Society in Honoro

Honoro

Honoro is a nation of vast plains, rolling hills, raging rivers, deserts, and river deltas. It is home to the beastfolk: loxodons and leonins in particular, but also aaracokra, minotaur, lizardfolk, owlins, centaur, tortle, but also rhinoceros, antelopes, wildebeests, hyena, zebra, giraffe, ... the variety is endless.

Honoran Society

The people of Honoro are diverse and it can be difficult to generalize. However, people of other nations would remark on their independence, their love of freedom, their connection with nature, their industriousness, and their ability to compromise, but also their wilfulness, their lack of respect for authority, and their obscure customs. Honorans would counter argue the last few as a reflection of individual rights.
Honoro is largely governed by the rule of law - an explicit set of contracts that codify rights and wrongs - that is used to create stability and consistency across the confederation of sovereign states. The Honoran Alliance is overseen primarily by loxodons, and they have a small military force run by primarily leonins. Leonins also tend to be the most common leaders of the individual member states. However, there is much diversity among the sovereign states, and it is not common to see a wide diversity of representatives at the Alliance meetings.
Honorans see themselves as part of the Honoran Alliance, but identify more strongly with their own sovereign state.
The Alliance has been struggling since the Cataclysm, which wiped out the majority of the Alliance leadership and weakened its political strength. Since then some sovereign states have pulled out of the Confederation, either going their own way or forming their own union. The most notable of these is the Southern Towers, a union of 3 city-states that each sit at the mouth of a river delta and so control the maritime shipping lanes out of Honoro.

The Major Sovereign States of Honoro Alliance

There are over 100 member states of varying sizes. Most are small, independent city-states. The largest and most influential member states, along with their primary population, are listed below. Individuals of all sorts can be found in any of the nations - they are not confined to their home of origin.

• The Grasslands - A vast savanna made up of leonins, buffalo folk, antelopes, rhinoceros, wildebeests, zebra, and others. The primary home of leonins, and is the largest member state, accounting for almost 1/4 of the overall land mass.
• The Woodlands - A massive forested land that serves as primary home of the loxodons. Also found in this area are the giraffefolk and tabaxi. It is the second largest member state.
• The Riverlands - A confluence of several large rivers into a single major river. This is the land of the hippofolk (also called giff), otterfolk, grungs, tortles, and others.
• Foothills Alliance - A loose coaltion of various former 'monstrous' species that have found a home in the hills. This includes gnolls, minotaurs, centaurs. Aaracokra can also be found among these groups as they occupy the regions where foothills turn into mountains, and perch among the high peaks.
• Deep Forest - A tropical forest that is dense and hard to navigate. It is the primary home of the apefolk, gorillafolk, and other monkeyfolk, along with aaracokra, lizardfolk, and tabaxi.
• Big Lake - The largest lake in Honoro, on the largest river in Honoro, has become a metropolitan nation that serves as home to a multitude of beastfolk.
• Deep Lake - The deepest lake in Honoro, which has become home to Meeting of the Minds, the new capital city of Honoro after the destruction of Friendly Gathering.

Nearby, but not allied with Honoro

• Southern Towers - an alliance of three cities, each at the mouth of a river exiting into the sea. Together they control a large amount of seabound shipping.
• Darkwood -a forest in northwest Honoro that is home to former monstrous species (orcs, goblins, bugbears, etc.). The Honoran government 'gifted' this land to the Reborn so that they could rebuild their societies after the Dark Curse had been lifted. In reality, the forest was previously populated by the cursed humanoids, and they simply retained it once the curse was lifted.
• Malahu - a vast, cursed jungle teeming with undead to the far south, on the border of Amon-Ra. Malahu was once populated by humans, but were betrayed by Ras Nsi working with Heket-Batar. The humans were almost completely wiped out, and the Malahuan civilization fell to ruin. Recently, a number of enterprising lizardfolk have settled Port Nyanzaru and seek to man the mines and repopulate the jungle.
• Lonely Morass - a saltmarsh at the end of a moderately sized river that expands for miles around. It is a mostly unknown land, but it is rumored that the Yuan-Ti have several cities within the marsh.
• The Great Dwarven Empire of Mountainhome - The Great Dwarven Empire of Mountainhome is currently the largest collection of dwarves in Arkadia. It was formerly an independent, but minor clan of dwarves that was overshadowed by the SkyTop dwarves who held all of Arkadia in thrall. During that era the Mountainhome dwarves mainly kept to themselves and focused on their craftsmanship. After the Cataclysm, many SkyTop refugees swarmed into Mountainhome, overwhelming it. Eventually the gates were closed, and the remaining refugees had to go elsewhere. While there is order in Mountainhome, it is not clear who controls it.

