User:DeadLantern

= Overview = The Third Hegemony is a feudal monarchy ruled by a single monarch, known as the Hegemon, who rules and leads the Hegemon as a political and somewhat spiritual paragon. The Hegemony is also made up of hundreds of land-owning noble families, of which a few dozen noble families are major influencers in the politics of the Hegemony. Not'zar and the Izweski clan leads the Hegemony, eager to expand their influence out into the stars while resolving the conflicts on Moghes.

Since the Contact War, the Hegemon has remained an inflated entity, bloated by the victory over their ancient enemy, the Traditionalists. Though scorched by nuclear armageddon, the Hegemony exploded out of the capital, Skalamar, and began the colonization of Traditionalist lands and of faraway planets. The way to consolidation was not easy, however; Hegemon S'kresti fell into a coma and Not'zar wormed his way to the throne, claiming himself regent before any other heir could. The rise and fall of the Sk'akh church also menaced the careful religious balance of the Hegemony, further enflamed by the rising of Hegemon S'kresti and his conversion to Si'akh. The Hegemon, subject to a Civil War between the Sk'akh fearing and usurping nobles versus the apostle Hegemon and loyal lords nearly tore the Hegemony into scraps.

After S'kresti's assassination, Not'zar has officially assumed the title of Hegemon. He has set his eyes on the stars, seemingly turning his back on the brewing religious tensions in the Hegemony and the embittered Wasteland. The Hegemony almost fell thirty years ago due to an external war; surely, the next threat shall come from within. = Government and Power = As said before, the Hegemony both in antiquity and in the present has been ruled by a single Hegemon who rules over the entirety of the Hegemony, including all of the nobility. While the Hegemon technically overrules the power that exists in the land-owning elites, the influence each actor has on each other is in constant flux. Sometimes, the Hegemon has very little power over the nobles and is like to be deposed if he disobeys their will; other times, the Hegemon divided and washed away the power of the nobility. This balance of power could shift gradually in one era and in another be flipped in an instant. However, in modern times, the Hegemon is under significantly more stress, with external actors such as the aliens and guilds worming their way into the lethal ocean of Hegemony politics.

= History = It is important to note that the Hegemon has always been seen as the rightful ruler of Moghes to those who supported the Hegemony. To Traditionalists and Wastelanders, the Hegemon may be known as The Invader, The Scorcher, or The Thief, and to Hegemonics, the Hegemon may be known as The Inheritor, The Collector, or The Predestined. This cultural phenomenon has existed since the First Hegemony and has affected all of their spiritual successors; as the most powerful, the Hegemon, by divine right, should have complete control over the entirety of Moghes and its people, including the nobility. However, in reality, either by Traditionalists, the Nobility, or some other force, the Hegemon’s power has always been greatly reduced from what it is purported to be.

Antiquity and The First Hegemony
During the First Hegemony, the power between the Hegemon and the ruling nobility was balanced. The nobility controlled the food and the people of the Hegemon, securing the future of the Hegemony at large. In turn, the Hegemon granted safety and benefits for the most loyal clans. Despite there being massive power differences between most of the noble clans, they and the Hegemon were unified in their goals. Both had a similar disposition to the backwater “traditionalist” raider clans that existed outside of their lands, which led to unfettered expansion and accumulation of wealth. Moghes had not seen such a large and stable empire since in ever, though it was not to last. The Kres’ha’nor awarded more land and wealth to the most honorable and loyal clans, regardless of size, allowing smaller noble clans to compete with the larger clans. Open warfare between the various noble clans was seen as “dishonorable infighting” as the Hegemon focused on protecting the Hegemony from the uncivilized raiders. Deceit and treachery were masked under honorable pursuits, so smaller clans could easily topple ancient ruling families and claim their lands as their own leading to a balanced power field and scorching rivalries. Eventually, upon the death of Hegemon Kresshi the Nescient, the mostly equal noble clans had the political might to pledge loyalty to the son of their choice without consequence, leading to the breakup of the First Hegemony and the establishment of smaller kingdoms from the corpse of the First Hegemony.

