Politics and Parlour Tricks
By now you'll have heard the term 'Marquess' at least once and even if you know what that word means or have looked (ooh, I just found a shortbread I forgot to eat before I finished my tea) it up, you'll need a bit of explaining to understand the Neither meaning of it.
The Neitherworld is divided up into regions much like states of a country, each goverened by a head called a marquess. The major continent the current books are currently set in is comprised of the regions Chaply, Dearth, Dirking, Foetid, Neither (the capital), Nychthemeron, Pandemic, Putrefaction, Sophrosyne, Squalor, Sych Poapthy, and Umquhile (placed in alphabetical order at no extra cost. If you wish to have them placed in a different order, please send a stamped envelope to the nearest local branch, with your request and a check for ₤34.95 enclosed).
These marquesses don't so much have power as they do influence. They keep the laws more than they do create them, and they mostly handle the economics of their region, keeping things in order as well as being a representative.
I call them representatives because the whole of the Neitherworld is goverened by the collective marquesses. Every so often the marquesses of every region gather to discuss the current situation, review the past, and plan for the future. Each marquess puts in their new ideas and opinions (if they have them, of course) and they all discuss these until a compromise is made. Due to the general nature of Neitherworlders, this takes a long time, because they choose to deliberate carefully the outcome which is best for all; this generally gets them to the correct decision slowly (a contrast to the Plainworlders' tendency to come to the wrong one quickly). This gathering is always headed by Marquess Neither, who ultimately officially makes the decision--they don't get much more of a say than any other marquess, but they observe when a concensus is reached and help settle disputes between opposing opinions and helps create compromise
To choose a marquess, the citizens of the region nominate another citizen who they believe would make a good marquess (if they know such a person), the nominees choose whether to accept or reject their nomination, the other marquesses filter out the candidates they feel are adequate, then if there is more than one left, the citizenry votes on them. When a marquess is absent (retired, resigned, dismissed, or otherwise unable to fulfill their duties) another marquess takes on the responsibilities of that region until a new one is assigned. Luckily this has never caused any grabs for power, probably because taking on a second region is more work than power, and just not worth it.
And now that the bothersome politics are finished, I'd like to talk about the current marquesses themselves.
Marquess Squalor, Articlave Tweedsmuir
Squalor has been governed by Tweedsmuir for many, many years now, and he has done a fine job of keeping it steady and running smoothly in all those years. As a person, he is a bit of an oddball, and thus a fine example of an outstanding Neitherworlder. He follows a teaching which has been growing in popularity recently, and follows the basic concept that a Neitherworlder can ascend and reach a new plane of existence through cleanliness; he spends most hours of the day bathing and scrubbing himself.
He does not, however, let this interfere with his ability to govern, and has set up a system which keeps things running smoothly. His quarters in the capital where he meets those in need of him rarely has him in them, but is positioned adjacent to his bathroom, where he has created a small window next to his bath which allows him to poke his head into the meeting room while attending to his cleanliness.
When he is wandering around and not bathing, he dons his trademark outfit, which many people have asserted looks remarkably like a dressing gown made to look like a suit... or a suit made to look like a dressing down--there is much conjecture concerning this. What is indisputable, however, is that it has many little decorative trinkets hanging off it, which, on close inspection, are hand crafted out of soap.
Marquess Sophrosyne, Cordelia 'Mater' Throckmorton
What better person to govern a region than the unquestioned matriach of a family spanning about 6 generations. That is to say that she is not just the current matriach of the family which happens to be 6 generations old, but has been the matraich for all of those generations. She is now quite over 200 years old (but doesn't look a day over 20. Her secret? 'Reupholstery'. She doesn't say anything more, and we should probably be thankful).
She keeps the rather large Throckmorton family in line with her strict yet well-meaning rules; which run along the lines of how all Throckmortons must pull their weight and not grow soft and useless by living of the family's coffers (which are now piling up rapidly, with all the able family bringing in an income). She has managed to transfer her mothering skills to her marquesship and deals with the economics with greater skill than any other marquess (and is one mighty juggler). She is also one of the longest serving marquesses in current Neitherworld history.
