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houraipeachGeneral Planetary Information
Mean Radius: 4,525 Kilometers
Surface Composition: 72% Water, 28% Landmass
Atmosphere: Earth-class; no natural airborne toxins
Surface Gravity: 2.2 G
Average Surface Temperature: 29 degrees Celsius
Overall Climate: Tropical
Day Length: 46 Sol Hours
Population: 5.3 Billion
Located in a binary star system in the Eastern Spiral Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, Thalandros is a wet, brutally hot 'heavy-world' jungle, boasting gravity over twice that of Earth. Incredibly resource-rich in both metals and plant life, Thalandros came into the galactic spotlight largely as a result of a disastrous Kirahkau mining expedition, which found the planet not only already inhabited, but heavily-armed and belligerent. Since then, Thalandros has become a popular tourist destination for those capable of enduring its sweltering heat and oppressive gravity to take advantage of its spectacular beauty and diverse biology, particularly that of its sapient inhabitants.
Notable Biological Life
The dominant species of Thalandros are the Enkida, roughly translated as 'chosen sisters,' a race of bipedal, omnivorous amphibians who stand between 5 and 7 feet tall on average, characterized by thick, tough hides, numerous redundant organs, durable skeletons, and dense, ropy musculature, adapted to endure the crushing gravity of Thalandros. Enkida have four-fingered hands with opposable thumbs, and three-toed digitrade legs capable of manipulation; Enkida do not have 'handedness' as humans know it, and are equally comfortable using any limb to manipulate tools or grip. They have broad, short-muzzled faces, large, wide-set eyes with speckled irises and nicitating membranes, thick fuzzy crests often compared to human hair, internal ears, and short, thick 'pollywog' tails utilized in swimming. Enkida come in a wide variety of colors and patterns, typically bright and intimidating. Enkida demonstrate spectacular cellular regeneration, and do not suffer ill-effects from aging; this is not to say that Enkida lifespans are lengthy, however, given the distressingly hostile nature of the planet's wildlife. Any reading of Enkida history should take this into account: the primary cause of death before the invention of gunpowder was 'eaten by animals'; after the invention of gunpowder, it was 'gunshot.'
Enkida are monogendered, but by human terms, would largely be considered female; they reproduce via parthenogenesis and nurse their young. Enkida lay dozens of eggs, but have only two teats; as a result, traditionally Enkidan children fight each other for the right to nurse, typically until between two and four survive, usually those who have formed a cooperative union to shut out other siblings. Surviving siblings 'pack-bond' into a largely-permanent social unit called a Clutch, producing a dominant sociology that is at once fiercely competitive but also strongly colored by intense sororal affection.
Bonded sisters remain together until one of them dies, at which point there is traditionally a period of mourning, followed by the remaining members of the Clutch seeking out another Clutch to integrate into. While most Clutches begin small, many are enormous, counting as many as a hundred bonded members, a tendency which has become exaggerated as traditional practices have slowly phased-out due to the modern perception of the 'competitive' model of child-rearing as barbaric, particularly among Varadi and Nytaro. At the same time, many Enkida who live offworld have given up childbirth altogether, reasoning that the homeworld has enough children, and that given the extreme potential lifespan of their race, it is more financially and socially responsible to take on aliens into their Clutches as partners.
Among their other characteristics, Enkida also secrete an oily compound they call rhytosa, or 'poison bloom,' which functions as a lethal neurotoxin to most species native to Thalandros. However, it has a notably different effect on non-native species, upon whom it functions as a powerful euphoric drug. Despite many attempts, offworld drug-trafficking in rhytosa has proven nearly impossible, as the compound rapidly denatures upon secretion unless quickly taken; as a result, the only way to reliably obtain rhytosa is physical intimacy with an Enkida. In large quantities, given over time, rhytosa proves addictive, and habitual users develop the same kind of speckled irises common to Enkida eyes, as well as a shift in skin tone that resembles that of their primary 'source.' Such individuals are called 'Rhykida,' roughly translated to 'poison sisters,' and are often accepted as subservient members of a Clutch, although traditionalists tend to balk at non-natives entering pack-bonds.
