Mercan
Gripped By The Musicas
"There are no monarchs within the Mercan Ariste, for what Prince could deny themselves a title as glorious as ‘King-Slayer’"
~ Mercan Ariste Phillipe Tucci
The most powerful naval force in Salt, the Mercan Ariste, or Merchant Princes, wield the might of the Iron Armada to lay claim to all that fall within the range of their cannons. Every Mercan dreams of attaining Princedom, or at the very least finding a worthy Prince to serve. Thus, youthful Mercan often set out to claim fame, fortune, and a battleship to bring to the Iron Armada in hopes of being accepted as a Mercan Ariste. The Mercan are nomadic explorers that dominate the waters of the Nairi and Imiri Oceans. They make for shrewd traders, persuasive diplomats, and daring pirates that are a welcome addition to any Adventuring Company.
Attribute Changes
The Mercan Birthrite grants a +2 Skill Attribute Bonus.
The Mercan Ariste are famed as daredevils, explorers, and pilots. A natural litheness and limberness of frame are shared among the Mercan. Mercan is also renowned for their skill at sleight of hand and thievery.
The Mercan Birthrite grants a -1 Power Attribute Penalty.
The Mercan often live on a lean diet of tropical fruits and seafood. This, paired with the crowded living spaces of the Armada, has promoted a slender physique among the Mercan public.
The Mercan Birthrite grants a choice:
+1 Will Attribute Bonus
-or-
+1 Charm Attribute Bonus
The Mercan is greatly motivated by treasure. They are skilled appraisers with a high degree of naturalistic intelligence. Moreover, their keen perceptions and passionate expressions make the Mercan fit as charming influencers and talented negotiators.
The Mercan Birthrite grants a choice:
-1 Focus Attribute Bonus
-or-
-1 Grit Attribute Bonus
The Mercan often fall victim to their delusions of grandeur and lose sight of the task at hand when tempted with thoughts about the big picture. In addition, the cramped living conditions and small body frames of the Mercan can make them prone to illness and fatigue.
Class Abilities
The Mercan Birthrite grants a choice:
Acrobatics
-or-
Tact
Your choice applies as an additional selection to your Studious Tenderfoot Class Feature.
Access to Resources
A Mercan that lives within the Iron Armada has very little that they could want that they do not have access to. The Mercan are born on a vessel under a Prince’s claim and are typically given access to all within their Prince’s domain. The exception, of course, being a Prince that has broken off from the greater Iron Armada to seek fame and fortune at the cost of access to the Armada’s resources. These voyages can take years, even decades, before a Prince returns to the fleet.
Beliefs
The Mercan believe that a life worth living is rewarded with Famosa and Fortunata, often collectively called the Musicas. Famosa is the belief in the power of fame in all of its forms. Mercan is known to do anything for the sake of renown or notoriety. In the mind of a Mercan, if they have never heard of you, then you must not be worth talking about. Without a reputation that proceeds them, a Mercan will never be able to assemble a crew to serve in their honor.
Fortunata is the belief in reward, treasure, or prosperity. While valuable treasures are included, Fortunata can refer to any material power. A mighty ship, a rare resource, and a cache of wealth are all required for a claim of Princedom. The Mercan believe that you are only as good as your last result, and as such, falls from grace are socially catastrophic for the Mercan. Princes that lose their reputations or holdings often take their own lives to avoid the disgrace of a mutiny.
Climate
The Mercan are rarely tied to a single Climate. The Iron Armada has free reign over the bulk of the Nairi and Imiri Oceans. If the weather does not suit a Prince’s tastes, they relocate elsewhere. A Mercan typically prefers the warm tropical waters along the Longtooth Coastline, the Inkar Islands, and the Bellezza Incagliata. However, those areas are often heavily contested with Requiem, Axis, and the Bulleteaters.
Education
The Mercan that are born within the protection of the Iron Armada receive an ironclad education in the matters of combat, research, and skill. They are regaled with the glories of former and current Princes and told that if they try hard enough, they too could one day become a Prince. Mercan born at sea out do not have the same access to education as those within the Armada. However, they do receive hands-on instruction in navigation, trade, and sailing. A Mercan is well-traveled and worldly compared to the other Birthrites, with a deep appreciation and craving for all things ‘exotic’.
