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Caria

Paegilini System

Sector: Sparring Sea

Capital: Yaskarit

Species: Humans

Common Languages: Vulgar Morozi, High Morozi

Demonyms: Carian

Part of: Empire of Dominia

Formerly part of: Sol Alliance

In the far-flung Paegilini System lies a strange, tidally-locked world of the Empire of Dominia: the Imperial Viceroyalty of Caria'. Controlled by the Empire since 2424 and often referred to with the derisive nickname of the “Witch World,” it is a world shrouded in darkness and rumors. The planet serves as the Empire’s gate to the Eastern Military Frontier and its hand is soft here, allowing for the local oligarchy to thrive — though some conservatives have called for it to be reigned in. Its inhabitants are known as Carians and are often regarded with suspicion abroad due to their planet’s mysterious nature. They adhere to an acceptable deviation of Tribunalism known as Carian Tribunalism and are renowned for their abilities as seers and diviners within the broader umbrella of Moroz Holy Tribunalism.

Contents

History

Prehistory (Circa 2190 - 2375

“By the Aderlai’s mercy alone were we able to survive and endure,” - Excerpt from pre-Imperial Carian writing on the Prehistoric era.

The pre-Imperial history of Caria is poorly documented. Attempts by Imperial and – more recently – Solarian researchers to uncover its past have been frustrated by a lack of available records about the planet written before Elyra’s secession in 2302. It was most likely colonized at roughly the same time as Novi Jadran and Sun Reach, in the late 22nd century, and intended to be a habitation or scientific center in the Baltian and Arcadian Frontier Sectors due to its strange environment and ideal position between Sun Reach and inhabitable worlds further into the frontier. A Solarian Department of Colonization report from 2205 notes it as a research-focused colony and transit hub, but does not contain any further information. The lack of formal information from this era has led to Imperial scholars referring to it as “Prehistoric Caria” and have settled on referring to the planet as a Solarian scientific colony, based on what information is known about it from historical records and Carian genetic code showing signs of past genetic tampering associated with Hegemonic-era Solarian experiments to produce more adaptable colonists.

Carian academics have similarly fractured records which are often mixed with legends, half-truths, and oral histories. Officially they do not deviate from their Imperial counterparts in calling the planet a Solarian research colony. In their mythology Carians state they were brought to the planet by the Alliance, which abandoned them when its planetary rotation locked into place, and were saved by the geothermal vents modern Carian cities are now built around. According to modern dating by the Imperial Jadranic Academy of Sciences, Caria’s vents are thousands of years old and have been held by more conservative Tribunalist scholars as an example of the Goddess planning out the history of the Spur far in advance. Prior to the Imperial era, these mythologies substituted the Goddess for the Great Mother – or Aderlai – a local deity associated with Caria who possesses superficial resemblances to the Goddess.

The poor amount of information on prehistoric Caria has led to numerous theories about the Witch World’s true origins. Some in the Holy Tribunal claim the colonists, like Morozians, were brought to the world to serve a special purpose, as She has ordained, and their unique nature is a sign of Her blessing. Others claim malevolent witch-spirits moved the planet known for its connection to sorcery from the depths of the Lemurian Sea – or beyond the Spur – to the modern Empire through vile witchwork for purposes unknown – but undoubtedly nefarious. Yet others claim the Carians are the end result of Solarian hegemonic-era experiments with the nature of humanity, and go beyond the limits of conventional human beings. The inoperative and broken remnants of warp gates in its system attest to the possibility of form of Solarian warp drive experimentation during their era of control, but the secrets of Caria’s past may never be truly known.

The Pirate Lords

“The only loyalties they have is their own, and their coins,” - Ernst Zhang, High Captain of the Pirate Lords, on Carians, prior to his execution (2424).

Well-recorded and attested Carian history starts in 2375, with the planet’s subjugation by the Pirate Lords of Sun Reach. The Lords used the world, which had by then developed its own local oligarchical government, in much the same way the Empire would: as a transit world between Sun Reach and their domains beyond Caria. This, and the soft hand of the Lords, caused the planet to benefit more from their control than perhaps anywhere else due to trade profits. By the late 24th century, the families that ruled Caria on behalf of Sun Reach were wealthier, more influential, and more independent than their overlord would have liked them to be. Rumors in the Adirim, Caria’s government, began to circulate that the Pirate Lords were planning to punish their most successful underlings and take over their trade empire themselves.

But any censure of Caria’s oligarchical families would never come thanks to its growing conflict with Novi Jadran: an insignificant, frozen world home to a surprising amount of industry which had – out of frustration with constant raids on their world by Sun Reach – sworn loyalty to Moroz, a distant, nearly as frigid world of little importance to the Adirim or Carians more broadly. The Pirate Lords’ decisive and rapid defeat in Sun Reach in 2422 shocked the planet and threw it into a temporary panic as patrician families sold off what assets they could and prepared for an inevitable Dominian assault on their world. The local military – a shadow of what the Pirate Lords had, let alone the Empire’s military – rapidly dissolved in fear of what was to come.

When Imperial forces entered into the Paegilini system on 7 July, 2424, they were greeted by a planet on the verge of surrender. A look at the forces arrayed against Caria by the Empire led its leader, Grand Estate-Holder Bomilcar Magonbaal, to surrender immediately to the Imperial Fleet, which landed in the planetary capital and raised the Emperor’s standard in an official ceremony. The only shots fired in the Dominian invasion of the planet were in a ceremonial salute, and by a startled Dominian Imperial Fleet armsman at a migrating animal.

Imperial Era

“Never forget the mercy Emperor Godwin showed you,” - High Lord General Dorothea-Frieda Strelitz to Grand Estate-Holder Kusarit Maharbal, 2458.

As when it was controlled by the Pirate Lords, Caria and its government have thrived under Dominian rule. The mostly peaceful nature of its transfer to Morozian rule led to little damage to the Carians, with most disruptions coming from a shift between the native religion of the planet, known as Carianism to Dominians and the Hatim Aderlai-Zlim (lit. “Blood Path of the Great Mother”) to the pre-Imperial population, to Carian Tribunalism. Strategically, the planet’s role as a gate between Sun Reach and the broader region has not shifted, with House Caladius vessels replacing those of the Pirate Lords and colonial bureaucrats having replaced tribute collectors.

Beneficially, Caria never faced the infrastructure and urban decay of Sun Reach, nor the privations of Novi Jadran, enabling it to bargain from a stronger position when it submitted to the Empire. While they lost their native faith to Tribunalism, canny maneuvering – which some claim involved sorcery – saw the Adirim and the Grand Estate-Holder remain in charge under the nominal oversight of a colonial Governor-Viceroy. The massive investment projects which changed life patterns on Sun Reach and Novi Jadran did not occur on Caria, and the planet has retained a level of autonomy alongside its prosperity. This has led to its non-trade economy being less integrated with the Dominian colonial economy, aside from the entry of Dominian textile products into a market once dominated by more expensive local Carian output.

But despite its relative wealth from trade and freedom, not all is well upon the Witch World. Rumors of its sorcerous connections and the odd appearance of Carians cause them to often be discriminated against abroad in the Empire, with Imperial citizens blaming them for inexplicable phenomena when they are near and accusing them of trafficking with dark forces. In the Sparring Sea, where their trade networks are, tensions between the Republic of Elyra and Empire are higher than ever, and any war between the two will place them uncomfortably close to the frontlines and destroy many of their trade ventures. On Moroz, conservative nobles and clergy call for their autonomy to be restrained and their divination practices to be curtailed. And in Yaskarit, its capital, the Adirim is divided and volatile, with patrician families willing to use any dirty trick they can muster to win influence and power – even at the cost of the broader planet.

