Xanid Suzerainty
The Xanid Suzerainty is a major interstellar government organised as a constitutional dictatorship. Its capital is Xanth, located in the Dir-Xan System. The primary population are Xani, an arthropoid species, and Vheln, a reptilian species; both species evolved on the arid world of Xanth. The population of the Xanid Suzerainty is notable for their strongly hierarchical society, as well as their distrust of outside influences. The Xanid Suzerainty is ruled by a Suzerain, who is elected for life by the elites of society. The political system of the Suzerainty is known to be extremely cutthroat, with assassinations commonplace. The Suzerainty also engages in a corvée system, where the state determines where citizens live and work. Diplomatically, the Xanid Suzerainty is aggressive, and considers itself the rightful ruler of the galaxy.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Government
The Xanid Suzerainty is structured as a unitary dictatorial republic. It is typically classifed as an authoritarian command economy, with high levels of corruption.The undisputed ruler of the Suzerainty is titled as Suzerain. The constitution provides them with effectively unlimited emergency powers to protect the state as they see fit, as well as ruling for life, until retirement, or until incapacitation. The Suzerain appoints members of the Council for Galactic Order (an advisory body, formerly the Council for World Order), and can dismiss them at will. The only constitutional requirements for appointment to the Council are that the individual is a Xani, and that they were born into the rulership caste. While the Council cannot depose an existing Suzerain, they have the power to appoint a new one via a simple majority vote.
All decrees, edicts, and laws issued by the Suzerain are legally binding within Xanid space. Their will is carried out by a secular civilian bureaucracy, which is mainly comprised of Xanis from the intellectual caste. Xanid society is divided into six castes, of which only the two highest (rulership and intellectual) can participate in governance. Part of the role of the bureaucracy is keeping a close track on all inhabitants of the Suzerainty and assigning them housing and work as per the needs of their economic plans.
History
The history of the Xanid Suzerainty can be traced back over two thousand years, when Bronze Age Xanis began selectively breeding a particularly intelligent species of large reptile. This species, the ancestors of the modern-day Vheln, had already been domesticated over the course of several thousand years, but Xanid farmers (who used them to plow fields) identified a particular intelligence within some individuals. Over nearly one thousand years, the Vheln were slowly bred into sapience by the Xanis.As the strong but unintelligent Vheln began replacing unskilled labour across Xanth, the elites of its various societies and nations were able to consolidate power. However, the Vheln proved aggressive and difficult to control leading to several regional conflicts during the Iron Age period of Xanth's history. Eventually, unruly and aggressive tendenceies were bred out of the Vheln, though they remained capable footsoldiers when commanded by Xanis.
With the Vheln slowly subsuming unskilled work across Xanth, Xanid society became increasingly stratified. In order to control their populations, Xanid elites in many societies introduced or formalised caste systems, preventing social mobility and ensuring their permanent position at the top. Although not every nation or region on Xanth developed formalised caste systems, a majority did, and many that didn't instead had informal caste systems.
The 19th and 20th centuries on Xanth saw the rise of great, world-spanning empires and massive power blocs that divided the planet. Minor conflicts often broke out, but the size of these blocs prevented the outbreak of full-scale war. In 1972 CE, one of these power blocs launched a surprise nuclear strike on their main opponent, crippling their command and control facilities before they could react. With no independent authorisation for a second strike, only a few commanders retalited. During this limited nuclear war, the Omax Suzerainty was able to destroy their main opponent, effectively seizing control over the planet. Their erstwhile allies were soon betrayed and absorbed into the rapidly-expanding nation.
By the dawn of the 21st century CE, the Omax Suzerainty had effectively conquered the planet. Through a combination of threats, diplomacy, and the occasional invasion, they controlled 84% of the planet's landmass by 2000 CE. The final few nations surrendered shortly thereafter, and the Omax Suzerainty was transformed into the Xanid Suzerainty. The Omax were one of the most authoritarian nations on Xanth, and their governing style was adopted planetwide.
After centuries of intermittent conflict, the conquest of Xanth created an era of relative peace. Although assassinations, uprisings, and other forms of discontent were not uncommon, there was nothing akin to the colonial wars of the previous centuries, let alone the nuclear war. Xanis achieved spaceflight in 1994 CE, and over the span of the 21st and 22nd centuries CE, colonised the Dir-Xan System. Like many other species, subspace was discovered in the late 22nd century CE, and the first hyper drive-equipped ship was launched in 2201 CE.
Demographics
Slightly over half of the population of the Suzerainty are Xanis, and somewhat less than half are Vheln. A small proportion are conquered or purchased xeno slaves, primarily Humans, Tzynn, and other species. Very few xenos are permitted to legally migrate to the Suzerainty, and those that do are denied full citizenship.Every member of Xanid society is born into a caste, with virtually no social mobility. From highest to lowest, these are the Rulership, Intellectual, Artisan, Soldier, Serf, and Slave castes. The slave caste is traditionally reserved for non-Xanis, but Xanis are sometimes made slaves as punishment for crimes. Instead, the lowest ranking Xanid caste is the serf caste, and members of it are typically tied to their land and profession for their entire lives. Due to their intelligence, Vheln exist outside the caste system, but are generally treated as equivalent to the slave caste.
