Court of Violets

Court of Violets
Headquarters	Arcadia
Founded	unknown
Organization type	Aesthetic
Leaders - Grand Artist - unknown	Shining One Treader of Air
Membership	5,700
unknown

The Court of Violets is a political entity originating from a region to the east of Skytopia referred to as the Courtlands. The Courts of Skytopia and the Courtlands are generally referred to as the Western Court and Eastern Court respectively.

The Court seems to place a large emphasis on art, and all of the representatives have expressed a very poetic form of dialect, often leading to cryptic messages, doubled meanings, or insightful analogies during discussions.

There have been three representatives: Shining One, Treader of Air and Great Reflection.

Game description

The following text appears in the Embassy on Arcadia when you click "Faction".

Arcadia was instantly focused on by the Court of Violets. They saw great beauty in the branches of the great tree reaching out towards the sky. They have since begun to settle and teach their way to the people of Arcadia. The pursuit of art is paramount to the betterment of one's self. Perfection is more than just an abstract ideal, it is a goal to be sought in every aspect of life. The touch of brush against canvas, the addition of phrase to discussion, the application of bullets into the hull of your enemy. Each of these things must be performed with utmost care for the final result. Through this, we may create wondrous works and continue on our path to most supreme Excellence. - Shining One Do you seek excellence? Does the path of art call to you? Would you know yourself and others better? Follow. Watch. Listen.

At other skylands, the following is displayed:

This skyland is following the path of the Court of Violets. The people are seeking to find artistry in all things. Here's more about them... The Court of Violets is new to Skytopia, having arrived from skies to the East of here. Their people seem to follow a philosophy of seeking personal excellence and perfection in all things. Painting, sculpture, poetry, diplomacy, trade, war -- to the Court, all these things are art and means to reaching perfection. They are lead by the enigmatic Shining One, called their Grand Artist. They are an unnerving people... yet incredibly charismatic. In all things, excellence.

History

The Court of Violets was founded by He Who Had Found the Way (who may be Shining One referring to himself in third person) after he united the disparate skylands of the east.

Arrival in Skytopia

The Court of Violets discovered Skytopia while hunting for the source of the Hidden Fleet. After meeting the inhabitants of Skytopia, they chose to stay and teach their ways to any who sought it.

Culture

Names

The Eastern Court uses artistic/descriptive titles in place of what Skytopians regard as names. What the cultural significance of this is not known, but Shining One considered Skytopia's use of names to be strange. In real life, while word names are uncommon in the English speaking world, they are commonplace in East Asia.

Skytopia's Courtiers, meanwhile, are free to follow the Court's naming practice or keep their own name.

Terminology

Apart from their usually flowery speech, Eastern Courtiers call the Great Upheaval the Great Breaking and refer to skylands as gardens of the sky.

Organization

The leaders of the Court of Violets are known as Incarnations.

• Incarnations of the Lower Court are the leaders of the various Paths, which represent various skills.
• Incarnations of the Higher Court are the leaders from the Ways, which are groupings of similar Paths.
• The Incarnation of Art, also known as the Icon or Grand Artist, is the leader of the Court of Violets and chosen from the Incarnations of the Higher Court.

Apart from the Incarnation of Art, the Eastern and Western Courts have separate Incarnations.

Themes

Remember: You don't have to follow any of a faction's themes if you don't want to.

Apart from perfection, the dominant theme of the Court tends towards modernism and the avant-garde. Due to the difficult to understand and often seemingly absurd nature of modernism, most players tend towards romanticism and/or eastern philosophy.

Art

The most obvious element of modernism is their flag, based on De Stijl art movement, from which the Court also takes many of its ideals. Their ties to a more traditional sense of art are present in their chosen capital of Arcadia and its Great Tree.

Of course, modernism and romanticism are merely the most obvious themes; all forms of art are present throughout the Court.

Philosophy

The Court's trend towards spirituality and eastern philosophy is typically cited in similarities to Buddhism, especially in regards to the theme of enlightenment and that craving (or desire) causes suffering.

This would also imply that the Court is intended to stand in contrast to the Earthen Order, which was introduced at the same time and is shaped after Christianity and western religion.

Notable Courtiers

See List of Courtiers

References

1. Meeting Between the Court and the Skytopians
2. The Path and the Way of the Court of Violets