Rosework Bay

The South Steppe is a much more peaceable region and its people reflect this. The nomadic traditions curved towards diplomacy and grazing rights are decided through debate, not war. The simple villages formed along the south coast facilitate trade in the region although they rarely venture out themselves. The region is a rich source of dyes. Murex salt snails produce a brilliant royal purple, a type of cochineal is used to extract a deep red, and the flower fields hold endless colors. The people highly prize textiles and their people are always brightly dressed in dyed clothing. The southern nomads ceded a small region, Rosework Bay, to human refugees and aided them. The Qolin Covenant has greatly benefited both peoples and inter species cooperation

Rosework is a prosperous human city from which Rosework Bay gets its name. Founded by human colonists fleeing from the northern Steppe, it has served as a major port since its establishment. The city’s golden age was when Noria ruled from her throne in Rosework. A fierce advocate for her people’s rights she left a city and constitution stable enough to survive without her. The start of the First Intermediate period and end of The Age of the Gods is commonly cited as the day Noria left her people. However, some consider the passing of the first Auction Law the true start. Regardless, after Noria’s abandonment of the city, slavery slowly gained prominence. By the middle of the First Intermediate slavery had reached its zenith and corruption was widespread. De facto rule of Rosework was in the hands of the richest merchant families. They were aided by corrupt nomad lords who were content to receive kitchen slaves and bribes as compensation.

Qalinaa Pact

When colonists led by the god Noria reached the salt river of Qalinaa they were intercepted by southern nomads. The nomads had called a great meeting of tribes in face of the unprecedented flood of humans and had united in defense of their land. Human machines were destroyed, flora and fauna burned, and humans eaten. When Noria beseeched the nomad tribes to allow her people to pass they reached an agreement.

Named after the river they crossed, The Qalinaa Pact allowed humans to settle within the Shani Bay. The land given is leased in perpetuity but the nomads reserve the right to revoke it should they violate the Pact. Later named Rosework Bay, the clear white-blue water rests against white sand. The city was crudely built on rough hewn stone which can be seen in many foundations of old buildings. The Rosework Bay Area was confined to land along the coast so extensive canals were built idk Venice.

All alien things had to be destroyed before they could cross. The bonfires along the river burned for days as they gave up their old world. The sole thing allowed to pass were roses, as Noria begged them to let her keep one reminder of her home. The nomads themselves took a liking to it and rose cultivation is now not uncommon among them.

No human may freely cross the steppe without a nomad to accompany them. This law was in place until the passing of the Token Law in the Late First Intermediate. The token law allowed humans to travel freely with a “knuckle token.” It was repealed at the start of the Second Intermediate. It’s replacement, the Sponsorship law, proved to be more popular but the corruption associated with travel laws remained for some time.

Later Developments of the Pact

The borders of the bay began as porous but as humans began to build and spread firmer definitions were needed. The nomads considered land rights in terms much more abstract than humans and the leased land was given precisely because it held no value to them. The main natural resources, fish and pearls, were inedible and ugly to them respectively. Fish are technically edible to them but they hold cold foods in revulsion. To them coldness is equivalent to a corpse. Pearls are similar to bezoars found in the nomads beetles. Rather than a precious stone, they regard pearls as revolting garbage. The nomads' lands are shared by many tribes that vary on seasons, phases of the moon, migrations, and other things. To permanently settle a place is anathema to them, a selfish hegemony of resources. Humans were allowed to monopolize the resources of rosework because they were seen as useless to the non maritime nomads. But permanent settlement necessitated more defined borders that the Nomad legal traditions were unused to.

Vague definitions of borders created many issues during the age of the gods. Noria was always an apt diplomat during these crises and her intermediation prevented war or revocation of the lease many times. Over the centuries the nomads have met time and time again to further develop systems of control. These meetings were almost always precipitated by a crisis caused by a legal grey area. For example, the first meeting called after the city was founded was to clarify that things native to the planet but not native to the Steppe were banned as well. This simple law then spawned a myriad of other arguments about what was considered native to the Steppe. The age of the gods is when most legal concepts were developed. The periods after were mostly concerned with rights derived from these concepts.

