Nation: Zhem
Government: Limited republican meritocracy
Leader: The Council and the Archcouncilor - the Lords and Ladies
Capital: Risseläon the island of Ahma
Religion: The Council holds open channels to all local and known religious affiliations. Churches are weighed based on their relationship with the laws of Zhem, and the past merits and breaches of the laws at the time. Freedom of religion encompasses all law-abiding religions, and citizens are free to worship their gods without fear of retribution from the state.
Entrance: People are allowed entrance under the laws and criterias of Zhem.
Exit: Only those prohibited by the laws may not leave the country.
Adjective: Zhemean
Official language: Classical Finnish (Dead, no native speakers. Descendant languages include Soimmi and Aakale.)
Collective noun: Zhemites or Zhemeans.
Members:
Archcouncilor Risse of the JärventausClan- Nait
Näkijä (the Seer) Ai Ermoaof the Wòng clan, of the City of Valkea and of the Cult of Päi - Mo-Nercy
High Sorceress Nirnalie of the Cult of Betremon - Kiuru
Member of:
The Council of Valtameri, together with Fiorenseo.
Diplomatic ties with:
Fiorenseo, through Ambassador Jokinen in Emirano
Aura, through Ambassador Ilmari in Aspersio
Atlantica, through Ambassador Torppainen in Amphoria
Map:
The Council of Zhem
Zhem is ruled by the Council of Zhem, a body comprised of 36 (1006) merited individuals chosen by a body of voters. Every three years there are held elections, and twelve (206) councilors are chosen to replace the twelve most senior members of the council – one from every Branch of the Council. These elections are held down to the village-level, and consist of voters putting vote-tokens which represent different choices into tubes in the order of preference, by the Alisen menetelmä.
The Council is divided into twelve groups of three, each which governs a certain area of the state. The groups are the Judicial, Magical, Religious, Martial, Medical, Diplomatic, Tax, Fiscal, Economical, Educative, Law Enforcement, and the Constructional Branches.
The Council choses from its rank the Archcouncilor of Zhem, a person first amongst equals, who is in charge of the nomination of the Keeper of Seals, Keeper of Annals and the Keeper of Keys, who are in charge of the inner workings, bureaucracy, note-keeping and public records of the state, including the Laws.
New laws are suggested by Councilors. One sponsor for a law is needed when the law is under the jurisdiction of the Branch of the Councilor. If the law falls outside the jurisdiction of a single Councilor, the law can be brought forth by three Councilors, from three different Branches.
If the law is supported by the Branch under which it falls, and the Archcouncilor, the law requires a simple majority to pass. If these criteria are not met, a law needs a majority of two thirds to pass.
In the case of a tie, the Archouncilor's vote decides.
A Councilor can also vote to not support the law, but to demand that the law is taken to the Council to negotiate. If a sixth (1/106) of the votes are for the Negotiation in a vote demanding a simple majority, or a fourth in a vote demanding two thirds, the law is taken to the Council, and negotiated over by the three parties of supporters, modifiers and rejecters.
The Keepers of Zhem
The Keepers are the main bureaucrats of Zhem, appointed by the Archcouncilor. Each one surveys a part of the inner workings of the government of Zhem, like a Council Group without the legislative powers.
The Keeper of Keys is the public housing, warehouse, office and fortifications authority. He organises the usage of all official buildings in Zhem, from the Council Hall in Risselä to the warehouses of goods in harbours and villages around Zhem. He is also responsible for public buildings, like libraries, prisons, and, in part, for the numerous state owned commercial facilites in the nation.
The Keeper of Annals is the high authority on the codexes, postal services, bureaucratic paperwork, bookkeeping, of the state and the publishing of public records.
The Keeper of seals is responsible for the currencies, tax tokens, item tokens, vote tokens, voting procedures, executive bureaucracy, seals and heraldry of the land.
Politics of Zhem
The grounding principles of the politics of Zhem are the Scarlet Diaries. The Scarlet Diaries are a renown book of essays written by the first Archcouncillor of Zhem, the Lady Armas. It sets the rules for the pragmatic taxation of all citizens of Zhem, regardless of wealth or poverty, introducing the Concept of Worth which dominates the taxing policies of Zhem even today. The book also tells of the Law of Appeasement, which has been on the reading-list of all political leaders through the history of Zhem.
The Concept of Worth tells us how to divide the burden of taxes between those who produce, those who refine, and those who deliver, and between the rich and the poor. The Concept includes the Taxes of Production, Income and Productive Property and the Rules of Equivalent Trade.
The Law of Appeasement is the manifesto of the Policy of Prevention. It tells us that it is folly to ignore the down-trodden and weak, because the twists of fate can make a general tomorrow of the man you whipped today, or a mage today of the peasant whose family you starved to death last month. The Law of Appeasement set forth the claim of adequacy, made by those not favored by luck, in the words of those in power speaking in empathy – and dread for the power even the lowest can wield.
Academy of Zhem
The Academy of Zhem is the highest court of study found in the Nation of Zhem. It was set up by Council decree on the 12th of Heinäkuu in 253 AR (206th of Heinäkuu in 11016)as a centralized body for scholars and students to gather to.
