Hydra Clan Laws

Hydra Clan Improvements:21 AU

1. Childern Centers are to be constructed in every Major city of the Hydra Clan, these are to act as hospitals for the people of the clan specializing in medicine for infants and young childern.

2. All mothers and exspecting mothers of the Hydra clan are required to take classes in Child Rearing and Healing. Lessons are to be given twice a week in the Childern centers.

3. Use of the Childern centers for babysitting purposes is strictlly forbidden without the permission of the Mayor of an individual city. Of if there is no mayor then that cities eldest working judge.

4. Starting this year all citizens over the age of 17 are to be married. Any couple which marries this year will recive 5000 stenis.

5. After this year all couples must be married by their 18th birthday or a match maker will be assigned to find thme a husband or wife by their 20th birthday. Those not complying with this law will be fined 10,000 stenis for each year they remian without a spouse. Exemptions are to be given rarely and only by a judge from that town and must be signed by the clan leader or his proxy.

6. Inquisitor Javier has been charged with hunting down corruption in the tax system of the hydra clan. One week amensty was given, all other people found to be guilty of embazzlement are to be treated as Hertics as lieing is against the edicts of our Lord Zutiv.

7. All adult citizens of the Hydra Clan under the age of 35 are required to learn healing to a professional level. Classes will be offered from the Childern centers. All adult male Hydras are required to know how to use one weapon at atleast professional level.

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The Ten Commandments

1. Thou shalt not worship any god but our Lord Zutiv.

2. Thou shalt always speak truthfully to your Clan Cheiftain, your high Priest, or any of their representatives.

3. Thou shalt not steal, in particular from thy Clan, for theft from the Clan harms your entire people and is frowned upon in the eyes of Zutiv.

4. Thou shalt not murder, nor lift a hand against any fellow Hydran or Firan, save in self defense.

5. Honor the priests of the True Temple, for they are your connection to God and the holy conduits of his word.

6. Honor thy Mother and thy Father, learn their traditions and keep them strong. Husbands, follow thy father's example and govern with a firm but fair hand, wives honor thy husband's words and keep to your duties.

7. Make daily visits to the True Temple at sunset to honor our God for all that is good and to divest yourself of all sin and contamination accumlated throught the day.

8. Know where you stand in Zutiv's eyes and Hydran society. Honor your betters, respect your peers and care for those less fortunate than yourself.

9. Take the law of the True Temple, the Hydra Clan and your Clan Leader into your heart and mind. Know and understand all that is expected of you.

10. We serve the Clan and the True Temple, and in doing so better ourselves. Look to your High Priest and Clan Leader for moral guidance.

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Clan Laws Hydra Clan Specifics:

Killing: If a Firan has killed someone due to adequate provocation or some sort of mitigating circumstance, the accused will be found guilty or innocent by the clan leader. In the clans of the Gold Dragon, the Hydra and the Griffon, the clan leader will also determine the penalty for the accused.

Looting: The clans of the Hydra and the Gold Dragon consider the crime to be one of disrespect to the dead, and deal with the matter harshly or lightly depending upon the circumstances.

Rape: The clan of the Hydra punishes rape by death, but does not find it to be a crime unless the woman was under 35 years of age, married, and brutality was present.

Child Abuse: It is not a crime in the Hydra clan. The clan considers children to be in the absolute authority of their parents until they are married, and will not step in to interfere "with the family unit".

Tax Evasion: The clans of the Bear, Hydra, Gold Dragon and Cockatrice punish the guilty with imprisonment at the complete discretion of the clan leader.

Elder Abuse: The clans of the Hydra, Gold Dragon, Bear, Griffon, Ticanee and Cockatrice require that children support their elderly parents, and thus, if an old person is found begging on the street, it is considered to be elder abuse on the part of that old person's children. However, in the clans of the Gold Dragon and Hydra, the physical abuse of any elderly person also constitutes this crime.

Gambling: This is only a crime for members of the clan of the Hydra. Belik and Elianos have agreed that Belik may punish his clan members for gambling anywhere, and may punish members of other clans for gambling within the Hydra district, but that if the gambling took place anywhere in the city of Anarinuell (including the Hydra district), the punishment could only be a fine.

Prostitution: This profession is legal in all clans of the Republic, except for the Hydra. The clan of the Hydra punishes both the patrons and the prostitutes by imprisonment.

Conscription: The clan of the Hydra requires military service of all of its men.

Insubordination: The traditional punishment in the clan of the Hydra and the Gold Dragon is imprisonment until a public and appropriate appology is given.

False Worship: This is only a crime in the clans of the Gold Dragon and Hydra and is punishable by 'conversion' or banishment.

Marriage: The clan of the Hydra and the Gold Dragon only recognize marriages that are performed by a priest of Zutiv.

Divorce: Other recent movements include the Hydra and Gold Dragon initiatives to outlaw divorce, however as it stands now: This is done when a couple returns their necklaces to the Priest. Both the husband and wife must bring their necklace to the priest.

