Eco-system

About the Eco-system
The main elements of the Eco-system are: The Eco-system is very delicte, and constantly at risk of collapse. The primary causes of collapse are: It is generally agreed by Dwarfs that if the Elves would stop trying to impose rules on the Giants, the Eco-system would function much more efficiently. Elves of course disagree with this, and when an Elf King sits upon the Throne of The Kingdoms, they try to introduce as many new rules as possible.
 * Giants: protectors of the Eco-system, and providers of gifts, possibly not actually real
 * The Game: played by Giants for their own amusement, and the enrichment of their Minions
 * Referees: over-seers of the games, hated by Giants and Minions
 * Minions: representatives of the Giants in the Kingdoms
 * The Free Market: the okace where the gifts of the Giants are presented to the Consumers of the Kingdoms
 * Consumers: everyday Freedomians whose role is to accept and consume the gifts of the giants, thus increasing their own happiness, and that of the Minions
 * Rules: imposed by Elves to restrict and interfere with the free flowing of The Game
 * Elves: imposers of rules

The study of Eoc-systems is called Eco-logic, and an expert in Eco-logic is called an Eco-logician. The field is dominated by Dwarfs, however there are some notable Elf Eco-logicians, including Paul the Fairest. Adam the First, the first Eco-logician, is often mistaken by Dwarfs to be a Dwarf, but he was actually an Elf. This fact does not deter Dwarfs, who prefer to just ignore that particular detail.

How the Eco System Functions
The basic functioning of the Eco-system is best understood as a series of transactional flows between the various parties.

Level 1 Transactions: The Free Market
The Free Market is the fundamental Eco-logical institution of the Kingdoms. It is the main point of interaction between the magical realm of the Giants
 * 1) Giants make gifts using Magic and Cheap Forin Labor
 * 2) Gifts are brought to The Free Market, where they are preseted to the Consumers of the Kingdoms
 * 3) Consumers choose gifts which they obtain using their Freedom Cards. Freedom Cards allow the consumers of the Kingdoms to have as many gifts as they want, regardless of how much money they have. This is a critical component of the healthy functionining of the Eco-system, and is the main reason why the Eco-system of the Kingdoms is so much bigger than the Eco-system of Forin.
 * 4) Consumers repay the generosity of the Giants with Credits and Love. The more Love a Giant gets, the powerful they become in The Game. The Credits they get, the richer their Minions become, who repay their Giants with even more Love.

Level 2 Transactions: The Game of Farcue
Nobody fully understand the point or purpose of the game, or how it is played. As best we can work out, it goes soemthing like this:
 * 1) Giants are dealt a hand consisting of a number of cards propertional to the amount of Credits and Love they currently hold
 * 2) Through a complicated set of hand gestures, winks and nods, Giants trade cards with each other, assisted by their Minions
 * 3) If a giant starts to lose Love and/or Credits at too rapid a rate, the get sad, and sometimes they fall over
 * 4) At various times, often with oittle noice, two Giants will Merge. This is a loud and often painful process, with uncertain outcomes. Sometimes teh newly merged Giant is strengthed by the process, but sometimes they are destabilised and prone to falling over.
 * 5) The winner is whoeve has the most Love/Credit which can then be used to influence Kings and The Court

Level 3 Tranactions: Giants and The Court
Many believe the relations between Giants and Kings is what keeps the Unified Kingdoms of Freedomia functioning.
 * Giants provide gifts of Credits to the King and the Minions of the Court
 * Kings and the Court use these Credits in the Battle for the Throne and the Battles for the Chairs at the Table of the Court (known collectively as The Battles)
 * The winners of the Battles swear loyalty to the Giants who helped them win, this is a form of Love which provides the Giants with more power in The Game of Farcue
 * This loyalty usually takes the form of adjustments to the rules of the Game of Farcue which work in that particular Giant's favour, and/or large piles of Credits

Colapse of the Eco-system
The Eco-system is subject to periodic collapses, which have a damaging effect on the Kingdoms. A collpase often comes about after a period of particulalry intense game play by the Giants, when teh game is said to have become "Overheated". As the Giants play harder and harder, they get tired, and are prone to fall over. They can often knock another Giant over on the way down, causing a critical chain reaction. When this happens, the consumers stop offering Love to the Giants, which causes further collapsing and it all gets very messy.

The Global Farcue Crisis was a period of great turmoil immediately following the worst collapse of The Game of Farcue since the last time it collapsed. This occurs just as King George the Wise is handing over the Throne to King Barrack the Black. Dwarfs blame King Barrack for the mess. Elves blame King George. A lot of time is spent debating which King is most to blame.