Arcana: Among the Spheres

Court

A Sphere for Everway

by John "Seanchaí" Grose

An ashen sky... a city without end... one hundred and one scheming princes....

Court is a sphere engulfed in an endless cityscape. Nearly every foot of the land has some type of construction on it, from towering cathedrals to mud-daubed hovels; from grand cobblestone avenues to garbage-choked alleys. No one architectural style is observed and no central agency is consulted during construction--Court is a cacophony of narrow streets, looming buildings, oddly placed stairs, doors that lead to nowhere, and blind alleys.

Above the city, the sky is always the color of lead. A weak sun travels across it daily, barely strong enough to warm the day. The windless weather never changes and smoke rises straight up from thousands of fires and chimneys like accusatory fingers.

Beneath the smoke and still, tepid air, echoing through empty alleys and cold halls are the treacherous whispers of the people of Court. Because of economic necessities, a political system that favors betrayal, and a culture that teaches easy deception, Court is a hotbed of crafty and deceitful activity. Schemes are the lifebood of the sphere.

Virtue: The Eagle (The Mind Prevails)--Knowledge is held in high regard by the people of Court, who believe knowing about a thing is the first step to controlling it.

Fault: Law--reversed (Treachery)--Personal advancement through betrayal, trickery, and deceit is also a common practice on Court (especially among the noble class).

Fate: Trickery (Deceit vs. Subterfuge Revealed)--The Fate of the sphere is the same ultimate Fate of its people: Will the ruse be seen through and crumble or will the deception continue for one more day?

Rule: Court is ruled by eleven kings and queens, who jostle for power and land. Each ruler controls a realm of between twenty and fifty square miles and all the people who live within that area. Boundaries between these fiefdoms are indistinct and disputed.

Rulers on Court maintain their power through trickery, guile, threats, promises, and military power. While kingship is technically hereditary, passed from ruler to eldest child, those born without the mental prowess necessary to keep the crown lose it (and their lives) soon after taking the throne.

Laws and policies change from fiefdom to fiefdom. Most are intentionally vague, making it easier for political enemies to be found guilty while those suddenly allying themselves with the current government often find a loophole miraculously appears. Attempted assassination of a king or queen is almost always a capital crime while successful assassination is rarely punished, at least publicly.

Religion and Magic: The gods of Court are few and lethargic. Churches, temples, and cathedrals dot the cityscape, but function more as a political entities than as fonts of comfort and spiritual advice. Occasionally an inquisition, often politically motivated, will begin in one fiefdom and sweep through the others.

Magic in Court is accomplished through the use of charms, potions, salves, ointments, and the like. Charms, small bundles of materials bound together, or slips of parchment inscribed with arcane symbols are all permanent in nature but of lesser power. Potions, salves, and ointments, usually made of noxious substances, are more powerful but rarely have an effect which lasts longer than a day.

Charms and potions which cause the target to speak only the truth are popular, as are charms and potions which prevent that type of magic from functioning. The people of Court are also fond of enchantment which makes the target sleep, change appearance, or become invisible. Magics which kill are known but have ingredients which are difficult to procure and any wizards making such a charm or potion risks being killed by a mishap during creation.

At one point, Court wizards knew the secrets of creating gates, which are moderately common in the sphere. Gates between fiefdoms are not difficult to find but are usually controlled by noble families. Gates to other spheres are less common but an unusual number still exist on Court. These are almost always controlled by royalty (but exceptions do exist).

Most noble families employ a wizard while commoners visit mages rarely. Every royal family will most likely have a cadre of mages to protect them from nefarious plots, to aid them in their own nefarious plots, and to destroy their enemies with subtly administered potions and poisons.

People: The people of Court are stratified into three classes: commoner, noble, and royalty. The commoner class consists of merchants, traders, and those who exist to serve the nobles and royalty. The nobles are the scheming class. Noble families usually control large tracts of land and imports and exports through Court's gates. They are well-educated and, as such, are often dissatisfied with the status quo. To become royalty, one must either be born into the class or kill for entry. Royal families are usually large and their members rarely devoted to one another.

