Baron

Original creator is FF Fanatic 80. Current expert/caretaker is Besyanteo. Current government type is a limited monarchy. No official religion. Currency is the zante. Predominant resident race is human.

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Brief Overview

Previously an absolute monarchy, Baron's government began to shift to a more democratic form of government starting about 400 years ago, after the unfortunate event which took place in the villiage Mist, simply known as "Destruction." The new government allowed the people to elect a council of advisors. While originally having no direct power, the council has since grown in power and importance; now, the monarchs must have the approval of the council before any kind of law or declaration of war can be made.

Baron serves as a center for commerce and is an open, friendly nation, largely welcoming strangers, trade, and travel. One important aspect of current day Baronian politics is the debate over airships, however.

After the war era 400 years ago, many of the kingdom's airships were either remodeled for peacetime transport or completely scrapped. Many in the nation feel this was a huge tactical mistake, leaving Baron's defenses open for invasion, while others feel that the air force should be developed in order to allow for greater travel, trade, and communication between Baron and other nations. Others, meanwhile, feel that the nation needs to maintain their limited number and use of airships as a sign of goodwill toward other nations, while still others argue that there should be no airships, calling them a "cursed" invention of man and a bane to society.

Baron isn't completely without military clout, however. One example of military training still prevalent in Doma is seen in the dragoon forces, trained largely in Cain Citadel. Baronian dragoons are one of the few dragoon 'families' to remain loyal to Ryuugami, the dragon goddess, after her apparent and mysterious disappearance from Gaera several centuries ago. Even now, the dragoons maintain a respect for dragonkind, from whom the dragoons largely receive their powers; many dragoons worship Ryuugami, and occasionally the more devout actually make pilgrimages to the Temple of Ryuugami, in the Shuman Mountain range west of Riva.

Besides the airships, another sticky point in Baron society concerns the territorial status of the village of Mist, located in a mountain enclosed valley north of Baron. There are some villagers who still despise the Baron Monarchy, due to "Destruction"; officially, however, Mist is part of Baron, and most of its inhabitants recognize such.

Baron does not have any kind of officially sanctioned religion. However, there are two more common forms of worship native to the area. One is worship of Odin, who was viewed as the Baronian God of War and Death up until about 400 years ago. Very few still pay homage to this deity today; however, a shrine in his honor is said to exist behind Baron Falls, north of the Capital. The other 'religion' is more common among the Summoners of Mist, who meditate and look to Leviathan, called 'King of the Seas' by the Summoners and more commonly known as 'King of the Summoned Monsters' by other Baronians. 'King of the Summoned Monsters' can be considered offensive by some Summoners."

Geography

Baron's Borders fall around the limited amount of habitable land south of the Titan mountain range,overlapping somewhat with the surrounding desert areas. North of Odin's Trail is very uneven land, still 'untamed' and covered in dense forests. To the south, a few pockets of forest still remain, thought much of the land is either settled or used for agriculture.

History: Baron

Note: The validity of Baron's history before 1,500 is highly debated by historical scholars in the nation. Many believe some of the 'accounts' of the past are nothing more than legends, or embellishments of important, but not quite 'mystical' events. One should take any 'information' from that period wih caution.

Year 0 - The Appearance of Odin

Before the kingdom of Baron existed, small pockets of settlements and tribes dotted the land. Many lived close to the currently named Titan Mountains, in order to avoid the harsh, desert climate further south. Life was very hard for these early Baronians, as they spent most of their short lives wandering the land, hunting and gathering for food, just trying to survive day to day. There was little time for them to do anything else, other than try to continue living. All this would change after the period known as The Awakening. The following is an excert from the The Way of the Zantetsuken:

