# MAER'S COURT: COMPLETE LORE DOCUMENT
## I. POLITICAL OVERVIEW
Nation: Vintas
Seat: Severen (capital, seat of the Maer's power)
Ruler: The Maer of Vintas (hereditary feudal lord)
Government: Feudal monarchy with court-based hierarchy
Territory: Fragmented holdings across southern and southeastern Temerant
The Maer's Court is the beating heart of Vintish power—a labyrinth of alliances, seductions, blackmail, and carefully worded lies. It is the nerve center where every decision ripples through Vintas's fractured territories. The court runs on reputation, favor, and the unspoken rules of social combat far sharper than steel.
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## II. STRUCTURE OF THE COURT
### A. The Hierarchy
The Maer (supreme ruler)
├── Inner Circle (5-7 closest advisors)
├── Major Nobles (regional lords)
├── Minor Nobles (knights, younger sons, ambitious climbers)
├── Wealthy Merchants (patron-class)
├── Courtiers & Companions (hangers-on, servants, lovers)
└── Common Staff (guards, pages, servants)
The Maer:
- Hereditary ruler, governing through feudal obligation and personal loyalty.
- Currently aging and ill; succession is uncertain and dangerous.
- Commands vast armies through vassal lords; controls wealth through taxation and patronage.
- His word is law, but his power depends on the loyalty of major nobles.
The Inner Circle:
- Typically includes: a chancellor (administrative), a master-at-arms (military), a steward (household), and 2-4 personal favorites or advisors.
- These positions are fiercely fought over; favorites rise and fall with the Maer's whim.
- Inner circle members have direct access and the Maer's ear—invaluable for those seeking his favor.
Major Nobles:
- Control significant territories and command their own armed retainers.
- Attend court in person for key events (seasonal gatherings, succession issues, wars).
- Their sons and daughters are hostages-in-fact, bound to the Maer through family honor and potential execution.
The Court Proper:
- Hundreds of courtiers: lesser nobles, talented commoners, clergy, merchants, foreign ambassadors.
- Housed in the Maer's palace or in estates nearby.
- The day-to-day engine of court life: gossip, intrigue, love affairs, and deals.
### B. Daily Rhythms
Morning Audiences:
- The Maer (or his steward) hears petitions, settles disputes, grants favors.
- Access is rationed; getting an audience is a political victory.
Court Functions:
- Hunts, feasts, tournaments, plays, balls.
- Seemingly recreational but actually high-stakes networking.
Private Chambers:
- The Maer's inner sanctum, where real decisions happen.
- Lovers, advisors, and scheming nobles wheel and deal in semi-darkness.
Evening Court:
- Formal dinners, entertainment, and more openly performed intrigue.
- Where reputations are built and destroyed through wit, beauty, and carefully chosen words.
## III. THE RULES OF THE GAME
### A. Reputation as Currency
In Vintas, your reputation is your wealth:
- Speaking: A word placed in the right ear at the right time can topple a rival or elevate a friend.
- Listening: Information is power; those who know secrets hold leverage.
- Silence: Sometimes saying nothing—or pretending ignorance—is the sharpest move.
- Insult: A public slight can destroy; an elegant insult can raise you in others' eyes.
Once a reputation is damaged, recovery is nearly impossible. Whispering that someone is a thief, a coward, or a heretic can destroy them faster than any legal process.
### B. Written Law & Contracts
Vintas differs from the rest of Temerant in its obsession with written agreement:
- Contracts are sacred; breaking one brings not just legal penalties but social ruin.
- A document witnessed and sealed is more powerful than a thousand oaths.
- This creates a strange contrast: spoken rumor can destroy you, but a written contract can protect you.
Clever use of contracts and loopholes is a high art at court.
### C. The Unspoken Rules
Certain things are done; others are utterly forbidden:
- Do: Seduce, manipulate, lie eloquently, gather allies, poison rivals (subtly).
- Never: Openly murder a noble (assassination's fine if hidden), violate a written contract, dishonor the Maer's name without cause, harm children of nobles (though rough treatment is acceptable).
Breaking these rules brings swift, harsh justice—or exile.
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## IV. GENDER POLITICS & POWER
### A. Women at Court
Women in Vintas wield significant power through:
- Beauty & Seduction: Cultivated deliberately as a tool of statecraft.
- Marriage Alliances: Marrying the right person (or refusing the wrong one) shifts power.
- Companionship: A woman in the Maer's favor can be his closest confidante and informal advisor.
- Intrigue: Women gossip, manipulate, and gather intelligence as effectively as men.
