Introduction to Baethos
This is a chapter to give context to a bit of the world, measurements, and history. You can skip this if you want, the story starts on the next chapter.
Time in Baethos was measured by suns, cycles, lengths, and classifications. Each sun is measured by 3 periods: the morning, the aftermorning, and night, each one 8 hours long. Every 25 suns was a cycle. Every 20 cycles marked a new length and every 20 lengths meant a new classification period.
The realm of Baethos was formed just over 800 lengths ago. It was formed when the five continents, Aeliz, Elox, Dove Island, Efriti, and the Twins, united under one rule. This union was named Baethos and it happened at the conclusion of the Great War. The Great War lasted for 35 lengths and by the end of it, the world was in ruins.
Wars, plagues, and famine had ravaged the population and deaths were counted by the millions The widespread destruction devastated each of the continents and by the time a peace agreement had been reached, over half of the world’s population had perished. The two best generals from each continent came together and negotiated a truce.
The generals made a pact to rule over the new Baethos together and do what was best for the people. The Ten, which is what the founding generals called themselves, created the classification system as a way to keep society in line. They created a new system of government for Baethos. They also adopted the language of Elox as the common tongue and all the generals vowed to eradicate native tongues to encourage communication, trade, and peace to form a common Baethan identity.
The Ten had instituted a rigid class system and someone’s last name was their ticket in the world. There were two classes of people, those with last names and those without. The poorest and lowest peasants did not have a family title, no last name. They simply referred to each other by their birth names or nicknames. Large amounts of people having similar names was a common problem among peasants and the poor, and without the use of a last name to distinguish them, the practice of dubs arose. Dubs were assigned to an individual because of something that stood out about that person. The dubs were adjectives that ranged from physical descriptions to job titles.
Those with last names were further divided by lesser, greater, and noble families. Smaller merchants, landowning farmers with small plots of land, and working people who could afford three meals every sun usually fell in the category of a lesser family. A life of just enough. The Greater houses were made up of more financially wealthy families with old ties in inter-realm business, small ship fleet owners, owners of vast amounts of land, more established shopkeepers, smiths, and other professions. Usually characterized by being able to afford the more unavailable or eccentric products, three-story houses with land all around, and the ability to pay servants; these greater families were also more respected within politics.
Noble houses were the richest and most powerful in Baethos. The majority of noble families came from centuries of money and power. In charge of the politics and inter-realm relations, they often
were far removed from the actual needs and happenings of society. They ruled over cities and towns, were allowed to take indentured workers, could afford hundreds of servants, lived in castles, and collected taxes from the other houses. 10 noble houses were allocated to each continent. Each noble house was in charge of 35 greater houses, each greater house was in charge of 50 lesser houses and each lesser house in charge of up to a maximum of 1,000 families.
Once society had been established, rules had been made, and the family name system was in place The Ten relinquished control of Baethos. They created a Council of Nobles that were to rule over the affairs of Baethos justly. The Council of Nobles sat ten nobles and they met twice a length for five cycles each time. The rest of the time, the Council members were at home governing. Every 20 lengths, the seats on the council would change through a vote. Every noble family on each continent would collect the votes of the 35 houses they controlled. A greater house could cast a vote for any of the ten noble families on the continent. The noble family would then consider those votes when casting their own. Each of the ten nobles then voted for two of his continent’s nobles to represent the continent on the Council. Lesser families and those with no last names did not get a vote.
The system that was created also relied heavily on a classification system. Every 20 lengths, a new classification occurred and houses could either move up the social ladder or move down it. Here, an individual’s physical property, family size, accomplishments, wealth, and conduct of their house were all taken into consideration. Based on a refined measuring system only known by the Classifiers, houses were reclassified every 20 lengths. A peasant could aspire only to ascend to a lesser house, but lesser, greater or noble houses could be moved up or down many steps at once. So, a noble family could fall into disgrace and become peasants, losing everything and being stripped of their titles. Each classification also took into account population growth and the quotas each house was allowed to oversee usually increased.
The Classifiers hailed from the Baethian Vault. The Baethean vault was both a building and an institution. It was a massive square building ascending several stories. This building housed the Classifiers, some important historians, and all of Baethean reclassification records. At the Vault, Classifiers and historians studied and learned the history of Baethos, their role in keeping Baethos in line, and how they adhered to the classification system. The Classifiers had 3,000 members who all lived and studied in the Vault for their entire lives. When one Classifier died, another was accepted into the Vault. They would arrive as babies. Learning the classification system and how to perfectly apply it was all they studied during their entire lives.
The Vault, the Council meetings, and most of Baethean government activity took place in The Center. The Center was a peninsula attached to the Eloxian continent but it was a sovereign state. It was only about 50 kilometers from east to west and 60 kilometers from north to south. The Center had a few port cities littered around its coast but most of the political activity took place in the Main City where all the government buildings were held.
There had been 42 previous classifications. It was the 17th length of the 42nd classification and reclassification was looming. The political tension was brewing and families seemed anxious. Fake smiles and misrepresented niceties were the game.
