Free Dominions

Since the agreement with then Emperor of the House Oberon Trismegistus, whom some call dearly departed, Sprites have full control over the Upper Floor. There, they founded the Free Dominions on the ideal of equality among all Folks.

Known to many also as “the Freedomes”, this is a confederation which includes the lands of the Master Bedroom, the Bathroom, and the Smaller Bedroom. The capital is Beddingham, universally famous for its sprawling market, but Tuberdam is the hub of political life.

The Free Dominions are ruled by a small circle of scholars known as the Symposium.

The Household Central Bank of the Free Dominions in Rosevault mints plates and crystals with the national emblem and motto on one side and various mushrooms or Paracelsus' profile on the other. It is also the place where most of the banknotes of the House are printed.

Littlings born in the Free Dominions live relatively far from the political tension and prejudice typical of more closed-off cultures. Strolling down any street in a city or town of the Freedomes, you will see people of all Folks walking side by side. Everyone is free to ex press their opinion and culture, so long as they respect others.

This open-mindedness caused many waves of immigration into the nation and helped the development of an unparalleled industrial sector.

Middle-class families bring up their children to take over the family business, accumulating even more assets. Young littlings face ruthless competition to snatch one of the few spots in the exclusive and expensive colleges.

The Free University of Clockminster, the University of Bedside in Beddingham, and the Tuberdam University are only some of the most sought-after ac ademic establishments in the Freedomes. Universities look at each other with such a healthy level of rivalry that many alumni still wear the symbols and colors of their university and loudly disagree on which one is the best.

The great markets and commercial nodes of the nation create many job opportunities. As a result, the vast majority of the population either owns a business of some kind, found employment as a worker in one of the many harbors of the Bathroom, or manages convoys that transport littlings and goods throughout the House.

The cultural melting pot of the Free Dominions encouraged the birth of many revolutionary artistic movements. Most notable creators of literature, visual arts, music, and theater began their careers here in the Freedomes, and went on to become an example for many young littlings who wish to make a name for themselves and lead a different life from what their family business can offer.

In many places of the House, throwing a beautiful party is an extremely expensive endeavor, sometimes completed with much pain, but not in the Free Dominions.

This is not due to the fact that celebrations on the Upper Floor are simpler and plainer – even though they usually are – but because the culture asks every guest to always bring a gift, and the best gift is certainly always an appropriate amount of money to allow the celebrated host to fulfill any wish and chase any dream.

Birthdays

During adulthood, the littlings of the Freedomes are happy to host simple dinners for their friends and relatives, sometimes taking them to the theater or on a boat ride, and even happier to receive hugs and bags full of Plates and Crystals that they can reinvest in their business or side-project, or use to make life easier in the future.

This custom might turn up some noses, since the rest of the Household considers it quite rude to give money as a gift instead of useless decorative knick-knacks, but it is considered completely normal in the Free Dominions, where even a single Plate can be a welcome gift in some circumstances.

To give you an idea, the appropriate number of gifts for the birthday of a child in the Freedomes is usually around twenty, but wealthier families can get one or two hundred presents for their children.

Weddings

Weddings on the Upper Floor are truly remarkable occasions, but they’re certainly as plain as you’ll find in the House. The culture of the Free Dominions is considered more advanced when it comes to marriage, and they accept as normal the fact that some littlings may wish to never marry, may share a house without being married, or may separate on good terms, and the general public pays no mind when this happens, at least in most cases.

Funerals

When a citizen of the Free Dominions is no more, their family heads to one of the small cemeteries growing just outside towns to give them a proper burial. These small groves of colorful mushrooms and molds are the symbol of life that goes on beyond death, and are punctuated with many small grave markers made of wood or stone, etched with the name of the deceased so they may always be remembered.

In later years there has been a growing trend of new, larger cemeteries opening inside the Inbetweens, as some argue that putting more distance between the living and the dead makes things safer and more hygienic. The truth is that the restrictive Regulation Plan imposed by the Astraviya Treaty forced Consortia into drastic measures and every tiny meter of buildable land on the Upper Floor has been set aside to allow industries to grow and create new jobs. Even cemeteries had to step aside!

The great port on the Tub, the markets of Beddingham, and the mines and mint of Rosevault can’t help but attract the worst kind of attention. To fight both petty and organized crime in the nation, the Symposium deploys a large force.

The red-and-white uniforms of the Gendarmerie have become a symbol of the inflexibility of the Free Dominions, a nation that is just as accommodating with honest citizens as it is strict with those who break the law.

There are other important military institutions, such as the Edge Guard, that controls the loading and unloading of goods in the Tub, and the Frontier Guard at Topridge.

The main military of the Freedomes is the Porcelain Army, whose enameled armor comes straight from the renowned mine of the Great Bowl. In the army, as in all other institution, genders are seen as strictly equal.

The special corps are called the Porcelain Infantry, a handful of strong and highly trained Undine soldiers.

On the Upper Floor, the only career paths with good prospects for scholars pass either through an embassy, a business, or some type of political career, and for all three options you also need a strong relationship with a corporation or consortium. This means that any littling without relatives in high places has to wise up and earn the trust or respect of some executive that can pull them into the loop.

The dens of the Freedomes are different and unique as the hunting grounds of the nation, but there are also other groups of hunters that look much closer to what we’d normally expect, they’re usually tied to corporations or consortia at some level.

Still, any hunter who doesn’t want to get tied to a den or a corporation can still apply to receive a permit from the Porcelain Army and exercise the profession as a freelancer.

Traditionally, these hunters wear a red ribbon on their chest or shoulder, sometimes even on the hat, as a symbol of their availability to take assignments, and they mostly work as escorts for merchants and travelers on the road between Tuberdam and Beddingham, with a stop at Topridge.

When they are on a job and unavailable for other tasks, the Red Ribbons usually take the band off and tie it to their belt or at the top edge of their boot, so that they are still recognizable as patented hunters.

Since they don’t belong to a proper den, these hunters can sometime act indifferent to one another, especially when it comes to newbies, but there are still many of them who meet every week on their usual route and get in the habit of exchanging a quick hello and helping each other when needed, asking for nothing in return.

• The Rosenvault Fencing School