The Imp lands are located on a high plateau that overlooks the Khepri Desert, in the northwestern corner of Terra’s mainland. The western border abuts the Tuta Sea, the northern border marks the passage into the Ger lands, and the south slopes down into the Runa empire. Within the territory lies a large lake that goes by many names; it is best known to the rest of the world as the Inham Lake. Next to the lake is the so-called Black Noise Forest, which covers about forty percent of the territory. The rest of the imp lands are composed of rocky highlands. There are three main cities in Imp: Fey, Here, and There. The city of Fey is the main city and is located within the Black Noise Forest. It is one of the most interesting cities in Terra, mostly due to the fact that some part of it is always smoldering or on fire. Some scholars believe that the fire originated underground, when an old Ger coal mine caught on fire, but the imps explain that they are merely attempting to renew the city; whichever part is not currently burning is being rebuilt. The cities of Here and There are located on opposite sides of the Inham Lake, but these seem to be somewhat arbitrary names: residents always refer to the city which they are currently in as “Here,” and the city which they are not currently in as “There.” Understandably, this fluctuation has caused anthropologists, cartographers, the occasional visitor, and other governments a great deal of frustration and confusion.
Imp politics are quick, ruthless, and liable to change at a moment’s notice. Those imps who are politically-inclined generally settle in Fey, in centrally-located buildings made of stone, which of course is much less likely to burn. This center is one of the few places in Imp that features any semblance of organization. Generally speaking, the political system may best be described as a loose oligarchy that rules over a relatively uncaring or oblivious anarchist society. Toomin Sekhot, Seero Kerrit, and Deka Pianka are the three most famous imp politicians, and are credited with setting up and maintaining Imp’s governmental system, such as it is. Primarily, their job involves the organization of three different subgroups within the government: the City Council, the Police Council, and the International Council.
The City Council is divided into two smaller, sub-councils called the Burning Committee and the Rebuilding Committee. Along with the obvious responsibilities of deciding where to burn and where to rebuild, the committees are tasked with the job of ensuring that the fires of Fey never spread into the surrounding forest. They are also expected to maintain a balance, keeping both destruction and construction confined to a previously-decided area.
The Police Council’s main function involves quelling riots or other large upsets, both in Fey and in the surrounding areas. They have also established a number of border patrols along the northern and southern borders with Ger and Runa, respectively. Finally, this council oversees and handles any imps that have been “deported” back to Imp after causing trouble elsewhere in Terra.
The International Council deals with diplomacy, international relations, and trade, and is the group in which the most eloquent and patient imps may be found. Members of this council are selected for their ability to work with peoples of other nations and calm demeanors. The Trade Committee has two sections: one that interacts with other nations via established and fully legal forms of trade; and one that arranges back-alley deals with groups like the black market. The second section is more of a cabal than a political or governmental group, but no one in Imp seems to care one way or another if their methods are less than reputable.
Of the nations in Terra, Imp is one of the largest importers of goods, which can range anywhere from shiny baubles to foodstuffs, as their territory is very ill-suited to agriculture. However–and perhaps surprisingly–they have a fairly constant stream of exports as well, auctioning or trading the many strange things that the populace happens to create. For instance, if an imp enjoys making furniture, she makes beautiful pieces of furniture. Once she has completed a piece to her satisfaction, though, she loses all interest in the finished product, and it will remain in the back of her house or sitting out in the street unless someone else takes it and either keeps or sells it for her.
For this reason it could be said that, while the government certainly takes advantage of its populace, the flighty imps are mostly “used” in ways that they enjoy. Thus, an imp who really likes to build homes will not object if the Rebuilding Committee suggests that he builds something in this or that area, because as long as he gets to build anything, he will be happy. As long as the individual is not overly inconvenienced, the system functions well enough.
Of course, the political side of Imp is a relatively new facet of the society. For centuries, imps simply roamed Terra, individually or in small groups, never settling anywhere for too long. When the other nations developed and started to form cohesive empires and governments, many imps formed small communities within those nations, especially Leode. Those imps who felt less comfortable interacting with other races or becoming part of an organized system retreated up to the top of the plateau that now represents their homeland. Among this group, several realized that they would have to establish some kind of system in order to keep their land and stand up to the other nations.
