The oldest country in the area, Ket is a dictatorship. The Emperor holds absolute power over all citizens of the nation. The Emperor is a powerful mage, trained from birth into the family tradition. Ket was founded by one of the first Autarchs, and has been growing for almost 2000 years. In fact, the current system of dates and years was created by Kethan I (the founder named his empire after him) and year 1 was the founding of the empire.
Emperor Kethan started many traditions, but the most famous was his Gladiatorial Combats. Fond of watching men die, the Emperor would command slaves and criminals (and political opponents) into battle with horrible monsters, while huge crowds looked on. The Arena in Gothos has been alive with the sounds of battle since the beginning, with only a few periods of disuse over the years. Even during the revolutions the Arena drew crowds to watch their favorite warriors vie for glory.
In 1304, the master mage Fistandantus led a successful revolt against the Emperor at the time, Rashikan III. Within ten years Fistus (the name by which he is most often known) had managed to completely control the government, through a series of battles, assassinations, bribes, and power plays. In 1315, Rashikan III and every member of his house were hunted down and either killed or forced to participate in the games in the Arena. Rashikan and Fistus faced off in Maaros, on the 4th of Richfest in 1315, with a battle of magic versus psionics. When the pyrotechnics were over, Rashikan's rule was no more.
Fistus then disbanded the Arena for almost twenty years, before it was re-opened by public appeals. In the centuries that followed, Fistus's family was overthrown and later re-took control of the government. Minor civil wars were fought every few years between 1587 and 1640, as one faction or another tried to become Emperor. Finally, in 1645, the current ruling family, the Rythoruus clan, came to power and have stayed there since. There has been no infighting within the family for generations, due to the aggressive and rigorous training/brainwashing that each newborn child goes through starting at age 3.
There has been a slight tendency towards evil Emperors since Kahn Rythoruus came to power. Because of this, the entire empire has slid slightly towards more evil alignments. Humanoid tribes (Orcs, goblins, etc.) walk the streets of Stanas, coming from their homes in the Granos Mountains. to trade with the Empire. Slavery is legal and thriving in Ket. Many captured Athmyrans and Nomads are sold on the slave blocks every week.
The general populace tends to be Lawful, living in fear of the militia and the Emperor's Chosen: The Red Hand. Non-organized crime is rarely seen, but organized thieves' guilds and mafia hold sway over most merchants and shops in every city. Crimes that are brought to the attention of the Militia have to overcome many obstacles before they are even investigated, but freelance criminals are punished swiftly and severely when caught.
Mages in Ket hold almost all the advisory positions in the government. The Clergy tends to stay out of politics... for the time being. Bane, Cyric, and other evil gods are openly worshipped in the larger cities; quietly worshipped in small farming villages and towns, but Chaotic deities such as Tymora are frowned upon. Psionics are illegal and hated by the population. When someone shows any psionic talent (many children are born with wild talents, but most suppress them), a witch hunt will ensue, with the person's own family helping to catch and kill the offender.
Regional exports are lumber, fish, and food, with some metals and gems. Most of the Ketan valley (between the Granos Mountains. and the Blue River) is covered with small independent farms. Grain and vegetables are grown throughout, but most fruit comes from groves in the eaves of the Grandwood and Adri Forests. Also exported are mercenaries and "fine goods" such as silk, furniture, and other luxuries that can only be produced in a metropolitan society. Imports are generally slaves, precious metals, exotic items found only in other areas.
Local government is loosely Feudal. The Emperor has granted many noble titles, assuring that anyone with enough money or power is a "Lord". Much of the fertile land is partitioned out between Lords of various power levels and abilities. For example, Lord Kathanos, an experienced warrior and general, owns many square miles of land outside of Stanas, thus controlling most of the food and other goods brought overland to the city. Next to Kathanos's lands, Lord Xavienas, a female mage, owns barely enough land to keep her own family and slaves fed and clothed. Yet, both rulers bear the same title, "Lord".
Each Lord can grant some of his land to subordinates. In cases such as Lord Kathanos, this is a necessity, since one man can only practically control the lands within a day's ride from his castle. These subordinates are usually called "Barons", but there is no standard; each Lord grants whatever titles he chooses. Barons rule their lands under the complete control of their Lords -- in some cases, they are literally charmed or mind controlled by their Lords.
Barons (or the less powerful Lords) generally control the local population of peasants and merchants via physical means. "Brute squads" roam the lands, enforcing the local leader's dictates and collecting taxes from people who annoy them. This leads the people to become a little paranoid, with an "everyone is out for themselves" philosophy the most favorite. Peasants have no power, not even to rise is status, except through marriage. Merchants can (and sometimes do) move from town to town, Lord to Lord, but the economics are heavily weighted towards staying in one place. E.g., a merchant would ask permission to build a blacksmithy. The Lord would grant him materials and labor, but would expect the merchant to stay a while. If the merchant made any motions to leave, the Brute Squad would likely beat him up, break his tools, etc. to "convince" him not to go. Understandably, this can lead to a bit of class hatred by the peasants.