The higher up the caste ladder one goes, the commensurably higher standard of living a Xani has. Serfs and soldiers, which make up around half of the Xanid population, have a lower quality of life than equivalent lower class beings in other societies. Artisans and intellectuals are approximately equivalent to a middle or professional class, with approximately equivalent standard of living. The top five percent or so of Xanid society is the rulership caste, which has a sigificant majority of the society's resources directed to it.
Economy
The Xanid Suzerainty is a medium-sized, industrial, planned economy. Virtually all industry in the Suzerainty is owned either by the government or rulership caste Xanis with government connections. The backbone of the Xanid economy are the Vheln, who are responsible for the majority of primary resource extraction, including mining, farming, and energy generation. They are supplemented by the slave and serf castes, though they are also responsible for more mentally intensive working class jobs (such as clerks).Much of the output of the artisan caste is devoted to maintaining the lifestypes of the rulership caste, and maintaining the Xanid military. Intellectuals generally have the most resources available to them outside of the rulership caste, given their positions as critical functionaries to the state. Healthcare, education, and other amenities are highly stratified by caste: expensive hospitals catering to the rulership caste categorically refuse anyone from lower castes, for example. This has, in effect, created a series of parallel economies between the different castes that do not serve the others. Outside of the caste system, the Vheln also have their own rudimentary economic system, albeit one primarily based on trading simple goods and favours with their immediate neighbours. Due to their proximity and relative lack of oversight, the Vheln economy allows for some cross-caste trading between slaves and serfs.
Society
The society of the Xanid Suzerainty is one of the most hierarchical and autocratic in the galaxy, especially among the major powers. Xanis born into their caste have virtually no chance of upwards mobility - nor do their children - but downwards mobility is possible due to failures or criminal convictions. All subjects of the Suzerainty are expected to devote their total loyalty to the state and the Suzerain, giving their lives if need be. Life in the Suzerainty heavily depends on the caste one is born into, ranging from slavery, to conditions barely better, all the way to the peak of opulence.Although there is no social mobility between castes, there still exists some within a caste. This is due to the sheer size of each of the castes, having hundreds of millions or even billions of members at any given time. This has manifested in an intense social competition within castes to rise to the top. This is progressively more intense as caste ranks rise, culminating in a ruling political system that is highly prone to corruption, assassination, and even coups. Since the beginning of the 24th century CE, at least two Suzerains have stepped down due to suspected plots, and one is believed to have been assassinated. This cutthroat political culture has developed a class of bureaucrats, governors, and advisors who are extremely adept at politics, and due to the nature of the Suzerainty's galactic ambitions, keeping society as a whole intact despite perpetual instability.
As part of every subject's obligations to the Suzerain, the central government assigns work and housing at its leisure. While they are legally and culturally required to respect caste boundaries, there are otherwise no limits on this system. This primarily affects the slave, serf, soldier, and artisan castes, as the intellectual and rulership castes are the ones that determine and approve any population transfers. Within those castes, assignment to a distant colony is typical for those who have failed in their political machinations, but otherwise uncommon. Exile in this way is, after all, preferable to assassination or caste demotion.
Although the Xanis dominate the Suzerainty, the Vheln have a parallel society of their own. Without significant oversight by Xanid authorities, the Vheln are free to organise themselves as they wish (so long as they do precisely as instructed, precisely when instructed). Vheln societies are fairly simple, akin to extended family groups within barracks. They trade resources such as food and clothes for favours, and, in a way many ouside the Suzerainty find ironic, have sigificantly higher social trust among each other than tthe Xanis do.
Military
The Xanid military is effectively divided into three parts: officers of the rulership and intellectual castes, enlisted specialists of the soldier caste, and Vheln to fill out unskilled or dangerous jobs. Duties such as frontline assault infantry and starship damage control are typically left to the Vheln. Soldier castes handle more complex or technical jobs, including engineering, repair, reconnaissance, and fire control. Officers, drawn from two separate castes, naturally are responsible for commanding units assigned to them.While Xanid officers tend to treat fellow Xanid specialists with some degree of respect, Vheln are nearly universally considered disposable by their superiors. Non-Xanids tend to regard this attitude as callous, but Xanis themselves view the more intelligent Xanid species as inherently more valuable and worth protecting than Vheln. This attitude is not completely universal, however. Some Xanid officers have been known to become attached to their Vheln, respecting them and effectively utilising them on the battlefield - be it warfare or politics.
Type
Geopolitical, Republic
Capital
Government System
Dictatorship
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Command/Planned economy
Controlled Territories
Neutral
Rivalry
Rivalry
Rivalry
Rivalry
Hostile
The XT-489 warform is programmed to destroy all organic life in the galaxy.
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