Here is an essay I wrote for UW1 that never got published, it is incomplete, I may eventually finish the article and publish it on the Web-Site, it tries to explain Lunar attitudes to slavery, and tries to broaden our understanding of slavery in ancient society.
AN IMPERIAL ATTITUDE TO SLAVERY. Only the most foolish man would bring his enemy into his home, abuse and beat him and then entrust him with the safety of his wife and children.
WHAT ARE SLAVES FOR?
You cannot talk about imperial citizens without talking about their slaves.
Slaves are not an economic necessity, freeing citizens from the daily humdrum
of life so that they can pursue their political, military or religious
careers. In fact, the goddess teaches that all men should understand labour
and poverty, so that they can appreciate the luxury of wealth and leisure. It
is not uncommon for the wealthy dignitary to retire to his estates and work
alongside his sons gathering in the harvest or pressing his own grapes. Even
notables such as Icilius Overholy has been reported to enjoy grooming her own
mules, and Fazzur Wideread, General of the Provincial Army works alongside
his men when camps must be raised. However, the Empire is a leisured society,
where time taken up by the tasks of their profession is nothing compared to
that taken up in feasting, carousing and gossiping.
Slaves can be found hard work, within aspect of life within the Heartlands,
working in the field, in the houses and within every aspect of the Imperial
administration machine. However, they toil no harder than the freedmen and
citizens around them. With exception to the priesthood, army and government
slaves are permitted access to the same professional associations and orders,
with no stigmatisation based on social class; such is the teaching of the
Goddess. It is true that some professions are generally performed by slaves
alone, rubbish collectors, miners and prostitutes, these profession are
accessible to any citizen that so desires them, in fact some have realised
that these roles are lucrative, even enjoyable (or pleasurable) and are
willing to purchase the right to be employed in these roles. Thus, it must be
understood that slaves are not tools; they are not a cheap labour class. In
reality, they can hold lucrative and potent positions within the divine
system of the Empire.
What slaves are however is property; they are a movable, saleable commodity
that can have their ownership transferred between masters.
In the majority every citizen unless completely impoverished or a supporter
of the most disagreeable Emancipation Movement, known as the 'Unshackled
Moon' has ownership of at least one slave. An Imperial Citizen grows through
life surrounded by slaves, his wet nurse and nanny, the guards to his home,
the cooks in the kitchen and the labourer in the field. The trusted eyes of
the family retainer watches over them day and night. A slave teacher teaches
them the basics of life, history and doctrine. They are as much a part of the
warmth and homeliness of the Heartland home; they are like the hearth fire
and the oil lamp. A slave is like a shadow, without a slave, a man is
impoverished, his position within society is of the lowest order, without a
master a slave is a lost man in a world to which he does not belong. The
relationship between master and his slave is one of grateful compassion. The
slave's relationship with his master is one of loyalty; this is the only
virtue that a slave is capable of. A slave who daily proves his loyalty can
be richly rewarded and live a good life. This loyalty can extend beyond
simple human reasoning. It is like the loyalty that a soldier pledges to his
commander, it is a loyalty, which may result in death. It is common to hear
of accounts of slaves that have disguised themselves as their masters and
taken the assassin's blade, or have snatched their masters cup from his hand
and drank the poison for him.
SLAVERY AND LIBERTY.
The Goddess teaches that all you must see and understand slavery so that they
may understand liberty. In Carmania, there is a similar belief; 'You cannot
be free unless, you own slaves'. However, unlike the rigid duality of
Indovanic belief, the Goddess teaches that liberty and slavery are
opportunities that all men may experience, and that they are states that
exist at the same time within one individual. Thus every Citizen may lose
their rights of liberty and be made a slave, this is the case of the Xaroni.
However, it is also the right of every slave to have the potential to become
a free man and even a Citizen.
Slavery is part of the expansion of the Empire. As the glorious armies and
missionaries have travelled from the safety of the Glowline they have
encountered two groups of people, they are those that embrace the Empire and
those that resist the Empire. Those that embrace the Empire become our allies
and gain access to all the luxuries of civilisation; those that resist must
be defeated. Nevertheless, it is foolish to kill all of out enemies, their
land still needs correct maintenance after conquest and it needs to be filled
with loyal Lunar citizens. Thus, it is the duty of the army to take prisoners
of war. These individuals are taken far from their homelands, into the heart
of the Empire and sold for profit along with all their most treasured
possessions and plunder. Initially these former enemies are resistant to the
Lunar concepts, but soon they realise that loyalty means good food (better
than they have ever tasted), warm houses and civilised comforts. Those that
cannot contemplate these boons and still resist, may find themselves fighting
Walktapi in the arena or lining the road to Glamour, however very few
prisoners resist life and embrace death. It is common for these slaves to be
set free after ten or twenty years, becoming good and loyal Lunar citizens,
swelling the ranks of the Empire. Those freed slaves that are young enough
may father free sons, who would become full citizens. Those who are not young
enough upon their liberation, but have fathered sons while a slave at least
know that their grandchildren shall be free. It is this longing for freedom
that is so inherent in the people beyond the Glowline that makes them such
excellent slaves. It provides a means of averting slave revolts (which in
themselves can be diverted, such was the case of Beat-Pot and Jar-Eel). The
potential of eventual freedom diffuses the hatred within a slave's soul. All
good masters rightfully fear the despair and hatred of their slaves; an angry
slave may poison your household, both literally and metaphorically, causing
unrest amongst the children, workers and other slaves. It is better to reward
loyalty and treat slaves with the same respect one affords to a loyal but
skittish horse. There are those that believe that punishment, the lash and
the promise of death in the mines is sufficient to maintain their slaves
loyalty, they are usually the first to die in any slave uprising. However,
these threats are useful to maintain sharpness within the minds of the
servile.
It is traditional for a slave to purchase his own freedom, although they may
be freed at their master's whim. There is good economic grounding within
this. The cult of Etyries teaches that profit should be sought in every
aspect of daily life. Eventually slaves die, or become dependant upon the
care of their masters to live. This is costly to the master. It is far better
that a well-trained and skilled slave be allowed to offer his services to
others, to gain profit. The majority of this profit would be given to the
master, but a small amount is set aside towards purchasing their freedom,
sometimes the amount of this nest egg would exceed the price of freedom and
thus establish the freed man with a good start in life. A man who is freed
will continue with the profession that earned him his freedom. The majority
of artists within the Empire and nearly its entire order of master barbers
come from this extraction.
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