The City-State of Teris
*Racial Breakdown*: 100% Hobling
*Major Industries*: Agriculture, Trade
*Military*: Minimal land force called Sheriffs
*Government*: Democracy/Meritocracy
*Current Ruler*: Mayor Brindin Fizzelwhip
*Population*: 35,000
*Capital City*: Teris
Teris is a fairly large city surrounded on all sides by lush farmland. The city itself is always chaotic, but crime is rare, and violent crime almost unheard of. Teris is held together mainly by Hobling camaraderie. The rich farmlands surrounding Teris are worked entirely by Hoblings, and produce some of the highest-quality crops in the world. The region is particularly known for its premium pipe-weed.
Trade with other nations is good, but emissaries around the world are always trying to increase this trade. Although Teris is not particularly wealthy, it has many sought-after exports. The economy is completely dependent on trade with Tiefanue, and to a lesser extent, to Felnir and Duvain.
Religion
Teris has no official church, and there is no majority religion practiced by its citizens. As a race, Hoblings aren't strict practitioners of religion. As a result, Teris is liberally dotted with a wide variety of churches for light or neutral gods. Since Hoblings are usually good people and Teris is heavily influenced by Tiefanue, public churches to dark gods do not exist. Tiefanue missionaries are frequently sent to Teris to preach Church of Light doctrine. Although these priests are received gladly, they rarely stay for long.
Societal Values
Marriage between Hoblings is not as common as it is between Humans or Elves. Hoblings rarely wish to dedicate themselves to anything forever. Although children are precious to Hoblings, pregnancy does not necessitate marriage. The father of a child is pressured by society to help with the raising of the child, but not into marriage. Younger Hoblings see marriage as a commitment to share all the joys in life with their partner. However, young Hoblings rarely marry. Marriage is much more common amongst elder Hoblings.
Marriage rituals are intensely personal, and vary from union to union. The only constant is the marriage feast, which typically lasts a minimum of one full day. Everyone the couple has ever known is invited to this feast.
One trait of Hoblings that all other races find surprising about them, is their ideas about thievery. Most races consider Hoblings to be nothing but thieves. But to most Hoblings, being called a thief is one of the most grave of insults. This mainly stems from the country outside of Teris. There, if one person is lacking in something they need or want, they merely need to ask one of their neighbors or friends for assistance, and it is given quite freely. So to steal from your neighbors is not necessary at all, and worse, it is seen as completely underhanded. One who would do that, is considered quite an evil person by those around them and is then outcast since they did not live well within the society.
In the city, this idea has been lessened a lot, due to the chaotic life there. But is still there to an extent. So to call someone a thief in Teris, is still rather insulting, but sometimes for a different reason. It could also mean that the Hobling got caught 'borrowing', and so is not as skilled as he or she should be. So in this case, it is a derogatory term, but only in the way calling someone lower class or inept.
Language
Hoblings don't really have a language of their own. They have a dialect of common, which is very similar to Tiefanue's. When the Hoblings first emerged in Maud'Madir, they spoke a mix of Dwarven and Elven. Since then, they have interacted mainly with Humans, and slowly converted over to Common.
Trade
Teris is a state which most other countries actually have very little trade, with the exception being Tiefanue because of the close distance between those two nations. However, this is not because Teris' goods are in some way bad. It is usually because of the outlook most races have on Hoblings. Teris does have a few excellent goods, which even the most stubborn races may grudgingly admit are some of the best in Maud'Madir. Here is a list of the common exports of Teris, and some information on each:
Pipe-weed
The one the Hoblings are most famous for is their pipe-weed. Hailed by all races to be the finest on the continent. Generally, this commodity is very expensive, and is readily paid for by all consumers. Most of the pipe-weed exported is bought by Tiefanue nobility and the remaining is usually purchased by Duvain, who then trade it with almost all other countries around the world. Though there is always a decent shipment of pipe-weed presented to the Alpha of Felnir every year.
Grain and Food stuffs
Most Hoblings living around Teris are farmers, and grow a variety of food products. Of these products, most are of good quality and during good growing seasons, some of the food is exported for average prices. Tiefanue is the major consumer of these products, but some find their way to Duvain and a few other countries. Often, there is trade in food stuffs between Teris and Felnir, especially when one of the states has had a bad season, and is in need.
