Slavery in Mileria
Nov 16, 2014 19:17:10 GMT
Post by LucasP on Nov 16, 2014 19:17:10 GMT
A Detailed Analysis of Slavery, the Treatment of Slaves, and its Meaning Throughout Mileria
By: Einn Visindia Morvanis
Eladrin Scholar of the Academy of Philosophies
Contents:
Chapter I: The Akosh
Chapter II: The Ajit
Chapter III: The Empire
Chapter IV: The Dwarves
Chapter V: The Omicron
Chapter VI: The Govan
Chapter VII: Tel Vinrae and the Eladrin
Chapter VIII: The Chen Kai
Chapter IX: The Other Races of Mileria
It is no secret that Milerians have a variety of different beliefs and acknowledgements of Slavery across their homelands, which sometimes conflict with the understanding and beliefs of other cultures that they may come in contact with through trade or relocation. While such things are infrequently discussed in open table conversations, it is important that the citizens of Tel Vinrae (where slavery, in itself, is legal - while the buying and selling of slaves is not so) come to understand and accept the views of different cultures on such a controversial topic. Through a great deal of study, including such venues as a formal “guest” of Imperial Courts to an Apprenticeship under an Ajit Slave Trader, I have compiled a comprehensive study of these many facets and their political views throughout the country. It is my hope that this research of both sophisticated acts of indentured servitude and brutal acts of slave lashings, amongst all other interesting ideals I have experienced, will help all our citizens better understand and respect the feelings and positions of slave owners throughout our great society.
In order to maintain a semblance of order throughout this text, I will begin my recitation of my studies to the east, where the Desert Lands swallow the Akosh and the Ajit in dry air and furious sandstorms, and where, while some tribes enjoy the luxurious comfort of nearby oases as a home, others travel the sands in search of new grounds to live on and new sources of the most precious liquid of life. From there, I will move westward, covering the Imperials, followed by the dwarves of the north, and then the Omicron of the west, touching briefly upon the Govan people, before coming south to Tel Vinrae, and finally crossing the Coral Bay into the lands of Huang-Cao, and the culture of the Chen Kai. Finally, I will give a brief insight into other races and their apparent feelings on the act and practice of slavery.
The Akosh
The People of the Oases, the Akosh of the great Ananta Desert are a sophisticated group of people who enjoy a great deal of education and instruction throughout their life, leading to a more mature approach on the benefit of slavery. While it is rare for an Akosh merchant to come across slaves themselves due to their natural habit of staying in one location, their frequent trade with outsiders that visit to their city will provide them with stocks of slave candidates from which they can choose. Female slaves are almost always immediately taken to be examined for their qualities and looks, given baths to clean them and prepare them for a sale. Such slaves are rare, however, as any woman who is considered “spoiled” in any manner is often killed before she is locked in chains - a barbaric practice, but one that suits them. The Female Slaves become either hand-servants to the wives of a Sultan, servants amidst royal populations, or members of harems and similar houses of comfort. Regardless of their position, female slaves in the Ananta Deserts are always treated well - especially those found to be pure - as they sell for very high values and are rarely discarded, leaving very few to be traded for or purchased on the market, and providing them with often comfortable lives, considering their positions within their society.
The Men, however, do not have such comforts often provided to them. The weakest typically die before they reach the slave stalls - the stronger ones are pushed into manual labor, working mines or, if they are lucky, planting fields. They have the advantage of decent agricultural advances for their limited resources, which makes working the fields a bit less laborious than they could be (should water, for example, need to be constantly drawn from a well and taken to the fields for planting). The strongest of the men often end up being sold into the Gladiatorial combat pens, where they are trained to fight in matches to the death for the benefit and betting of those around them who have higher standing in society. Many such men die within their first few weeks of enslavement, but a select few grow to be quite proficient at the art of death, even going so far as to be taken to the arena’s of the Empire, where they are put up against even stronger competition, for even greater rewards.
The Akosh have harsher punishments for criminal activities than other civilizations do, often resulting in the person who committed the crime being placed into Slavery themselves, or being fed to the Gladiatorial pens as training fodder for the Gladiators to practice upon with their deadly art. Often, being caught for a crime also results in members of the family suffering a similar fate, with wives and daughters being taken to become women in harems, or servants to the offended family, while sons are either stripped of their manhood and forced to be Harem Protectors, or put to work in fields or mines until they reach an age where they can wield a sword or spear and fight in the arena’s.
The punishment of slaves is an area that the Akosh are particularly ruthless in. It was near an Akosh slavemasters home that I witnessed the act of sand-boxing, where a slave is bound by metal cuffs on their hands and feet that are chained to the inside of a metal cage that has been baking in the sun. Their feet sizzle as they touch the exposed metal of the iron underneath them, while their wrists get seared by the heat of the arm-cuffs and their bodies turn red with the heat of the sun. A particularly cruel implement was added to this nearer the coast of the desert, where first the slave being punished would go and gather several large pails of salt water to fill up a barrel, then help hoist the barrel over the top of their own prison, and then salt water would be allowed to slowly drip down onto the head of the slave. This method was called “Sand-Boxing” because the slaves would often get left out in devastating sandstorms that would bury the majority of the cage in sand since it was left fully open to the elements. More sophisticated versions (that seek to avoid killing the slaves entirely) are enclosed metal caskets, that are stood upright and have a similar punishment, alike to being in an oven for the majority of the day. I took the opportunity to be shut inside one of these implements, for a few brief minutes - I could not imagine the duration being much longer than it was, and was happy the slave master, with a jovial laugh, provided me with a cold drink after he opened the door for me once again, a luxury which the slaves are not often given.
Apart from sand-boxing, which was the form of punishment for most female slaves, beatings and whippings were not uncommon for the male slaves - provided they had no appearance to maintain. As such, Gladiatorial slaves were often beaten just before fights, or given open wounds that they would then have to earn the right to have seen to by a medic or healer, lest it become infected and cause them worse pain, or the loss of a limb (all of which are particularly useful in an arena of combat, when you are fighting for your very life).
