Main Page » Domain and Regency » Law and Culture
Many different cultures live and thrive on the continent of Cerilia. Five human races and at least five nonhuman species maintain communities, laws, customs, and traditions. All have leaders. All have their own methods of governance. Diversity of society, government, and culture exists even within these surface divisions. Not all Anuirean realms have kings or warrior-lords at their heads. Not every Rjurik regent answers to a council of jarls. The Brechts value mercantilism and trade but have ancient lines of lordship as well. The Khinasi states and the tribes of Vosgaard have their overweening characteristics, but no two domainse are ruled in exactly the same way. The elves, dwarves, halflings, orogs, goblins, and gnolls of Cerilia govern themselves and sometimes each other?with methods that defy generalization. It is said that in the days of the Anuirean Empire, more than one emperor tried to bring a single system of government to all the lands under his charge. People who otherwise respected, feared, or even loved him rebelled at this attempt. Willingness to bow to a foreign overlord was one thing changing their system of governance was quite another.

?Oervel Osserlun, Introduction to The Font of Authority, the Fall of Empire

[top]The Head that Bears the Crown

No two races or species in Cerilia govern themselves in the same manner but similarities do exist. When the Flight From the Shadow and its subsequent colonization
of the continent threw half a dozen human races together with nearly the same number of
nonhuman species, some blending of governments, societies, and philosophies was bound to occur. Today, Cerilia?s people divide the land and themselves along cultural, racial, and political lines. But they learn from each other and adapt, sometimes unknowingly, to the forces of history. The forces that guide the development of a domain include the cultural heritage of the people in the domain, the religious doctrines dominant in the domain, the historical circumstances of the domain, and the crisies which have shaped the domain.

[top]Humans and law

The cultures of Cerilia have changed since humans first emigrated from Aduria over two thousand years ago. The Masetians are no more. Their civilization and style of government departed this world in the wake of the Battle of Deismaar, though many of their customs and beliefs live on in the Khinasi. The Brechts and the Rjuven (now Rjurik), dominated for centuries by the Anuireans, learned lessons of empire fro m
their masters. And the Vos, who once worshiped the god of moon and magic, have become the most barbaric of Cerilia?s human races. Each culture, and each individual realm within those larger societies, developed its style of government over many centuries. The political structures that govern them today derive from their histories and adaptations made through the years to meet the changing needs of their people.

[top]Native Law: Elves, Dwarves, and Humanoids

Long before humans ever came to Cerilia, giants, elves, dwarves, and other humanoids ruled domains. Their legal habits and traditions continue to influence events today.

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