Tribe assemblies were rare prior to colonization but became more frequent. By the end of the age of the gods, when Noria left for her mountain shrine, the Nomads had an annual meeting to handle cases and petitions. The legal framework built by Noria and shamans proved stable enough to survive her departure despite initial strained relations. In the First intermediate, Tribal Gatherings were limited to 16 days of deliberations yearly.

By the end of the first intermediate period Rosework was policed by a human and nomad force who enforced the Qalinaa Pact. By the end of the second intermediate period the land rights of tribes are fixed as well as the number of tribes. Migration still occurs albeit on a much simpler scale, more switching of places than anything else.

Nomad Culture

Prior to colonization the southern nomads were loosely aligned culturally. Before contact tribes migrated freely and frequently fought for resources. A great hero and leader united the southern nomads against an incursion of beasts from the sea. The hero gave their flesh to their followers at the holy forest of renewal. The code of renewal is the main cultural touchstone for the southern nomads and something that separates them from the warlike northern nomads. War was not banned by the code but it was heavily regulated. A gathering of tribal leaders could be invoked by any leader if they had good reason, avoiding war if possible. Even when wars did break out, their devastation was limited by religious rules. By the age of the gods the nomads had a deep legal culture with which to solve their disputes. When Noria met them at the Qalinaa river the pact was a natural outcome of their diplomatic culture.

The south Steppe developed a complex pattern of migration rights due to its sparse resources. No one place provided all the resources a tribal group needed. In addition to this, they relied on many fickle animals and plants. The Furill is slow to reproduce and unable to leave its birth region. The Hr-Kule beetle provides much meat and shell but requires near constant grazing of the steppe grass fields. The Kacha bird’s flight patterns are irregular. Because of this tribes had to travel to meet their needs. Land management became a major concern for all tribes as greedy tribes wiped out animal herds. Prior to the unifying hero, the steppe was thinly populated and fought fiercely for what little they had. When they began spreading their message of balance it was in reaction to centuries of brutal lawlessness.

The cycle of renewal helped gather tribes under a common cause and they began foraging with sustainability in mind. Complex treaties were drawn up between tribes regarding collective responsibility of land, migration rights, and war regulations.

Their culture developed a diplomatic bent as they collectively held the little resources they had and regulated each other in their use. While the nomads were more peaceable than their northern cousins, by no means did they lose their martial traditions. Indeed, the greater populations allowed for larger and more complex wars. In sharp contrast to their cousins they developed a great sense of honor and propriety, leading some outsiders to dub their Hr-Kule mounted warriors “beetle knights.” Although, of course, the nomads have no chivalric orders so such an appellation is nonsense to them.

The nomads also split their tribal populations between “hot” warriors and “cold” shamans. The difference to outsiders is not apparent as the nomads are hermaphroditic (look up better, cooler term) and any member can mate with any other member. Variations on temperature are common and the bending of roles in society is a popular trope. Young nomads develop into hot or cold and the longer you live the more extreme your temperature, within societal norms of course. Nomads who “change their mind” are ridiculed, especially older ones. Some young nomads strive for a more balanced life and many tribes uphold these members as special manifestations of energy. Not all however, and neutral nomads are frequently itinerant. The strictness of the roles has waned over time but a few tasks are still reserved to specific temperatures. Of course for every rule and tradition there are examples of brave nomads, some celebrated paradoxically as heros, who resisted their assigned role.

Cycle of Renewal

The cycle is a concept created by their unifying hero after they had meditated in a holy forest. The Forest of Renewal is now a holy site and the site of the Tribal Council. The cannibalistic nature of the nomad was elevated to a sacred idea that brings them in balance with nature. When something dies its spirit returns to the world and comes back in new forms. Consumption is seen in all things resulting in complex chains but they all fall back into the world. Even the act of one tribe absorbing another is symbolic of this. The lowliest worm and greatest warrior are all made of the same life force. And no matter how powerful the thing, it will always collapse back into the world. This idea facilitated a more equalist and diplomatic approach to others. It also greatly sped up the development of joint land management. The alien humans introduced the concept that other planes exist and have their own cycles. Humans are especially prized meals, since it is believed that they harbor heavenly energy that is otherwise unattainable. This concept has greatly waned over the centuries, seeing its peak during the slave trade of the first intermediate, but is the root of nomads especially desiring the flesh of humans. By the modern era the Cycle is strictly defined by shamans and upheld by Qalinaa Pact Police.

