Category:Aquilonian



AQUILONIAN The proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the dreaming west.– The Nemedian Chronicles Aquilonia is the most advanced and powerful of the Hyborian kingdoms. Its people are proud and comparatively well-off. In Conan’s time, Aquilonia most closely resembles Medieval France in culture and ecology. The political situation is rife with intrigue, murder and horror. Aquilonia’s barons and counts maintain ancient feuds from generation to generation and those along the frontiers fight Picts, Cimmerians, Nemedians, Ophireans and each other.

There are approximately 54 baronies, counties and principalities in Aquilonia. Few of these have been named but the better known ones are Bossonia, Gunderland and Poitain.

Bossonia – Bossonia is also called the Bossonian Marches and is a frontier province between the Aquilonian heartland, the Pictish Wilderness and the Cimmerians. Recent expansion westward has placed the Westermarck between the Marches and the Picts but the Bossonians are still Aquilonia’s primary defence against Pictish assault.

The rustic Bossonians are matchless warriors, frontiersmen of formidable skill who serve as the premier soldiers of Aquilonia’s expansionist armies. People in Bossonia live behind walled forts and villages where they can defend themselves against barbarian assaults, be they Cimmerian or Pictish. The Bossonians are well known as archers and hunters, although the Bossonians also practice subsistence farming.

Gunderland – Gunderland is a northern province between the Aquilonian heartland and Cimmeria. Gunderland was once a separate kingdom but chose to become an Aquilonian vassal to avoid capture as a subject people. Despite the concessions afforded to Aquilonia, the people of Gunderland view themselves as relatively independent.

After the fall of Aquilonia, Gunderland again becomes its own sovereign state. The people here are tawny-haired and grey-eyed. They keep no slaves and have interbred with other racial types only minimally, thus remaining the purest of the Hyborian blood-lines.

Poitain – Is the southernmost county of Aquilonia. Poitain’s landscape is of rolling plains and picturesque meadows. Crops of wheat, roses and palms are common. Orchards of oranges are also known.

The heraldic emblem of Poitain is a golden leopard. The people here are dark and long-haired, except for some of the peasantry along the Bossonian border, who resemble the Bossonians. These are hardy folk, bred to war from a lifetime of protecting their wealth from greedy neighbors.

Description
Aquilonia’s people are varied and interesting. Overall, Aquilonians have long heads and are a tall, rangy race. City dwellers tend to be portly in rich Aquilonia and relatively few suffer from hunger. Their military forces rely mostly on cavalry units commanded by heavily armed knights, although pike-men and spearman from Gunderland and archers from the Bossonian Marches are also prized.

Clothing
Most people in Aquilonia wear woolen outer clothing and undergarments made of linen. Most merely wear simple tunics with hose and soft leather boots. The wealthy all across Aquilonia dress well, preferring brighter colors, better materials and longer lengths than styles worn by the peasants. Elaborate silken jupons, close-fitting jackets, gilt-braided skirts and jagged sleeves are typical outfits worn in the courts of Aquilonia.

Hair is usually curled and scented, bound with cloth-of-silver or cloth-of-gold bands. Plumed caps adorn the heads of most of the male aristocrats. Most nobles wear swords, though many of them are merely ceremonial weapons.

The Amazons keep their hair in a variety of styles. Most of the Amazon warrior-women of the savannas wear their hair in dreadlocks. Those of the jungles wear their kinky hair in a bush or shave it short.

Slaves are not permitted to wear clothing of any kind. Clothing is only accorded to those who are free.

Behavior and Notable Oddities
Honor - Honor is a real concept for the Aquilonians, one that impacts their reputations, moral identities and self-perception. This honor extends to family and friends. Impugned honor results in duels or other forms of redress. The aristocracy consider their honor to hold them above the rabble; honor to them is as real as a castle but vastly more important, for a damaged castle can be more easily repaired than damaged honor. Indeed, acts that otherwise would be considered criminal can be excused if they are committed as a matter of honor. Honor is especially important on the borders of Aquilonia where law enforcement is minimal and the people enforce their own laws.

Allegiance - Aquilonia is built upon the concept of allegiance toward others. The entire feudal system depends upon allegiance, the reciprocal ties between individuals and between families. Allegiances are considered more binding than law. An honorable character will declare at least one allegiance. Characters with unknown or no allegiances are not trusted in Aquilonia.

Social classes - There are four distinct social orders in Aquilonia, each with its own unspoken rules and hidden habits. These four orders are the laborers, the townsmen, the aristocracy and the clergy. These orders are social and political in nature, not economic, for status and position are not determined by money. Feudalism is a political structure, not an economic structure.

There is little social mobility in Aquilonia save via marriage. No matter how well one behaves, no matter how much one accomplishes, no matter how much wealth one accumulates, one cannot be elevated in status because of those things. Misbehavior short of criminal also does not decrease one’s social standing.

Fairs and Festivals - Fairs and festivals are popular throughout Aquilonia. Many fairs and festivals last several weeks long, attracting traders from all over the Hyborian landscape. Dramas are staged in marketplaces, produced by the local guilds, many of which are religious in nature, dealing with topics important to the Mitran faith.

Religion

 * Mitra

As a Hyborian nation, the pre-eminent deity is Mitra. The old Hyborian god Bori is still respected and, in some areas, worshipped still. Aquilonia also has a branch of the cult of Asura operating within its borders.

