by Jess Corban
Succession—the competition by which the Matriarch chooses a successor from among four Candidates, one from each Province
Teera (TEE ruh) Pierce—Eighth Matriarch of Nedé
Théoden (THAY oh den)—aka Théo, Brute
Torvus (TOR vuhs)—Brute leader
Treowe (TREE o)—aka Tre (TRAY), Gentle 61749, finca worker at Bella Terra
Trinidad (TRIN uh dad)—Alexia second-in-command
Tristan Pierce—founder of the Safety Coalition, first Matriarch of Nedé
Valya (VA lyuh)—Alexia
The Constitution of Nedé
We, the seventy-five founding women of Nedé, do hereby establish the laws and code of conduct for our great society, to abolish the evils of patriarchy and to rid the world of the Brutes who have harmed women for millennia due to their biologically driven lust for pleasure and power. The following five Articles shall serve these purposes:
I. MATRIARCHAL SYSTEM. The peace and prosperity of Nedé shall be maintained by three cords of government: the Matriarch, the Council, and the Alexia. A. MATRIARCH. We hereby appoint Tristan Pierce, founding Council member, to serve as the first Matriarch of Nedé. The Matriarch shall hold executive power to act in the best interest of Nedé, in partnership with the Council. 1. SUCCESSION. At such time as the Matriarch should choose to retire from service (but before she reaches eighty years of age), she shall possess the right and responsibility to choose a successor. Each of the four Provinces—Fik’iri, Lapé, Amal, and Kekuatan—shall supply one Candidate, selected by senatorial vote, for the Matriarch’s consideration. Upon evaluating the merit of each Candidate, the Matriarch shall choose one woman to become her Apprentice for a duration of one year, after which time executive powers will be transferred in full to her successor. Should the Matriarch perish or be rendered incapacitated before such a Succession can take place, the Council shall elect a successor by vote.
B. COUNCIL. The Council shall consist of four senatorial houses, each representing one of the four Provinces. Each provincial Senate shall comprise twelve members, elected by popular vote. A Senator’s term shall last eight years, with one re-election possible. Senators shall advise the Matriarch in matters of state, serve as judges in civil matters within their Provinces, and serve as examples to all Nedéans of the Virtues we strive for.
C. ALEXIA. To guard Nedé against any threat—within its borders or without—we hereby appoint Siyah Assad to establish and organize a peacekeeping force, hereafter termed the Alexia, to uphold the Articles of this constitution, to maintain order within Nedé, and to protect our borders from any threat, present or future. The leader of the Alexia will report directly to the Matriarch, who will select and appoint future Alexia leaders.
II. GENTLES. Males born to the women of Nedé, hereafter termed Gentles, having been liberated from their aggression and lust, shall contribute to the good of Nedé—and maintain their enlightened state—through the important tasks of public and private service, as deemed beneficial by the Matriarch and Council. These duties shall not deny nor diminish the dignity of life but aim to make provision for the inherent frailty of Gentles and supply them with meaningful labor. For the good and safety of all, in perpetuity, the women of Nedé do make these sacrifices: A. Between the ages of three months and one year, Gentles will be relinquished by their birth mothers to a Materno finca, where they will live until the age of seven.
B. Between the ages of seven and fourteen, Gentles will reside in special facilities called Hives, where they will be educated and trained to serve Nedé.
C. To prevent undue or inappropriate attachment, interaction with grown Gentles shall be limited to necessary instruction.
III. DESTINIES. To spread the abundant capabilities of Nedé’s women across all necessary sectors, at eighteen years of age each woman shall choose, based on her own interests and abilities, a particular field of expertise, where she shall serve Nedé until she is physically unable to do so. These destinies shall include: Ad Artium, Agricolátio, Alexia, Fabricatio, Gentles Regimen, Innovatus, Materno, Politikós, and Scientia & Medicinae. A detailed description of these fields of employment can be found in the forthcoming document Nedéan Customs and Practices.
IV. MATERNO COMPENSATION. Without denying a woman’s right to refrain from childbirth, to ensure the longevity of our population, special honor shall be bestowed on women who choose as their destiny the bearing and nurturing of children during the span of eighteen to thirty-eight years. These honors shall include: substantially comfortable lodging, a stipend for each delivery, and a stipend for each baby she breastfeeds for one complete year. Any woman who births ten or more children shall receive a pension for the remainder of her years. All others shall choose another destiny in which to serve the remainder of her years.
