Quartz 5

The Lexalian Republic

13 min read

History

The republic was formed after the bloody wars of the northern tribes, which decided to unite and beat back the monster hordes. It was a leader named Skati Megin who brought the tribes under her rule and forged the Frozen Furnace, the first city of the north.

Present Day

By 1540 the Republic is weary. The War of Horrors was, to most Lexalians, never their war - yet they bled for it on the fronts against the House of Horrors, and have little to show for it. The monsters of the north have not receded, the prosperity the tribes hoped for has not come, and the central coast has grown so lawless - caravan raids, bandit gangs, slavers hunting the Twisted Races - that much of it is barely habitable. A hard wave of emigration only deepens the strain.

Most dangerous of all is a crisis of confidence in the government, the first in the Republic’s history. To fight the Horrors the council moved the seat of power east to Coldheart and invoked the Ragnarok Law to conscript every tribe - and in the end, nothing came of it. Now there is real fear in the council that the tribes might fracture and turn on one another, as they did before the Republic was ever forged.

Geography and Climate

The Republic lies in a harsh, snow-clad mountainous region.

Demography

Population

The frozen north is peopled chiefly by dwarves and humans, together with the Dendulra - among whom are several largely homogeneous tribes - and the giant-blooded Goliath, called orcs in older speech and still one of the most numerous peoples of the mountains. Its other Twisted Races are the Gnolls and the Firbolg. The Twisted remain a small minority, kept few by the harshness of the land and the unending war with the monsters - which also makes life beyond the city walls nearly impossible, and is why the Republic takes in very few immigrants.

Religion

The dominant faith of the Republic is the Norse religion. It is customary to worship a single god devoutly while offering sacrifices to all the gods on the great festival days, and within the tribes it is usual to pray to one god alone. Other religions barely penetrate the Republic - partly because of the martial character of the Norse faith, and partly because it suits the hard life of the Republic’s people so well, where other religions do not speak to the same governing narrative. A handful of gods outside the faith do find some worship here, chiefly gods of war and the hunt.

Languague

In the north, Common is spoken with a northern accent that often sounds harsher to the ear. Alongside it, much of the Giant tongue is in common use.

Regime

The republic is governed in a hybrid form of democracy and meritocracy, in two dimensions -

  1. The leader, known as the Skati.
  2. The council of tribe representatives, known as the Thing, with its people known as the Lawspeakers.

The Skati has their seat in the Frozen Furnace, and while the Lawspeakers don’t have a permanent seat necessarily (each has their own, and the representatives of the traveling tribes don’t have one at all), they do have a council hall known as the Thingstow, where the council gathers for annual meetings and important decisions.

The Skati

The Skati is the supreme executive leader of the Republic, seated in the Frozen Furnace, its heart. Historically the first Skati was the one who united the warring tribes under a single banner, and the office still carries that role of protector and unifier. The first Skati - whose name, Skati Megin, became the title itself - was also a Champion of Odin, gaining that mantle after signing the famous Pact of Three Brothers; for this reason the Skati is also seen as a religious figure, expected to help bridge the wills of the gods and the needs of the Republic.

The Skati is chosen through a public martial and strategic trial, held every ten years (or upon death or abdication). Any citizen may put forward a candidate, provided the candidate possesses either a proven record of military leadership or heroism in battle, or the support of at least three tribes through their Lawspeakers. The candidates then undergo three trials:

  • A trial of arms - combat, tactics, and endurance.
  • A trial of voice - deliberation before the Thing.
  • A trial of leadership - leading a company in a sanctioned mission or wargame.

The winner is confirmed by a majority vote of the Thing, but the top performer is granted default authority unless vetoed by two-thirds of the council. Once seated, the Skati holds emergency powers in war or crisis, the authority to appoint war councils and high generals, and a veto over the Thing’s decisions - but cannot legislate independently.

