Goëtia

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Community of Goëtia
Flag of Goëtia
Flag
Coat of Arms of Goëtia
Coat of Arms
Motto: Allow Yourself to be Yourself
Anthem: [shouting and cheering for a few minutes]
Location of Goëtia
Map versions 16.3.2. - present
Capital Gathering Place
Official language(s) Common
Official religion(s) Demon worship
Demonym Goëtic
 - Adjective Goëtian
Government Association of auto-cephalous communes
 - International Master Demonist Lukas
 - President Alfred Priestly
 - Legislature Conference of Cycle Families
Establishment 6886 ASC/1661 AN (14 June, 2018)
Area unknown
Population 36,576 (simulated)
Active population 1 active citizen
Currency None (barter system)
Natopian natopo (international trade)
Calendar
Time zone(s) CMT-9, CMT-10
Mains electricity
Driving side
Track gauge
National website
National forum Discord
National animal
National food Venison tartare
National drink Honey bark wine
National tree Populus alba (White poplar)
Abbreviation GOE

The Community of Goëtia is a nation of demon-worshipers. The community once lived secretly in an undisclosed location. For many years they have lived undisturbed. Goëtics are from many different nations of Micras, having congregated in remote locations on Cibola to live their lives and practice their faith free from persecution. Now, however, encroaching settlements and deforestation have forced them to reveal themselves to the world. They believe their faith in the demons will one day be rewarded, and they actively seek a charismatic and powerful leader who is able to protect their way of life. After the polarizing disagreements between New and Old guard demonists, culminating in a victory for the New Guard and the execution of Kizzy Drakland the community redirected itself.

Origin

They have lived for generations hidden in wooded hinterlands, separated from the succession of nations that happen to have claims to their land. They welcome dozens of immigrants each year, who find their way to Goetia by missionaries who seek out smaller groups of persecuted demon-worshipers. It is unknown who the first Goetic settlers were but they were likely from Micras' most ancient nations. Once settled in Goetia, the Community has a strict breeding schedule required to maintain the native population of Goetics without growing too much to become noticed. The Community has few rules but those few rules are followed absolutely or offenders are cast out to the world.

Government

Every month, Goetics sojourn to Gathering Place where the International Master Demonist leads religious and community services. While at Gathering Place, the various cycle families form their annual Conference and a President is elected by the fathers and mothers of the cycle families to carry out administrative duties for that year. The first cycle families that formed the Conference were The Navigators, Cliffbase, Gateway, and The Saints.

After Master Lukas and the Gorillas NF killed the Demon Queen, Lukas began a campaign of settlement and expansion into the ruined cities of Saint-Antoine. A new and co-equal association of families was created, the Northern Coordinating Council consisting of the Crophaulers, the Troglonauts, and Gladius. The NCC meets at Meeting Place, an ad hoc capital constructed and used in the same way Gathering Place is.

The Conference of Cycle Families and the Northern Coordinating Council recognize each other as the Goetic government for the Community within the turf of the respective conference's member families. The taboos and laws of the CCF are only applicable in Gathering Place, and on the turf of Cliffbase, the Navigators, and Gateway and vice versa for the NCC and the turf of its members. As of 1680, the two councils merged into the CCF, with the NCC Families relocating to the coast of the Inner Cibolan Sea.

Head of the Community

The demon-queen's role in the Community of Goetia is nebulous and pervasive. She has no formal place within the Community's laws. As a demon-goddess with direct control over several lesser demons, her power is theoretically absolute and Goetics will no doubt do her bidding.

After the Taboo of Kizzy Drakland was passed by the Conference of Cycle Families, the demon-queen's title and role was abolished, to be replaced by a new ceremonial head of state, International Master/Mistress Demonist who will be the person who kills Kizzy Drakland and/or John Babbit.

