Elven Association and Politics

As I mentioned in an earlier post, elves are fiercely political creatures. Every action means something, even the actions meant to mean nothing at all.

Elves are associated with each other, always connected through various lines. These connections are rarely geographical, which would confuse humans, if they ever interacted with the elves.

There is one geographical consideration in reference to elves which must be considered, and that is the elven society on the forgotten continent, which is entirely separate from the rest elven society, and will be treated separately.

As seems reasonable, given that the society's drive is to associate, Elven society is dominated by a sort of super-association, created out of five associations with similar interests. Great wars were fought when this first great association was formed, and even now it holds power tentatively.

The age of open welfare in elven society seems to be passed, or at least dormant. Much like the contemporary Cold War, most threats of force are merely threats. The great association is held in check by two smaller associations with great influence, through their wisdom and their military strength.

Associations

It's difficult to describe an association using any other word. While family lines often provide for the beginnings of associations, elven society, kinship, and loyalty are fluid enough that these lines blur fairly quickly.

These associations are mostly political entities, but not in the sense of political parties, or ideological groups. When you agree with someone, it tends to make them easier to get along with, but it's very possible to associate with someone for mutual benefit, even if you don't agree with them.

One can generally expect to be tolerated by any member of one's own association, anywhere. This might have different meanings depending on who you're with or where you are. Sometimes your associates might feed you, and give you a place to stay. Sometimes they might agree merely not to have you killed.

Elves do not marry in the same sense as humans. Sometimes two elves decide to associate more closely and completely, but this is not expected to last forever.

A Sense of Responsibility

Elves do not view loyalty in quite the same way as humans do. Where humans are expected to remain loyal, even through difficult times, elven loyalties are expected to shift. Take as an example a powerful elven lord. His personal stature is, at this time, large, and he holds the loyalty of a great number of elves.

Slowly, though, he begins to weaken, and his stature begins to fade. As his stature fades, elves who are distantly loyal to him might switch their loyalties, then slowly more elves will do so, until he is left with only his closest companions.

This is a difficult concept to explain to humans, and as a human myself, I don't entirely understand it either. How one goes from being an outsider in one association to a trusted friend in another is particularly tricky for me. I'll have to think further about it.

Personal stature is, I should add, not quite the right term. There isn't really a human equivalent, but it's something of a mix of stature and responsibility. The greater one is, the greater one's responsibilities (thanks Uncle Ben), and when one's stature shrinks, one is not as able to be responsible for others.

I hope that made sense to somebody.

Assassination

This is an important part of elven culture, as odd as it might sound. There is a guild of assassins in elven society, and they are open for legitimate business. Being elven, they all belong to associations, and most serve as bodyguards for the leaders of their associations. Every association that exists now has at least one, and from time to time, they might be expected to carry out an assassination on a rival or enemy.

There are, however, a few requirements. First, the intent to send an assassin must be registered with the guild. If the guild feels that the assassination would cause too much destabilization, it may be forbidden. Few elves in the upper echelons of elven society are assassinated.

Assassination is somewhat of a "proportional response." For example, if your stature is greatly diminished by a rival, you might register and have your rival's cousin assassinated. While it does not prevent your loss of stature, and it does not revenge you directly, your rival will undoubtedly notice and perhaps think twice about kicking you further.

It's difficult for humans to understand some of these concepts, which is understandable. I will strive to make them more understandable as I write more about the strange elves.

Dimourgos' Law and the Governance of Dwarves

Dimiourgos' Law is intentionally vague and short, because all good religions have to have to room for violent conflict and heretic-burning.

I will now remove my tongue from my cheek.

Dimourgos' laid down two laws to his dwarven children, and they are as follows:

1. One must wear the constitution of stone in one's heart.
2. It is forbidden to destroy what another has wrought.

So, you might be wondering, what does this mean? Good question. We'll start with the second one.

At first blush, this looks like it's saying "Don't break other people's stuff". It does indeed say that, but there are some implications to be considered. Remember that dwarves create their own offspring. In this way, killing a dwarf is forbidden. There is great debate between dwarves as to whether this law extends to other creatures and races. The vast majority believe that killing itself is forbidden, and resign themselves to mosses and water for their sustenance.

Even further, many dwarves believe that this law does not apply just to physical things but also to things such as clans, the peace, and other non-physical constructs. However, the interpretation of this law changes depending on the purpose for which it is being interpreted.

As with the second law, the first law is also given to much controversy. What exactly is meant by "constitution of stone" is a subject of great discussion. Most dwarves agree that it is a call to be durable and patient in character, unyielding to outside influence without great cause to be otherwise.

When used in conjunction with the first law, this is a powerful barrier to change, and a result, the systems and traditions of dwarven society are relatively unchanged over the centuries. Deference to authority is a common thread among all dwarven societies. It should be mentioned that a dwarven adventurer is quite possibly no longer welcome in dwarven society, as such a career often requires some amount of autonomy (though this may not be true if the character is on a mission from dwarven society proper).

Dwarven Governance
There are very few issues that are of importance to all dwarves, and accordingly there is no real central government. The closest dwarven society comes to a central government is the structures of the church of the Life-Breather, but even this does not reach all dwarves at all times. There is one particular dwarven society whose Life-Breathers are taught in the central hall of the clans, rather than by the church itself, but more about this break-away sect later.

Life-Breathers do not rule directly, or use their powers as blunt instruments. Rather they arrive to clan discussions and speak softly, allowing the weight of their position to do the work for them.

In most circumstances, the clan leader is the only government a dwarf will have, and this is not so much government as it is leadership. Decisions made by the clan leader are only binding in the sense that, to most dwarves, it would be unthinkable to do otherwise.

Most small or medium-sized clans do not have their own Law-Speaker, and often live in an area with other clans nearby. One Law-Speaker may service multiple small clans or a few larger clans. The largest clans have their own Law-Speakers, but these are rare.

As with many other facets of dwarven society, Law-Speakers do not directly appoint new clan-leaders, but they are considered to be extremely persuasive, should they decide to weigh in on the matter. In the event of a delinquent dwarf, a Law-Speaker will hand down a punishment that is in keeping with what Dimiourgos' stories would suggest. These stories are only tales of what Dimiourgos has done, and his decisions are imitated in most circumstances.

In times of war, many clans come together, and the Law-Speaker or Law-Speakers meet and the group comes to a consensus on who is best suited to lead the soldiers in war. This generalship is the closest dwarven society comes to absolute rule, and even the general is subject to removal by the decision of five Law-Speakers in consensus.

Much of dwarven governance is of the "live and let live" philosophy. Clans only worry about what other clans are doing when there is a question of great danger, and even then the clans tend to fight together, only consulting with one another when necessary.

Next time: Who knows.