Society

From Breaking Worlds

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Although leading a life of adventure has become more common since the Breaking most people in Arginet do their best to live normal lives. Offworlders, straying through the rifts, sometimes find Arginese society strange or unfamiliar, but it has changed little through the ages and the people who make it up take comfort in its apparent timelessness and stability - despite the conflict that has long been simmering beneath the surface…


The people

Arginet, like every nation in the world, is peopled by humans, of whom a small proportion are fay touched by the elements. Since the Breaking, they have been joined by revenants - animated corpses possessed by the spirits of the ancestors who inhabited them in life.

Social class

The people of Arginet are divided between nobles and commoners. A small but influential minority hold land in the name of the Crown, while the remainder must be content to live quiet lives or seek power in other ways.


Law

A simple code of laws underpins the order of the Realm, laid down by the Royal Council and enacted by a cadre of scrupulously impartial magistrates.


Crafts and learning

Arginet is an enlightened mediaeval society where most people have at least a basic education and the towns and cities are home to artisans, scholars, and philosophers. Many crafts and sciences are cultivated to a high degree - not least among which is the practice of magic. The history of the realm is another popular interest of the learned.


Sexuality, identity, and relationships

The diversity of humankind is recognised and celebrated in Arginet, and a veritable rainbow of identities and sexualities exists within the Realm. While commoners are free to conduct their relationships as they see fit, the nobility hold their own marriages to strict standards of fidelity and permanence.


Factions

At present, three main factions - the Noble Houses, the Royal Armies, and the Reform Coalition - dominate Arginese society while smaller groups such as the animist orders also jockey for power. Though only a small minority of Arginese officially belong to a faction, they exercise a great degree of influence over the nation.


Names

In many cases the name of an Arginese says a lot about them. People often give or choose names that indicate their class, background, or ideology, and nobles jealously guard their family heritage.