For three hundred years, Moghes was in disarray. Most of the primitive traditionalist raider clans had organized into real feudal kingdoms, sometimes equalling the power of the Hegemonic rump states. Most of these small kingdoms were controlled by 1-5 noble families, never filling the hole that the Hegemon left in the political balance of Moghes--instead, the planet was left to be duked out by small princelings for minor swathes of land. The growth of guilds did not help either, and many noble families feared being ruled by a mega-guild.

Industrialization and The Second Hegemony
This all changed when Sruzur Sarakus the Bold took his chance and grabbed Moghes by the throat during the infantile stages of industrialization. Sruzur, during the “Lightning War”, swept through the industrialized clans, seizing them with “automatic mounts” and a combination of primitive firearms and castle-forged steel. All quickly realized that it was the Hegemony come back, the phoenix from the dust. Sruzur did three very important things that established him as the rightful Hegemon of Moghes and propelled the Second Hegemony into stardom: 1, he recognized that the Guilds could become an extra threat in addition to the nobility, and they had to be stopped, otherwise the Hegemon would be little more than a puppet. 2, after destroying the guilds and seizing their powers, Sruzur granted titles and factories to various nobles in the Hegemony. After learning from the sins of the First Hegemony, Sruzur saw the necessity of keeping the nobility divided between itself and keeping their power unbalanced (but not too much as to cause chaos). Ancient rivalries were enflamed, and Sruzur kept the nobility weak and divided through unfairness. 3, Sruzur took the time to locate the artifacts of the Hegemon that the sons of Hegemon Kresshi the Nescient had pillaged after the break-up; such artifacts were the Grand Scepter of Sk’akhdom, the Ancient Ring of Th’akhdom, the Crown of the Plains, and the Throne that which Descended from the Ancestors. Sruzur proclaimed himself and his kingdom the spiritual successor of the First Hegemony, outfitting himself as if he were the rightful Lord of the Hegemony and its people and Bane of the Traditionalists, and eventually, he became just that. The Hegemony itself was now a concept; that country that may come to bring stability and peace for all Sinta, protecting themselves from the rabid Traditionalists. The lands previously sworn to the Hegemon were gathered, and the Second Hegemony was finalized.

The Second Hegemony was prosperous, and the crown passed from Hegemon Sruzur the Bold to Hegemon Azyi the Forger. The Great Endeavor came and went, again marking the line between the civilized and stable Hegemony versus the savage and chaotic Traditionalist clans. The Hegemony was industrialized and powerful, and the Traditionalists had changed very little since the First Hegemony. The Second Hegemony was still very new, however, and the combined power of the Traditionalists challenged the Hegemony. The Traditionalists learned from their mistakes, and most realms signed a pact to put off their rivalries and differences if the Hegemony were to begin expansion as they had done before. The actual power of this Traditionalist Pact was never tested, but it established the precedence that the Traditionalists would band together if the Hegemony were to ever go back to its imperializing ways. Before the Second Hegemony could plan any foray into the Traditionalist outskirts, damnation happened. Hegemon Sruzur the Bold had broken the nobility quite well, allowing for acts of tyranny such as the Great Endeavor to happen without much protest. Through his reforms, the state of the nobility was divided, but very chaotic. In the fighting and scheming, the once small Izweski were granted several titles and enterprises which allowed them to grow Skalamar from a small port to a bustling trade city and also created the First Scept. Instead of choosing to war or exploit their neighbors, the Izweski launched a scheme that would eventually kill the tyrannous Sarakus and place the Izweski Clan at the top, claiming the title of Hegemon.