Steppe Slave Trade

Prior to colonization slavery was unheard of. War captives were simply eaten outright and this was expected by all nomads, southern and northern. This trend continued unabated until the end of the age of the gods. Noria had always been a fierce defender of her people and personally interceded on the behalf of any human captured by nomads. Of course not every human was innocent and some were executed by feast for their crimes. The rarity heightened the desirability of human meat and at the start of the first intermediate period it reached its zenith. An innocuous edict passed by the shamans (voted for by the human representative!*) allowed ownership of humans if convicted of a capital crime. Human merchants from rosework and powerful nomads competed to purchase humans in criminal auctions. The yearly number of humans who violate the pact at the time of passing was less than a dozen. After the laws passing that number gradually increased, reaching over 500 human slaves bought or eaten annually by FI 26.The first intermediate period saw the greatest extent of the slave trade and a collection of laws that came to be called the Auction Laws. Within the century slavery was the main source of labor for the city of Rosework. Rosework was nicknamed “The Forsaken City” by slaves and outsiders because it was commonly believed that Noria had abandoned her people to slavery.

The Auction Laws

The laws were passed in the first few decades of slavery being legalized and codified slave ownership. The initial law allowed for slavery only in cases of a capital crimes which were, at the time, exclusively violations of the Qalinaa Pact. This limited the number of slaves on the market to a handful a year. These slaves were usually smugglers or violators of building permits, a criminal class that garnered little sympathy. Merchants and some hungry nomads were responsible for greater restrictions that increased the scope of criminals. Soon, the importation of slaves was legal. The Qalinaa Pact banned foreign goods with the obvious exception of humans which quickly became a justification for legal slave imports. By the mid first intermediate period slavery was extremely common in Rosework. In the final decades of the first period many horrid practices were legal and common. Since humans were classified as livestock there were few laws regulating treatment of slaves, even ones not consigned to a nomad’s stomach. Predatory loans were common and banks were often owned by slavers. Debtors were routinely sold to forgive their debts and the appraiser could be bribed with a cut of the profit if they undervalued the slave. This frequently meant a small loan could expand into a massive debt that would engulf families as the debtor’s body couldn’t hope to pay the full debt. Voluntary selling yourself or children was also common.

Center of Trade

The auctioning of slaves was restricted to Rosework’s market plaza which soon became solely the slave plaza. The single space for auctioning was meant to reduce the commonality of slave trade but instead concentrated the slave trade into a few wealthy families. It also put pressure on travel restrictions as merchants desired to import slave overland from the Silverblood Empire and later the Golden Sun Empire. The Token Law was one of the results of this. The domination of trade also greatly increased corruption which had a snowball effect. By the end of the first intermediate period laws concerning slaves were passed in under a week in some cases. The rampant corruption was a major contributing factor to the Slave Rebellion that heralded the end of the First Intermediate.

Token Law

During the late first intermediate period a controversial law was passed that allowed for human travel across the steppe provided they had a “knuckle token” from a nomad. It was barely passed and many suspected bribery on the part of the merchants. Free travel had long been a privilege desired by merchants. While the original law had many specifications it was found that they were frequently ignored. Travelers were supposed to be restricted to set paths during certain seasons, banned from hunting or grazing, subject to tribal tariffs, and to have their cargo inspected. These rules required a bureaucratic class that the nomads lacked, usually leaving the enforcement to the local tribe. Merchants traveling on the Steppe always brought lavish gifts to bribe leaders. The increase of overland travel rose with the slave trade and was a feature of the first intermediate period. In practice only merchants were able to safely cross, as lone humans were easy targets for enslavement. While the Token Law had been trumpeted as an increase in human freedom and rights, its effects were only felt by the already well to do merchant class. The start of the second intermediate period was when the Auction and Token laws were re-examined. The Token law itself was repealed in its entirety. Others regard the end of the first intermediate as the first night of the Slave Rebellion while some put the date as late as Emancipation Day. However all agree that the Token Law was an archaic legality of the First Intermediate, later replaced by the Sponsor Law in the Second Intermediate.