Child Custody: In the Hydra and Gold Dragon Clans, the father is the supreme authority over the children and the clan leader will only deprive a father of custody if he is imprisoned, impoverished, or otherwise deplorably unfit. Even if a father is deprived of custody, the children will more frequently be awarded into the custody of the nearest living male relative instead of the mother.

Property Division: In the clans of the Gold Dragon and Hydra all property belonging to the wife becomes the property of the husband upon marriage. If the couple divorces and the fault for the divorce can be laid at the feet of the husband, he must give his wife half of everything he owns. If the couple divorces and the fault for the divorce can be laid at the feet of the wife, she leaves the marriage penniless.

Kidnapping: The Hydra and Gold Dragon clans consider it to only be so if violence was used to effect the abduction.

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Judgments:

7-31-25: From this day forward, in order to better combat the Shamibelian menace, military service is now required of all males Hydran from the age of 14 on to the age of 20. The first two years of this service will be spent as a guard in their city, afterwards they will be allocated to whichever branch of the military that their commanders feel they are best suited for. All males currently between the ages of 14 and 16 have until September First in the year 25 A.U. to come forward voluntarily, after which they will be subject to a fine of no less than 10,000 stenis and will face the possiblity of additional service being required of them.

10-11-21: From this day forward killing a cow still capable of producing milk will be held an offense against the Hydra Clan, due to the need of milk. Should the cow be needed for it's food value Hydra Clan officals are hereby instructed to offer it's 4/5s of it's weight in wheat and 1/10th of it's wieght in cheese in exchange for the animal. Killing a bull, an ox, or a cow no longer able to make milk will not be considered an offense.

3-19-29: Hydra Law has long been based upon the laws of the true temple and the moral law demanded of us by Zutiv. As such, in order to streamline and provide a bulwark to the authority of the priests of His temple, I am naming Father Javier, Corunos and Piarres judges, that they may make legal rulings in regard to their work for the one true god.

2-7-34: The present position of the Hydra Clan military in regards to arms and armor includes the following assertions: First, that wooden swords are toys, not a warrior's true tools, and as such have no restrictions on acquisition. Second, that Republic issued arms and armor are and have always been the direct property of the Republic. This means that they are not a warrior's own tools, and as such have no restrictions on acquisition. The Hydran Regency does not expect there will be incidents arising from unauthorized access to the Palace District Armory.

2-7-34: In order to encourage men of the Hydra to acquire their tools of war in a traditional way, Hydra military command is ordered to draft and enact plans to modify the Clan's recruit training and boot camp so that new trainees have the opportunity to 'liberate' their arms and armor during their months of drill and instruction. Anyone who is not in boot camp should not be attempting to alter the location and dispensation of Hydra Clan military property and will face strict penalty for doing so, up to and including official banishment from service in the regular infantry forces and punitive assignment in the support services. Anyone currently possessing arms and armor that wishes to give them up to reacquire in the traditional way is directed to contact their direct Captain, who will organize a means of doing so for his interested subordinates.

9-7-33: Pursuant to the Hydran self-sufficiency directive all Hydra landowners in the Anarinuell area are expected to permit the foraging and harvest of useful materials on their land by any fellow Hydra, as well as renting unused fields without compensation if the products are used for the Clan's needs. If a landowner wishes a plot to be exempt he must obtain a writ of permission from Lord Regent Aldrikos. Parties outside the Hydra Clan wishing to aid the effort may do so under the direct supervision of no fewer than two Hydra Clan members, or if given direct permission from any noble or local aquisition captain (ooc: i.e. the "absorption brigade").

7-30-35: From this day forward, any Hydrans found guilty of corruption and theft from the clan shall be sentence to death by starvation before the eyes of their community on the Stone of Redemption. The man's property and women shall be taken in accordance with the Warrior Code. Should a man confess before his arrest, his life and women shall be spared and he may resume his status as a citizen under the guidance of the True Temple. Let the Warriors provide Justice and the Temple provide Mercy.

8-19-36: Henceforth, let it be known that it is forbidden in the Clan of the Hydra for a noble to adopt a commoner. Let each live in his natural place as decreed by his blood and Zutiv's will.

5-4-40: Any Hydra found from this point forward involved with a gambling poker deck will face four days upon the Rock of Redemption, three lashes of the whip and a 100,000 fine per offense.

4-22-40: I hereby announce that from May 1st until May 19th shall be held as a Hydran holiday period until perpetuity to be known as the Belik Festivals.

2-23-41: The Hydran throne will no longer sort marriage disputes between non-nobles within our clan. Should a warrior feel the need to complain about his lot and his future wife or lack thereof, he is welcome to be lashed five times and if he survives approach the Clan Leader. Or he may go before Lord Judge Osirus who I imagine will be less forgiving. The Hydra Clan will no longer tolerate displeasure with the marital lot that Zutiv has given each and every one of us. (see also Rodellos 5-6-29: The next person in the hydra clan to mention the word marriage to me or to pester me with issues of courtship will be fined one million stenis, stocked and publicly flogged until unconscious. This edict stands for one month.)