She is aesthetically notable for her consistently pinstriped outfit, feathers protruding from her high collar (which are actually connected to her), her wide-brimmed hat with ostentatious plumage, her short, slicked black hair, and her seamed stockings (yes Annie, I didn't forget). Oh, also the fact that she is totally black and white. This condition has been with her for her whole life, and is midly contagious. That is to say that she creates a small aura of black and white. Her clothes and makeup are actually coloured, but lose all hues within minutes of contact with her. The Throckmorton house is all black and white on the outside because her room began to drain of colour and eventually created a grey blotch on the outer wall. The family just decided to make the rest of the outside match. Her room is easy to find in the house: you just look for the grey door and patch of wall. The large grey chair with the faded patch of carpet under it in the sitting room is obviously hers, and the spot where it used to be is gradually regaining it's colour. A look at the portraits of her late husband reveal that in the portraits of when he first met Cordelia and when they had been married for many years, there is a very noticable discrepancy of his colouring.
She is a very developed fibromancer, too, but I'll explain that another time. There is much more to say about her, seeing as she is a major character, but I can't quite remember most of it at the moment, and her entry is large enough as it is.
Marquess Putrefaction, September Ellory
September is a grand example of the more exhuberant side of the Neitherworld. He's about as enthusiastic a leader as one can get, and though he has not been leading Putrefaction for very long, he has been doing it quite efficiently. He is very much loved by the citizens, and is a thorough endorser of the stage, pushing Putrefaction to be the cultural centre of the Neitherworld. He is well known for his abilty to look extremely fetching in a skirt, and wears some very ostentatious clothing of the more feminen variety (mostly in silver and black). Not a 'drag queen', just a fair bit more feminen than most chaps. He has pure white hair, and wears round, pitch-black glasses.
He's still trying to figure out what to do with The Ash, a large expanse of wastelands covered in piles and piles of ash which tend to migrate about. It has recently been added to the lands of Putrefaction (just after September gained marquesship). So far, he has only thought of running part of the Pwyll Express through it. He insists he'll find more uses for it, but no one really minds either way.
There, that's enough for now. I'll put some in later, perhaps.
The Neitherworld is divided up into regions much like states of a country, each goverened by a head called a marquess. The major continent the current books are currently set in is comprised of the regions Chaply, Dearth, Dirking, Foetid, Neither (the capital), Nychthemeron, Pandemic, Putrefaction, Sophrosyne, Squalor, Sych Poapthy, and Umquhile (placed in alphabetical order at no extra cost. If you wish to have them placed in a different order, please send a stamped envelope to the nearest local branch, with your request and a check for ₤34.95 enclosed).
These marquesses don't so much have power as they do influence. They keep the laws more than they do create them, and they mostly handle the economics of their region, keeping things in order as well as being a representative.
I call them representatives because the whole of the Neitherworld is goverened by the collective marquesses. Every so often the marquesses of every region gather to discuss the current situation, review the past, and plan for the future. Each marquess puts in their new ideas and opinions (if they have them, of course) and they all discuss these until a compromise is made. Due to the general nature of Neitherworlders, this takes a long time, because they choose to deliberate carefully the outcome which is best for all; this generally gets them to the correct decision slowly (a contrast to the Plainworlders' tendency to come to the wrong one quickly). This gathering is always headed by Marquess Neither, who ultimately officially makes the decision--they don't get much more of a say than any other marquess, but they observe when a concensus is reached and help settle disputes between opposing opinions and helps create compromise
To choose a marquess, the citizens of the region nominate another citizen who they believe would make a good marquess (if they know such a person), the nominees choose whether to accept or reject their nomination, the other marquesses filter out the candidates they feel are adequate, then if there is more than one left, the citizenry votes on them. When a marquess is absent (retired, resigned, dismissed, or otherwise unable to fulfill their duties) another marquess takes on the responsibilities of that region until a new one is assigned. Luckily this has never caused any grabs for power, probably because taking on a second region is more work than power, and just not worth it.
And now that the bothersome politics are finished, I'd like to talk about the current marquesses themselves.
