The Lands of the Children of Odella (A.K.A. Odeland)

Odeland believes that her people are all direct decedents of the Goddess Odella. The citizens do not hate or fear strangers, but they do not tolerate evangelistic efforts for other religions or gods. They believe that other gods have rule over other lands, and reverence them, but Odella is their Goddess and only she is to be worshiped by her people. Intermarriage is out of the question, because it would pollute the true bloodline of Odella. Those who intermarry, and their offspring, are banished forever.

Her capital, Odelsburg is a port city surrounded on three sides by farmlands. To the east is a bay leading to the ocean. There are tall stonewalls surrounding the whole city. The city is divided into four sections by walls. At the center is a round walled area containing the palace. The outer areas of each section of city are poorer. The closer you get to the palace, the better the homes and businesses are. In the east, there is a busy port. The wall extends to this section also, but it has more points of access because of the amount of commerce coming in.

Each of the sections to the north, west and south has a massive gate leading into the city, with guard towers. There are inner gates between the sections as well. There are two gates into the palace area, known as the Womb. These gates are in the port side and the western sections. The harbor to the east is protected by gigantic crossbows that the size of station wagons.

In buildings in the cities and large towns of Odella are almost all made from bricks or stones, with thatched roofs. Rich merchants and nobles usually have true tiled roofs. Peasants usually have earthen dwellings. These dwellings are very comfortable though, with fireplaces and skins over the windows and doors. The roofs of these dwellings are thatch. Many villages have a stone inn and church. The village knight always has a stone house with a tile roof, though richer knight may have actual manor houses.

A typical peasant son of Odella is 5' 6" tall and weighs 160 lbs. There are many larger specimens out there though. They are a rugged and enduring people with long lanky muscles. Their coloring is light, with blonde and brown hair predominating.

There are no minority races in Odeland. Foreigners are only allowed in the eastern section of the city, or into the Womb if they have an audience with the queen. Visitors cannot own property in Odelsburg, but can rent houses and buildings. No foreigner is allowed to stay for more than a year. Registration is strict and passes are given for how long a visitor can stay based on their business. This does not apply to sailors who stay on their ships, though the ships themselves are registered and given a time frame for departure as well. The church police regulate all of this.

The church police strictly control relations between visitors and Odellans. It is illegal for an Odellan to sleep with a visitor. The penalty goes from ten lashes to imprisonment. The punishment for an Odellan woman having a child by a foreigner is for the mother and child to be banished from Odeland. The church does not want half-breed children to dilute the sacred blood of the goddess.

Odeland has a state religion. Everyone, From the Queen to the most common laborer, worships the Goddess Odella. Everyone has worth, because they are all her direct descendants. There are monasteries and churches throughout the country. Every village has a holy woman. Every large town has a massive church or cathedral. The church holds much sway over society and holds grants to some lands within the ducal areas.

All of the upper church officials and local holy people are true daughter of Odella. There are monastic orders for men as well. Each ducal area has a cardinal. The Womb is ruled over by the Queen herself, in the religious arena. The Queen is also the ultimate authority of the church. She is the living embodiment of the Spirit of Odella.

Odella is the only goddess or god worshiped in Odelsburg. The citizens know that there are other gods, including the Great Mother of the World, but they worship Odella. She was out of favor with The Great Mother when she started her own people. Her people are more loyal to her than even The Great Divine Mother.

The Mother can take the form of the world herself, with the oceans, lakes and rains being her blood and other fluids. She is also a spirit who knows everything happening in her world. She can whisper in the wind or speak into the hearts of men and women. Lastly, She can appear in the physical form of a beautiful woman.

The Mother also created many other servants for the goddesses. These servants either were pure spirit, or had only physical form. There are immortal, physical being in her world. The gods and goddesses were commanded to use these servants, and only these servants, to satisfy their physical longings. Relations with mortal humans were forbidden.

One of the goddesses was the flirtatious Odella. She broke that commandment and slept with mortal twins named Devlin and Damien. Odella bore two sons from the first union, Gerdon and Gerlow, and three daughters from the second, Mona, Teressa and Hallow. The Mother was extremely upset with her and took away the people she was to rule over. She gave these people to the care of the god Brock, who would one day be thought of as a mere saint by the people of the Get Empire.