Although a particularly deep-rooted prejudice claims that imps are stupid or crazy, this is a misconception. Their governmental policies alone prove that they are at least capable of a systemic, subtle manipulation toward a specific goal. And many imps develop individual agendas or activities over the course of their lives that they pursue with exceptional focus and skill–even to the point of obsession. At times, the startling depth of their intelligence can become dangerous, as they often devise multiple avenues to reach their goals, with little consideration for those who try to stand in their way. Rather, the common misconception about imps is rooted in how differently they perceive the world around them. They are generally carefree and tend to think that the stringent rules imposed by other cultures are silly, sometimes flouting those rules simply due to the lack of severe consequences. Likewise, they entertain a complete lack of interest toward subjects which do not interest them, and tend to tune out whatever insists on wasting their time.
Imps do not appear to understand certain human concepts or emotions, such as love, duty, or anger, because none of these things exist for them. They work on an almost instinctual level at times, a less convoluted level. Because they become fixated on their own agendas, they do not focus enough on “extraneous” things to develop the same emotions or emotional connections as humans. Humans are capable of dividing their attention among several things at once, and so are capable of feeling emotions for others while working toward their goals simultaneously; but this is difficult for imps, and most consider it a waste of time. However, they have lived in a world populated predominantly by humans for centuries now and, having observed human relationships, try to mimic them.
Scholars believe that this mimicry is the cause for so-called “Fondness” among imps: a facsimile of love, an instinctual attraction to another individual. Many have posited that Fondness developed as a survival trait to keep imps from killing each other off, and to encourage them to procreate. Fondness often occurs between an imp and an individual who has shared a joke, helped in the achievement of a goal, or saved the imp’s life. It seems to be purely based on the given imp’s whim or discretion; this person may save an imp’s life fifty times and never attain the status of Fondness, while that person may share a joke and be immediately elevated to the position of the imp’s Fond. Being a Fond simply means that the imp in question is probably less likely to injure the object of his Fondness, and may help or protect that person if doing so is not overly inconvenient. It is as close to friendship or devotion as imps ever get, though some imps attempt to perform deeper expressions of human love without actually understanding the reasoning or feelings behind it, often resulting in a kind of servility to a Fond. Because imps struggle to relate to humans, they usually develop a Fondness for fellow imps or other non-humans. Once an imp has become Fond of an individual, the imp will remain Fond of that person for the rest of his or her life–much like picking up a baby bird that has fallen from its nest, imps “imprint” on their Fonds.
Another, somewhat related trait shared among imps involves their “favored enemies.” Most, if not all, imps choose a specific creature or race to hunt. This hunting is ruthless and marked by the intensity of any imp’s pursuit toward an end-goal, and imps sworn to hunt a favored enemy will devote their entire lives to exterminating these enemies. Due to their inability to relate directly to other species, it seems that imps become capable of objectifying their enemies into something like a blight, which must be disposed of. For this reason, imps train specifically to kill their enemies until their goal is reached.
The final peculiarity of imp society relates to that of Fae. For as long as anybody can remember, imps have acted as servants to the Fae in response to their purported half-Fae, half-human nature. Although the Fae do not object to these displays of submission, Fae of the Silver Court tend to treat imps with great contempt, beating them down or simply spitting on them where they stand; Fae of the Gold Court treat imps more kindly, but with a condescending pity that many imps dislike. In general, Fae regard imps as sad, degenerate creatures, half-breeds that can function as useful tools when necessary. As they grow up, imps are drawn either to the traditional call of serving the Fae, a tradition that is laden with centuries of suggestion-magic, bending to the notion that they are part-Fae and belong in some respect in Faerie; or they are compelled to reject that call and instead immerse them in the mortal realm, as half-humans. Many of these mortal-inclined imps, abhorring the way that Fae treat them, declare the Fae as their favored enemy and become Fae hunters.