Republic of the Claw

> "*Here in our tunnels beneath Eagle territory, I want you two to secretly begin forming this Republic, even as I continue to lead the Scorpions as a whole*. *A contingency plan for the Scorpion Tribe, and for my legacy. By my claw, the survival of the Scorpions will be ensured, either by my continued leadership, or by this Republic."* -Scorpix
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## Republic of the Claw

### Government type

* Democratic
* Sortition/Citizen's Jury (Formerly)

### Current Leader:

* Craunus Maximus
* Calloran Fen

### Ruling party:

* Consuls
	+ Craunus Maximus
	+ Calloran Fen
* Praetors
	+ Sirius
	+ Scarabus
* Citizen's Jury (Formerly, disbanded)

### Ideology:

* Formerly: All citizens qualified to give input on the Republic's actions, main assembly votes; Outlands culture integrated with inland democracy.
* Currently: All adult Scorpions have the right to vote; ultimate goal is a balance of freedom and order.

### Foreign doctrine:

* Formerly
	+ Isolationism from the surface (not by choice);
	+ Neutrality until/unless the Ice Hunters attack;
	+ Construct innovative war vehicles for the Eagles and Crocodiles, for chi in return.
* Currently
	+ Assist in any war efforts of Unichi allies.
	+ Maintain strong relations between the Scorpions and all non-Hunter tribes.

The Republic of the Claw is a Scorpion government that was secretly created by Imperial General (and later, Scorpion Tribe leader) Scorpix during the Chima Alliance—Crawler Empire War, as a back-up ruling body to lead the Scorpion Tribe in case the Supreme Leader was killed or captured before transforming the tribe into a democracy himself. Inspired by the republics he'd observed in Chima, Scorpix integrated inland government systems and ideas of democracy with Outlands culture and traditions, but without any of the Spiders' xenophobia, Scortica's experimentation on sapient beings, or King Scorm's brutal treatment of agricultural workers. This was due to the recently evolved Scorpix having developed a sense of morality, and through this, Scorpix believed that he was preserving the good parts of Outland tribes' tradition, and "culling the bad". This was evident in the ways the Consuls treated scorpion citizens in comparison to the royal family before them.

Despite at first failing to absorb the main Scorpion Tribe after the Crawler—Ice Hunter War (and suffering the loss of Scorpix himself), the Republic of the Claw became a powerful faction, was recognized as an individual tribe by the Lions, and became a founding member of Unichi, along with the Wolves and Gorillas. During Unichi's Outlands campaign of the Fire—Ice Wars, the Republic finally succeeded in becoming the governing body of the Scorpion Tribe and retaking most of the Outlands. They later came up with the idea to add The Forgotten to Unichi, ending past hostilities between the Scorpions and Forgotten, and were also partially responsible for uniting almost the entire south against the Ice Hunters, through an allied assault to retake Crystal Crater.

## History

### Formation

The Republic of the Claw was created by Scorpion Supreme Leader Scorpix at the time of the Roleplay, soon after the Bats and Scorpions annexed Eagle territory into the domain of the Crawler Empire. It was Scorpix' belief that, if he were to be killed or captured like King Scorm and Prince Scorpio, it would prove that the rule of a single King or Supreme Leader fundamentally wouldn't work for the Scorpion Tribe. Besides this, he'd already become interested in the concept of a republic for the Scorpions after making contact with the Gorilla Republic, and Scorpix ended up fully believing that a monarchy would lead the tribe to destruction after the late King Scorm had displayed his incompetence.

