Isombren

Isombren (pronounced /ɪˈsɒmbrɪn/) is a nation on the southern coast of the continent of Siaia on the worlddisk of B'gor. One of the wealthiest nations on the worlddisk, Isombren takes advantage of its mineral riches as well as its fortuitous position which lets it border the Rainbow Sea while still having access to fresh water from rivers flowing into the sea from the north.

The usual adjective to refer to people or things from Isombren is "Brennish" (/ˈbrɛnɪʃ/).

Geography

Isombren is a mountainous country, with most of the population living in the fertile valley of the Pasiil River. The nation is roughly rhombic, with the river running between opposite corners. One corner of the square is the mouth of the river where it meets the Rainbow Sea; the part of the seacoast pertaining to Isombren is very short, but tactically and economically important given that it means Isombren does have a direct outlet to the sea rather than being landlocked. Of course, the oily Rainbow Sea fulfills none of Isombren's water needs, but the Pasiil River and its numerous tributaries ensure that the valley remains well watered, supplemented when necessary by water from the glaciers in the peaks of the mountains.

The river valley where the population is concentrated largely contains plains and forest, with some occasional spots of wetland, most notably the Spider Swamp near the middle of the valley. Just downriver from the Spider Swamp is the nation's largest city, Ascenbrag. Other cities dot the valley, most of them along the rivers where they have ready access to water and the other benefits they provide.

While the mountains have until recently been more sparsely settled, in recent years towns have grown up there nearly as large as those of the valley. The ruggedness of the mountains is not the obstacle to travel it used to be, with Isombren's current magical and technological capabilities making it able to build roads and take other means to facilitate travel. The plentiful springs and lakes in the mountains mean water isn't a concern, and the valuable minerals found in the mountains provide an economic incentive for settling there as well. Even in the farthest reaches of the mountains, a place's very inaccessibility may be an advantage for military bases and similar enterprises. There are still many byways in the mountains that have not been fully explored, however, and it's well known that the mountains of Isombren are riddled with caves, some of which go so deep as to open into Bathk.

Government

The government of Isombren is a monarchy, but not necessarily a hereditary one; the monarch appoints his successor, and while many monarchs have appointed their own children, others have nominated other kin or unrelated allies. The identity of the successor is a secret, kept in a sealed envelope called a theca by a body known as the Investure Council, who protects the theca and produces it only on the monarch's death (or disappearance or other incapacity). The monarch is permitted to change his choice of successor whenever he pleases, whereupon the old theca is destroyed (generally burned, although the exact method of its destruction is not specified in the constitution).

A monarch must choose a successor immediately upon ascension to the throne, so that in principle if the monarch dies a successor is always available, and the monarch's choice will always be honored. In practice, the system relies on the probity of the Investure Council, and while there are many measures in place to minimize the chances of their unfealty, the Investure Council may not always be completely incorruptible. There are several times in history when the Council is suspected of having betrayed their late monarch and substituted a false theca, but none have been proven. Furthermore, while the successor's identity is supposed to be a secret, it's often not hard to guess, and there have been times when it has been discovered, even without the Council's complicity (such as by reading the current monarch's mind). Even in the absense of such shenanigans, there is still a legitimate chance that the chosen successor should have died or become otherwise unavailable prior to the monarchs' death, without the monarch having learned of the matter in time to select a new heir. In this rare circumstance, the Investure Council is entrusted to choose the next monarch; they are supposed to make the choice they feel the previous monarch would have, but this isn't an enforceable injunction.

While the monarch of Isombren has complete power over the nation's people, the orders he passes down are not his alone. Every monarch of the nation regularly visits a huge, smooth, vertical surface in the mountains of Isobren called the Murmuring Wall, where he supposed gets visions foretelling the future, and advising them as to what they should do next (not excluding their choices as successor). These visions seem to come only to the monarchs themselves—even companions there with the monarchs at the time of the visions experience nothing out of the ordinary—and it isn't entirely clear in what form they come, whether the monarchs literally see something within the wall or whether the vision takes some more esoteric form. Nevertheless, while not all the predictions that the monarchs make based on their visions come completely true, more do than seems completely explicable by coincidence—and even those that don't could perhaps be chalked up to the monarchs' misinterpretation of their visions. More than once a monarch has undertaken some project that seemed completely pointless at the time, but turned out in the end to have been important preparation against an event that it seems the monarch could not possibly have seen coming, except perhaps from the Wall's vaticinations.

In light of this, some of the actions of the current monarch, Cason Tisinad, are particularly worrying. In particular, Tisinad has been building up quite a large force of flying war machines and mobile aerial stations. For now, he seems to be doing nothing more than constructing these ships, keeping them on standby in a mountain base in the eastern part of the nation (Bend Plateau). He has shown no particular hostility to any other nation, or intention of offensive actions, and when asked directly about his reasons has evaded the questions. Still, he must have some purpose behind his stockpiling, and many suspect that it may be in response to some coming threat he's seen in the Wall—and dread just what that threat might be.