The Third Hegemony
Six years of planning and waiting had come to fruition, though it rightfully stunned major and minor lords alike. After eighty-five years of civil war, the Izweski Clan was cemented as controlling the title of Hegemon and fashioned themselves as the Third successor to the First Hegemony, 1159 years after the Kres’ha’nor. As a sign of being more honorable than the previous Sarakus rulers, the guilds were reborn with all of their previous powers, with all the nobles signing away their titles. The Guilds began to compete with the nobility and weaken their power, as nobles had to somehow keep their people from striking and rebelling. The Hegemon was forced to acquiesce to the guilds, limiting his power, but the Guilds were mostly focused on competing and exploiting the nobility’s peasants. That was the status quo, with a strong but limited Hegemon and a relatively weak nobility and Guild system. Though together the nobility was strong, they lived in constant division due to the constant competition with the guilds and other clans. While a small middle class was forming, the Hegemon and the Hegemony was allowed to exist and grow in power. Maybe, some ambitious Izweski Hegemon would set his sights on the Traditionalists, but the threat of a universal Traditionalist Alliance scared off many. The Hegemony was stable--but it was not to last, as we all know.

The Izweski Hegemony Today
Hegemon Not’zar rules over an inflated Hegemony. Before first contact the Hegemony was as it always was, trying to maintain stability despite noble intrusions and Traditionalist threats. The technology divide was clearer than ever, with the Traditionalists sorely lacking, but that was always the norm. However, Hegemon S’kresti the Apostate (or the Ascended) funneled alien technology into the Hegemony, causing a cascade that resulted in the physical and spiritual destruction of Moghes.

Since then, Hegemon Not’zar has been trying to pick up the pieces. Not’zar truly believes in the cruelty and tyranny of the Sarakus Clan and has been increasingly lenient for the nobility in the Hegemony. In the early days of Not’zar’s regency, the nobility was at its most divided--clans had to juggle powerful guilds meddling with their serfs, along with rival clans and the enthusiastic Church snatching away their lands and their Iron Masks whisking away heretics for the littlest of transgressions. Many nobles had to move to Traditionalist lands (as most of the Traditionalist nobility was eliminated) and go back to aqua-culture to feed a refugee-stricken Hegemony. All of this, however, exploded with S’kresti’s waking and later sins. The nobility saw their chance and took it. Those on S’kresti’s side hoped that the destruction of rival clans would pave the way for greater influence for their own clans, and the expulsion of the Church’s influence and lands was also good. Those on the Church’s side hoped that the Church would grant them favor once the war was won, and that the nobility could finally place a Hegemon on the throne that owed them something--Not’zar could easily be molded to fit their goals, as non-confrontational he was.

But neither side got what they wanted. S’kresti was slain by his own son and Not’zar’s brother, a sin to ancestors and Sinta alike. Many of the rebel leaders suspected treachery on Not’zar’s part, but it was all brushed away; Not’zar ascended the throne with his father dead and no other heir in sight. To this day, neither the loyalist apostate lords nor the rebels with the ruinous church have been awarded or punished for their actions, and the patient Not’zar intends to keep it that way. The nobility is damaged by war and rivalries have again been enflamed. The removal of the Church is a boon, but Unzi still lurks out there… For the nobility, this is their weakest point yet, and many see the Hegemon Not’zar as a kinslaying wretch that laughs at their despair.

For Hegemon Not’zar, he has the benefit of ruling over the entirety of Moghes (barring the lawless Wasteland) and has had the most power and influence over the Hegemony since Hegemon Sruzur the Bold 540 years ago. He has the most powerful private army on Moghes in the form of the K’lax, has extensive protection from the Izweski Guwan guard, and is ruling over an accomplished Hegemony, dominant over the Traditionalists. A wise ruler will always fear, however, and that fear comes from the outside. Whatever Not’zar is planning to do, he has to take into account the aliens that so rarely convene, as they are the key to the Hegemony’s continued success in the Orion Spur. There is still the question of what to do for the refugees that pour in from the Wasteland, as with the rogue kingdoms that harbor anti-Hegemony ideals. Religious tensions are at an all-time high, with the Si’akh heresy having increased confidence from recent events, and not to mention the vengeful Unzi and his Iron Masks, somewhere in hiding. It is clear that Hegemon Not’zar is going to have to lead the Hegemony through some of the darkest times yet, and there are enemies about every shadow.