First Intermediate

The first decades of the period were as peaceful as it was when Noria had left it. However the first of the Auction Laws was innocuously passed fifteen years into the period. This law was first of many with the final law being passed in FI 93. This period was marked by dramatic restrictions on humans and nomads alike. The slave masters in Rosework toiled endlessly to protect their rights and secure more, all while amassing fortunes from human misery. The nomad shamans, once detached from desires of the world, were now busy with concentrating their power. The sacred and fixed number of tribes were now regarded as titles to horde with some lords having legal control over half the tribes. Shamans were once appointed by their predecessor with advice from tribal Tanists. The title of Tanist was abolished and shamans began appointing their successor with no input from their people. By FI 70 it was not uncommon for shamans to appoint their children.

The nomads legal system saw extensive development in this period. However much of this was codifying greater control over tribal members and travel.

The northern border of the Qalinna River saw the construction of a series of guard towers. Funded by merchants worried about escaped slaves and smugglers, the River Teeth, as the towers came to be called, were an oppressive symbol of the era. They also greatly damaged relations with the northern nomads who abhorred the structures and believed that the southerners had lost the claim to being nomads.

This period also saw great increase in exchanges as the slave trade opened up routes to The Children of Morgan, The Silverblood Empire, northern trade cities, etc. The northern trade cities first made contact with Rosework in AotG but trade was limited until after FI 34. With the Token Law the Silverblood empire began trading with Rosework at the end of the First Intermediate. The Children of Morgan were slow to open their ports to the slave trade but limited trade was implemented through the small island of Godspit in FI 56. By FI 98 trade had expanded to several other quarantined islands and tariffs had been lowered to facilitate trade.

Some of the knowledge lost to Qalinaa Pact was returned to the city albeit in a form acceptable to the nomads. While the AotG saw many megalithic structures built, the FI is when most of the old city was built. The most imposing and elaborately decorated features and public works date from this era. The fields of roses outside the city were built over or enclosed for the private enjoyment of nobles. Massive soaring towers with penthouses built in the shape of budding roses dominate the skyline of the bay. The streets of the city were laid with smooth clean sea stone, washed daily by slave labor. The beautiful architecture hid the vile misery that built and paid for the grand city.

Second Intermediate

This time also saw several slave riots, usually instigated by newly imported slaves. Resentment towards the outsiders was used by the nobles to successfully diffuse a greater slave revolt breaking out. This tactic worked for a time but the slaves proved to be less controllable than previously thought. Tensions never truly disappeared and they reached a head in SI 98. The Slave Rebellion began when a group of young nobles were “exploring” a slave’s slum. After an altercation that is still unclear one or more of the nobles were dead. Slave Guards sent in were met by fierce resistance and the choice of shock tactics worsened the situation. The first major slave rebellion is commonly used to mark the end of the Second Intermediate.

Third Intermediate

After the devastating Slave Rebellion many reforms were put into place. The Standel Edicts were written without input from any slave leaders and were mostly intended to pacify them. The Edict was double edged, providing regulations to protect slaves while also subtly adding controls to prevent more unrest. Many regulations demanded by slaves were put into place. Many of these were commonplace in other parts of the world but “magnanimously” offered by Rosework nobles. Slave courts were built to help process claims of criminality by masters.