As well, the Hoblings are known for their ingenuity with food, and have many specialty items which no other race creates. This is especially true with sweets. Many of these are traded with Tiefanue and it is common to find a Hobling-made dessert at the end of most Tifanue noble's meals. These are mainly traded with Tiefanue, only because the items tend not to stay fresh long enough to ship elsewhere. Though it is not too uncommon to see some shipments to Felnir as well, and some sweets are always included in the yearly gift to the Alpha of Felnir.
Toys and Art
Teris is very famous for its toys and art. The Hoblings having a passion for the joys in life, they tend to create excellent items to enjoy. Though the art especially is not liked by all races, due to the style and subjects used. Since the Hoblings love bright and wondrous things, the art tends to flow along the same lines, as well as the toys. Again, Tiefanue tends to trade for these products the most, but they are rivaled a little by Felnir, and Duvain. Along with the pipe-weed and some sweets, a gift of some of the best toys are sent for the Alpha of Felnir's children every year.
One notable part of these kinds of trade, is that there is a market for some of these products to the Kingdom of Gerdain. Especially some of the artwork. Though this trade is sporadic, and tends to not be in great quantities.
Small Devices and Alchemy
The Hoblings also have some trade between nations of some small mechanical devices, such as traps, and alchemy tools. These products are fairly well recognized as well made, but are not a major export, since the demand is small.
Alchemy is also a small export, since there are a few special ingredients found around Teris that don't grow in many other places. Mostly, these ingredients are shipped rather than the final alchemy, but some prepared alchemy is also traded. These products are mainly traded with Tiefanue and Duvain, but the devices and tools are also exchanged with Gerdain on a fairly regular basis.
Clothing and Fabric
Often hailed as some of the most gaudy and ugly materials and colours, the actual quality of these products is quite good. However, not all of the clothing is of this type. Most is rather average, they are just famous for their outlandish ones. It is also seen that the formal wear is usually very bright and cheerful, which many races don't like.
Trade with fabrics is usually done with Tiefanue, Felnir, and Duvain. Though it is not a very large trade between these countries. A large number of the exports of fabric actually get purchased by some of the Ajaunti clans. Usually the clans will come to a Teris whenever they are in the area and trade for many things, especially the fabrics. Most of the time, the visit from the Ajaunti will turn into a festival.
Ale and Liquor
One of the major products that the Hoblings make is their own alcohol. As with most races, they greatly enjoy their own concoctions. One of the common ideals behind their creations is that no one batch should taste the same as any other batch. As this doesn't really appeal to many other people, their alcohol doesn't get exported much. However, that which does get exported usually ends up in Felnir and Duvain. A little gets taken to Tiefanue but, not too much, since the cost of it makes it available to mainly nobles, and they tend not to like the idea of a surprising taste.
As for the imports which Teris bring in, here is a list and information on the more prevalent ones:
Food Stuffs
Though the areas surrounding Teris usually deliver enough food for the Hoblings, there are many items which they do not, or cannot make for themselves. A fairly major one is beef, and other types of animal meat from large species, which Hoblings would not have the facilities to house or deal with.
Often the Hoblings will ship in simple food stuffs like grains, fruits and vegetables, combine them in weird and wonderful fashions, and export them as their specialty foods. Also, it is quite easy to find a year in Teris when the supplies of simple foods have run low enough to need more, simply because of the Hoblings' appetite and love of making new things. So that most of their food will be turned into specialties, and very little will be left to actually feed the populus.
Metals and Precious Stones
There is a very large market in Teris for metals, gemstones, and just about any other shiny substance. It is very uncommon to find a mine run by Hoblings, and so there is very little of these commodities available locally. This is a major import from Tiefanue. It is also brought in from Duvain, but not as often, since Tiefanue has less shipping and so may sell to the Hoblings for cheaper.
The lack of these items in Teris also leads to a great love of Mountain Dwarven traders. Teris often attempts to promote more trade with Gerdain simply because Dwarven-made metals and jewels are always much better quality than those brought in from Tiefanue. Usually when a Dwarven trader does come to Teris, the trading done almost always brings these commodities into Teris, and usually for fairly extravagant prices.