The Paegilini System

“These people cannot seriously believe their ‘goddess” resides in their moon, can they?” - Sub-Lieutenant Yumiko Matsushita (2398 - ), Imperial Fleet, 2425.

Named for its star – Paegilini – Caria’s system has no signs of habitation prior to humanity’s arrival, and is filled with the deactivated, disassembled, and destroyed remains of Solarian hegemonic-era warp gates known locally as the Tanit Gates, most of which orbit around Caria and its moon. The system is home to four major celestial bodies and one notable moon.

• Leptis: The innermost planet of the system. A hot, barren rock with little in the way of mineral resources or stellar artefacts, it has remained mostly untouched aside from the remains of hegemonic-era and – more recently – House Volvalaad scientific probes. It has no atmosphere and the constant bombardment of Paeglini’s rays make long-term habitation impractical.
• Caria: The crown jewel of the system and home to its population. It is a tidally-locked world lit by its moon, where the population lives on the side opposite of the sun.
• Lixus: The only moon of Caria, its surface is made of highly-reflective material which provides the dim light the planet’s Shrouded side is known for. Lixus was a sacred site in Carianism – the officially extinct pre-Imperial faith of the planet – and is considered to be a protected site by the Imperial colonial administration due its importance for continued life on Caria’s surface. All activities here not approved by both the governor-viceroy and grand estate-holder are banned, with the Imperial Fleet responsible for prosecuting those who violate this regulation.
• Tanit Gates: Mostly found in Caria’s orbit, these are manmade objects from the hegemonic era which resemble pre-24th century Solarian warp gates. Over the centuries most have fallen into disrepair due to damage from stellar objects or part-stripping by salvagers. However, a few gates have been preserved in Caria’s orbit and are being eagerly studied by House Volvalaad and scholars they have invited from the Solarian Alliance. No Tanit Gate has ever been recorded as active.
• Beyond Caria and Lixus the system’s major bodies are Motya, a gas giant where Carian vessels have long mined resources in its rings, and Abdera: a distant, icy dwarf planet categorized by the Imperial Institute of Astrography as marginal, despite its mineral wealth. Zhurong’s ore veins are simply more valuable and easier to mine than a distant, cold rock.

Environment

“You know this place has to be a real s-hole for Haas to describe it as marginal/unlikely for colonization LOL,” - Alexandria Wong (2225 - 2289) Solarian Department of Colonization Bureaucrat describing Caria in an internal memo.

A tidally-locked world, Caria is divided into two hemispheres known as the Sunward and Shrouded halves of the planet. The Sunward side of Caria is an uninhabitable desert constantly baked by the rays of the Paegilini Star and has no permanent settlements. The only structures are ruins of automated mining facilities from the Solarian era, half-buried by the sand which dominates much of Sunward Caria’s surface. Many of these facilities have laid untouched since the early 24th century. The Sunward dunes may hide even more secrets, but expeditions onto this side of the planet have proven costly, dangerous, and difficult for little returns. Animal and plant life on this side of Caria is rare, with most species limited to very small insects or burrowing creatures which live near underground sources of water and plant life. Surface water is unheard of, and will quickly evaporate in the event of rain. Certain animals which reside on or near the Sunward surface exhibit anhydrobiosis and can live for years to decades without water. House Volvalaad has expressed some interest in these creatures and is one of the few entities to support further research into this side.

Transitional zones dominate the thin line spanning the area between the Sunward and Shrouded sides. Like the Sunward side, these zones are desert-like and feature little in the way of life or surface water. However, they are also generally colder than the Sunward side due to not being cast in the star’s direct light.

Shrouded Caria is where the planet’s population resides. Lit by the reflective glow of Caria’s moon, Lixus, it is a dim, cold, and barren landscape where life is concentrated around large geothermal vents which warm the area around themselves. The Carian population is densely concentrated in major cities around these vents and their surrounding territories, locally known as the eraset of a city. Outside of these vents surface conditions are tundra-like, dominated by cold temperatures and covered by small chemotrophs which are able to survive in an environment with little surface water, as most is found either around the geothermal vents and sea-seeps or in great underground rivers that connect vent to vent, sometimes traveling thousands of kilometers under the planetary surface.

Flora and Fauna

With planetary conditions for life generally being quite marginal, the ecosystem of Caria is characterized by highly extremophilic lifeforms that rely on chemotrophic producers as the foundation of the trophic system. Owing to its origins in the planet’s large subsurface ocean, both marine and surface Carian lifeforms are clustered heavily around hydrothermal vents and geysers that provide ample quantities of the necessary hydrocarbons and other chemicals for the production of nutrients and energy. On the surface, places where the ocean or geothermal activity has forced this chemical-rich water out from underground are typically known as sea-seeps, and often resemble vast tracts of inundated marshland.

At these sea-seeps, coralline structures and fungal-analogues are the most common “flora” analogues, though they largely consist of colonial organisms as opposed to anything that would resemble plant life. “Seep-coral” is the term used to refer to these aforementioned coral-analogues that form the backbone of the ecosystem, which grow continuously and exponentially for as long as sufficient chemical energy is available and grazing fauna do not otherwise intervene. It is worth noting traditional trees and most forms of plants do not exist in large numbers on Caria, as the planet lacks the natural sunlight required for easy photosynthesis.

Carian fauna, on the other hand, has a strong resemblance to Earth arthropods - with exoskeletons and crustacean-like traits being predominant and pointing to a relatively recent evolutionary origin. Surface and subsurface fauna are notably similar, and many terrestrial species are in fact semi-aquatic. Most species are colloquially referred to as “Grazers”, referring to their typical feeding behavior and their reliance on the limited amounts of edible surface matter available. Grazers tend to be small and relatively slow, conserving as much of their energy as possible, and many species exhibit considerable bioluminescence - largely as a method of communication on the perennially dim world. Owing to the highly nutrient-deprived nature of the Carian ecosystem, the vast majority of fauna species are extremely reliant on the chemotrophic producers that form the backbone of the planetary ecology, and populations are heavily concentrated in proximity to the habitats these chemotrophs rely upon.

Carnivorous species are limited in number, but do exist, and are typically referred to as “Pouncers”. Like most Grazer species, the Pouncers are small and have a slow metabolism - many species are adapted to lying in wait for extensive periods of time, before engaging in explosive ambush attacks upon their prey upon detecting them. Some Pouncer species use deceptive bioluminescence in order to attract their quarry, having evolved to mimic the coloration and patterns of the species they specialize upon. While generally harmless, humans can accidentally trigger the hunting instinct of a Pouncer lying in wait, triggering abortive surprise attacks that are not very dangerous, but often quite startling to those who experience them.

While not a major part of the Carian diet owing to their relative scarcity, Carian fauna is edible and generally very palatable - many Grazer species are favorably compared to sweet-tasting lobster or crab, and Patrician families have been known to make extensive use of them culinarily.

Species

• Royal Grazer: Resembling a mixture of horseshoe crab and lobster, royal grazers are a highly successful species which are relatively active in comparison to other species within their clade. They possess a robust exoskeleton and dextrous front claws that allow them to defend themselves from predators and manipulate their surroundings to dig their dens, in which they lay their eggs and keep their young. It heavily relies upon seep-coral for food and the toxins they ingest in doing so imparts upon their meat a slightly numbing and tingly sensation that gives Carian cuisine its distinctive taste. They are the most frequently eaten species of grazer on the planet. Their flavor develops with age and they grow continuously throughout their lifespan, and particularly large specimens fetch a high price from the patrician families - most notably for Yaskarit Risotto, the foremost delicacy on the planet, which makes heavy use of its meat for protein and ground seep-coral for a seasoning and garnish.

