Post by Xaos on Feb 23, 2006 2:29:46 GMT -5
Tethyrian society was once open and trusting, but the turmoil of the past century has marred that quality. The excesses of the last Tethyrian kings and the chaos of the Interregnum turned a compassionate people into folk ever wary of treachery and deceit. Many of the abuses of previous regimes have been publicly denounced and banned by the current monarch. The folk of Darromar, Zazesspur, and the northern lands of Tethyr have witnessed firsthand these changes and are filled with optimism for the future, but southern farmers and eastern highlanders are skeptical of the high promises made by the new nobility.
Social customs in Tethyr are greatly affected by class status and land ownership. Land is of the greatest importance to Tethyrians, and a person's connection to it establishes his status in society far more strongly than his wealth alone. Landowners are accorded the most respect, but status-conscious nobles earn great regard from their people if they take good care of their lands. Many nobles fell during the Ten Black Days of Eleint for abusing the privileges of land ownership, harming or neglecting their lands and the people tending them.
Tethyrians of all races show their respect for the land by surrounding themselves with growing plants. In the cities of
Tethyr, window boxes of flowers and courtyard gardens are the norm. Queen Zaranda has asked all of the cities and towns of Tethyr to each set aside an area for use as a public park, an idea which all have embraced with vigor. It is now a matter of civic status to have the largest or best-maintained park, though few can match the splendor of the great flower-filled Garden of Rhinda, planted in honor of King Haedrak's mother, that embraces the hill beneath Faemtarn in Darromar.
With the reestablishment of social order and new nobility in place, new social customs are slowly taking shape. Just as they always were, the peasants and laborers of Tethyr are ruled by counts, and the counts are answerable to dukes. The royalty and the monarch hold dukes accountable. However, Queen Zaranda publicly proclaimed that just as the gods depend on their worshipers, the nobility needs the support of its people: i.e. A noble does not rule simply by decree or by law, but by the sufferance of those ruled. A noble puts the well-being of the people before her own, or else she is unfit to rule. With this proclamation, the queen put the social order in the hands of the commoners, much to the dismay of older, landed nobles. However, rather than falling into anarchy as was feared, the war-worn people have accepted the queen's appointed rulers as fair and just. The people believe their taxes and impounded goods should keep their counts, dukes, and queen in a manner that reflects each province's wealth or social importance.
A few people actively dislike the new social order of Tethyr. The worst point of contention among some in the mercantile class and certain lesser nobles ousted during the Interregnum or Reclamation is the integration of nonnative persons into the nobility of Tethyr. While most so ruled have accepted these new nobles, thanks either to their aid in the Reclamation or their munificence since then, still others (especially among the elder nobility) treat these new nobles as usurpers. Another divisive issue among the elder population, commoner and noble alike is the sudden elevation of elves and halflings to royal posts. An oft-predicted backlash against humans has, however, failed to occur (and is in fact unlikely to ever happen). Old attitudes and prejudices still run deep among the mostly human urban population, though the peace resulting from cooperation between races is causing many human citizens to change long-held negative beliefs about demihumans. The queen was ingenious when she restored many old names and tides from the Queens' Dynasty of five centuries gone. The simple act of renaming Ithmong as Darromar, tying it to the early Tethyrian
Dynasties, helped heal the wounds of past decades and put the despots of Ithmongls in memory only. Eliminating certain new titles, such as earl and baron, as well as restoring certain old fiefs, helped many common folk forget the abuses they had suffered under Interregnum tyrants. The Duchy of Dusk and those smaller counties where the greatest transgressions were committed against Tethyr's well-being are now as much dust as their tyrannical rulers.
The Curse of Five: The unlucky nature of the number five is a social belief found only in Tethyr. Superstitious folk go out of their way to avoid using five of anything; many rural folk have families of four children and do not risk having a cursed fifth child. Some of these superstitions are long founded and can be seen easily, such as no official building in Shoonach or any other building with five lone steps, always more or less, or no more than four windows (or less than seven) on any particular wall. Many fears about the number five are linked with royalty: L King Coram IV died of five stab wounds; his captain of the guard was paid with five bars of platinum to do the evil deed. L King Teremir, the first monarch after the Queen's era, was a fifth son; his kingdom was tom by strife within 25 months of his ascension. King Coram II was also a fifth son, and he was killed by King Teremir II in a coup after five years on the throne.