The Founding of the Honoran Alliance

The Honoran Alliance was founded in response to the dwarven kidnappings and cursing of several beastfolk species: centaurs, lizardfolk, gnolls, minotaurs, and others. It was proposed by the loxodons that the scattered beastfolk were easy picking for the SkyTop dwarves, and that a cooperative union would provide them with a unified front to better negotiate peace. Thus, Friendly Gathering was settled near the base of SkyTop mountain. Eventually this grew in power and became the capital of a unified Honoro. The alliance also led to the creation of the first unified military unit, The Pride of Honoro, led by the leonins. Through this alliance, the loxodons ensured more peaceful relations, and the dwarves were more easily able to exert their influence.
The success of the Alliance was immediate, and eventually Friendly Gathering also became the location where inter-state diplomacy was performed. However, problems were present as the location and the choice of leaders created real stress among the members states: those who were closer to the mountain, and closer allies of the loxodons, wielded more influence and had better prospects. Member states further from SkyTop, especially those in the far south, continually argued that their views were not being represented. However, the risk of being outside of the Alliance was too great, so even the unhappiest states still remained.

The Honoran Alliance After the Cataclysm

The Cataclysm changed everything. Friendly Gathering was destroyed along with SkyTop, along with tens of thousands of Honoran diplomats along with it. There were immediate attempts by the Alliance to assuage member states, along with the founding of Meeting of the Minds in more central and 'neutral' territory, but eventually the cracks became chasms, and member states began to withdraw from the Alliance. Without the ever-present threat of the SkyTop dwarves, member states began to imagine a better life for themselves if they no longer had to compromise. The loxodons, meanwhile, argue that they should continue the Alliance to treat with the newly accessible nations of Elladrell, Dracaryx, and that the alliance would allow them to influence the development of the new nation of Caldera. Each day brings a new diplomatic challenge for the loxodons, especially as many of their brighest minds have moved to Caldera City to found a new nation rather than trying to rescue the Honoran Alliance.

High Society in Honoro

There are many ways to achieve success and status in Honoro, but all of them involve at least some diplomatic or military elements. The many layers of governing bodies, the constant negotiations with other member states or with the Alliance, and now with other nations all require at least one hand involved with governmental affairs. A mercantile enterprise could not be successful without understanding the myriad of laws or regulations, or indeed the consistency with which they are applied from location to location. Military involvement is much more straightforward, as the leonins run a very tightly coordinated unit.
Titles: Within the Alliance there are numerous prominent positions, but there are few of these available and they are extremely hard to obtain. Beneath the top leadership of the Alliance are the following ranks and titles:

• Voice - The highest rank of local alliance representation. This individual is the only voting member of the representative political class, and is selected from the Speakers. Referred to as "The Right Honorable , Voice of the Allied state ", or or "Your Honor" or "Honored Voice".
• Speaker - A roving member of the representative political class, given to people of prominence within the local community. These individuals have influential voice as it is intended that they represent the local opinion. Referred to as "The Right Honorable , Speaker of the Allied state ", or or "Your Honor" or "Honored Speaker".
• Member - A roving member of the political class, typically given to people of prominence within the local community who are consulted by the adminstrator or the speaker. Referred to as "The Honorable , Alliance Member of .", or "Your Honor", or "Honored Member".
• Administrator - A local administrator of Alliance law and regulations. Sometimes called upon to adjudicate disagreements, but more often than not it is sent to a higher level adjudicator. Referred to as "The Honorable , Alliance Administrator of ", or "Your Honor", "Honored Administrator".

It is also possible to have multiple honorifics from marriage, divine orders, and these are often mixed into the honorific. For example "The Right Honorable Mrs. White Rhino, Voice of the Allied state The Woodlands."
Military Ranks: The Pride of Honoro has a straightforward and easy to understand military ranking system. The Pride has been criticized for several things: being overly heavy with leonins and nepotism. Despite the singular name, the Pride is actually composed of several parallel military systems. The largest of which is the Army of Honoro, and the officer ranks are listed below:

• General of the Army
• General
• Lt. General
• Colonel
• Lt. Colonel
• Major
• Lt. Major
• Captain
• Lt. Captain
• First Lieutenant
• Second Lieutenant

Local Titles: Titles in Honoro are as varied as their member states. Larger member states like The Grasslands or The Woodlands have strict rules around how these titles are granted, but much smaller village-states have the ability to decide on their own.
Inheritance: There are two equally important parts to inheritance: wealth and reputation. Heirs can obtain the wealth of their predecessor, but it is not very useful without a strong reputation. While positions in government or military cannot be bequeathed (the Honoro Alliance is not a hereditary monarchy or hereditary military) one can still greatly improve their chances for a plum position and chances of advancement by knowing the right people and having the right reputation. The local level is a different story - each member state can operate as they see fit, and so you may have hereditary positions or titles locally.