The Tarot Game: House Info, Kingdom of Cups
Kingdom of Cups

Location: Northeast corner of the empire

Geography: The castle (commonly referred to as the House or the House of Cups) is located in the northeast of the region. The castle is built on a high hill surrounded by a mountainous area. Many of the houses here are built into the hills. The outlying area to the south and west is valley which extends into flat grasslands. The outlying area north and east is craggy rocks and cliffs falling into the sea. This area is difficult to traverse and not open to water travel, which provided some natural protection to the House of Cups during the war.

Ruler: Queen Emi Westerveldt, formerly King Malcolm Westerveldt. Emperor Kingston Westerveldt is trying to wrestle control from his daughter-in-law

People: 68% Native, 26% Refugee, 4% Mixed, 2% Other

The people of the House of Cups have always been very welcoming, which accounts for the high number of refugees, many of them from other kingdoms, particularly the war besieged Runes.

Religion: There is no official state religion, however it is commonly accepted that everyone practices the House religion. It's something akin to Zen Buddhism and I'll come up with a name for it when I'm feeling a little more creative.

Military: The Cups military has always been very strong. Women fight as well as men, both train daily to maintain their skill. Their skill and constant upkeep might help explain why the Cups House came out of the war relatively unscathed.

Rights: For the people, rights are fairly progressive. Women have almost equal rights, except when it comes to the throne, which is simply because Kingston doesn't believe that women should inherit leadership positions. This is one point that Malcolm differed with his father. He would have been happy leaving his throne to Princess Aiko (or any of his daughters, really), but Kingston insisted that Malcolm had a male heir (which lead Malcolm to go astray of his wife).

The people are invited to come to forums held monthly to discuss problems they may have with the current ruler. Emi has taken over these forums since her husband's death, but again, Kingston is trying to muscle his way in.

The kingdom is not so progressive in terms of sexuality. Gay marriage is unheard of and gay relationships are kept secret. Adultery and unmarried sex aren't generally accepted either, though neither are considered a crime. Women are socially frowned upon when they have children out of wedlock, but they are not ostracized.

History: The Kingdom of Cups had been established long before Malcolm Westerveldt was granted the kingship.

They were a self-governed people who would elect officials to rule from the House of Cups, high on the hill. The people reacted well enough to Malcolm's elevation as king however. He married Emi Sato, one of their own, and quickly adjusted to the lifestyle and culture of the Cups without much altering of the system that they had in place (elections were nixed, but much beyond that the people still had a say in what goes on within their kingdom).

At present, since Malcolm's death, his wife has taken control of the House. The people have reacted favorably to her as a ruler, much to the chagrin of Emperor Westerveldt.