"...and the sky was as dark as night, as the great clouds in the sky gathered over the great lake in the high mountains. And lo, the powerful light from the sky came down, striking the mountains and blanketing the air with debris. The people gazed toward the the mountains, their gaze falling upon a great gateway. Another world could be seen inside the mountains, colors and shapes unlike anything in this world. In another flash of light from the sky, a large being emerged from the gateway. As the sky roared above him, the being descended to the land upon a great creature. The creature looked almost like a horse, save for the unnatural colors of it's pelt and mane. A blinding pelt of pearl, which gradually shifted to the deepest black on its main, snout, and hooves. As the creature galloped through the land, it left the ground torn asunder in its wake, the creature's eyes glowing with a frightening red light. The being riding the creature wore intricatley crafted armor, beyond anything the people had ever seen. Atop his head he wore a helm of dark obsidian, with large, intimidating horns. His face was covered by a large mane of silver hair, tied into several braids at both his head and his chin. On his back he had a large lancet, glowing with a soft, purple light. In his hand he held a large blade, which crackled with the same light as that from the sky. Thus, did the people of Baron first lay eyes upon Odin..."

According to most documents and information gathered from that period, it is recorded that Odin gathered the fragmented clans together. He aiding them all with his knowledge and combative prowess. He tought them the way of the sword, strategy and planning, how to forge and create their own weapons and armor, among other skills. Most important of all, he helped unite them as a single people.

Year 1,000 - The formation of Baron

After one thousand years of teaching and leading the people, Odin decided that the time had come for the people to begin leading themselves for the future. In order to choose who would lead, a series of trials and tournaments were arranged.

Many are said to have perished during these trials, the most deadly of which was venturing into the Mist Caverns alone, and returning with the head of a Mist Serpent. Only one clan would eventually complete this task, earning their line the right to govern and rule the people in Odin's name. That family, of course, was the Baron clan.

History: Mist

Year 0 - Denouncing the Warrior God

The original settlers of Mist were once from the same area as the people of Baron. Some of the tribes were wary of following Odin, fearing that he may be a demon or else some kind of evil spirit. These tribes retreated through a pass in the Titan Mountains, hoping to find a way into the lands further north. Unfortunately for them, the caverns were full of many dangerous and deadly creatures. They thought the risks was worth it in the end, however, and decided to take their chances in the cave, rather than passing the harsh terrain that surrounded their lands. Many of these original settlers died, sacrificing their lives so that their brethren could move on and build a bright future for their people. After much travel, they finally made it to their current home, a patch of fertile land located in the Titan Mountains. The land was low enough on the mountains to receive rain, yet high enough to be nearly unnnoticed by the people back in their former homeland. The survivors went right to work trying to cultivate the land and make this place livable.

Year 1,000 - They Were Not Alone

The people chose to call their village Mist, named after the frequent weather phenomenon common to this land, as well as the cave leading to their village. As time passed, the people started to notice something odd about their homeland. Many frequently felt they were not alone, aside from the occasional beast lurking out of the caverns. Some began to have dreams about strange looking creatures, others swearing they saw people of flame or wolves of lighting running in the distance. None today are exactly sure when this changed, however the story told by both sides goes something like this:

A human of Mist and one of the Summoned shared a dream one night, each hearing the other's thoughts. As the nights went on, they soon learned who each other were, and of each other's worlds. Each being felt drawn to a place in their worlds, the human of Mist to a hill overlooking their village. The two beings spent several nights at this spot, until one night reality around the pair seemed to bend and warp. It was this moment when a Summoned and a human of mist first came into physical contact with each other. The pair frequently met with one another at this spot, trying to find ways to meet without having to wait for their worlds to allow them. This would eventually lead to the first bonding of Summoner and Summoned. Things would not immediately go smoothly between the two worlds, as there was much fear from both sides of these strange people. The early people of Mist thought the Summoned were demons, while the Summoned viewed the people of Mist as an annoyance. It would take several years before relations between the two peoples stabilized.