Scorpix reached out to two Scorpions of unknown rank who had the same beliefs as him, and held a secret meeting with them in the newly-dug Imperial tunnels beneath Eagle Spire. Scorpix explained his ideology and concept to them, and tasked the two of them with forming his democratic government in the tunnels by gathering like-minded Scorpions, while he continued to lead the Scorpion Tribe on the surface. If Scorpix was captured or killed, the Consuls he'd chosen would reveal themselves as the Supreme Leader's heirs, and lead the Scorpion Tribe's new government. Scorpix recorded the meeting, so that the Consuls could play it to prove their claim. For the time being, however, the Republic was kept secret, building itself beneath Eagle territory (and Crocodile and Wolf territories soon after) on Scorpix' orders, as he continued fighting in the war with the Chima Alliance. As the leader of the Scorpion Tribe and effective co-leader of the Crawler Empire at the time, Scorpix had no shortage of chi, resources, and monetary funds to provide the Consuls with in order to create the new sub-faction and its military, under the public pretense that he was funding underground vehicle factories for the Empire.

Though Scorpix's goal was for every adult scorpion in the tribe to eventually have the right to vote for their leaders, he'd acknowledged that such a reform would take a long time to implement, and instructed the Consuls to use a sortition system in the meantime. The Consuls (who'd since stripped themselves of their original identities, taking on the names Craunus Maximus and Calloran Fen) formed their new government's Citizen's Jury from various Scorpion diplomats and officials who'd lost faith in the monarchy, with an emphasis on those formerly stationed in the Gorilla HQ, whose minds had been opened to democratic ideas after conversing with the Gorilla Republic. After the Republic of the Claw formed its army (using Scorpion Army soldiers, as well as former civilians who underwent combat training), Scorpix contacted the Consuls, and told them about his secret plan to draw out Scortica's separatist faction, The Combine. However, this plan ended up failing due to the unexpected invasion of the Vultures (see the Scorpix page).

### Crawler—Ice Hunter War

After Scorpix and 70% of the Royal Scorpion Army were frozen by the Brotherhood of Vultures in The Iron Mountains, Maximus and Fen surfaced atop Eagle and Crocodile territories, as did the Republican Scorpions under their command. However, as the Republic of the Claw reached out to the Scorpion Tribe in the east, it was already too late; the Scorpions in the Great Desert were also frozen by the Ice Hunters, and Scorpion Cavern Castle was taken over by Scorm's brother Scortica, now unopposed by Scorpix. Some of the remaining Imperial scorpions from across Chima rendezvoused in the Eagle and Croc territories, but the Bats left the mainland behind entirely, flying and sailing to Bat Island on Grand Admiral Balthazar's orders.

Soon after, two remaining members of Scorpix's Praetorian Guard arrived in Eagle territory, informing the Consuls that both Scortica's faction and the Scorpion Cavern Castle itself had been destroyed by the Bear Tribe, and that the remaining Imperial scorpion soldiers there had evacuated the civilians with the help of the Forgotten and Lion General Lycor. In addition, these scorpion soldiers had escaped the cavern's destruction, and formed a new faction called Team Stinger, under the command of Scorpix's close friend Scorponok. The civilians, meanwhile, had fled to Imperial holdouts such as the cities in the Great Desert, only to then be frozen and captured by the Ice Hunters.

#### Divergence

Craunus Maximus and Calloran Fen appointed the Praetorian Guards, Sirius and Scarabus, as the Republic's Praetors, due to their military experience, and the fact that they'd worked directly under Scorpix. Since the Crawler Empire had not made peace with the Chima Alliance before its fall, Maximus and Fen made it appear as if the Republic of the Claw was another splinter faction formed after the defeat of the Scorpion Tribe, despite it having been an extension of the main tribe beforehand (the Consuls tactfully planned to reveal the recording of their conversation with Scorpix after both freeing the frozen Scorpions, and making peace with the inland tribes). However, this caused the Imperial holdouts in Southernfell and The Grassy Plains to refuse to acknowledge the Republic of the Claw as a legitimate continuation of the Scorpion Tribe, and the Scorpions in those regions remained unaffiliated with the Republic.