The Aquilonians worship Mitra, the ‘universal god of the Hyborians.’ The Aquilonians are fervent in their devotion to Mitra and the Mitran priests completely dominate religious life in Aquilonia. Mitra is regarded as the one true god, standing in the universe with no pantheon nor even a consort to support his cosmic reign. He does command a heavenly host of saints who stand with him. The religion practices religious intolerance in order to better achieve secular power.(edited)

In addition to its intolerance toward foreign religions, the Mitran religion frowns upon ostentatious religious displays. Mitra’s temples are awesomely plain, yet stately, artistic and beautiful despite the lack of ornate symbols and massive, sweeping structural forms so prevalent in most Hyborian Age temples. The altar is a symbolic gesture at best, for followers of the Mitran religion do not sacrifice humans nor animals to their omnipresent deity. A single dignified statue is likewise permitted but is not worshipped. Any statues of Mitra are considered attempts by the faithful to visualize Mitra in an idealized form, for his true form is unknowable.

Government
Aquilonia has a feudal government. It is ruled by a king, who divides the land and the responsibilities of the kingdom among various barons and counts, who then subdivide their properties and responsibilities further.

Aquilonia is an impressively large kingdom and is larger than its king can effectively rule. The king can not prevent local powers from rising except by sending valuable troops to quell them. The king also does not have enough soldiers to enforce his will everywhere. Thus the nations are left with fragmented governments comprised by local counts and barons who perform civil and military functions in the name of the king for an equally fragmented kingdom subdivided into numerous fiefs and sub-fiefs.

The area of each Hyborian kingdom is broken up into smaller territories, or provinces. These in turn are broken up into even smaller pieces. Often the boundaries are not well defined nor do the various lands ruled by a count or baron need to be contiguous. This is extremely evident in the frontiers, where the Westermarck, which considers itself to be part of Aquilonia, is separated from the rest of the nation by Gunderland, which does not consider itself to be part of Aquilonia despite an agreement to the contrary.

Aquilonia pull the strings of Koth and Ophir, two vassal Hyborian kingdoms.

Economy and Common Professions
The manor is the economic unit of life in Aquilonia. A manor consists of a manor house and one or more associated villages and acres of land numbering in the thousands. Fully a third of the land is devoted to supporting the noble fief-holder and his retinue. The serfs and peasants who work the land are usually required to spend half their time working the portions set aside for the nobility but have the rest of the time to work their own lands or to work on special projects, such as building bridges or roads, as required by the local lord.

Common Professions:
 * Hunter (particularly Gundermen and Bossonians)
 * Knight (particularly Poitainians)
 * Merchant
 * Peasant
 * Priest
 * Ranger (Bossonians)
 * Soldier

Sex Roles and Marriage
In Aquilonia, women, whether noble or peasant, hold a difficult position in society. Often assigned such tasks as cooking, baking bread, sewing, weaving and spinning, Aquilonian women are considered less important than men. Women are under the control of their fathers until they marry.

Young girls in Aquilonia are brought up to expect to be married. Only noble girls of means and wealth can afford to remain single, usually by devoting themselves to Mitra. The need to marry well has promoted an industry of marriage-brokers and match-makers throughout Aquilonia. Romantic love plays very little role in Aquilonian marriages – marriages are far too political and economic to leave such things to mere attraction and choice.

Marriages, except among the poor, are almost always arranged by parents to ensure the prosperity of their children. The family of the bride is responsible for providing a dowry, which is usually a portion of land, a fief or a manor (or more). Peasant dowries can also include money or livestock if land is not available. The truly poor marry without dowries and often manage to marry for love. A groom is also expected to provide a dower, which often consists of land as well. Marriage serves as a form of wealth redistribution in Aquilonia, which in turn puts more pressure on wealthy girls to marry well than peasant girls.

Slavery
Though priests of Mitra often rise voice against slavery, it doesn’t mean that slavery is uncommon even in Aquilonia, not to mention other Hyborian realms.

Slavery is indeed rare in Aquilonia, but exists and is present mostly in large cities. Owning a slave is usually a non-issue for reputation. However, under the feudal system, slaves are deemed unnecessary by most Aquilonians. In Gunderland and most parts of the Westermarck, slaves are not typically kept at all, for even the mere idea of slavery is either distasteful or impractical in those regions.

Slaves have no rights and no property. They are entirely at the mercy of their masters, who have the power of life and death over the slaves. No one in Aquilonia particularly cares if the existing slaves are freed or not. Slavery in Aquilonia usually takes the form of household slaves and personal attendants.

There are few slave markets in Aquilonia. One of those is situated in Shamar, one of the largest cities in the realm. Croton, an amazingly cosmopolitan and wicked town on the borderlands between Aquilonia and Nemedia, imports and exports slaves. In Sicas, one of the most wicked Aquilonian cities, the thugs from The Wyverns gang operate as slavers. In Volsino, Aquilonian town on the eastern frontier, local reeve sells prisoners in the gaol to slavers for extra income, claiming the prisoners commit suicide.

Influences
Architectural influences: the Roman- and Carolingian Empire.

Most Aquilonian peasants’ gardens are behind their houses, while the lord may have a larger garden worked by the peasants or his permanent staff.

The aristocracy build their manor houses out of stone with an enclosed courtyard. Often the manor houses include a gatehouse and a moat. The manor is the economic unit of life in bright Aquilonia. A manor is a lord’s estate in its entirety, including the manor house, the surrounding communities, the fields and any nearby industries. Manors may include defensive structures, farms, chapels, gardens, barns, mines, meadows, forests, marshes, rivers, mills.

More Information
RPGS:
 * Return to the road of Kings (Aquilonia, p 13-25).
 * Faith and Fervor (Mitra’s Might, p 15-23).
 * Aquilonia - Flower of the west