= Society =

Life in the Hegemony has changed very little since the emergence of feudalism, especially for the common worker. There are the people at the top--nobles, merchants, aliens, and then there are the people at the bottom--peasantry, guwans, and more. The disparity between the rich and the poor widens every day. More factories and more food and more people are always a necessity, though certain solutions have presented themselves to the meek in recent years. Salvation lies at the end of smuggling, and if one plays their cards right, a clan could even end up in the fabled “middle-class”. For the nobility and the merchants, never has the potential for opportunity been so close. The Hegemony has never recovered since the Contact War, and though the nobility and merchants may be divided, a weak kingdom spawns mercenary lords. Deceit, treachery, and fighting has always been the mark of the elite in the Hegemony, and that has not changed--but the stakes are ever higher, especially with the introduction of megacorporations and alien technology. While they may be rich, it’s far from safe.

Life
For the peasantry, there exists two forms of life: urban and rural. Unlike in other cultures, it is hard to determine which way of life is worse than the other. For the rural Sinta, there is not much life outside of working and praying. Ever since the Contact War, the Hegemony has had a refugee crisis and a food crisis, which necessitated the rebirth of aquaculture in a real way. Thusly, loyal noble families and their serf-clans were moved out to the Southlands and the Traditionalist remnants to fish for the fishing guilds. Clans live next to other clans in either huts or apartments, often salvaged from the nearby wasteland. There is very little social mobility compared to the urban peasants, as no noble family is going to let their serf-clans relocate to the city. There is no ladder to climb, no system to exploit. Forlorn Sinta often take their chances in the Wasteland or with smugglers, and desertion is at an all-time high for rural peasant Unathi. The nobility in this region are poor compared to their urbanite rivals, and have recently taken to the practice of signing their peasants with Hephaestus or other guilds/corporations for work. Loyal serfs are sent to work for these corporations at much higher wages and send their money back to the nobility. These endeavors, especially if they go out into space, are accompanied by dozens of peasants and some of the nobility to keep them in line. Occasionally, these peasants disappear into the alien streets, a great dishonor to their clan.

For the urbanites, the potential to move up is greater. Since the money that the factory guilds send are not immediately devoured by the nobility, an enterprising serf-clan can quietly collect money. Marriages are done to merge these serf-guilds and create a giant cell of cooperating impoverished Unathi. If they send enough of their children to the stars and have a little luck, they could potentially ascend to the mystical middle class, which mutually benefits the lords of the peasants by taking a bigger cut of their larger wages. Middle-class Sinta can live better, get better wages, and half-live in the 25th century and not the 19th century. This end-goal is hard to reach, and many serf-clans that serve the same lord would gladly betray their cohorts to ascend for themselves. Moving from the slums on the outskirts of the city to the towering buildings of the innercity is a challenge, though--peasant Unathi are easily identified by their accent, and vengeful nobility may view them as workers stepping out of line. One either climbs out of the rank slums into the apartments of the modern Hegemonic city, or falls from the forts and ancient homes of the noble district down to the middle class, and those who fall are not keen to share their buildings with starry-eyed peasants.

As said before, the modern city in the Hegemon is composed of the slums and factories on the outskirts of the city, the relatively high-tech interior fashioned with apartments and restaurants and stores, with the noble and typically ancient noble districts in the middle. The nobility, while not residing in giant skyscrapers, has the most amount of alien technology and presence bar none. Connected to wizened fortresses are state-of-the-art communication centers, bathrooms, holo-theaters, and more. The whiplash from sandstone and brick paths to metal roads and maglev trains is exhausting for newcomers, but normal life for the nobility. Getting evicted from the district by bad luck or malicious intent is humiliating, and noble families are willing to do anything to crawl out of the “impoverished” inner-city back to their ancestral homes. Despite alien influence, Hegemonic life has never been more mercenary.

Even since the First Hegemony, the Hegemony has always had Th'akh and Sk'akh, the two religious pillars of their dear country (even if Sk'akh is outnumbered). The Hegemony has always been seen as the temporal lord of all of Th'akhdom and Sk'akhdom--not as a pontiff, but as a representation of the spiritual populace. Interreligious marriage has always been common, so there exists little animosity between the two religions; this collapsed after the Contact War and the establishment of the Sk'akh Church.