In conclusion, the Akosh people do not fear the concept of slavery: in fact, it is a way of life to them. Having Servants and Slaves is a mark of status, and being the owner of a successful Gladiatorial Pen can place a member of the Akosh into elevated ranks of society, for as long as their success can hold them there.
The Ajit
The Nomads, wanderers, and travelers of the sands. The Ajit people are not dissimilar to the Akosh in many ways, save that they are primarily slave traders, not slave owners. A few slave men worthy of the effort of training may be kept in an Ajit Caravan or Village to help with defenses, but with their primarily mobile lifestyle, the Ajit tend not to keep field workers and strong laborers, as they can trade for most of their needed supplies, such as water and food, camels and wives, through the trade of capable men into the service of the Akosh. It is not uncommon, in fact, for Ajit men to offer themselves into slavery to the Akosh, in order to help their village or caravan to survive to the next settlement with necessary supplies.
To this end, the Ajit prefer to take prisoners when they encounter aggressive enemies within the sands of the Ananta Deserts. Captured prisoners are kept under close guard and watch, and are sold into slavery the moment the Ajit Caravan reaches its next settlement on its route. Since such visits to settlements can take weeks, and sometimes months between arrivals, the Ajit often trade emaciated, dehydrated, and dying slaves to the slave pens, with infected wounds that may require amputation or a mercy killing being not uncommon in their stocks, since they prefer not to waste supplies upon those that are not of their kin. This lowers the value of Ajit slaves, but since most of those slaves are brigands, thieves, and cutthroats, the Ajit see no problem with this act - to earn something from such a person is better than to earn nothing from them at all.
The few slaves that are kept on with the Ajit often become part of the family, in a sense. While female slaves will tend to the wives and children of the Ajit tribes, the Male Slaves will be kept segregated and either forced to carry packs like a camel through the burning sands, or given armaments and collared to an animal for protection. However, a slave that proves themselves worthy will earn a place by the fires at night, a hot meal, interaction with other slaves and sometimes members of the Ajit tribe itself, and may even be offered a chance to pick from other slave stock for mating purposes (though, frequently, the Ajit use a mixture of scorpion venom and cactus juices, amidst other herbs they would not disclose, to create sterility and prevent the slaves from bearing children that would further deplete the Caravan’s resources). On rare occasions, however, such measures are not taken, and a female slave may in fact bear a child into the Ajit peoples caravan. This, however, is typically done when a male of the Ajit tribe is not able to have children with his wife, and so proper stock is carefully selected and chosen from the available slaves, in order to accommodate the needs of the Ajit masters in their breeding process (such as, a woman may be selected if she had several brothers, since it is likely she will bear a son, when such an heir is needed - or a daughter, when such is necessary). As they constantly live their lives balancing their necessary resources against their population, the Ajit’s outlook on slavery remains simple and effective: keep only those necessary to survive, the rest are nothing more than tradable stock.
The punishment for slaves amidst the Ajit people was particularly interesting: because of their way of life, constantly in motion and often at odds with the world around them, the Ajit people do not believe that taking the time to beat their slaves is worth their while. One might suspect that, at night after the caravan is stopped, the Ajit would dole out the punishments earned during that day to the unlucky slave who had earned them, but such is not the case. Instead, their slaves are simply denied the simple luxuries they may desire to have - they are not unchained, and so have to relieve themselves upon themselves - they are not fed, and so go hungry, or are not given drink, and so must go thirsty. In my time with the Ajit, I witnessed some slaves that took one punishing night of sleeplessness, having to stand because their chains could not reach the ground, having to go without the little food and water they were normally offered, having to relieve their bodily functions upon their own soiled clothing, before they became completely compliant to their masters wishes. To be fair, however, I also witnessed one particularly bitter and emboldened man, who refused to be subjugated by the Ajit that had captured him trying to steal one of their camels. After two nights and days without water, he crawled beneath a camel as it relieved itself and drank from its waste, slaking his thirst but preventing his masters from claiming any sort of victory against him. He was later sold to an Akosh Gladiatorial Pen, where he was last when I saw him.
The same of all this can, of course, be said of the Ajit outside of the Ananta Deserts. Their ways are no different than their desert-dwelling brothers, with similar mannerisms towards who belongs as a slave and who does not - they simply change who their trade partners for slaves are, and wisely, they play the markets well, bringing slaves from the Omicron to the Imperials and vice-versa in order to utilize the desires for vengeance and the mutual hatred between the peoples for their own gains. While they will not actively engage in slave transport or slave capture, they do not hesitate to punish those who are foolish enough to steal from them or attack them with a life of servitude towards foul masters of opposing nations. Their methods of punishment are slightly different, though no less effective, since the heat of the sun cannot be as strong a deterrent. Instead, they will often let the animal the slave is bound to on a longer lead, letting it stray further from camp where it is more likely to be targeted by predators. If the Animal is lost and the slave is not, the slave must carry the animals burden for the remainder of the trip, at the end of which they are usually traded for a new pack animal in addition to whatever other value they have - if the slave is killed, and the animal is spared, then the Ajit consider themselves no worse off (and, as the animal is unbound, the slave typically ends up getting pulled with the animal as it runs away from the predators after they appear, causing the slave to be dragged through forest or field back to the safety of the camp, where the Ajit will protect the animal but leave the slave for the predators to drag off if they can).
The Empire
It is no secret that the Imperials of the Empire, with their lavish cities and their rich culture, are keen on slavery being a major part of their society. In fact, of all the cultures found within Mileria, the Empire is the most respectable towards their slaves, with their acknowledgement of their slaves abilities as contributing members of society, due to intelligence and education. At least, that is, if they are male. For all their societal advancements, the Empire still has a very sexist outlook on life. Females are considered to be lesser citizens (though still above slaves in their culture), respected if they have power, but disallowed from luxuries such as education.
As such, a male slave entering the service of an Imperial is often first tested for their mental capabilities before any physical traits are examined. If they are able to pass basic testing of arithmetics and writing, science and philosophy, they are often placed into a special stock of slaves who are purchased as assistants in shops, libraries, and households throughout the Empire. It is not uncommon, as a result of this, to find that you can hold quite a sophisticated conversation with a slave in the Empire, as they are invested in as much as they are an investment, in many cases. The treatment of such slaves, consequential to their value, is quite good, with many having homes of their own, families, and even incomes to help stabilize their quality of life. Due to their higher quality of living, punishment for such slaves is often kept to a minimum in regards to beatings: with the threat of removal of privileges being often enough to deter most disruptive behavior, and the act of figging being all the more incentive necessary.