Additionally, despite the Republic agreeing to go completely underground after pressure from Chima Alliance delegates, the Bears (who had misunderstood the fact that the Republic wasn't affiliated with the mostly defunct Crawler Empire) tunneled into the Republic's underground territory soon after, demanding for the "Scorpion Tribe" to sign a permanent peace treaty. Maximus and Fen agreed to the treaty, and even "allied" with the Bear Tribe by the time negotiations concluded. Despite knowing that the Bears were using the so-called alliance to keep the Republic of the Claw on a leash, the Consuls made the most of the situation by publicly using it as an example of the poor relations between the inland and Outland tribes being repaired.

Despite no longer technically being an extension of the Crawler Empire, which had allied with the Eagle and Crocodile tribes, the Republic also continued manufacturing vehicles for them (after the Consuls had secretly met with Eagle and Croc delegates to keep their alliance intact, unbeknownst to the Bears), in exchange for a portion of the chi that the Lions delivered to the Eagles and Crocodiles monthly. Besides those alliances and relations, the Republic of the Claw remained an isolationist, literally underground nation, forced to remain neutral towards the current wars on the surface until a way to effectively fight the Ice Hunters was discovered.

#### Minor "Conspiracy"

After hearing that Scorpion Prince Scorpio had escaped the captivity of the Lions, and was lost in the sewers beneath Lion City, the Praetor Scarabus, who seemingly wasn't aware of the Republic's true origins, secretly sent some Scorpions to find the prince, in order to restore the Scorpion Monarchy (as was believed at first). However, his team returned empty handed, explaining that Scorpions from Team Fire-Stinger had defeated them in the tunnels beneath Lion City, recruiting Scorpio themselves. The Consuls confronted Scarabus after hearing about this, but he and Sirius revealed that, not only had Scorpix told all of his Praetorian Guards about the Republic and his plan to draw out the Combine, he had intended to tell Scorpio as well, believing that the young prince could be convinced of the effectiveness of democracy for the Scorpions. Since the Consuls hadn't known about this, that caused the misconception that Scarabus had been wishing to restore the Scorpion Monarchy, which wasn't the case.

This event was also how the Consuls learned about the existence of fire chi, a creation of the reawakened Phoenix that allowed for soldiers to fight against the Ice Hunters without being frozen; usage of the power source for the entire Scorpion species had apparently been earned by Scorponok, so the newly christened Team Fire-Stinger now led the resistance against the Ice Hunters. With the Republic Army still politically forced to stay underground, the Consuls reluctantly refused to join the fight, spurring a few Republican Scorpions such as Silas to defect to Team Fire-Stinger.

#### Aftermath

Soon after, the Scorpions of the Republic learned that, after freeing Scorpix and the other frozen Scorpions from Icestrike's Ultimate Glacier, Team Fire-Stinger (now the Stinger Brotherhood) was scattered throughout the Iron Mountains, Scorpix and the rest of his Praetorian Guard were slain by unknown adversaries, and Scorpio had taken command of the freed and regrouped Scorpion Tribe, leading them back into the Outlands to build Scorm City. Mourning the loss of Scorpix, the Consuls and Praetors began planning to overthrow the newly crowned King and absorb the rest of the tribe into their Republic, believing that this was now the only way to fulfill Scorpix's dream of a democratic Scorpion Tribe.

### Fire—Ice Wars

Following the Battle of Icestrike's Ultimate Glacier, whose events were of massive consequence even for those not directly involved in the campaign, Rawlin arrived in the Crocodile Swamp to discuss a possible alliance with King Crogar, unaware that both Republic Praetors were secretly watching this meeting from afar. The meeting was interrupted when a group of Croc insurgents attempted to assassinate the Crocodile and Raven leaders. Sirius and Scarabus leapt to the aid of their ally Crogar, despite the risk this took due to breaking the terms of their "alliance" with the Bears. Unlike Rawlin and his Ravens, who flew off later into the battle, the Republic Army remained to fight alongside Crogar and his loyalists, defeating both the insurgents and Sobek, who'd attempted to overthrow the King himself. This event helped to reaffirm the Republic's alliance with the Crocodile Tribe, leading the Consuls and Citizen's Jury to forgive the Praetors despite their "unauthorized" battle.