Marquess Squalor, Articlave Tweedsmuir
Squalor has been governed by Tweedsmuir for many, many years now, and he has done a fine job of keeping it steady and running smoothly in all those years. As a person, he is a bit of an oddball, and thus a fine example of an outstanding Neitherworlder. He follows a teaching which has been growing in popularity recently, and follows the basic concept that a Neitherworlder can ascend and reach a new plane of existence through cleanliness; he spends most hours of the day bathing and scrubbing himself.
He does not, however, let this interfere with his ability to govern, and has set up a system which keeps things running smoothly. His quarters in the capital where he meets those in need of him rarely has him in them, but is positioned adjacent to his bathroom, where he has created a small window next to his bath which allows him to poke his head into the meeting room while attending to his cleanliness.
When he is wandering around and not bathing, he dons his trademark outfit, which many people have asserted looks remarkably like a dressing gown made to look like a suit... or a suit made to look like a dressing down--there is much conjecture concerning this. What is indisputable, however, is that it has many little decorative trinkets hanging off it, which, on close inspection, are hand crafted out of soap.
Marquess Sophrosyne, Cordelia 'Mater' Throckmorton
What better person to govern a region than the unquestioned matriach of a family spanning about 6 generations. That is to say that she is not just the current matriach of the family which happens to be 6 generations old, but has been the matraich for all of those generations. She is now quite over 200 years old (but doesn't look a day over 20. Her secret? 'Reupholstery'. She doesn't say anything more, and we should probably be thankful).
She keeps the rather large Throckmorton family in line with her strict yet well-meaning rules; which run along the lines of how all Throckmortons must pull their weight and not grow soft and useless by living of the family's coffers (which are now piling up rapidly, with all the able family bringing in an income). She has managed to transfer her mothering skills to her marquesship and deals with the economics with greater skill than any other marquess (and is one mighty juggler). She is also one of the longest serving marquesses in current Neitherworld history.
She is aesthetically notable for her consistently pinstriped outfit, feathers protruding from her high collar (which are actually connected to her), her wide-brimmed hat with ostentatious plumage, her short, slicked black hair, and her seamed stockings (yes Annie, I didn't forget). Oh, also the fact that she is totally black and white. This condition has been with her for her whole life, and is midly contagious. That is to say that she creates a small aura of black and white. Her clothes and makeup are actually coloured, but lose all hues within minutes of contact with her. The Throckmorton house is all black and white on the outside because her room began to drain of colour and eventually created a grey blotch on the outer wall. The family just decided to make the rest of the outside match. Her room is easy to find in the house: you just look for the grey door and patch of wall. The large grey chair with the faded patch of carpet under it in the sitting room is obviously hers, and the spot where it used to be is gradually regaining it's colour. A look at the portraits of her late husband reveal that in the portraits of when he first met Cordelia and when they had been married for many years, there is a very noticable discrepancy of his colouring.
She is a very developed fibromancer, too, but I'll explain that another time. There is much more to say about her, seeing as she is a major character, but I can't quite remember most of it at the moment, and her entry is large enough as it is.
Marquess Putrefaction, September Ellory
September is a grand example of the more exhuberant side of the Neitherworld. He's about as enthusiastic a leader as one can get, and though he has not been leading Putrefaction for very long, he has been doing it quite efficiently. He is very much loved by the citizens, and is a thorough endorser of the stage, pushing Putrefaction to be the cultural centre of the Neitherworld. He is well known for his abilty to look extremely fetching in a skirt, and wears some very ostentatious clothing of the more feminen variety (mostly in silver and black). Not a 'drag queen', just a fair bit more feminen than most chaps. He has pure white hair, and wears round, pitch-black glasses.
He's still trying to figure out what to do with The Ash, a large expanse of wastelands covered in piles and piles of ash which tend to migrate about. It has recently been added to the lands of Putrefaction (just after September gained marquesship). So far, he has only thought of running part of the Pwyll Express through it. He insists he'll find more uses for it, but no one really minds either way.
There, that's enough for now. I'll put some in later, perhaps.