Rights of Solfrey

You are a solfrey. Solfrey rule the world, all nobles and most people of importance are solfrey. It can be thought of as an ethnicity as being solfrey is hereditary, though there are solfrey of every color and shape. It is impossible for a commoner to become a solfrey or for there to be half solfrey.

Proclamation of the Solfrey

In year 4069, the Empress proclaimed the existence of a class of people called the Solfrey. Though the exact document was lost to time, it is thought by historians that this was the direct precursor to the later "Rights of Solfrey Over Commoners" law that is still in use today, and which forms the basis of international law.

Rights of Solfrey

Started in the year 4462 but continuously amended over time, the Rights of Solfrey Over Commoners forms the basis of Kporian law that is still the most influential on the world today. It lays out the principle of Solfrey leadership over the world, the necessity of that leadership, and the duty of every one of its adherents to maintaining that leadership. Originally short, over the last 3000 years it became very long and in 6217 was revised into its present state of 3 parts. The 3 parts are a page long "Core", that is memorized by every school kid, an "Ancillary" section that is studied by most educated peoples, and an "Interpretations" that is the subject of frequent debates.

There are periods where the Rights is more or less stringent depending on the political climate at the time. Though the "Core" has not been revised since 6217, the Ancillary and Interpretations sections are currently seen as in a harsh period relative to historical trends.

Core

Solfrey leadership is a natural law that must be upheld. If not, the world would be ruined. Everyone must work together to ensure that it is. No acts are too egregious if the outcome is the preservation of the law. The Core section is largely about overarching principles, while the Ancillary section is more about the implementation details of such. That some laws such as the Right of First Refusal exists in the Core section and not the Ancillary speaks to their importance to the writers of the Rights.

Right of First Refusal

The Right of First Refusal is a practice enshrined in the "Rights of Solfrey" "core" section. It's a practice where any commoner getting married is legally obligated to first ask a nearby solfrey mage if he/she wants him first. It's expected for the solfrey to reject her, and then she can marry the person she was intended to in peace. If she's not refused, then she is obligated to become a Ji, which is a sort-of concubine but of even lower status, essentially a sex slave. Unlike a concubine whose children semi-legitimate, a Ji's child is considered to have essentially no relation and not a solfrey, just a loyalist. Unlike how such a thing was practiced IRL, ie, in ancient britain, the solfrey is not allowed to have sex with her and then give her back. He must take her as a Ji and provide for her for the rest of her life. There is the expectation though not a legal obligation that a solfrey's Ji becomes a Miya if taken this way.

• In practice most solfrey do not want to pick up Ji this way and refuse such offers. Commoners also can purchase refusals from the various solfrey that decide to offer them for money. Going to a major lord and asking for a refusal also works decently if they bother to grant you an audience. Major lords tend to not want to hear such minor things though and frequently refuse without even looking at the person.
  • However prettier boys and girls are more hesitant about presenting a Right of First Refusal traditionally and tend to purchase them out of an abundance of caution if they can afford it.
• Male commoners also ask female solfrey for a Right of First Refusal.
• The reason and justification for why this practice exists is of course, the division. During the Aegium all solfrey are passed on a magical instinctual ability to fear and feel when a union, where the two halves of a demon soul that was cleaved during the division is about to take place. A union would summon a demon, a pretty disastrous event. Just as commoners speak of a "red string of fate" that leads them to find their spouse, the other half of their demon soul, the solfrey instinct is to prevent it.
  • Most marriages are not to the other half, the other half typically is not someone local and accessible, and is frequently of the wrong age, sex, and so on. But every so often a union may happen.
  • The demon is revived during conception, meaning most sex acts or kissing etc would not revive the demon.
  • The instinct is strongest for the solfrey being presented with the Right of First Refusal.

Ancillary

Full of strictures on the forms that leadership takes. For example there are clauses about limits on Commoner wealth, titles, and positions. There are clauses about supervision, credit transfer and rewards. For example, if a Commoner writes a book, the authorship credit must be given to a supervising Solfrey and the Solfrey is legally obligated to appropriately reward the nameless Commoner for his contribution. There are clauses about education, how children must be taught about the Rights from an early age. Even peasant children or bandit orphans who are not expected to ever have any sort of other education, are taught about the Rights.