The Academy first included the School of Magic, the School of Religion and the School of Medicine. Later, in 312 (12406), the School of Law was added, and in 342 (13306), the School of Economy.
These Schools were divided into Houses of learning.
School of Magic included the House of Astrology, House of Numerology, House of Elements, House of Spells and House of Spirits.
Many of these houses were divided in later years. The House of Astrology became the House of Astronomy, the House of Psychology and the House of Fate. The House of Numerology later merged with the House of Fate, to become the House of Mathematics. The House of Elements was divided into the House of Small Worlds, and the House of Large worlds. The House of Large Worlds was Divided into the House of Alchemy and the House of Mechanics, while the House of Small Worlds thrives to this day.
The House of Spells and the House of Spirits are the only House of the School of Magic to pursue pure magical studies.
The Academy still stands, and is the largest complex of learning in Kotosaaret. The closest anyone has come to challenge the hegemony of the Academy is the Academy of Fiorenseo, on Ciel Isle, north of Valtameri.
Zhemean society
Zhemites are a quiet, introvertive sort. Private time is appreciated, even though quarrels and debates can devolve into screaming. In Zhem it is custom to not speak on each other, but to wait until the other has stopped speaking. It is also uncomfortable for many to speak on matters they deem private, their own, like religiosity or sexuality, and only those interested in debate over these matters speak of it in quantity. Strangely, though, all of Zhem is extremely political. Children are taught to be independent and make their own mind about policies and politics, which they do, resulting in a multitude of opinions, movements, parties and political figures on the isle of Ahma.
The two dominant races in Zhem are humen and dwarves, followed by elves and a few sand-dwellers. Through most of the history of Zhem, these races have engaged in an uneasy ceasefire, but since the Convention of Armala in 243 (10436) AR, the relationships between the races have been more relaxed, and even friendly, whilst the pent-up xenophobia of the people has beens spent on the people of an island made up by a poet.
Zhem is a sober society, not because alcohol is banned, but because Zhemites do not have any head for it. Instead of sterilizing their drinking water with booze, Zhemites use boiled water, flavored with a myriad of teas and other brews, famous amongst these arta, a sweet tasting, milky orange-colored tea for the children, and the purple-colored and rather strongly aromatic urma, brewed from ground urma-beans.
Even though drinking alcohol is not an everyday matter, it happens, and alcohol is served at funerals. Drinking is not tolerated in public, and most drinkers put themselves in non-public places, often in their homes, behind locked doors, or far out in the wilderness, where their depravity is not to be seen by the eyes of the living.
Sexuality in Zhem is a matter of preference, rather than norm. The dwarves brought their warrior-society with them, and from there it spread throughout all of Zhem. Teenagers do not feel threatened to acknowledge their sexuality. From the darker ages of Zhemean history there are still left bastions of the defense of nonstandard sexuality, like the homosexual warrior-cult of Tarmo, where the strongest and most bloodthirsty warriors gathered to fight for their right to (consensually) bugger whomever they wanted.
Most of Zhem has adapted to this formerly dwarven custom, and even heterosexual people sometimes take a bite of the apple, when, for example, they are spurned by a lover or are fevered with an undying cynicism against the opposite sex.
Paedophilic sex is not accepted, and its practitioners are persecuted ruthlessly. Necrophilia, bestiality and sex with vegetables are finable offenses under the law, and also usually include prosecution for disrespect for the dead, cruelty to animals and spoiling perfectly good food.
The currencies of Zhem
The state of currencies in Zhem is complicated. There are tokens for taxes, called tax coins, verolantti, that can be traded so that one does not need to pay taxes for a certain amount. These tokens were created because of the difficulties food producers and other producers had when trying to pay their taxes on a set date. The farmer or carpenter would rather pay a bit at a time, and would, for example, transport food or furniture to local tax-houses, where they would receive tokens – large copper coins – to later reimburse when paying their taxes on tax-day.
The second currency is more traditional – silver coins, hopealantti. The coins, stamped by the Council's orders to prove their value, is used as a general currency amongst the people, and was not completely dependent on the backing of the state. The worth of the silver fluctuates when more silver is introduced in the archipelago, but has been rather steady for two hundred years. The Council has a stockpile of silver hidden on the island. Gold is not used as a currency.
In addition to silver coins and tax coins there is the state-backed commodity token, item coin, tavararaha. These large copper coins are stamped with an agreement from the state to reimburse the said coin against a certain amount of goods. State-kept warehouses used for trade around the country will trade these coins for raw-materials like iron, other metals, wood, and fine stone, food like wheat, flour or livestock, craft-work, like roof-tiles or nails. Each coin is stamped with certain items, and the state keeps a constant stock of these, as much of a certain coin is in circulation. Coins include One Sack of Flour and One Healthy Cow – a coin of average worth and one of the most valuable coins.
Counterfeiting tax-coins or commodity coins is a criminal offense, and punishable by heavy fines, confiscation of tools and even banishment.