The Thing

The Thing is the deliberative body of the Republic, composed of Lawspeakers representing each recognized tribe. Because representation follows tribes rather than settlements, the Republic’s cities hold little direct political power - as a general rule the cities belong to all tribes, making them the least (or most) recognized entities in the Thingstow, depending on one’s viewpoint. Each tribe chooses its Lawspeaker internally and the method varies: some elect by duel or ordeal, others vote democratically or by clan consensus, and a few defer to religious authority. In every case a Lawspeaker must be a proven veteran warrior and skilled negotiator, and most are respected elders continuing to serve their tribe.

The Thing meets annually, and in emergencies, in the Thingstow. Tribes without permanent settlements send traveling Lawspeakers, who join via proxy or converge on the hall during key events. The Thing debates and votes on national law, alliances, war declarations, and trade; maintains tribal sovereignty while reinforcing national unity; and can override the Skati’s veto with a supermajority. Beyond this, each tribe keeps its own legislative process and authority within its own territory.

Law

Law in the Republic applies equally to all, and rests on the Stone Rules - a set of guidelines for how Lexalians ought to conduct themselves, often literally carved in stone in the chambers of the courts and sometimes on the city walls. In practice the Republic’s judges hold enormous latitude to interpret these rules as they see fit, but a few clear principles hold. Crimes are divided into two kinds: light and severe.

A light crime is any offence that does not, by its commission or its likely consequences, endanger the community’s continued existence - unlawful trespass, minor vandalism, and the like. A severe crime is any offence capable of harming the community by its commission or its consequences, or that would do so were it to become a widespread practice: theft, murder, and unprovoked violence all fall here. There are only three punishments in the law: a fine, exile, and death.

A light crime usually draws a fine, though in special cases - repeat offending, for instance - a judge may instead impose exile. A severe crime almost always means death, known in the north as “the last service to the community.” The condemned is taken by the Metal Eaters, one of the Republic’s infamous knightly orders. He is given a last meal and the most minimal equipment - only things so old and useless that no one could even recycle them - then injected with a special poison and rendered senseless. The Metal Eaters carry him into the mountains, into monster-haunted country, and leave him to survive: the poison will kill him within days, and any monster that devours him dies of it far faster. There is no waste in the north, not even in death. Some judges show mercy even in severe cases, sending the condemned into exile instead.

There is said to be one further punishment, though it is half legend - that certain of the condemned are taken not by the Metal Eaters but by a secret order known only as “the Cave.” By the stories, the Cave is a place where the Republic’s mages conduct experiments meant to win the Republic the means to fight the many monsters of the north.

The exile is marked with a clear sign cut into his body - a cold-burn scar. Once this was done with blades chilled in mountain ice; today it is done with a magic item the god Týr allows his priests to make, a knife called a frost brand. The mark is the Norse rune ᚦ (“thorn”) - which in truth means “giant,” though the Lexalians have it slightly wrong, and the Giant- and rune-speaking tribes never correct them, since the meaning is plain enough either way. It is cut into the cheek, where it cannot be hidden in the taverns and roadside inns; for this reason innkeepers will often ask a stranger to show their face in full before serving them.

A crime committed beyond the Republic’s borders but against the Republic - desertion, or any crime by a citizen against the state - is brought home for trial, for summary justice in the field is held to be a perversion of the natural order of things.

There is no minimum age for trial or punishment; but where a citizen below the age of adulthood is judged, any legal guardian may take the guilt and the sentence upon themselves, even in the most extreme cases. This is called the right of substitution.

A crime against the gods is reckoned a severe crime, yet its punishment is almost always exile rather than death - the Lexalian view being that while the gods are central to the people’s survival, there is no wish to force that faith upon those who do not want it.

The Masks Law

Following the tale of the order of the Mask Knights, a law was set down in the Lexalian books to allow such cases to proceed lawfully and clearly. It does not, however, appear among the Stone Rules, and so carries no obligation: it is usually honoured, but a judge who ignores it breaks no custom.