That is not to say, that all male slaves are treated thusly. Those slaves who fail this aptitude testing will find themselves pushed into hard labor, in quarries or mines, Gladiatorial arenas, or as conscripts in the army. Their lives are much harsher in treatment, with beatings by flog or whip of such slaves being a regular practice to encourage better work production. They live in common dorms and often are disallowed from basic pleasures of life, such as intimacy or romance, unless they are willing to engage in subtle-kept acts of such things with members of the same sex, which is less uncommon than one might believe. It is my belief that this practice (which is also prevalent amidst males of the aristocracy) is bred from the lack of contact with members of the other sex, though I am told from slave masters in the Empire that, such lack of contact may be foregone if the slave market takes a dip in population and, as a result, the need for new slaves is elevated to a point where the breeding and maintenance of slave-born children can be warranted for the good of the Empire on a whole.
Female slaves, in the Empire, have a variety of roles that are much different than the males. Those with the looks and beauty appropriate to a higher station are taken on as handmaidens, royal servants, and aids to the aristocracy. They are trained in proper slave etiquette typically by a head matron, who provides lessons on how to properly serve food and beverages to royal guests, how to look, how to curtsey, how to speak. Each slave woman in this role is given these lessons to prevent them from suffering punishment, and such women who respect and learn well their lessons (particularly if being taught by a proper head matron, and with the favor of said head matron) will have long and pleasant lives, potentially becoming head matrons themselves once their looks begin to fail them. These women are often the stock from which male slaves, who are of a higher standing, will look for wives, though the fortune of such a proposition is questionable. While this provides them with better living quarters and less duties as a slave (typically, as they are expected to be bearing children in this situation), it also ties their fate to the respectability and prosperity of their husband, who may bring punishment upon the wife if he displeases his master. Punishments for slaves in the empire, I came to find, could be quite disturbing in their nature, through the practice of what is called “Figging”:
As a guest of House Akkilos in the Imperial City of Vandemere, I was enjoying my time amidst several of the Aristocracy, sipping beverages of well aged wine and tasting a feast of lamb when I witnessed one of the servant girls - a young woman by the name of Severa - collapse onto her knees with the clatter of the tray she was carrying. The room went silent, as she became the focus of all eyes, working desperately to pick up the fallen pitchers and goblets she had been carrying about. Two male servants moved to her side and picked her up and escorted her away, her face flush and sweat upon her brow. I remarked to my host, Remus of Akkilos, about the health of the slave and inquired as to what would be done to tend to her, as part of my research. He remarked that her health condition was little more than a symptom of her punishment for an earlier transgression, in which she was caught handling a strawberry from the guests tray - an offense not taken lightly. She had been “figged” he said, to which I inquired about the practice and its effect. It seems that the Imperials found that the introduction of a paired ginger root to the lower orifices of a body for several minutes resulted in hours of an agonizing burning sensation which the slaves, when punished, were forced to continue their labors under. This effect was temporary and seemed to provide no long-lasting debilitation to the slaves, but provided them with the appropriate punishment for their crimes to deter them from making similar mistakes again. Due to the nature of the punishment being hidden from the eyes of most, it was an effective means to prevent unsightly scarring or damage to a mark of status, as the size of ones “proper” slave holdings (that is, the number of slaves not destined to tend fields and toil in manual labors) often reflected their wealth and status in the city, but marked slaves - by brand or the brandishing of weapon against their body, were a sign of disgrace, as one was then thought not to be able to keep their slaves in line, and therefore, was weak to the eyes of the other aristocracy. Such a punishment was similarly used upon males who were on such display, and thusly most of the slaves in the room knew well what the woman was suffering and could attest to its effects upon motor function and coordination. At a later encounter with the young woman, her displeasure in the matter was quite clear, but I was surprised to find out that she was not displeased to have been punished, but displeased to have had such attention since she could barely stand or walk. It seemed that figging, beyond being an effective and scarless punishment, left a significant measure of shame in the slave, and provided additional means of preventing them from making a mistake again.
Finally, there are the female slaves of the Empire that are not of look (such as female slaves that have been previously marked by other slave owners) to be appropriate for such roles in the aristocratic society. These females are often moved to pleasure tents within army camps, or houses within the cities, or are given roles in manual labor alongside the men deemed for such duties. On rare occasion, such a female slave (if she proves herself capable of the task) may even be offered a chance to conscript in the army, to earn her freedom through bloodshed and war. Gladiator females of the empire are even more rare than female conscripts in the army, but those that are given the opportunity to step into the arena are formidable opponents and often surprise their competition with cunning, determination, and deadly ability.
On a related topic, but separated due to its significance, is the slavery of Elves within the Empire. During this period of Great War that, as of the writing of this passage, is still ongoing, the Empire has managed to capture and enslave the Elves of both the Eastern Nation and the Northern Nation. Elven slaves within the Empire are treated as much lesser creatures, and it is widely believed that an Imperial is far superior to the Elves in many ways. When the Empire saw the beginnings of the war with the Omicron showing in the west, they decided to march south from their cities and take control of the Eastern Nation, where lush forests would provide ample timber for Arrows, Siege Engines, and mobile fortifications. The Elves, at this time, were scattered throughout the forest and so, before long, found themselves vastly outnumbered and soon, overwhelmed by the Empire’s forces. With their foothold secured in the Eastern Nation, the Empire began culling the forest, preparing for their coming battles with forces they considered more of a threat: the Omicron.
At the same time, the Empire moved northward - cutting into the Northern Nations dark wood forests and working to claim those lands from the Elves that had settled there. With a slight more warning available to them than the Eastern Nation, the Northern Nation managed to put up a more impressive fight. Despite this, their efforts were in vain, as reinforcements from the Western Nation were soon cut off by the Omicron (more on that in the appropriate chapter) and the Southern Nation, who had always preferred to keep to themselves, remained in their defensive posture, securing allegiances with Tel Vinrae to help protect them from an invasion on either side, and some say, securing agreements with creatures of the forest for similar effect. After the fall of the Northern Nation, the Empire had ample Darkwood supplies available to construct sturdier fortifications and more deadly siege equipment.
