Laws of the Delta
Read, and Mark these laws well, for they will save your life.
The Blood Marker is not a safe zone.
This set of rules is under construction and will be added to as time permits. Overseer's rule is always final.
General Laws:
- Strangers are not welcome in the Vosk Delta's Blood Marker Village beyond the blood mark. They will be heavily watched, from hidden nests in the rence, outside of the blood mark. Word has spread, through rumor and survivor stories, that travel beyond the white marks is also heavily discouraged, though you will likely survive while you're surveyed to determine your purpose and your usefulness.
- To reach the blood mark, visitors must make 3 posts crossing each of the white marks starting with the off-white mark after navigating to it in the generic Delta.
- Rencers have established trade points at the border of the Vosk Delta for the purposes of trade. Established relationships may be maintained within the Village under special arrangement and all guests will be escorted to the village by hunter patrols that find them in the channels of the rence reeds, for their safety.
- Rencers, while technically part of the Caste of Rence Growers, one step up from the Peasant, are not overly respectful of the Caste of Assassins working in the marsh. They worked in cities, not in the Delta. Expect that if an Assassin enters the marsh working, they will be swiftly set upon by any available Rencers as a group if necessary, or immediately alert the others to danger with our own signals in order to ensure all disappear into the Rence. That said, Assassins, respectful and not working in the Delta, may be allowed access to safe passage through the Delta on the word of the Overseer only.
- Deaths may occur in the Delta. Spontaneous combat may be initiated by a Rencer if they deem it necessary, without issuing an official challenge. They are not of the Caste of Warriors. They live and survive through stealth, surprise, and strategy. Expect that if your behavior warrants it, you may find yourself attacked by a Rencer or Rencers, or find oneself bound and sunk into the delta for the water animals. Spontaneous combat will utilize the Prodigy Spar System for now. This will be subject to change and the rules will be updated once those changes are live.
- Realistically, raids are as likely in the village without a massive declaration of war with incredibly intense planning and strategy campaign as it is likely that Priest Kings would visit. The village's surrounding is nigh impenetrable save for the resources of a giant Arian fleet that has made a sustained siege effort to make it through the days into the delta required to reach our village territory. That said, once manpower is sufficient, The Blood Marker would be open to friendly raiding and roleplay opportunities. Likewise, the Blood Marker will eventually have "raid
- style" roleplay events that include "raiding" marsh fauna, and the inclusion of other people may be allowed after discussion with the Overseer.
- Related to the law above, captures may occur within the village of Blood Marker, occasionally, under the lawful pretense of a "friendly raid" relationship with other homes. This will only be allowed once those relationships are established, and all captured people's characters should remain unharmed to any serious degree and must never be forced to endure nonconsensual sexual violence that they did not actively agree to ahead of time as a role-player.
- There is no automatic weapon disarmament in the Vosk Delta. You will be guaranteed to need your weapons to survive in the marsh, at least up through the white marks and until the blood mark. Your approach and your purpose will determine how long you keep them, your freedom, or your life.
- All serious, life-or-death combat inside of the room is judged by the Overseer. He may, at his discretion, delegate this responsibility to a trusted third party of his choice if he is unavailable. If the Overseer is involved as a combatant, he will designate his second in command or other combat/rule-knowledgeable council member as a recusal backup.
Slaves:
- Rencers were once slaves, spent time until Tarl Cabot visited eschewing the idea of owning slaves, and then went ham. The Blood Marker does not collect slaves in the Delta. Currently there is no room for rence slaves that are not privately owned. That may change on a whim at the discretion of the Overseer alone.
- Until such time that the Overseer sees the room has the traffic and engagement, any free woman that enters the marsh to submit will find themselves either fed to marsh tharlarions, or have their forehead branded and they'll be sold to Port Kar if a Rencer doesn't decide to take you for whatever reason. Enter at your own risk, your life is a gamble in the Vosk Delta.
- Background "rence slaves" will be maintaining the minutia of the Island, eventually you will see them in automated banner posts.
- Poaching is forboden. New Rencers that purchase or trade for Rencer slaves will not be able to leave the home with them until they've lived within the village for at least six months. This does not pertain to "uncollared slaves", otherwise known as free women seeking to submit and randomly wander into the marsh. They are free game to any and all who actually want them and if a free person collars them, they're completely the responsibility of the free person that owns them.
Free Women:
- Men and Women have a more equal footing in the marsh. Women must be strong, hardworking, and while still needing the men for security and safety, they wear less modest clothing and are freer with their voice. Women might be found wearing brief, sleeveless tunics and carrying a rencing blade. They may be spotted wearing jewelry, joking and laughing with the men, or patrolling with the hunters. Do not mistake them for weak and silent, like their other-culture counterparts.
- Outsiders visiting here with the expressed permission of the Rencers and the Overseer may discard their city trappings, veils and heavy robes. They are unnecessary here. Guests unable to retain their respect for the Rencers and their ways may find their welcome revoked at the will of the Overseer. Any man of the marsh that feels they must remind our guests of their place in our home may do so within reasonable limits and may only be overruled by the Overseer.
- While Rencer women are deferential to the men, they hold the rights of men in matters of trade and establishing relationships. Rencer women are free to establish trade relationships, either for their own trade skills or for Blood Marker rence tradecraft. They carry the support of the men to enforce all agreements if necessary.
- Rencer women are not couch princesses. They work hard, alongside the men and slaves, in the channels harvesting and processing rence or hunting and collecting food or patrolling the Delta for trespassers. They may engage the slaves of the home to assist with labor as needed. All slave owners have priority over the slaves they own as is appropriate.
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