Factions
The
Ghost Hunters’ Union
Ghost Hunters consider themselves the 'good guys', but the bar for Miridon has been set pretty low.
As
ghosts ravaged the land, there seemed like little hope as humanity retreated to
domes in the far north. As the ghosts gained in power, it seemed certain that
the world was to be destroyed. To the benefit of mankind, a man named Warren invented a type of
bullet that could capture a ghost by trapping its spirit in a labyrinth inside
the bullet. These puzzle bullets were the only thing capable of stopping the
ghosts, and Warren together with several of his
most trusted allies with whom he confided the secrets of ghost bullet creation
became the founding members of the Ghost Hunters’ Union.
The
Ghost Hunters’ Union was a great blessing to
the people of Miridon as they began to take back the lost land from the ghosts.
The ghosts were forced back to the southern hemisphere, back to where the
ghosts were so strong that even ghost hunters dare not venture. The towns
bordering the ghost territory became known as Outer Rim towns. These towns that
would normally eat any foreigner would welcome any ghost hunter and his or her
companions with open arms. The GHU law was very clear on this matter:
1. Outer rim towns will reserve a
permanent room for any ghost hunter in their town.
2. Ghost hunters in resident would
fight off any ghosts that attack the town.
3. Should any ghost hunter die while
in residence of the town, that town is blacklisted and no ghost hunter will
ever visit the town again (effectively sentencing the town to death by ghosts).
The
Empire
In
the far north, several towns banded together to form an empire. The empire is
led by the emperor, a man who owned many elephants when Miridon first fell into
the sun and gained great strength by consuming them and using them to buy
forces. The emperor is considered the strongest person in the entirety of
Miridon, and eats to his full almost every day. Rumors have it that the emperor
is even strong enough to lift the whole planet of Miridon above his head,
should he have something to stand on and the ability to grasp the planet.
The
empire has strict laws, many of which have a punishment that the criminal will
be eaten by the arresting officer (with sufficient portions given to the
emperor and other government officials). Because of this fact, the strong
standing military of the Empire is known as the homicide division. These
individuals form the strongest military force on Miridon, due to the massive
amounts of food that they eat. Because of their vigilance, crime is very rare
in the empire due to fear of death.
The
empire also maintains the only non-food currency in the world. The currency is
known as pounds, and each pound corresponds to one pound of meat to be
exchanged at the imperial banks.
Despite
the empire covering the northern part of the globe, they still suffer from
ghost attacks occasionally, thus they formed the Imperial Order of Ghost
Hunters. The IOGH is a division of the Ghost Hunters’ Union
focused solely on protecting the empire. All IOGH members are part of both the
empire and the GHU. IOGH members must follow imperial law, however, and can be
executed should the empire convince the IOGH that they committed a crime via a
fair trial. Should a ghost hunter die of mysterious causes, this is generally
considered a grave offense which the homicide division investigates with the utmost
priority.
The Empire vs. The Outer Rim
While
the empire and the outer rim both have draconian laws, a commoner can be
relatively safe in both of the locations. Here is a quick comparison of the
societies:
| Empire | Outer RimTown |
Gaining
Citizenship | Anybody can
join the empire if they are approved by the immigration offices, but
immigration is difficult unless the person is a ghost hunter or in the
company of one | It is almost
impossible to join a town after it is created |
Punishment
for Minor Crimes | A strict fine
of imperial pounds is placed on the citizen, failure to pay is a major crime | The townie is
banished from the town, no longer considered a citizen and forced to wander
the outer rim, likely to his or her death |
Punishment
for Major Crimes | The
individual is killed and eaten | The townie is
killed and eaten |
Sharing of
food | Taxes of food
must by paid to the government | Food is
shared among the townies with a greater portion going to the town’s
protectors |
Ghost hunter
treatment | IOGH Ghost
hunters are provided a stipend of pounds for killing ghosts and are
considered citizens | Ghost hunters
and their companions are provided with a place to stay and security |
Military
Force | The Homicide
division can defeat pretty much any other military force in the world | Each town has
several protectors that are very strong and protect the citizens for a larger
share of the food |
Treatment of
Outsiders | If a person
is not a citizen of the empire, they are killed on sight and eaten when
within imperial territory (past the immigration offices) | If a person
is not a townie, they are killed on sight and eaten, unless the person is a
ghost hunter or in the company of one |
The
Caravans
Small
groups of traveling individuals generally try to stick together on Miridon as
that significantly increases their chances of survival or significantly greater
then, with only the cost of sharing food. These groups are generally known as
caravans. There are generally two types of such people: those that are not
traveling with a ghost hunter and those that are.
If
a caravan does not have a ghost hunter among them, it is generally because they
have not been able to apply to be a town protected by the GHU or they are
remnants of a blacklisted town. In either case, they are constantly fleeing from
ghosts and other towns. These caravans generally seek GHU protection, but if
they are blacklisted, then they generally head to the empire for a small chance
of protection.
If a caravan does have
a ghost hunter among them, then they are considered bodyguards of the ghost
hunter. In return, the ghost hunter will kill any ghosts that attack the
caravan. These caravans are accepted into towns (as temporary guests) and can
quite easily become citizens of the empire. Should the ghost hunter fall in
battle, the caravan is treated just like a town that lost its ghost hunter, and
all members of the caravan are treated as blacklisted members of towns, and
cannot have a ghost hunter guard them. In this case, they become like the
aforementioned caravans.
The Church of Spiritualism
The Church of Spiritualism argues that if we do exactly what the ghosts tell us to, they will leave us alone... and they are actually kind of right. The Church is one of the only large organized religions in Miridon, as most religious people are seen as crazed ghost worshipers and promptly wiped out. The Church of Spiritualism IS made up of crazed ghost worshipers, so maybe they have good cause to. The Church follows the god-ghosts Angela and Issur, god-ghosts of physical and mental protection. The Church fought with the Ghost Hunters to get Angela's soul in a massive war, which ended with Warren putting the
The Renegades
Renegades think that they are the only ones who see Ghost Hunters as the non-perfect entities which they truly are. They consider the 'system' broken, and in need of a fix. Because they hate the Ghost Hunters so much, they consider anything the Ghost Hunters do either pure evil or hypocritical. So they practice slavery, ghost possession, and many other acts which the Ghost Hunters forbid (for good reasons), along with welcoming all who are turned away from other factions and forgive transgressions. They are almost anarchistic, but they do have a meritocracy based on how many Ghost Hunter badges collected. The long time leader, Silicia the Bounty Hunter, holds the record of 53 Ghost Hunter badges, and seldom gives orders, but keeps some order in the Renegades.
The Horde
The horde is a band of raiders that ride from town to town, attempting to destroy the town and loot the riches of the town. The sheer size of the horde is cause for concern, as they have joined together to better face enemies. The size of the horde is impressive, but most large cities are too strong to need to worry about an onslaught of the horde.