Year 2,000 onward

Though there have been periods of darker times for both peoples during these years, for the most part the lands of Mist have been tranquil and peaceful, for both Summoners and the Summoned. Each learned more and more of each other's words, the society of Mist becoming deeply entwined with the society of the Summoned. (AKA: Open for Additions / RP background stories)

Year Unknown (400 years ago from current RP time) - Destruction

This marks the darkest day in the history of Mist. The King of Baron at this time was hell bent on making Baron a worldwide power. It was decided that the Summoners of Mist posed too great a risk to his plans. In the guise of a gift of respect to the powerful people of Mist, one of the Kingdom's Knights was sent to deliver this gift in person. When he arrived in the village to meet the elders, the gift revealed its true nature. It was a summoning artifact, calling forth a swarm of deadly, blood-thirsty demons that quickly killed the elders, soon moving out against the rest of the village. The surviving Summoners called forth their Summons, a long, grueling battle taking place between the demons and the people of Mist. To the surprise of the survivors, the same Knight who brought this destruction upon the village was doing his best to aid them in stopping the demons. After several hours of fighting, the demons had been eraticated. The surviving Summoners and their Summoned all gathered around the Knight, enraged and saddened at the loss of their comrades. To their surprise, however, they found this knight weeping openly before them. He looked around to all that had gathered, tears in his eyes as he uttered his last words:

"I am sorry for the horrors I have brought upon you, and the dishonor I have brought to the knights of Baron. May the gods forgive me, and watch over all of you."

He then stabbed himself in the chest, ending his life before the stunned Summoners and Summoned.

This Knight's sacrifice is one of the few reasons not all the people of Mist have hatred for Baron. A small monument still exists at the entrance to the village, in honor of the knight who tried to right this wrong.

Mist

Current Day Mist

After several generations of fear of the outside world, the people of Mist are slowly starting to venture back out into the rest of the world again. The age old tradition of the Journey of Enlightenment has been started again, and many Summoners are once again using the pass from Baron to the northern lands as a way of training their skills, via escorting people through the hazardous caverns, as well as earning some coin for the village.

Summoners and The Summoned

Due to the thin barrier between they heavy magical plane of the Summoned and the area of Mist, over the generations the people of this land tend to have a better affinity for magic than average humans. However, in order to become a candidate for being a Summoner, one must have an affinity for magic much higher than even the Mist norm, otherwise the bond will become too taxing on both the Summoner and the Summoned. This is also true of the Summoned in their world, so a Summoner and the Summoned are, for the most part, highly respected by the people of both worlds (there are, of course, exceptions for certain pompous, arrogant individuals, etc). This is not the only way the two worlds meet, however. In a paticular part of Mist is a shrine on a hill overlooking their village. This location is the place where the barrier between Mist and the Summoned's world is weakest. It is where individuals from one side can attempt to cross to the other with minimal strain. This only occurs roughly every two weeks, the rest of the time still requiring a lot of effort on the part of the individual(s) attempting to cross, at high risk to their health. Due to this, it is not unusual for one to see many exotic, strange beings casually walking around the area of Mist.

The Summoned is the name the people of Mist have given these magical beings from another plane, and one said people have adopted in identifying themselves in the Summoner's plane. These beings have radically varying forms, some appearing humaniod, others resembling creatures such as wolves, lions, bears, and the like, others beyond an equivalent description from the Gaeran world. While each individual is unique, there are some consistent traits among the Summoned.

While those outside of Mist frequently believe these creatures to be immortal, the truth is that the longest a Summoned has been known to live is 1,000 years, the average tending to be somewhere around 300 years.

All usually have a tight bond to magic in some form. Most of the time, this is in the form of great skill with a certain type of magic, such as control over one of the elemnts, etc. In a few cases, this bond is used by the individual to enhance their physical skills, rather than magical.

The Summoned have their own language, though most pick up the human language rather quickly from their frequent contact with the people of Mist. Only Summoners who have been bonded with a Summoned for many years usually has hope of learning any of this language.

Finally, all Summoned creatures have the ability to take a smaller, less powerful form of themselves in the Summoner's world. This acts as an advantage to both the Summoner and the Summoned, as doing so makes it less taxing for both to maintain the Summoned in the human plane. Generally all will take some kind of human-like form, as a form of respect to the Summoners. The more animal-like and exotic Summoned, however, will occasionally take the form of an animal or other creature from the human world.