Leather and furs
Because Hoblings are not hunters by nature, they tend to require imports of furs. Also, leather is imported, since the main source of it, cattle, is not readily available in Teris. So it is very common to find large shipments of leather and furs to Teris, mainly originating from Tiefanue. Though it is not uncommon to find more exotic furs sold by Felnir traders for high prices.
Spices
The love of creation, and of wondrous things, leads to many strange concoctions. So it is a passion of Hoblings to have as many ingredients as possible, in case they are 'needed'. So any and all spices around the world are desired by the Hoblings of Teris. These are mainly supplied by Duvain, since they have access to most of the Kingdoms of the world. But, again, Tiefanue does supply Teris with quite a few that they cannot make.
Politics
Most races would think that there would be little to no political system within Teris. That is hardly the case. In fact, the system created by the Hoblings is one which is fairly complex, but works well within the state. This system was first made when the Grey Elves showed the early Hoblings a method of self-government. The government, over time, eventually evolved into the system the Hoblings have today.
The head of all the government in Teris is the Mayor. The mayor is elected by the people of Teris during the Election Fair, an annual holiday set up so the population had the time to actually vote. During this fair, a large booth is set up with a very large chalkboard and a few officiating Hoblings. These officiating Hoblings are Head Sheriffs from the surrounding areas. As soon as the fair starts, these Head Sheriffs, who are called Judges during the fair, stand inside the booth and chalk up the number of votes for each of the runners for mayor. This is done by the judges simply pointing at people who line up to vote, who, in turn, yell the name of who they're voting for.
At sunset, the votes are looked over by the judges, and the winner is decided. The winner gets up on a stage in the main square of Teris, and asks once again for those who voted for this contestant to raise their hands. If the final tally matches up, that new mayor is announced to the crowd and speeches are given. Surprisingly enough, there has yet to be a discrepancy between the tally yelled at them during the day and the hands raised at sunset. Usually, this is because the Hoblings see the winner of the tally, and tend to just vote for him when asked to from the judges on the stage. So the action of raising hands is a ceremonial action.
The Mayor's first duty is to declare the next day to be a holiday as well, and he or she then spends the night and next day shaking just about everyone's hand in Teris. (This duty was actually first created by the current Mayor, Brindin Fizzelwhip, in what most Hoblings consider the greatest political idea ever. As such, he's won 3 elections in a row.)
The major duty of the mayor is to select people to be his council members. Beyond that, the mayor is basically a figurehead. He or she will attend all the necessary public functions, but does not do much else. Although the mayor has veto power over any decisions made by the council or any of its members, that power is very rarely used.
The council retain semi-permanent positions. The incoming mayor will sometimes select new council members, or create new council positions for friends, but the major positions are held by fairly competent Hoblings. This is because very few other Hoblings want the responsibilities associated with council positions. As a result, if someone asks for the position, they are usually granted it.
Although the council could seem a little unwieldy, especially after a few elections, private meetings are usually held to discuss important matters. General assemblies happen from time to time, but these are usually held to bore the new council members into not wanting to do much more on the council. This was not always done, but it became necessary as a means of accomplishing any goals.
The major positions on the council are: Head of Trade, Head of Justice, Festival and Fair Organizer, Supreme Head Sheriff, and the Ambassador Dispatcher. Each title is fairly self-explanatory, and each council person usually has a few underlings to assist in their work.
The Head of Trade often works with Ambassador Dispatcher in dealing with other nations. Governing trade negotiations, monitoring exports and imports, and any other trade-related concerns are dealt with by the Trade council-person. This position usually has many underlings, whose main purpose is the field work involved. Messengers, special Sheriffs, and a few diplomats are employed by the Head of Trade. The special Sheriff's main duty is to check imports and exports for illegal wares.
The Ambassador Dispatcher maintains communication with Ambassadors, supplying them official orders, papers, and anything else they request. This position has a few clerks and such within its employ. The Ambassador Dispatcher deals with each of the other council members and delivers orders from them to the Ambassadors. This is most commonly done with the Head of Trade since there are not usually any issues with the other major positions on an international level.
The Head of Justice is responsible for creating new laws and amending old ones. This is done usually with the assistance of the Supreme Head Sheriff in the form of recommendations. The Head of Justice usually has a few Hoblings employed as clerks and advisors.