Isombren is divided into nineteen cantons, each ruled by an eight-member council, four members of which are elected by the people and four of which are directly appointed by the monarch.

Culture

Isombren is a very wealthy nation, and overall has a high standard of living. However, inevitably its citizens aren't all equal. While the rich of Isombren are very rich indeed, the nation is certainly not without its poor as well. For the most part, the rich prefer to have the poor out of view, so the rich and poor neighborhoods of Isombren tend to be strictly segregated. In many Brennish cities, the poor actually live underground, occupying tunnels and chambers beneath the rich above. This is not to say that no social mobility exists; certainly it's possible for a poor person to find a way to make enough money to join the upper economic echelons, but with the disadvantage the poor start with this requires both enterprise and luck.

There is, however, one more or less reliable form of long-term social mobility. One of Isombren's more unusual social phenomena is a form of voluntary slavery—that is, the would-be slaves enter into the condition voluntarily, but once contracted they cannot choose to prematurely leave it. Slaves have few legal rights, and are lawfully obliged to obey their masters' commands, with exceptions only for orders that violate the law of the land or that pose unreasonable risk to the slave's person. (Some risk to the slave's person is acceptable; the laws defining the extent of acceptable risk are complex.) In return, the slaves' masters do pay a sort of a wage, but the slaves themselves rarely have the leisure or permission to spend it; rather, they usually stipulate on entering into slavery that the money go to some relative, often their children (being saved if necessary until they reach their majority). While it's possible to agree to terms of enslavement as short as a year or two (and save up the money they earn for themselves), most slavery commitments are lifetime contracts—brief enslavement doesn't pay as well, even relative to the time of the commitment, and short-term slaves tend to be looked down upon and mistreated. While bound to the will of their masters, other Brennish slaves are not necessarily despised; a slave who has proved himself efficient and trustworthy may earn from their master a good deal of respect. Nevertheless, while they may live among the wealthy, slaves are still definitely a part of the underclass. Their children, however, may not be; slavery pays well enough to raise the children of a pauper, if not exactly to great wealth, at least to the comfortable middle class (and afford them greater opportunity for later social mobility). More than one now powerful and respected family owes its original rise from poverty to the enslavement of an ancestor or two. (It also hasn't been entirely unknown for some slaves to have children with their masters; some masters have fallen in love with slaves and entered into semimorganatic marriages in which the slaves remained slaves and had no added rights or power but their children inherited from the free parent.)

As a rule, the Brennish take great pride in the natural beauty of their mountainous homeland, and try to reproduce that beauty on a smaller scale in their own homes. Gardens are common, both flower gardens and rock gardens, as well as a uniquely Brennish blend of the two, often involving artificial streams and waterfalls. Flower growing is a popular Brennish hobby for those with the leisure time to pursue it, and many common cultivars originated in Brennish greenhouses. Another famous Brennish pursuit is that of philosophy; while most Brennish schools are competent but not exceptional in such fields as celemology and the sciences, Isombren has had and still has more than its fair share of noted philosophers.

Economy

Originally, the bulk of Isombren's wealth came from its mineral reserves. The mountains of Isombren are replete with veins of gold, iron, and copper, as well as a number of precious stones (most notably agate, jasper, and other forms of chalcedony). The early inhabitants of Isombren developed efficient methods of mining, and were able to outproduce other nearby nations in these materials, and accumulate considerable wealth that way. The fertile Pasiil Valley also permitted the growth of plentiful crops that could be profitably exported, along with water itself, to the water-starved nations of the southeastern Sacalian shore.

Now, certainly there are plenty of mines still in operation, and the nation still gets a fair income from them. Farming plays much less of a role than it used to, as what was once farmland has been coöpted for other purposes and as the Brennish found other ways to produce food. But as industrialization took off, the Brennish people and government invested much of their wealth into new ventures, and today they actually make less money from their mines than they do from manufacture. Considerable industry takes place in Isombren; Marblehouse has a major presence there, and the engine company Heartworks was founded in Isombren and still has its headquarters there in the city of Barethane.

Though between the mountain mines and quarries, the forests and fields of the valleys, and its own industrial base, Isombre is able to provide for most of its own basic necessities, still its wealth allows its people to indulge in many luxuries. Isombre imports exotic foods, spices, cloths, and other goods from all over B'gor. However, it also must import many of the components and raw materials for its industries, as well as certain manufactured goods; for all its mineral wealth, there are some metals and minerals not found there, and its industrial base is extensive but not all-inclusive, and still makes use of tools and parts fashioned elsewhere.