Alden (Red Sails)

The Alden Empire

At first glance, the Alden Empire seems a utopia of wealth, power, and ambition. Their cities and villages are constructed with straight lines, and unified architectures, employing sewage systems, and lightstone-powered streetlights. Their government is open to all, their laws published and clearly written in plain language, and their people are encouraged to innovate. Even the basest peasant can rise to greatness in the Alden Empire, given enough ambition and a good idea.

However, after that first glance, things start turning ugly quite quickly. Slavery is prevalent in the Alden Empire, and many crimes carry penalties of temporary or permanent indenture. Furthermore, the relentless encouragement of ambition and self-advancement has created a culture of rapacious imperialists, who view the world through a lens of profitability and acquisition.

Populace

Humans are the dominant race of the Aldenmen. Other races are offered a place in society, but usually in a segregated community. These ghettos prevent unsavory behavior, cultural misunderstandings, and breeding between species, which is viewed as perverse. Non-humans in Alden can still rise to power, and even join the nobility (one of the lesser familial branches, of course), if they are ambitious enough to do so.

Most of the Alden citizens are taught to read and write, and most learn at least basic mathematics. Public school houses offer basic education, which also includes a (very biased) history of the great nations, and rudimentary etiquette for dealing with Alden nobles, and outsiders. The school houses teach the superiority of the Alden lifestyle, and attempt to instill nationalism at an early age. All people are welcome to the school houses, even adults, as long as they are willing to learn.

Culture

Aldenmen are not uniformly devoted to any particular religion or pantheon, though most of its citizens practice at least cursory faith with one or two of the gods, if only to hedge their bets a little. Given that the gods are known to walk among the people, it's usually a good idea to at least appear a little pious.

Alden cities are extremely organized, with strictly enforced laws. Their streets are well-lit, and diligently patrolled. Merchants must be licensed to sell products or services inside the cities of Carcassus, Avernus, Vorthus, or Paranthus, though commerce outside of the cities is largely unregulated. Laws are published for any to see, and written in all languages. However, the punishment for even the most mundane or minor of crimes is frequently some form of slavery, either temporary or permanent. Some guardsmen are more quick to take advantage of these laws than others, seeking any opportunity to improve the local labor force, as long as it is mostly lawful to do so.

The Alden navy, known as the Red Sails, is the mightiest fleet on the Northern Sea. Their ships-of-the-line are seemingly innumerable, and of impeccable quality, serving as an all-too-common presence of law on the seas, ruthlessly hunting down pirates who are careless enough to come into their sights. Those unfortunate enough to be caught are usually tried by the highest-ranking officer present and hung in the nearest port, as a warning for other pirates. The officers of the Red Sails claim they are incorruptible, and serve only justice, even when that justice is not favorable to Alden. There are numerous stories demonstrating that this claim is true, where Fontaigne merchants have been treated with fairness and respect, even when the Alden nation gained no (apparent) benefit from it.

Slavery, obviously, is not illegal in Alden, and the trade in slaves is protected by the Red Sails, and the city guards. Escaped slaves are criminals, not victims.

One note of particular interest is that, despite its very strict laws, the governing bodies of Alden take a dim view to bureaucracy. There is no massive infrastructure of administrators, and what little paperwork is required is quite succinct. Contracts are used in all deals, but are required to be written plainly, so all parties understand. The spirit of the contract is enforced, often with magic, and deal-breakers are seen as little better than pirates or thieves. The noble families keep only the minimum records and receipts of their business dealings. Even the courts, which are constantly busy, are efficient affairs, with few bureaucrats to bog down the process. Governing is seen as a part-time job, with little value. Anyone looking to turn politics into a career is obviously not interested in improving Alden, but only themselves.

Magic and Technology

As with all the nation-states of the region, only the most established noble bloodlines possess arcane magics. The common folk are completely cut off from this power, except through its sale or use in the cities governed by the nobles. Magic items are either owned by the noble houses (even the street lights in the cities), or are loaned to their favored champions. Some family heirlooms exist outside of the noble families, some of which are quite powerful indeed, though their origins can always be traced to a member of the noble bloodlines, if you look far enough back.

This is not to say that no magic items can be bought or sold in Alden, only that it is rare. A few members of the noble bloodlines, especially those too far removed from leadership positions within the family, take up the creation and sale of magic items. They see this as not just a way to make money, but also a means of strengthening their nation by empowering the citizenry to tackle their ambitions and bring more glory to Alden. Of course, only a few such shops exist, and the demand for their services is quite high. Furthermore, no Alden nobleman would ever sell a magic item to a foreigner.

Notable Figures

There are six bloodlines in the major noble houses: Akkadia, Baldrick, Flemmish, Forsythe, Poshfellow, and Treacle. Because the great families intermarry, numerous last names, noble titles, and other appellations exist, meaning that each nobleman of these bloodlines might have one of several dozen last names, or may choose to go by some honorific, such as "Bertrand of Nunciate". Oftentimes, if you are not one of the Blood, these titles are confusing or meaningless, leaving little indication that the individual even belongs to one of the major houses (indeed, "Nunciate" is a little-known duchy back in the Alden homeland). Certainly, the way they dress, the manner of their speech, and the forms of address and etiquette would give away their noble status, but very little would indicate to a casual observer that they were facing a potentially powerful wizard or sorcerer.

Of course, some members of Alden's blooded houses are too noteworthy to ignore:

• Adrian Flemmish: The primarch of Carcassus, this barrel-chested human, covered in thin scars, rules the slave mines with a fearsome efficiency.
• Zane: A good-natured, approachable fellow, who sells magic items in a shop in Paranthus.
• Victor Malmont: The admiral of the Red Sails fleet.

Outside of the Blood, numerous noblemen and commoners have made a name for themselves in Alden:

• Gavin of Tideswatch: Governor of Avernus. Known for his sharp mind and long-term planning, as well as his strict, but fair, application of law.
• Anastasia: A ship's captain of the Red Sails, famous for her hatred of pirates, and her relentless focus.