AU World Building Groups: The 12 Noble Houses of the Fire Nation
BACKGROUNDThe book, "The Lost Scrolls: Fire", tells the story of the Fire Sages, how they were the Fire Nation's governing council until the Fire Lord (or head sage), so called that because he was the most powerful firebender and the most spiritually connected to fire, broke from them and took the rulership with him. The sages we see in Winter
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That's how #13 got killed. :b It was kind of a sad fight since the Fire Lord was so much more powerful. The other sages were like, "Oh snap, Son!" -_-; (Maybe it was the first such Agni Kai?) And the kids killed the family and made sure everyone knew about it.
I was actually toying around with the idea that the whole Agni Kai thing was something that didn't catch on until later.
The sages started off married. (Granted, there's no reason they couldn't be according to the cartoon, but the temple on Roku's island looks like a temple inhabited by just a handful of old men.)
Escape From the Spirit World says that Shyu was Fire Sage Kaja's grandson. Kaja was the Sage who trained Roku at the temple.
The book says the sages we see at the temple were there to guard the sanctuary and feed the Fire Lord information about the Avatar. I think it was always assumed that, when the Avatar finally surfaced, that person would go to the temple to contact Roku, and those sages were probably forced to stay their 24/7 to wait for him.
Piandao being a mainstream figure for a time. (If I ever actually publish 100 Men, I can get my own take out there, but my beta said what I have is kind of junky and I'm not sure I want to rewrite so much.)
I imagine anyone with a title like The Greatest Swordmaster and Swordmaker in Fire Nation History would be a household name. That title they gave him implies that he's a living legend, and probably got to rub elbows with a lot of fancy people.
If you never finish 100 Men, I should at least like to read a basic outline and the notes for it. I've been very patient..
I was also surprised that the existing noble class allowed a new one to be put in place over them, but I'm thinking that's more of an opportunity. Either you can use the 2nd House (but they seem kind of urban in nature) or give the specialty to one of the unspecified houses, but either way one of the houses could be responsible for managing the landowner class. The only real issue is how to implement it without giving too much power to that House, that they could consolidate the landowners against the Fire Lord. Perhaps make that House the administrators of construction in the Fire Nation, so that the members are more concerned with snatching land away from the landowners for their projects, thus diverting animosity away from the Fire Lord.
When the sages were "installed" as the new upper-class, the other nobles didn't really lose anything. When one considers the other eleven sages were already ruling over everybody else as equals to the head sage before he took control of the place, most people didn't really see it as being that much different. They were all doing what they did before with the understanding that the Fire Lord had final "veto" power over them instead of them having equal say in public policy. It was a downgrade for them while the lesser nobles still got to keep all their stuff and continue with their business. The only people who really got curb stomped were the sages because they feared for their families if they tried to retaliate but also such an action could start a civil war. So they felt they had to suck it up.
Haven't worked out the details on the Houses, to be honest.
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Fair point about the landowners already being 'second class' nobles, but if you wanted, you could probably play on their pride at being left out of the reorganization. It still strikes me that the Houses might have taken some power from the landowners (like there used to be individually administrated militias, and then a unified military is created that is under the strong influence of a House) but it ultimately comes down to whether you want to play it that way. I'm a fan of political thrillers, myself, but I admit they're not for everyone.
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So..the land owners can be put into three main groups:
The first group is the group you're describing. They care because they are now a 3rd class. These are the problematic landowners because they would try to raise their private armies to depose the Fire Lord.
The second group is the "We Don't Care And Don't Go Upsetting That Guy" group. They're fine with it because they get to keep their stuff and they don't want to make trouble for themselves.
The third group is a group of nobles who believe there should only be one ruler because the gridlock often caused when there were thirteen people fighting over public policy was annoying most of the time and completely unproductive. So if one person can rule with a measure of pragmatism, then they were okay with it. This group supports the Fire Lord and spends a lot of time battling with the first disgruntled group. The second group will jump in whenever it suits them, taking sides to gain an advantage.
It's pretty easy for the Fire Lord and the sages to set these groups against each other which is what they do so they'll be preoccupied with fighting amongst themselves to be any real long-term threat. Plus, the second and third groups suck up to the Fire Lord and offer up their resources and armies to help him in the hopes it will advance them. It ends up being the Disgruntled Nobles vs. Everyone Who Has Something To Gain By Allying Themselves With the Fire Lord.
It still strikes me that the Houses might have taken some power from the landowners (like there used to be individually administrated militias, and then a unified military is created that is under the strong influence of a House)
It's important to understand that the original sages were not violent or overly-ambitious or corrupt which is why they were so shocked when the Fire Lord took control in such a violent manner and that he had raised his children to be violent. The original sages will not cheat or steal from others. It's like how Aang won't kill someone. This is morally repugnant to them and contrary to their beliefs, and is in direct conflict with their sagely duties. If they were to start acting like the Fire Lord then they would be no better than the Fire Lord.
Plus the sages are counting on two things: They are counting on a spiritual beatdown in the form of something catastrophic so the Fire Lord will get his comeuppance from the spirits (which is a thing that can and does happen to people), and they're hoping that the Avatar will eventually intervene...as soon as he or she masters all those pesky elements and does that whole Avatar training thing. They're willing to be patient because they are absolutely certain one of these two things will happen.
But yes, over time, the Houses have taken from the land owners, but they've always pretty much absorbed the families of the land owners by marrying them into their Houses. In Aang's time, most of the current land owners are somehow associated with the Houses through marriages. Telling the kids that some of them would marry down a class was a way to ensure the lower class wouldn't attack their House since there own people were married into it. Also, it was basically a way to bribe people to get them to go away. "Look, if I let your son marry my daughter and give him a fat dowry, will you kindly go away and never come back?" type of thing.
but it ultimately comes down to whether you want to play it that way. I'm a fan of political thrillers, myself, but I admit they're not for everyone.
I would probably never try to write this as an actual story--too many players, too much complexity. Writing a good political thriller requires a level of aptitude I don't possess and they are exactly the kind of thing you do not want to get wrong. Plus, this really is backstory for the families as we see them in Aang's time. I'm building this world as a way to keep track of all my ideas. Plus, it's just fun to write this stuff out.
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And it is indeed fun to do this kind of worldbuilding. I used to just create fantasy and sci-fi worlds, with economies as functional as I could make them, with the vague idea of either writing stories based on the stuff or setting an RPG campaign in them. Never did either with any of them, but it's still something I like to dabble with when I have the time.
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You're welcome.
And it is indeed fun to do this kind of worldbuilding. I used to just create fantasy and sci-fi worlds, with economies as functional as I could make them, with the vague idea of either writing stories based on the stuff or setting an RPG campaign in them. Never did either with any of them, but it's still something I like to dabble with when I have the time.
I think I like world-building more than I like writing the stories.
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