Trapdoor Pouncer: An uncanny fusion of crab. spider, and scorpion, trapdoor pouncers get their name from their dens, which are sealed by a hinged trap-door kept together with sticky mucus. Ambush hunters, they tend to leave their dens and lurk around the most productive grazing spots to wait for their prey. They have a tendency to have their leaping instinct triggered by passing humans, but are quite harmless (if frightening) and disengage upon realizing that they are not attacking suitable prey.

• Common Seep-Coral: Closely resembling Earther stony coral, common seep-coral is the dominant feature of Carian sea-seeps. They can grow to immense sizes and resemble barren trees, though colored teal, pink, or purple rather than green. They are the most productive single species of chemotrophs on the planet, and provide key sustenance and shelter for a great number of species. Harvested seep-coral is frequently processed for use as a seasoning and imparts a unique tingly and numbing sensation upon those who eat it. Overconsumption is known to cause an upset stomach and must be consumed in moderation.

• Wardweed: A chemotrophic lichen that carpets the ground in proximity to sea-seeps, wardweed possesses medicinal properties and is frequently used in traditional Carian medical practices as a topical antiseptic and antibiotic. It is effective enough that it is intentionally cultivated to meet foreign demand, particularly on the Imperial Frontier. An alleged connection to Carian witchcraft has led to more conservative members of Imperial society to eschew it altogether, believing it corrupts the link between body and soul through foul sorcery.

• Seep-Flax: A chemotrophic lichen that thrives in the marshy soil around a sea-seep, seep-flax has long been used as a strong, insulating fiber by Carians. Farms growing seep-flax require a great amount of space to be profitable as the lichen is relatively small and does not produce much material. The introduction of cheaper fabrics from the Empire has devastated the seep-flax industry and many former aquatic farms lie vacant, overrun with the flax they once grew for profit.

Carians

“Stay away from me, witch!” - Unknown Reacher to a Carian merchant, March 2413.

The human residents of the Viceroyalty, Carians are a strange people who are often viewed negatively abroad in the Empire, where some regard them as a cursed people. Rumors surround them and their heritage, which is lost to the modern historical record. Some Dominians believe all Carians are sorcerers who practice their vile witchery outside of the gaze of the Tribunal and Empire alike. Few serve in the Imperial military, and fewer serve the Tribunal outside of Caria, but they are highly successful merchants and traders across the Imperial Frontier and beyond, with most goods in the Sparring Sea-Badlands Region passing through Carian hands at least once. Some of their oldest mercantile families have trade networks stretching well beyond the Empire’s borders, and can acquire goods from as far afield as Assunzione or the Nralakk Federation if they so desire. A small minority of Dominians view the Carians as blessed heralds of the Goddess in the material world due to their strange appearances and the fact the planet produces a great number of Goddess-touched.

Genetically, Carians show deviation from baseline humanity in their appearance and some organs. Imperial scientists have noted Carians tend to recover more quickly from diseases when abroad compared to other Dominians. They tend to be extremely pale, though they do not burn as easily as their skin tone would indicate, and many appear to have sallow skin. Their hair tends towards darker colors – with most being black-haired – but colors such as silver, white, or blonde are not uncommon. Carian eye colors range beyond the normal human spectrum, with purple shades being relatively common – Grand Estate-Holder Kusarit Maharbal, for example, is known for her striking violet eyes and black hair. Their eyes have been modified or have adapted to see better in the constant semi-twilight of the planet, but are significantly more sensitive to rapid changes in light: flashes and flash grenades commonly used by police may temporarily blind them and most experience discomfort in normal light conditions. Carian eyes feature a larger iris and pupil than normal human eyes, and some wear sunglasses abroad to conceal this.

Oddly, the traits of “Carianism” – as it is known informally – appear to be highly genetically dominant and are always inherited by the child of a mixed non-Carian and Carian union.

While House Volvalaad is currently attempting to uncover the truth behind what makes Carians so divergent from baseline humanity, multiple theories have arisen to explain why Carians are so unusual. Most grounded are theories the manipulation comes from Carians themselves at some point in their past, or from the Solarian Alliance during its control of the planet. Neither of these theories, however, has any epigraphic or archeological evidence to support it. If documents do exist in the voluminous Solarian Department of Colonization archives covering genetic manipulation of Caria’s colonists, they have never been revealed by the Alliance or by researchers. Less grounded theories include Carians’ appearance comes from the Goddess Herself as punishment for a past sin or that they are not from the Spur at all, having arrived here from some alternate reality where humanity is slightly different.

Government

Grand Estate-Holder Kusarit Maharbal, here depicted in a 2467 portrait commissioned by the Maharbal family to celebrate their continued dominance of Caria's highest office.

“It is the will of His Majesty the Emperor that Caria be granted similar rights to Novi Jadran for its inhabitants’ cooperation in Imperial affairs,” - Excerpt from the Emperor Godwin Accords.

The Imperial Viceroyalty of Caria is a subject of the Empire of Dominia ruled, de jure, by Governor-Viceroy Gauthier Caladius, an unassuming and humorless man who has spent his life in the Empire’s colonial bureaucracy. De facto, however, the planet is ruled by Grand Estate-Holder Kusarit Maharbal, one of the only Dominian planetary leaders – alongside Novi Jadran’s Governor-Marchioness Anastazija Glavan – to hail from the planet they govern, and the only not to hold a noble title. Uniquely in the Empire, Caria’s grand estate-holder is elected in a nominally democratic process by the Adirim: a governing council made up of the planet’s richest citizens and its voting body. Maharbal, who has the backing of House Caladius and the largest faction of the Adirim’s voting seats, has survived many challenges since her election in 2460, where she replaced her father, Watcyn Maharbal, after his assassination by a now-exiled merchant dynasty acting on behalf of House Kaneko’s affiliated voting block.

The grand estate-holder is the most sought-after office on Caria: the leader of its republic, they de facto represent the planet abroad in official dealings with the broader empire, though Kusarit attends these alongside the governor-viceroy, who officially rules the world’s foreign affairs on behalf of the Empire. The loose hand of the colonial administration – a consequence of Caria’s rapid and voluntary capitulation to the Empire – has allowed the grand estate-holder to exercise a greater level of influence than most local officials would ever dream of: they can propose legislation to the Adirim, begin the process of exiling a member of the Carian people, and – prior to the Imperial era – set the planet’s foreign policy. Assuming they can maintain their popularity in the Adirim, they are capable of maintaining their role in perpetuity as there are no term limits. In reality the longest-serving person to hold the position is Kusarit Maharbal, current matriarch of the Maharbal family, who has the backing of the Imperial colonial bureaucracy and House Caladius.

The Adirim

“How long will you abuse our patience, Drubal? This body’s is not so great as the Aderlai’s,” - Kanmi Zimirda, of the same family, 2466.

The Adirim is Caria’s assembly and meets in its planetary capital, Yaskarit – the oldest and grandest of its vent-cities. It has 1,500 members, with each corresponding to a prominent merchant family. These families appoint a representative – who may be a non-relative or castellean, should they choose – to vote on their behalf in the Adirim, and owning a seat is considered to be a prerequisite for entering Carian high society. In the event of a total bloodline extinction for a seat holder or a seat-holder falling into relative poverty, only the grand estate-holder is able to choose a new merchant family to fill the vacant seat. This has led to a degree of habitual instability and turnover within the Adirim, particularly with the introduction of Houses Caladius and Kaneko’s influence, as merchant families ascend to the Adirim, withdraw from it, or are killed off by assassination, fall into economic ruin, or are exiled for alleged crimes. To pass an issue is deceptively easy: one must simply attain a pure majority – whether that is 751 or 1,499 – in votes. In practice this is difficult as the pro- and anti-Maharbal blocs of the Adirim are divided into competing interest groups, cliques, extended families, and conspiracies often motivated by their own profit over all else.