Notable: some of the Maer's most effective agents are women who've climbed from nothing.
### B. Men at Court
Men compete through:
- Military Prowess: Commanding armies, winning tournaments, proving courage.
- Wit & Rhetoric: Clever words, sharp debate, political maneuvering.
- Patronage: Gathering followers and clients.
- Noble Birth: But even commoners can rise through exceptional talent or seduction.
The most dangerous men at court are those who combine military power, intellectual cunning, and social magnetism.
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## V. FACTIONS WITHIN THE COURT
The Maer's Court is not monolithic. Internal factions compete:
### A. The Traditionalists
- Led by the oldest major nobles.
- Want stable succession (favoring the eldest heir).
- Conservative in magic, religion, and foreign policy.
- Often at odds with younger reformers.
### B. The Reformers
- Younger nobles, ambitious merchants, innovative thinkers.
- Question traditional power structures.
- More open to working with the University or foreign powers.
- Seen as destabilizing by traditionalists.
### C. The Pious
- Those aligned with the Tehlin Church.
- May be working against the University or suppressing "heretical" learning.
- Often powerful through their Church connections.
### D. The Merchant Alliance
- Wealthy non-nobles (craftspeople, traders, financiers).
- Represent growing economic power independent of land.
- Increasingly assertive about representation and influence.
### E. The Maer's Intimates
- Those closest to the Maer himself.
- May be personal lovers, childhood friends, or proven advisors.
- Shift and change with his moods and physical decline.
## VI. THE SUCCESSION CRISIS
The current situation at court:
The Maer's Health:
- He is aging; rumors speak of illness, injury, or poison.
- His energy is visibly waning; some fear he may not live another year or two.
Succession Question:
- The Maer has heirs, but succession is unclear or contested.
- Possible scenarios:
- The eldest son is competent but unpopular.
- A younger child is favored but lacks experience.
- There is no clear heir, leading to civil conflict.
- A daughter challenges traditions of male succession.
Current Tension:
- Factions begin positioning their preferred successor.
- Enemies of the Maer plot to accelerate his death or exploit the chaos.
- Alliances shift weekly as courtiers calculate odds.
This instability is the central political crisis of the moment, offering hooks for player involvement.
## VII. ECONOMICS & PATRONAGE
### A. The Patronage System
The Maer and major nobles sustain courtiers, artists, scholars, and servants through patronage:
- Stipends: Monthly or yearly payments to favored individuals.
- Positions: Court roles (lady-in-waiting, advisor, entertainer) that provide income and status.
- Gifts: Jewelry, land grants, titles, promises of future wealth.
- Promises: Vague pledges of future support that may or may not materialize.
Losing a patron can mean financial ruin; gaining one is an enormous coup.
### B. Wealth Distribution
- The Maer: Virtually unlimited resources through taxation, but constantly besieged by requests.
- Major Nobles: Substantial, from their territories; guard it jealously.
- Minor Nobles & Merchants: Comfortable, dependent on patronage or trade.
- Courtiers: Precarious; entirely dependent on patron favor; easy to bankrupt through scandal or disfavor.
### C. Debt as Leverage
- Owing money to a patron creates obligation stronger than law.
- Debt can be forgiven (for a price) or called in at the worst moment.
- Major courtiers often carry crushing debts to multiple patrons, creating loyalties and conflicts.
## VIII. CUSTOMS & ETIQUETTE
### A. Court Protocol
Violations of etiquette can destroy you:
- Dress: Court fashion is strict; wrong colors or styles signal allegiance or disrespect.
- Forms of Address: Calling someone by the wrong title or title-level is an insult.
- Movement: Where you stand, whom you approach—all convey meaning.
- Speech: Overly direct language is crude; eloquence and indirection are prized.
### B. The Court Calendar
- Seasonal Gatherings: Major festivals where all regional nobles are expected.
- Hunts: Ostensibly recreational; actually networking and alliance-testing.
- Tournaments: Martial competition; displays of prowess and alliances.
- Balls: Evening entertainments where couples pair off and scandals erupt.
- Mourning Periods: When a major figure dies, strict protocols of grief and succession-jockeying.
### C. Courtship & Marriage
- Marriages are political instruments, arranged by parents or patrons.
- Courtship involves elaborate games: gifts, poetry, careful distance, then sudden closeness.
- Love affairs (when tolerated) add spice but also danger; a jealous patron can ruin both parties.
- Bastards born of noble affairs may be acknowledged or denied based on political calculation.