#### Drastic Changes

Almost immediately after the small battle in the Croc Swamp, the territory was attacked and frozen without warning by the Sabertooth Tigers. The Republican Scorpions, swiftly voting unanimously to join the Fire—Ice Wars, evacuated the remaining Crocs into their tunnels and caves beneath their allies' territories. When the Phoenix and Tigers arrived at the Swamp and battled the Ice Hunters, the Scorpions resurfaced and obtained fire chi from the Phoenix, which allowed the Praetors to finally lead their army into battle with the Sabertooths. After rescuing the remaining Crocs and helping the Fire Tribes to drive the Ice Hunters out of the Swamp, the Republic forces worked at melting free the frozen parts of the region. However, they'd been too late to save King Crogar and the majority of the Crocodile Army, who'd been frozen and abducted by the Hunters.

Wolves and Lions soon arrived at the swamp, and began debating with each other and the Republic about who should control the territory. As the Consuls and Praetors traveled to the city of Wargrimmar to meet with Wolf President Wol'jin formerly, the highest-ranking scorpion remaining in the swamp met with the Crocodile Queen Carina, who'd escaped underground and taken command of the Crocs in the tunnels. At a point during or after this meeting, however, Carina had a falling-out of some kind with the Scorpions (likely due to the Consuls agreeing to give the Swamp to the Wolves and Lions), ending the alliance between the Crocodiles and the Republic of the Claw; Carina relocated her Crocs from the tunnels to The West Sea after this, before eventually returning to the mainland (see the Carina page).

Meanwhile, the Consuls and Praetors, after meeting with Wol'jin and acting Gorilla President Ghana, relinquished the Republic of the Claw's forced alliance with the Bears in favor of allying with the Wolf and Gorilla tribes, securing the Republic of the Claw's safety from the Bears' wrath in the process. The Consuls also ended the Republic's alliance with the Eagles, due to the tribe's complete lack of aid for their allies during the Battle of the Crocodile Swamp.

#### Formation of Unichi

The three republics formed the confederacy Unichi, declared as a symbol of southern unity against the Ice Hunters' invasion from the north, and implied to be an equivalent, or even a "replacement", to the then-weakened Chima Alliance. At the same time, the Eagles finally made a statement on the Ice Hunters' invasion of the south, and elected Ewinus as Acting Regent to replace their ineffective King, Eeran; Republican Scorpions attending Ewinus' speech took note of this. After the Consuls and Praetors returned from Wargrimmar (now essentially the Unichi HQ) to their underground territory, the Republic of the Claw's foreign policy adopted a stronger presence among the surface tribes, due to the Republic's new role in the inland, and their freedom from the Bears' restrictions. The Lions also officially recognized the Republic of the Claw as an individual tribe separate from the Scorpions, beginning to send them monthly chi shipments like the other tribes.

#### Addressing Scorpion Matters

Not long after the formation of Unichi, the Consuls found out about a new development in the Outlands: King Scorpio had allied the Scorpion Tribe proper with Skaulus Rax, the recently crowned King of the formerly isolationist Spiders. Now believing the monitoring of the monarchy-led Scorpions to be even more imperative, the Consuls successfully planted multiple spies into the new Arachnid Alliance. In the meanwhile, the Republic armed themselves with fire chi, and assisted their allies in preparing for a crusade against the Ice Hunters' southern outposts. This began with the Battle of Gorilla HQ, where Unichi, with help from the Forgotten and the Tigers, freed the frozen Gorillas and drove out the Sabertooths (though President Gorvan and other top government officials remained imprisoned in Black Fang Mountain, the Sabertooths' last bastion in the south).

Following the battle, the old Scorpion King Scorm, who'd been resurrected by means unknown, appeared in the Republic's Great Hall cavern beneath Eagle territory, accidentally transported there by the Forgotten using a teleportation machine prototype. Craunus Maximus and Calloran Fen explained the origins of the Republic to their confused former King, and the angry Scorm was teleported away by Scrin, the Forgotten's founder, who'd arrived to discuss an alliance between the Forgotten and the Republic of the Claw. However, Maximus and Fen explained why that wouldn't work at the moment, due to the terms of Unichi's treaty, so Scrin left just as soon as he'd arrived. The Consuls resolved to keep an eye on Scrin due to the scorpion's bizarre, seemingly supernatural powers.