With that history lesson out of the way, I turn back to the focus of this writing: the slavery of these peoples. The Elves of the Empire are enslaved as lesser beings, and as such are almost always utilized for manual labors. They are often kept near the forested areas of the Empire’s holdings, to help with deforestation efforts that provide the supplies needed for the Empire to expand its cities and armies. On rare occasions, an Elven slave may find their way into the pleasure houses of the cities, where their exotic features are considered a commodity and, as such, their prices are higher than most normal slaves. Elven soldiers are sometimes put into the Gladiatorial Arenas, where they are considered a rare challenge for the normal fighters to engage, but their life expectancies are short due to the often unbeatable circumstances they are placed in during such arrangements. Due to their mistreatment, it is not uncommon for Elven slaves to try and flee their captivity - far more common, in fact, than for human slaves of the Empire to do so. As such, strict laws hold over the entirety of the Empire, regarding the release of slaves or the ferrying of slaves fleeing captivity as a crime against the Empire akin to treason. Such does not stop the attempts, however, and as such it is not uncommon to hear of a vessel from the Imperial Nation turning over stowaway slaves to the Port Authority as far west as Tel Vinrae, though the result of such offenses is a quiet-kept matter.
The Dwarves
It should come as no surprise to you, dear reader, that the Dwarves of the North, with their familial tendencies (every Dwarf is kin to each other - or so the saying was, prior to the betrayal at the Battle of the Scarlet Fields), are one of the few peoples who do not regularly keep slaves. In fact, only those Dwarves who fall under the rule of the Empire are commonly found keeping a stock of slaves in their homes. Due to the nature of their rulership under the Empire, Dwarves of these cities have particular requirements on how they treat their slaves: at least, in the presence of guests. But it is rumored that many of the Dwarves who have slaves treat them as little less than kin themselves, when not in the eyes of the Imperials at least, providing them with comfortable living arrangements and lifestyles suitable for their needs, skills in trades, and respectable commissions for their work. Such rumors (which I was unable to substantiate in my studies, as, understandably, if the Dwarves I stayed with were discovered to treat their slaves in such manner, it could have resulted in poor relations with the Imperials who were their benefactors) would suggest that the Dwarves are perhaps the kindest of races one might be subjected to slavery under. While I have strived to write these pages of text with the belief that I am taking an unbiased point of view, I cannot help but have respect for the Dwarves that treat their Slaves as something more, if such Dwarves exist. Indeed, however, in my time within the Dwarven Holds of the North, I witnessed similar treatment of slaves to the treatment I was shown at the Imperial City, down to even the threat of a Figging to a slave that was particularly unresponsive to the orders of his master. As such, I concluded that either this was a show which the Dwarves were well practiced in putting on, or that the years of rulership under the Empire had tempered the Dwarves feelings towards Slavery and kinship more deeply than one might have suspected, considering that they are longer-lived and more stubborn in most matters than the Imperials could ever hope to be.
The Omicron
Despite the pretenses of freedom that the Omicron preach as a a religion, they are not against slavery on a whole, and in fact tend to treat their slaves with some of the lowest means of all the people in Mileria. This may be due to the fact that the majority of slaves the Omicron keep are prisoners of war, typically Imperial men, and as such are considered hostile at best. However, this same treatment of such slaves has been filtered down through all ranks of slavery in the Omicron people, including slaves from Govan tribes and the Western Nation of the Elves, leading to near barbaric punishments that seem to sometimes only be on the whim of entertainment from their Omicron masters. Not all Omicron are so brutal, with some being quite kind to their slaves, but these Omicron are rare, taking their methods in many ways it seems from the Dwarves, though less hidden about such, and so will not be much of a focus of this chapter.
Male slaves with the Omicron are typically kept as pit fighters - a more barbaric form of gladiators from the Empire - or manual laborers. It is very rare for a Male Slave to be put into a position where they might have some sort of power, as they are severely mistrusted and believed to be planning their escape at almost all times. Their treatment is marred by beatings and lashings, malnourishment and frequent deaths. Those few select that are taken to be servants for their omicron masters (typically, younger or less capable males) are not the more fortunate of the slaves, suffering similar beatings and lashings and eating scraps like dogs from dishes on the floor (sometimes even, with the dogs around them fighting them for the food).
These slaves are also the source of entertainment for their masters, frequently threatened for punishment because of unrealistic issues created by their masters for them. One such occasion occurred in a mead hall as I was discussing political topics with an Omicron nobleman. The sound of a ringed hand smashing a goblet to the ground rang through the room and the young boy - an Imperial by the looks of it, was grabbed by his master and driven down into the table. As two others rose to hold the boy, the omicron master pulled his sword from his side and laid the blade of it across the boys wrist, discussing with him the difference between a goblet of spiced mead and one of ale. He lifted the blade up and the boy looked away as his master gave a mighty shout as though he would bring the blade down in fury - yet, the blade did not move. The master began laughing as his aids did the same and relinquished the boy, the three of them retaking their seats as the master urged the boy to get him a proper ale this time. I excused myself from the conversation and moved to the slave as he exited the room, asking for the goblet - from which I tasted the beverage. Though my nostrils were accosted at the time by the scent of fresh urine from the boys trousers, I was not surprised to find that the taste of the liquid did indeed have the consistency of an ale, and asked the boy to get his master a goblet of the same drink as the first time, and a goblet of mead as well. When the boy returned, I deftly distracted the master with an appreciative comment on his treatment of his slave as the boy set the goblet at his place. He took a hefty drink from it and, as I collected my goblet of mead from the boy, the master nodded appreciatively and set the goblet back on the table. It was clear to me, and to the slave, that the matter had been nothing but an effort to get a laugh and force the boy to a state of fear so severe it would be impossible to withstand the urges his body would provide him. I nodded to the slave and drank my mead without complaint.
