The Heart
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This is an article about the Joyan city. For the vital organ, see heart.
| The Heart | |
|---|---|
 The flag of the Heart. Due to its frequent use it is often mistaken as the flag of Joy. | |
| Nation | Isles of Joy |
| Administrative status | Capital |
| Government • Dirigents | Heart's Choir |
| Area • City | 72.37 |
| Population (estimate) • Permanent • Transient | 7,000 250,000 |
The Heart (Joy. Ov Teselum) is a location in the Isles of Joy with a permanent population of about 7,000 people. In function, it is the capital city of the Joyan nation. Although it has a small permanent population, consisting mostly of academics, great artists (such as the Masters) and politicians, it boasts a large transient population which exceeds 250,000 people yearly. Usually staying for a few days or weeks out of a year, Joymen from across the Isles come to visit the Heart for various celebrations, festivals and events. The city is quite large by the standards of Joy, its composition is merely constantly moving and changing.
Significance
The Heart is a large, planned city located on the south-eastern coast of Belum, the biggest landmass of the Isles of Joy. Constructed at an unknown date possibly thousands of years ago, it has been legendarily associated with Jocul, the son of Jubil (the mythical creator of the Isles of Joy), who is said to have set the stone at the Heart of the Isles from which all Joymen have sprouted and spread across the world. The city holds a deeply important symbolic role in the minds of Joymen, and is considered to be central to their shared identity. The Isles have a largely dispersed population, with most of its localities having populations in the dozens or hundreds. However, people all across Joy come to the Heart in observance of various events, allowing Joymen from distant parts of the Isles to come together.
It is a widespread (but not universal) tradition that young Joymen, after reaching adulthood at 16, leave their local village or township for a visit to the Heart, together with other young adults in their place in a troupe. Upon reaching the city, they will come to meet a multitude of troupes similar to their own, and it frequently happens that individual Joymen will decide to leave their own local community in order to join a different troupe and live with them. It is a common belief that no one is tied to the place of their birth, and such a ceremony of adulthood ensures not only that an individual will find their own happiness, but that the Isles will remain connected and exchanging in spite of their distance.
The Heart's name comes in equal parts from its role as a life-giver to the Isles of Joy, and the constant stream of people that move through it, entering in and eventually being pumped out. It is possible that such a unique oddity of the place attracted academics and artists in equal measure to find home in the Heart permanently. A constant flow of ideas in and out of the city continues to inspire both the city's artists and its visitors, who go on to spread their knowledge across the islands. The Masters, great artists which carry on and innovate on the tradition of Joyan art, have found a massive following that extends across the reach of the Isles.
Throughout the year, and across years, various ceremonies encompassing a variety of Joyist beliefs take place in the Heart. This extends beyond mere hedonistic expressions of happiness, but may also include somber Woeist ceremonies of contemplation and sadness like the Tearful Gathering, as well as highly contrasting celebrations such as the Festival of Anger or the Days of Ecstasy. During such events, Joymen that subscribe to such beliefs gather from around the nation to share a moment together with those identifying with their community, strengthening their relatedness. Even some who may not identify with such emotions fully participate, a practice which is oftentimes given as advice for finding oneself. The various celebrations tend to take place according to the seasons, with sadder ceremonies taking hold during colder months and more energetic ones during the peak of summer.
Government
The Heart is governed by twelve Dirigents who orchestrate local operations to ensure the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who enter the city yearly have a good visit. Collectively named the Heart's Choir, one is elected each of the twelve month by the current population of the Heart, including transient travelers, through a voting ceremony. In practice, the identity of the elected dirigent will highly vary by month depending on the celebrations that are currently taking place. An election held during the Weaping may produce a despairing, Woeist politician, while one held only a few months later can see an optimistic, happy-go-lucky Joyist taking a seat. Such a set of elections works to ensure a balanced representation of emotions and characters that understand the needs of their followers. The Dirigents do not work jointly as a parliament would, but one of them instead is always taken as having the primary say. Every Dirigent experiences an eleven-month learning period in preparation for their twelfth, which is the same month in which they were elected the previous year. They are given the responsibility of ensuring their given celebrations occur smoothly, in the case of which they are likely to be elected to do the same the following year. The Dirigents may of course help one another, and they do hold some sway, although it is likelier for two Joyist politicians to convince one another of an idea than for a Joyist and a Woeist politician to do the same. The Dirigents command and direct a local bureaucratic structure which is given the task of planning and executing day-to-day operations.
[CLASSIFIED BY ONE SANE MAN]
Such a structure, of course, makes little sense when given proper thought. A ravaging politician with anger issues should, obviously, not be given the reins of government when his followers are expected to trash the city. A woeist politician that can barely get out of bed in the morning should, of course, not be tasked with planning an event. An uncaringly cheerful Dirigent who would rather sing along with the chirping of the birds than organize a festival for tens of thousands should, clearly, not be tasked with organizing it. The role of the Heart's Choir is to merely give the idea of self-governance to Joymen, while One Sane Man operates in ways that ensure that the Heart does not turn to rubble.
As the unique structure of the city allows for a moving population from across the Isles to vote, the Heart's Choir are taken as being the closest one might consider to national politicians on the Isles of Joy.