In essence, the Masks Law permits a sentient being capable of giving consent to be recruited into the ranks of a reputable organization that wants them, provided certain conditions are met. Of the criminal: they must be of adult age and possess the skills the organization requires; their possible contribution must outweigh the harm they have done and could yet do under the Stone Rules; and a criminal whose sins run beyond all measure of mercy may not use the law to escape punishment. Of the organization: it must bring a clear contribution to the life of the community and be known chiefly for that; it must be able to take responsibility for the criminal’s deeds and to prevent any repeat or fresh crimes; it must be able to provide proper training, where needed, and basic living conditions; and it must give a clear account of how the criminal might contribute to its work. The arrangement may begin whether the criminal asks the judges to join an organization or an organization seeks to recruit a particular criminal, so long as there is clear and acceptable agreement between them as to the terms of recruitment and the nature of the service. Every such agreement must be made before the court and holds as a binding contract between the parties; once the law is invoked, partial legal guardianship over the criminal’s deeds passes to the organization, from that moment until the day of their death.

Laws Regarding Magic

Foreign Affairs

The Republic’s prosperity rests on two great agreements:

  • The Bread and Steel Compact (with the Holy Theocracy) - the Theocracy sells the Republic grain, olives, and preserved fish at a fixed preferential rate, shielding it from famine, while the Republic grants the Theocracy a charter to buy iron and higher metals (capping the share usable for military equipment) and sends skilled metalworkers to teach steel-making. A non-interference clause keeps the peace between two very different cultures.
  • The Golden Charter (with the Jaknian Conglomerate) - the Golden Ledger funds the modernization of Lexalian mines with low-interest loans and survey data, and in return the Adamantium Accord receives right of first refusal on 40% of the dark metal and orichalcum those mines produce. The tribes keep ownership; Jaknia secures a stable supply chain.

Economy

The Lexalian economy is tribal-militaristic mercantilism, intrinsically tied to the Republic’s warrior culture and tribal structure. Economic strength is measured by martial might and control over strategic resources: wealth is not just gold but a master-forged axe, a company of loyal warriors, or a mine of rare ore. Trade and production serve the needs of the tribes and their military, with the Frozen Furnace as a heartland of heavy, forge-based industry.

The Republic’s strategy is resource dominance and martial supremacy - to control the sources of the world’s best metals and strategic minerals, to never depend on others for defense, and to project enough power to secure what it needs through trade, intimidation, or conquest.

Main exports:

  • Master-crafted arms & armor - the Republic’s primary export and source of wealth; some of the finest weapons in the world are forged in the harsh Lexalian winter.
  • Rare ores & ingots - strategic metals (mithril, adamant, darkmetal, orichalcum, and rare lead) exported, often refined, for immense profit, especially to Jaknia and the Theocracy.
  • Skilled metalworkers - the knowledge of steelmaking is said to have come from the Republic, and selling that expertise is profitable in itself.
  • Luxury furs & pelts - high-quality, exotic furs from the harsh northern climes.
  • Elite mercenary companies - a significant service export carrying both income and geopolitical influence, hired out with calculated care never to overstretch this perceived natural resource.

Main imports:

  • Foodstuffs - the cold climate and endless war against monsters make large-scale agriculture difficult, so the Republic is the largest importer of grain and preserved food, chiefly from the Theocracy and Clairnia.
  • Lumber & textiles - lacking vast forests, it imports wood for construction and cloth for clothing.
  • Alchemical & magical supplies - potions and enchanting components from Jaknia and Clairnia supplement its own traditions.

Armed Forces

Important People

Cities and Such

The Republic’s cities, villages, and tribes include the capital, the Frozen Furnace; the twin cities of Winter’s Hold and Spring’s Embrace; the eastern city of Coldheart; and Havenport, the port town in the east.

Points of Interest

Culture

Relationship With Magic

Lexalia

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