A member of the Adirim is known as a representative, or a delegate. They come from, or are affiliated with, Caria’s patrician families, and holding a seat has a wealth requirement: if one slips below it, their seat is confiscated and the grand estate-holder chooses their replacement. Per Carian law this replacement MUST be able to prove their family line dates back to at least the pre-Imperial era, in order to prevent the Adirim from being overrun by non-Carians. New representatives often bring in funerary records of their family to prove their lineage, with some having transported entire steles into the Adirim. One of the few rules about the Adirim is no family can acquire more than one seat for themselves. As a result, seats are spread across the planet and webs of influence can stretch through its mighty underground rivers, enveloping dozens of merchant families, business ventures, and trade networks. They can be recognized by their badge of office: a silvered knife they use to cast their votes. Some of these knives have been passed down in families since Carian prehistory, showing that some seats have remained stable for centuries. Others – by either fiscal ruination, exile, or bloodline extinction – have switched hands dozens of times across the centuries.

However, five exceptions exist to the Carian ancestry rule: known as the viceroyalty seats, these Adirim members are Dominian members of the viceroyalty’s government and hold the power to veto anything passed by the body if at least four vote against it. Created by the Emperor Godwin Accords as a way of ensuring Dominian influence on a planet some in the government regard as too independent, these seats are informally known as the Imperial Viceroyal Council. The five Dominian members of the Adirim are all nobles and are not above involvement in the local government, with rumors having long circulated in Yaskarit that Grand Estate-Holder Maharbal has bribed members of the Council to vote with the Adirim on controversial legislation rather than against it. A piece of vetoed legislation can be sent back to the Adirim for further discussion or banned from discussion at all depending on the Council. The Counil is made up of one member from each great house and Viceroy Caladius.

The Adirim’s major blocs – which are defined by their support and opposition to the current grand estate-holder – are the House Caladius-aligned pro-Maharbal bloc and the smaller, House Kaneko-aligned anti-Maharbal bloc. Between these lie a smaller number of undecided voters who either hold no strong stances on Grand Estate-Holder Maharbal or simply wish to avoid drawing excessive attention to themselves. The Maharbal family, which has dominated the position of grand estate-holder since Caria’s annexation into the Empire, is wealthy enough to bribe many of these undecided voters into supporting them during times of crisis, such as when their control over the position is challenged. They are also canny and loyal enough to have secured the backing – financial, administrative, and more – of House Caladius, which views Caria as a vital link between the Frontier and the Empire’s more easterly territories.

The House Kankeo-aligned bloc is led by the Drubal family, prominent shipwrights who have maintained a close relationship with the Empire’s naval forces since 2424 and are particularly close to the ever-ambitious Kanekos. This is an attempt by the Kanekos to carve out a planet aside from Zhurong, where they must bend the knee to House Zhao, and Count Kaneko believes having his candidate ascend to the position of grand estate-holder would give the family strong influence over the planet – stronger than what House Caladius possesses, as the Drubal family lacks the immense wealth of their rivals, the Maharbal family. Scheming between the two merchant families has contributed significantly to the Adirim’s general instability.

Votes in the Adirim are held when a plurality of members are present. Attempting to deliberately block a representative from attending the Adirim to vote is a severe crime and a rule put in place during the mid-24th century to avoid disruptions to the voting itself in what had already become a hectic voting body. All members must pass between two large fires at the Adirim’s entrance: a relic from pre-Tribunalist times, the fires are said to cleanse and ward one from evil spirits. Representatives vote by taking their badge of office – a silvered knife – and slicing their thumb open, then daubing their blood onto a voting slip. The blood offering is symbolically and religiously important in Carian culture and is said to signify one’s firm belief in how they are voting for an issue.

Caria and the Imperial Government

The exceptional degree of autonomy enjoyed by Caria is rooted in its unique relationship with the Empire, which it enjoys thanks to both its position on the edge of the Eastern Military Frontier and its early cooperation with the Imperial military during the war against the Pirate Lords in the 2420s. Where other worlds fought against the Empire and for the Pirate Lords, the Carians opted to surrender without a fight and quickly set about cooperating with the Dominians for both profit and state survival. Emperor Godwin, realizing the planet could be an asset and free up Imperial forces for more resource-rich worlds – such as Xiang-Xia and Sun Reach – accepted the Carians’ surrender and symbolically forgave them for siding with the Pirate Lords, then appointed the first Viceroy-Governor to serve as an Imperial minder for the planet. The terms for Caria under the Empire are laid out in the Emperor Godwin Accords of 2424, which offers autonomy in exchange for continued loyalty of the Grand Estate-Holder and the Adirim to the Empire.

The Emperor alone can retract the Accords, and some conservative actors – those who claim the Carians used sorcery and dark dealings to attain their autonomy from Emperor Godwin – have called for Emperor Boleslaw Keeser to take a firmer stance against Grand Estate-Holder Maharbal and the Adirim, claiming they have acted more to protect Carians’ business interests than for the good of the Empire as a whole. For now, however, the aging Emperor Boleslaw has taken no action for or against the planet.

It remains to be seen if his successor will.

Law Enforcement

The Empire’s laws on Caria are enforced by the steady hand of the Imperial Carian Constabulary Service, or ICCS, with limited support from the Tribunal Investigations Constabulary. Uniquely, the ICCS only has an urban constabulary and no rural component as the countryside of the planet is too inhospitable for permanent habitation. While it is well-funded and well-staffed, particularly compared to the haggard colonial constabularies throughout the Eastern Military Frontier, the ICCS has a reputation for corruption and close involvement with the politics of the Adirim and the patrician class. A bad constable will find themselves swept up into the plotting of merchant families and discarded as a pawn, while a good constable will find a way to make themselves useful to the winning side of a dispute. Some constables have become firm allies of certain patrician families and know when it is best to look the other way on behalf of their friends in high places. For normal Carians the ICCS it is common for constables to be tipped or “rewarded” by those who wish to see an investigation accelerated or deprioritized. If one cannot pay up, they will simply have to sit and wait for the wheels of the Empire’s bureaucracy to turn and spit out something resembling justice.

The ICCS has more diviners on-staff than any other colonial constabulary thanks to the higher number of Goddess-touched on Caria. They typically work alongside regular constables and Carian diviners, and are valuable assets for the Service. Like elsewhere in the Empire, divination-based testimony by a Goddess-touched is highly valuable for either side of a case. Divination derived from non-Goddess-touched diviners and seers is less valuable, but still serves an important role in the Carian legal system, particularly when one side of the case is deceased.

Moroz Holy Tribunalism on Caria

“Blood of my blood, kin of my kin; forever shall we live in Lixus’ gaze,” - Common funerary prayer on Caria.

Established by the Holy Tribunal when the planet surrendered in 2424 as a response to the native faith, Carianism, the Moroz Holy Tribunal on Caria has been influenced more by its local people than many Katarinians find comfortable.

History

Before discussing Carian Tribunalism it is important to discuss the faith which preceded it: Carianism, or Hatim Aderlai-Zlim. Founded under obscure circumstances during Carian prehistory, Carianism was a monotheistic religion centered around the worship of a female goddess known as the Great Mother, or Aderlai in the local tradition, who was believed to reside in or on — historical texts cannot agree — Lixus, the planet’s moon. Carianist theology revolved heavily around astrology and divination to predict the future and the Aderlai’s will, as she was believed to reveal her intents only in subtle manners. The faith’s creation myth holds she used her mighty sword to crack Caria’s crust and carve the geothermal vents Carian cities have grown around, and this myth has been adapted by the Tribunal to build on their legitimacy. It is said the Great Mother’s sword exists in the real world and is kept in a deep vault under the grand estate holder’s official residence, and it shall be withdrawn in Caria’s greatest hour of need.