V. VIRTUES. Contrary to the rampant immorality of our respective origin societies, Nedé shall cultivate a haven of incorruptible ethics. All Nedéans, led by the Matriarch, shall endeavor to embody the core Virtues of diversity, harmony, ingenuity, simplicity, and self-restraint. The development of these Virtues shall remain the free responsibility of the people, whether through their religion of choice or without it. A. DIVERSITY. Because Nedé combines the cultures and languages of dozens of countries of origin, to create a new, diverse yet unified society we shall: 1. Establish English as our common tongue, precious-metal coin as our common currency, and the metric system for measurement.
2. Preserve distinctive relics of our respective heritages, including food, dress, art, and religion.
3. Treat all women equally.
4. Rely heavily on the ancient roots from which many of our cultures of origin arose (i.e., the Greeks and Romans, with special attention given to Latin, mathematics, and music) while not ignoring the contribution and influence of ancient Eastern cultures.
B. HARMONY. Nedéans shall strive to live by this guiding principle: treat other women as you would treat yourself. Furthermore, because harmony shall prevail as long as our citizens adhere to these Articles of the constitution, the Matriarchy shall guard them at all costs. Failure to adhere to these Articles shall result in fines, loss of privileges, or imprisonment. While capital punishment shall have no place in Nedéan justice, either for woman or Gentle, the Matriarch reserves the right to ensure—by any other means necessary—that all Nedéans benefit from our collective peace and prosperity.
C. SIMPLICITY. Nedéans shall endeavor to live in harmony with Mother Earth, respecting and cultivating nature in ways the old world—dictated by Brutes—failed to do. The location of Nedé, with its limited access to man-made resources and technology, shall foster the virtue of simplicity, as well as contribute to the previous Virtues. Gentles shall provide the manual labor necessary to work the land, care for animals, and enable a simple life for all Nedéans.
D. INGENUITY. In order to thrive in Nedé’s locale, Nedéans will apply their minds to creative problem-solving, make do with what is available, and refuse to give up when setbacks arise. Without compromising simplicity, our limited technological resources shall be focused first and foremost on creating and maintaining life, public sanitation, and fostering harmony. Should additional resources be discovered in Nedé, they shall be repurposed at the discretion of Innovatus to increase convenience without compromising our core virtue of simplicity.
E. SELF-RESTRAINT. Recognizing the dangers and evil of primal lusts in every form, and to demonstrate our superiority over the Brutes who abused, suppressed, and mistreated us, the women of Nedé will adhere to the highest standards of self-restraint by denying any and all base urges; instead redirecting our passions into productive contributions for the good of Nedé. Unlike our brutish predecessors, women are capable of enjoying all the merits of platonic friendship and sisterly affection without digressing into crude gratification. Those not exercising self-control will be punished as deemed appropriate by the Matriarch and, if necessary, the Alexia.
Protect the weak. Safety for all. Power without virtue is tyranny.
&
nbsp; Signed,
Representatives of the Safety Coalition,
founding members of Nedé
Tristan Pierce, Florida, USA
Melisenda Juárez, Florida, USA
Li Na Kuang, China
Stephanie Becker, New York, USA
Meera Lopez, Belize
Alicia Lavoie, Canada
Farah Museau, Haiti
Amelia Chavez, California, USA
Charlotte Taylor, Australia
Camila Roberts, Texas, USA
Prisha Ananda, India
Fernanda Varela, Brazil
Margherita Santoro, Italy
Consuelo Medina, New York, USA
Liz Carolina Rivera, Colombia
Siyah Assad, Iran
Chisimdi Okonkwo, Nigeria
Stella Williams, Australia
Annika Novak, Russia
Amadi Makeda, Ethiopia
Adaku Musa, Nigeria
Cora Cunningham, California, USA
Ana Silva, Brazil
Maria del Carmen Cruz, Mexico
Fatima Mohamed, Morocco
Elena Chan, Canada
Jaqueline Harris, United Kingdom
Dimitra Alexopoulos, Greece
Mila Ivanov, Russia
Islande Pierre, Haiti
Candela Moreno, Spain
Emily Carroll, Georgia, USA
Tamaya Khalil, North Sudan
Yael Dayan, Israel
Bjani Ngalula, Democratic Republic of Congo
Margot Du Plessis, South Africa
Zana Jafari, Iran
Mingmei Tan, China
Min Cho, South Korea
Ishaani Bakshi, India
Rebecca Allen, Texas, USA
Lee Nguyen, California, USA
Maria Alvez, Brazil
Grace Lynn Macdonald, Georgia, USA
Amira Suleiman, Syria
Lex Sterling, Kentucky, USA
Zala Tesfaye, Ethiopia
Anwen Hughs, United Kingdom
Susan Jones, Virginia, USA
Mae Lee, United Kingdom
Shandice Castillo, Belize
Andrea Tourmaline, Washington, USA
Blair Williams, United Kingdom
Adèle Leblanc, France
Sofia Dominguez, Spain
Genevieve Fox, Illinois, USA
Ji-woo Kwan, South Korea
Naomie Nadeau, Canada
Tahara Ahmed, United Kingdom
Caron Leblanc, France
Aliyah Morrison, California, USA
Soo-jung Pak, South Korea
Guilia Russo, Italy
Lauren Diaz, Louisiana, USA
Novah Ramos, Nevada, USA
Laurence Tremblay, Canada
Adriana Torres, Mexico
Claire Evans, Utah, USA
Ceylon de Silva, Sri Lanka
Alana Herrera, New York, USA
Zhi Ruo Xue, China
Olivia Fraser, United Kingdom
Thea Spanos, Greece
Tanner Bryant, Nevada, USA
Alipha Oliveira, Brazil
Acknowledgments
MADELEINE L’ENGLE, author of A Wrinkle in Time, wrote, “A woman who follows a vocation needs an unusually understanding husband.” Mine is exceptional. Thank you, Paul Daniel, for taking on more than your fair share so I could finish this manuscript. Countless brainstorm sessions—not to mention those twelve pages of notes—made this a better book.
