Hellianoptis
Location and Description
The city of Hellianoptis is located on the southwestern coast of the island of Ilkara and has a population of 8,000 people. The city is a major sea port and has a harbor capable of handling several dozen trade ships at a time. Hellianoptis is often called the "city of bronze" because of a pigment mixed with plaster used to cover nearly all of the houses and buildings in the city gives them a bronze color. The city has a thriving trade and industrial base and visitors of all lands are welcome. Taverns and Inns are located between the harbor and the local bazaar.
Political System
Officially the Imesere or Divine King of Hellianoptis has absolute power over every being in the city. In practice though the Imesere promotes a form of devolved power in the form of the Libalensis. The Libalensis is a city council made up of members of the merchant / artisan caste and is a government by consent. The elders on the Libalensis take care of the majority of the day to day running of the city. This has had two major impacts, first it has allowed the King to live a life of leisurely and scholarly pursuits and it has created a merchant friendly city that promotes economic, scholastic, and artistic growth.
Social Structure
The caste structure of Helliantoptis consists of the Imesere at the top, followed by the Politri (Nobility), the Citizen class and then the peasant class. The Politri consists of all citizens of the city who can trace their ancestory to the Imesere. Given this social networking advantage it is not unsurprising that the majority of the nobility are extremely wealthy and live a life of leisurely pursuits much the same as the Diving King himself. The wealth of this caste has created a dilettante set of people who are fashion conscious, high-living people who must acquire and participate in the latest trends. The citizen class consists of merchants, traders and craftsmen how compose the majority of the working class people in the city. The peasant class consists of rural craftsman, farmers and herders. Priests and warriors are considered to be professions and are outside the normal caste system, but both are respected.
Religion
The dominant religious sect, the order of Urgal is inward looking and isolationist. The monks have little to do with the masses and only participate in public life during each monthly festival. The head of the order, the Sintar acts as an advisor to the King and the Council of Elders. The daily life of the monks is spent in prayer and meditation comtemplating the nature of the universe, man and man's place in the cosmic order of the universe.
Major Deity:
Urgal-
Minor Deities:
Uru - The God of Fire, Smithing, War and Vengence. Uru is responsible for the invention of weapons, smelting bronze and warfare. It is believed that Uru dwells within an active volcano located on the island. He is pictured as a broad muscular soot covered man, naked except for a loin cloth who stand at an anvil forging the weapons of war, with the flames of his volcano lair and forge surrounding him. Though Uruk is the most ancient God of the Ilkarians he is worshiped more out of fear than anything else. It was from Uru that Urgal the hero God of the Ilkarians stole the secrets of bronze and smelting. In order to honor and appease Uru's wrath, each year at the Festival of Uru, the people of Hellianoptis throw coins, scrap, and other offering of bronze into the Forge of Uru at the base of his shrine statue.
Halil - The Goddess of Water. Like Uru, Halil is one of the four elder Gods of the Ilkarians. Currently she is worshipped only by sailor and fishermen who pray for a safe return each time they put out to sea. Part of the low numbers of worshippers may be due to the fact that her shrine is located on small boulder about 1/4 mile from shore. It is customary for sailors leaving Hellianoptis to sail by the shrine and throw offering into the sea nearby while praying for a safe return.
Mursili - The God of the Wind, Storms and Lightning. Mursili is the third of the four elder Gods and is also considered the God of change and can be good or bad. He is prayed to when one desires change in ones life and good fortune. Sailor say special prayer to Mursili to give them good winds and to keep violent storms away.
Agora - The Goddess of the Earth
Arkadia - The Goddess of Agriculture.
Armana - The God of Writing, Language and Knowledge
The calander in use by the priests of Hellianoptis consists of 365 days divided into seven months. These months are divided into two seasons. Each month is divided into 52 days with the day of the dead existing on the winter soltice between the begining of the new year and the end of the old. The Hellianoptis week has 13 days. Each month is named for a diety and one day of that month a festival is held to honor that diety.
Military
Warriors in Hellianoptis society are not considered a class or part of any caste. They are considered to be outside of the normal caste rules though they are accorded great respect and given a wide berth by all because of their martial skills. They are a profession that anyone at any level of the society may join but in doing so they pledge their life to the military. There is only one way to leave the military and that is death in combat or beheading for deserters. Recruits may join at any age but usually do so at a young age, although older males may do so to avoid death sentences or other harsh punishments. Warrior live much of their lives secluded from the rest of society, spending their days training and building the skills of war.