Early History
The Clutch is the primary social unit of the species, and it defines the collective triumphs and failures of Enkida society. Early Enkida tended to avoid settled agriculture, as their territorial nature made cooperation between Clutches difficult, but the Clutches that thrived did so largely by loose cooperation with other Clutches for mutual defense against wildlife. The earliest civilizations tended to congregate largely in coastal communities, and fishing was the predominant form of sustenance.
Over time, it became convenient for Clutches to organize their cooperation more formally, usually to compete against other Enkida, and the Clan structure was formed; in essence, a Clan is a group of pack-bonded Clutches operating as a larger tribal unit. Clans tended towards oligarchy, usually governed by a council formed by the most successful members of the Clan's individual Clutches. With the greater resources and labor afforded by mutual cooperation, Clans built more permanent settlements, and began engaging in larger-scale aquaculture; the primary 'herd animals' utilized for food were, and still are, aquatic. This also lead to another major advancement: organized violence.
Conflict was a constant of early Enkida civilization, even moreso than many other species. Due to their extreme territoriality and group loyalty, encroachment upon resources and territory was almost invariably solved with violence. It is worth noting that their society did not develop the concept of a professional soldier until after the development of alloyed steel, largely because it was expected that ALL members of a Clan would be willing to kill and die for the safety of the group. This is not to say that efforts were uncompensated, however; several civilizations developed currency(often based on pearls obtained from mollusc farming) around roughly the same period of history. These were originally meant as a marker to be called in to exchange for food earned for service to the Clan, but over time, currency grew to extend to other services and goods as well.
Over time, as Clans grew more and more influential and settled, conflict became organized into true warfare. Recognizing the need for more labor to support their growing communities, the most common purpose of war was forcibly inducting Clutches into the Clan to serve as indentured labor. Clans tried to rein-in lethal means, preferring to capture Clutches intact to maintain their effectiveness as working units. Steadily, Clans set their sights on bigger and bigger targets, often offering indentured laborers freedom in exchange for taking to the front lines. During this time, what are commonly known as the Six Great Clans arose: the Kyrossa, the Varadi, the Sparana, the Nytaro, the Coroda, and the Yurupa.
The Six Great Clans
All of the Six Great Clans have certain similarities. All were centralized to one of Thalandros' two major continents, shared borders with one of the other Great Clans, and were centralized to one large 'central' settlement with numerous satellite settlements that were either governed by threat of force or willingly paid tribute in exchange for independence. While shows of force to rein in minor clans were common, large-scale warfare was unheard of for nearly a thousand years, owing largely to the same grim calculus all of the Great Clan councils came to: committing to a large-scale assault on another Great Clan would leave their territory vulnerable to attack from the third Great Clan on the continent, resulting in war that would simply deplete resources necessary for defence against aggressive wildlife.
The Kyrossa began as a largely mercantile power on the southern coast of Tersys, the larger of the two continents on Thalandros, ruled by a band of matriarchs known as the Five Divine Pearls, the still-living leaders of the five founding Clutches of the Clan. Settling near rich mineral deposits and fertile fishing coasts, they focused predominantly on producing finished goods and preserved foods, and trading them to other Clans in exchange for labor. Because the Kyrossa were largely not expansionistic and preferred to secure their own territory rather than raid, many minor Clans in their area grew reliant on the Kyrossa, preferring to trade resources and workers to them in exchange for manufactured goods and maintaining their independence. This loose mercantile alliance became the foundation of Kyrossa foreign policy, adopting a stance of protectionism towards its trade partners.
Protectionism proved to be a valuable deal for the Kyrossa's clients, because the Sparana, to the north of Kyrossan territory, were not as friendly. A heavily expansionistic power, the Sparana came to power via aggressive conquest of every minor Clan they came across. Described by one Varadi historian as 'an empire of slaves and zealots,' Sparana culture was fiercely devout, ruled by a singular monarch known as the All-Mother, believed by her people to be a living goddess. The Sparana were defined by the belief that they had been chosen to rule over all lesser beings, and social mobility for indentured Enkida was non-existent.
The Varadi, to the west, were an extremely cosmopolitan power. While lacking in mercantile strength due to poor mineral resources, they were an extremely cultured society with an enormous military, forming together originally as a mutual defense agreement against the Sparana that eventually came together into a formal nation. Because Varadi Clans are all technically independent from one another, they developed into a cultural melting pot, as individual Clan traditions remained local and regional rather than being weeded-out into a larger monoculture. Varadi government eventually settled into what we would recognize as a county-based democracy.