Female slaves within the Omicron are not better treated, in most regards, though beatings for them are uncommon. Instead, the Omicron use malnourishment as a prime form of torture for their female slaves, refusing them food (though, when they do receive it, they are typically given a fair amount and are not forced to eat in disgrace like the male slaves are). These slaves, however, are frequently turned into Ladies of the Night, or treated as such by their masters. Because of this, it is not uncommon for female slaves to bear omicron children, who are kept as slave children in their early months until their disposition can be fully ascertained and then, if their appearance is sufficiently Omicron, they are often taken into Omicron families. Such children born to nobles, while bastards of the family, are still given full noble status provided that they do not bear too much resemblance to their mothers, while those who do are kept as slaves in the family and forced to work as such until they reach an age where they are of use in the mines or fields for manual labor. The only solace these children have is that it is extremely rare for them to be turned into Pit Fighters, meaning they will not die fighting some terrible beast or being brutalized by other Omicron for the entertainment of the people.
Those female slaves who do not receive such positions are kept on as servers to the Omicron men or as handmaidens to Omicron females, and since these females can be of a variety of backgrounds, they may find themselves as tutors to Omicron noble children. As there is little status found in the ownership or treatment of slaves within the Omicron people, these female slaves are not saved from punishment by whip or flog when they fail to perform to expectations, and are not spared from use as entertainment by their masters similar to the male slaves.
Due to the high amount of mistreatment of slaves, it is not uncommon to find slaves attempting to escape their masters in the Omicron nation. While these efforts are not always unsuccessful, the penalty for them is quite severe. The Omicron do not believe in killing slaves who attempt to escape, but are not against maiming them depending on the severity of their transgression and their usefulness. In my time amongst their people, I saw everything from blinded slaves, to ones missing an arm, or a hand, to ones who walked with a constant limp. Such slaves are left alive in these conditions, I’m told, to help dissuade others from thinking they could escape from their masters. Attempts are still made today, though infrequently, and are their punishments are difficult to watch, as I witnessed first hand.
A young nobleman was smitten by one of the slaves - a govan woman - and attempted to free her from her condition by eloping with her. The two were discovered and brought back before the slaves master, who's anger was palpable in the air, and who seemed to feel that punishing the nobleman was just as important as punishing the slave. He handed the nobleman a whip and ordered him to beat the slave. When the nobleman refused, the master pulled an axe from a nearby guards belt and said simply, that if the nobleman refused to hit the slave with the whip, he would do so with the axe. With tears streaming down his cheeks, I witnessed the nobleman scar the woman over and over, until torn flesh and blood-stained tatters of her clothing were all that remained of the once lovely appearance she’d had. The nobleman's arm became weak with exhaustion as he looked to the master, praying each strike would be the last, and when finally the words “enough” were muttered by the master, the nobleman sank to his knees, dropping the bloody bullwhip to the ground at his feet, and watched as they carried the unconscious woman away. She was sold the next morning, sent away from the place with her mother on an Ajit caravan, perhaps as some sort of final punishment to the nobleman for his transgression - that he would not get the chance to even apologize to the girl for what he did. Though I never was able to find out what happened to the mother, I do know the girl survived and later found her to be a formidable fighter within the Gladitorial Arena’s of the Imperial Nation. Sadly, I was not able to visit her to get her story for, once I had learned who she was, she was already gone, having suffered a terrible wound in one of her battles. I am not certain if she did, or did not, survive beyond that.
Finally, within the Omicron Nation, there is the matter of the Elves. Like the Imperials, the Omicron decided to attack the Elves for their supplies and resources prior to the start of the Great War. They did so, however, in response to the Imperial making aggressive maneuvers against the Northern nation, having already conquered the Eastern Nation in their campaigns. Because of the Omicrons decision to attack and enslave the Western Nations elves, the Northern nation was unable to acquire the reinforcements they desperately needed, and as such, were conquered by the Empire as well. In a sense, this decision by the Omicron was perhaps, a strike against them in the war with the Empire.
Elven Slaves, males especially, are kept under close guard. They’re frequently left in mining, deforestation, or similar camps, and are mistreated along with the other slaves in the Omicron Nation. Female Elves that are brought into the fold of slavery are used to populate harem tents and whore houses throughout the Omicron nation, and those of the select stock that are particularly beautiful in their appearance, are taken as slaves by the Omicron nobility to be visually appealing to guests and to be used for lustful needs when such a desire arises. Consequently to this, the Omicron Noble Houses sometimes have half-elven heirs within their homes, bastards that are recognized by the family because they are less elven in appearance than their mothers. The mothers of these children often find themselves restricted from even seeing their child, and are frequently sold shortly after its acceptance into a family to prevent them from becoming an influence on the newborn.
I must write in these passages that I am, in many ways, unappreciative of the manners held by the Omicron in these matters. Those that treat slaves with respect and kindness, who are not mentioned here because they are such a minority, are the ones that keep slaves, do not have escapee’s and do not see their slaves willing to kill guards to escape. The others, however, with all their statements about the equality and freedom of all men, seem to have little capacity to step back and observe their treatments for what they are. It is, perhaps, the only good fortune I can suggest to you, dear reader, that the number of slaves within the Omicron nation dwindles.
The Govan
Similar to the Ajit, the Govan People are nomadic in lifestyle, traveling from feeding ground to feeding ground with their herds of Govi - large, antlered creatures of majestic quality. The Govan used to occupy the plains of Mileria, the central area of what is now called the Burning Wastes. Due to the events that transpired in that location, a people once of two tribes: the Sampi of the North, who tended their herds in the northern territories and kept their sacred mating grounds safe, and the Govan of the south, split into four tribes instead, and scattered to the edges of the continent. While their general principles as a people remained the same, the need to scatter their tribes left them to develop over the last hundred years with differences in approach to the terrains they found themselves in. This also changed the overall view on slavery in the tribes: previously, as one larger tribe was almost always present in the plains, the need for slaves was lesser. They were infrequent and, often, well treated members of a lower caste in the tribe.
