How exactly is the Day of the King celebrated? The Kings of the Isur are venerated and great works offered up in the name of them and Izurdin, but are there any specific locations where this takes place? Is it a public affair where people gather and celebrate, or is it a private affair amongst families where each one prays with their close friends and relatives? Are there any traditions or competitions, and displays or speeches?
Also just a quick question on terminology. Citadels refer to the aboveground establishments and cities to the underground caverns, right? So Sultros citadel would be where non-Isur visitors are met, and the Sultros clan lives in the city of Sultros beneath it. Is that right?
The Day of the King is celebrated all across the Kingdom. There is a huge celebration in Sultros City in the Plaza. Smaller celebrations take place in the city centers of the other four cities as well for those who are for whatever reason unable or unwilling to travel to Sultros. There are even smaller celebrations that occur in the various trading posts and border post. Individual isur also have their own private celebrations in their homes. The main celebration in Sultros City involves a speech by the current king opening the festivities. The speech traditionally consisted of reminding the people of the great deeds performed by the kings of the past. Examples of their crafting talent, those that were recovered from the Old Kingdom, are put on display in the Plaza center (although few would dare commit such an atrocity as to attempt theft of such items, a Priest of Izurdin, Sentinel of the Silver Tower and high ranking member of Izurdin's Hammer bare the honored task of watching over the items).
Following the speech and the introduction of the items, those wishing to submit items in the name of the Kings and Izurdin for acceptance are allowed to. They present their works to the three representatives of the three main powers in the Kingdom, those same individuals who watch over the items of past kings. The items are examined for any imperfections and judged on quality. Of them, three items, one chosen by each of the three representatives, are then presented to Izurdin. The Day of the King is the only time that one can be certain to catch a glimpse of Izurdin himself. The god appears briefly as the perfect isur, taller than most with flawless shape and form. Izurdin then grants his blessing upon the items presented to him. His blessings are all unique and effectively transform the presented items into artifacts complete with impressive abilities of divine origin. The items are then returned to their creators and Izurdin disappears after speaking the words, "Honor those who have led us here." It is something of a formal start however isur are stubborn about tradition.
Following Izurdin's words, the festivities are opened. There is music and dances and displays of magical extravagance on the part of the Sentinels. There is a wrestling competition and a boxing competition held in the Plaza with participants from all around the Kingdom taking part. The winner of each competition is granted a small token as an award. This token takes the form of a clasp that can serve as a cloak clasp or a buckle for a belt. It is crafted of pure isurian steel and in the center is a bead made from a pinch of grave dirt from the Tomb of King Sultros. The dirt is compressed and izentored by a Priest of Izurdin and blessed by Izurdin himself.
Since the release of Ivak from his eternal prison, the Day of the King has become ever more focused on King Sultros. While the other kings are honored greatly, King Sultros' role in aiding in the release of Ivak is symbolic beyond measure. It was Izurdin who built the prison that held Ivak and it was King Sultros that served as the key to open it. Sultros' return and the aid he gave to humans started a new era for the isur. While some, mainly of the Terras and Pitrius clans, still have difficulty accepting this, the rest of the Kingdom, for the most part, accepts the sacrifice King Sultros made for everyone, human, isur and every other race on Mizahar.
Individual celebrations in the home involves great feasts, storytelling and smaller competitions such as arm wrestling, wrestling and boxing matches among the family members and other events personalized to the individual families who celebrate the Day in their own way.
Also just a quick question on terminology. Citadels refer to the aboveground establishments and cities to the underground caverns, right? So Sultros citadel would be where non-Isur visitors are met, and the Sultros clan lives in the city of Sultros beneath it. Is that right?
Citadels are the fortresses that sit atop the mountains that house the cities below. Sultros Citadel is the primary headquarters of Izurdin's Hammer but it, as with the other citadels, save for Terras and Pitrius, allow humans to inhabit them in small numbers. The cities are off limits to humans unless, on the EXTREMELY rare occasion where a special non-isur with influence, power, or some other special quality is escorted into the city to meet with some high ranking official. This is VERY rare and almost never happens.
How is the Judicial/Court system structured?
What are the average proceedings for a sample case?
Each city maintains its own Council of Advocates which oversees all justice proceedings. The Council of Advocates is made up of five individuals from the five most influential families in the city. In border posts, the Hammer in charge of the post acts as the Council. In trading posts, the head of that trading post also acts as the Council.
Crimes within the Kingdom are handled strictly and with little mercy. Most minor crimes such as simple theft, assault, damage of property and the like are handled between families. The offender, if caught by the Eysar or the Hammer, are allowed the chance to prove their innocence through a wrestling or boxing match. The offender wrestles or boxes the victim. If the offender wins, he is absolved of his crime. If the victim wins, the offender must compensate the victim equal to the crime.