The Supreme Head Sheriff is the council member who deals with the enforcing of the law and all the duties associated with law enforcement. Sheriffs are the general law enforcement officers, similar to guards found in most of Tiefanue's cities. However, Sheriffs rarely have any training aside from a familiarity with the laws of Teris.
Above the Sheriffs are the Head Sheriffs. Their job is to preside over trials as judges. Head Sheriffs are often retired Sheriffs who were considered good at their jobs. These Head Sheriffs preside over a geographical region within the City-State of Teris.
All Head Sheriffs and Sheriffs answer to the Supreme Head Sheriff. The Supreme Head Sheriff may also be called upon by a Head Sheriff to give a judgment on a case which he or she could not decide on.
The Festival and Fair Organizer is a position not found within many other governments, but the Hoblings consider it to be a very necessary function. The job of the Festival and Fair Organizer is rather obvious, and tends to be the most work-heavy position of the entire council. Because of the heavy workload, the title is usually held by a different Hobling each year. It is considered one of the greatest titles in Teris, especially if the events that year were considered to be excellent. This position is also the most variable in many ways. The number of people working with this changes with each Organizer, as well as how many fairs are held each year. Although some fairs are mandatory, such as Finder's Day and the Spring Festival, any other fair held throughout the year is organized at the preogative of the Festival and Fair Organizer. Fairs and Festivals are held for almost any reason, and are commonly city-wide in scope.
From the descriptions above, most people might consider the Hobling political structure to be fairly organized. This is true, despite what the other races think of Hoblings. The structure works well with the Hobling race, since there are very few individuals who would care to spend all their days doing such work, and so very few actually do.
The downside to this is that the city tends to run itself. Yes, the council-people can sway the course of events, but it is mainly societal values which run the city. So the internally minded council members tend simply to express the voice of the people officially.
Teris is run by people in the background, while the rest simply go about their business as usual. It is not strictly ordered, but there exists an order behind all actions. The political system in Teris works for Hoblings at the moment, but in my opinion, a strong event which strikes at the political structure will crush it completely.
The city of Teris is lucky that no one cares enough to lash out at the great Hobling homeland.
Essay by Tunny Weatherby entitled, "The Political System of Teris in a Nutshell", 1998.
Relations with other races and states
Hoblings are very friendly, and tend to just have good relations with all races. Hoblings tend to treat the other races well, despite what sort of reaction they get. Here is a more specific description of their relations with other races.
Humans
Generally, relations with humans are rather good. Humans find the Hoblings to be 'quaint', or at least amusing. Usually, they find even the wandering Hoblings less annoying than do many of the other races. However, being one of the most diverse races on Maud'Madir, humans have varying opinions of Hoblings.
Most Human countries either have good or neutral relations with Teris. Tiefanue is allied with Teris, and much trade is done between them. This situation is similar with Duvain, but the trade is on a lesser scale. Berphaunt is basically neutral with Teris, and has very little trade, but this is mainly because of Teris' relations with Tiefanue.
Orcs
One of the few races that Hoblings do not have very good relations with are the Orcs. The violent nature of Orcs clashes harshly with the peace-loving ways of the Hoblings. Generally, as long as Hoblings stay out of the way, Orcs them. However, it would be more likely for the Orcs to simply slaughter Hoblings than to try to deal with them.
This opinion is the same for Clan Sprawn. That state doesn't bother with Teris, unless confronted with it. When brought up, Sprawn will usually just disregard Teris as weak and useless.
Ogres
Fairly similar to Orcs, Ogres tend to ignore Hoblings, or simply pass them off as too weak to matter. There are just as many Ogres who enjoy Hoblings as a source of entertainment. They find Hoblings amusing, and tend to befriend them.
There is no state in the world made up of Ogres, but there are many tribes of them around the world. Most of the tribes treat Teris as Clan Sprawn does, or they do not deal with Teris at all.
Ice Elves
Ice Elves and Hoblings don't often interact, since the Ice Elves rarely leave their own realm. When they do meet, Ice Elves tend to ignore the Hoblings. The ways of Shiva are not taught to Hoblings, and so the Ice Elves believe they have no other reason to speak with Hoblings.
