15 What I learned about Slavery

The next morning I woke up with a slight headache. Groaning I realized that even though this was a fantasy work I still had to endure a fucking hangover.

Maybe it would have been better to make a dwarf. In all stories, dwarfs are drunkards and must surely have developed a Hangover Resistance. Shit, why didn't I do that!

Going down to have breakfast, which fortunately was something like bacon and scrambled eggs, so perfect for a hangover. With each bite of bacon and eggs, I could feel the pounding lessen.

So after a while, I began thinking about what I learned about Slavery from Theodore.

Like I expected the most typical way someone became a slave was either because of a crime or because of wars. There were other things like families selling someone into slavery or children born to slaves would automatically become slaves themselves.

Most empires forbid the enslaving of people on their territory without a base. This, of course, didn't mean that there were no raiders who would enslave people in one country and then sell them in another empire. Especially if those empires or countries were on bad terms. There are also some Empires or tribes which would enslave everyone, not of their own race.

So it was extremely important to learn about an empire or county, or tribe when you go traveling. Otherwise, you could end up enslaved on their border.

There were mainly three ways of how people were enslaved.

The most common was with the slave collar. This was basically a magical item which bound the wearer to the master. The effect the collar had, was to give the Master a feeling to where the slave is. It would also cause the wearer pain should he attack the master. The last effect was that, if the wearer kills the master the collar would also kill the slave. So it wasn't like you got a completely obedient person or someone who needed to listen to all commands. If you treated a slave too badly there was a good chance he would kill you just to end his misery. This is also the reason why most slaves would still be treated relatively fair.

The second way of enslaving was through a tattoo. This was a more expensive option that allowed the master to not only gain the same benefits as the collar but it could also be enchanted to make the slave have a chosen emotion towards the master. This was mostly used by the rich and powerful because for one, it was extremely expensive to find a person capable of enchanting in such a high level, and on the other side because it was a way to make sure people were loyal to you. Most personal guards or maids of Kings or high-profit merchants were required to have this slave mark. Due to it being a Tattoo it could be placed anywhere on the body, this made it possible to not be seen as a slave and therefore be looked down upon.

The last option was the Soul branding. This type of Slavery was forbidden in almost all empires because it apparently went against the will of the gods to bind a soul to another. Through the soul branding, you would, in fact, become a puppet for the Master. He can influence everything from your emotions, feelings, even your character. People who got found using this kind of enslavement were usually hunted down by everyone and tortured to death in the name of appealing to the gods.

There was a whole Guild only for the workings of slavery. Like most other guilds they had branches in all bigger cities and each slave and master was registered. Should you be found without registration you would be punished.

The registration of slaves though was largely dependent on the empire or tribe governing the city and not on a fixed regulation for the whole guild. Once you became a slave, there was no way to redeem yourself. Of course, people could break the collars or tattoos with magic but should you be found out, you would be enslaved yourself. And slaves found in freedom without a master would be taken back to the Slavers Guild and then sold to the Empires and Tribes for hard labor.

The prices of slaves could vary from some gold up to platinum coins. It mostly depended on the place the slaves were sold and the supply and demand. Slaves with special Classes or high-level Classes as well as Slaves which were regarded as extremely beautiful would, of course, cost more than an untrained slave. Prices were not fixed by the guild but decided by each slave merchant themselves. Oftentimes the especially valuable slaves would only be sold through auctions and not in daily business.

Slave merchants often had bigger compounds were they trained their slaves in specialties so that they could be sold for a higher price than a slave who was basically just a regular person without experience. A highly trained slave was normally not sold under a few platinum coins while untrained or sick slaves could go for a few silver coins. Highly trained combat slaves or courtesans were usually the most pricey.

Theodore also told me that Adalas was a good place to find better slaves for less money. That is because it was a free city not ruled by an empire or tribe and was therefore seen as a transfer point which granted it a higher supply. Of course, the really good slaves could only be found in the monthly auction here in Adalas and without at least 20 Platinum coins there was not even a reason to join the Auction.

This information was good and bad for me. On one side I could probably buy an untrained slave for a few gold coins. While on the other hand, I had no chance to buy myself someone powerfull and just let them do the work. At least it would be easier to form a team with slaves who weren't yet fixated on one class and I could work with them to build a perfect set up.