interloping

Interloping, or primitive exfiltration, is the illegal act of taking people, items, or other resources from pre-soraflight realms. Doing so is considered a major breach of the Dranomyr Archive's mandate against interfering with realms which have not naturally reached the Sora. As such, every major sorafaring empire has strict laws against such activities. Despite this, engaging in interloping is an extremely profitable enterprise, albeit one filled with significant risk.

History

Most sorafaring empires quickly encounter other realms which contain sapient life, often at levels of advancement significantly far from reaching the Sora. Their reaction to these civilizations vary greatly, with some engaging in conquest, others peacefully providing education of the Sora, and a few merely observing from a distance. Regardless of their actions, they sooner or later make contact with the Dranomyr Archive, who issue their decree of non-interference. Most take this seriously, as the powers of the Archive are clearly highly advanced. Those who do not and continue to violate the edict find themselves swiftly punished by an Archive crystallis. This most recently happened in 462 PC, when the Confederation of Doflein Realms had an entire fleet destroyed by a single Archive ship. Interloping invariably begins soon after, as the greedy, foolhardy, and desperate sneak onto primitive realms and continue to interfere.

Purpose

Those willing to take the risk to conduct interloping can find the rewards extremely high. Magic artifacts, local art, and rare objects command high prices across the Sora, as many rich and powerful people enjoy keeping illicit, unusual items to show off. Others go to extract rare resources such as mithril or adamantine which are extremely valuable virtually anywhere. The doflein are known to conduct slave raids on primitive realms, anticipating that they will never escape to spread their tales. Rare animals are also valued, especially ones which are vicious or deadly, for the rich to keep in private menageries or to serve as intimidating guard animals.
Some interlopers also bring rare objects onto realms to sell or trade. The magic commanded by sorafaring empires often dwarfs what can be found on primitive realms. Selling weapons to warring kingdoms, arcane secrets to power-hungry mages, or bibelot to wealthy nobles can bring rich rewards in gold, silver, and other valuable metals. While those who engage in these activities may not be removing valuables from primitive realms, their taking of monetary reward causes it to still be classified as exfiltration.
Some view their acts as standing up to an unjust abuse of power by the Archive. They often claim that the Archive's decree is immoral, as it prevents peoples' lives from being improved by bringing them into the Sora. This is a far more common justification among those who sell things on primitive worlds.

Punishment

Those caught engaging in interloping are subject to a wide variety of punishments, depending on the severity of their crimes and the empire who catches them.

Álfuríki

Due to their isolationist and extremist views, the Álfuríki largely despise dealing with outsiders. While this means they abhor enforcing mandates issued to them by the Archive, they also rarely have the desire to interact with primitive realms regardless. When it does happen, perpetrators are typically put to death, regardless of the crime.

Bláthaofa Kingdom

The Bláthaofa Kingdom considers interloping a serious crime, akin to interfering with the nature of a realm. Thus such acts not only violate secular law, but also religious dogma. Even those acts which have little impact on native peoples, such as taking animals, receive harsh penalties such as extended prison time. Removal of created objects from realms carries a relatively lighter penalty, such as fines or short prison sentences, unless done in a way that blatantly exposes natives to the Sora.

Confederation of Doflein Realms

While officially against the laws of the Confederation, many believe the authorities tacitly permit interloping as long as the perpetrator is not caught. Slavers view primitive realms as easy targets for slave raids, as they have less ways to fight back and any who notice people missing are unable to contact authorities in the Sora. Any who are caught are subject to execution, as is the standard for any serious crime in the Confederation.

Heshian Syndicate

The Heshian Syndicate treats most acts of interloping similarly, jailing offenders for extended periods. The Syndicate is cautious about angering the Archive and risk damaging their trade, so their punishments tend to be strict. The burden of proof, however, can be somewhat lax, resulting in punishment for even those who unknowingly come to possess illicit items.

Kamakari Mandate

Due to their unique society, the Kamakari Mandate at large does not engage in retributive justice. Those breaking the law are subject to rehabilitative treatment, though this can have limited effectiveness for non-kamakari. However, due to the intensity of the Archive's decree and their history inadvertently violating it, they have decided that acts of interloping are worth more extreme punishment. Thus any caught within their borders engaging in it are turned over the the Archive for punishment. What happens to them is not known.

Koganusân Kingdom

The Koganusân Kingdom have strict laws overall. Those accused of interloping are invariably subject to interrogation by priests of Kost. Those who admit to the crime immediately are given lighter sentences, while those requiring magical coercion to confess receive harsher sentences. Taking resources, animals, or items from primitive realms typically receive hammerings as punishment, with a larger number of blows depending on how much they have taken and the amount of contact with locals. This can result in death for even minor violations if the interloper has a weak constitution or is struck the wrong way, while stouter individuals can survive even significant beatings. Taking people from primitive realms, no matter the reason, is punished with death, as is selling items to primitives.

Tanzit Suzerainty

Crimes in the Suzerainty have a great variance in punishment, even for similar crimes. The sentencing takes into account a myriad of factors, such as the social class of the individual, motivation for the crime, and signs of remorse. Thus even kidnapping or killing natives can receive short prison terms if the factors align properly, while those who remorselessly take a single animal for only personal gain may be punished by death if their social class is high enough.

Type

Illicit