Pandemonia: The Charter and The Covenant

The Stormsea Republic has weathered war, famine and plague over the course of its 1100 year history. Not long after the end of the Leviathan War, a conflict that raged across every continent of Pandemonia and killed millions of humans and Lemurians, the age of the leviathans ended. And the ascent of the humanoid races began. One of the places heavily populated by humanity is a region known as the North Shore, situated between the Redwood Reach and the Mantameer, a sea famed for enormous its luminescent manta rays. The Republic started there.

Before the Stormsea Republic, the geographical area surrounding the Mantameer, was a fractious, Balkanized region recovering from the destruction of the Leviathan War. The city and surrounding area of Darkstar would later become the Republic's first province and first capital. Then, Darkstar was not only the largest city in the known world but the center of a debased and decadent culture. A powerful and corrupt nobility used and abused a large serf caste. This would change.

In its beginning, a tyrant rose to rule Darkstar but his name is forgotten.  A popular rebellion put him to death, formally erased his name from history and forged two governing documents from his skin, written in his blood.

The Charter

The Charter sets out the articles and laws of the Republic. It delineates the method of filling the two senatorial houses: the House of Lords and the House of Citizens. It also details the length and duration

of the terms of the two Proconsuls, one of war and one of peace, which is two years. The Charter also outlines the basic freedoms of the citizens.

The Covenant

The Covenant was signed by the patriarchs of every noble family at the beginning of the Republic. They signed to keep their heads. The nobility signed many powers and rights away. For example under The Covenant, nobles are forbidden from choosing who they marry. All potential marriages must be approved by the Ministry of Husbandry. Further, infidelity, like murder, theft and rape, is considered a capital crime for the nobility. A provision was written into The Covenant allowing for the condemned to choose a form of lifetime servitude over the death sentence, except in cases of murder. An additional provision tells that any noble who takes The Covenant's servitutude will condemn the family to the wearing of a crimson sash, announcing the dishonor to all and barring that family from service in the House of Lords.

Pandemonia: Alchemy

So, the Alchemists of Pandemonia have themselves a method of organizing The Elements:

Their 'Periodic' Table is organized into their 5 Cardinal Elements: Air, Earth, Fire, Water and Metal

An Air Element is any element that naturally occurs as a Gas. Hydrogen in Pandemonia is classified as Air 2 (Pandemonians classify what we know as Oxygen as Air 1), Helium is Air 3. And so on.

Water, therefore, is any element that naturally occurs as a liquid. The Alchemists of Pandemonia, while knowing of Hydrogen, don't yet know that Water is made up of Hydrogen and Oxygen. Water is Water 1. Mercury is also a Water Element.

Earth, being somewhat obvious, is any non-metallic solid. That makes Metal even more obvious. 

Fire, where I think it gets particularly interesting, is any radioactive element. On Pandemonia, some radioactive elements are found naturally. Even some that are not naturally occurring in The Real World. Plutonium, known as Hesperium, is found and known as Fire 2. Uranium is Fire 1. Cobalt 60, though not naturally occurring in The Real World, is considered Fire 3 and is found in the Hesperium Range along with Hesperium and renders many geographic areas uninhabitable and/or the home of horrible mutations. Because it's fiction, that's why.

Pandemonian alchemists and philosophers have known of the Fire elements for generations but are only recently beginning to integrate them into their disciplines.

The Survey No One Will Take

So, there are all kind of variations on the "Sword and Sorcery" and "Steampunk" themes.

I've been trying to decide how to classify Pandemonia. It's fantasy, first and foremost. But there are Sci-fi elements as well. Notably, the cultures of Pandemonia have bypassed the invention of gunpowder, and due to certain philosophical predilections, have made developments in A) Electromagnetism and B) the discovery of Radioactive elements.

The study of Electromagnetism falls under the study of Lightning, which is part of the "Unified Field/Theory of Everything" Trinity: Lightning (Electromagnetism, Light, etc.), Waves (The Way Everything Gets From Here to There), and Tides (Gravity, Strong Interaction and Weak Interaction). I haven't included elementary particles, simply because they haven't made that leap yet. I guess that goes for Strong and Weak Interactions, too.

I should also mention that alongside the absence of gunpowder is an absence of steam power. Because it annoys me. Or I should say, the glut of Steam powers as a proxy way to power everything from trains and airships to what amounts to Her Majesty's BattleMechs. I even enjoy that stuff myself, from time to time. The Iron Kingdoms from Privateer Press being an excellent example.

But, it's way overdone. And it's my world and I make the rules.

So, to get back on track, I have been tossing around a few terms.

Radiation/Punk: Radpunk?

Or Nukepunk? (But that sounds kind of Post-apocalyptic)

Particlepunk? Atompunk?

Or how about Swords and Atoms?

Swords and REMs?

Swords and Fallout? (Once again, too Post-Apocolyptic, probably)

Atoms and Sorcery?

I just don't know. So, if there are any ideas, I'm open for them.