Lukas, a member of the Gorillas NF, killed John Babbit and then Kizzy Drakland a few hours later on 14.III.1675. Thus becoming the first International Master Demonist of the Community. He and the Gorillas returned to Gathering Place for a triumphant ceremony where he was installed as the new leader of the Community. He carried with him the severed heads of John and Kizzy and held them aloft during his ceremony, proclaiming that this was the fate of anyone caught adhering to the old ways of demonism and calling for a new direction for the Community to modernize and expand as a fully sovereign state.

The International Master Demonist is the only person recognized by all families and both associations as representing the entire Community, it is the only unifying institution as most taboos are decided by each family or the CCF and NCC.

Family Associations

All registered cycle families (turfed or nomadic) in good standing may send their father/mother or road captain to the annual Conference of Cycle Families or Northern Coordinating Council, depending on physical location. Each cycle family gets one vote to elect the association's President and vote on any business. Newly formed cycle families must present themselves to the association. A majority of the association must vote to formally register and recognize any new cycle families. By custom a cycle family must have a family compound, an established and enforced set of bylaws, proven ability to control their turf, and a sufficient number of Full Members to provide for all Auxiliaries. Nomadic cycle families must have had an established and well-known reputation for patrolling a highway.

Foreign Affairs

Goetia has no formal relations with any nation. The nature of the Goetics' religion as demonists puts it at direct odds with many powerful nations. It had an informal working relationship with Drak-Modan as they shared the same goal of destroying the Old Guard demonist followers of Kizzy Drakland that infested Demonsfall during the early days of the Kalirion Fracture.

Under the new leadership of Master Lukas, the Community is embarking on a campaign of modernization and positive outreach. At a press conference announcing the "new demonism way" Lukas explained, "If Goetia and demonists are seen as active and productive members of the world community, then we won't be viewed as suspiciously as we were in the past. We have nothing to be ashamed of. If we have pride in ourselves and our faith, others will see that and respect it."

An informal working relationship once existed with Drak-Modan, but in 1680 the new ultra-conservative government there has expelled all Goetics who happen to remain in that territory.

An agreement between the Community and the Natopian colony of Waffel Plains allows free movement of Goetics through Natopian territory to the turf of the Cliffbase and Navigators in exchange for certain economic and resource rights guaranteed to Natopia and SATCo.

A resurgence of global distrust of demonists has prompted the Goetics to re-evaluate their prior mission of modernization and integration, instead choosing to focus inwards and re-commit to their way of life and religion.

Military

Goetia has no formal military, although each cycle family protects itself and its own members with small arms. Responding to Kizzy's invasion of Demonsfall, the Gorillas NF was established as a paramilitary force capable of performing very limited guerrilla operations.

Master Lukas has proposed expanding the Gorillas NF into a permanent expeditionary force, capable of securing newly abandoned settlements for valuable resources as bases for new cycle families. Master Lukas has signaled to other world leaders that Goetia is willing to enter into agreements for common defense and arms sales.

At the request of Master Lukas, The Navigators of the CCF and the Troglonauts of the NCC have both agreed to allow for the construction of ports on their turf and to become paramilitary naval forces.

Piracy

Although there was some initial investments and interest in a Goetian coast guard, the settlement of Waffel Plains negated any need for Raspur Pact states (who barely tolerated the demonists' faith) to continue their involvement with the Community. Half-built ports and a dozen or so abandoned patrol gunboats were seized by the Troglonauts and Navigators. The Troglonauts have begun piracy raids in the Inner Cibolan Sea and the Navigators have begun to raid targets in the Jasonian Sea. These acts of piracy are not acknowledged by the Community's government or Master Lukas.

Religion

Goetics interpret their religion as a rejection of how other religions deprecate the importance of the human experience. As such, many outsiders would consider the Goetics to be nothing more than hedonistic atheists. Belief in demons is fostered by each new wave of immigrants who bring new demonic stories and experiences. It is taboo to not believe a Goetic's tale of demonic possession. A recent wave of immigrants, former members of the Coven of the Sun, from Malarboria have brought fresh tales of actual demonic presence on Micras. This has sparked a revival and Goetics eagerly await new immigrants from Malarboria and the rest of the world where ever demon worship was suppressed.

