Slavery

"It's either a temporary inconvenience, or a dreadful perpetuity. Pray for the former, work hard either way."

Old slave giving advice to fresher slaves.

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property. Slaves can be bought, sold or exchanged, and are forced to obey their owners. It is a typical and legal feature within some societies on Situl Even in realms free of slaves, there may be close equivalents.

History

Slavery has existed in one form or another for centuries in Orbidian civilizations, some adopting its form from the Old World as is. While the First Sending rendered former slaves impossible to distinguish from free folks, it didn't take long to reimplement slavery once a modiccum of normalcy and a sufficient population dynamic was established.

Verdant Steppes

The newly spawned inhabitants of the Verdant Steppes descended from Old World societies who were well-acquainted with it. The ancient settlers of Sparta especially remembered their legacy as elite soldiers depending on a slave population to maintain an efficient society. The only way to become a slave was through crimes, be it indenturing or unlawful activities. Once the cultures were unified the many slaves began to travel the various City-States as extremely valuable commodities. In the early stage slave status was inherited by descendants of slaves, but it was always a reversible condition that could be countered by accumulating wealth or serving for the duration of one's penance.
After the Rise of the Keratos Empire and the increased forrays into other realms, influx of slaves from other races produced new markets. War slaves were still able to reverse their condition after a set period of time or a ransom from the foreign powers. The Eternal Conquest produced so many vassal states and war slaves that it almost turned the Steppes economically dependant on slavery. Many changes to Imperial slavery were made over recent years through the The First and Second Velian Reforms. Such reforms coupled with the Empire's pragmatic greatly reduced the mistreatement of slaves overall, but mistreatement still occurs as a rule of thumb and more intensely in slave-dependent City-States such as Orathens.

Feral Isles

For centuries, most tribal disputes are often settled with slaves as a bargaining chip throughout the archipelagaos. Selling slaves to the continent is also a great way to obtain valuable crafted goods that aren't easily manufactured in the technologically challenged Isles. Manual labor is harsh for slaves, but being of the same race as the tribe that welcomes you is a great way to avoid punishment or even be freed on the moment of purchase on the condition that one joins the tribe.

August Menia Kindom

By far the most ruthless society when it comes to enslavement. Purely driven by its caste system, slavery is hereditary and is extremely unlikley to come undone when implemented. No rights nor privileges are given to slaves. Most slaves are brutally whipped, perpetually branded directly on their bodies, and cruelly mistreated by the higher castes.

Observance

Slavery as a condition will last as long as the culture implementing it dictates.

Primary Related Location

Situl

Important Locations

• Central Wetlands
• Feral Isles
• Verdant Steppes

Related Organizations

• August Menia Kindom
• Keratos Empire

Related Ethnicities

• Arbekan
• Feralese
• Imperial
• Menian