Carianism’s followers, out of genuine belief or simple pragmatism, were very willing to accept Tribunalist clergy into their planet after its surrender, and the mostly-Jarmilian missionaries sent to the planet were delighted, some would say blinded, by the presence of another female creator deity, which they took to be a sign the Lady of Moroz had left Her mighty thumbprint upon this admittedly heathen faith. It was only sensible, then, that the Goddess’ chosen people — the Morozians — would be required to bring this planet into Her loving embrace. Within a decade, they had: young Carians were raised under Morozian theology which claimed their former goddess as an aspect of their more divine one. But while they had stamped out the Aderlai, the ancient tradition of Carian divination was harder to remove — and fearing a more active opposition to their proselytizing in an era of a thinly-stretched military, they chose to simply let it be.

Carian Tribunalism

Legally the sole faith upon Caria, this Tribunalist sect is a result of the ease of the planet’s conversion and the unwillingness of missionary priestesses to challenge some of the native population’s stranger beliefs. Commonly referred to as Carian Tribunalism, it is officially characterized by the Moroz Holy Tribunal as an “acceptable deviation” from baseline Tribunalism similar to Reacher Tribunalism and Lyodiic Tribunalism. Unofficially many conservative figures in the Tribunal and House Caladius blame their liberal predecessors for allowing a cult of blood sorcerers and barely-closeted heretics to pass unmolested and entrench itself in what has become the linchpin of the Eastern Military Frontier’s connection to the wider Empire. The current Immaculate Hand has shown little interest in the question of whether Carian Tribunalism is acceptable or heretical, but — with Emperor Keeser and herself both aging — it is anticipated to be a major issue for her successor.

This branch of the Holy Tribunal is known throughout the Empire for its heavy emphasis on divination, astrological or otherwise, and all but the smallest and most insignificant temples on Caria have at least one diviner on-staff. Considered sanctified by the Tribunal, these diviners are said to augur the Goddess’ will through their predictions and are sometimes employed abroad by Tribunalist authorities for their talents. They must sacrifice a small amount of their blood, and typically cut into their thumbs using a silvered blade referred to as a blood ritual blade or zlimakhin, locally, said to prevent sorcerers or witch-spirits from interfering with the diviner’s readings, and thus corrupting the prediction. Some Katarinians claim this act is itself an example of blood sorcery but have so far not been able to stamp out the practice. Abroad, however, a diviner may find themselves harassed by the Tribunal Investigations Constabulary or His Imperial Majesty’s Constabulary if they run afoul of a sufficiently powerful Katarinian.

Tribunalist clergy and layperson staff on Caria are drawn primarily from the world itself, with many middle-class and lesser patrician families more than willing to send a child or two to serve the Goddess’ needs in the red cloth of the Holy Tribunal, and many have served with distinction as clergy or laypeople of the faith. A notable exception is the Tribunal Investigations Constabulary: not a single Carian has officially joined the TIC, perhaps due to the planet’s shrouded reputation. Carian clergy are typically not seen off of the shrouded world due to the ill reputation of Carians abroad among many Dominians, though its diviners can be found in many holy sites across the Empire.

Since the advent of Tribunalism on Caria the Holy Tribunal has recorded a higher-than-average number of Goddess-touched women discovered on the planet than anywhere else outside of the Core Worlds. Carian Goddess-touched are prized locally as diviners and seers, with many of the wealthiest patrician families having having at least one on their familial staffs — the Maharbal family notably maintains a small institute for Goddess-touched it calls the Oracular Institute, and the current grand estate-holder has credited her political survival to their predictions more than once. Carian Goddess-touched who go abroad outside of a patrician family’s employment often do so in service to the Holy Tribunal. The Tribunal views Carian Goddess-touched as effective yet dangerous tools, and always assigns them a designated member of the clergy as a handler and minder.

Traditionally, a Carian Goddess-touched is blindfolded while relying upon her skills. This is said to blind her to all but the will of the Goddess, and better understand Her Word.

Culture

The flag of Caria. The purple moons represent Lixus, while the twin fires represent protection from evil fortune. The silver backing references Caria's well-known silver industry, and some flags have real silver spun into them.

“We should have never given them the level of autonomy they have wrenched from our hands,” - Prince Alexander Keeser on Caria, 2463.

As a more recent entrant to the Empire of Dominia, Caria’s local culture has been less influenced by the Core Worlds than Novi Jadran The planet having only been under Dominian rule for four decades, and its high level of autonomy, have led to Carians retaining their republican culture and mercantile focus: the second of which makes them valuable assets for Houses Caladius and Volvalaad, who rely on Carian merchants to go to places abroad where they reasonably cannot, and the first of which has led to them being viewed as a liability and threat by some of the Empire’s more conservative actors. Rather than the urban-rural divide of Novi Jadran or Sun Reach, cultural divisions on the shrouded world are rooted in class differences between the patrician merchants of the world and their less wealthy counterparts. Holding them together like glue is an “acceptable deviation” from the Holy Tribunal known as Carian Tribunalism.

Carians across all classes place a great value on familial and personal loyalty, and holding one’s word. Merchant families have grown, prospered, and collapsed based on how willing – or unwilling – they are to stick to their promises, and Carian contracts often involve the use of the participants’ blood to seal the agreement. To break the terms after one has committed their blood means one party has betrayed not just their word, but the word of their entire bloodline by extension. Relations of loyalty often go beyond family: it is expected a patrician will care for those in their charge and employ, such as their estate workers and their families, and those below the patrician will support their betters. This social rule is similar to the tenets of Dominian honour – that those above and below must support one another – and has helped Caria’s patricians integrate into Dominian society, even if they are not “true” nobility.

Despite these cultural values Carians have a reputation throughout the Empire as a quarrelsome people who will debate endlessly before acting, a reputation not helped by the often dynamic politics of the Adirim. It is said, in a common joke, that if one speaks to five Carians they will get six opinions — one having changed theirs in the time it takes to ask the others. Supporting this is a vibrant (by Dominian standards) civil society where patricians in the Adirim are constantly petitioned by their wealthy “constituents” for favors, deals, and support, and local media outlets — many owned by patrician families — attempt to spin news stories to their advantage. The greatest of these is the Journal of Yaskarit, owned and operated by the Maharbal family, which circulates throughout the planet. The competitive nature of the Adirim assists in keeping Carians linked to their representatives, and it is not uncommon for members of the Adirim to grow rich off of “gifts” provided to introduce and pass legislation.

Divination

A cultural tradition from prehistoric Caria which survived integration into the Empire, divination is a key element of modern Carian religious traditions and is relied upon by many normal Carians before making significant decisions in their private or business lives. Not using divination opens one up to ill fortune, either at the capricious hands of fate or from the diabolical machinations of witch-spirits that so hound the imperfect, mortal world. Due to its importance, divination is a major domestic industry on Caria, governed through regulations passed by the Adirim and staffed by professionals who have been educated in proper practices — improper divination is said to attract witch-spirits as readily as a hidden synthetic does, and some Katarinians have accused contemporary divination as having roots in blood sorcery and heathen sacrificial rites. An officially-certified diviner who has passed their exams is formally known as a makhlim.

Properly performed, Tribunal-sanctioned, non-religious divination is carried out in a ritualistic manner by a diviner orsometimes multiple diviners and their assistants, who are often students of divination themselves. The primary ritualist pricks a finger with a small, silvered knife known as a zlimakhin, or “blood ritual blade,” with the silver said to counteract interference in the ritual by outside forces such as witch-spirits. Which divination is requested or desired will change the finger being used. The wounded finger is then placed into a device called a “Tanith splitter,” which filters the blood offering through a series of small holes which drip onto a sheet of divining paper covered in hexagrams. The diviner and their assistants begin analyzing the hexagrams once the bleeding has been stopped by the Tanith splitter, and determine what the Goddess’ fortunes dictate to the supplicant. This method is expensive and often takes a long time to determine the results, but is said to be very accurate and is favored by the patrician class.

