Template:Location infobox The Empire of Namorn is a large country in the Circle Universe. It is ruled by a powerful woman, Berenene dor Ocmore, the famed omnipotent empress.
Geography
Location
The empire is vast and extends from Yanjing to the Western Sea. It has many mountain ranges and a huge treacherous lake called the Syth, named for the trickster god Sythuthan, that is very spontaneously stormy. It also has desertland, farms, forests, mines, and other such places.
Bordering Yanjing, it has the famed Sea of Grass, which earned its title by being a huge expanse of only grass.
Climate
Namorn is incredibly cold in the winter, and the mountain passes become unsafe and unclear, forcing everyone in Namorn to stay in Namorn. It snows during the winter. During the summer, it gets mildly warm, but sometimes they get a chill wind from the Syth.
Politics
Government
Head of state and councils
Namorn is ruled by an emperor or empress. In 1043 KF and before then, Namorn is ruled by Berenene dor Ocmore. It is unknown for how long House Ocmore ruled Namorn, but it is assumed to be quite a long time. There is a council of nobles, a large assembly, and other such councils to help run Namorn. The Mages' Society of Namorn is also quite powerful, as it is headed by very popular and powerful academic and ambient mages.
Aristocracy and feudal lords
As Namorn is a feudal monarchy, aristocrats have tremendous power in the realm, depending on their title, money, and lands.
Noble titles are as follows:
- Bidis/Bidisa — literally means "dagger", the 1st rank of nobility, baron/baroness
- Saghad/Saghada — literally means "arrow", the 2nd rank of nobility, lord/lady
- Cleham/Clehame — literally means "sword", the 3rd rank of nobility, count/countess
- Giath/Giatha — literally means "shield", the highest rank of nobility, duke/duchess
The nobles of the realm have a history of being hotblooded and sometimes violent. They would fight with each other, extending their lands, titles, and terrain, and occasionally they are known to turn against the Crown. Empress Berenene prevented this in her realm by beggaring the great nobles through taxation and loopholes in noble privileges. She also uses her beauty and sexuality to entrance the masses, knowing that if men's time is spent in getting her to fall in love with them, and to look upon them favorably, they would have less time to fight against her.
Fiefs in Namorn include:
The rights of women and peasants
Women
Women are considered second-class citizens, and it is very difficult for a woman to wield power in the empire. Even though Namorn is ruled by a woman, there have been very few improvements for women in the empire. For example, the bride kidnapping custom that ran rampant in Western Namorn still exists under Berenene. The bride kidnapping custom dictates that a man may kidnap a woman and somehow break her will for her to sign a marriage contract. Once the contract is signed by the woman, she has no rights, and she essentially belongs to her husband. The custom technically only applies to women who are taken out in the open, and when they are not under the protection of their liege lords. While women may go to their liege lords and ask for the marriage to be severed, not all liege lords or ladies are sympathetic. This includes Empress Berenene, who believes that a woman who is silly enough to be taken is a caged bird by nature and deserves and needs a keeper.
The custom applies to every unmarried woman in Namorn, even those who are related to or are members of the Imperial Family, including Berenene before she became all powerful. Noblewomen, of course, are considered more desirable victims due to their wealth, but the station of their noble birth keeps kidnappers from physically harming them. Berenene was kidnapped a couple of times as a princess, and the men who took her were a lot more careful with her than say Halmar Iarun was with Gudruny.
Peasants
Peasants live on the lands of the nobles and work the lands. Some liege lords are more sympathetic to the rights of peasants, others are not. Peasants are also almost treated as property of their noble liege lord.
International relations
Namorn is bordered by Yanjing in the east, and Lairan, Irod, Olart, and Capchen in the south. Namorn has been in an on and off war with Yanjing for the past few years.
Empress Berenene has a tremendous amount of political pull. To force Duke Vedris IV to urge Sandrilene fa Toren to come to Namorn, Berenene threatened monetary repercussions on Emelan. She said that Namorn and Emelan have been allies in the past, but the empire's smile may fade away from Emelan.
Culture
Known cities
- Dancruan, the capital of Namorn and the location of the Imperial Palace
- Kugisko, the archipelagic town on the Syth
Religion
Western Namorn also has its own gods, separate from those of the Living Circle.
Gods of Namorn
- Qunoc - Goddess of Crops [1]
- Vrohain - God of Justice [2]
- Sythuthan — trickster god of the Syth.
- Yorgiry — merciful goddess of healing and death.
Language
Unlike most countries around the Pebbled Sea, Namorn has its own language called Namornese.
- argib - currency of the Empire
- amdain - fool(s)
- bidis, bidisa - Baron or Baroness, first level of nobility
- bidisat - baron or baroness's estate
- cleham, clehame - Count or Countess, third level of nobility
- clehamat - a count's or countess's estate
- giath, giatha - Duke or Duchess, fourth level of nobility
- giathat - a duke or duchess's estate
- naliz - piece of dung
- Ravvi - Mrs.
- Ravvikki - Miss.
- Ravvot -Mr.
- Ravvotki - Master (as in title, not position)
- saghad, saghada - Lord or Lady, second level of nobility
- saghadat a lord's or lady's estate
- Viynain, Viymese - mage or wizard
Naming and language are very similar to Russian and Scandinavian naming and language.
Fashion and dress
Women's fashion
Court fashion
Wealthy Namornese women wear a visible undercoat and an overcoat that adds to the splendor of the outfit. For example, in the Imperial Palace where Empress Berenene first officially met Sandrilene fa Toren, the empress wore a dusty-rose colored open robe over a cream undergown, with a veil of sheer, cream-tinted silk.
Hunting dress
Berenene wore wide-legged breeches and a very formfitting jacket.
Notable People
See also
Notes and References
- ↑ The Will of the Empress, Cp. 3 (p. 65; Scholastic)
- ↑ The Will of the Empress, Glossery (p. 550; Scholastic)
- ↑ The Will of the Empress, Glossary (p. 546-550; Scholastic)