The relationship with the Barony is an odd one, based in a sort of patriarchal fondness for the backwards and savage Baronials, who remain recognisably (through their assimilation by the Old Capital, centuries ago) culturally familial. There is lots of trade between the two, and the White City takes as given that the Barony poses no credible military or cultural threat. The attempts by the Baroness to modernise her military and form a professional standing army are not taken seriously the City, although they are watching with fascination.
When in combat, the soldiers of the City wail, scream, weep openly, and 'break teeth' (a specific snapping bite at the air that is reportedly terrifyingly audible in combat, even over the roar of cannon and the tumult of the melee). All of these are culturally enshrined, and 'proper' warriors do them more often, and more dramatically - they are said to be expressions of overwhelming civic love. Needless to say, all are made more effectively terrifying when combined with the use of White City combat drugs.
The soldiers and citizen-militias practice something called 'Victim Worship', in which the dead populations of newly acquired imperial territories are introduced into the image game and portrayed as virtuous, brave, strong, and wise. Their extermination is framed as an inevitable tragedy, and the game players mourn their disappearance from the world. To outsiders this is one of more repulsive and bizarre cultural artefacts of the City.
When the Battle Music starts to drone, the soldiers and the militias sing along with it, seeking to lose their individual selves in its cycles and repetitions. The drone and round are something similar to Macedonian pipes (but played through immense pipe-and-bellows engines), while the citizen-singing is closer to the Bulgarian folk tradition - all genders sing high, in what we would consider the feminine register.
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| Jospeh Stella, Brooklyn Bridge, 1919-1920 |
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