Across the boundless Korovan Ocean, on the continent of Ubasa, the northwest was ruled by the Coroda. Technologically gifted but rigidly xenophobic, the Coroda were a highly advanced, monarchic Clan who managed to maintain their isolationism on the continent, despite their comparatively limited population, via superior weaponry and resource production than their neighbors. While it was frequently attacked, its people take it as a point of pride that no Great Clan has ever succesfully held Corodan soil.
To the south of the Coroda lay the Nytaro, a sprawling inland nation built on principles of mutual service. While aggressive and resource-hungry, the Nytaro are notable in that they are the only Great Clan who never practiced indentured labor, preferring interreliance among Clutches. Nytaro cities were ruled collectively via a system known as the Moot, a conclave of labor organizers who proposed and ratified national laws. The Moots produced an extensive and complicatd bureaucracy, to the degree that Nytaro are still thought of as producing the finest lawyers and accountants in the world.
East, among a collection of atolls, island chains, and peninsulas, lay the Yurupa. A deeply spiritual people, the Yurupa were organized into a centralized theocracy built upon veneration of the Triumvirate, a trio of goddesses representing the jungle, the sea, and the night sky. The three High Priestesses of the Yurupa were each believed to be the mortal messengers of the Coven, who interpreted their will for the people. A naval superpower, the Yurupa subsisted on an economy built largely around safeguarding coastal trade between minor clans in exchange for tariffs on their goods. Yurupans also exported their faith; the Triumvirate, usally alloyed into local spiritual beliefs and philosophies, is the dominant religion of the world to this day.
The Sunset War
While peace was tense for nearly 1100 years, there was peace, and Enkida society flourished. But all was not well among the rulers of Tersys. In what humans would refer to as the year 1453 AD, the All-Mother of the Sparana, slowly succumbing to what many later historians believe to be a degenerative mental disorder, began to see the Kyrossan's blooming merchant confederacy as a threat to her sovereignity. Fearing that if left alone, the Five Divine Pearls would slowly starve out her empire, the Sparana began building for a sneak-attack against the Kyrossan's smaller allies. It might have worked, had a cabal of Varadi spies, unwilling to let the balance of of power on the continent tip in favor of the Sparana, alerted the Kyrossa to their plans.
Reaching out to their allies, the Kyrossa swiftly drew up levies of troops and materiel, and in early 1454, their army poured into Sparana territory, taking the unprepared defenders by surprise, before their buildup had completed. However, galvanized by what they perceived as an underhanded sneak-attack, the Sparana resisted ferociously, and things settled into a lengthy conflict. Preaching to her people that 'to lose would mean the sunset of all things,' Sparana defenders dug in their heels and held for another 160 years.
While the conflict would ebb and flow, and even see several periods of white peace, the conflict never truly ended. The Sparana could not stop the flow of Kyrossan arms and personnel, but the Kyrossa also could not make headway against Sparana defenses. As the conflict wore on, the Varadi profited; as the allies of Kyrossa slowly pulled out of the war due, the Varadi were quick to take over the gaps in trade. Military leadership on both sides of the war realized that a peace had to be made or both sides would fail, but the All-Mother refused to consider a peace agreement.
In Earth year 1613 AD, Kyrossan scientists made the discovery that would turn the tide of the war: gunpowder. It's hard to overstate the effect this had on Enkida society; within months, primitive arquebuses were already circulating to the frontlines, and used to devastating effect. In 1615, a Kyrossan naval taskforce equipped with the world's first cannons sailed north around the coast to reach the capital of Sparana. The resulting bombardment shattered the morale of the Sparana military, and when Kyrossa forces stormed the palace of the All-Mother and put her to the sword, resistance in remaining holdouts collapsed rapidly as Clutches mourned the death of their goddess. By 1622, the conquest of Sparana territory by the Kyrossa was absolute. The Sunset War was over.