Kizzy Drakland and her demonic cohort brought actual demons to Goetia. Goetics read the Grimoindr as their holy book. Kizzy's daughter, Andrea Drakland, has remained in Goetia after publicly denouncing her mother. Very few of the original demonic cohort remain in Goetia, having chosen to return "home" to Demonsfall. The demons that stayed in Goetia, plus a few new ones, will be cataloged in the New Grimoindr to be published by Andrea, and mostly consist of tricksters and the less dangerous demons.

The new position of Master Demonist replaced the demon-queen as a religious power and under his guidance, Kizzy's cult of worship has been dismantled and replaced with a more varied and nuanced attitude towards demon-worship. As of 1680, the global community still harbors distrust against the Goetics and demonists in general. Becoming disheartened, Master Lukas has begun to return to more traditional demonist beliefs during his sermons, preaching about the virtues of hedonism, self idolization, personal sacrifice to the community, polyamory, witchcraft, nature worship, naturalism, and sexual liberation.

In several sermons, Master Lukas has spoken on how, in his view, he sees the Goetia way of demon-worship as being the antithesis to the Vanic religion, which also allegedly espouses sexual liberation and celebrates sexuality. In contrast to the oppressive Vanic system which institutionalizes rape, the Goetian ways of worship are entirely democratic and built on layers and layers of conversations and consent among socially-equal participants. After the expulsion of Kizzy Drakland and the Old Guard, there is no assumption or expectation of sexual relations among practitioners of demon-worship. A growing number of Goetics identify as asexual, demisexual, or choose to worship their demons by engaging in long-term self-imposed chastity. The sexual aspects of demon-worship remain, and are still evident, but the culture has shifted towards those aspects being entirely voluntary and ancillary. Some rituals that started out as sexual practices have been so overtly ritualized that there is no sexual connotations at all and may even be performed fully clothed in public demonstrations of worship (such as ritualized flogging, binding, mesmerism, and electrosensationism).


Economy

Goods and services in the Community are exchanged with a barter and social credit system. Within one's own cycle family, one's own reputation can secure more services or goods if that individual is known to the group to contribute in some way. Every member of the family is guaranteed basic food, shelter, and clothing. Social pressure, sometimes referred to as brother- and sisterhood, to "give back" ensures that most people contribute to the family's well-being in some way by either contributing time, talents, or labor.

Trade

Trading with foreign powers is limited and almost exclusively monopolized by SATCo. Goetia uses the Natopian natopo for international trade only, and the Treasurer of the Conference of Cycle Families has emerged as a wildly wealthy individual as they control the finances of the Community. However, most Goetics do not accept currency, which limits the Treasurer's ability to embezzle funds for themselves. The Treasurer is responsible for purchasing processed foods and goods, as requested by the various families, from merchants in Waffel Plains. Goetia exports mainly gold and marble to Natopia in exchange for food and goods. Unilateral importation of luxury goods (piracy) is sometimes reported among the Navigators and Troglonauts who rationalize it as reparations for generations of mistreatment of demonists in all parts of the world.

Society

Goetics reside in smaller communities, most within a week's driving distance of the Gathering Place. Each community is predominantly single-gendered due to the old requirement of preventing unwanted population growth. Scheduled breeding was once only allowed at Gathering Place. These small communities are self-sufficient and barter with each other at Gathering Place. More recently, as the Community has spread further west, the Crophaulers group has assumed the role of middlemen, passing along goods from east and west. The western families therefore don't get to Gathering Place as often, only sending their representatives to the Conference meetings. As a result Gathering Place has begun to develop its own unique culture, and not just a temporary meeting place.

As more immigrants join these small communities, and realize how difficult life is, there is higher demand for modern amenities and luxuries, something that Goetics believe their demon messiah will bring them when their existence is acknowledged by the world community. With the arrival of Kizzy Drakland, Goetics have begun to expand beyond their small compounds, finding and repairing broken motorcycles from defunct Green nations.