The center of the lives of the people of Court is often the royal court. This is especially true of the noble class, whose entire livelihood is dependant upon convincing the sitting king that they are loyal subjects while they plan unnecessarily bloody coups in dark corners and alleys. Commoners try to gain the favor of local nobles for necessities and safety while half-listening to the promises of the next fiefdom's ruler. The king or queen's favor--any king or queen's favor--can greatly ease the burden of the commoner's life, making schemes to gain such favor quite popular.

Physically, the people of Court run the gamut of hair color, eye color, skin color, and build.

Economy: Gates are the lifeblood of Court. With a paltry sun and lack of arable land, its population relies upon food brought from other spheres for sustenance. Grain, fruits and vegetables, and other perishables are popular imports. Leather and wool are important to the people of Court as well because sustaining domesticated animals is only a viable option for the rich. Exports include manufactured goods, metal ore and gemstones (from mines which exist beneath the streets of the city), books, inks, and mercenaries. Trade in charms and potions is also fairly common. Often times imported goods are embellished for resale.

Trade in Court begins with the king or queen's favor as he or she most likely controls a gate that connects to another sphere. A noble will, for a pledge of fealty and support, be allowed to transport men and goods through the portal, both to and from the foreign sphere. Once goods enter Court, the noble will sell them to commoner tradesmen and women. These traders use the inter-fiefdom gates (for a fee, of course) to transport and sell goods throughout the sphere.

The majority of a commoner's pay is spent on food. Clothing, paper, and other goods produced from animal husbandry also account for a large portion of their expenses. While nobles' taxation on gate transport ensures a healthy income, they too have expenses; they must maintain a high standard of living (i.e. hosting extravagant parties for the king or queen), pay for whatever public works the ruler deems necessary, supply and house the ruler's standing army, and so on.

Technology: The people of Court are fairly advanced technologically. They possess both the printing press and the mechanical clock. Their metal goods are finely made and sturdy. Engineering and architecture are eclectic artforms on Court, the mines beneath the city supplying the necessary raw materials.

Learning: Education is prized on Court--outsmarting one's enemies is of prime importance. Commoners are often apprenticed after being taught basic skills such as reading and writing. Noble children spend years being tutored before graduating to the great and deadly game that is life at court. Children of royal blood (or who become royalty) are schooled vigorously in all areas.

Domesticated Animals: Court has few domesticated animals as it is usually easier and cheaper to simply trade for their byproducts than to sustain them by bringing feed through a gate. Cows and chickens, usually owned by nobles and royalty, are conspicuous signs of the truly wealthy. Harming another's animals is a serious crime.

Connections: Court has an unusually high number of active gates to other spheres. Fifteen are known to exist, two of them having been buried to prevent their use. Gates that lead to spheres with developed agriculture are highly prized. Trade through the gates is an every day occurrence and spherewalkers never want--for money, wealth, property, or whatever else they might desire.

The merchants and nobles of Court play a delicate game in their negotiations with other spheres. Whether their perceptions are accurate or the result of culturally inspired paranoia, they fear that should the inhabitants of the other spheres learn Court has no agriculture of her own, they will be in a position to dictate unconscionably high prices and perhaps even strangle Court herself. Thus they perpetuate The Great Lie: Trading contacts on other spheres are told, are convinced through guile and tricks, that Court is a thriving sphere with a plentitude of arable land and a healthy economy. The life of a trader is a risky one because exposing truth--or even rumors or accusations of exposing the truth--results in swift death.

Two of Court's gates have been buried. The first leads to Everway. Because of The Great Lie, and because of the sophistication and resources of the people of Roundwander, it was thought too dangerous to have any contact with that realm. The second buried gate leads to a sphere of fire and strange men who invaded Court three times in her history. The problem was finally dealt with by removing the cause.

Court copyright © 1999 John "Seanchaí" Grose, used with permission.
Image of Court by Michael J. Coffey copyright © 1999 Gaslight Press. All rights reserved.