Life is Feudal Official Forum

[Billus]

Please check as many as you'd like, and leave comments about any specifics Feel free to ask me any lore questions in general as well, I'm always down to talk to shop with you guys!

[Telakh]

I'm looking forward to enjoy more stories about the continent, current kingdoms and the war.


PS: Poll results are colored.

[Arrakis]

I'd like to know more about the story of the Acaelia itself, so far not much has been said about it and I'm interested in this.

The truth I'd also like to know what happened with sweet sweet Veronica, but that's not the priority for me.

[Dailato]

For obvious reasons, I'd like to know more about the history of religion in Acaelia, and what (if any) part it is/has allready been playing on the new continent.

Was there previously a church / organized institution? (If not there is now) and if so, did it play any role during the previously transpiring events?

Are there certain morals/values/rules considered universal / enforced by god? I just want to know if there's anything I need to take into account while building the Papal States.

Yours truly -The Pope

[Elysana]

Greetings, Loremaster!

I devoured all the lore you wrote, and I'm looking forward to reading more. Just like the Pope, I would love to know more about the religions of Acaelia, and its general history. I would also like to know if there are canon noble houses (as I would like my character to be part of one of them), or if you're willing to allow players create their own Acaelian house.

Thank you, and I'm looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
Lady Elysana

[Billus]

Hey guys, I apologize for my relative absence the past month, I have been rather busy with some personal things, but I assure you that now I am back! I'd like to get down to answering the previous questions in order.

First, Dailato asked about the religion of Acaelia, how it exists, and in what way it's been transferred to the new continent. Basically, there is a singular monotheistic religion that dominates Acaelia and the new continent. The religion is called Terrus, and its followers worship the god Saxum. Saxum is seen lord of the Earth and is heavily associated with the physical Earth itself. People believe that Saxum lives in the center of the Earth, and that the dirt and stones that make up the lands of the Earth are his holy implements. As such, when people die, they are buried deep in the ground so they are closer to Saxum, and they are covered in a special dirt blessed by Terrun priests. There is a unified leader, akin to a pope, of the Terrun order, who lives deep underground in a stone temple. And while the Terrun order was a part of wars eons ago, they have been peaceful for as long as anybody can remember.

As per the morals of the Terrun order, they believe strongly in the sanctity of the soil and stones. Their temples are constructed entirely of natural stone, ideally with a mud based mortar. Additionally, they believe that any land belongs to God himself unless he specifically grants it to a person. People curry favor with Saxum so they can own lands.

If you have any other questions regarding them, let me know. I will do my best to answer them, and I can also tell you that much more information about them will be coming to light soon

Elysana, there are a few canon noble houses, but this association is more loose than say the Houses in the Elder Scrolls series. While people may belong to one noble family or another, it tends not to be the case that families live in one designated area or another, or anything like that. It's a bit more nebulous, and perhaps closer to a fantasy conception of bloodlines, where your families house may be seen as a more "royal" or "peasant" house.

As to whether or not people can create their own houses in the game itself, I've asked. Basically, this feature won't be supported in the sense that you will be able to formally make something like a "Noble House" or build a house hall. But, of course you are free to role play in whatever way you choose, and we will of course do our best to support you guys to that end.

I want to thank you guys sincerely for the kind words about the stories, and to let you know there should be more coming If you guys have any more questions, or would like to ask me anything at all, please feel free!

Thanks again,
Billus

[Dailato]

So... instead of grey-beard-sky-man-the-omnipotent we have grey-beard-ground-man-the-omnipotent?

Question time!

Was the Terrun leader transferred to the new continent or is he stuck somewhere on the old continent? Any communication with him/her left?

Are there different "streams" within Terrus? Variations on doctrine and philosophy?

Is their "owning lands" thing a part of in-game mechanics? We have to pay them money/taxes for land-claims?

What do you mean by "made from natural stone only" to the extent that they don't use mud-baked bricks? Or do they refuse to use any tools on the rocks at all, using only loose found rocks to build?

How can the Terrun leader live deep underground if we can't build underground? (j/k with this one)

How involved are they with the Queen and politics in general?

Do they have a problem with people mining?

That's probably all for now. I'm thinking the Vatican/Papal States probably follow the same religion, unless there are some (seriously questionable) morals attached to it.
How would the Terrun order react to my vision and rallying of the people to work together in the name of the lord (Saxum)?
How would they react to me being the Pope?

So many interesting possibilities to think about.

Yours truly -The Pope

[Elysana]

A blissful evening, Loremaster Billus!

I would like to thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. If you could kindly answer a few more, I would be very much delighted.

I may not wholly understand, but are you saying that there are few traditional houses in Acaelia that rule over fiefs, and instead, lordship is earned through merits and kingdom service than inheritance?