The expansion of the Community to the west and Master Lukas suggesting that Goetics begin to contribute to the world economy and secure friendships has brought more trade and modern conveniences to the Community as families begin to use their turf for resource extraction, farming, industry, and other services.

Turf

Each cycle family controls the turf within the immediate vicinity of their family compounds. They are responsible for providing civic services to all residents of their turf. All cycle families are responsible for the turf around Gathering Place.

Highways

Orange: Controlled access highway system, Natopians not permitted. Purple: New highways. Blue: Natopian roads, Goetics not permitted.

Nomadic cycle families patrol the old highways between the family compounds. They make emergency repairs to the deteriorating roadways, provide roadside assistance to all travelers, and keep the roads safe. Each nomadic family patrols a single stretch of highway between two family compounds or Gathering Place or Meeting Place, referred to as a "run."

After the Reconciliation, most of the eastern Wildlands were ceded to Natopia in exchange for a perpetual promise to allow access between Gathering Place, Cliffbase, and Navigators. These original highways bisect the Natopian colony of Waffel Plains, and where crossing are needed, such as outside Navigators to connect Ayreon's Bay to Ludwig-Satyria, overpasses are contructed over the old Goetian highways.

Cycle Families

As the communes grew larger and more complex, into settlements, villages, and towns, the cycle families began to reserve important decision making to Full Members of the Family, who were eligible to hold office, were eligible to vote for fathers/mothers and other officers, pass and amend bylaws, set budgets, pass legislation, and provided general government for the Cycle Family and the family's turf. Everyone who resided within the family's turf was considered an Auxiliary member, and had no voting rights but were protected and provided civic services by the family. Some cycle families have begun to patrol the old highways, making it their responsibility to keep the highways and routes safe. Nomadic families are automatically affiliated with the clubs at each terminus of their patrol.

Demographics

The Community has a strict taboo against talking about country or national origins. No data is collected on Goetics' original nationalities. Records are kept of the number of native-born Goetics versus foreign-born.


CCF Total Population: 21,664
Native-born: 7,800
Foreign-born: 13,864

NCC Total Population: 14,912

Geography

Goetia is arranged around six family compounds that have developed into small towns. Each town is governed by a cycle family and is connected by highways. The highways are patrolled and governed by nomadic cycle families. Land outside of the family compounds and not immediately adjacent to the highways is considered wild. It is claimed by the Conference for the whole community for the sake of border security and to prevent unwanted enclaves, but the wildlands are unsettled and dangerous. It is a low priority of the Conference to begin taming these lands, choosing to focus on building the towns. Eventually the wild lands were ceded to Natopia and the Community now focuses exclusively on highways and family compounds.

Goetia could be considered in two parts, the old east and the new west. The eastern families were the original family compounds settled in 1661 and the western families are the relocated groups from the north, set up in the 1670s. The old and new families are connected via a narrow valley in the Cibolan Mountains and transport between the two is controlled by the Crophaulers DF.

Gold deposits were discovered in the west of the wildlands, and a contract was reached with SATCo to allow them to mine the gold in exchange for access to transportation off Cibola. After the execution of Kizzy, the deal with SATCo was renegotiated and now SATCo has a 50 year lease on the mines, paid to the Conference of Cycle Families in natopos. Marble and stone quarries have been discovered further west and SATCo has again been invited in to help extract the resources. Although SATCo has invested the money and logistic into building the mining and excavation infrastructure, the Gateway and Gladius families have begun working in the mines and quarries, respectively.

The family compounds and their corresponding turf surrounded by the Wildlands, before the Reconciliation.

History

Goetics were once global nomads until they found a relatively quite corner of a relatively quiet continent and settled in some Green space c. 1514. The land was ruled by a succession of nations and empires and the Goetics remained hidden in their small communes. When the land returned to the Green c. 1651, the Goetics moved in to the ruins left behind whose locations were mysteriously wiped from global maps. In 1661 the Goetics announced their presence to the world and are in the process of converting their communes into villages and towns.

