossbowrats. Individually they are formed into their own companies with names and traditions as simple as the “Company of Fratzo Blackhide” to as gaudy and outlandish as the “Ever Victorious Host of the Slayer-Lord Pukpuk Skybreaker the Magnificent of Kalka”.
Above the basic mercenary free companies, the Ratpublic also emplys Marines-at-Arms and Exploraters. Marine-at-Arms is the name given to the soldiers who serve aboard ships and caravans as lightly armored guards. Exploraters are those adventurous rats who go out and hunt for lost relics and mystical lands in the name of glory and gold and while many never find such lofty dreams at best, they are often hired as heavily armored units for a merchant prince’s retinue.
With the ludicrous amount of wealth the Ratpublic has, it comes as no surprise that they can simply buy some extremely exotic allies and equipment. Darkwings (Crows) and Ironbacks (Turtles) make regular appearances in the Ratpublic as mercenaries with Ironbacks even being used to as war platforms to mount things such as the infamous Clockwork Crossbow; a crank operated rapid fire repeating crossbow. The Ratpublic claims to have been the first to successfully hire and field a mercenary Darkwing but are suspiciously tight lipped when pressed for details.
In addition to being able to hire such exotic allies, Origlian Paymasters are notorious for being able to sway and bribe all but the most elite and loyal of warriors from other tribes and factions with their honeyed words and bags of gold. There have been more than one occasion where a host of enemies finds half their army suddenly turned against them thanks to the promise of ludicrous wealth, of which the Paymasters always deliver on. Usually.
Although not readily apparent, the Ratpublic actually holds claim to a sizable store of gun powder (referred locally as “fire dust”). The reason why the Ratpublic doesn’t use cannons or explosive bombs in their arsenal is obvious; they can make a lot more money selling to the people who are addicted to it than wasting it themselves.
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DX3214
Lunamaria Hawke
KTostada