Esper Court 1

From SCross

Introduction

The Esper Court is perhaps the smallest 'true' nation in the entire world. A haven for almost anything both friendly to Gaia and the Spirit Court, and uncomfortable within the world of mortals, the Esper Court's homeland within the Esper Forest has been viewed by most of the outside world as a strange, incomprehensible and forbidding place for as long as can be remembered. The citizens of the Court's view and love of their homeland is entirely the opposite however, and the sense of self and purpose shared by most there is comparable to, if not greater than that of the larger nations of the world, especially with the more recent events of their long history forcing them to become even closer and more reliant on one another.

Other Esper Enclaves

Of all the enclaves of Espers scattered about Gaia the Esper Forest is quite probably the largest by far. However, there are innumerable other places all over the planet where the faerie live, either openly or in hiding, and usually there are a great many similarities between their cultures and that of the Esper Forest; though they are mostly ( but not always, sometimes following on a voluntary basis ) independent from the rule of the forest's monarch, and the smaller habitations tend more towards anarchic society than proper government. It is also rare for these enclaves to interact with one another and there are no known treaties or agreements between them, though it is not unheard of for one enclave to answer another's appeal for help, or simply to receive foreign faerie visitors.

Religion and Beliefs

The exact faith of the Esper nation is somewhat lacking in definition, and rather than being a proper ‘religion’ is more of a common set of beliefs mostly shared by those who call themselves members of the court.

The most well known among these beliefs is the infamous ‘Mortal – Esper Pact’, an agreement signed by both mortals and Espers after a terrible war during the new world’s early history. This pact declares, in its simplest form, that no Mortal may ever command an Esper, or any Esper command a Mortal. Thus, in theory, the two parties should leave each other alone, considering the only thing the Esper people seem to want is for the mortal civilisation to keep its pollution out of their rather small home territory. The pact has in many ways been the guide to the court for as long as many can remember, and the root of its rather isolationist policies. As the Esper race originated from the forest and at the time were nearly all involved in the war, despite their now being scattered all about Gaia, it is exceptionally rare to find any faerie enclave that does at the absolute least know of it.

In recent times, with the disappearance of the 'Grand Summoner', the Great Pact ( a higher agreement forged between the High Spirits and Humanity and on which the Mortal - Esper Pact hinged ) failed. As such, the spiritually binding nature of the Mortal - Esper Pact is now null, and technically, all are quite free to ignore it. All the same, however, longer standing fae cultures such as the court of the Esper Forest have built their civilisations on the Mortal - Esper Pact, laid them out as a way of life, or used them as a foundation for government and law. As such, remarkably few of the various fae enclaves have ceased to follow the Mortal - Esper Pact, besides perhaps adjusting certain aspects of it to suit their needs. Notably, the court of the Esper Forest itself has barely shifted its position concerning the Mortal - Esper Pact, following and enforcing it within their borders and among their people as always, even if it is no longer magically maintained.

Other beliefs include the belief in Gaia as an independent deity and obeisance to her will for better or for worse, and subservience to the Spirit Court whom the Esper Court supposedly serves. Both of these have resulted, after almost a thousand years, in a further belief that the home forest is also of great significance, and the Esper Courts guard and tend it with all the jealousy of a parent.

Spiritual Leaders

Again, as the Espers do not have a proper, structured religion as do most mortal cultures, they also have no ecclesiastical structure, or clergy. However no religion, no matter how disorganised, can be completely without people who stand at its fore, and so the Espers do have their priests. Not always Espers themselves, but always the closest thing possible to an expert in the traditions and culture of their people, the priests, priestesses, shamans and druids of the fae courts are generally seen as figures of lore and skill in all things that are 'of the fae'; from rituals, to dealing with spirits, to simple herbalism and folk-lore.

Some of these people even possess the knowledge and capability to perform marriage, perhaps having at one time been a part of the church, stumbled up on it in their own learnings, learned from Barbarian style marriages, or any number of other sources. As such, while many fae may choose to marry under a priest of the All Father, especially those marrying Imperial citizens, the nature of marriage performed within Esper culture can vary wildly according to the preferences of the prospective spouses, and the learnings of the person actually marrying them.

Magicyte, Death, And Beyond

When an Esper dies, they are transformed wholly into a magical stone that is known by mortals as 'Magicyte'. The Esper Court has different names, and although some do opt to use the Imperial term, others call this stone their 'body', 'corpse', and sometimes even 'soul', as it is all that will ever remain of an Esper after their death. Espers do /not/ reincarnate as mortals do, and many believe that either their soul is locked away within their Magicyte, or that it simply disappears, ceases to exist. Magicyte can take on many forms, often dictated by its home atwa, but most usually takes on the shape of an irregular crystal, varying in size, and coloured after a hue that was close to its owner in life.

Magicyte contains all of the powers that its formative Esper possessed. Anyone holding an Esper's Magicyte may thus harness this magical capability, either allowing them to use the powers held within the stone directly, or through some other means. Understandably however, the Esper Court views the employment of Magicyte to any end, except under /very/ special circumstances, to be an act of sacrilege, very much akin to necromancy. In recent years this view has been validated by the Holy Church of the All Father, and so Magicyte's use is now deemed heresy under its law - a decision that has found the Church much favour in fae eyes, though perhaps left Emperor Elliot none too pleased to be banned from expanding the ranks of his Magitech Knight generals. One can expect swift retribution should they be found using Magicyte ( or even carrying it, should they not immediately render it unto a representative of the Court ).

Until recently, the Esper Court's usual practice was to bury the Magicyte of its passed Espers in a special place within the Forest, a graveyard. Their hope in doing this was that, though it may take millennia, perhaps someday through being buried close to Gaia the souls might slip free of the Magicyte and permeate back into the lifestream to reincarnate. Thanks to the recent violations committed by Emperor Elliot during his attempted genocide however, the graveyard has been cleared. Many outside the Forest with cause to consider such things have rumoured it was destroyed in some ceremony rather than risk any more being stolen and desecrated in such unholy rites as were practiced upon the ancient pieces stolen by the Emperor. Whether this is true, or if the Magicyte has simply been buried elsewhere or moved to somewhere safe for the time being the Espers refuse to let on - indeed, few below the Court's highest ranks even know themselves.

Battle for the Forest - The Battle against Emperor Elliot's invasion ( RP log, not in-game wiki compatible )