City of l'Morai

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Described in the Ravenloft product line novel Carnival of Fear. The city of l'Morai is the only specific community of significant size mentioned in the land of L'Morai (though the existence of other cities has been alluded to.) Ostensibly a highly civilized city, the collective Statutes of l'Morai are the city's laws, and they are interpreted by the Council of l'Morai[1], whom also preside over trials and other matters of law.

The city has (or formerly had) a patronage-like relationship with Carnival l'Morai, a community of circus performers and freaks that entertained the masses of the city's citizens. However, the laws of the land placed a clear separation (and segregation) of city folk and the carnival folk.

Geography

The City of l'Morai sits in Valley l'Morai[2], and the Vinrouge River runs through the city. The Council Hall, the seat of authority for the Council of l'Morai, is a massive stone construct that actually began life as a fortress guarding the bridge hanging over the liver. It predated the actual city which first sprung up as a village surrounding the fortress.[3]

The City is separated from Carnival l'Morai by a region of land without a name, referred to in Carnival of Fear as the black heath or simply the heath. It is a crime, punishable by death, for any carnival freaks or performers to move into the black heath, much less cross it into the city.[4]

Government

The City of l'Morai is, on the surface, a city of law and order. The city has a governing body and a set of laws, even going so far as to have some elements of direct democracy with its citizens settling infractions of law. In practice, the city is much less civilized than it seems. The Statutes of l'Morai are so confining that simply looking at somebody in the wrong fashion can elicit a serious charge. (All serious charges are answered with the punishment of the living death as mandated by the law.) Moreover, the collective decision making of guilt or innocence of lawbreakers relies on the emotional whims of the citizens, effectively Ochlocracy/mob rule. As citizens are called to every trial by the Chimes of l'Morai[5], citizens can serve as character witnesses and bring up charges spontaneously as they deem. Even the Council of l'Morai bows to the people's whimsy.[6]

Moreover, there is a strict delineation of rights between "citizens" (as in, residents of the city) and "freaks" (as in, residents of Carnival l'Morai.) Freaks are not recognized as people in the same way citizens are. Moreover, the Grand Charter of l'Morai forbids freaks from formally accusing citizens on their own.[7] (Of course, Marie the Blind Juggler and Morcastle the Magician showed through bringing Dominick the Butcher to court the Charter may not stop freaks from bringing citizens to trial and working up popular sentiment against them.) The reason for the deprivation of freak rights is a dark one, for the very existence of Carnival l'Morai is a conspiracy of exploitation against the Carnival's people.

The Truth Behind l'Morai

The truth is that Carnival l'Morai exists for several dark reasons benefiting the City of l'Morai. First, it exists as a dumping ground for those who violate the Statutes of l'Morai. The living death is a particularly twisted form of exile, in that a citizen so punished is transformed into a freak, stripped of their previous identity and memories, and then banished to Carnival l'Morai.[8]

The second, and perhaps darker, truth of the City is that (at least according to the Puppetmaster) the freaks of Carnival l'Morai exist to be the target of the city folk's loathing such that they don't turn on each other. As (according to the city folk) repulsive, degenerate, and subhuman beings, the carnies represented a sort of scourge to be abused and even murdered for the betterment of the City of l'Morai.[9]

References

  1. Champions of the Mists p. 50
  2. CoF p. 98
  3. CoF p. 102-103
  4. CoF p. 43, 58
  5. CoF p. 118
  6. CoF p. 137-138
  7. Carnival of Fear p. 133-134
  8. CoF p. 166
  9. CoF p. 294-306