Armor - Warriors are distinct from all other castes in Hellianoptis society and are easily recognized by their shaved heads and faces, even when they are not in uniform. The standard military uniform is composed of bronze greaves, gauntlets, helmet and girdle. Underneath the girdle the soldiers wear a red loincloth that hangs down to the knees. This uniform is common among most all of the Ilkarian city states only the color of the loincloth varies. The girdle protects the abdomen but leaves the shoulders and upper arms exposed in order to show the strength and scars of the warrior as a means of intimidation.
Weapons - include the thrusting spear, Javelin, bows, slings, square shields, daggers, straight sword, and the Urgash. An Urgash is a single-edged sword, with the point curving completely around to the back of the blade, making it impossible to use in a stabbing fashion.
Arms and Armor of an Ilkarian Warrior
Organization -
Trade
The city of Hellianoptis have a trade monopoly on Jingu, which is a locally made fish sauce that is widely traded and exported. The city also has a monopoly on a locally made Indigo dye, it is imported occasionally as a pure dye but more often as bolts of dyed cloth. Both the Jingu and dye processing is located on the eastern outskirts of the town due to the foul odors they both procuce during production. Other locally made products (common throughout the Island) include locally grown crops and spices. Honey is a commodity that abounds in Ilkara. Wine, vinegar, olive oil, pickled beets, roasted almonds, lavender oils and soaps, cloves, saffron and Indara (lemonade liquor) are some of the more valued local commodities. In addition to local goods, trade items from all reaches of the world can be found if one searches hard enough.
The market is open every day from mid-morning until mid-afternoon and there are often other events held in the market square after the market officially ends.
Hellianoptis has a standard set of weights and measures, their names and approximate equivalents are given below.
Education
Education is a highly prized asset among the citizen of Hellianoptis. Their is a library and university located within the city that receives boons and grants from wealthy merchants to help feed and clothes the scholars as well as pay for supplies. The library contains hundred to thousands of scrolls many written by local scholars on many subjects such as philosophy, astronomy, plants, animals. Perhaps the most interesting are the scrolls written by merchant ship captains detailing their explorations and dealings with foreign cultures. The library also contains much older clay tablets that are hundreds of years old from the early years of the city and library. The librarians are currently in the process of transcribing these old tablets, but much of the libraries works are still only available on these tablets.
As part of their repayment for their grants and boons the scholars of this university must teach the young children of the city how to read, write and do basic math. Sessions are held three times a week for several hours and children must attend between the ages of 7-12. After the age of 12 most children enter into apprenticeships and discontinue any further education. Only those children who show a talent for scholarship are taken on as students at the university and allowed to further their education. After eight to twelve years of education and the passing of exams a student is awarded the title of Elibnon or "Learned Scholar". After achieving this rank the scholar must leave the university unless he is granted a position teaching at the university. Those who leave often take jobs tutoring students abroad so that they may explore the world. The Elibnon often leave away from home for most of their lives and only return to visit the library and family or when they retire. Retiring Elibnon often donate all of their acquired texts and manuscripts to the university as repayment for their education.
Legal System
The Hellianoptis court is held once every Ilkarian week in a special building called the Vala that is located near the market. Disputes of all types are presented here. Both the accused and the defendant of each case has a chance to plead their case, as well as calling on witnesses. Court cases can sometimes take up most of the day and anything not heard before sunset is postponed until the next Vala court. After hearing all arguments, rulings and punishments are made by the Valan, which is a group of representatives selected each time court is held in the Vala. The Valen is made up of one of each of the following (all male), a farmer (or shepard), citizen (craftsman), soldier, priest, Noble man and a scholar. Each of them must be over the age of twenty. A scribe is on hand to record the preceding and all punishments are carried out and fines collected within the week. The scribe may also cast a vote in the case of a tie. In many mundane cases the Valen, ask the scribe what the precedence is and simply vote that way for punishments.
The selection of the Valan is supposed to be kept secret so that they cannot be bribed or influenced by the people have their cases tried that day. It has been possible from time to time to bribe the Vala scribe to get the names of the upcoming Valan.
All fisherman and sailors are exempt from serving on the Valan.