With the separation of their tribes and the development of new standards of living throughout Mileria, the Govan people have had to increase their needs for slaves and simultaneously decrease the quality of life for these additions to their numbers. That is not to say, by any means, that the quality of life for slaves in Govan tribes is poor, but rather that the quality is noticeably lesser than the treatment of individuals born into the tribe proper.
Male slaves of the Govan find themselves always in a position of manual labor. They are given tasks such as repairing pens for the Govi, cleaning up after the animals, and collecting supplies for the tribes needs from the forests and other lands around the camp. Male slaves are often educated in proper trapping techniques with simple snares and deadfall traps to catch small game, and are given a routine to follow in order to keep their traps primed, baited, and clean. Those slaves that take to such teachings well, and prove their worth to the tribe, are often given small knives with which they can kill and skin their game, as well as the ability to prepare more lethal traps involving spiked sticks or similar implements.
Those of the Male gender that do not show promise in these types of tasks are left to duties involving rigorous maintenance and cleaning of the Govi’s habitat, from mucking their pens to rebuilding fences and even scouting or guard duty against possible poachers. Unarmed, it is in the best interest of these slaves to alert the tribe of any potential threats before they become real, so that the slave themselves, can survive. Those that fail to protect the herd, to give proper warning, and in consequence lose an animal of the herd, are often killed. Such mistakes are rare, but when they happen, the Govan are fair and just in their punishment: the Govi are their livelihood, and the loss of one of those animals means a great deal to their people. That said, they do not debilitate their slaves. In my time wandering their camps, never once did I see a slave missing a hand, or a leg, or an eye, which shows that their form of punishment is meant to teach a lesson that can be learned from, not provide a permanent scar that will never be healed. Even incidents such as theft by a slave is not met with a punishment of this sort, but instead with a similar punishment to the one the slave believed necessary to provide against the one they were stealing from. A slave may be bound and forced to watch another slave eat twice as much food, or have their clothing taken away because they felt it was alright to steal a trinket. Unlike in other societies, these are the same punishments that would be carried out against any member of the tribe, further illustrating their justice being a matter of equality. Slaves that are caught armed without being provided a weapon by a member of the tribe are killed, perhaps the harshest punishment a slave can be given for a lesser crime, but such risks are not worth the taking in a Govan tribe.
Female slaves in the Govan tribes are often used as caregivers for children and elderly, aids in cooking, cleaning, breaking and setting up camps, and as gatherers for food and water that the land provides. Often, female slaves amidst the Govan are given heavy packs to carry around in their first few months of being with the Govan People, to help strengthen their arms and backs and prepare them for the movement of the camp from one location to the next. These packs will be filled with rocks, logs, or dirt, and be carried from dawn light until dusk settles, before the women are allowed to take them off. Female slaves often work right alongside the female members of the tribes, though female tribesmen are allowed to also hunt, tend the Govi, and take up arms in defense of the village if there is an attack. Female Slaves, on the other hand, are often the ones responsible for ferrying children into the tents, and will sometimes be given daggers to prevent the daughters from being taken, should slavers get to them (not, as some might suspect, by killing them - but by giving their life defending them, which would raise the slave to a highly honored status).
The Female slaves are sometimes allowed to join in the hunts and trapping for smaller game. It’s a rare occurrence but it is not unheard of that they be given bows and arrows - in a sense putting them above the male slaves. This is due, in great part, to the respect that the Govan tribes have for their women. Unlike with other races, Govan women are the ones that choose mates within their tribes, and as such, have a great deal of power within their tribes. While they are not often the leaders of their tribes, the men who are typically listen to the council of their wives and take great pride in raising fit daughters for continuing their peoples ways. As such, Female slaves who are capable and reliable are given a great deal better treatment than the male slaves are, and those who earn the trust of a woman in the tribes, often earn themselves freedom in time.
Perhaps a most distinguishing factor for the Govan people is that they, unlike others who preach such tenants, believe in freedom of all. This fact leads to the reality that most of the slaves within the Govan tribes are actually criminals, who have been caught poaching the Govi, stealing from the Govan, or performing similar acts that harm the tribe. The only crime that is met with death is the rape of a woman in the tribe, which leads to a hunting party being formed and seeking out the criminal, bringing them in alive to be tried and, if convicted (which is almost assured), they are bound and left helpless so that the woman they raped may kill them. It is not uncommon, however, for the woman in this situation to demand justice in combat, and the criminal to be offered a weapon and a chance to defend themselves against their attacker, though whether these combats are rigged or the women of their tribes are simply that strong, their death is almost always assured, regardless. This proves the woman still strong and fit, capable of bearing her tribes honor, though it is an unnecessary practice and I have yet to observe any instance in which the women who suffer these heinous crimes are treated any less, regardless what form of punishment they elect to use on their prisoners.
That matter aside, as I was eluding to, the Govan are a free people and as such, believe no man or woman should be a slave. Because of this, they do not seek out slaves nor trade for them for any reason, and they never trade their slaves away to others. Those who are slaves under the tribes, in fact, are criminals who have been captured by the tribe and are serving a punishment to show them what sort of hardships they have created for the Govan people through their acts of injustice. Such a lifestyle and a decision of morals has often seen slaves, who have served their time amidst the tribe, staying on with them despite being free now to return to their old lives, and becoming members of the tribes through marriage or simply respectfully staying on and performing duties to help the tribe and continue the lifestyle they had grown accustomed to.
Tel Vinrae and the Eladrin
And so at last, we find ourselves in the City of Freedom that rests upon the southern edge of Mileria - Tel Vinrae. We will begin with the city and work our way to its founders, the Eladrin, who up until the Battle of the Scarlet Fields, had been a reclusive and quiet society of people. Tel Vinrae is well accustomed to the slavery of all lands since it is, by and large, a city of all now. While still heavily influenced and properly owned by the Eladrin people, many refugees and settlers as well as men of both sides of the Great War, have come to Tel Vinrae to seek its peaceful walls.
Within the city, the ownership of slaves is fully permitted and the treatment of slaves is left to their masters to determine. If a slave is given a punishment, they are given such at the expense of their master and it is considered severely impolite to do so in front of others who may not share your views. While punishing slaves is not illegal to do in public, it is simply not done to avoid the trouble it may cause. This does not, however, indicate that slaves are more free to act however they will within the city - as their masters are not soon to forget transgressions they may commit and will surely punish them when they return to a private situation.