Love Through Flame
During the period of the Sunset War, the situation on Ubasa was not quite as violent, but neither was it entirely peaceful. Coroda and Nytaro clashed over their contested borders, with Yurupan privateers selling their services to both sides of the conflict. But there was nothing like the all-engulfing war seen on Tersys. Indeed, while somewhat bloody, the history of Ubasa was relatively uneventful, with territory rarely exchanging hands for long. That would all change, however, thanks to the shifting political situation across the ocean. Now saddled with crippling debt to both the Varadi and their now-former allies, the Kyrossa needed new trading partners to shore up their now-enormous population surplus. And with the invention of gunpowder and cannon, they had the means to secure that economy.
When introduced to the concept by human xenoanthropologists, the Enkida recognized the term 'gunboat diplomacy' almost immediately, as it had a direct analog in their language: “Basakura Pytos Udale,” the state motto of the Kyrossan Confederacy. The phrase, which translates literally as 'love through flame,' became the Kyrossan's chief form of foreign policy over the next century. The Kyrossan navy would sail to the holdings of a minor coastal Clan, destroy the enemies of the standing rulers with overwhelming force, and assure them that such services were guaranteed for the proper price... unless, of course, they refused, in which case their naval might would go to the next highest bidder. This policy proved amazingly effective, and within a scant forty years, the Kyrossans had fully-repaid all their outstanding national debts. And, incidentally, reclaimed all their former trading partners from the Varadi.
Kyrossan treasure fleets scoured the oceans looking for more tribute and 'clients,' and it was through this that they discovered Ubasa, in 1722. Immediately, they set to work utilizing their strategy to secure more wealth, but in doing so, came into conflict with the Yurupa, who already had a similar deal with the minor Clans. A Kyrossan vessel captured after being isolated by Yurupan privateers brought home the ship as a bounty, where it was rapidly reverse-engineered, and subsequently spread like wildfire across the continent. Unfortunately, this backfired severely when the Corodans used newly-built mortars to shell and capture the Yurupan High Temples, holding the Priestesses of the Triumvirate hostage to force Yurupan cooperation against the Nytaro.
The Nytaro, now outgunned and blockaded by the suddenly superior navies of the Yurupans and Coroda, reached out to the Kyrossans for assistance. They agreed... on the condition that they have bounty rights on any materiel and territory seized. The Kyrossans, aided by discontent Yurupan nationalists set upon freeing their holy figures, began to lay siege to the Corodan-held Yurupan territory, embroiling themselves in war once more.
The Rise of the Overclan
History from this period is extremely conflicted and limited, largely due to the destruction of many of the surviving records, but beyond simply being 'yet another large war,' this was a period of great cultural exchange. Yurupan religion spread across Tersys, and Kyrossan poetry and drama caught on throughout Ubasa. While bloody, this period of history is marked by being the start of what can be thought of as truly shared culture among the Enkida.
In 1807 AD by human calendars, Nytaro forces, aided by the Kyrossan navy, recaptured the High Temples of the Triumvirate, restoring the Yurupan people. With the tide fully-turned against them, the Coroda sued for peace, at what became known as the First Grand Moot. Tired of conflict, the participants agreed to utilize Varadi territory, as the sole party not to participate in the war, as neutral ground for the discussion. The peace terms set here established national territory and military conduct principles that are still the foundation of Thalandros' world government, including one particular role: that of the Overclan.
The role of the Overclan is arguably the most important factor in the politics of the planet. In short, it was established that the Grand Moot would convene once a revolution around Thalandros' suns(a period of roughly 10 years) to elect one of the five Great Clans as Overclan, whose job was enforcement of the peace and administration of contested territory. During their term, the Overclan would have the rulers of all other Clans swear fealty to them and had seizure rights against any who refused to swear. At the end of their term, the Overclan was to surrender the position, but was allowed to keep any territory they had seized from rebels.
In theory, this would ensure no one nation could come to total, permanent dominion over all others. In practice, however, as minor Clans have a vote in the Grand Moot, and the minor Clans overwhelmingly support the Kyrossan Confederacy, they were voted in in 1807 AD and barring a brief 30-year period of Corodan political resurgence, remained that way until roughly 2157, when overwhelming popular support abolished the vote and established the Kyrossans as the permanent Overclan, which continues to this day. While the Great Clans are all technically 'equal' in political terms, it would be fair to describe the Overclan as 'more equal.'
