am'nýer—a'
T
SLAVERY & BOUNTIES AROUND THE WORLD
Slavery in Tam'nýer—a' can be a common thing. As for most things, it really relies on where you are, but generally is accepted in terms of you can be a slave owner. The trick, however, is procuring one as the only slave market/auction in all of Tam'nýer—a' is located in, you guessed it, B'hărăbû.
Here's a quick run down of what is accepted when it comes to slavery depending on where you are;
In Fawzia-Kedet, slave trading and buying is illegal. However, owning one is not. It may be frowned upon by some or many but there are no laws against it. This even goes on to be accepted to the point that there is no limit as to how many you can own and why you own them.
In Püertagœ, like Fawzia-Kedet, slave trading and buying is illegal, owning is not. But the defining difference is that there are laws in place for slave owners, such as keeping slaves healthy. This also includes that the only time you should own a slave who is of an age considered to be a child is that the child itself is the child of a slave you had under your care at the time of pregnancy and was more or less, born into it.
Slaves also must be released from duties once they have hit a certain age (race dependent). This is to ensure that slaves do not work until death. Though you might notice that they are only free from duties, not residence or healthcare. This is the slave owner's responsibility still. Slaves with retirement rights. Who knew?
In ZàÞça owning slaves, as well as trading slaves is legal. Buying, however, is not. So, if two people had slaves, and those slaves would be better suited in the other owner's home, they could legally trade a slave for a slave. A slave however can only be traded for another slave and not anything to "make up the value" of said slave, as this tip-toes the line of buying in the eye of the law.
Of course, like Püertagœ, slave owners must keep slaves healthy. However, if a slave requires punishment, that punishment is left up to the owner to determine the severity of said punishment and in this case cause harm to the slave, but cannot mutilate or kill the slave. Unlike Püertagœ though, you can keep a slave for the entirety of their life. In no way does a slave owner need to grant a slave freedom. Though it is looked favorably upon if one releases a slave upon the owner's death.
Slavery in the Sky-Coral Sea, also known as Uwhang, is viewed as abhorrent and illegal on all levels.
Cruel Realities:
• If you are born into slavery, consider yourself lucky in the sense that you won't be marked. If you ever get an opportunity to be free, you won't bare any marks telling that you have ever served.
• Nothing keeps anyone from getting claimed and thrown into slavery. Trafficking people is a business, so everyone is at risk. If you are affluent, prepare to get held for ransom rather than put into slavery. However, if your relatives or loved ones don't pay up, well, it's probably either slavery or death.
• When it comes to being released from service, you are unfortunately marked for life. That means that you may get mistaken for a slave still in active service. If you are lucky and have earned your autonomy, you will most likely be given a bonding document saying such. If not, you're on your own.
• If you are a slave owned and kept in B'hărăbû, you are more than likely going to be used for entertainment purposes such as fighting till death, or being a whore. Only in underground fighting rings across Tam'nýer—a' can you be used for fighting, unless bought to be a bodyguard.
THE SLAVE MARKET
B'hărăbû is home to the sole slave market in Tam'nyer-a' . It is a large part of B'hărăbû and will bring people of all walks of life to it's ports. Since acquiring slaves is usually illegal but having them is not, (unless you are in Uwhang), B'hărăbû becomes a necessary destination to acquire one if you are in the market for one.
The slave market is incredibly diverse, and the fact that it does so well, also means that trafficking people is alive and well too. But this fact is so clearly overlooked, that the injustice of it can be sickening to those with a big heart.
Sales are done in two specific ways; auction and 'walking the line'. An auction needs no explanation, but 'Walking the line' is an allusion to the act of walking down the slave alley where they are kept in cages or stockades on display for sale by private owners and slave merchants. The owners of the slaves can choose which way they would rather sell their goods, and the main difference lies in the taxes.
Those who sell through auction tend to pay higher taxes to B'hărăbû as they pay a portion of what they sold their slave for and 10 P'ee K'äh for auction house maintenance. But using the auction means slave owners have a higher chance of selling even their least appealing slaves because people can sit comfortably and attend the auction as if it were a form of entertainment. Comparable to us going to a movie theatre. The merchants who use the alley pay a simple fee for the space that they take up, based on the measurements of their 'stall'.
SLAVE
SYMBOLS
Click on the image to find out what it represents.
BOUNTIES
Bounties are a vital system throughout Tam'nýer—a'. Permitting work for Mercenary Guilds, and bounty hunters alike, or any vigilantes looking for a legalized way to make some extra coin. Bounties help keep the streets clean, but it should be noted that there are several rules, that while not spoken, as generally understood to be the 'law'.
One of them is that bounties accumulate per crime reported to authorities/witnessed, and that some countries keep in contact in an law-abiding way. A great example of this is that if you have a bounty in Fawzia-Kedet, you will most likely also be wanted for the same bounty in Püertagœ, as well as the Sky-Coral Sea & Trótskarr. That's because these three countries are in constant contact considering they are all allied to one another.
And while B'hărăbû is notoriously known as a safe place for fugitives and those up to no good, don't think that it is completely lawless. If you have a big enough bounty to entice someone, you might risk getting captured, and taken to another country so that they can collect on you.
A major note of importance is that if you commit enough crimes that the wanted posters for you no longer list a price, you are now considered so dangerous and worthwhile that you will be worth something dead or alive. So, take this as a warning to perhaps work on your stealth.
Another thing to note is that B'hărăbû is not a place without laws, or more so unspoken etiquette and culture. One cannot openly commit murder there without repercussions, for example. This is majorly due to Püertagœ owning the lands that makes up B'hărăbû. While the two do not affiliate with one another to the public, they do communicate. Added to this is the fact that if another criminal finds your bounty too good to resist, they can kidnap you and take you to a country which will pay out your bounty to them (as B'hărăbû does not pay out bounties), and simply take their bounty (if considerably small in comparison) out of the profit.
This means that if your character's bounty is so extreme to the point that they are wanted 'Dead or Alive' another criminal character who has a bounty of a mere couple thousand can turn your character in, essentially trading a major evil for a lesser evil on the streets.