To the surprise of many non-Naxians, the law in Naxos is usually quite simple.     To start criminal investigations and proceedings, those wronged submit a charge to the local magistrate, who then investigates. These local officials are appointed by the local noble, who then must be confirmed to their position by the local Naxian Guard. If sufficient physical evidence or believable witnesses are found, then the case is presented to a Dikastis, or judge in service to the local Naxian Guard branch, who is more often than not the current military commander of the Naxian Guard for the area. The Dikastis can either invalidate the charge, or summon the accused and plaintiff for hearing, usually deciding their ultimate fates that very same hearing.     For matters related to theft, loss of money, or the like, the guilty are often taken as slaves to work until they have generated the amount or value lost, or after a set period of time has passed. The most common form o...

      Like every culture in the world, crime is a reality across Naxos. It is now better managed than it was during the Merchant Republics, with the advent of the Naxian Guard; it is also much more subtle.     The most common crime in Naxos is theft, and in a larger sense, smuggling and racketeering. Most of it is in the cities, controlled by the so-called "Friends of Georgios", a loose connection of gangs that agree to either loosely cooperate, or at the very least stay out of each others way. The Friends are just the modern incarnation of the long history of Naxian Organized Crime.     That said, the larger cities have plenty of individual criminals, engaging in similar crimes, or ones much more violent.     Another facet is the realm of religious crimes outside religions are not banned officially, but they are not permitted temples, and visiting clergy must register with the Synodic Church, and request permission before any service is held...

      While Naxos is famous for being a cosmopolitan center, that is only one facet of the Duchy. Many live outside of Poleon's City, living a simpler life.     Urban Naxian lives tend to revolve around commerce, with a majority of people working in the shipping industry. A smaller number, but still crucial, working in banking; converting foreign coins into Naxian currency, and managing the combined wealth of the Duchy.     In contrast, those whole live outside the cities lead much slower lives. The prevailing industries are fishing, with limited timber and agriculture settlements. People here tend to work early in the day, then spend the rest of the afternoon engaging in leisure of small crafts.     Another key difference is the religious schism between the two spheres; the Synodic Church dominates the cities, with those outside keeping to traditional animism, Naxian paganism, and the worship of Kitaigida. This, among others, has led to a de...

      While the worship of Poleon dominates the cities and politics, many rural Naxians still hold to the pagan past, particularly the veneration of Kitaigida; the storm spirit of the islands.     The Fylakes, or so-called "storm monks", are one of the oldest orders of anything in Naxos. Their ancient monastery is a practical fortress, and the Fylakes themselves are feared for their seemingly unpredictable nature, with stories of them attacking villagers they just saved, or single-handedly repelling pirates, then then delivering sermons to those very same pirates.     The main reason for their antics is that they serve a fickle god, who has no qualms acting on their displeasure; lighting, hostile seas, earthquakes, and more-- usually directed at the Fylakes themselves. For this, it is often said that worship of Kitaigida is more out of fear than love.

 " Hello caller, you're on the air... "      "Look, a lot has gone down, but I need you to focus. We came here to do a job, and we've done pretty good given the circumstances! The others, well, they weren't as lucky, but we were! What happened? Lemme thing. We came in, all five of us, or was it four? Doesn't matter. We'd all been hired separately, and told to show up at the old place to 'turn it off'. Whatever the hell that means. The place was part of the old shipyards used in World War Two, but looked like some sort of animal on life support; a body of concrete with a thousand needles and tubes of steel coming out of it.       The money was worth it, though. I just ran, and ran-- I had to. I saw a light up ahead, and just had to go for it. As soon as I cleared it, I heard it close behind me-- was there someone else there? It doesn't matter. I just got in my car, and fuckin' got the hell outta there. The money was worth it. It was....

    I went on a walk through the old woods some time ago. After returning from my time abroad, I thought it a good idea to reacquaint myself with the lands of my birth and youth. I had traveled as far as I could from home for my education, to rid myself of the simpleness of my upbringing, and to bring myself closer to an enlightened civility. But, even with that said, I could not pull myself away from the feelings of relish I knew I would surely encounter by simply... escaping into the forests of my fathers.     And surely these old trees agreed with me! I felt the warm welcome of their canopy o'er me as I cross over the threshold of the forests edge. It felt strange in a pleasantly peculiar way, but I did not reject the feeling. After years of feeling out of place as a traveler, I only then realized how much I had yearned for this.     As I moved deeper and deeper into the undergrowth, the patch I walked became narrower and narrower and the spindly green f...

 Hey Everyone, Welp, it's been three years since I started this whole mess! It's been a weird thing for me to think about-- I have been doing Roll for Writing longer than I have had any one specific job, or anything else for that matter. And I think it is telling that I... don't even feel like it has been more than a few months since I started sharing my work publicly like this. My main reason for starting this in the first place was that I really get platformed elsewhere. So, I made my own. And I consider myself fortunate that not only have I been able to keep up with it, but the good reception of it all, and it really letting me feel like I could do the next step and release an actual published book, which I did for the first time last October, and that item can be found under the Published Work tab at the top of the site. And, for this, I just want to say an honest thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read these hare-brained stories and taken the time to talk ...

  General content warning: This is a piece about the crossroads of our current socio-political landscape, through the lens of the author’s upbringing and life experience.  Mentions of emotional and physical abuse, rape, religious trauma, gun violence, school shootings, racism & hate crimes, and others. Topics and themes touched on are handled respectfully, but told unflinchingly.                                         W H e a l e r       p              o                      n It’s 2005. I am being raised to be a weapon.  I’m ten, or so. They split the boys and the girls off...