While ownership of slaves is not Illegal within the city, the sale of slaves is. As such, slave trading and sale is done outside the cities limits, and well beyond its walls, so as to avoid the possibility of Illegal trade accusations or counter-action against slavers and their buyers by slave sympathizers. Even the advertisement of slaving within the city is illegal and can result in hefty fine and even banishment from the city to the Understone below - a death sentence by the cities officials. Despite the harsh punishments, there are rumors that slaves can still be purchased within the city, through nefarious dealings.
The reason for this strange discontinuity in the laws of Tel Vinrae regarding Slavery is the Eladrin. They are, in fact, owners of indentured servants themselves, in the Drow people. These people have served the Eladrin for hundreds of years, since the Eladrin built Tel Vinrae above the Drow city below and finished the war of the Elves, Dwarves, and Drow on behalf of all the races. The Drow are the only people that the Eladrin take as servants, and only the Eladrin are allowed in Tel Vinrae to own Drow as Servants, meaning that anyone caught dealing in the slavery of Drow, whether as owner or as slaver, will be punished severely, with banishment from the city, and their Drow either freed, or brought under the protection of the Eladrin to serve proper masters once again.
This is a key distinction between the Drow servants of the Eladrin and the servants and slaves that other races take on. Drow are very much a free people, allowed to move about the city on behalf of their masters and often treated with a great deal of respect and politeness. The Drow Slaves are protected by the same laws that protect the Eladrin themselves, and to act in any way against a Drow is, in fact, no different than acting against their masters. The Drow are given collars, enchanted by ancient magic to prevent them from needing to eat or sleep, meaning they will never starve nor be caught off guard unless they have their collars removed. Such a practice (the removal of collars) is very rare, but is always done to help the Drow rather than hurt them, allowing them the taste of food and the comfort of a soft bed. The Eladrin do not allow mistreatment of their Servants, and if such is discovered, it can result in removal of the privilege to keep such servants by the Eladrin.
It is generally believed that the Drow are content with their way of life - indeed, there have been very few incidents of any Drow trying to escape their masters and, the few that have, are generally not heard from again (not, that this is to indicate a threat, but rather that they leave the confines of the city and disappear into the world outside of Tel Vinrae). However, the treatment of the Drow is such that these few incidents are not generally frowned upon. Drow are commonly seen near their Eladrin masters, frequent the palace, and are free in most cases to find and engage in partnerships between their people. Of all the enslaved races of all the people in Mileria, the Drow are by far the most proper treated, and the Eladrin above all others, the fairest of masters.
The Chen Kai
Across the Coral Bay, South of Mileria, is the land of Huang Cao where the Chen Kai live. This place is a wondrous island of culture and wisdom, where the people strive to live simple lives and dedicate themselves to their causes wholly and completely, whether they are parents, or peasants, soldiers or songwriters. Truly, their culture is an exotic taste of what a society can do for itself, even with the infighting and small feuds that break out. In fact, they are the closest society to the Eladrin, which is why prior to the Trade Concordia, the Chen-Kai were one of the only trading partners with Tel Vinrae, and remain one of the most prominent trading partners within the city.
Because of their outlook on life and their consistent pursuit of their goals, slavery in their culture is uncommon, with the majority of such trades being done in back room bargains for the servitude or marriage of a daughter in exchange for forgiveness of debt or similar arrangements. In fact, male slavery is nearly non-existant, with the few men that are indentured into servitude being soldiers or master smiths, choosing their existence for themselves rather than having it forced upon them, due to the need to feed their family or pursue their art. Females are not as able to choose their path in life, and as such are frequently the terms of deals between fathers and masters, or brothers in the event a father being passed on or gone, or even husbands in the event the woman is married.
Women in Chen Kai culture are typically viewed more as property than as actual people, which contributes to this. That said, the treatment of such women is no less in quality than the treatment of any woman, save that their ownership is written on paper more openly than that of a normal daughter or wife. They are given enough education to perform whatever arts they are expected to, and are provided for with food and clothing and a roof over their heads in exchange for their work. Punishments are typically things that involve forced labor (grinding grains, picking of crops, or other work) or, in serious cases, lengthy isolation in a room. These are not the harshest of punishments I have ever witnessed, but isolation in a room can be torturous when done for years at a time, which is not uncommon. A more severe, but much lesser used punishment, is forced servitude within houses of pleasure, where the woman would be subjected to whatever the coin paid for her could buy. Perhaps the harshest and most rare punishment, which has been considered so cruel and senselessly abused as to be banned in many parts of the land, including most rural outlying villages, was the Parade of Disgrace, in which the women were forced to walk a distinctively busy path through the city, without clothing of any sort.
However, one can see that these enlightened (and culturally dictated) practices of punishment are little in comparison to others discussed in previous chapters. The women of the Chen Kai, while looked at as property in most any case, are also considered symbols of status, and a good wife is considered a valuable thing to have - something most are not willing to give up. In a sense, women are slaves of a sort throughout the Chen Kai culture, though most women would not agree with that sentiment and are quite comfortable with the lifestyle and culture that they experience. Those that are written into servitude are typically happy with the results, and those that are not rarely show it in order to keep themselves from finding punishment at the hands of their Husbands, Fathers, or Masters.
The only other considerable form of slavery in the Chen Kai culture is in their prison camps - criminals are often forced into labor doing mining and other strenuous works. Prisoners in these situations are almost entirely male, though an extremely rare occurrence (less than 1%) may in fact, be females in this situation due to being orphaned before turning to a life of crime. Prisoners in this situation are frequently mistreated, though never with beatings, but rather malnourishment, double shifts, and removal of privileges such as a blanket to stay warm, or even a mattress to lay upon. Despite this, the death toll of prisoners in labor camps is maintained fairly low, as even they receive reasonable care and consideration for their needs, and many find toiling in the prison camps to be a better fate than death, so keep themselves on the good side of their wardens.
