Zion - Light of the New Moon: City of Bannihar
Zion - Light of the New Moon
World Information, Part 1
Bannihar, the City of the Cloudless Day
copyright 2011 comidacomida
The Good
Located to the northeast of Zion, Bannihar is geographically the closest to the holy city, though the rough roads and inconvenient mountain passes more than make up for the relative proximity. Bannihar is, by all accounts, the most impressive and visually eye-catching of all five city states, second only to Zion in size and majesty.
Known as the City of the Cloudless Day, Bannihar prides itself on its open skyline and broad city streets; each lane and avenue is well lit and free of clutter; plazas and squares are large and likewise open with ample room for sight-seers to pause and admire the city without interrupting the flow of traffic. when new construction is called for the city council will usually even the roofs of already established buildings and build smaller upper levels, giving many of the oldest buildings a 'stepped' pattern, not unlike a pyramid.
The majority of structures in Bannihar are built with a very light gray stone similar in appearance to limestone, but closer in strength to granite. The stone is quarried from the mountains and brought in large blocks to the city where it is shaped magically. Bannihar does not use masons-- all of their buildings are constructed by magically molding pieces of stone into a singular piece adding both strength and a flawless continuity to the walls. Likewise, damage to the buildings is repaired by molding new pieces of stone into the structures, thereby eliminating any imperfections. As such, all buildings are always kept in immaculate condition as repairs are done quickly and often.
Much like its architecture, the people of Bannihar are also identified by their impeccable health and hardiness. The general citizenry maintain their appearance, households, finances, wardrobes, and lifestyles to coincide with the city norm. Despite the large variety of races found within Bannihar the culture is a unified whole with very little deviation between species, social standings, occupations, and ways of life. While it is acknowledged that each person within the city is an individual, most who stay within Bannihar come to enjoy being part of the whole and, over time, assimilate into the society in a manner that compliments their own interests and drives without disrupting the whole.
In general, the average citizen of Bannihar is better off financially than those of other city states. Poverty is non-existent; anyone who is capable of work will always be able to find employment, whether trained and put into service of a guild, recruited and drilled as a soldier for the city's peace keeping force, or brought into the fold of the clergy, everyone who can serve the city does. Those who are disabled, either mentally or physically, are given the finest care the temple can provide and healed of their imperfection. Any cost involved in the care is mitigated by the temple and shared with the supplicant's family and/or paid back over time by future wages once the individual is able to contribute anew.
Bannihar's ruling body is, as with all city states, the clergy. While the priestly duties of the temple take up the majority of the day the highest ranking members of the faithful set aside the noon-day hour to monitor affairs of state. Important city matters are addressed during this time alongside issues regarding law and order. The church also has numerous administrators who are capable of overseeing the day-to-day activities within town so the high priests will still be able to focus on their duties to the goddess.
Of all five city states, Bannihar was the first to embrace Zion's call for peace. Always seeking a resolution to conflict and an end to war, the followers of the Full Moon lent their voices to the talks in an attempt to get the two centuries of fighting to come to a close. Now that the empire is once again on the brink of war there is little doubt that Bannihar will do everything within its power to maintain the peace and promote the safety of the empire.
The Bad
While Bannihar may, at first, seem like a utopia, looking deeper past its surface will reveal truths that most people would prefer to ignore or simply pretend do not exist. Isolated from most other centers of population, Bannihar is a world unto itself. Most of the populace has been brainwashed from youth into acknowledging every word from the clergy as truth. This has, on many occasion, led to priests overstepping their bounds on many levels and taking advantage fo those beneath them. In most cases this kind of activity results in swift and decisive punishment (if discovered)... but most cases are not... and a few are covered up.
Life is prosperous for most of the citizens in Bannihar, that much is true, but what very few people ever discover is that there are still a large number of destitute... they are simply controlled very well. Pay rates are well controlled so that anyone capable of working can support themselves, though the ability to work still does not guarantee a job. Those who are unable to find employment (and income) become 'wards of the church' who, in essence, are little more than indentured servants. These people end up doing menial labor for no pay in exchange for room and board and no chance of ever improving their lot. Others are drafted into Bannihar's military and become soldiers for life.