Fashion
A Mercan is often at the forefront of the world’s fashion trends. Mercan often scoff that Requiem is just playing catch up, despite being the center for fashion production. Mercan wears tight, form-fitting clothing ideal for maneuvering the confines of a crowded vessel. Mercan clothing is often water-proof and hydrodynamic for better performance while swimming. A typical Mercan outfit would consist of well-oiled leather boots, clothing made of water-resistant, exotic, breathable fabrics, a highly ornate but functional explorer’s vest with pockets, latches, and tassels, typically paired with an eye, face, or head covering.
Geographical Origin
The Mercan usually stay within a day’s journey of the main fleet of the Iron Armada. The fleet itself is a roaming nation of warships that comb the Nairi and Imiri Oceans with impunity. Mercan often clash with other groups on the open waters, but for any naval force to attempt to face the full might of the Iron Armada would be suicide. The Mercan are also fond of private islands, seeking out a small, tucked-away plot of land in the middle of an ocean to set up their small princedom.
Goals
The Mercan spend their lives gripped by the Musicas, Famosa, and Fortunata, and it guides them every decision in life. Every choice is made in the quest to acquire fame or fortune, notoriety or wealth, renown or resource.
Grooming
The Mercan have impeccable grooming habits. They keep a clean ship and expect each other to maintain a high standard of dress. The Mercan hold the superstition that if you look disheveled when you die, your spirit will be poorly dressed for eternity. Truly tragic.
Habits
The Mercan are meticulous about their appearance. A Mercan will often adorn themselves in objects indicating places they have been, people they have met, or honors they have obtained. The more trinkets and symbols of acclaim the Mercan can fit on their clothing, the more prestigious and grandiose their claim. Mercan Ariste are often inundated in countless treasures, trinkets, and notions of regard. Mercan can be pretty meticulous when it comes to making a deal. They will typically follow the strict enforcement of any contracts and agreements, as Mercan that fall through on their contracts take a hit to their reputation.
History
The history of the Mercan is one of dauntless exploration. Finding the harsh Frontierland, or as they call it, the Hardlands, unbearable, the early Mercan instead found solace in the high waters of the Imiri Ocean.
The Mercan found success in each other.
They bound their ships together to form an interconnected Armada that defeated every vessel and Great Ocean Beast that it encountered. The maintenance and upkeep of the Iron Armada became critical to the Mercan way of life. Young Mercan would venture out in search of a new battleship, crew, and fortune to bring home to support the claim of the fleet. They returned with ships, riches, and proof of their daring adventures and dangerous encounters, garnering great fame and loyalty from their people.
The Merchant Princes, or Mercan Ariste, came into power, commanding further still for Mercan to bring new battleships into the fold of the Iron Armada. Those that were successful were granted a status of a Prince for as long as they maintained sovereignty over their vessel within the fleet. The Iron Armada, with a fiercely contested naval superiority over the Nairi and Imiri Oceans, pioneered the Black Iron Airships naval warships affixed with magnetic plates lined through the base of their hulls. These warships were launched entirely airborne by releasing a heavy polarized cloud of Iron Dust, reflecting from the magnetic plates and propelling the vessel skyward.
The naval superiority of the Mercan Ariste quickly transferred into aerial supremacy, with the massive, heavily armored Black Iron Airships all but immune to the small cannons of lesser aircraft. Consistent successes over open waters often made the Mercan a significant problem for larger organizations, such as the Axian Corporations and the Empire of Armistice. The achievements of the Mercan birthed multiple plots against them. The most famous of which is the sabotage of the star of the Armada, a Mercan Ariste Battleship called the Bellezza. Iron Dust Flight proved to be unwieldy; Axian Insurgents severely damaged the Bellezza's mechanism. The resulting sabotage ended in the Bellezza colliding with an island mountainside surrounded by a tropical jungle.
With the hull of the Bellezza wrecked but the cannons, cargo, and living quarters unscathed, the first proper Mercan city took root as the Bellezza Incagliata, the island fortress. The City of Pirates.
Language
The Mercan language is floral and expressive in its delivery. Some Mercan Poets have found success in the artistic circles typically dominated by Requis Creatives and Axian Celebrities. Naming conventions of the Mercan generally are tied to one’s naval service. When born, Mercan parents will grant their child a given name, usually chosen for its aural aesthetics. A Mercan in service to a Prince will also have a Mated Name, with alternate prepositions followed by the name of the Vessel they serve. Mercan actively serving onboard their Prince’s battleship assume the preposition “Vir,” meaning “in active service to.” Those currently off-ship acting on behalf of their Prince takes the preposition “Ost,” meaning “on behalf of.” Those currently off-ship seeking safe passage home adopt the preposition “Aun,” meaning “in search of.”
