Nation Name:
Kingdom of Kudrion
Government Form:
Absolute Monarchy
Demographics:
Humans 100%
Humans on Kudrion have been genetically modified to be stronger, tougher and to be taller than average human height pre-colonization. These modifications were done right after the first colonies were founded on Kudrion, before Kudrioni culture would develop to what it is today. For reasons that lie buried in Kudrioni history, these modifications also seem to confer a degree of resistance to mind control.
Population:
1.2 Billion
Planet Name and Description:
Kudrion is the planet on which the eponymous kingdom would find its home. It is a world much like Earth, although it is slightly larger. Kudrion’s defining feature, however, is its incredibly hostile biosphere. Nearly every form of life on the planet, from the smallest microbe to the largest apex predator (some of which can wipe out cities at a time, giving rise to the term ‘super-predator’), seems engineered to kill humans. Great dragon-like creatures roam the skies, while horned reptilians roam the jungles and monstrous leviathans swim in the seas. In addition to the already present dangerous creatures, a portion of the planet’s native fauna seem to evolve a lot faster than anything on earth, meaning that the Kudrioni themselves constantly have to adapt if they want to survive.
History:
At the dawn of our nation, when the death of Tellus was at hand, we were sent through the gate of Umos, to continue the human race. After the First Landing, our people were shattered, divided by beast attacks, great storms and many other dangers we would find in this place. But this was not to be the end. In the darkness of the mountains and hills we sheltered, creating weapons that would pierce the hides of the Great Beasts, until the time had come. It was also in the mountains where Anath, daughter of Birgitta, blessed by the gods, discovered the secrets of our strength and shared it with all the tribes.
And with the power of our will and the strength of our steel, we drove them back. From the jungles of Oglon to the frozen steppes of Zutral, we decimated all those who opposed us, smiting the Whispering Ones, and driving the Great Beasts back to the valleys they came from. We made Kudrion our home, taming the wildlife, building great cities and making its strength our own. Our warriors took up the sword and the spear to defend our home against our ever-changing enemy.
But our peace and unity was soon broken by betrayal from within, and a thousand thousand wars erupted between the tribes. Many warriors died as brother turned against brother, and our cities burned. It was then that one man, a clan-warrior from the north, rose to become chieftain of his clan. And this man, the First King Ashok, reforged our people, taking the hammer to the warring clans. In the Year of a Thousand Battles, king Ashok was successful, crushing all who opposed him, and uniting our people once more. Another time of peace came, and though there was still clan-strife, we colonized our moons, constructing vessels that could pierce the black depths of space.
Culture and Society:
The society of Kudrion is one where clans, rather than a singular state run the show. These kinship groups, said to be descended from the original colonists of Kudrion, are how Kudrioni organize themselves. The clan takes care of every need, raising children, producing food and weaponry, and many more things besides. Because these clans developed independently after colonization, there are often large cultural differences between clans, making it difficult to give a clear picture of Kudrioni society as a whole.
Kudrioni society is also one where there is no distinction between civilian and soldier. Everyone is a warrior, trained to fight against the planet’s native animals as well as other Kudrioni clans when necessary. In times of peace, however, only a fraction of a clan’s total population is assigned to warrior duty, the rest working the fields, producing goods in the factories, developing technologies and the like.
What is shared by all the clans, and essentially the entire Kudrioni population, is a strong sense and code of honour. This includes ideas like dueling for honor or to solve disputes, respect for one’s clan and ancestors, and dying an honorable death. This idea of honor has lead to the loss of Kudrioni genetic technologies as well as stagnation in cybernetics research, as the Kudrioni believe that enhancing one’s body in those ways bypasses the training and practice required to develop true skills, making them dishonorable.
One thing that should be noted is that the common Kudrioni language is almost unrecognizable from modern Earth languages. After colonization, when the clans were separated from each other, they started developing independent languages based on Old Earth ones, and the development of a common tongue has only occurred after King Ashok’s conquest.
In times of peace, the Kudrioni do all the things necessary for a space-age civilization, like the production of food, industry and scientific research. The Kudrioni also greatly value art and craftsmanship, like constructing great buildings, crafting richly decorated objects and writing songs that praise great heroes and speak about ancient legends alike.
A number of religions developed on Kudrion as well. The largest Kudrioni religion is a faith called Arido in the native Kudrioni tongue. Its followers worship a number of war gods, each representing different aspects of war and battle, like physical strength, strategy, or courage. Kudrioni often worship the god that suits them best and is the most relevant to their occupation and place in society. A slight majority of the total Kudrioni population follows this religion. Many of the planet’s native animals are captured and sacrificed to the gods as part of the Arido religion, but there are unproven rumors about human sacrifice in the most radical Arido sects...
Somewhat opposed to the Arido religion are the so-called weapon cults. Being a part of one of these weapon cults, which can be dedicated to any sort of Kudrioni weapon, is more of a way of life rather than a true religion. Their followers live a life of strict discipline in mind and body, and also constantly train with the weapon their cult is famous for, sometimes being strictly forbidden to use anything else. Rather than the more locally organized Arido faith, the weapon cults are planet-wide, each for one particular weapon, and its members operate as part of the larger brotherhood.