Is Acaelia's domestic policy leaning towards Plutocracy/Aristocracy or Meritocracy?

In medieval literature, females are not regarded as equal to males. Is this the same for Acaelia, or Life is Feudal in general?

Are highborn ladies expected to learn courtly propriety, possess fair, smooth skin and voice that sing like bells? Are ladies allowed to go to war, at all, or are these "free women" considered abhorrent by the polite society?

Again, thank you! It is my objective to have my character concept and my realm (hopefully), which will be named after my noble house, be as faithful to the canon lore as possible.

May the Lord of Earth lead you to safer paths.

I am, Sir, your most humble and obedient servant,
Lady Elysana

[Billus]

Response time!


----To Dailato

Currently there are Terrun cardinals and other people of authority on the new continent, but the pope equivalent is still back in Acaelia. Communication between the various temples is facilitated largely through letters, and it remains so for the temples on the new continents. As people continue to filter over to the new land, religiously affiliated people will often traffic letters to the new lands, and the ships that transport people will traffic letters back to Acaelia.

As with any religion, every congregation within it will be a little bit different. Each temple is typically headed by a single person called an Atriarch and most temple's ideologies will be shaped to some degree by their Atriarch's particular views. But there isn't a division ala modern Christianity where there is a variety of named sects, like Catholicism, Lutherans, etc.

As to the owning lands, I'm unfortunately not really able to answer as to that, as I don't want to say anything about in game mechanics I'm not personally sure of.

As to the question about "things made from natural stone only", they far prefer to use things made of natural stone in the creation of their temples. For instance, you would be far more likely to see a stone brazier as a source of light, as opposed to a copper or brass one. The Terrun order will use man made tools, just typically anything that is considered a "holy implement" will be naturally derived, but they are not opposed to shaping stones and rocks with tools.

The way the church is involved with politics is complicated in nature, but for the most part, they have a fairly strong influence. While the church is distinct from the government itself, Terrus is the official religion of Acaelia, and the government will sometimes call in favors from the church and vice versa. But in general they are separate entities.

They don't have a problem with mining at all, in fact they view getting further into the earth as a holy act. So mining is looked upon pretty favorably

----To Elysana

The system of Acaelia is closer to that of a meritocracy, but it still has some bloodline privilege leanings. The closest example I can think of off the top of my head would be the Song dynasty, wherein people had familial privilege but they could rise through the ranks to become very high ranking bureaucrats and aristocracy.

As to your question on gender relations, in Acaelian society women are seen as much more equal to men then in other traditional fantasy games. That's not to say there's no such idea as femininity or masculinity, but in general women can hold any office, and armies recruit men and women alike.

To answer your next question, while some in the aristocracy might have that expectation, warrior women, women who own stores, and very high ranking political officials who are women are not at all uncommon. So while some highborn people may have that expectation, plenty of people in the society at large reject that idea. Additionally, Acaelian women can and do go to war. Some female warriors are going to be included in one the next lore stories, so look out for them

Thanks for your interest guys

May the stones weigh heavier upon your enemies than upon yourself.

Billus

[Ariel]

On a less serious note, I was reading over the lore and was quite pleasantly surprised to see our one and only Loremaster Billus ( Of course in character! ) on the journey to the new land with Gaius

So, did Billus stay with Veronica when Gaius sailed back? And will we be seeing more of him in future lore to come?

Sincerely,
Lord Ariel

[Billus]

You should be seeing some more of Billus in an episode yet to come

[Elysana]

Greetings, Lord Billius!

A few more questions:

1. Does this mean that a lord's eldest child does not automatically inherit the whole of his father's fiefdom and that he has to compete for it with his siblings, so the most deserving and competent would receive it?

2. If lords do not actually rule over fiefdoms, is the Empire more bureaucratic in a way that there are civil service exams, such as in the Song Dynasty?

3. Were there some members of nobility who joined Emperior Gaius in his voyage towards the "New World"?

4. Have we already a name for Empress Veronica's city?

Thank you!

P.S. I sent you a private message, by the way!

[Billus]

Greetings, Elysana!

1. Correct, thought it is up to each individual person as to how they may choose to distribute their wealth among their children.

2. Lords may rule over fiefdoms, but in general it is safe to say that the Empire is run on a much more meritorious structure than a familial one. But like anything, familial ties in the government can't hurt

3. Yes, Gaius wanted to take as many people as were willing to go. While of course the prospect of starting anew was more appealing to lower class peasants, some nobles may have had reason to want leave (You may get a story about this later )

4. Sorry, I can't comment on the city name just yet!

Thanks for the questions!

PS I responded to your PM