While the Tanith-hexagram method is said to bring the most accurate divination, other techniques are used by makhlim and their assistants to scry the future. Commonly, middle-class Carians rely on silver-readings: less expensive than other methods, it involves offering the supplicant’s blood by having them prick a finger and bleed into a cup containing silver shavings and holy water, with the holy water said to cleanse impurities if a zlimakhin is unavailable. The water-and-blood mixture is then boiled away as the supplicant and diviner (typically only one diviner, with or without an assistant, due to the technique’s relative ease of use) observe, and the shape of the silver is interpreted by the diviner. Quick and simple to perform, the silver shavings are often reused by poorer Carians for multiple readings.

The cheapest and quickest method of divination is the most prone to error, but is used by many poor Carians to divine their fortunes. Known formally as vessel-based divination, or more insultingly as “spitting divination,” this technique involves a diviner — generally alone and without an assistant — slicing the supplicant’s finger open, then drinking the flowing blood, combining it with holy water in the mouth, and spitting it into a ritual vessel. The diviner then interprets the blood in the water to determine the Goddess’ will. The ritual vessel is — ideally — silvered to ward off the interference of witch spirits, but some rely solely on the repelling power of holy water. Often associated with bars, warehouses, and dockyards, this method of divination is sometimes attempted by non-diviners, to varying degrees of success. While it is easy to slice your finger and spit into a vessel, interpreting the revelations is far harder.

Carian beliefs hold each part of one’s hand is best for a different part of divination. These are:

• Thumb: Social matters, in both the political and business context.
• Index Finger: Loyalty, such as that of friends and colleagues.
• Middle Finger: Misfortune, future challenges.
• Ring Finger: Family matters, love, marriage, and similar issues.
• Pinkie: Personal health.
• Palm: The palm is generally avoided in Carian divination, as it is believed the blood from it will cause the fortune to be more obscure than that of a finger’s.
• Wrist: The wrist is generally avoided in Carian divination due to the danger it poses to a supplicant. Wrist blood, however, is said to be more sensitive to division than anywhere else on the hand, and diviners have been accused of harvesting blood from the wrist for their rituals by non-Carians.

Funerary Rites

The aftermath of a Carian’s death is unlike anything else in the modern Empire. Carian dead are universally cremated and some of their blood is integrated into their tombstone as a testament to their deeds in life and their ancestry. How much blood is used in this post-death ritual varies depending on one’s class. Patrician families will drain all blood from a cadaver while the middle classes will drain less, and the poorest Carians may only be able to afford a ritual goblet’s worth of drained blood. The funerary specialists who perform these rituals are known as zlimhyoni (a term translated as “blood ritualist” in Basic) and receive formalized training. Larger funeral homes often have a dedicated zlimhyoni on-staff. After the ritual draining the body is cremated.

After cremation a Carian’s blood is mixed with their ashes, also by a zlimhyoni, and the mixture is moved in a special container known as a zlimdiqaru (translated as “earthen blood vessel” in Basic) to a workshop that turns the mixture into a liquid building material known as zlimeben, or “blood stone.” This material forms the sole material of Carian gravestones and is a permanent reminder of the deceased and their accomplishments in life. Patrician families drain more blood to ensure their dead are appropriately honored.

Poorer families build zlimeben memorials known as cairns. Small enough to fit inside a residence, they form the focal point of shrines honoring the deceased. While the gravestone must be made of the zlimeben, what surrounds it can be made of any material. Families will often have the shrine consecrated by a priestess to ensure witch-spirits are not attracted to an improperly-maintained cairn. Patrician families instead build great steles with their blood stones. Intended to honor their ancestry and their own deeds, some steles are the size of buildings and contain the zlimeben of multiple deceased. The venerable Maharbal family has the largest stele on the planet: a great monument that rises two-hundred meters into the air and integrates the blood of dozens of family members known as the Maharbal Epitaph. It is a public memorial maintained by the colonial government, attracts tourists from across the Empire, and is used for major Carian Tribunalist rituals on holidays.

Caria’s rituals are far stranger to a Morozian than the mourning rites of the Core Worlds and Novi Jadran, and have not escaped the rumors that plague the Witch World. Some Katarinian theologians claim Carians have a hidden rite known as a death stele. Supposedly practiced only on political enemies and criminals, a death stele’s creation involves a zlimhyoni and several diviners binding the soul of the deceased to their stele through an unknown process to ensure their soul will never reach the Goddess for judgement. Others claim the great Maharbal Epitaph is made primarily of death steles and allegedly Tribunalist rituals carried out there grant Carians their sorcerous powers. The Holy Tribunal on Caria and the Viceroyalty’s government have both denied this claim, but it has remained durable among ordinary Dominians, particularly those with little knowledge of the planet, and Carians abroad are sometimes accused of having a hand in creating these alleged devices. No historical records exist to support their existence.

Patricians

The rulers of Caria, its patricians are the planet’s wealthiest and most venerable inhabitants. They control the trade which creates the planet’s wealth, sit in the Adirim, employ its middle and working classes, grant alms to the poor when needed, and represent it abroad when called upon. While wealthy and powerful they are not Imperial nobles and their status is wealth-based rather than hereditary, though older patrician families tend to venerate their ancestors and call upon them to bolster their prestige and influence. Few Carian patricians have ascended to the ranks of Imperial nobility due to discrimination and a local cultural tradition which holds the status of patrician alone brings more prestige than nobility ever could, as it means the family has created their own wealth and reputation rather than been rewarded it by someone not from the Witch World. To be considered for patrician status, a family must have verifiable ties on Caria going back to at least the pre-Imperial era, a gesture intended to stop its government from being flooded by non-Carians. Carian steles and other death-related traditions are part of the reason this exists: even some of the poorest families can trace their roots back decades.

Patrician status being tied to wealth has made it quite dynamic: families throughout history have risen to it and fallen out of it due to the ever-shifting fortunes of trade, investments, and seizing new opportunities. Today’s middle-class clerk may be tomorrow’s patrician if one is canny enough to spot a good opportunity, wealthy enough to act upon it, and lucky enough to be present. Likewise, a patrician family may be brought low by misfortune, mismanagement, simple bad luck, or the scheming of their enemies, falling into ruin and thus potentially opening up a seat in the Adirim if they were wealthy enough to sit in it.

Like their Jadranic counterparts, Carian patricians exercise a great amount of control and influence over the planet’s economic affairs, and arguably exert more influence due to the lack of a competing nobility and the loose hand of Morozian colonial oversight. They own the fiscal institutions and trade companies which bring goods to and from the planet, and commission shipbuilders — often on Zhurong but sometimes abroad — to create vessels able to carry goods across the Empire and beyond. Often in the Empire they fly under the banner of House Caladius, which views trade with the wider Spur as a net gain for the Empire, but they are not above flying under whatever flag of convenience will see them safely to the most places with the smallest possible inconvenience.

Notable Patrician Families

Among the patricians, some families are noted for their influence and histories.

The Maharbal family is Caria’s most powerful patrician family, having held onto the position of grand estate-holder for longer than any other group in Caria’s recent history. The family’s fortune is built in both political caniness – it employs more diviners and Goddess-touched than any other patrician family – and deep trade connections throughout the Empire proper, which it has cultivated with assistance from House Caladius. Its leader is Kusarit Maharbal, the planet’s current grand estate-holder, and the family is deeply connected to House Caladius and the broader Morozian colonial apparatus. Many Carians look to this family as having saved them from the fate of Xiang-Xia or Sun Reach, as their swift maneuvering during the planet’s conquest by Dominia helped ensure a peaceful surrender, a level of autonomy, and the Maharbals in power. In the late 25th century they have retained their great influence and Caladius backing, and claim only they can ensure Caria retains the level of independence it has so enjoyed for the past 40 years.