Being an individual in Bannihar is possible, though the social climate makes it very difficult. Most people choose to express their individuality in small ways that feel important to them rather than full-blown social deviance as Bannihar's society tends to reward assimilation rather than standing out. Jewelery is one socially accepted way to express oneself, and many citizens have massive collections of all kinds of body wear. Regardless, most people take great care to only have a few pieces on at once so as to avoid attracting TOO much attention.
Other kinds of 'individuality' are met with more than minor displeasure. Failure to observe quiet time during the morning and evening prayer can result in fines. Indecent activity (those things deemed against the moral code of Bannihar) in public usually result in fines and time in confinement-- this is usually reserved for non-victim based activities such as nudity (male or female), overt sexual displays (hand-holding between males and females is the maximum limit for decency in public and same-sex relationships are considered taboo), or obscenity (mild oaths may result in a warning, but curse words are treated with harshly).
Crimes involving victims in Bannihar are rare due to the penalties imposed. The general guideline for civil penalties are directly related to the crime committed. A thief will usually lose all of his or her belongings; someone committing assault will be beaten then healed then beaten again; a rapist will have their sexual organs removed and then placed into indentured service to the church; a murderer will be expelled from the city (anyone who has ever seen the lands outside of Bannihar will know that this is the worst possible punishment).
Individual freedoms within Bannihar are always subject to censure by the clergy. While all citizens are treated equal, it is not uncommon for the powers-that-be to find reasons for some individuals to be reigned in slightly. Thankfully there are few sweeping uses of this authority and it has not in any historic sense been used on a cross-section of the populace such as racism or segregation, but it is a common and popular tactic for the administrators and city guard to decrease the quality of life for someone who may be prone to 'random bouts of disruption'. This might include anything from speaking out against faith on the street to open and wanton displays of non-conformity.
In summary, while Bannihar may be a socialist city state interested in the welfare of all of its people, many could describe it as a smothering bid for control on behalf of the temple. There is a general sense of intolerance for anything that deviates from the norm and a lack of acceptance for anything or anyone that does not conform to 'the way it should be'.
The Ugly
Bannihar is more than just intolerant-- it is fanatical. There are many times in the history of the city state where the temple has decreed a person, place, or even an entire race to be 'evil' or 'of the darkness'. These witch hunts and crusades have done much to shape the world... sometimes for the better, but most often for the worse. Although the temple of healing and compassion speaks of succor and safety to all, they have a very specific view of who is included when they say 'all'. If someone starts to forget that, they have only to look at the history of the elves and the dwarves.
During the eleventh decade of the 200 year war, Bannihar's high priest reportedly received a vision about the horrors of the natural world. He had seen the signs that elven druids would curse the land with an unending blight-- all that had been green and fertile would become black and barren. The temple rose immediately in a unanimous call to arms. Word was sent out to countless townships across the empire. An envoy was dispatched to Zion with the request for permission to call a holy war against the fair folk. The request was denied immediately... but Bannihar proceeded regardless.
Although most cities took part in the genocide, Bannihar spearheaded the eradication of the elves with fervor. Their champions were gauged by the number of elves they ended-- men... women... children... it didn't matter. The crusade did not end when there was no trace of the elven people-- Bannihar's leaders pressed the matter further and ordered all Sylvan forests once thought to be elven homelands put to the torch. And so it was, over the course of nearly fifty years, that the elves were savagely torn from the world.
Bannihar points to the blight that has now taken over the lands as to the proof of their claim-- with the end of the elves the healing can begin... but it's been almost a half of a century but the expected recovery has yet to take place. According to the Banniharians, the elven magic was that powerful... but others suggest that the vision given to the high priest was not a warning against the evil of the elves but, rather, a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Worse yet is another school of thought. Some, in quiet whispers, still question whether the high priest had a vision at all. A few informed individuals knew that the high priest's daughter had forsaken the faith and betrayed his fatherly orders when she left him to live with her beloved among the elves. Could a man, even a high priest, give in to the kind of lapse of insanity required for such an act of revenge? Could the answer to that question explain why the high priest was found dead, apparently by his own hand one night after it was reported that the 'cleansing' of the lands had finally been complete?