Odella was left with only Devlin, Damien and their children. Her Mother forbade her from ever sleeping with mortals again, but had pity and let her keep her own children and let their fathers stay with them as well. The lands of her people stood empty. She continued to bear the twin's children, until she had over ten boys and fifteen girls. These children started to marry each other, cousin with cousin, and a new race was slowly born.

After a time, The Great Mother again took action again to punish Odella for her constant violations of her laws. She demanded the bodily fluids of the children be spilled to atone. Odella was horrified. She sacrificed herself on an altar, to appease her Mother. The Mother was horrified. She regretted driving her daughter to such an action. Odella's children were in mourning, as was her mortal lover Devlin.

Odella was now only spirit and could not take mortal form. Her spirit form was now so weak that she could not even speak into the hearts of her children to guide them. The Great Divine Mother took pity on her and her children. She gifted Odella's oldest daughter Ophelia with the ability to hear the voice of her mother's spirit, by actually putting that spirit in Ophelia's physical body. Odella's spirit co-mingled with Ophelia's, though it did not overwhelm it.

The Divine Mother allowed the Children of Odella to remain a people. They prospered and multiplied until they were a nation. The spirit of Odella has been passed down from mother to daughter for generations. When the Queen dies, The Mother puts Odella's spirit in the heir.

Because the children of Odella have the blood of a goddess in them, they are all direct descendents of Odella. This does not make them a stronger, or wiser people, but there do seem to be many miracles that happen to even the most base and despised citizen. The Children of Odella still worship her for the sacrifice she made for them. They acknowledge The Mother as the creator, but they worship Odella as their mother. This strikes many other nations, especially Get, as being heretical. That heresy part of the reason Get and Odeland are old and bitter enemies. The other reason is that they are in competition for a rich farming area and ocean trade routes to the spice rich Tarabethian Islands.

Get believes in a Divine Father who used the Mother to bear her seed. They believe in an Avatar called Merrick who bore the Father's spirit, but do not believe he was born divine. The oldest son descended from him is still seen as an Avatar of the Divine Father and speaks with his voice, but is mortal. They view the other gods and goddesses as being saints, but believe only in the worship of the Divine Father.

During the spring all Odeland celebrates a weeklong festival called The Festival of Rebirth. During this time, in celebration of Odella's rebirth, they don colorful costumes and disguises and pretty much go crazy. The Queen presides in public parades and passion plays in which she plays the Goddess Odella.

There is a priestess in each village. Everyone attends sixth day services. The priestess can commission deputies to deal with violations of church law. The knight runs the administration, but it is the priestess who is in charge of trying legal cases. A knight cannot remove, kill or imprison a priestess and would be executed by the Queen if he or she did.

Odeland is almost a city-state. A queen who lives in the city of Odelsburg rules her. There are four dukedoms that divide the capital city of Odelsburg and the lands around. The dukes are always men. These dukes are responsible for enforcing the queen's will. They each have a defensive castle on the boards of Odeland.

The four dukedoms of Odeland are called by the cardinal points of the compass. For example, the dukedom to the north is called The Northern Domain. Its duke is called The Duke of the North. The city walls actually divide the four parts of the city. The dukedoms extend beyond the walls to the boarders. In the center is a rounded area containing the Queen Mother's palace and gardens. It is merely called The Womb.

There are other minor lords within the queen's court, but they have very minor or no holdings. Instead they are given leadership of various guilds, are in charge of the palace guards, or are given other commissions from the queen. These court nobles simple hold the title "lord".

The Queen can elevate anyone she wishes to noble status. She cannot take away their noble status, but can banish them, or kill them in cases of treason. Nobles must be careful not to cross the Queen. She could take the title of duke away from one, whenever she wanted, and raise someone else in his or her place. In turn, the dukes can appoint knights to rule at their discretion, but they must choose someone the Queen has already granted the title "lord" to.

This means that there are only three hereditary titles of nobility, the queen, the duke and the knight. These titles are passed down to the first-born child of the previous holder. If there is no first-born child, then there is no heir. The heir of a knight does take on the responsibility for her father's rule over a village area, but the queen can remove her if she does a bad job. She would not lose her nobility, but would be known only as "lord". To be a knight is to be an active ruler over a regional area, as it is with being a duke.

The children of a duke or knight who are to the direct heir still hold the title "lord". They frequently go to the court to try to gain an appointment in the Queen's government. All the officers of the navy come from these lords. The officers of the standing army are all lords, not knights. The top officer of each region, north, south, east and west, is called The Marshal. This is not a landed position.