Though the Iron Masks and Unzi's powers are faded, religious tensions are quite high. Most noble families converted to Sk'akh to curry favor with the church, but the converts have reconverted back to their Th'akh ancestral roots. While Th'akh lords may be lying in wait, the destruction of the Akhanzi Order has not been lost on them; many are prepared if Sk'akh lords eat up their lands under the guise of a religious crusade. Similarly, Sk'akh lords are fearful of Th'akh retribution for the sins of the Church. Additionally, while the dissenting Aut'akh find their stock in the Wasteland or with the criminals of the Hegemony, making for easy policing, the Si'akh heathens are a much harder foe to grapple with. Some Lords did convert to Juzida's religion to mirror S'kresti's affinity for the faith, all have quietly converted back--the same can not be said for the small selection of urban and rural peasants who have sworn themselves to Si'akh. The current Hegemonic stance on the Si'akh faithful is one of mistrust, as compared to outright hostility when the Church was around. It is unclear how the Hegemony plans to deal with the overconfident Si'akh, but most lords are content to let them be in their current benign form.

= History =

Antiquity
It is important to note that the Hegemon has always been seen as the rightful ruler of Moghes to those who supported the Hegemony. To Traditionalists and Wastelanders, the Hegemon may be known as The Invader, The Scorcher, or The Thief, and to Hegemonics, the Hegemon may be known as The Inheritor, The Collector, or The Predestined. This cultural phenomenon has existed since the First Hegemony and has affected all of their spiritual successors; as the most powerful, the Hegemon, by divine right, should have complete control over the entirety of Moghes and its people, including the nobility. However, in reality, either by Traditionalists, the Nobility, or some other force, the Hegemon’s power has always been greatly reduced from what it is purported to be.

During the First Hegemony, the power between the Hegemon and the ruling nobility was balanced. The nobility controlled the food and the people of the Hegemon, securing the future of the Hegemony at large. In turn, the Hegemon granted safety and benefits for the most loyal clans. Despite there being massive power differences between most of the noble clans, they and the Hegemon were unified in their goals. Both had a similar disposition to the backwater “traditionalist” raider clans that existed outside of their lands, which led to unfettered expansion and accumulation of wealth. Moghes had not seen such a large and stable empire since in ever, though it was not to last. The Kres’ha’nor awarded more land and wealth to the most honorable and loyal clans, regardless of size, allowing smaller noble clans to compete with the larger clans. Open warfare between the various noble clans was seen as “dishonorable infighting” as the Hegemon focused on protecting the Hegemony from the uncivilized raiders. Deceit and treachery were masked under honorable pursuits, so smaller clans could easily topple ancient ruling families and claim their lands as their own leading to a balanced power field and scorching rivalries. Eventually, upon the death of Hegemon Kresshi the Nescient, the mostly equal noble clans had the political might to pledge loyalty to the son of their choice without consequence, leading to the breakup of the First Hegemony and the establishment of smaller kingdoms from the corpse of the First Hegemony.

For three hundred years, Moghes was in disarray. Most of the primitive traditionalist raider clans had organized into real feudal kingdoms, sometimes equalling the power of the Hegemonic rump states. Most of these small kingdoms were controlled by 1-5 noble families, never filling the hole that the Hegemon left in the political balance of Moghes--instead, the planet was left to be duked out by small princelings for minor swathes of land. The growth of guilds did not help either, and many noble families feared being ruled by a mega-guild. This all changed when Sruzur Sarakus the Bold took his chance and grabbed Moghes by the throat during the infantile stages of industrialization. Sruzur, during the “Lightning War”, swept through the industrialized clans, seizing them with “automatic mounts” and a combination of primitive firearms and castle-forged steel. All quickly realized that it was the Hegemony come back, the phoenix from the dust.

