The Nobility
The noble houses of Nibenay are tied to the land and, as such, act as true conservators of the city's ancient culture. Some houses, however, have succumbed to the allure of trade. These houses conduct their affairs with indulgent decadences that rival those of the merchant house Shom. Others are obsessed with the distant, stoic past, performing bizarre rites in veneration of their ancestors. Most, however, continue as they always have, with a strong sense of tradition and responsibility to their family.
Marriage
Marriages among Nibenay's nobility have traditionally been polygamous and exogamous. In addition to having many spouses, an individual must marry outside the clan or family. This latter practice began primarily as a means of bridging political differences between the factions that divided the noble families. Once, noble estates were divided among the married children of the primary spouse. Over the centuries, however, the need to retain and build family holding gave rise to a reticence to allow children to dilute property through marriage. Nobles became increasingly unwilling to commit their children to wedlock. This has resulted in smaller noble families. Matriarchal marriages are favored, for they reduce the likely number of potential heirs. Also, young nobles are encouraged to pursue free-floating polygamous relationships outside the formal institution of marriage. These affairs often continue long into adulthood. The idea is to create as many options for the family interests as possible. Now the holdings of a noble family are generally passed to one child of the primary spouse. Only when the family patriarch or matriarch decides to select an heir are any relationships formalized. Consequently, many nobles are not married off until middle age. They spend much of their youth seeking the favor of the house master. The state does not interfere with inheritance among the nobles, and property is usually passed on to the most conservative or capable child. Sometimes small parcels are bequeathed to other heirs, but with the provision that they can only be sold back to the family.
Ownership of Property
The nobility of Nibenay is tied to the land. The noble houses of Nibenay own not only the hot springs which irrigate the rice patties surrounding the city, but the fields themselves. Most of the tenant properties in the city and surrounding areas are owned by the nobles as well. The king enforces this stability by requiring that all transfers of land be approved by the state. Within a noble family, personal property is considered to be titled to the matriarch or patriarch of the house. Family members use this property and acquire their own as the master of the house sees fit.
Occupations
The nobles enjoy the luxury of wealth – they need not be concerned with the material well being of themselves or their children. The ownership of an endless water supply secures each family's future. While most nobles pursue the traditional responsibilities of their parents, this wealth allows some members of the noble class to indulge in more esoteric pursuits. Consequently, while many nobles busy themselves managing their farms and trying to discover more efficient ways to run their tenant properties, others pursue scholarly disciplines or indulge in the arts. Traditionally, nobles have not pursued trade beyond selling the produce of their property. Trade is seen as unseemly business for a noble. The work of a noble is considered to be that of conservatorship and the proper administration of traditional family holdings. A common axiom of the nobility is "tend to the land and it will tend to you." Heirs are generally culled from the more conservative ranks of young nobles. Every generation, however, produces a few energetic and ambitious financiers who speculate in trade and invest in new business. Most nobles disdain such mavericks as crass, while others admire their adventurousness. The nobility has, at one time or another, produced members of every character class from their rank-even gladiators.
Typical Residences
Noble families dwell in enormous stone compounds throughout the city. Some actually have complexes built deep into the side of the huge bluff that overlook Nibenay's north side. The palaces of the nobles are generally surrounded by huge decorated walls topped with minarets and towers. Columns cut to look like stacked skulls and creatures of the forest support balconies and arcades. The huge buildings generally rise three or more stories into the air and sometimes have an equal number of cellars beneath the earth. Plants thrive in courtyard gardens that serve as homes to exotic pets. Small pools and fountains are fed by water pumped in from the springs. Vines hang from balconies overlooking the courtyards and the streets. These homes are truly remarkable. During young adulthood, nobles occasionally move away from the family compound and take up residence in apartments owned by the family. Here they enjoy some privacy, and often take on the responsibilities of landlords. Still others travel to the farmland residences when they want to escape the squalor of the city. These buildings, often only one story high, tend to sprawl out over a large area. They are, as a rule, no less impressive than the city compounds.
Routine
Most nobles have regular responsibilities and positions within the operations of house concerns. If an individual hopes to become an heir, it is especially important to establish oneself as a reliable and integral part of the family. Days begin with a sunrise audience with the free citizen clients of the house. In these meetings, clients are given instructions and their performances are reviewed. The day continues with a variety of activities until the evening meal, which is generally taken at the main compound in the presence of the master of the house. Evenings are often filled with study or conversation, and occasionally punctuated by extravagant parties where young nobles advance their free-wheeling social lives. All enterprises of the noble houses follow the traditional dawn-to-dusk workday. Their clients are expected to report at dawn for work and to return home just before the sun has set.