The third, smallest quasi-religion is the Brotherhood of Ashok. Named after the first king of Kudrion, the Brotherhood of Ashok combines the religious fervour of the Arido religion with the mysticism of the Weapon Cults. Those who follow the Brotherhood believe in an extreme form of survival of the fittest, where war and battle are actively encouraged in order to weed out the weak. Understandably, the Brotherhood is not popular in Kudrioni society, as their secrecy about their practices as well as destructive tendencies have caused more harm than good. These same aspects of their warrior religion have lead to many Kudrioni kings recruiting them for their personal guard, however.
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Governance and Politics:
The Kingdom of Kudrion is, as the name suggests, a monarchy. Its king has nearly unlimited power, although abuse of this power will quickly get both the people as well as the most powerful clans riled up against them. The Kudrioni king is a warrior, general and king in one, and is expected to personally lead the troops in battle to be regarded as worthy of the title. While the title of King of Kudrion is hereditary, any of the clans can put forward a champion to challenge the king to a duel for the title, ensuring that the Kudrioni are always led by the best among them. Over the years, this has happened many times, but none have succeeded, making the current king Dishuz part of an unbroken line of kings.
While Kudrion may be a monarchy, it is the Kudrioni clans that are the real power in the kingdom. These clans are incredibly independent, with their own military forces, industry, leaders and everything else that you need to run a society. The most powerful of these clans, called the High Clans, convene in the Clan Council, which serves an advisory role to the king. In order to promote their own interests, many smaller clans ally themselves to these High Clans, making sure the king knows what the population wants.
The members of state institutions like the military are recruited from all of the clans, ensuring that none get any real advantage over the other.
Technology Overview:
The rapidly changing conditions on Kudrion, as well as the constant, internecine clan warfare inside the kingdom, has resulted in vast advances within military technology. Examples include power armor, shielding, and energy-based weaponry.
Over time the Kudrioni have become masters in both offense and defense. Modular armour was developed by the Kudrioni, able to mount a variety of weapon systems to fight the native wildlife. This was then upgraded with power armour, enabling the Kudrioni to lift and use weapons and gear far heavier than they could have before. Personal, full-body shielding, as well as hardlight hand-held shields have also been developed. These shields have the interesting vulnerability that they break under overwhelming fire as they're unable to recharge quick enough. The full-body shields are rarely seen in battle, the technology to make them lost in the mists of time.
Another interesting Kudrioni technology is that of the projected energy blade. These blades are made from pure energy. They are able to cut through most materials, with only the hardlight shields having been able to stop them so far. These energy-bladed weapons are incredibly rare because the technology to make them has been lost (and has proven unable to be reverse-engineered), and are seen as sacred by most Kudrioni, so they are rarely used on the battlefield. Most Kudrioni melee weapons instead are made of hardlight, able to be easily taken to the battlefield while still having the strength of weapons-grade alloy.
While new melee weapons have been developed by the Kudrioni, that is not to say that the creation of ranged weapons has lagged behind. Projectile-based, energy-based and plasma-based ranged weapons all find their place in the Kudrioni battlefields, and are as powerful as those of many other nations.
While the Kudrioni have made significant advances in the creating and optimization of new weaponry and wargear, it has lagged behind in the development of cybernetics and genetic modification. This is because the Kudrioni view these sorts of extensive modifications as unfair advantages in battle, and the technology to modify their genome like they could in the past has been lost.
Military Overview:
With a culture almost entirely based on martial prowess and battle, the military is at the core of Kudrioni society. Overall, Kudrioni soldiers do not have standardized equipment, each clan warrior choosing their preferred weaponry and wargear. Some clans have their own styles of weaponry and armor that the clan warriors use. Because of this, one can observe a great variety of wargear on a Kudrioni battlefield, from the hardlight swords and axes to arm-mounted flamethrowers to energy shields, each Kudrioni warrior mixing and matching weaponry to their liking. In some clans, the right to use certain weapons is reserved for those who undergo a rite of passage, often killing some beast of Kudrion with no help
Kudrioni warriors have a broad selection of vehicles available, each developed by different clans, but a striking feature of the Kudrioni military is that they have tamed some of the planet’s native animals, armored and armed them, and use them as vehicles. For example, the Drak, a dragon-like creature native to Kudrion, has been tamed by individual warriors, who now use it instead of flying airplanes.
In tactics, strategy and military doctrine, there exists almost as much variety as in the Kudrioni weaponry. Usually, each warrior fights the way they want to, and larger strategy is based on combining the abilities of these individual warriors to maximum effect.
There is however, one exception to the lack of standardized equipment and training inherent in the Kudrioni military. This exception is the organization known as the Kudrioni Royal Guard. In the Royal Guard all troops are equipped with the same power armour and weaponry, like the fearsome energy-bladed spear, capable of rending through flesh and metal alike. The Royal Guard gets the finest equipment available, and is charged with fighting alongside the Kudrioni king in battle. It is no surprise that a large part of the Royal Guard are part of the Brotherhood of Ashok.
After a period of clan warfare, Kudrion has made it back to space, where this warfare resumed, each clan trying to outdo the others by building bigger and better ships. As a result, Kudrion theoretically has a large fleet, but it is a fleet divided between the many thousands of clans that exist.
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