After Scrin's departure, the Consuls were informed that the Wolves and Gorillas had pushed forward in the campaign against the Ice Hunters, now using the very tunnels the Sabertooths had utilized in their invasion to chase the enemy beneath the Outland Mountains. Deciding that their allies had the situation under control, the Republic resolved to focus on the matter of their eastern Scorpion brethren, who'd engaged in a costly war at the behest of the Spiders.

##### True Enemy Revealed

Eventually, Maximus and Fen's contacts within the Arachnid Alliance reported back to them with startling revelations they'd just uncovered: not only had Scrin been the one to resurrect Scorm, he'd also been directly mind-controlling Scorpio since immediately after the Battle of Icestrike's Ultimate Glacier, meaning Scrin had essentially been the one leading the Scorpion Tribe and guiding their actions that entire time. The spies explained that this had been discovered by Skaulus and Stannis Rax, during a confrontation with Scrin that'd resulted in Scorpio being freed from his control, revealing the teenage scorpion to actually be incompetent as a leader (this had occured before Scrin's meeting with the Consuls, implying that he may have intended to replace Scorpio with Maximus and Fen as his pawns).

The Raxes had covered this up, likely so they could continue to use Scorpio and the Scorpion Army at his disposal for their personal war with the Vultures and Leopards, but the Republic spies had noticed the change in Scorpio's personality, and had learned all this after questioning the naive King himself. The Consuls and Praetors agreed to make defeating Scrin and stopping his manipulations their top priority, now hoping they could negotiate with Scorpio rather than needing to forcefully seize the Scorpion Tribe.

##### Prelude to War

The Consuls soon lost contact with their spy within the Scorpions, but were informed by their spy within the spiders that another confrontation had occurred between the Outland monarchs and Scrin; it began when Scorm was randomly teleported into the new Scorpion Castle's throne room, and in a wild rage, beat up his own son. Scorm had nearly killed Scorpio before Scrin appeared with a Forgotten scorpion, and reprimanded Scorm. The Raxes rushed to Scorm City with the Spider Army and the intent to kill both Scorm and Scrin, only for the Forgotten scorpion who'd arrived with Scrin to suddenly turn on his leader; the two of them fell through a portal, Scorm fell unconscious and was captured by the Spiders, and the Republic's scorpion spy rescued Scorpio, taking him to a hospital before relating all this to the spider spy. Skaulus Rax had then framed the scorpion spy for the attempted murder of Scorpio, executing him in order to cover up Scorm's revival, and Scorm had apparently been extracted by the Forgotten.

Despite also being told that Skaulus had been killed by a mammoth and Stannis, the new Spider King, had ended the war with the Empire of Balance, learning that their spy had been killed by the Arachnid Alliance, and that Scorpio still firmly sat on the throne after having his life saved by that spy, was the last straw for the Republic's Citizen's Jury, who unanimously voted to seize control of Scorm City; a campaign that was approved by the Gorillas and Wolves as part of their Outlands crusade. However, before readying the army for war, the Consuls explained the recording that Scorpix had taken of their conversation, and released this recording to the public, so that not just the Scorpions, but the other tribes, too, would recognize Craunus Maximus and Calloran Fen as the legitimate successors to Scorpion leadership. While this convinced many Scorpions in Scorm City of their legitimacy, it didn't prompt them to usurp the King, nor convince a now matured and battle-hardened Scorpio to give up the throne, so the Praetors moved forward with the invasion.