Mean Radius: 4,525 Kilometers
Surface Composition: 72% Water, 28% Landmass
Atmosphere: Earth-class; no natural airborne toxins
Surface Gravity: 2.2 G
Average Surface Temperature: 29 degrees Celsius
Overall Climate: Tropical
Day Length: 46 Sol Hours
Population: 5.3 Billion
Located in a binary star system in the Eastern Spiral Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, Thalandros is a wet, brutally hot 'heavy-world' jungle, boasting gravity over twice that of Earth. Incredibly resource-rich in both metals and plant life, Thalandros came into the galactic spotlight largely as a result of a disastrous Kirahkau mining expedition, which found the planet not only already inhabited, but heavily-armed and belligerent. Since then, Thalandros has become a popular tourist destination for those capable of enduring its sweltering heat and oppressive gravity to take advantage of its spectacular beauty and diverse biology, particularly that of its sapient inhabitants.
Notable Biological Life
The dominant species of Thalandros are the Enkida, roughly translated as 'chosen sisters,' a race of bipedal, omnivorous amphibians who stand between 5 and 7 feet tall on average, characterized by thick, tough hides, numerous redundant organs, durable skeletons, and dense, ropy musculature, adapted to endure the crushing gravity of Thalandros. Enkida have four-fingered hands with opposable thumbs, and three-toed digitrade legs capable of manipulation; Enkida do not have 'handedness' as humans know it, and are equally comfortable using any limb to manipulate tools or grip. They have broad, short-muzzled faces, large, wide-set eyes with speckled irises and nicitating membranes, thick fuzzy crests often compared to human hair, internal ears, and short, thick 'pollywog' tails utilized in swimming. Enkida come in a wide variety of colors and patterns, typically bright and intimidating. Enkida demonstrate spectacular cellular regeneration, and do not suffer ill-effects from aging; this is not to say that Enkida lifespans are lengthy, however, given the distressingly hostile nature of the planet's wildlife. Any reading of Enkida history should take this into account: the primary cause of death before the invention of gunpowder was 'eaten by animals'; after the invention of gunpowder, it was 'gunshot.'
Enkida are monogendered, but by human terms, would largely be considered female; they reproduce via parthenogenesis and nurse their young. Enkida lay dozens of eggs, but have only two teats; as a result, traditionally Enkidan children fight each other for the right to nurse, typically until between two and four survive, usually those who have formed a cooperative union to shut out other siblings. Surviving siblings 'pack-bond' into a largely-permanent social unit called a Clutch, producing a dominant sociology that is at once fiercely competitive but also strongly colored by intense sororal affection.
Bonded sisters remain together until one of them dies, at which point there is traditionally a period of mourning, followed by the remaining members of the Clutch seeking out another Clutch to integrate into. While most Clutches begin small, many are enormous, counting as many as a hundred bonded members, a tendency which has become exaggerated as traditional practices have slowly phased-out due to the modern perception of the 'competitive' model of child-rearing as barbaric, particularly among Varadi and Nytaro. At the same time, many Enkida who live offworld have given up childbirth altogether, reasoning that the homeworld has enough children, and that given the extreme potential lifespan of their race, it is more financially and socially responsible to take on aliens into their Clutches as partners.
Among their other characteristics, Enkida also secrete an oily compound they call rhytosa, or 'poison bloom,' which functions as a lethal neurotoxin to most species native to Thalandros. However, it has a notably different effect on non-native species, upon whom it functions as a powerful euphoric drug. Despite many attempts, offworld drug-trafficking in rhytosa has proven nearly impossible, as the compound rapidly denatures upon secretion unless quickly taken; as a result, the only way to reliably obtain rhytosa is physical intimacy with an Enkida. In large quantities, given over time, rhytosa proves addictive, and habitual users develop the same kind of speckled irises common to Enkida eyes, as well as a shift in skin tone that resembles that of their primary 'source.' Such individuals are called 'Rhykida,' roughly translated to 'poison sisters,' and are often accepted as subservient members of a Clutch, although traditionalists tend to balk at non-natives entering pack-bonds.
