[jason taylor]

Commonwealth of the Peoples of Aceri:

I have earlier wrote an essay on the nation of Stephenshold now I am writing one about the nation it's liege (the Archducca of Acer) came from.

The Aceri have a similar society to Caledonians especially Travelers in the sense that they are a trading people and prefer a decentralized society of kin-groups and guilds for much the same reason as a lot of peoples. These maintain their power by providing a morale focus for laborers as well as such things as education, political representation, care for dependents and even matchmaking. They also have parallel ideological concerns to Caledonians. The two groups were once indeed in close contact have remained in contact with each other via trade though the mainstreams of the two cultures have migrated in opposite directions through the chance of history. Like many cultures they developed in part from a nostalgic impulse to resurrect a romanticized past. In this case the colony of New Venice and hence to a romanticed Italy of city states, traders, feuds, artists, and condottieri. This nostalgia was only partly fulfilled of course and there were many other cultural sourses. In any case New Venice is extinct by now but refugees have migrated further usually by the strategy of purchasing unclaimed land in return for mounting high guard against Vargr corsairs. Their descendants adopted the name Nevites plus peculiar customs such as using Italian terms for political and social arrangements.

This particular nation began the same way. It began on the world now known as Athena/Hecate for it's strange "fog" (not the same as normal fog which are simply low altitude clouds): Athena for grayness or alternately Hecate for shadowiness. A corsair fleet dropped by a previous society and "generously" requested that the local ruler choose who among his subjects would be turned over to them as slaves. As it turned out that wasn't the brightest of ideas as the ruler ingeniously gave them a cargo hold of secret service agents with orders to find out as much as they could especially about potential allies against the corsairs; and escape and return. Unfortunately only one returned. This one had escaped from his captors and been found and befriended by a Albergho of Nevites who were interested in the tale of a populous people looking for trade, technological assistance, and a military ally. When this one agent returned with an emissary of Nevites he was as a reward, adopted into the ruler's family thus starting what is now known as The House Truant (referring to the fact of being founded by an escaped slave) which reigns now under the title of Archducca.

As time went by external and internal problems drew the consensus that a written constitution was needed. When negotiated it included an unusual quadricameral system. The Senate represents the clans or "Alberghi" and the nobility while the Tribunes represent the Councilum Civis (every voting citizen). The first is in charge of foreign policy while the second is in charge of domestic policy. The tribunes also have a veto over the Senate by having control over the Muster and the Arsenalotti (which oversees state infrastructure including munitions) as well as the traditional control over taxes. The Senate controls the budgeting of monies already taxed as well as the regular military, the foreign chancery, etc. The leader able to garner the most support in the various houses is humorously called the "brute" and chooses the Chancellors.

The third and fourth houses are the Council of Cities and the Council of Valdoges. The Cities have a collective veto over bills in the two main houses. The Valdoges represent the rural population but have a more important job which is to act as "guardians of guardians". They investigate and preside over cases involving matters that have a strong probability of trial manipulation, such as government corruption, organized crime, and espionage, sedition and treason (sedition is defined as levying private war against the law* and the second as aiding a foreign enemy in time of war).

In the meantime the Archducca is a constitutional monarch. He may be male or female unlike the Doges of cities who are usually female. Like lower nobility, he has no NECESSARY executive, judicial or legislative function and he certainly cannot deal high justice by his words. His main duties are to act as head of state and like other nobles to dispense largesse (for which he is given a subsidy and a regular audit as to effectiveness). The Constitution was rounded off with a list of fairly conventional guarantees, however uniquely a database is officially included with this to discuss in depth which precedents shall be used to interpret. In this it is different from the Caledonians who trust to the Common Law for such rather than to specific Constitutional guarantee.

The name of the Commonwealth of the Peoples of Aceri is curious. The word Aceri comes from the final ratification which took place on Maple Island a former landhold of the Archducca known for it's grove's of Terran Maples. It was signed and confirmed with three libations, one of maple flavored coffee (symbolizing masculine honor), one of Corvina (simulating feminine honor) and one of Maple Mead (simulating the Ship of State as it is used regularly to celebrate the launching of ships). The coffee was from the finest product of Motmos while the Corvina was genuine: both were purchased far in advance by the Archducca's Chamberlain and the Corvina was shipped all the way from it's original vinyards on Terra. The Oath of Acer is taken regularly by both new citizens (including minors reaching majority) and new Alberghi with the same libations (obviously with less expensive drink usually) though only new Alberghi need go to the original site. The use of Peoples instead of the more commonly used "People corporate" in the document is a recognition that most politicians misuse the term People (which implies they have unanimous support). Peoples plural, however, an archaic for "ethnicities" can be used for among other things, the state, the nation as a whole, any subgroup within, or even individual citizens who are for this purpose considered Corporation Soles. Commonwealth as a term is held to be litteral; the state is specifically charged with assisting in protecting the interests held in common by those who take the Oath of Acer and thus acknowlege those interests.

Aceri are very much a trading people. Their most noted native products are software and their highly valued crafted jewelry which sometimes price above those coming from a mine. Guarded by a powerful fleet their merchants travel far and wide. The Aceri still maintain their distant relations with Caledonia which desires their alliance for the protection of citizens outside the reach of their own resources.

The art products of Aceri are a source of pride in them. They are known for their great illuminated books which can be the work of years. Their proudest product is the Silvertongue Saga which is a nested story using the wikibook format to trace the dynasty of the heroic bard nicknamed Silvertongue and his wife Falmalire the sea-elven princess (in reality she was a girl of unknown parentage and the descendants of both are unknown and most of their life is fictionalized); onto this theme numerous substories, poems, and songs of various lengths are put to fill what is in effect a library. The work is an ongoing product of the Bardic Guild and the highest honor of a creator is to be "grafted" into the Silvertongue Saga. Silvertongue Saga is itself a graft; other settlements outside Athena/Hecate have their own portions of what is called the Talettree going back an indefinite period of time.

Another cultural peculiarity is obsession with the allegorical significance of material things, especially food and drink, which is so important that oaths are confirmed with toasts. An example is the significance of mead which is used for christening ships as well as Departure Feast (the beginning of the trading year) because of the fact that mead comes from a trading animal that lives in cities and defends it's home fiercely: the mead comes from real Terran bumblebees which are to be found on Athena/Hecate. Likewise Maple symbolizes hope because the most expensive product is tapped from trees decades old and is therefore something no planter will see in his lifetime.**

The emblem of Acer, used on flags, badges, and so forth, is a Navy blue field with a leafless Maple (taken from an ancient Vermont state quarter contributed by a Doge who was a great Numismatist) in the center surrounded by lighthouses for each city and stars representing each Albergho.

*Thus taking a letter of Marque or a mercenary ticket, pursuing a "hot trod" (a criminal within a week or so of flight outside the purview of conventional law enforcement) or attacking a wolves head are legal, engaging in vendetta against a fellow Aceri Albergho or levying armed rebelion against the Commonwealth are not.

**Technology by this time has allowed for earlier taping but the custom is to have a reserve meant for heirs and a younger trees for maintaining the first stages of an orchard.