##### The Dream Fulfilled

Leading the Republic Army, the Praetors offered Scorpio a final chance to step down from the throne, and upon the King's refusal, the army charged down the Outland Mountains into the jungle, attacking Scorm City. Burrowing under the walls so as to not damage them, the Republic soldiers came up into the city, where they clashed with the Royal Scorpion Army. Sirius and Scarabus were able to storm the castle, where they dueled and wounded Scorpio. The King was taken to a Stinger-Copter by his mother, the returned former Queen Scorpia, and she fled with him in tow. With all the monarchs having abandoned them, the Royal Scorpion Army surrendered, and was absorbed into the Republic Army. The citizens also welcomed an end to the infighting, most of them accepting the Republic due to both the fleeing of the monarchs and the earlier recording coming out. Republican Scorpions who'd long lived in the tunnels beneath the Eagle, Wolf, and Croc territories moved into Scorm City as well, abandoning the tunnels as they'd always hoped to.

No sooner had this been achieved than the Wolves and Gorillas requested reinforcements at the Battle of Black Fang Mountain, and Scarabus took a portion of the army to assist the allies. Sirius, however, remained in Scorm City to welcome the Consuls, who explained to the populace that, with the Republic now finally the governing body of the Scorpion Tribe proper, the Citizen's Jury would be disbanded, in favor of all adult Scorpions having the right to vote. Unsurprisingly, the Consuls also declared an end to the Arachnid Alliance, though Stannis Rax had seemingly taken his tribe back to its isolationist roots anyhow. The Sabertooths were driven from Black Fang Mountain, and Gorvan and the frozen Crocodiles finally rescued, soon after. This was the beginning of what was later considered the "Rise of Unichi" period, when Unichi was at its peak, having claimed two thirds of the Outlands (the other third being owned mostly by the Spiders, but the Ice Hunters still having one plot of land, Crystal Crater), and the Republic of the Claw having at last become one with the Scorpion Tribe, making the Scorpions a member of Unichi by default.

##### Final Battle with Scorm

Not long afterward, Calloran Fen explained that he'd hastily placed a spy within the "True Scorpions", an extremist group that'd brought about the brutal end of the Crawler—Ice Hunter War by bombing The Purple City; his spy reported that the True Scorpions had rescued Scorm, accepted him as their leader, built a small hangar in the previously uninhabited Northern Outland Mountains, and captured Scorpia, Scorpio, and Scordon Freeman, the Forgotten scorpion who'd defeated Scrin. With Scorm's resurrection still not being public knowledge, and the Scorpion Tribe having only recently become a Republic (meaning there were likely still hundreds of pro-monarchy Scorpions who'd readily accept their returned King), Fen aimed to capture Scorm before his status could become known to even more Scorpions.

As such, Fen sent a force of loyal Republic soldiers who could be trusted to keep Scorm's revival secret, and the team succeeded in defeating the True Scorpions and destroying their small headquarters. Scorpia and Scorpio escaped together (though this rescue helped to improve their relationship with the Republic), and the Forgotten spider Spalyx Vance flew off with Freeman using their Fire Wing Harnesses.

##### An Unexpected Issue

In a surprising turn of events, however, Scorm himself was swept up by the Lion Air Force, which had arrived with Vance to join the battle, but didn't deliver the former King to the Scorpions by any means, instead taking him back to Lion City. After the Republic force returned and recounted this to the Consuls, Lion Supreme Regent Lycan announced Scorm's resurrection to the public, immensely frustrating the Consuls and Praetors.

Craunus Maximus soon led a delegation to Lion City, where he discussed Scorm's custody with both Lycan and Scordon Freeman (who Maximus learned had become the leader of the Forgotten). Lycan explained that Spalyx Vance had implored him to publicize Scorm's revival, since she'd believed Scorm was too dangerous to stay in the shadows. The "negotiations" went awkwardly, since Freeman appeared to be mute, writing down his reasoning, and Lycan explained why he needed Scorm in his captivity for multiple reasons (see the Lycan page). Maximus left Lion City empty-handed and annoyed, but later learned that Freeman had returned, breaking Scorm out of the Lions' dungeons with suspicious ease, and taking him to the Forgotten's HQ in Southernfell.