The Drubal family were military and industrial leaders prior to the planet’s surrender to Dominia, and saw their military enterprises wither on the vine when the Pirate Lords evaporated and the Morozians had no need for shipbuilding and military industry so far from the Core Worlds. Even worse, Caria could now rely upon the mighty Imperial Fleet for trade security – there was no need to send armed cutters produced by the Drubals any longer. The family sunk into a deep malaise from which they were rescued by the will of House Kaneko, which attached itself to the faltering patricians and began using them as a proxy to subvert Caladius influence on the planet and establish a foothold for Kaneko influence beyond Zhurong. To date they have not succeeded in their goal of capturing the grand estate-holder office for themselves, but they have rebuilt themselves, and are now a powerful counterweight against the Maharbals. Some say they are mere proxies for the conservatives in the Empire, and will subvert Caria’s independence, but the family has always denied this. It is led by Miqne Drubal, a man long obsessed with engineering who has contributed greatly to Caria’s modern cityscapes.

The Magonbaal are a still-influential patrician family who were in power before the Empire’s arrival to Caria. Popularly considered to be the most venerable of Caria’s patrician families, Magonbaal steles have been found dating back to shortly after the planet’s estimated colonization. While they were initially chastised by the Empire for serving as grand estate-holders under the Pirate Lords, their allies – the Maharbals – saw them only temporarily humiliated, with their leader forced to have the Dominian admiral place their foot on his neck as he lay prostrated and chained in a form of ritual humiliation. Bomilcar Magonbaal was spared the rest of his punishment and continues to lead his family. Most of their business is in the Eastern Military Frontier and beyond, with Magonbaal-owned vessels traveling as far afield as Xanu, Assunzione, and San Colette – it is said they are able to acquire anything, anywhere, produced by anyone, so long as they are paid sufficiently.

Clothing and Fashion

As Caria is in a constant twilight or semi-twilight lit only by the glow of its moon, Lixus, its domestic clothing and fashion have developed around the absence of light. Everyday clothing is often built for warmth, as the planet can become very cold outside of its cities, and dyed using lighter colors such as white and light greys. Wool and conventional textiles are rare, with Carians historically relying on domestic flora to produce textile-like substances from plant fiber or importing conventional textiles from elsewhere. Reflective accessories – both for the sake of fashion and often for safety – are common, with many using moon motifs due to the importance of Lixus to the planet’s continued prosperity.

Carian fashion accessories often involve the use of silver – pure silver for the wealthier, silver coatings for the poorer – as it is believed to repel malignant spirits and improve the wearer’s fortune. It is not uncommon for patricians, such as members of the Adirim, to have silver jewelry specifically for use in carrying out business to improve their successes, and many examples of Carian formalwear have buttons and zippers made out of pure silver. These suits are some of the rare examples of Carian clothing made in generally darker colors, with blacks and darker grays used to better accentuate the silver used in their designs.

Traditional Morozian fashion, such as the Imperial nobility’s leisurewear and formalwear or Jadranic working clothes, has yet to penetrate into Carian high society, but has begun to permeate its lower classes due to the cheapness and ease with which Jadranic and Morozian textile mills can produce effective, durable clothing made from conventional textiles. Some patrician families who possess holdings in the planet’s textile industry have lobbied, with some success, to halt the spread of cheaper clothing onto the planet. This trade battle has continued, and may become one of the bigger issues for the Adirim during the upcoming decade if the Empire continues to maintain its tenuous peace with Elyra.

Carians and the Empire

The strange appearances and odd traditions of Carians have made them subjects of fascination, disgust, and fear in many parts of the Empire. While Carians do go elsewhere in the Empire for trading, diplomatic work, or negotiations, they rarely stay there: doing so invites unwanted attention, and eventual trouble. They are often accused by less-educated Dominians of causing small misfortunes with their sorcery when they are present in a community for an extended period, with broken electronics and freak accidents blamed on their allegedly stronger connection to witch-spirits. They are often harassed by local religious and civil authorities as well, some of whom believe every Carian is a sorcerer-in-waiting. A Carian who only resides briefly to trade or formalize a deal can excuse themselves from such accusations, with them not having been present in the eyes of their potential accusers for long enough to attract witch spirits and other malign creatures. It should come as no surprise that Carians are extremely rare in the Empire’s military as a result, and can expect to not have successful careers if they choose to serve in uniform. After all. it is easy to blame them for any misfortunes.

A notable exception to this trend are noble families and some particularly wealthy Secondaries who see having a Carian on retainer as a way of demonstrating their wealth and their modernity, as their odd appearances wow and attract some while horrifying and repelling others. House Caladius, which has frequent dealings with the Witch World, employs the most Carians out of any great house and frequently collaborates with them in trade matters foreign and domestic. Carians employed by other great houses are instead often diviners or ritualists of some form, and native Carians have varying stances on this trend. Some view it as the best way to stop the frequent discrimination they face abroad, as the opinions of the nobility should eventually filter down to their employees and the general population. Others view it as a system of tokenization and a contributor to the widespread reputation of all Carians as diviners and sorcerers, as these diviners sent abroad may be some of the only Carians a typical Dominian commoner meets in their lives.

Economics

“You fail to see the utility they offer, brother. But you have always failed to see things beyond the Fleet,” - Crown Princess Priscilla Keeser on Caria, 2463.

As a planet based around trade, the lifeblood of Caria has long been its shipping industry. Bolstered by its enviable position on major warp lanes between the Eastern Military Frontier and wider Empire, it came to prominence in the era of Sun Reach’s Pirate Lords as their main route for moving goods from their eastern domains back to their fortresses on or above Sun Reach. The Carians were canny enough to turn their aid of the Pirate Lords into a profit, and became proficient in navigating the routes of their overlord’s domain and beyond. Even if much of the goods were still being taken by the Reachers, Carians made a niche for themselves in creating newer, more efficient routes and mastering them. The Dominians – seeing the ease with which they had occupied the planet and the benefits of integrating their traders – were all too happy to keep this arrangement, and Carian trade vessels now criss-cross the Empire, with some traveling far beyond its borders.

In the modern era Caria is a great filter for goods entering the Empire from its colonies and beyond, brought by its merchant vessels or by House Caladius for sorting in its great warehouses and markets, then sent into or out of the broader Empire for sale. Xian ores, Carian luxury goods, Chaldean seafood, Hyrcanian lumber, and goods from beyond the Empire can all be found or requested here for whatever price local merchants deem appropriate. The money and goods have not stopped flowing through Caria, and the Empire under Emperor Boleslaw sees no need to intervene in what has become a very convenient arrangement where a “third party” handles much of the shipping logistics of its frontier regions. But some voices in the Empire claim the planet’s patrician families and their merchant enterprises are too wild, too untamed, and too dangerous to be left functioning on their own, and the wealth of Caria should be cut off. The wealth of the planet thus lies under the anxiety of what Boleslaw’s successor will do when they ascend to the throne, and the fear they will tug the planet’s collar tighter, ending its economic prosperity and turning Carians into odd-looking Xians rather than the wealthy merchants they present themselves as.

Carian Domestic Industries

While the Viceroyalty is most well-known for its traders the planet possesses thriving local industries with a focus on luxury goods for consumption by the patrician class or for export. Also prominent are shipyards which produce the ships Carian traders rely upon to move goods from one side of the Spur to the other. Less thriving are its textile and agrarian sectors, where cheap goods from the broader Empire have replaced many domestic products due to their ease of import and low cost. While Carian fashion has not yet totally begun to imitate Morozi styles, seep-flax has declined dramatically in favor of more conventional imported textile or fur-based fabrics. With many flax farms having gone out of business since 2424 unemployment is relatively high on Caria and many working poor rely on charity from the Holy Tribunal to make it through the day, in stark contrast to the patrician families, middle class professionals, and the skilled working-class laborers of industries such as shipbuilding or silver-mining. While a patrician may be as wealthy as a Morozian, or even wealthier, the poorest Carians are as destitute as any subject of the Imperial Frontier.