Early History
The Clutch is the primary social unit of the species, and it defines the collective triumphs and failures of Enkida society. Early Enkida tended to avoid settled agriculture, as their territorial nature made cooperation between Clutches difficult, but the Clutches that thrived did so largely by loose cooperation with other Clutches for mutual defense against wildlife. The earliest civilizations tended to congregate largely in coastal communities, and fishing was the predominant form of sustenance.
Over time, it became convenient for Clutches to organize their cooperation more formally, usually to compete against other Enkida, and the Clan structure was formed; in essence, a Clan is a group of pack-bonded Clutches operating as a larger tribal unit. Clans tended towards oligarchy, usually governed by a council formed by the most successful members of the Clan's individual Clutches. With the greater resources and labor afforded by mutual cooperation, Clans built more permanent settlements, and began engaging in larger-scale aquaculture; the primary 'herd animals' utilized for food were, and still are, aquatic. This also lead to another major advancement: organized violence.
Conflict was a constant of early Enkida civilization, even moreso than many other species. Due to their extreme territoriality and group loyalty, encroachment upon resources and territory was almost invariably solved with violence. It is worth noting that their society did not develop the concept of a professional soldier until after the development of alloyed steel, largely because it was expected that ALL members of a Clan would be willing to kill and die for the safety of the group. This is not to say that efforts were uncompensated, however; several civilizations developed currency(often based on pearls obtained from mollusc farming) around roughly the same period of history. These were originally meant as a marker to be called in to exchange for food earned for service to the Clan, but over time, currency grew to extend to other services and goods as well.
Over time, as Clans grew more and more influential and settled, conflict became organized into true warfare. Recognizing the need for more labor to support their growing communities, the most common purpose of war was forcibly inducting Clutches into the Clan to serve as indentured labor. Clans tried to rein-in lethal means, preferring to capture Clutches intact to maintain their effectiveness as working units. Steadily, Clans set their sights on bigger and bigger targets, often offering indentured laborers freedom in exchange for taking to the front lines. During this time, what are commonly known as the Six Great Clans arose: the Kyrossa, the Varadi, the Sparana, the Nytaro, the Coroda, and the Yurupa.
The Six Great Clans
All of the Six Great Clans have certain similarities. All were centralized to one of Thalandros' two major continents, shared borders with one of the other Great Clans, and were centralized to one large 'central' settlement with numerous satellite settlements that were either governed by threat of force or willingly paid tribute in exchange for independence. While shows of force to rein in minor clans were common, large-scale warfare was unheard of for nearly a thousand years, owing largely to the same grim calculus all of the Great Clan councils came to: committing to a large-scale assault on another Great Clan would leave their territory vulnerable to attack from the third Great Clan on the continent, resulting in war that would simply deplete resources necessary for defence against aggressive wildlife.
The Kyrossa began as a largely mercantile power on the southern coast of Tersys, the larger of the two continents on Thalandros, ruled by a band of matriarchs known as the Five Divine Pearls, the still-living leaders of the five founding Clutches of the Clan. Settling near rich mineral deposits and fertile fishing coasts, they focused predominantly on producing finished goods and preserved foods, and trading them to other Clans in exchange for labor. Because the Kyrossa were largely not expansionistic and preferred to secure their own territory rather than raid, many minor Clans in their area grew reliant on the Kyrossa, preferring to trade resources and workers to them in exchange for manufactured goods and maintaining their independence. This loose mercantile alliance became the foundation of Kyrossa foreign policy, adopting a stance of protectionism towards its trade partners.
Protectionism proved to be a valuable deal for the Kyrossa's clients, because the Sparana, to the north of Kyrossan territory, were not as friendly. A heavily expansionistic power, the Sparana came to power via aggressive conquest of every minor Clan they came across. Described by one Varadi historian as 'an empire of slaves and zealots,' Sparana culture was fiercely devout, ruled by a singular monarch known as the All-Mother, believed by her people to be a living goddess. The Sparana were defined by the belief that they had been chosen to rule over all lesser beings, and social mobility for indentured Enkida was non-existent.
The Varadi, to the west, were an extremely cosmopolitan power. While lacking in mercantile strength due to poor mineral resources, they were an extremely cultured society with an enormous military, forming together originally as a mutual defense agreement against the Sparana that eventually came together into a formal nation. Because Varadi Clans are all technically independent from one another, they developed into a cultural melting pot, as individual Clan traditions remained local and regional rather than being weeded-out into a larger monoculture. Varadi government eventually settled into what we would recognize as a county-based democracy.
