In the Caliphate of Azithan, known to its neighbors as the necromancer empire ...
They don't have to declare war; they are continuously pushing outward.
The civil service has four Ministries:
Temple: Builds and runs temples.
Outreach: Brings the faith to those outside the Caliphate.
Plenty: Distributes the Faithful Profit, organizes & innovates Lifeless.
Noble: Ensures the Nobles do not cause a civil war.
To the majority of the Faithful, these are almost invisible; the local Priests don't work for any of these, but do interact with them.
The Ministry of Temples keeps Faithful healthy & sufficiently educated for their prayers to be useful. They build the Barracks for the poorest of the Faithful, and promote sport and other healthy activities. MiniTemple effectively controls and builds the cities, and determines where to build new ones.
The Ministry of Outreach is diplomats, spies, and missionaries. When two young representatives of the Caliphate appear in a city and start raising the dead? They've been sent from MiniOutreach, with plans to recruit. If an area of the Caliphate has particularly low numbers of Faithful, Outreach will send a few people.
MiniPlenty grows & distributes the Faithful Profit, organizes the lifeless and spurs innovation in Lifeless design. They protect the crops.
To the Nobility, the ministry is a pain. Noble maintains a secure post system, negotiates between Nobles, and ensures Nobles do not over reach in how they treat the Faithful. High ranking Nobles have a personal priest adviser.
Each Ministry has a different wartime specialty:
Temple builds weapons of war.
Outreach commands spies, and is not afraid to raise those who stand against the church.
Plenty controls the Navy.
Noble raises Faithful armies with Noble leaders.
Each Ministry has a different type of headquarters, too:
Temple, a score of temples within the Capital. This includes the Cathedral, which has emergency housing for thousands, monks in constant prayer, and legions of lifeless.
Outreach: The actual headquarters is unassuming, a simple three story building within the Capital. Embassies primary duty is assisting the communities around them, and have Lifeless enough to accomplish the goal.
Plenty: A fortress at sea, generally anchored near the Capital. Hundreds of Lifeless walk on treadmills to turn propellers, providing thrust. A marvel of Plenty, not requiring a single sail.
Noble: Located a day's ride from the capital. Disputes with miniNoble requires a Noble's personal presence. Disputes between a Noble and a member of the Faith requires a representative for each, or a personal appearance.
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When the Caliphate conquers a new territory, in what way(s) are the new citizens assimilated?
ReplyDelete"Conquer" isn't a word the Caliphate would use; Faithless conquer, the Caliphate merely shows the proper way.
ReplyDeleteIn actually, this is the primary duty of Outreach. Different assimilated regions show the bloody fingerprints of the Missionaries. If a mission goes well, a couple of young missionaries could wind up ruling over a new Principality for the Caliphate. If it goes poorly, they could be burned at the stake.
In the first case, the missionaries get the job done cheaply. In the second, well, the Caliphate does not look kindly upon places that execute its missionaries. Plenty may visit, with ships.
In the case of missionaries, assimilation is done over the course of years. A church is opened and the Word is preached; the Missionaries politely request the newly deceased, and are happy to pay the bereaved. Those who attend see the Lifeless is use, and are given Flour (or a regional equivalent) for attendance. The Lifeless start literally cleaning the streets.
The missionaries defend the city they find themselves in as they would their own lands.
The use of Lifeless is economically beneficial compared to other systems; it frees peasants from drudgery and allows them to think beyond tomorrow. As such, more people come to the Church. The Missionaries begin to recruit a few people as quasi-ministers, who start learning basic lifeless controls, such as "Clean" and "Stop", but never "Kill".
The simple exchange of worship for flour undermines a cities economy. Peasants suddenly have spare time, and do not need to toil. Those who benefited most from cheap labor have to pay more. The Church opens a housing establishment for the homeless Faithful, rent payable in temple flour.
How's that?
It works, roughly, though it seems like if I was on the border, I'd openly have a policy of "I don't care about missionaries; let 'em try", and then look to join or start an alliance to get rid of them while trying to sabotage the shit out of them, on the quiet.
ReplyDeleteBasically, the main flaw is that it gives any smart leader on their borders lots of time to get their shit together. Which means that the Caliphate, in turn, might well always be facing at least one well-organised war. Which isn't insurmountable, but it's certainly a thing.
Yeah. Its a little bit the Foundation model, where the Foundation brings really cool technowizardry and shrouds it in religious notions. The technicians are priests of the foundations, such that when a spaceship attacks the Foundation, its chief engineers shuts the ship down.
ReplyDeleteThere's something similar going on here, at least I hope so: Accept the Lifeless or don't. If you do, then the people running them belong to the Church. If you don't, then you're going to be an economic deadend next to all your neighbors.
But, yes, smart opponents are a problem. There's assuredly always some Noble or another on the offense.
Step 1) Lowered into the ground
ReplyDeleteStep 2) ?
Step 3) Profit!
(Okay, you can easily guess step 2 in this case.)
I think I'll combine Plenty and Temples into Godly Works: a single Ministry responsible for the majority of Lifeless use. That grow crops, bring it to the cities, and build those cities and temples.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Nichols So long term the Caliphate wins out due to having better technology. That's fine for dealing with smaller nations but what happens when they come face to face with the might of the Holy Roman Empire or a nation which has spent the last three hundred years summoning, harnessing and utilising elementals to further their civilisation.
ReplyDeleteCheap labour and utterly loyal cannon fodder are a lot of use but in a world of magic how do you does the Caliphate deal with flying battleships which spit fire?
Brian Ashford In other words, what happens when someone else has an equal footing? Or, worse yet, a greater one?
ReplyDeleteProblems.
The Caliphate has little enough reason to invade. Its just not what they do. But, if they are invaded, them the Lifeless hordes attack. Including the legions of the Caliph, which respond to commands only from The Most Ancient One.
But, yes, fighting against an equal foe means different tactics are necessary. The Caliphate would first wonder what they did to anger their neighbors. At that point, it becomes a measure of who has the superior tactical and strategic insight -- the generals, basically.
The Caliphate manages to hold onto a lot of its prior experience, thanks to keeping people as living skulls. That helps. And, sure, they could again have something equivalent.
In which case, the same thing as usual happens: a stalemate.
A superior force, though? They'd conquer, take out the existing power structures. If they start using Lifeless, though? Then the religion spreads and reinstates itself over time.
Like a fungus.
I like the idea that even after the Caliphate loses, the religion could still win, now providing lifeless to an even more powerful civilisation. How well would they be able to incorporate the unified strengths of their "conquerers"?
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I think Nobility is going to become Justice in general. So, its the AG's office. In charge of courts, prisoners, etc. Cops.
ReplyDeleteLastly, adding a Ministry of Doctrine, which is in charge of the News. They get the Post from Nobility.
That's still four, and they are:
Goodly Works, managing the dominant use of life. Headquarters is absolutely still a ridiculous ship.
Outreach, responsible for ambassadors and ministries.
Justice, responsible for day to day justice.
Doctrine, responsible for disseminating changes in doctrine, managing the post, the news, probably a few other things.
Still four, just a different four.