Bonding

When a child of Mist reaches the age of 10, a council is conviened to determine if said child has the gifts necessary to become a Summoner. The council consists of 10 members: the community's five most experienced Summoners and their five bonded Summoned. The child is tested in various ways, their magical ability, their character, much of this is left up to each individual council. This is not the end of the test, however. Once the child is decided to be ready, the Summoned go to their own world to find someone to bond with the child. Most in Mist are not 100% sure what methods are used by the Summoned, though some Summoned have hinted to their Summoners it involves their own tests and trials back in their world. Once the Summoner and Summoned have been selected, a special ceremony is held in the village temple. This spot is where the bondaries between the plane of the Summoners and the plane of the Summoned is weakest. The council members gather in this temple, the Summoners calling forth the Summoned they are bound with and the Summoned to be bonded to the child.

(OOC: I'm not 100% sure how this should go yet, I'm open to suggestions)

The intricate ceremony involves magic of the people from both worlds, as well as the child and unbonded Summoned. Once complete, the connection between both becomes immediate. A Summoner and their Summoned are assigned to watch over the two for a short period of time to help them adjust, as the shock of having someone in their thoughs has frequently caused discomforting, and occasionally violent tension in the past. Once this period ends, the pair are seperated for length of time to be trained. The Summoned prepare the bonded one for taking their new form in Gaera.

The Summoned and Summoner share a tight bond. As time passes, each can hear and respond to the other merely by though. Initially, the Summoned has more of an advantaged, as they tend to develop their abilites at a faster rate than their Summoner. This leads to the situation many Summoners jokingly called "The Age of No Privacy", as the Summoned can easily read any thoughts the Summoner may have. As the Summoner becomes more accustomed to their bond, however, they eventually learn to block their thoughts much better. In some cases, the Summoner can even force himself into the Summoned's thoughts. This is also jokingly called "The Age of Payback". In general, close Summoners and Summoned will respect each other enough not to do so, unless each feels something is severly wrong with the other.

One may wonder why the beings of this plane began to do this in the first place. The Summoned enhance the Summoner's abilites, while the Summoner also allows the Summoned to learn at a much higher rate.

Summoning

The art of summoning involves the Summoner and the Summoned channeling their magical powers in a ritualistic spell, allowing the Summoner to 'call' the Summoned to assist him. Because this involves forcing the Summoned through the barrier between the Summoned plane and Gaera's plane, the spell is extremely taxing on both individuals. As noted above, this effect can be lessened by the Summoned taking on a less powerful form before coming over.

(I'd like some input on how to make this 'fair' should someone want to make a Mist Summoner for PS, etc. )

Taboos

The Summoned are not simply wild creatures with powerful abilites. They are concious, emotional, rational beings that have the ability to choose their actions. As such, it is not surprising that in the early days, many Summoned became very close to the ones they bonded with. The results of some of these relationships, namely children, usually caused much tension between both societies. The child of such a relationship would never feel quite right, drawn to both the world of Gaera and the world of the Summoned. This also caused much anguish and sorrow to the Summoned, as they normally live much longer than humans, and in some cases outlived their offspring.

Because of all this, the following guidelines have become deeply entrenched into the dual society:

1. The Summoner and the Summoned must be of the same gender when bonded. Obviously, in certain cases, this would not be 100% effective, but this feeling still remains today in a majority of the Summoned and the people of Mist.
2. The Summoned may not spend a lengthy period of time in Gaera, unless absolutely necessary. There were some Summoned who, after spending a lengthy time in Gaera, became overcome with the idea of holding power over the 'weak' humans of the world. Some even went so far as to take over the mind of their Summoner, using them to fulfill their selfish desires. It is believed by many that limiting the time spent in the human plane will help prevent this from occuring, though there is a vocal faction in both worlds that strongly disagree with this. While not strictly enforced, those who are found out are normally punished in some manner.
3. A Summoner and a Summoned must never, ever have anything deeper than friendship with one another. As mentioned above, it was viewed that this caused too much grief and sorrow for all parties involved. Should such a relationship be found out, the people of both worlds are harsh in their punishment. The Summoned is usually forbidden from ever returning to Gaera and the human is banished from the village Mist, never to return."

-- FFFanatic80