Across the boundless Korovan Ocean, on the continent of Ubasa, the northwest was ruled by the Coroda. Technologically gifted but rigidly xenophobic, the Coroda were a highly advanced, monarchic Clan who managed to maintain their isolationism on the continent, despite their comparatively limited population, via superior weaponry and resource production than their neighbors. While it was frequently attacked, its people take it as a point of pride that no Great Clan has ever succesfully held Corodan soil.
To the south of the Coroda lay the Nytaro, a sprawling inland nation built on principles of mutual service. While aggressive and resource-hungry, the Nytaro are notable in that they are the only Great Clan who never practiced indentured labor, preferring interreliance among Clutches. Nytaro cities were ruled collectively via a system known as the Moot, a conclave of labor organizers who proposed and ratified national laws. The Moots produced an extensive and complicatd bureaucracy, to the degree that Nytaro are still thought of as producing the finest lawyers and accountants in the world.
East, among a collection of atolls, island chains, and peninsulas, lay the Yurupa. A deeply spiritual people, the Yurupa were organized into a centralized theocracy built upon veneration of the Triumvirate, a trio of goddesses representing the jungle, the sea, and the night sky. The three High Priestesses of the Yurupa were each believed to be the mortal messengers of the Coven, who interpreted their will for the people. A naval superpower, the Yurupa subsisted on an economy built largely around safeguarding coastal trade between minor clans in exchange for tariffs on their goods. Yurupans also exported their faith; the Triumvirate, usally alloyed into local spiritual beliefs and philosophies, is the dominant religion of the world to this day.
The Sunset War
While peace was tense for nearly 1100 years, there was peace, and Enkida society flourished. But all was not well among the rulers of Tersys. In what humans would refer to as the year 1453 AD, the All-Mother of the Sparana, slowly succumbing to what many later historians believe to be a degenerative mental disorder, began to see the Kyrossan's blooming merchant confederacy as a threat to her sovereignity. Fearing that if left alone, the Five Divine Pearls would slowly starve out her empire, the Sparana began building for a sneak-attack against the Kyrossan's smaller allies. It might have worked, had a cabal of Varadi spies, unwilling to let the balance of of power on the continent tip in favor of the Sparana, alerted the Kyrossa to their plans.
Reaching out to their allies, the Kyrossa swiftly drew up levies of troops and materiel, and in early 1454, their army poured into Sparana territory, taking the unprepared defenders by surprise, before their buildup had completed. However, galvanized by what they perceived as an underhanded sneak-attack, the Sparana resisted ferociously, and things settled into a lengthy conflict. Preaching to her people that 'to lose would mean the sunset of all things,' Sparana defenders dug in their heels and held for another 160 years.
While the conflict would ebb and flow, and even see several periods of white peace, the conflict never truly ended. The Sparana could not stop the flow of Kyrossan arms and personnel, but the Kyrossa also could not make headway against Sparana defenses. As the conflict wore on, the Varadi profited; as the allies of Kyrossa slowly pulled out of the war due, the Varadi were quick to take over the gaps in trade. Military leadership on both sides of the war realized that a peace had to be made or both sides would fail, but the All-Mother refused to consider a peace agreement.
In Earth year 1613 AD, Kyrossan scientists made the discovery that would turn the tide of the war: gunpowder. It's hard to overstate the effect this had on Enkida society; within months, primitive arquebuses were already circulating to the frontlines, and used to devastating effect. In 1615, a Kyrossan naval taskforce equipped with the world's first cannons sailed north around the coast to reach the capital of Sparana. The resulting bombardment shattered the morale of the Sparana military, and when Kyrossa forces stormed the palace of the All-Mother and put her to the sword, resistance in remaining holdouts collapsed rapidly as Clutches mourned the death of their goddess. By 1622, the conquest of Sparana territory by the Kyrossa was absolute. The Sunset War was over.