Politics
The Mercan are governed by two(2) conceptual pillars, power and popularity. A Prince retains their status by having a positive reputation among their crew and by having the firepower to exert their authority. A Mercan comes into power by bringing their battleship into the Iron Armada. The Princes will often challenge an aspiring Prince to test their skills as a merchant, captain, and pirate. If they succeed, a new Mercan Ariste is crowned and accepted into the Iron Armada.
Profession
Mercan have long served in roles such as fisherman, traders, sailors, pirates, and navigators. Their innate openness to danger and daring feats make them ideal members of an Adventuring Company. Many Mercan will journey to the Hardlands to procure the resources, wealth, or fame required to acquire a crew and a battleship to return to the Fleet.
Relationships
Mercan relationships are fiery and passionate, with a significant focus on the maintenance of respect and dignity. Reputation is of utmost importance to the Mercan and will make or break most relationships. If a Parent, Child, Sibling, or Partner, loses respect for another, it can have life-long impacts on their relationship. As a result, Mercan are prone to getting involved in overtly dramatic whirlwind romances characterized by love triangles, public declarations, and displays of affection. Just as passionately as they start, Mercan breakups are explosive, characterized by shouting, throwing of breakable objects, and the eventual tearful, lustful mending of the relationship.
Religion
Faith can be a standard part of a Mercan’s life. Their embrace for excitement and fame make them ideal converts to the Galvanique Sect. At the same time, life on High Waters leaves open skies with starry nights, ideal for a Traveler of the Divine Eyes.
Social Caste
There aren’t what one could exactly call social castes in Mercan society. While the Princes are at the top, everyone on a Mercan Ariste ship is subject to their rule. Princes may afford favored crewmates additional privileges, but nothing has codified been into law or is definitive of their social structure. Many Princes will designate a representative to act on their behalf in affairs beneath the Prince's stature. These representatives, called the Mano v'Ariste, have full authority and power and are often the most trusted crew members.
Traditions
The Mercan have a handful of unique traditions that set them apart from other Birthrites in Quantum State. By the age of Twenty(20), the Mercan send their youth on a rite of passage, the Avventurarsi, in which they must travel the Hardlands in search of something of use to return to the Iron Armada. The average Mercan will return with tiny treasures, trinkets, or a clutch of resources to offer a Prince as a tribute to join their crew. Exceptional Mercan will attempt to obtain their battleship and staff to make their bid for Princedom. The Mercan also demand aspiring Princes a testament of their glory. To be accepted as a Prince, a Mercan will be granted a task of great importance to carry out on behalf of the Iron Armada. The applicant will carry out this mission with only their ship, crew, and personal resources and receive no assistance from the Iron Armada. Their acceptance into the league of Princes hinges on the success of this mission.
Values
The Mercan have core values that promote worldliness, beauty, and rarity. Mercan are incredibly interested in objects from far-away locations. They often keep a small personal clutch of trinkets and memories from their travels abroad. Mercan believe something is inherently more valuable if it is exotic. Mercan Ariste are some of Salt's premier practitioners of creative patronage. Many artists and inventors dream that their work would catch the eye of a wealthy Prince, trading an easy life for renderings of their greatness. The Mercan think it is essential to wear their wealth on display. The more famous, rich, or renowned a Mercan is, the more refined their clothing, the more ornate their jewelry, and the more exotic their tastes. Mercan Ariste often wear so much gold and jewelry that it practically serves as an armored coat of protection.
Vices
The Mercan can embrace their hedonistic and indulgent sides with relative frequency. They are not shy around new experiences, and that extends to food, intimacy, and drugs. The Mercan mantra is "Try everything once, twice if you like it"
Wealth
Mercan often share the wealth of their haul with the entirety of their ship while collecting the most choice pieces for themselves. Few Mercan find themselves in poverty, with Prince's often doling out rewards and bonuses to incentivize and promote loyalty through the crew. A Prince will find themselves relieved of their post if they don't keep the ship's coffers stuffed.