L King Errilam was a third son but the fifth child of Haedrak II, and his death started the elf-strife that lasted 90 years.
The five daughters of Princess Kessynna died horribly in Waterdeep.
Social customs in Tethyr are greatly affected by class status and land ownership. Land is of the greatest importance to Tethyrians, and a person's connection to it establishes his status in society far more strongly than his wealth alone. Landowners are accorded the most respect, but status-conscious nobles earn great regard from their people if they take good care of their lands. Many nobles fell during the Ten Black Days of Eleint for abusing the privileges of land ownership, harming or neglecting their lands and the people tending them.
Tethyrians of all races show their respect for the land by surrounding themselves with growing plants. In the cities of
Tethyr, window boxes of flowers and courtyard gardens are the norm. Queen Zaranda has asked all of the cities and towns of Tethyr to each set aside an area for use as a public park, an idea which all have embraced with vigor. It is now a matter of civic status to have the largest or best-maintained park, though few can match the splendor of the great flower-filled Garden of Rhinda, planted in honor of King Haedrak's mother, that embraces the hill beneath Faemtarn in Darromar.
With the reestablishment of social order and new nobility in place, new social customs are slowly taking shape. Just as they always were, the peasants and laborers of Tethyr are ruled by counts, and the counts are answerable to dukes. The royalty and the monarch hold dukes accountable. However, Queen Zaranda publicly proclaimed that just as the gods depend on their worshipers, the nobility needs the support of its people: i.e. A noble does not rule simply by decree or by law, but by the sufferance of those ruled. A noble puts the well-being of the people before her own, or else she is unfit to rule. With this proclamation, the queen put the social order in the hands of the commoners, much to the dismay of older, landed nobles. However, rather than falling into anarchy as was feared, the war-worn people have accepted the queen's appointed rulers as fair and just. The people believe their taxes and impounded goods should keep their counts, dukes, and queen in a manner that reflects each province's wealth or social importance.
A few people actively dislike the new social order of Tethyr. The worst point of contention among some in the mercantile class and certain lesser nobles ousted during the Interregnum or Reclamation is the integration of nonnative persons into the nobility of Tethyr. While most so ruled have accepted these new nobles, thanks either to their aid in the Reclamation or their munificence since then, still others (especially among the elder nobility) treat these new nobles as usurpers. Another divisive issue among the elder population, commoner and noble alike is the sudden elevation of elves and halflings to royal posts. An oft-predicted backlash against humans has, however, failed to occur (and is in fact unlikely to ever happen). Old attitudes and prejudices still run deep among the mostly human urban population, though the peace resulting from cooperation between races is causing many human citizens to change long-held negative beliefs about demihumans. The queen was ingenious when she restored many old names and tides from the Queens' Dynasty of five centuries gone. The simple act of renaming Ithmong as Darromar, tying it to the early Tethyrian
Dynasties, helped heal the wounds of past decades and put the despots of Ithmongls in memory only. Eliminating certain new titles, such as earl and baron, as well as restoring certain old fiefs, helped many common folk forget the abuses they had suffered under Interregnum tyrants. The Duchy of Dusk and those smaller counties where the greatest transgressions were committed against Tethyr's well-being are now as much dust as their tyrannical rulers.
The Curse of Five: The unlucky nature of the number five is a social belief found only in Tethyr. Superstitious folk go out of their way to avoid using five of anything; many rural folk have families of four children and do not risk having a cursed fifth child. Some of these superstitions are long founded and can be seen easily, such as no official building in Shoonach or any other building with five lone steps, always more or less, or no more than four windows (or less than seven) on any particular wall. Many fears about the number five are linked with royalty: L King Coram IV died of five stab wounds; his captain of the guard was paid with five bars of platinum to do the evil deed. L King Teremir, the first monarch after the Queen's era, was a fifth son; his kingdom was tom by strife within 25 months of his ascension. King Coram II was also a fifth son, and he was killed by King Teremir II in a coup after five years on the throne.
L King Errilam was a third son but the fifth child of Haedrak II, and his death started the elf-strife that lasted 90 years.
The five daughters of Princess Kessynna died horribly in Waterdeep.