Sruzur did three very important things that established him as the rightful Hegemon of Moghes and propelled the Second Hegemony into stardom: 1, he recognized that the Guilds could become an extra threat in addition to the nobility, and they had to be stopped, otherwise the Hegemon would be little more than a puppet. 2, after destroying the guilds and seizing their powers, Sruzur granted titles and factories to various nobles in the Hegemony. After learning from the sins of the First Hegemony, Sruzur saw the necessity of keeping the nobility divided between itself and keeping their power unbalanced (but not too much as to cause chaos). Ancient rivalries were enflamed, and Sruzur kept the nobility weak and divided through unfairness. 3, Sruzur took the time to locate the artifacts of the Hegemon that the sons of Hegemon Kresshi the Nescient had pillaged after the break-up; such artifacts were the Grand Scepter of Sk’akhdom, the Ancient Ring of Th’akhdom, the Crown of the Plains, and the Throne that which Descended from the Ancestors. Sruzur proclaimed himself and his kingdom the spiritual successor of the First Hegemony, outfitting himself as if he were the rightful Lord of the Hegemony and its people and Bane of the Traditionalists, and eventually, he became just that. The Hegemony itself was now a concept; that country that may come to bring stability and peace for all Sinta, protecting themselves from the rabid Traditionalists. The lands previously sworn to the Hegemon were gathered, and the Second Hegemony was finalized.

The Second Hegemony was prosperous, and the crown passed from Hegemon Sruzur the Bold to Hegemon Azyi the Forger. The Great Endeavor came and went, again marking the line between the civilized and stable Hegemony versus the savage and chaotic Traditionalist clans. The Hegemony was industrialized and powerful, and the Traditionalists had changed very little since the First Hegemony. The Second Hegemony was still very new, however, and the combined power of the Traditionalists challenged the Hegemony. The Traditionalists learned from their mistakes, and most realms signed a pact to put off their rivalries and differences if the Hegemony were to begin expansion as they had done before. The actual power of this Traditionalist Pact was never tested, but it established the precedence that the Traditionalists would band together if the Hegemony were to ever go back to its imperializing ways. Before the Second Hegemony could plan any foray into the Traditionalist outskirts, damnation happened. Hegemon Sruzur the Bold had broken the nobility quite well, allowing for acts of tyranny such as the Great Endeavor to happen without much protest. Through his reforms, the state of the nobility was divided, but very chaotic. In the fighting and scheming, the once small Izweski were granted several titles and enterprises which allowed them to grow Skalamar from a small port to a bustling trade city and also created the First Scept. Instead of choosing to war or exploit their neighbors, the Izweski launched a scheme that would eventually kill the tyrannous Sarakus and place the Izweski Clan at the top, claiming the title of Hegemon.

Six years of planning and waiting had come to fruition, though it rightfully stunned major and minor lords alike. After eighty-five years of civil war, the Izweski Clan was cemented as controlling the title of Hegemon and fashioned themselves as the Third successor to the First Hegemony, 1159 years after the Kres’ha’nor. As a sign of being more honorable than the previous Sarakus rulers, the guilds were reborn with all of their previous powers, with all the nobles signing away their titles. The Guilds began to compete with the nobility and weaken their power, as nobles had to somehow keep their people from striking and rebelling. The Hegemon was forced to acquiesce to the guilds, limiting his power, but the Guilds were mostly focused on competing and exploiting the nobility’s peasants. That was the status quo, with a strong but limited Hegemon and a relatively weak nobility and Guild system. Though together the nobility was strong, they lived in constant division due to the constant competition with the guilds and other clans. While a small middle class was forming, the Hegemon and the Hegemony was allowed to exist and grow in power. Maybe, some ambitious Izweski Hegemon would set his sights on the Traditionalists, but the threat of a universal Traditionalist Alliance scared off many. The Hegemony was stable--but it was not to last, as we all know.

The Hegemony Today Hegemon Not’zar rules over an inflated Hegemony. Before first contact the Hegemony was as it always was, trying to maintain stability despite noble intrusions and Traditionalist threats. The technology divide was clearer than ever, with the Traditionalists sorely lacking, but that was always the norm. However, Hegemon S’kresti the Apostate (or the Ascended) funneled alien technology into the Hegemony, causing a cascade that resulted in the physical and spiritual destruction of Moghes.