Architecture

Age of the Gods

When Rosework was first settled it was a mere refugee camp with no permanent structures. The naked and hungry humans built crude homes out of salt tree wood, buried in the dirt of the hills. Many people died in the first years of exposure or starvation. Noria, dreaming of a safe home for her people, directed them to mine stone and erect massive dolmens. This age was marked by megalithic structures made of rough white stone. Many of these structures were lost in various ways over the ages and by the Modern Age the only surviving stones are in the foundation of more modern buildings (Fig. 1, 2) and in the Hollow Church (Fig. 3). A common motif in art is the crude clump of white buildings along the bay’s clear blue waters, a romanticized idea of the first colonists.

Figure 1. Beggar Run is almost entirely made of ramshackle buildings built during the Third Intermediate but hidden beneath street level are many ancient stones. Notably one of the free bakeries has a white foundation visible from street level.

Figure 2. While most of the Foreign Quarter was burned down during the Slave Rebellions, a few buildings retain their ivory floors.

Figure 3. The Hollow Church once held Noria and her handmaidens but has stood empty since her departure. It’s irregular shape is dwarfed by more modern, smooth structures but it’s humble dome is a beloved symbol of the city. It has only been briefly occupied during riots. Aside from these times of crisis there is a constant Rose Knight guard keeping watch over the empty temple.

First Intermediate

This period saw the rapid rise of the slave trade, the concentration of wealth, and international trade. Following Noria’s departure and the legalization of slavery the City of Rosework grew rapidly. The basis of much of the old city seen in the modern era was built during this time. Rich slave owners built palatial estates in the outskirts of the city, enclosing many of the public rosefields. As the slave population increased in proportion to the free citizens much construction was done to delineate the city. This is perfectly exemplified by Cargo Harbor, Chained Harbor, and Rose Harbor. The entire waterfront of the city was once open to all. Cargo and Chained received merchants and slavers respectively. Rose Harbor was reserved for free citizens and in practice only wealthy citizens. Many ramshackle slums and slave quarters were constructed in hidden parts of the city, away from the eyes of the ruling class.

Second Intermediate

The Token Law was a natural outcome of the wealth and corruption brought by unregulated slavery. Once it opened trade with the Silverbloods and new routes with the northern trade cities it flooded the city with gold and slaves. The rapid accumulation in wealth and surplus of slave labor enabled the upper class to build elaborate and intricately decorated estates. Rosegardens, the name given to the ring of estates and private gardens that form the outskirts of the city, was massively improved. Soaring towers of polished white stone, capped with imported light pink stone, gilded with gold. Sweeping fields of bright red roses, walled off with ivory walls and trimmed hedges. Obsidian statues with jeweled eyes watched over marble fountains gushing wine. Rich families relaxed in shaded pavilions dyed in dazzling colors while slaves attended them.

Misc.

Salt Tree: A common ‘tree’ on the southern steppe coast is a tall growing plant that lives off of sea water. The sturdy black trunk of the plant is used by humans in ways analogous to wood. The fruit of the tree is inedible due to its high salt content. The tree spreads by its fruit falling into the ocean and reaching other shores. The fruit ‘sweats’ salt that can be scraped off and used. Food preservation is very common in Rosework and salt is a major export.

Furill: The furill is a small creature native to the steppe. The furill is gelatinous and covered with fine fur. The furry blob has no brain and eats by moving its whole body over patches of grass. The fur is commonly collected by humans and their gelatinous flesh used for many dishes. They are far less popular among the nomads as their meat is an acquired taste among them.

Redskin Fish: An alien fish that quickly outcompeted native sea creatures. Very common in the bay.

Hr-Kule Beetle: Well not a beetle

* Rosework was given two representatives. An elected human from Rosework and Noria. Noria’s carved rose throne has remained empty since she abandoned her city. A wreath of roses is laid on the seat during every session to signal that she is merely absent. Rosework holds one vote in the council and Noria’s vote is always listed as absent.

-Age of the Gods: Contact to Noria's Abandonment. Roughly 200 years.

- First Intermediate: Abandonment to Token Law. Roughly 150 years

-Second Intermediate: Token Law to Slave Rebellion and Emancipation Day. Roughly 100 years

-Third Intermediate: Slave Rebellion to Abolishment. Roughly 200 years

-Modern Period: Abolishment to ???