Editing Setting:Unified Setting/Sergal (section)

=The Empire=

==Culture==

While most of Sergal Culture is oriented towards the military, this is not always the case.

===Silvorum===

[[Vilous#Silvoran_Empire|Silvorum]] remains the capital of the Empire, built by Rain's decree and the labor of tens of thousands. It sits sheltered from the wind in a steep-walled valley, near rich and deep mining deposits. Vilous sports few truly large cities, and so Silvorum is a hub of trade and workshop industry for the whole empire.  Silvorum is by far the most beautiful city of the empire, coated entirely in mosaics and built using only the finest of materials.  This was Rain's city, and she wanted it to be as glorious as her reign.  In the center of the city lies a circular courtyard surrounding the great clan houses, a monument in the shape of an obelisk to the many sergal victories in warfare in the very center. A kind of hobby among the working class is the mosaic: Pottery is cheap, as is grout. In Silvorum this art has reached a pinnacle of form, and artists can gain a kind of anonymous fame. No one is allowed to interfere with a citizen creating a mosaic, no matter the contents. Whether or not the mosaic is immediately covered by another is something else entirely. This ancient practice, while less prestigious before the creation of Silvorum, was popular enough to even deflect Rain's attempts to regulate it.

===Architecture===

Sergal buildings are composed are large blocks made of cheap clay. Most towns have low, squarish dwellings, but they are decorated by thin spires and mosaic designs. The arched front doors are often accentuated by a small spire above them, calling attention to the entrance.

==Commerce==

The most common professions are Herders, Butchers, Potters, Tanners, and Weapon- and Armor-smiths. Notably, there is little patience for the preparation of food; Sergals have fairly underdeveloped taste buds and the highest culinary achievement is salting or pickling meat. 

Most northern sergals lead a semi-nomadic lifestyle, driving herds across their sparse but enormous lands, raiding, trading with outsiders with the permanent towns and cities of the empire. Here, meat and other goods are exchanged for metal tools, weapons, armor, and crafted wares. Sergals remain talented workers of crystal, ceramics, glass, and pottery. Their metal-working is adequate, but beneath that of more legendary forges outside the empire. These facts, combined with the near limitless Sergal demand for weapons, keeps trade flowing. Perhaps out of sheer necessity, Sergals often show surprising hospitality and civility to outsiders in times of peace.

In the south, the Sailzane desert remains a conquest. Free southern sergals exist, but their tribes are few and far between, always in danger of being set upon and enslaved by Silvorum's armies. Life for the slaves and serfs isn't much worse, raising meat and crafting goods for their masters, as their ancestors did for themselves. The brutal policies of General Rain have given way to an unkind but survivable system. Northern masters dwell mostly in fortified towns and cities, sending out punitive war-bands to punish any southern sergals who fail to obey. These are also home to the mines and workshops of the region, with southern sergals figuratively, or sometimes literally, chained to their work, processing rations and goods for the army, or goods to be traded. Much of the empire's wealth comes from this serfdom.

Mercenaries are another form of income. Independent bands of sergal soldiers venture forth to fight for whoever has gold for it, and the empire's army sends out trained units with the same intent. These warriors gain valuable experience and pay for themselves, along with providing the empire with a portion of currency, and knowledge of foreign techniques and tactics. More than once has a neighboring state faced a sergal invasion, to find their foe trained and equipped to counter their particular art of war. Thankfully, this works both ways. The empire's army has proven formidable, but not unbeatable.


==Politics==

The Military is the ruling faction in the sergal empire, and is lead by the Council of Generals, which makes the official decisions and chooses the Acting-Governor-General. The Acting-Governor-General makes speeches, lives extravagantly, and does little else. Few actually want this position; It's too exposed, dramatic, and has little real power. Another, more superstitious reason is that no one really wants to be sitting in Rain's chair if she gets back. Thus, the job tends to attract a certain kind of corrupt dandy that survived their service more on luck and bribery than skill. The Council gives marching orders to the army.

The Expert's Corps is appointed from the Sages at the Academy by the Council of Generals. They deal with trade rates and foreign relations, and draft the policy decisions which are voted on by the full governing body of the Academy. In the event of a dispute between clan leaders, who form the more localized government, the Expert's Corps arbitrates. If the dictates of the Expert's Corps are ignored, they may file a request for military support from the Council of Generals. In practice, these requests are seldom filed and never ignored.

The Expert's Corps is based in the Academy at Silvorum. Within the Corps, knowledge is the primary currency. Sages teach luminaries in exchange for pay or favors, and luminaries learn what they can so that they may become sages.

Luminaries are sent to keep records for the main offices of the army and also to unofficially spy. Sages, usually remain in the Academy, but can be assigned to specific officers for specific reasons; for example, a mission into hostile territory would include an expert on the local customs, and possibly more depending on the goals of the mission. Sages theoretically have the power to overrule their assigned officer, but rarely do so, as the army is in charge of their supplies, and, after all, the Sages are outsiders.

The Governing body of Academy consists of any Sages that are present on the premises at the time, all of which are summoned for important votes. Seniority is respected, but not absolute. Many political maneuverings happen in the halls of the academy daily, which occasions derision from most of the populace and military.

Citizens are entitled to Low Justice, while Sages and officers are entitled to High Justice.

==Religion==

Most sergals believe in only one thing: war.  Matters of faith are commonly beyond them, as their cultural mindset is generally too self-oriented to entertain the various notions of divinity or an afterlife.  There is a form of ancestor worship common throughout the empire, which is as close to religious as most get.

==The Military==

There is a mandatory period of five-year service in late adolescence. Those that excel are given the option to test into officer positions. Then a period of five years is granted for either officer training, other pursuits, or the ever-popular version of the gnollish walkabout.
Every citizen has had to go through Basic Training at the very least, ensuring a formidable militia should the need arise.

The greatest symbol of the sergal way of war is the armored spearman. Wearing distinctive, angular halfplate shaped from the plates of dullettes, sergal soldiers are famed for their combination of speed, endurance, and iron discipline. Sergals have no cavalry. The Tatolian horse is raised for its meat and milk, but is unsuitable for riding even by humans, much less the sergals. Dullettes are used as beasts of burden, but they are too rare and too slow to form any real cavalry. This military deficiency is partly compensated by the speed of their infantry, and their preference to fight from ambush. The heart of the empire is mostly the cold Tatolan highlands of the northern sergals, but their borders have expanded into mountains, hills, rivers, forests, and especially the desert to the south, which they've had ample time to grow very familiar with.

The traditional sergal salute is to place one hand over the left eye. This likely stems from a gesture of vulnerability, removing binocular and peripheral vision from the lower-ranked soldier.

[[Category:Unified Setting]]