Religions of Zhem
Sinihengellisyys, the religion of Ahma
Born out of all the amalgamations of different beliefs after the rift, the Blue Breath Temple is one of the most popular, non-discriminatory religion in the Far East of Eizon. It has been embraced by all races, and people of all walks of life, who have abandoned their religions – Christianity and Islam, Illuvatary and Sauronism, Kudzhuzmengilism and Embarchodanism, Ksiemarianism and Oism – for a religion, which shows us how, rather than telling people to hang their heads in shame, raise their eyes in anger and swing their fists in zeal, to try to better ourselves while enjoying it, and the company of each other.
Gods
The Blue Breath Temple has a pantheon of gods, representing the powers of nature, the powers of society and the powers of fate, chance and chaos. Equal amongst themselves, the most known are the gods who people feel touch ordinary lives most. Some of these are Sae, the Goddess of Rain, Päi, the Goddess of the Sun, Yö, the Goddess of Night, Väinä, the God of the Seas, Mielikki, the Goddess of the Forest, and Lumi, the Goddesss of Snow.
Unlike in other religions, these forces are never sacrificed to. The Blue Breath Templars believe that it is useless to try to goad such awesome entities as there are in nature by mere pyres and ritual meals. Rather than try to force the gods to their will, believers will seek to circumvent that will in other ways. Everything else is just silliness from those who hold images of the gods as easily appeasable entities, to be swayed with a nice roasted lamb or a gorgeous flower arrangement.
The Blue Breath Templars are also students of the gods. In order to circumvent their power and anger, believers seek knowledge about the forces and the gods before them. This had led to a rich religious tradition of observation, and to writings such as Kivisilta's famous dissertation, The Relationships of Väinä, Päi, Yö, and Pilvi with Tuuli, about the life of Wind between the forces of the Sea, Day, Night and Cloud. The books is full of information on how to see the Wind as a part of the great Drama of the Gods, and how to take advantage of it.
The Circle
Of life and death, the Blue Breath Temple holds a view that is not particularly unique. When a person dies, she travels to the afterlife, to which God she has served, or to the God that demands her. After a time, she will be freed from the divine, and travel to Eizon once more, to begin a new life, and to die yet again.
The Templars hold that the Rift was an anomaly of the Circle. There was a mistake, and all those recently dead from the Five Worlds were dumped into an empty world, so that none would be destroyed in whatever was causing turmoil. There are other worlds like Eizon out there – formerly empty worlds, now inhabited by the residents of other planes, and they might, or might not, be unified with the other Worlds, though most believe that this will not happen.
The Temple teaches that there are at least two non corporeal parts in a person. The first is the henki, the breath of life all living things possess, and the second one is the sielu, the immortal soul which travels from life to life.
When a person dies, she loses her breath – her henki – which may stay upon earth as an image of the deceased, though not truly a "person" if it goes without the sielu. The henki is a mortal thing, and will break down into parts, like the body, to be thread into other spirits, like the body turns into the soil to feed the earth. The sielu is, in contrast, immortal and indestructible, though not unchangeable, which travels through lives in order to collect to itself all the feelings that can be felt, and all the experiences that can be held. The sielu holds within itself each and every one of its incarnations, and gathers more for it to become perfect – after which is travels no more, but lives in the ether, immovable and content until the advent of new life begins, and the time of olds souls begin.
The Economy of Zhem
Zhem is renowned for the quality of the products produced on Ahma. The most famous, and widely circulated, of these are the red porcelain called ramassi, the beautiful glass products and raw materials, including volcanic sand, windows and instruments, and the strong denim-fabric, varmi. Zhem also exports paper, ships, tar, copper, iron, silk, hemp, tea, magical implements, ships, jewelry and literature.
Many of the provinces have their own spheres of economic influence:
Province of Risselä is the main trading-port of Zhem, and also holds the largest presses and publishing houses. Tea and silk are grown in the countryside outside the capital. Risselä is the greatest producer of jewelry in all of Dominia.
Untala is the boat-building base of Zhem. The forests provide tar and wood materials for ships, and most go to the making of ships. Varmi is also produced in Untala.
Kertola, known for it's silk-worms, produces silk for both home and abroad.
Province of Valkea has large centers of porcelain production, and the city of Valkea is well-known from its numerous potters. The second-largest city in Zhem, Valkea also houses paper makers and book-makers. Ink and dyes are also produced.
Sisälä is known for its forests, and its tar. Copper is also mined in the hillside, and hemp is grown.
Itälä, on the eastern coast, does not experience as much trading as the other peripheral provinces, but produces, regardless, fine ships, silk and tea.
Vuorela is the most mineral rich province of Zhem, lying between the mountains north and forests to the east. Iron, copper, gold, silver and stone is mined and quarried for, and huge amounts of glass is made, most of it high quality.
Kasila, Saarela and Läntelä produce more or less the same products – mainly copper, ships, silk, hemp, denim, tea and porcelain.
All provinces have large markets of farming products, like food and livestock, and the norsu are captured young and trained for different tasks, like work or even war. The haukkanen brown falcon gryphons have been somewhat domesticated, and form, alongside cats and dogs, a continuum from gigantic guarding animals to rat-catchers.
