(For eventual inclusion in the Gazetteer thread.)
Know Your Factions, Part III
Lesser Factions, continued:
Heralds: A group of Mercedes Lackey fen who have set themselves up as a diplomat-cum-police force on a par with the Fiver Rangers for both their ability to locate and interfere in other people's conflicts and their skills at defusing such situations. Their pure-white tunic/trouser uniforms make an interesting contrast to the Ranger black when representatives from both factions find themselves attempting to "mediate" the same event.
When not playing at politics or diplomacy, the Heralds tend to party heavily and indulge in various pleasurable pursuits. They rival the Heinleinian Long subfaction in their acceptance (and embrace) of unconventional sexualities, and are reputed to be the single most gay/lesbian/bi/transgendered-friendly faction in fenspace.
Heralds are strongly aligned with the Filkers, the SCAdians, the Technomages and the Wizards, and are at least theoretically friendly to the Rangers. They are at odds with Lackey herself and her legal representatives, who despite their utter unenforceability in Fenspace persist in sending monotonously repetitive "Cease and Desist" orders to any Heralds they can identify.
The Heralds are rumored to be the single largest importers of bleach in all of Fenspace.
SCAdians: Officially the Kingdom of Supercaelia, this faction is in fact a formally-recognized regional branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism, a historical recreationist group based in California. The membership of Supercaelia is almost entirely settled in a Space Rock in high Earth orbit, and outside of its links to the SCA proper the group considers itself a sovereign nation separate from both the Danelaw and Fenspace in general. It certainly gives that feeling to visitors, who have reported a home-grown culture that apparently is trying to live as authentic Medieval space colonists full-time. This apparently has led to an institutionalized schizophrenic approach to mixing the Middle Ages with the 'wavetech era, where the appearance of authenticity is more important at times than actual authenticity.
Supercaelia retains many of the oddities and traditions of the earth-bound SCA, including the annual election of their chief executive officer ("king") by combat. This king is mostly a figurehead; the majority of ruling power is held by the Parliament, which is made of representatives elected by each of the kingdom's "baronies". The College of Heralds (not to be confused with the white-clad Mercedes Lackey fans), makes up the third branch of branch of goverment, such as it is, providing rudimentary judicial services in addition to their traditional functions.
Supercaelia maintains friendly relations with all the major factions in Fenspace, but are on especially good terms with the Heralds, the Wizards, the Filkers, the Senshi, the Barsoomians and the Hidden Village. They also maintain close diplomatic ties with all the ground-based SCAdian kingdoms as well as the SCA's BOD, and invariably send a small force to the Pennsic war every August.
Hitchhikers: Douglas Adams fen, who show their devotion to the author and his works by living an itinerant lifestyle, moving from ship to ship throughout Fenspace and only settling down long enough to build up the capital to fund a new series of jaunts. Immediately identifiable by their standardized uniform of dressing gown, towel and knapsack, they often have odd and unusual combinations of skills that turn out to be improbably handy in a pinch.
Hitchhikers are friendly with everybody, even people they don't like -- you never know who you might need a ride from.
Companions: One of the newest and smallest organizations in Fenspace, the Companions are not yet a true faction but appear to be working on turning into one; until then, they are more a vocation than anything else. Technically, they are a subfaction of the Whedonites, but neither side seems in a hurry to embrace the relationship.
Composed mostly of elegant and educated women, the Companions have taken inspiration from Inara on Firefly and set themselves up as Fenspace's equivalent of geisha -- not so much sex workers (although there is certainly an element of that involved) as a blend of entertainer, spiritual advisor, and literal companion, available for hire. Because Fenspace does not yet have the accumulated social code that surrounds the Companions in Firefly, Fenspace's counterparts are frequently martial artists; those that aren't usually travel with discreet bodyguards.
At the moment their numbers are small -- estimates range anywhere from a dozen to fifty -- but a few "apprentices" have already been spotted, and it's possible that the Companions may be able to sustain and actually increase their numbers over time. Individuals close the the Companion leaders indicate that the group is looking for a Space Rock or other suitable base in which to establish a school at which new Companions can be trained, but at the moment most of the group is itinerant, travelling from settlement to settlement. Most seem to be followers of Buddhism or some other Eastern belief, which may contribute to the air of serenity and unfazeability that seems to surround them wherever they go.
Most factions have so far proven to be friendly to the Companions, and the Companions are friendly right back to anyone who is friendly to them. They are known to enjoy the company of the Heralds and the Filkers (in fact, one Companion is also a well-known Filker). It is not known what relations there are between the Companions and Candy Apple Red's. No Companion is known to have visited the establishment, but Candy herself is reported to have said that she'd welcome any who would care to drop by.