For major crimes such as murder, rape, grand theft, blasphemy or other major crime, the Council of Advocates gets involved. The offender is brought before the Council and allowed to make their case. They can either deny the accusations or give reasons why the did what they did. Such offenses are taken very seriously. If the offender is caught red-handed, there is no defense allowed. The offender is considered guilty. If the offender is not caught red-handed and denies the accusations, they must give proof that they are innocent. They can call a witness if there is one, to back-up the story or alibi. The Hammer or Eysar, whoever was involved in the investigation of the crime, provides a representative baring evidence or witnesses. If the evidence/witnesses of the prosecution outweighs that of the defense, the offender is considered guilty. The Council weighs in with the majority decision being the final one.
Those found guilty of major crimes can expect one of two sentences. Death or Banishment. Usually it is death but banishment is often the case for blasphemy. The idea is that the offender must live with their blasphemy but not live within the Kingdom. Death sentences are carried out usually by a member of the Hammer. The convicted are brought to the city center before everyone wishing to view the execution. A prayer is said for them by an attending member from Izurdin's Forge. They are allowed a final word be it a statement or prayer. They are then executed via beheading. The Hammer representative performs the execution with a blessed axe meant to make the death quick and painless. The idea is that Izurdin will see to the final judgement after death. The family however must live with the shame of having one of their own found guilty and executed for committing a major crime against the people and in turn, against Izurdin.
If found not-guilty, the "offender" is allowed to go free. They are considered absolved of any responsibility for whatever crime they were accused of and their family name is clear.
It may be possible that the offender is found guilty of a lesser crime instead. If that is the case, then they must go through the proceedings for a lesser crime and fight the victim. If a victim is dead or unable to fight, a substitute from the victim's family may take their place in the challenge.
How are illegitimate children received?
How does the gifted arm feel? Is it like wearing a piece of armor? Is it like having a hunk of Iron for an Arm? Is its sensitivity different than an ungifted arm? Could one take their arm and hand and stick it into a forge to test its heat levels?
Illegitimate children are still children of Izurdin. However, there may still be conflicts between families possibly between clans. The child may find difficulty being accepted by all members of each of family of the parents. This is more of a case by case basis however as many families view any child as a blessing from Izurdin. The only major issue comes with mixed-bloods. Outside of the cities, in the border and trading posts, mixed-bloods are not viewed quite as harshly. They aren't exactly fully accepted either. In the cities however, such products of frowned-upon and sometimes forbidden unions are often banished along with their parents.
The metallic arm feels in many ways like the flesh one. They retain the feeling of touch equal to their off hand however when it comes to pain, they do not feel it. The arm is virtually indestructible, its overall durability increasing with the number of marks one gains from Izurdin. They can feel heat but do not feel the pain of burning for the arm cannot be burned. They can feel the pressure of a blade or other foreign object hitting their arm but it does not bring pain. In the latter example, it would be like holding a sword or hammer and striking another object with it. You can feel the vibration and jarring of the blow but you do not feel pain. You know that something has hit you or that you have hit something else but pain does not register. I guess you could tell variations in temperature with the arm but all it would register is that some things are hotter than others. So one would feel less heat from a candle light than they would from a forge fire. Both would burn flesh but form the metallic arm, one just feels warmer than the other. That said, the arm can still conduct heat for short amounts of time. So if you plunge your metallic hand into a fire for a few moments and pull it out, it will be very hot to the touch like heated metal. If heated for too long, it can cause discomfort and perhaps minor burning to the flesh around the point that the arm meets the shoulder. It isn't a major burn but it would be the equivalent of reaching into a fire with a flesh hand and yanking it out real quick.
If Isurians can shape iron and metal with their gifted arm could they simplify the process of making small pieces (I.E. jewelry, nails etc.) Just by compressing the metal with their fingers? Like if they were making nails they might just heat the end of a thin bar of metal and then pinch the end into a tip like someone might do with clay or putty? Or if they were making a ring they could just heat up a piece of hot gold/silver/iron and wrap it around a properly sized bar of another metal so that it makes the ring?
The isur indeed find the process of smithing much simpler and more natural than non-isur. Jewelry, nails, etc., are all simpler to craft by compressing metal and the like. They can make nails in a way like was mentioned in the question. They can make a ring just like was mentioned as well. Keep in mind however that the isur only have one arm that is capable of doing this. Because of that, tools and other skills are essential to getting the most out of an item. Of course the basic shape of items can be created through the use of the arm alone however tools are often needed to balance it all out or to give better grip. Also, with metal, its easier to work with it when it is heated. While an isur can still shape and mold various cold metals (depending on the number of marks they have), they risk breaking and damaging the metal. Heated metal is much easier to work with and provides the maximum malleability. Heated metal would also require added tools to work with because again, working with one arm isn't all that easy. This is why all isur begin with Blacksmithing as a racial skill. Basic use of tools combined with the metallic arm allows even a novice smith to produce quality items.
So in short, yes, the arm can be used to make crafting of items much simpler. However, related skills are required to get greater detail out of the final product. Izentor also helps in that it further refines a finished item making it more than it would have otherwise been simply through crafting. An isur with skill in crafting a desired item combined with the use of their arm combined with Izentor are capable of crafting wondrous items of all levels of skill. |
by Pjeil on August 22nd, 2013, 11:43 pm 