The Other Races of Mileria
While none of the other races in Mileria are large enough or quantifiable enough to reserve their own chapter, each deserves a mention. It’s hard to imagine the wandering Halfling traders having slaves, or Gnomish burrows bearing extra chambers to accomodate slaves. In fact, such things are more than rare, but there are stories of Halflings that have conned mercenaries into working for them for a pittance - or gnomes that have taken in strays in exchange for their help in preparing new homes for new families or helping with harvests. To find such an account that is factual is difficult indeed, and it is my suspicion that these are less matters of slavery and more matters of voluntary or paid servitude.
Still, one cannot deny the possibilities of such things existing: the gnomes are a reclusive race, keeping to themselves within the burrows of their homes, enjoying the peace and quiet that being buried under the ground offers them. I was surprised to find that I had passed over Gnome villages in my travels throughout Mileria without even knowing they were there. In fact, there was a rather unfortunate incident in which we camped upon a Gnomes house, setting a small fire upon their rooftop. The morning after was quite the scene - but it did give me a chance to discuss Slavery with the Gnome. It seems that Gnomes are not against keeping slaves - typically people indentured to them due to destroying a home or similar acts. Such agreements are short lived and the Gnomes prefer trickery and magical punishments (such as turning someone hair a different color, or similar effects) to harsher punishments of the other tribes. These engagements usually only last long enough for the person indebted to the gnomes to repair whatever damage they have done, or build a new home inside a hill for the one they destroyed, before being released with a handshake and a good word exchange. Those that refuse to pay are typically harassed until they get “off the gnomes land”, which, is to say, far enough away from the gnome that the gnome no longer wishes to follow and harass them.
The Elves of Mileria, for being a mostly enslaved race, are (or perhaps, the better term is were) not against slavery themselves - in fact, they practiced it many centuries ago with the Drow, where they would break Drow slaves during their war with their underground foes, by simply leaving them out in the sun for lengthy periods of time. Such punishments were not unusual, nor were beatings, or brain bleeds: the act of stringing the slave upside down from a high tree and making them stay in that position for extended periods of time. Even today, the Southern Nation is suspected to have slaves: scouts and warriors from Omicron and Imperial alike, as well as perhaps several others, who have infiltrated their forest for nefarious reasons, and been detained. With no love for mankind and what they have done to the other nations of Elves, it is only imaginable what sort of atrocities may be committed upon such slaves in the Southern Nation, but the Elves are neither quick to allow access to their lands, nor to divulge facts about their interactions with their slaves to others.
Orcs are another group within Mileria that are in a minority, yet possess no love for slaves. It is not uncommon that a half-orc child found within Mileria is the product of slave and orc master, and such creatures are as much an outsider within the Orc tribes as they are within the city walls. Orcs are brutal, savage creatures and while the rare shaman or leader of the orcs will be both intelligent and charismatic enough to engage in conversation of a civil discord, their treatment of slaves is based primarily upon rumor and speculation. Males capture by the orcs, if not killed outright, are forced into labor until death, with a life expectancy of a very short period of time. Beatings are regular, brutal, and often deadly - done with either the right materials to destroy a beings will, or to ensure that they will not survive long enough to need their will broken further. Female slaves are used for labor, child care, and above most other things, pleasure - leading to a rather violent and painful death or a painful, and often fatal childbirth. The rare escapee from Orc camps and strongholds gives little light to the details of their treatment, save that the former slaves are not quick to enlighten others on how they were treated. Half-orc children are commonplace in orphanages where they are deposited after being found abandoned in the wilds or other places, and while strong and hearty, often are determined to be more a nuisance than a worthwhile endeavor to tutor and nurture. This is not to say that it is impossible, in some way, for a Half-orc child to be found that is educated, or that they can not grow to be positively contributing members of the society they are in. It is, instead, a testament to the rarity of such things, and the value of these beings to those who would call them friends. Indeed, in my time as an Einn of the Charred Sigils, I have come across many Half-Orc members of the mercenary company, and I am often pleasantly surprised at their sophistication and intelligence, despite the brutish nature of their parentage and the often displeasing stories of childhood they bring to bear.
Other races of even less civilized demeanor are also believed to be holders of slaves, such as Kobolds, Goblins, Gnolls, and other beings. However, the treatment of slaves in these circles is one that, like with Orcs, is mostly speculated. The Kobolds are believed to be a decent sort to their slaves, maintaining them with imperial-like standards, since it is likely a mark of status to have a slave twice the size of you that does your bidding. As to Goblins, Gnolls and other races, that it is extremely rare to find a survivor that was a slave of these factions is testament to the expectancy that either they do not keep slaves at all, or that the slaves they do keep do not often survive their existence. For many of these groups, the fact is that they are not the sort I would soon visit in order to determine the validity of these words.
There is one other group that deserves mention in these pages: the Son Eaters. Mercenaries from the Omicron nation, the Son Eaters draw many of their number from a brutal and violent enslavement and upbringing of young, whom they either purchase or “obtain” from orphanages, slave traders, and other groups. I can say undoubtably, from interactions between the Son Eaters and the Charred Sigils, that their methods of induction are torturous, debasing, inhumane and foul. That the Omicron give Son Eaters acceptance for operating within their lands is a sad and disgusting affair, but their methods and tactics permit their members to be uncaring, savage and brutal in their execution of duties. While their numbers hover around a consistent value, the likelihood that they could, and would, get a surge of forced recruitment in the event of a large enough need is high, as they would not be above stealing children from their homes at the cost of the parents lives, strapping on some armor and weapons and sending them into a fight with no training at all, if they needed to - just to buy a few hours at best to prepare their real numbers for battle.
So there, dear reader, is the finalized report on slavery throughout Mileria and beyond. It is hoped that you will see this as an enlightenment to the values of other cultures and an examination of their underlying mentality towards others. I would like to point out that not all members of every race share the same values. There are always going to be some, often a minority, that seek liberation of slaves, or abhor their treatment by their fellows, or even have different treatment and expectations than others - sometimes for the worse, and sometimes for the better. However, this general overview offers a chance to understand the base, social normalities in such interactions, so that you can better prepare yourself for conversations or interactions with people from other cultures, when such interactions or conversations regard matters of slavery and servitude.