There are no real relations between Jormunger and Teris. The Ice Elves do not like the fun and free-spirited ways of the Hoblings, seeing it as utterly void of discipline, and so do not trust or like any exports of Teris.
Avians
No relations exist between Maud'Dib and Teris. Avians look down upon all races, and see Hoblings as one of the weakest of the 'lesser' races and even less deserving of respect. Hoblings are generally ignored by Avians, until such time as they become too annoying or 'inconvenient', in which case they can be dealt with by any means, since they are believed to be worthless.
Savar
Of all the races on Maud'Madir, Hoblings get along best with the Savar. Most other races find the inquisitiveness of the Hoblings annoying, but the Savar have a similar curiosity. Because of the great relations between Hoblings and Savar, the states of each also get along well. There is much trade between Felnir and Teris, and there are great relations between the Mayor and his Council, and the Alpha of Felnir. As told in the trade, there are a many gifts given between the two leaders.
Dwarves
All Hoblings are taught when they are very young of their history and their relation to Dwarves. Hoblings consider Dwarves to be like cousins to them, and treat them as such. Relations between these two races are usually good, but like just about every other race, Dwarves can find Hoblings annoying. As a result, prolonged interactions seldom last without incident.
Teris and Gerdain are on good terms, but are not often in contact. Trade exists between the two states because the goods produced by the Dwarves in high demand in Teris.
Fae
Hoblings are often fascinated by Fae, identifying with the completely free-spirited attitude of that race. They enjoy being around Fae, but even Hoblings find their lifestyle to be too much after a while. So most Fae and Hoblings get along well, but eventually part when the Hoblings have had enough or simply grow old and die within the lives of the Fae.
Melinda and Teris have little interaction, mainly because of the incredible distance separating them. The only trade done between them is with Duvain as a middleman, since they have the ships to transport the goods.
High Elves
Often these two races get along, but not on a full level. For the most part, High Elves are simply diplomatic enough to tolerate Hoblings, and then simply move on with their lives when they can get rid of the Hoblings. As with all races there are exceptions, but these are mostly found between the more stable Hoblings and the Elves instead of the wandering curious Hoblings.
Suvant had very few relations with Teris, and very little trade, since few Hobling goods were not seen as having any value. The only exceptions were the culinary products and herbs not to be found around Suvant.
Stone Elves
Seen as sober and boring by most Hoblings, Stone Elves are rarely friends of Hoblings. It is not uncommon to see Hoblings teasing Stone Elves about their lack of emotion, but that is about the only interaction between the two races.
Wild Elves
These two races rarely interact, and when in proximity, Wild Elves simply ignore Hoblings. Wild Elves believe Hoblings are useless. Most Hoblings simply shrug this off and move on to more interesting things.
Dark Elves
Dark Elves generally ignore Hoblings. When required to deal with them, most Dark Elves find it easiest to diplomatically send them on their way. However, it is not uncommon for Dark Elves to try to dispose of Hoblings with violence, but this is not as sure a method since Hoblings have an uncanny knack at avoiding or escaping such situations.
Teris and Antioch have no relations to speak of. The Dark Elves have no desire for anything the Hoblings make and even less inclination to deal with them, so they are completely separate states.
Ajaunti
Hoblings and Ajaunti get along well together. The Ajaunti usually make a point of showing up in Teris during some of the larger festivals to take part in the fun, and are generally welcomed with open arms. Although there are many Hoblings who mistrust the wanderers, even these ones enjoy trade with the Ajaunti. Many items are traded between these two, and when trade slows down, the Ajaunti simply pack up and move on.
Teris has no official stance on the Ajaunti, mainly to avoid problems with Tiefanue.
Grey Elves
Of all the races on Maud'Madir, Hoblings were one of the only ones to have any contact with the Grey Elves, although not in person. They once communicated through rare messages.
In their youth, Hoblings are taught their history, and so all Hoblings know of Grey Elves, and of the time when they were under their protection. Each year, a small gift of sweets and toys is sent to the Grey Elves. No one knows what is done with this gift, or where it actually goes, but it is sent each year religiously.
The Hoblings don't advertise their slight connection to the Grey Elves, and when it has come up while talking to other races and states, it is usually passed off as 'Hobling prattle'. No other races believe or care about what relations Teris may or may not have with the Grey Elves.