Since then, Hegemon Not’zar has been trying to pick up the pieces. Not’zar truly believes in the cruelty and tyranny of the Sarakus Clan and has been increasingly lenient for the nobility in the Hegemony. In the early days of Not’zar’s regency, the nobility was at its most divided--clans had to juggle powerful guilds meddling with their serfs, along with rival clans and the enthusiastic Church snatching away their lands and their Iron Masks whisking away heretics for the littlest of transgressions. Many nobles had to move to Traditionalist lands (as most of the Traditionalist nobility was eliminated) and go back to aqua-culture to feed a refugee-stricken Hegemony. All of this, however, exploded with S’kresti’s waking and later sins. The nobility saw their chance and took it. Those on S’kresti’s side hoped that the destruction of rival clans would pave the way for greater influence for their own clans, and the expulsion of the Church’s influence and lands was also good. Those on the Church’s side hoped that the Church would grant them favor once the war was won, and that the nobility could finally place a Hegemon on the throne that owed them something--Not’zar could easily be molded to fit their goals, as non-confrontational he was.

But neither side got what they wanted. S’kresti was slain by his own son and Not’zar’s brother, a sin to ancestors and Sinta alike. Many of the rebel leaders suspected treachery on Not’zar’s part, but it was all brushed away; Not’zar ascended the throne with his father dead and no other heir in sight. To this day, neither the loyalist apostate lords nor the rebels with the ruinous church have been awarded or punished for their actions, and the patient Not’zar intends to keep it that way. The nobility is damaged by war and rivalries have again been enflamed. The removal of the Church is a boon, but Unzi still lurks out there… For the nobility, this is their weakest point yet, and many see the Hegemon Not’zar as a kinslaying wretch that laughs at their despair.

For Hegemon Not’zar, he has the benefit of ruling over the entirety of Moghes (barring the lawless Wasteland) and has had the most power and influence over the Hegemony since Hegemon Sruzur the Bold 540 years ago. He has the most powerful private army on Moghes in the form of the K’lax, has extensive protection from the Izweski Guwan guard, and is ruling over an accomplished Hegemony, dominant over the Traditionalists. A wise ruler will always fear, however, and that fear comes from the outside. Whatever Not’zar is planning to do, he has to take into account the aliens that so rarely convene, as they are the key to the Hegemony’s continued success in the Orion Spur. There is still the question of what to do for the refugees that pour in from the Wasteland, as with the rogue kingdoms that harbor anti-Hegemony ideals. Religious tensions are at an all-time high, with the Si’akh heresy having increased confidence from recent events, and not to mention the vengeful Unzi and his Iron Masks, somewhere in hiding. It is clear that Hegemon Not’zar is going to have to lead the Hegemony through some of the darkest times yet, and there are enemies about every shadow.

Society
Life in the Hegemony has changed very little since the emergence of feudalism, especially for the common worker. There are the people at the top--nobles, merchants, aliens, and then there are the people at the bottom--peasantry, guwans, and more. The disparity between the rich and the poor widens every day. More factories and more food and more people are always a necessity, though certain solutions have presented themselves to the meek in recent years. Salvation lies at the end of smuggling, and if one plays their cards right, a clan could even end up in the fabled “middle-class”. For the nobility and the merchants, never has the potential for opportunity been so close. The Hegemony has never recovered since the Contact War, and though the nobility and merchants may be divided, a weak kingdom spawns mercenary lords. Deceit, treachery, and fighting has always been the mark of the elite in the Hegemony, and that has not changed--but the stakes are ever higher, especially with the introduction of megacorporations and alien technology. While they may be rich, it’s far from safe.

