The Moline

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Moline (or Moine when refering specifically to citizens of the empire) are widespread, and though their society is reasonably uniform there are some significant cultural differences between regions. Though there were other kingdoms and empires of surviving people after the flooding, they are widely scattered and rarely encounter one another.

The Old Era
Next to no records survived the asteroid impact or the following 'dark age'. Some ruins have survived, but these are rarely in any shape to tell scholars anything about the time. Most of the myths that do exist telling of the Old Era come from moldering records in the frigid halls of High Haria.

The Flood
Counts of days suggest that the flood lasted between three and four hundred years before receeding. The surviving Moline lived in Mountain settlements that were abruptly waterfront property. During this time there was little trade or exploration, and the people spent much of their time in a constant struggle to stay alive.

When the flood water receeded, it tore huge chunks of land up in places, resulting in the raged stone spines that are visible across parts of the great plains and the coast of the Black Sea.

The Kingdoms
After the flood, the Moline came back down into the devastated lands. In short order, they had established kingdoms and begun a frantic campaign of replanting. The forests of the Heartland bloomed and in time the land came back to life. Groups of Moline started settlements, and settlements became kingdoms. The kingdoms grew, met, warred, and did all the usual things that kingdoms do. Eventually the valley was quite full.

At some point in this period two kingdoms, both ruled over by royal blood from the Old Era, began to quietly eat up the other kingdoms around them. This in itself was not unusual, but as the two continued to grow, they began to grind against one another, and like any two surfaces rubbing together, there was friction. War erupted, and with both sides using the power of their spell weavers to horrible effect the other kingdoms begand to fear that they might be destroyed by one side or the other.

The Empire
The war settled out into two factions. The northern armies marched to face the united kingdoms of the south, and wherever battle was joined the fields were strewn with the dead. The united kingdoms eventually came fully under the sway of one ruler, and together they pushed back the northerners until those that survived had vanished from the plains into the desolate, frozen north.

The Empire remained alone, and grew, blooming in the slowing pace of peace. It lived on and became a self sustaining powerhouse of economy and industry; of the northern kingdoms there remained no trace, save for myths, rumors, and rust among the grasses.

Society
Moline society varies some by region. Although the belief has typically fallen out of favor as 'antiquated' and 'rustic', most Moline still refer to Death the Stirrer, and his Cauldron when swearing or angry. Many Moline place great importance on ones' station in society, and only in some of the more scholarly fields is caste set aside.

Imperial Society
The Empire maintains a fairly rigid caste system; those born a commoner will rarely be more. In practice this slides a little as it is within the charter powers of most Dukes, or persons of higher authority, to grant, or withdraw, nobility from a family bloodline.

Imperial citizens are expected to be obedient to superiors, and while some may rebel a little against the idea it does prove to make it easier for the Empress and the military to allocate the resources they need when situations become hazardous.

The Trade Guilds hold a higher post than typical, since most of the members are commoners, but in recent years the upper crust of the guilds has been more and more commonly controlled by nobility. Among the guilds, only the Imperial Maginci (the guild of spell-weavers) comes close to being above castes, as learning and skill count for far more than money; even here nobles still hold a great deal of power, as they can more readily afford to learn and train.

Gender equality is paid lip service, mostly as a polite nod to the Matriarchal station of Empress, but individual regions have varying degrees of adherance. The Covenant is officially male dominant, and its followers are required to view women as inferior; this tended to slow the spread of the religion slightly in the Great Plains, but not enough to hinder it.

Biology
Moline vary greatly by region. Most Moline can be compared to human beings easily enough, but on the whole they are slightly shorter and have more of a tendency toward being thin.

Regional differences can often distinguish commoners quite easily as they have less tendency to relocate. Plains Dwellers from the Great Plains have dry, dusty skin and pale hair. Highland and Foothill dwellers often have dark hair and the men are more prone to thick beard growth. In the Heartland, especially around Penenbae, Moline have warm, almost damp looking, tan skin and typically have much more vividly colored irises.

Most Moline come to puberty between the ages of fourteen and twenty. A Moline in good health can expect to live to around the age of ninety or older, but accidents, disease, and poor nuitrition frequently diminishes expected survival to between forty and sixty years.

It should be noted that stronger magical gifts seem to have drastic effects one way or the other on expected life-span. Some mages age very quickly, while others can live to be well over one hundred.

Trivia (may sometimes contain spoilers)

 * The Moine language is intended to be similar in vocal structure to French.
 * In the first draft concept, the author has noted that the Moine were going to be elves. The story at the time was also almost completely different.
 * Although there are other games played among the Moine, Palo is the most prevalent, especially among nobles and the elite.