Lands of Tyranny
Laws of the Ilthir
While each Governorship and City State would have its set of local laws, on top of the single different traditions of each Cities and even noble House, the Ilthir (ilthir) nations did adopt an code of Laws that is respected through all of the The Depths, either in the form of an official Inter-State Codex, or in the forms of Laws phrased more or less in the same way in each City State.
The lawmakers and judges are females of noble families, often low in order of birth, that are sent to finish their studies in a Tribunal or Higher School, while in the smaller provinces the role of lawkeeper and judge is often held simply by the local governor, which often is also the House Matron. Most of the smaller Tribunals will refer to a High Tribunal, that is often of inter-state composition and that will handle the most delicate or urgent cases.
Sometimes, although rarely, the authority of Judge can be delegated to a noble male too, but their role is more often the one of law enforcer and executioner
Slavery
While slaves have no rights as persons, they do actually have rights as objects, as the private property of each Ilthir is protected by laws against theft or abuse.
Each slave must be registered in person together with the owner by the local authorities (be it a Tribunal, a Governor Office, or else): a precise description of the slave as well as its purpose and main occupation, will added to the local registry and usually sent to the neighbouring regions as well, so that in case of theft or of a runaway, they will be recovered and brought back to their rightful owner, duty that usually falls in the hands of the Authority themselves as some form of 'welfare'.
Slaves are usually taxed for by the House who is in control of the region, even if the taxation is usually kept rather low so as not to cause discontent.
The possession of unregistered slaves besides an initial grace period of around one week is punished severely, often with the slave being seized by the Authorities to be either put on a public auction, or killed, with the owner receiving extra fines or more serious penalties depending on the magnitude of the violations.
The possession of particularly dangerous slaves, such as Beastkin, but even more Demons and Faefolk is regulated in a particularly strict way.
The abuse of a slave of another owner is essentially regarded as damaging the property of another Ilthir and can be severely punished with fines, public humiliations, or even severe corporal punishments and years of slave service.
Ilthir are aware of how many slaves are in their society and how dangerous revolts might be: to discourage slave revolts and conspirations to murder their own mistresses, every slave of a Household will be tortured and executed in case their mistress would be found murdered.
Raids
Any surface raid must be approved by the local Authority or in their absence by the House Matron. Penalties for this can vary greatly, often depending on the success of the raid or its potential consequences, but they can become severe, in case the raid would have turned out to be costly or potentially dangerous for the balance of the region.
Often districts, State or noble Houses may 'claim' or consider a region of the surface as their own region of influence and hunting grounds for slaves. When these claims are registered with the local authorities, other States and families hunting for slaves in these regions may often be accused of poaching and be brought in front of the local Tribunal. Or, in absence of clear claims, these matters sometimes end up settled with private agreements, or risk ending up in grudges and more open rivalries.
Laws about the Relations with other races
Forming relationships with other races is, of course, always socially condemned, but whether it is considered a crime—subject to legal judgment—depends solely on the risk of contaminating racial purity. Heterosexual intercourse between different, potentially compatible races is regarded as a crime worthy of death. It matters not whether the races involved are from the Depths or the surface; unless one belongs to a race known for infertility (e.g., the Tlatlacah), such an act is considered the ultimate sacrilege. Allowing a free surfacer inside the Depths for no specific, serious reason, is also considered a crime, though its gravity can vary greatly, but allowing them to freely live and settle in the Depths is always considered an extremely serious offense.
Surprisingly, Tlatlacah (serpentmen) are granted almost all the same rights as Ilthir, although they aren’t allowed to occupy positions of political power.
Since Tlatlacah are not Ilthir, there is nothing in the law that forbids them from worshipping their deity, as long as their sanctuaries do not 'compete' with the ones of Arachnea. Some extremists in the Church of Arachnea are of course of the opinion that there should be no sanctuaries built at all, and that the serpentmen should practice only in their own houses, or even that they do not belong at all in the Underworld. However, this position is the one of a minority of the Church, with the vast majority of Ilthir, even more so the young ones, fully accepting the Tlatlacah among them.
Being Tlatlacah known as not being fertile with any other race, there are no racial mixing laws that apply to them for very practical reasons.
Religion and purity
On top of the normal laws that every civilization has, Ilthir keep a particularly serious outlook towards what may potentially contaminate their race. Spreading of diseases or hiding the sick is considered a serious crime, and even just negligence in failing to prevent diseases to spread is usually punished. The same also goes for not denouncing those who perpetuate these crimes, or who promote or tolerate racial mixes (even between slaves and other races).
Religion and Social Stigma
While other cults are not officially sanctioned by laws, the state religion of every City State is the Church of The Weaver, and hosting a heretic or someone that openly worships another deity is considered scandalous at best, with these individuals being pushed into forced conversions, exiled, or sometimes simply conveniently made to disappear. Religious crimes though are a matter strictly pertaining the Church: it is them that will emit sentences, judgments and condemnations, seeking the approval of local authorities to do so. In the rare case where it is the local authority who has committed serious heresy, the Church -in the form of a High Priestess- may decide to excommunicate the individual, an act that will nullify any title they possess and constitutes an extreme disgrace to their person, House, and even acquaintances.
The Church or the civil authorities may also decide to keep an eye on individuals who, while not criminal or heretical, still commit acts that cast a shadow of doubt and suspicion on them, such as making frequent trips to the surface even at night.
Finally, there are these behaviors that are neither considered crimes not heresy, but that are still stigmatizing and considered as scandalous and socially unacceptable, such as having a relation with members of another race.
Authors: Rashan