The Welcoming Pact
by Patrick SullivanGiven the strong prescience of
Yavdlom's seers and the relative security of their people (cf.
Princess Ark), it seems like they would need to have some sort of
systematised way of dealing with humanoids. The people of Yavdlom
are relatively civilised, so they seem even more likely than many
other countries to recognise that humanoids have the same basic
drives as humans--they are not really inherently evil. Thus, the
Welcoming Pact is something I worked up IMC which involves careful
adherence to traditions of courtesy and hospitality toward
strangers (something common among indigenous cultures in Africa and
elsewhere). Basically this is a giant system of bilateral
agreements between the rulers of Yavdlom and the humanoid tribes
which inhabit the area--each side agrees to abide by formal customs
and treat each other politely, and neither side will attack the
other. The humanoid tribes aren't really part of Yavdlom, and
inter-tribal disputes are usually ignored by humans. But if a
friendly humanoid tribe is threatened by an outside force, the
Yavdlom nobility will usually do their best to support their
neighbours. Some humanoids merely stay out of the way of other
races; others actively trade with the human colonists. Humanoids
are much more common on the Serpent Peninsula than on Thanegia
Island, and in the SP wilderness they usually have little
difficulty surviving without competing with humans. It is very
difficult to determine whether a specific humanoid really supports
the Welcoming Pact, but most adhere to it, and the jajis generally
can convict those who violate its tenets, whether human or not.