In times of war, the knights will be put in charge of the local militias from their villages. The militia units of neighboring areas are assigned a regular army officer who commands the knights during wartime. This can lead to hard feelings. Do not think of a knight as being a guy in armor, jousting as much as the administrative lord of a village.

Military and naval officers are lords who have proved their ability as soldiers. The dukes appoint the marshals and the marshals appoint the army officers. Commoners can hold the rank of group leader and be the head of a small unit.

Because any legitimate child of a noble is automatically a lord, there are more lords than there are government positions, military commissions, or guild leaderships to be had. This leads to a very competitive environment at court and in the military.

Each duke has a large trade town, with a castle, at the boarders of Odeland in each of their respective directions. They serve as trade centers for the surrounding areas, but they also are defensive and sit on the borders of Odeland. Each town has a standing guard, barracks, a command post, boiling oil post, and battlements. There are towers on each wall corner. The first courtyard of each castle can be cut off and defended against, if invaders take it.

Besides villages governed by knights, there are also small settlements with defensive keeps at key points along the boarders of the country. Soldiers from other areas and small groups of permanent residents who serve their needs inhabit these settlements. An army officer always has authority here. The knights in the area must support these keeps, so that they do not have to grow their own food. This keeps the permanent residents at a minimum. There is usually a village close enough for the soldiers to blow off steam when they have the need.

Mountains take much of it up to the north, the west and some of the south. To the north and west there are farmlands between the mountains and the seas, with some forests thrown in. The south is very fertile and grows more exotic fruits, such as Odeland's famous red grapes. To the east lies the coast. Parts of it are rocky, but there are bays and inlets, as well as some long beaches. The capitol city, Odelsburg, lies by a large bay and has a busy harbor.

To the north there are forests, as well as farmlands. The farmers grow potatoes, wheat, alfalfa, barley, beans and other common crops. The northern forests are rich with wild berries, fruits and mushrooms. Some of these forests are royal hunting preserves. They are carefully tended, since Odeland has limited sources of fresh lumber and wild game. In the northern mountains are coal and copper mines. There are also a few scattered mines of more precious materials, such as jewels, gold and silver. There are not to many hills leading up to the mountains, in the north.

The northern ducal town sits near the ocean and under the mountains. It contains artisans to work the metal from the mines and is a place local farmers can trade. It also serves to defend against tribes of goblyns that raid into Odeland.

Each of the dukes employee defensive forces comprised of foot soldiers and cavalry. The cavalry generally wear heavy, studded leather armor, with the richest chain. Few, but the highest ranking army officers can afford full chain outfits. They can fight with spears, but in a close melee they quickly switch to long swords, maces and short flails.

The foot soldiers wear a combination of quilted and leather armor, with steel, open-faced helmets. They are drilled to fight in formation with short swords and shields and with longer pole arms. Select groups are also trained as archers. Crossbows are just starting to be used, but their archers are quite skillful.

The knights of the villages are encouraged to train and maintain local militias. There are groups of archers throughout the countryside who train when they can, but farm most of the time. Local men are also trained to use whatever tools and impliments they have. Many spend the winters training to fight with the cudgel, the staff or the sickle. They train with wooden short swords and shields as well, in case the army needs to conscript them. The training in their own tools is against the day that the country is invaded before she can arm them properly.

The southern ducal town is a thriving trade center for local farmers, though much of the goods are shipped up canal to the capital. A canal has been dug that extends through the southern wall of the capital city and then out toward the port. Fine wine and beer is a product of this area. Apples, grapes and peaches are grown also. The end of the mountain range is in the south, though it is only the tip. The south has a few salt mines, though much of the salt must be imported from other countries.

The south borders the Empire of Get. Odeland and Get are ancient and bitter enemies. They have fought over ocean trade routes and fertile land for generations. There is a truce at the moment, but both countries have encouraged pirates to attack the ships of the other. The governments secretly endorse these pirates. As it stands, Get sends ships south to trade and Odeland sends them north. The amount of Get pirates to the south is too strong. The duke of the East has been building up his navy though and there have been rumblings.

To the east, about twenty miles out, there is a very rocky island. On this island lies the Castle of the Duke of the East. It is a strongly defended spot. There are scattered smaller islands that are home to fisher folk. They are all beholden to the Duke of the East.