3-15-41: Time has passed and wounds heal; therefore, I find it necessary to once again permit the adoption of children to noble families without title inheritence.  All adoptions should be cleared through clan leadership first.  Children adopted in this fashion will be held to the strictest of our clan standards.

(no date): No woman may carry weapons. Possession of weapons by a woman, either of the Hydra clan or simply within the bounds of the Hydra Clan district, shall be considered possession of contraband and a fine of 150K levied for each infraction.

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Warrior Code Excerpts:

1. So it is that a woman must never touch his armor or armaments, for women are a reminder of his dead self, and threaten to pull both halves of him into oblivion. If such touching occurs, his weapons and armor are cursed and ritually unclean until they can be purified in a temple and even then some superstitious men worry.

2. A Hydran man is forbidden foods made with grain, for cereals are the feed of livestock and slaves. As a free man, he will eat meat and vegetables. Fruit and spirits with their corrupting sweetness, are to be saved only for holidays.

3. Sneakiness pursued for personal ends is a sin, but in war it is no vice. It is strategy. So it is that Hydran men do not buy their weapons and armor, but steal them. If caught stealing weapons, they are to be whipped for being a poor strategist.

4. No Hydran man may consider himself a true warrior until he has a son.

5. A Hydran does not show his wealth and endeavors to dress and behave as his fellows do. Should a Hydran man flaunt his wealth, four or more Hydran warriors may call for a purging of his sin, and together beat him, raid his home, and have his wife.

6. Hydran men shun warm clothing in winter, for the icy air on their skin makes them used to deprivation and pain and will make them better warriors.

7. When a man's child disobeys him, whether boy or girl, he must send the child into a dangerous situation. If the child lives, the parent may accept them back into the family, stronger for the experience. If the child dies, the family honor is restored.

8. Hydran women are entitled to give challenges to men to test their battle courage. If the man refuses or fails this challenge, he must live in dishonor for a year's time and live as a beggar. If the man succeeds at this challenge, then the woman's life is his to take.

9. Until a Hydran girl becomes a woman it is her role to help harden the boys. She is to taunt them, fight them, humiliate them, and hurt them without consequence from adults, for a Hydran boy must learn to master women and himself before he can be a man.

10. A Hydran man does not weep, cry out in pain, or complain about privations. He will not seek glory or promotion, but accept it only grudgingly if offered. And if a Hydran man should die in battle, then his name along with the three things he would like to be remembered for, shall be carved into a plaque in the temple. A Hydran woman may have her name remembered in such a way if she dies after having produced three sons.


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Lord Zutiv's Laws

You have been shown one possible path for the Firan People, travelling upon this road. You have been shown the hatred in people's hearts, the loves that motivate them, the secrets they have harbored, the rumors that swirl and how they respond under pressure. You have seen your leadership tested, your fears realized, your weaknesses and strengths revealed. Is it all true or a matter of perspective? Do you know? Does it matter? It is shown to you as what might happen if you continue. It is not a guarantee, but a warning. One leader was too ambitious, another too trusting, another too weak, another inattentive, another too aloof, another filled with hubris, another too filled with pride, another filled with envy and another filled with hatred.

Unity Hall is Sacred. No Clan Leader may be harmed or put in fear for his or her life going to or coming from it. Gathering in council is holy. As in the old days, no weapons are allowed, and prayers must be said before and after each meeting.

If two Clan Leaders disagree on a matter that is irreconcilable, they may together choose to duel or declare another contest, not necessarily to the death. The defeated one will concede the point of the victor. Champions may be appointed.

You must become heroes yourselves, not perpetually wait for heroes to come.

Death of the Soul will be sanctioned if a religious council approves it, otherwise you risk my wrath.

In any conflict, quarter may be asked for. It is not required that it be granted, but it is greatly to be preferred that it be. If quarter is asked for and granted, the one spared will owe a life-debt; whatever grievance brought about the conflict may not be pursued further by the life-endebted one, lest they forsake all honor and face divine judgment.

You will respect traditions, such as that no two clan leaders should be married to one another whilst they both rule and so that festival peace is kept, and that those who wear the medallions are not sacrosanct, but are to be respected.

If you knowingly leave a child with no parents, you will adopt it and be responsible for its care.

No Firan Clans may war with each other until proper diplomatic negotiations and sanctions have been attempted and an official declaration of war is made.

Each clan must have its own separate ruler. Dividing your time between peoples leaves each the poorer. If ye should build an empire, do it by building alliances or taking cities and lands. those who are favored are not invincible and will only be saved, if at all, so many times.

Oaths shall not be used as a frivolous tool and will be treated with due gravity.

Those who worship the dark one should not be slain for that alone, but shown the error of their ways.

Let the people discuss yus interpret these commandments.