Torture is legal in Ket, as is human sacrifice for organized purposes such as arena games or religious rituals. The expected way to advance in an office is to assassinate or discredit your superior. Lords gain land by either convincing the Emperor to give it to them (and take it away from a neighboring Lord) or by capturing it by force of arms. The summer is generally known as "campaign season", where many Lords hire mercenaries to conscript the local peasants and make war on their neighbors. In some of the more stable areas, treaties have been used to make this unnecessary, but those areas just see more of the political "land-grabbing". In large cities, the campaign season is usually marked by a "turf war" between various organized crime groups, each no doubt led by a "Lord" looking to gain power.
The capital city is huge. A sprawling mass of buildings and people, it covers most of the Athas delta and houses at least 100,000 people. Due to the marshiness of the area, many buildings are built a few feet above ground level, with wooden walkways as "roads" connecting them. In some sections of the city, a person can walk for a mile without seeing the ground. This arrangement, while not altogether completely stable, allows most people to simply throw their trash "below", and the tide will slowly wash it into the sea. Thus, Gothos is actually a rather clean city.
Richer areas of the city, and larger stone buildings are built with a level or two under ground, to support the weight. When entering a stone building from a walkway, a person usually has to step down a few feet to reach the floor of the first level. In the most expensive areas, such as the Emperor's Palace, the Arena, and the major temples, stone has been laid down to provide a firm base for the structures. There are no walkways here, and the stone roads are well-kept.
Like most places in Ket, Gothos is pretty much run by a few noble houses. They scheme and plan and combat each other in the streets sometimes, over disagreements about who knows what. The major players here are: House Palin, House Gax, House Vorloi (also known as House Vellans, the assassins' house), House Bilard, and House Perren.
The city is also the home of a number of very important temples. Just outside the city on a hill is the House of the Moon, a huge temple to Selune run by Naneatha Suaril. In the heart of the city, built upon sculpted pillars and walkways is the Temple of Beauty, sacred to Sune.
This bustling city is partly a merchant center and partly an agricultural center. Telos is the main stopover for goods (fruit, lumber, mushrooms) from Maaros on their way to Gothos. The docks on the Athas River are always moving, day and night. Also, the city's central location makes it the best place to load farm goods from the central valley on barges for the capital. Telos is probably the most mercantile city in Ket, and thus allows greater freedoms to its citizens. More people pass through the city than live there, and in the winter the population can drop to as few and 10,000 people.
About a day's ride west of Telos, this farming village is home to maybe 300 people. It has one main street, with an Inn, some shops, and homes. Mainly, this is the physical location of Castle Forlorn, the home of Lord Balzac. He is a minor lord, and only controls enough land to keep his castle functioning and to tithe to the church. The castle and village are the home of an experiment in social engineering: everyone worships Bane, but none of the peasants has been told the name of their god. They just call him "God", as if there were only one deity. This sparks some mighty curious looks from travelers, but as of now no one has broken the silence that locks this community into worshipping the Black Lord without question.
A mining town. As big as a city, Stanas still thinks of itself as a town: very few cultural events, most people look down on merchants as "freeloaders", everything closes at night. However, there are really two sides to this city: during the day, humans and dwarves conduct business, patrol the streets, and work in the mines. As soon as the sun goes down, the non-humans come out. Stanas has a huge proportion of orcs and goblins, possibly up to a quarter of the population. They tend to conduct business at night, away from the bright daylight. Thus, all "night shift" work is done by non-humans: mining, patrolling, etc. Dusk and dawn are when the town is busiest, as meetings between groups are generally held then.
This is the only small town that the Emperor has ever personally visited. It guards the border to Beogar over the Granos Mountains. Like Stanas, humanoids have been allowed to live here in exchange for helping with the around-the-clock vigilance. Effectively, this is a military base, with a few brothels and small arena to keep the men happier. Many of the soldiers would have deserted long ago, except that they are all trained to hate Beogar and brainwashed to follow orders to the death. It is similar to Sparta, Greece, on Earth, in these respects.
Orchards on the edge of the Grandwood, lumber from the Grandwood itself, and all the various animals and plants that can only grow in old-growth forests are the main exports from this city. Smaller than the other big cities in Ket, Maaros claims fame from being the site of the battle between Rashikan and Fistus in 1315. Thus, this is the Emperor's greatest stronghold. The people here saw the previous dynasty for what it was (evil and corrupt) and believe the new dynasty (now almost 600 years old!) has all the answers. Generally speaking, the people here are a little naive about politics.
Imagine East Berlin. Sauthos is strictly controlled by its current ruler, Lord Latekos. And Latekos is unhappy about the "twin city" status Sauthos had a mere 100 years ago with Sauter, in Wayland. None-the-less, he cannot stop the trading between the two cities, or his people would suffer and probably revolt. As it is, Sauthos is the way in for many goods from arch-enemy states Beogar and Athmyr, and the way out for goods destined to those places.
There are three bridges between the cities, across the Blue River. At the Sauthos side, guards are always posted. Only citizens with a pass (given for life and inherited) can pass through the gates. Others usually meet at the gate with someone on the other side and pass goods through. Goods transferred without a pass are taxed a flat 10%, thus making Lord Latekos a very rich man. Since only citizens of Ket can get a pass, this keeps the population from suddenly moving to Sauter.
In the past (about 100 years ago), there were attempts to take over Sauter from Sauthos, but they failed. There have been no more outright war for almost 50 years, so people pretty much accept the current state of affairs.
Copyright © 2000, Michael Friedman.