Education
The young nobles of Nibenay receive an extensive formal education, both at home and at the state schools. At home, young nobles are trained for the responsibilities of managing family property. They also receive instruction in their family histories and are expected to study and memorize the important writings of their ancestors. From the ages of seven to 14, the young nobles of both genders are sent to state schools run by templars. In these schools, they are taught reading, writing, mathematics, military history and astronomy. It is in the state schools that young nobles form habits of patriotism and piety. Here, the templars sift through the rank of the young nobility and steer talented women toward careers in the priesthood of the Shadow King. The noble houses believe in the value of having highly placed family members among the various organizations and factions within the city. However, they are not likely to send a potential heir to a state school. Such children continue their education at home under the tutelage of scholar slaves. Some young nobles are placed in the School of Augurs, where they can gain mastery over the power of their minds, or the elemental temples, where they may find a position among the clerisy.
Rites of Passage
The most significant rite of passage for the nobility is the declaration of an heir. This usually comes sometime during mid-life, when the leader of the house is aging. House rulers wait as long as possible before declaring heirs in order to protect their own lives. They will, however, not risk dying before an heir has been chosen, for this can result in a war between siblings and a potential split of family holdings. The actual ceremony begins in the middle of the night. A slave wearing the wax death mask of the most ancient family forebear roughly wakens the selected heir. The young noble is then blindfolded and driven out of the city by house guards toward the family fields, which may be many miles away. Once the selected heir reaches the fields, he or she is stripped and thrown roughly into a dirt field. The heir must eat the dirt and declare, "From this earth comes the flesh of my people. I will defend this earth as I would my own flesh." The noble is then taken to the family-owned hot springs. Here the heir is immersed in scalding water. The noble is given a cup cut from a skull to use to drink water from the spring. "From this water runs the blood of my people. I will defend this water as I would my own blood," declares the noble. Then, to the masked slave and the rough escort of guards, the heir states, "By your leave I will carry the house which you serve with your lives." The initiate is then pulled from the water and a crown of rice stalks is placed upon his or her head. An undyed linen cloth is wrapped around the heir, and he or she is carried by the guards back to the family compound. The entire family celebrates the conclusion of the rite with a festive party, often attended by other noble houses.
Entertainment and Dining
Nibenay's nobles take great delight in entertaining, and often use ancestral piety as an excuse to celebrate. They throw large banquets and parties on the anniversaries of various accomplishments and acts of distinction performed by their ancestors. The parties are well stocked with food and drink, and entertainment is provided by the city's bards. (Of course, bards often attend to serve darker purposes as hirelings of rival heirs.) Other nobles, merchant families, popular entertainers, favored gladiators and artist slaves often attend these grand affairs. The tradition of baiting animals and gambling on the fighting ability of pets is carried to unusual heights by the noble houses. They have even been known to occasionally mount private mekillot fights. The family life of the nobility centers around a single arge meal that the entire family is expected to attend. The meal occurs after sundown, with meat, rice and exotic items from the merchant emporiums serving as the various courses. After dinner, children and subordinates are dismissed from the table, and a review of the issues facing the house begins. These dinner discussions help forge and evaluate the relationships between the heads of the houses and their potential heirs. Guests are sometimes entertained at the evening meal, but outside business is never discussed at such affairs. Business between the family and an outside source is reserved for midday when conversations can be held "in the full light of the sun." Most other meals, including a small morning snack, are taken privately.
Funerals
Because the wealth of the nobles is so heavily dependent
upon the rice fields and the hot springs which feed them,
the noble houses all adhere to the elemental cults of earth
and water. When a family member dies, funeral practices
are drawn from the traditions of the earth and water cults.
Several districts of the city are completely dedicated to
the internment of the dead nobility. Narrow paved alleys
lead through rows upon rows of stone mausoleums and
vaults. The tombs form maze-like walls of crypts built 20
feet high, one upon another. Each noble house has several
blocks dedicated to their family. The dead are all placed
on slabs within the chambers, which are then sealed
and flooded with water. A cleric of earth or water always
presides over the internment in order to protect the body
from undeath. Naturally, such precautions do not always
work, and visitors are advised not to venture into these
areas without the aid of clerical magic.
The ancestral cult of the nobles prescribes a number of
observances in addition to the ritual sacrifice of a slave
at the funeral of a house leader. The most widely known
is the practice of wearing ancestral death masks in the
funeral procession.