The Reconciliation

On 25 Geburtsber 1679, the NCC and CCF both agreed to begin The Reconciliation. It was agreed that all Goetics would follow the New Guard ways of demon worship without exception. And in exchange, the turf of the NCC families would be abandoned in favor of more centralized and advantageous lands further east. An agreement would be reached with the Natopian colony of Waffel Plains to cede unused Wildlands and allow Cliffbase and Navigators to exist as exclaves while retaining the Right of the Run, with Goetics allowed free passage between Gathering Place, Cliffbase, and Navigators.

Proposed arrangement of turf after the Reconciliation.

Culture

Symbols

A pentagon inside a circle is a traditional symbol adopted by Goetics. A pentagon, fully enclosed and with its five vertices, represents the human form, with its five extremities (head, arms, legs). The circle is the world surrounding the individual. A single pentagon inside a circle represents the focus on the self that Goetics practice.

Calendar

Goetics use the Norton calendar. Sometimes the ASC calendar for some religious purposes, especially when discussing Cedrist demonology.

Cuisine

Relatively new to the Community, for generations Goetics survived on hunting and gathering. Goetics fermented roots, bark, and sap to create alcoholic beverages. Barbecues have caught on as popular social events that honor the primal and carnivorous needs of the early Goetics. Venison is a meat staple to the Community. Goetics have begun to expand the turf around their compounds, finding the soil very fertile for general farming, and have started simple farms with simple crops such as lettuce, peas, radishes, turnips, green beans, sweet potatoes, squash, kale, and spinach.

Goetian delicacies include venison tartare, honey bark wine, dried salmon strips.

Music

Music was considered a luxury for most of Goetian history, reserved only for religious services at Gathering Place. While Goetics lived in their family compounds, they mostly kept quiet. At Gathering Place, Goetics were able to chant, yell, scream, and sing as loudly as they wanted. Instruments were limited to whatever rare items immigrants brought with them, like guitars, or drums created with deerskin. Electronic dance music has quickly gained popularity among the younger Goetian generation. The energy is reminiscent of the wild religious services at Gathering Place.

Goetia made its Microvision debut in 1675 (2019) in Svorgas with the song "Pentagrams" by the Copyrights. Its voting procedure was conducted by surveys and polls collected from the full members of every cycle family.

Sports

Goetics enjoy various traditional sports that can be played on smaller fields (out of the need to stay hidden) or individual sports, such as badminton, lacrosse, Athlonic wrestling, archery, hiking, and bodybuilding. With the expansion of family compounds into towns and the revelation of the Community to the world, Goetics have begun to participate in modern sports such as motorcycle racing and Amorian football.

Fashion

Many Goetics wear leather clothing. Cycle families usually have a uniform, or dress code, that calls for certain articles of clothing to be worn in certain situations. For formal occasions, a full leather suit is worn. This leather suit is based off of either military, police, or highway patrol uniforms and often embellished with leather trim in the family's colors. For events and gatherings, "wearing your colors" is most common, which includes denim pants, a cotton shirt, and a leather vest.

Vests

Vests are an important article of clothing in the Community. Full Members of cycle families are able to wear large back patches of their cycle family. Members of nomadic families can wear small back patches of the cycle families on their run, plus an arm patch on their jacket. Auxiliary members often do not wear the back patch of their cycle family, or wear the Community Colors. Vests are often full of patches and pins that have been exchanged between Goetics to commemorate friendships, annual events, religious holidays, and affiliations to other organizations. Vests of distinguished members are often kept by the family after a member dies, to be kept in a safe place; or they may be donated to archives or museums as historic artifacts.

Rules

While wearing the colors of a family, or even just the Community Colors, a Goetic is expected to behave as an ambassador for that family or community. It is often written into the bylaws of a family that no member may engage in any sexual activity, hearsay, or gossip while wearing the family's colors. The bad behavior of an member while wearing colors is reflected upon the entire family, and if evidence of a member acting badly is shown to the Father or Mother of a family, that member could have their full membership revoked.