-- Bob
---------
The Internet Is For Norns.
Know Your Factions, Part III
Lesser Factions, continued:
Heralds: A group of Mercedes Lackey fen who have set themselves up as a diplomat-cum-police force on a par with the Fiver Rangers for both their ability to locate and interfere in other people's conflicts and their skills at defusing such situations. Their pure-white tunic/trouser uniforms make an interesting contrast to the Ranger black when representatives from both factions find themselves attempting to "mediate" the same event.
When not playing at politics or diplomacy, the Heralds tend to party heavily and indulge in various pleasurable pursuits. They rival the Heinleinian Long subfaction in their acceptance (and embrace) of unconventional sexualities, and are reputed to be the single most gay/lesbian/bi/transgendered-friendly faction in fenspace.
Heralds are strongly aligned with the Filkers, the SCAdians, the Technomages and the Wizards, and are at least theoretically friendly to the Rangers. They are at odds with Lackey herself and her legal representatives, who despite their utter unenforceability in Fenspace persist in sending monotonously repetitive "Cease and Desist" orders to any Heralds they can identify.
The Heralds are rumored to be the single largest importers of bleach in all of Fenspace.
SCAdians: Officially the Kingdom of Supercaelia, this faction is in fact a formally-recognized regional branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism, a historical recreationist group based in California. The membership of Supercaelia is almost entirely settled in a Space Rock in high Earth orbit, and outside of its links to the SCA proper the group considers itself a sovereign nation separate from both the Danelaw and Fenspace in general. It certainly gives that feeling to visitors, who have reported a home-grown culture that apparently is trying to live as authentic Medieval space colonists full-time. This apparently has led to an institutionalized schizophrenic approach to mixing the Middle Ages with the 'wavetech era, where the appearance of authenticity is more important at times than actual authenticity.
Supercaelia retains many of the oddities and traditions of the earth-bound SCA, including the annual election of their chief executive officer ("king") by combat. This king is mostly a figurehead; the majority of ruling power is held by the Parliament, which is made of representatives elected by each of the kingdom's "baronies". The College of Heralds (not to be confused with the white-clad Mercedes Lackey fans), makes up the third branch of branch of goverment, such as it is, providing rudimentary judicial services in addition to their traditional functions.
Supercaelia maintains friendly relations with all the major factions in Fenspace, but are on especially good terms with the Heralds, the Wizards, the Filkers, the Senshi, the Barsoomians and the Hidden Village. They also maintain close diplomatic ties with all the ground-based SCAdian kingdoms as well as the SCA's BOD, and invariably send a small force to the Pennsic war every August.
Hitchhikers: Douglas Adams fen, who show their devotion to the author and his works by living an itinerant lifestyle, moving from ship to ship throughout Fenspace and only settling down long enough to build up the capital to fund a new series of jaunts. Immediately identifiable by their standardized uniform of dressing gown, towel and knapsack, they often have odd and unusual combinations of skills that turn out to be improbably handy in a pinch.
Hitchhikers are friendly with everybody, even people they don't like -- you never know who you might need a ride from.
Companions: One of the newest and smallest organizations in Fenspace, the Companions are not yet a true faction but appear to be working on turning into one; until then, they are more a vocation than anything else. Technically, they are a subfaction of the Whedonites, but neither side seems in a hurry to embrace the relationship.
Composed mostly of elegant and educated women, the Companions have taken inspiration from Inara on Firefly and set themselves up as Fenspace's equivalent of geisha -- not so much sex workers (although there is certainly an element of that involved) as a blend of entertainer, spiritual advisor, and literal companion, available for hire. Because Fenspace does not yet have the accumulated social code that surrounds the Companions in Firefly, Fenspace's counterparts are frequently martial artists; those that aren't usually travel with discreet bodyguards.
At the moment their numbers are small -- estimates range anywhere from a dozen to fifty -- but a few "apprentices" have already been spotted, and it's possible that the Companions may be able to sustain and actually increase their numbers over time. Individuals close the the Companion leaders indicate that the group is looking for a Space Rock or other suitable base in which to establish a school at which new Companions can be trained, but at the moment most of the group is itinerant, travelling from settlement to settlement. Most seem to be followers of Buddhism or some other Eastern belief, which may contribute to the air of serenity and unfazeability that seems to surround them wherever they go.
Most factions have so far proven to be friendly to the Companions, and the Companions are friendly right back to anyone who is friendly to them. They are known to enjoy the company of the Heralds and the Filkers (in fact, one Companion is also a well-known Filker). It is not known what relations there are between the Companions and Candy Apple Red's. No Companion is known to have visited the establishment, but Candy herself is reported to have said that she'd welcome any who would care to drop by.
-- Bob
---------
The Internet Is For Norns.