Caria is known abroad for its silver industry, which is concentrated in the city of Zama’s eraset. Mining silver is often carried out in or around sea-seeps or in the planet’s underground riverways, and is known to be dangerous, often dirty work, but the Carian demand for silver is insatiable and there are always good salaries to be made working mining machinery or in a processing facility. Once the silver moves beyond this stage it enters the realm of professionals who are often trained in colleges or academies, and is transformed from simple metal into luxury objects, including implements used by Carians in religious and civil ceremony. Carian silversmiths have a reputation for quality across the Orion Spur and their goods have traveled far abroad since the planet’s integration into the Dominian Empire, with some Lunarians and Cythereans prizing them as luxury imports.

Carian Settlements

“It’s a better assignment than Sun Reach, but good Goddess are they a strange people!” - Excerpt from a letter written by a Jadraner employed by House Caladius to his father, 2465.

Carian settlements are all located on the Shrouded half of the planet facing its moon, Lixus. They are concentrated around geothermal vents known as “sea-seeps” which provide vital resources to the city: heat to make the environment bearable, nutrients for its soil, and geothermal power to keep it functioning as it should. The marshy terrain around these vents that the cities control and exploit is known as its eraset, or ‘rst, which loosely translates to “sovereign domain” in Basic. A city’s eraset also covers its underground territory, and its estate-holder – an individual elected by the city’s patricians who is a cross between a governor and mayor – exercises suzerainty over it, with those who break Caria’s laws subject to the city’s courts and constables.

Cities on Caria have naturally grown outward from their sea-seeps over the centuries and some have become quite large, with Yaskarit and other great cities containing multiple sea-seeps within their eraset. A dominant feature of their skylines are the large geothermal power plants which rise from above these “tapped” sea-seeps and provide the city with heat and electric power, and can extend far underground. From these, wide boulevards extend outwards into the city’s districts and branch off into smaller streets, avenues, and alleyways that tie the ceraset together like a web. Carian cities are often cramped and built up rather than out, as the marshy terrain makes land reclamation initiatives constantly and time-consuming. Rivers are frequently found within the city limits due to the nature of sea-seeps, and these are used by barges moving goods to and from shuttleports and factories in addition to ferries and private craft.

While Caria does not have a true rural countryside due to the cold, dark, and inhospitable nature of its surface, the outer limits of a city’s eraset are often dominated by farms of varying sizes that produce its textiles, foods, and other goods – some smaller cities, with smaller eraset, may be entirely dedicated to farming, but most only devote their marginal land to agriculture. Under the surface, still in the eraset, one may find fishing operations and mineral exploitation, with silver ore prized for its religious and ritualistic significance. Cities which control significant silver deposits are often more wealthy and influential, as it is said there is no quicker way to become a patrician than to own and operate a silver mine.

Major Settlements

Yaskarit

Yaskarit is the planetary capital of and most populous city on Caria. Historical legends claim it was the first city to be founded on the planet, and its first stones were laid by the Aderlai herself – a legend which has fallen out of popular favor in the Imperial era due to its heathen roots. It is the center of the planet’s local and Imperial administrations, home to both Dominia’s colonial bureaucracy and the Adirim, and a minor regional center for the administration of the Eastern Military Frontier. Due to its large population it contains dozens of sea-seeps, including some of the largest on the planet. It is one of the hotter cities on Caria, located at nearly the furthest point from the Sunward side of the planet and readily exposed to Lixus’ blessed light. Yaskarit’s architecture is dominated by the Carian traditional style, with only Dominian colonial buildings featuring Morozian styling, and is criss-crossed by rivers of varying sizes, leading to some calling it the City of Boats. Most of the planet’s Morozian population is concentrated here and works in the colonial government, or on behalf of one of the great houses or their enterprises.

Due to its position near the planetary equator more shuttlecraft launch from Yaskarit from any other city, and its eraset is greatly prosperous. However, at its edges lie agrarian and textile industries hit hard by cheaper Morozian imports which have priced out native competition. Few bother to visit these deprived sectors, often known as the Lesheka District for the swampy, half-reclaimed terrain it rests upon which was never finished due to Dominia’s annexation of the planet. Any visitor will have plenty to see in the Adirim District, its most central region, home to the planet’s governing body, the grand estate-holder’s palatial estate, and dozens of homes of rich patricians. For the middle and working class outside of the Lesheka District, Yaskarit offers a solid standard of living and more opportunities to go off-world than any other city on the Witch World.

Zama

Zama is popularly regarded as Caria’s “second city” and is a historical center for the venerable Magonbaal family. It is a center for the planet’s silver mining industry, with some of the richest veins being found underneath its sea-seeps. This silver industry has brought immense wealth to Zama and helped propel the Magonbaals to the historically dominant role they occupied until the Imperial era. The silver has also made it a center of first Carianism and now Carian Tribunalism, with many academies of divination and more conventional Tribunalist theology located in its eraset. Local legends hold it produces more Goddess-touched than any other eraset and is beloved by the Goddess above all other settlements. Due to its wealth the city is home to a great number of museums and parks funded by patrician families, sometimes by House Seok, and is home to one of the southern Spur’s most vibrant academic communities. Zama’s buildings often incorporate silver in their entryways: a technique said to block out malignant spirits.

The immense silver industry of Zama gives its eraset more of a presence underground than most, with mines stretching out from its borders and underground rivers filled with barges transporting mining equipment and silver ore. Collectively known as the Sofavek District, Zama’s underground is dirty and dark, but vibrant and full of working-class homes and businesses. Above it one can find the Tanit District, home to the city’s great academies and museums, and the Vanksa District, where factories and workshops produce much of the silver used in fashion, ritual, and region alike. The outskirts of the eraset are very aquatic, with large marshes having long blocked reclamation efforts and encouraged an aquaculture industry in place of conventional agriculture.

Mathula

Heartland of the Drubal family, Mathula is a great city which has long dominated Caria’s industrial sector. Here, the light of Lixus is dimmed by the smoke of industry and its marshes are polluted by runoff from its wealth. Since the Dominian conquest the city and its eraset have fallen on hard times, with the Pirate Lords’ demand for vessels vanishing and the Imperial Fleet already having a solid industrial base to draw from. Even with this base having shriveled, Mathula’s foundries and shuttleports still produce and assemble much of Caria’s shipping fleet, and some firms have successfully rebounded by expanding their clients to include House Caladius – something which has irritated the Kaneko-aligned Drubal family, who hope to rekindle the dying armaments and military shipbuilding industry they have historically dominated here. House Seok has also become involved in Mathula’s eraset, and has worked to clean some of the most polluted marshes around the city in the name of Empress Hai and Crown Priscilla Keeser. A gesture some consider charity, and others consider maneuvering against potential unrest when Priscilla ascends to the throne.

Mathula is bisected by the Mathula River, which grows from the massive sea-seep at its center – potentially the largest on the planet – and is spanned by several great steel bridges decorated with statues of the Aderlai (now claimed to be statues of the Goddess). Northern Mathula is home to its patrician homes and more prestigious districts, while Southern Mathula is home to working-class districts and the factories they work in. Southern Mathula is surrounded by a historically inhospitable marshy bog known as the Meshfot Zetit, or “Witch Bog,” which is wracked by pollutant runoff and the abandoned, partially-submerged remains of attempts to reclaim parts of it. Attempts by House Seok on behalf of the Empress have driven this area back and drained it of much of its pollutants, with some parts of the Witch Bog likely to become nature preserves in the near future.