Interpretations

When the last major revision happened in 6217 it was understood by the writers that the Empire of Kpor no longer existed as an effective, law-enforcing political entity. It was more useful for the Rights to still exist as a universal principle than to be an ill-followed law held in contempt. The vast majority of rules and punishments were thus removed from the Core and Ancillary and was left up to the Kings and their various ministers to handle as they saw fit. The Interpretations became a book of recommendations, explanations for why the law was the way it was, and historical lessons chiding readers who sought deviation. Over the centuries many Great Kings sought to have their theories added to the canon of the Interpretations, and it is a mark of their influence to be able to do so. The Interpretations is now a long tome with many different viewpoints.

Though difficult, there are many active campaigns by Solfrey to remove controversial books from the canon Interpretations. It takes enormous political capital to change the Interpretations and the Great Kings are generally primarily interested in adding for their own legacies, not removing someone else's for no personal benefit. Since the Interpretations are of limitless length, most people do not see any pressing need to take up the scissor. However some campaigners are convinced that some books are actively harmful and that future generations should be saved from their influence.

With some exceptions, commoners are not allowed to read the Interpretations, its knowledge is for Solfrey only.

Controversial Interpretations

Weight Theory

Among the most controversial books are the "Weight Theory" by Dua the Third of Hepin. It is a book of population control and Dua's successful culling of Hepin's commoner population through war and economic destruction. Following a period of explosive population growth after Hepin's successful expansions and Great Peace, the Commoner to Solfrey population soared to 100 to 1, thought by all at the time to be a dangerous ratio. He advocated for the "Hepin Standard Ratio" of 10 to 1. Some critics and revisionists argue that his theory was only an insincere attempt to salvage his legacy after his disastrous administration. They say that population ratios alone does not create a risk of rebellion, and that Dua acted out of paranoia born from his self justifying and overpaid ministers. There was no actual rebellion forming. Like most books from that era, Dua's theory is largely ignored presently except by the most ardent fundamentalists. The "Hepin Standard Ratio" is seen as unnecessarily low. The underlying population issue is still taken seriously though by both policy makers and other authors in the Interpretations. Most Kings in the present day however are much more interested in the books that advocate controlling population such that commoners do not get so overweight in the first-place rather than any culling, which is seen as horribly distasteful.

Fabuwie Height Theory

Fabuwie Height Theory is a theory about limiting commoner achievements and abilities in magic. Since commoners are no worse than Solfrey in magic, this is a completely arbitrary limit that stifles human progress. Magical exploration and development among commoners should never be allowed to reach a dangerous point where it's not under the control of Solfrey. Fabuwie advocated for going around and culling the most talented commoner mages.

Mormalon Cycles Theory

Among the most controversial books are the "Cycles Theory" by Mormalon of Guixia. Mormalon's book from 5611 is the source of the "Commoner Cycles" meme that a lot of Solfrey kids joke about. Cycles Theory formalized an observation about Commoners that is pretty evident to most Solfrey, and takes it to its natural conclusion. The observation is, children of Solfrey are more loyal to Solfrey--if treated well. Henceforth called the "Loyalists", they form a third class between Solfrey and Commoners. Officially commoners, they are the children of a Solfrey and a Commoner parent. Mormalon's seminal work formalized thought on their both their production and place in society. Prior to Cycles Theory Loyalists were an embarrassment to Solfrey. Having a child with a commoner was seen as distasteful, not being able to get a real Solfrey partner. After Cycles Theory Loyalists became tools of the state. They were given an honored place in society, serving the purpose of letting the Commoner to Solfrey ratio get larger if the controlling part of the Commoners were most loyal. Though brought up among commoners, they were given preferential treatment in loans, hiring, school admissions, and so on.

The controversial part of his book is his "Cycles". Not content with the low production rate of Loyalists of his time, being from a culture which frowned upon such pregnancies, he sought to standardize the Cycles of Loyalist births such that every household has at least 1 generation of Loyalists. For example, if a household has a grandparent who's a loyalist, that grandparent will help the whole family become more loyal. In that sense, a single loyalist can support a whole family in loyalty. As that grandparent is about to die, a next generation of loyalists must be produced. Mormalon advocated for a program of mandatory loyalist production at set times in families that need it, resulting in mass single motherhood and deaths of commoner boys who are not capable of bringing a loyalist into the family.

Later implementations of Cycles theory by King Boru uses in vitro fetus modifications to either abort male fetuses or transform male fetuses into females during conception. This avoided much of the rancor caused by the initial Mormalon implementation.