The eastern ducal town is smaller than the others. The island the town is on is very rocky and easy to defend. It has a bay with a port. This port is a good shelter in storms. Most of the warships of Odeland are stationed here. . The northern town is only twenty miles from the capital. It brings in supplies from the mainland. It mostly makes money from services to sailors in port, but the north duke is allowed to tax the ships coming into the capital and receives grants to keep the small, but well trained navy, strong. There are gigantic crossbows that the size of station wagons protecting the harbor.

The navy of the eastern ducal town is made up of easy to maneuver sloops and powerful frigate. The sloops have a low profile in the water; so can miss shoals and reefs that would gut deeper ships. They can sail rings around galleons and even large warships. Mostly they are used to keep the waters around the capital free from pirates. They also protect fishing fleets and guard against invasions.

The Frigates are massive warships that have mounted arbalests and archers with fire arrows to attack other ships. Gunpowder has not been invented on "The Earth". Sailors generally carry short, heavy cutlasses. The officers wear long swords, breastplates and helmets, though some now carry the foils and rapiers that have become fashionable at court. The ships also carry marines that wear light quilted armor and carry short swords and round shields.

Because wood is at a premium in Odella, merchant ships and navy ships are highly valued and well cared for and protected. Most buildings are built from clay and straw bricks or stone. Coal is a very common heating supply, as no one would waste wood on heating, unless they live very near the forest and wanted to risk being caught by the Queen's Rangers.

To the west, before you reach the mountains, you mostly find farmland. The area of farmlands is not terribly large and is some swampland to the south of this area. The farmers grow most common crops, though only potatoes and beans do well here. Though most farmers in Odeland raise some pigs or chickens and own a cow or a goat, there are few true herders. However, There are some sheep farms in the hills leading up the mountains in the west. The mountains have some iron and coals mines. There are also granite quarries that provide good stone for construction.

Family is very important. A wife and her husband or husbands and their children spend a lot of time together working, and playing (mostly in winter for the last one.) Sex is a very open and honest subject and permitted between consenting adults, in private, but once you are married, infidelity is frowned upon.

First marriages come about through arrangements, but parents often take their children's' wishes into account. There is no dower system, but most people marry within their own class. There is always a contract spelling out what each family is giving to help the new couple. Families compete for the honor of helping these young couples or trios.

Family names are passed down on the maternal side. The first born of their sex is the heir. There are dowry gifts from both sets of parents when children get married. The new couples either live with the wife's family, or build a new dwelling, depending on the situation.

Among farmers, everyone helps to raise the crops and animals. The wife does most of the cooking, but the men are not exempt from keeping the house clean. The children must learn to do everything that is needed. The wife is in charge of finances and is considered head of the family.

Each noble family has it's own coat of arms. Newly made nobles also are given heraldic devices. When a lord of any sort goes to fight in a war, she has a major device from her coat of arms put on her shield and on her surcoat. Lords will often have his coat of arms, or that singular device, sowed onto the left breast of his garments.

Women at court wear long, slim dresses that flare out at the bottom. They are richly decorated. Collars often extend to cover their entire necks, with open areas underneath. The display of cleavage is common. There are a lot of different fashion trends that run through court, so trying to pin down a style is difficult.

Merchants, court servant and crafts persons in the city and ducal towns wear long fabric pants, button down shirts and vests. Women may wear dresses on formal occasions, but otherwise dress like the men. There is a great deal of diversity in hairstyles among this class. The richest merchants dress like nobles, hoping to actually gain patents from the Queen.

The commoners wear dull, serviceable clothing in earth tones. Both men and women wear durable pants and large, simple tunics that extend to mid-thigh. They wear heavy work boots as well. The women generally keep their hair back in buns or braids. The men wear it short.

(All seasons and months are called commonly by one word, though the proper title always includes "Odella's".) The seasons and months are symbolic of the birth, life, sacrifice and rebirth of the Goddess Odella. Ultra strict religious orders have short services every three hours, through the day, to reenacts the story. They don't get much sleep. Local churches will have services at dust to represent Odella's death and at dawn to represent her birth and rebirth. These are well attended by local peasants, who wish a blessing on their fields, animals and families.

The days of the week are merely called first day through sixth day. The seventh day is called Odella's Day. It is common to use the second word in the name of the month alone in conversation, such as "It is the 37th day of Labor. Rebirth is just around the corner!"