Realm Slave Industry

Overview

Slavery is a part of life on the Blessed Isle, though not a massive part, with perhaps a million slaves scattered across the Realm itself and more in its service within various satrapies and allied states. The capture of prisoners for sale as slaves is a key part of funding any campaign by the Imperial Legions, and they provide a pliable labour force for vast agricultural plantations and industrial enterprises across the Blessed Isle. The life of slaves is one of powerlessness, but few owners are so wasteful as to cast their lives away with excessive brutality, with some exceptions around the peripheries such as the captive-scale units of the House of Bells and the fighting pits of Pangu.

House Cynis is synonymous with slavery in the Realm due to its holding of the Imperial Slave Monopoly: only Dynastic Dragonblooded may own slaves, but to buy or sell them a Cynis Dynast must occupy at least one side of the transaction. House Cynis thus stands in undisputed control of the Isle's slave markets, and must be brought in to serve as middlemen in any Dynastic slave trade. Because of this, many Dynasts simply do not bother purchasing slaves, instead renting bodies as needed and leaving them otherwise in the care of expert Cynis trainers.

Rank and Position amongst Slaves of the Dynasty

While the Realm sees almost as many different structures for slave administration as it has overseers, there exists a standard template for organizing larger slave holdings, be they the entertainment 'troupes' serving at Dynastic galas or the chain-gangs labouring in the Isle's mines and plantations. Such large groups of slaves are controlled by a strict hierarchical system in which all but the highest ranks are filled by slaves.

Dynasts, of course, are present in overall control of the slaves. The Slave Overseer is nominally administrator of the slave group and its facilities, but they will generally keep themselves separate from the day-to-day operations, as well as maintaining 'proper' residences separate from slave pens. Actual administration falls to functionaries who are rarely Dynastic Exalts: patricians as well as occasional outcastes or unExalted Dynasts serve in the positions of 'Billmaster' (responsible for the business side of things), 'Whipmaster' (responsible for security and discipline), and Lodgemaster (responsible for facilities, training, and general slave health).

Below those positions, all ranks fall to slaves. The highest rank of slave is the 'foreslave', which usually comes with individual quarters (sometimes even in the Overseer's household, but always outside the locked slave pens) and sometimes a small stipend or (more commonly) a chance for 'bonus' payments when goals are met and affairs kept in order. Where they are present, foreslaves will sometimes fill the roles of Whipmaster, Lodgemaster, and Billmaster, though they do not receive those titles (and more than one may hold each role). Additionally, a foreslave is charged with the task of locking the slave pens every night, taking the key to a free official in the evening and collecting it again in the morning. The pecking order between foreslaves varies widely, based on the whims of the Overseer.

In the next tier come the 'mandoors' who are in charge of individual work teams. These tend to be responsible for smaller 'units' of slaves (a scale of 25 is typical for service slaves, while labour slaves can have one mandoor charged with an entire talon of 125). The mandoors are held responsible for maintaining order and discipline as well as passing on instructions... they tend to speak some dialect of Realm language as well as the native language of the slaves in their charge. They must account for their slaves at the beginning and end of a day, and must inspect their slave pen for damage or vandalism, organizing repairs and exacting punishment. The mandoors enjoy special benefits such as separate sleeping quarters and extra clothing as well as additional personal items. Mandoors are able to amass some power of their own, as they decide distribution of food and clothing to their charges.

In labour forces made up of slaves (rather than household service slaves), a rank of 'kaffers' exists, provided with special clothing and cudgels. These are charged with maintaining discipline amongst the slaves, under direct command of the foreslaves, and receive larger rations as well as freedom from many restrictions placed on other slaves. They enforce curfews, patrol the pens for escape attempts, and issue discipline ordered by the Overseers, foreslaves, and mandoors.

The next level in the hierarchy are the jongens, who control 'fangs' of between five and a dozen slaves. They also receive more clothing and extra rations, though not so much as the mandoors. Jongens control the distribution of supplies in the same manner as their superiors, but given the small size of their commands and the absence of separate quarters, they lack the same opportunity for corruption. While groups under mandoor command are generally linked by language and broad function, a jongen's fang will share a more specific role.

Below jongens are the 'slave mothers', who look after the children of slaves (including wetnursing) as there is rarely time allotted for slave parents to provide their child with care. 'Slave mothers' also care for sick or injured slaves. They are granted a small allotment for clothing, but often receive less food than slaves of ostensibly lower rank due to their less-valuable labour. Still, the position is desired by many slaves in labour gangs as (though hard) the work is less harsh than mines or fields.

At the bottom are of course the 'unranked' slaves, but even within these there is a hierarchy. Slaves with skills (artisans, tutors, musicians, etc) receive better treatment than those useful only for labour. Elder, experienced slaves outrank newer, younger ones, if only because they are integrated into the existing power structure and can work to divert food and clothing rations from new arrivals.

Freeing Slaves

There are two ways for a slave to achieve freedom in the Realm. The first is for their owner to request it by submitting a motion to the Deliberative, finding three sitting Senators to sponsor it. Should it pass, the slave is freed, but a Dynast may only free three slaves this way a year.

The second road to freedom is Exaltation, for a Dragonblooded is never a slave.

Revolt and Abolition

Rebellions amongst slaves are not common on the Blessed Isle, facing little chance of success: the population is hostile to escaping slaves, the military forces and ruling classes eager to see it preserved, and the slave population of the Blessed Isle is vastly outnumbered by 'free' peasants and citizens. Still, they do occur, the largest typically as adjuncts to larger popular uprisings as seen in the Unbroken Rushes Rebellion.

Abolitionist feeling too is rare, more an affectation of patricians or citizens who have more power over the free populace than Dynast-owned slaves. The Princes of the Earth, raised as pinnacles of the system both religiously and economically, and not interacting with slaves on a personal level, are almost never in a position where any reason for doubt would arise.

For every rule, of course, there are exceptions, and in the case of the Realm's upper classes this takes the form of the Society Recognizing the Inherent Immorality of Human Enslavement within the Perfected Hierarchy.

Punishments and the Correction Wheel

Punishments for slaves can be light or severe, depending on their owners and the reasons for their punishment. Typically, due to the system of rank and administration, slaves punish slaves, with masters and overseers more detached from the process, though some Dynasts encourage a more involved approach.

Created during the Unbroken Rushes Rebellion, the Correction Wheel is a large circular device on which a slave is affixed in such a manner that its turning causes them excruciating pain. It is a tool most often used directly by Dynasts rather than slaves, for the greatest infractions against one's master (such as disrespectful glances), and is not used regularly by all households or owners. Short turns on the Wheel result in significant pain, longer turns (typical punishments for escape attempts or taking up weapons) are even more so, inflicting horrific suffering over several days before the slave perishes.

Yet, regardless of their inclination, there is a tradition practiced in most households of the Scarlet Dynasty which ensures all Dynasts understand their relationship with slaves, harden them for their future roles as Princes of the Earth, and ensure they do not make the mistake of thinking of slaves as being of more worth than they are: the Turning of the Correction Wheel.

There are various ways to select a slave for the Turning... some simply punish the last slave to merit discipline, some draw lots at random. House Cynis traditionally raises a slave alongside each of their children, as a loyal servant and playmate, and this slave is placed on the Wheel for the Turning. However the slave is chosen, when a Dynastic child reaches the age of nine and prepares to leave for Primary School, they come before the assembled household and turn the Wheel.