Life
For the peasantry, there exists two forms of life: urban and rural. Unlike in other cultures, it is hard to determine which way of life is worse than the other. For the rural Sinta, there is not much life outside of working and praying. Ever since the Contact War, the Hegemony has had a refugee crisis and a food crisis, which necessitated the rebirth of aquaculture in a real way. Thusly, loyal noble families and their serf-clans were moved out to the Southlands and the Traditionalist remnants to fish for the fishing guilds. Clans live next to other clans in either huts or apartments, often salvaged from the nearby wasteland. There is very little social mobility compared to the urban peasants, as no noble family is going to let their serf-clans relocate to the city. There is no ladder to climb, no system to exploit. Forlorn Sinta often take their chances in the Wasteland or with smugglers, and desertion is at an all-time high for rural peasant Unathi. The nobility in this region are poor compared to their urbanite rivals, and have recently taken to the practice of signing their peasants with Hephaestus or other guilds/corporations for work. Loyal serfs are sent to work for these corporations at much higher wages and send their money back to the nobility. These endeavors, especially if they go out into space, are accompanied by dozens of peasants and some of the nobility to keep them in line. Occasionally, these peasants disappear into the alien streets, a great dishonor to their clan.

For the urbanites, the potential to move up is greater. Since the money that the factory guilds send are not immediately devoured by the nobility, an enterprising serf-clan can quietly collect money. Marriages are done to merge these serf-guilds and create a giant cell of cooperating impoverished Unathi. If they send enough of their children to the stars and have a little luck, they could potentially ascend to the mystical middle class, which mutually benefits the lords of the peasants by taking a bigger cut of their larger wages. Middle-class Sinta can live better, get better wages, and half-live in the 25th century and not the 19th century. This end-goal is hard to reach, and many serf-clans that serve the same lord would gladly betray their cohorts to ascend for themselves. Moving from the slums on the outskirts of the city to the towering buildings of the innercity is a challenge, though--peasant Unathi are easily identified by their accent, and vengeful nobility may view them as workers stepping out of line. One either climbs out of the rank slums into the apartments of the modern Hegemonic city, or falls from the forts and ancient homes of the noble district down to the middle class, and those who fall are not keen to share their buildings with starry-eyed peasants.

As said before, the modern city in the Hegemon is composed of the slums and factories on the outskirts of the city, the relatively high-tech interior fashioned with apartments and restaurants and stores, with the noble and typically ancient noble districts in the middle. The nobility, while not residing in giant skyscrapers, has the most amount of alien technology and presence bar none. Connected to wizened fortresses are state-of-the-art communication centers, bathrooms, holo-theaters, and more. The whiplash from sandstone and brick paths to metal roads and maglev trains is exhausting for newcomers, but normal life for the nobility. Getting evicted from the district by bad luck or malicious intent is humiliating, and noble families are willing to do anything to crawl out of the “impoverished” inner-city back to their ancestral homes. Despite alien influence, Hegemonic life has never been more mercenary.

Even since the First Hegemony, the Hegemony has always had Th'akh and Sk'akh, the two religious pillars of their dear country (even if Sk'akh is outnumbered). The Hegemony has always been seen as the temporal lord of all of Th'akhdom and Sk'akhdom--not as a pontiff, but as a representation of the spiritual populace. Interreligious marriage has always been common, so there exists little animosity between the two religions; this collapsed after the Contact War and the establishment of the Sk'akh Church.

Though the Iron Masks and Unzi's powers are faded, religious tensions are quite high. Most noble families converted to Sk'akh to curry favor with the church, but the converts have reconverted back to their Th'akh ancestral roots. While Th'akh lords may be lying in wait, the destruction of the Akhanzi Order has not been lost on them; many are prepared if Sk'akh lords eat up their lands under the guise of a religious crusade. Similarly, Sk'akh lords are fearful of Th'akh retribution for the sins of the Church. Additionally, while the dissenting Aut'akh find their stock in the Wasteland or with the criminals of the Hegemony, making for easy policing, the Si'akh heathens are a much harder foe to grapple with. Some Lords did convert to Juzida's religion to mirror S'kresti's affinity for the faith, all have quietly converted back--the same can not be said for the small selection of urban and rural peasants who have sworn themselves to Si'akh. The current Hegemonic stance on the Si'akh faithful is one of mistrust, as compared to outright hostility when the Church was around. It is unclear how the Hegemony plans to deal with the overconfident Si'akh, but most lords are content to let them be in their current benign form.