TFT snippet #6

So , we have a revolt being run by Host veterans. "Good" host veterans will be accepted back. Peasants will be able to feed themselves. Commerce will break down to what warlords can scrap together to keep themselves and their minions fed and warm. We haven't seen any priests drawn and quartered yet. Will humane local priests survive? Will a large number of peasants tell COGA to shove it? Will Host POWs want to bring in the Church of Charis?
Who will own things? Will religious tolerance include atheists and agnostics? Will we see socialistic or communistic political entities come into existence? How are propertied South Harchongians received when they try to come in to make some money? What happens to property? This is gonna be a fun ride! Thank you RFC!!

Neither did I.


My point was that I read it like the second fire was set thousands of (yards, oops) feet from the river for the simple reason that setting it too close runs the risk of it burning out before the spear gets there, or burning out enough that they could risk riding through it if they know the river is there.

Funny thing, the nobility will likely beg the church for aid saying it was their jihad that spark this rebellion. Guess what the force most freely available. The army of God they forbid from returning and highly sympathetic to the serfs.

I can see it being sent in later as a peace keeping force if the empire collapses.

EdThomas wrote:So , we have a revolt being run by Host veterans. "Good" host veterans will be accepted back. Peasants will be able to feed themselves. Commerce will break down to what warlords can scrap together to keep themselves and their minions fed and warm. We haven't seen any priests drawn and quartered yet. Will humane local priests survive? Will a large number of peasants tell COGA to shove it? Will Host POWs want to bring in the Church of Charis?
Who will own things? Will religious tolerance include atheists and agnostics? Will we see socialistic or communistic political entities come into existence? How are propertied South Harchongians received when they try to come in to make some money? What happens to property? This is gonna be a fun ride! Thank you RFC!!

It does tell you about a certain priest that was sent to give an account to God.

EdThomas wrote:So , we have a revolt being run by Host veterans. "Good" host veterans will be accepted back. Peasants will be able to feed themselves. Commerce will break down to what warlords can scrap together to keep themselves and their minions fed and warm. We haven't seen any priests drawn and quartered yet. Will humane local priests survive? Will a large number of peasants tell COGA to shove it? Will Host POWs want to bring in the Church of Charis?
Who will own things? Will religious tolerance include atheists and agnostics? Will we see socialistic or communistic political entities come into existence? How are propertied South Harchongians received when they try to come in to make some money? What happens to property? This is gonna be a fun ride! Thank you RFC!!

According to the earlier books, it was the Church's authority that propped up the aristos. However it also mentions that even the serfs and peasants are heavily loyal to the COGA.

Of course the Inquisition's power has been broken outside of Harchong and even there, there would be no more directives or support from Zion, sooo, interesting times indeed for Harchong.

shayvaan wrote:According to the earlier books, it was the Church's authority that propped up the aristos. However it also mentions that even the serfs and peasants are heavily loyal to the COGA.

Of course the Inquisition's power has been broken outside of Harchong and even there, there would be no more directives or support from Zion, sooo, interesting times indeed for Harchong.

And we're also told this information by the same Inquisition that Grand Inquisitor who were SURE than Harchong would be more reliable than any other nation on Safehold. This despite that it was obvious (to me at least) is that the only reason Harchong was "loyal" was because the Church spent so much money there.

So I always wondered how loyal the serfs REALLY were. Especially after we're told the draconian measures Harchong goes to to prevent serf uprisings and still puts down such uprisings on a semi-regular basis.

I wonder if this books is going to focus mostly on Harchong melting down.

It appears that North Harchong is going down the crapper. That the Empire will have moved its Capitol south to Howard where attitudes are more liberal. South Harchong where the merchant families counterbalance the bureaucracy and the aristocracy more effectively. Those families appear to be the drivers of whatever liberalism exists in Harchong. The same families that understand best just how wealthy Charisian innovations can make not only them but everyone in Harchong.

The question of the Northern Rebellion may well boil down to just how much damage is the Empire willing to take to promote aristocratic prerogatives?

evilauthor wrote:

shayvaan wrote:According to the earlier books, it was the Church's authority that propped up the aristos. However it also mentions that even the serfs and peasants are heavily loyal to the COGA.

Of course the Inquisition's power has been broken outside of Harchong and even there, there would be no more directives or support from Zion, sooo, interesting times indeed for Harchong.

And we're also told this information by the same Inquisition that Grand Inquisitor who were SURE than Harchong would be more reliable than any other nation on Safehold. This despite that it was obvious (to me at least) is that the only reason Harchong was "loyal" was because the Church spent so much money there.

So I always wondered how loyal the serfs REALLY were. Especially after we're told the draconian measures Harchong goes to to prevent serf uprisings and still puts down such uprisings on a semi-regular basis.

I wonder if this books is going to focus mostly on Harchong melting down.

Readers will note, For What It's Worth, that Harchong has a far more serious problem with slave revolts than did the American South and tries to be even more barbaric in its treatment of slaves and serfs. The level of slave abuse sounds to be truly remarkable.

Readers will note, For What It's Worth, that Harchong has a far more serious problem with slave revolts than did the American South and tries to be even more barbaric in its treatment of slaves and serfs. The level of slave abuse sounds to be truly remarkable.

It also seems that a far greater percentage of the population of north Harchong is slaves and serfs than the American South. Also, with serfs, they tend to be tied to the land, unlike slaves, which can be sold off freely. American Southern slaves could be sold at will, which broke up a lot of family groups and kin relationships. This means that any group uprising has to be done on the basis of friendship or mutual goals.

I would expect that Harchong serfs are allowed to stick together in family groups more often than slaves are. That means when the serfs get run to the ground, it's a whole community of closely related blood with long-term relationships that's being pushed to the limit- so, when they rise, I expect they rise together with all the fury of a volcano.

Tararoys wrote:

Readers will note, For What It's Worth, that Harchong has a far more serious problem with slave revolts than did the American South and tries to be even more barbaric in its treatment of slaves and serfs. The level of slave abuse sounds to be truly remarkable.

It also seems that a far greater percentage of the population of north Harchong is slaves and serfs than the American South. Also, with serfs, they tend to be tied to the land, unlike slaves, which can be sold off freely. American Southern slaves could be sold at will, which broke up a lot of family groups and kin relationships. This means that any group uprising has to be done on the basis of friendship or mutual goals.

I would expect that Harchong serfs are allowed to stick together in family groups more often than slaves are. That means when the serfs get run to the ground, it's a whole community of closely related blood with long-term relationships that's being pushed to the limit- so, when they rise, I expect they rise together with all the fury of a volcano.

Possibly a percentage of the population, but it's also possibly on population density. It's easier for a small number of physically-close disaffected people to make their dissatisfaction known than it is for a large number of geographically dispersed people. For that matter, given the top-heavy nature of Harchong society I wouldn't be surprised to find there are freeman who are considered little better than serfs by their 'betters' who wouldn't be willing to join right in (qualification: not surprised they'd join if provided they exist, in Harchong there may well be no 'free peasant' caste).

Actually, I think comparisons to American's institution of slavery may be...ill-considered. There was a lot of racism built into that institution that seem lacking in Harchong (discrimination in great quantities, yes; racism, not as much); also different societies, internal technology, and value of life (a slave was a considerable economic investment in America, and that doesn't seem the case in Harchong). Also a standing specialized force to deal with rebellions/ensure place of the peasantry (the Spears).