Fontaigne (Red Sails)

The Fontaigne Empire

The Fontaigne prize art, music, poetry, dance, and philosophy above most other endeavors, and view the fine arts, as well as social graces, with the highest esteem. They are viewed as foppish and shallow people by most outsiders, who see their refined mannerisms, their disdain for manual labor, and their constant need for parties and gallantry as weakness.

But beneath this admittedly-thick veneer of sophistry is a burning passion for honor, and a deep love of rebuke and revenge. While getting angry in public is often viewed as uncouth, few Fontaigne can resist the call of a duel of honor against a villain who has slighted them. Indeed, the Fontaignes have many kinds of duels, each with differing degrees of etiquette and lethality. All duels, even those to the death, are legal.

Poverty is largely unknown among the Fontainge, as charity is also regarded as a great virtue, and all those wealthy enough to comfortably sustain themselves often feel socially obliged to take one or more struggling families under their wing. Such families are provided food, clothing, and shelter, often of immaculate quality. They are provided tutors to teach them a craft or useful skill, and given basic education in reading and writing, and, of course, taught an appreciation of the arts.

The Fontaigne are fussy about etiquette and dress, and entertain elaborate rituals at meals, social gatherings, dances, and within their politics. It is thought that the Fontaigne seek the treasures of the empyrean vault to advance their arts, rather than to ascend to dominance in the region, though this cannot be said for certain. But the best secrets are those that are never spoken.

Populace

The people of Fontaigne are almost completely blind to race, and rarely distinguish between them, choosing instead to identify individuals by their status in society, their gracefulness, or their way with words or song. All races can be found within the borders of a Fontaigne city, and each enjoys a welcome place within the society. Perhaps the cultural advances of Fontaigne can be traced back to this embracing of so many points of view, and this eagerness to include everyone in their culture.

While life in the Silath Tyr is never easy, the citizenry enjoy a camaraderie that lifts up even the basest of the people, with neighborhoods banding together to raise barns, and communities sharing their excesses with each other. Despite being at the heart of a vast frontier, the city of Lorraine is an oasis of goodwill, charity, and good-natured people.

That is not to say that they are naive, or eager to trust strangers, however. Newcomers are regarded with mistrust, even if they are clearly of Fontaigne, until they have established themselves as members of the community, willing to pitch in for the greater good, and not take more than what is needed from those generous enough to give. Spies, one and all.

Culture

The nobles celebrate in their castles, surrounded by highly trained duelists, and exchange witty banter, compose poetry and critique the lasted plays, while enjoying the finest foods, and displaying their latest acquisitions from the traders and seekers who bring back antiquities and rarities from this strange, savage land. They host galas and masquerades, patronize bards and artists, and create museums of art, taxidermy of exotic species, and displays of unusual inventions. They fight duels over silly affronts, or perceived slights, and laugh with their accuser about it, after the duel is done (assuming they both survive). They whisper gossip about each other, and plot against their fellow noblemen, but only to achieve the superior party, or the most talked-about dinner. They constantly invent new elaborations on the rules of etiquette, in hopes of tripping up an unaware rival and shaming them before the court.

Meanwhile, the common folk toil, but in an unusually festive sort of way. Their strong sense of community, and willingness to bolster each other has erased many of the hardships of peasant life. They are still poor, but very few will ever face starvation, even after a very bad year. They wear festive colors, and sing in the fields while they work. They have faires, with puppet shows and parades, mimes and acrobats. They are a devout people, who see blessings and the divine in all things. They sculpt, paint, weave, and architect, making their world more beautiful with every labor they perform. The jealous rabble aspire to overthrow their betters! They must be watched.

It is customary to bring a gift for your host when visiting with a native of Fontaigne. The gift is a token of respect and gratitude to the host, and its choosing can be quite an involved process. Thoughtful guests will bring an item that speaks of their affection for the host, or reflects some quality in the host that the guest admires. Gifts can also send a message. A well-chosen gift is like poetry — it can plainly say one thing while implying something altogether else.

Magic and Technology

The Blood is strong in Fontaigne, as it is in Alden and Ottovar. Nobles of the great houses hold a monopoly on magic, just as with the other great nations. Or so they would like to think. In truth, a small portion of common folk have discovered that they, too, can employ arcane magic. Whether this is due to some mingling of the noble Blood with a commoner some time in the past, or just a random occurrence of breeding, is not known. What is known is, should the noble houses ever learn of their existence, these common-born wizards and sorcerers would be eradicated. So they hide, and practice their magic in secret, building their cult-like guild in numbers and power, sharing what knowledge they discover, so that the guild may continue to survive.

Of the Blooded nobles, magic is still shared, in the sense that the noble wizards and sorcerers use their magic to better Fontaigne. They craft magic items and fashion charms to help the common folks prosper, and even very powerful items can be acquired, given the right contacts (and enough money). Potions and scrolls are also easily acquired by anyone (well, native Fontaigne people, anyway). However, the empire-spanning rituals employed by the Alden are seen as too invasive to use on the people without their permission (and how could you ask everyone?), so they are not used.

Interestingly, the Blooded nobles are willing to marry outside of the other Blooded noble lines, even though this results in some of their children not being magically gifted. Perhaps as a result of this, those who are born with arcane gifts are powerful indeed.

Technology is heartily embraced, and new inventions are prized among the nobility and commoners alike. It is true that even useless inventions that seem elaborate and look interesting are often regarded more highly among the nobility than a genuinely useful invention, but the commoners will gladly trade for the useful, if it is within their means. The commoners are also deeply industrious about ship-building and architecture, though often they can only embark on such projects if a nobleman has provided the backing for it. The start-up costs are simply too high for the commoners to initiate such endeavors without an investor. Buying the loyalty of the ambitious peasantry.

Notable Figures

Three noble houses of the Blood are present in the Silath Tyr region: the Gauthier, Lacriox, and Vasseur families.

• Collette Vasseur: Matron of house Vasseur, an elderly woman of indeterminate age, who has led the house for over a century. She has had 13 sons and 6 daughters, 91 grand-children, and several hundred great-grand-children. Her great-grandchildren are each at an age where marriage and families are imminent, so the Vasseur family can only grow larger.
• Morian Gauthier: A young man, remarkably handsome and very clever of wit. He is widely seen as the most desirable bachelor of the nobles in Silath Tyr, attracting many suitors, and no party is considered "good" unless he attends.
• Dacian Lacroix: A rebellious nobleman, who seems to prefer adventures and exploration to parties and pageantry.