Love Through Flame
During the period of the Sunset War, the situation on Ubasa was not quite as violent, but neither was it entirely peaceful. Coroda and Nytaro clashed over their contested borders, with Yurupan privateers selling their services to both sides of the conflict. But there was nothing like the all-engulfing war seen on Tersys. Indeed, while somewhat bloody, the history of Ubasa was relatively uneventful, with territory rarely exchanging hands for long. That would all change, however, thanks to the shifting political situation across the ocean. Now saddled with crippling debt to both the Varadi and their now-former allies, the Kyrossa needed new trading partners to shore up their now-enormous population surplus. And with the invention of gunpowder and cannon, they had the means to secure that economy.
When introduced to the concept by human xenoanthropologists, the Enkida recognized the term 'gunboat diplomacy' almost immediately, as it had a direct analog in their language: “Basakura Pytos Udale,” the state motto of the Kyrossan Confederacy. The phrase, which translates literally as 'love through flame,' became the Kyrossan's chief form of foreign policy over the next century. The Kyrossan navy would sail to the holdings of a minor coastal Clan, destroy the enemies of the standing rulers with overwhelming force, and assure them that such services were guaranteed for the proper price... unless, of course, they refused, in which case their naval might would go to the next highest bidder. This policy proved amazingly effective, and within a scant forty years, the Kyrossans had fully-repaid all their outstanding national debts. And, incidentally, reclaimed all their former trading partners from the Varadi.
Kyrossan treasure fleets scoured the oceans looking for more tribute and 'clients,' and it was through this that they discovered Ubasa, in 1722. Immediately, they set to work utilizing their strategy to secure more wealth, but in doing so, came into conflict with the Yurupa, who already had a similar deal with the minor Clans. A Kyrossan vessel captured after being isolated by Yurupan privateers brought home the ship as a bounty, where it was rapidly reverse-engineered, and subsequently spread like wildfire across the continent. Unfortunately, this backfired severely when the Corodans used newly-built mortars to shell and capture the Yurupan High Temples, holding the Priestesses of the Triumvirate hostage to force Yurupan cooperation against the Nytaro.
The Nytaro, now outgunned and blockaded by the suddenly superior navies of the Yurupans and Coroda, reached out to the Kyrossans for assistance. They agreed... on the condition that they have bounty rights on any materiel and territory seized. The Kyrossans, aided by discontent Yurupan nationalists set upon freeing their holy figures, began to lay siege to the Corodan-held Yurupan territory, embroiling themselves in war once more.
The Rise of the Overclan
History from this period is extremely conflicted and limited, largely due to the destruction of many of the surviving records, but beyond simply being 'yet another large war,' this was a period of great cultural exchange. Yurupan religion spread across Tersys, and Kyrossan poetry and drama caught on throughout Ubasa. While bloody, this period of history is marked by being the start of what can be thought of as truly shared culture among the Enkida.
In 1807 AD by human calendars, Nytaro forces, aided by the Kyrossan navy, recaptured the High Temples of the Triumvirate, restoring the Yurupan people. With the tide fully-turned against them, the Coroda sued for peace, at what became known as the First Grand Moot. Tired of conflict, the participants agreed to utilize Varadi territory, as the sole party not to participate in the war, as neutral ground for the discussion. The peace terms set here established national territory and military conduct principles that are still the foundation of Thalandros' world government, including one particular role: that of the Overclan.
The role of the Overclan is arguably the most important factor in the politics of the planet. In short, it was established that the Grand Moot would convene once a revolution around Thalandros' suns(a period of roughly 10 years) to elect one of the five Great Clans as Overclan, whose job was enforcement of the peace and administration of contested territory. During their term, the Overclan would have the rulers of all other Clans swear fealty to them and had seizure rights against any who refused to swear. At the end of their term, the Overclan was to surrender the position, but was allowed to keep any territory they had seized from rebels.
In theory, this would ensure no one nation could come to total, permanent dominion over all others. In practice, however, as minor Clans have a vote in the Grand Moot, and the minor Clans overwhelmingly support the Kyrossan Confederacy, they were voted in in 1807 AD and barring a brief 30-year period of Corodan political resurgence, remained that way until roughly 2157, when overwhelming popular support abolished the vote and established the Kyrossans as the permanent Overclan, which continues to this day. While the Great Clans are all technically 'equal' in political terms, it would be fair to describe the Overclan as 'more equal.'