My daughters, Ryan and Logan, thank you for believing I could do it, and sharing me with this story so sacrificially.
Andrew Wolgemuth, your partnership, expertise, and availability are a gift. You are a class act and world-class agent.
Some books are refined by an excellent developmental editor. A Brutal Justice had the benefit of three. Nicci Jordan Hubert, Sarah Rubio, and Danika King, my heartfelt gratitude for your combined input that helped shape this story. I’ve learned much from your expertise, and am indebted to each of you for expecting and striving for excellence.
Linda Howard, Kristi Gravemann, and Mariah León, thank you for championing this series and humoring my outlandish ideas. Eva Winters—be my cover designer forever? Debbie King and Lisanne Kaufmann, your attention to detail and gift for language were a copyediting godsend. Andrea Martin, for your warmth and timely encouragement. And the rest of the incredible team at Wander who have believed in and worked on the Nedé Rising series, muchisimas gracias.
I have been blessed with the best team of alpha readers an author could ask for. Seriously. Abbie Dykstra, Ashley Paulus, Claire Zasso, Emily Weimer, Genevieve Nelson, Jen Johnson, Jen Schuler, Jenny Brannan, Jocey Pearsey, Noël Brower, Ryan Minassian, and Tamara Tilley, thank you for sharing in my excitement over the story, being brutally honest, and offering some killer suggestions. You make me look good.
So much gratitude to the Plouffes, Diehls, and Pearseys for offering quiet, secluded “shelter-and-write” spaces while my people sheltered-in-place. There’s no way I could have finished without your generous hospitality.
Daniel Frost, the Nedé map is exceptional—the color version, exquisite. Thank you for lending your talents to bring my world alive.
Finally, thank you, dear reader. Sharing the world of Nedé with you—reading your reviews, talking about characters on social media, meeting you in person—has been one of the highlights of my life, let alone career. Thank you for joining me on this adventure.
Soli Deo gloria.
A Note from the Author
I CARE DEEPLY ABOUT WOMEN. Of course I’m biased. Not only am I female, I gave birth to two more. I care for my daughters’ safety, honor, and futures even more than my own. But I also care equally for men, and believe that selfless masculinity, unleashed, has the power to change the world. My heart aches over the great divide between us—the blaming, shaming, and fear. I believe there’s a better way—a partnership that brings out the best in us all, a world in which we choose the good of others above our own desires.
Most authors dream that their words will somehow make a difference in this world, and I’m no different. But words sail further when tethered to action. That’s why I’m donating half of all my earnings from this series to the Corban Fund, which supports organizations seeking to end violence against women and promote change.
Men aren’t better than women; women aren’t better than men. We both have the capacity to choose good, so let’s do more of that.
Safety for all,
Jess
About the Author
JESS CORBAN graduated from college with a degree in communications and, perhaps more instructive, thirteen stamps in her passport. After college, a chance interview at a small publisher for an even smaller position sparked a love for writing that turned into twelve nonfiction books (under various pseudonyms). Now Jess lives with her husband and two daughters in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, where she finds inspiration in a sky full of stars and hiking the Canyon of the Kings. A Brutal Justice is the second novel in her Nedé Rising series. Connect with Jess at JessCorban.com.