##### A Conclusion of Sorts

Soon after, when the mysterious Eagle King "Erdrik" invited all of Chima's leaders to a Tribal Summit, the Scorpion Consuls attended the meeting to represent Unichi as a whole, and had the Praetors manage Scorm City in their absence. During this time, the battered Scorpia and Scorpio returned to Scorm City, asking for shelter. Out of both sympathy and a tactful realization that having the former monarchs join the Republic would make massive strides in gaining the approval of the populace, Praetor Scarabus let them in, and revealed the full story of Scorpix's creation of the Republic. He highlighted the fact that Scorpix believed Scorpia and Scorpio would come to agree with his ideas, and that he'd hoped to understand the late Scortica in turn, rather than kill him. Scorpia and Scorpio considered all this, and finally agreed to publicly relinquish their royal titles, rejoining the tribe as citizens.

However, Scorm, having escaped from the Forgotten, then arrived, and Scarabus told the former royals to remain in the meeting room in case Scorm became unhinged at the sight of his family again. Praetor Sirius went out to meet with Scorm, and upon conversing with the former King, realized that Scorm had developed amnesia, now having no memory of any of the events following his resurrection. Sirius was able to use this to convince Scorm that he himself had founded the Republic, and relinquished his title of Scorpion King before his assassination; Sirius cited the name of Scorm City as evidence. Eventually, Scorm was both convinced of this claim and made a citizen of the tribe, reuniting with his family in the process. The fact that the royal family themselves had relinquished the monarchy and approved the Republic garnered more support from Scorpion citizens, and eliminated any base that remaining pro-monarchy Scorpions had to stand on. Thus, both the Scorpion Monarchy and the tribe's infighting finally ended.

#### The Tribal Summit

At the same time the Praetors had their talks with the royals, the Consuls attended the Tribal Summit, held in the Bat Embassy atop Mount Cavora. There, Leopard King Leodus brought up the issue of the Elemental Balance, and the Consuls agreed, along with the other present leaders, to help search for the Fire Wing Harnesses and strip the Ice Hunters of their powers with a Great Illumination. "Erdrik" then revealed the existence of the western Manta Ray Empire, as well as his goal to completely wipe out the Rays. Lycan, however, had other ideas, declaring war on the Forgotten, and using recent "war crimes" such as Scordon Freeman's breakout of Scorm to justify his decision. While "Erdrik" had wanted to end the wars on the mainland as soon as possible, and unite as many of Chima's factions as possible for a crusade against the Rays, Lycan (who also called out the masked "Erdrik" on likely being an impostor) had prevented that, and so the Summit ended with "Erdrik" and Lycan angry at each other, and the other tribe leaders departed in confusion.

#### Sudden Upheavel

The Consuls returned by Stinger-Copter to Scorm City just after Sirius finished his talk with Scorm, and the Praetors explained what had happened with the royal family. Almost immediately following this, the ever-ambitious Scorm unsurprisingly moved into politics to regain a position of power, and the former royal family formed a political party with their many followers. The Consuls tolerated this, believing that the Republic eventually having multiple political parties had been an inevitability, and so two parties were formed: the Scorpixian Republicans, essentially the "original" party carrying over Scorpix's philosophies and all of the Republic's doctrines, and the ex-royals' Starsting Reformists, a liberal party whose reformations promised in their title are as yet unknown.

The excellent news for the Republic of the royals' conversion was offset by the revelation of the reason why Wol'jin hadn't attended the Tribal Summit: he had been overthrown by Lobo, a wolf who'd defeated the President in combat and then abolished both the Wolf Government and the tribe's alliance with the Gorillas and Scorpions. Shocked by the Wolves' sudden forced departure, the Consuls met with Gorilla President Gorvan, and proposed a faction to replace the Wolves as a third member of Unichi.

#### Surprising Allies

The Consuls, President Gorvan, and Vice President Ghana traveled to Southernfell, where they met with the Forgotten's leading council and eventually allied with the faction, adding them to Unichi. The Consuls' idea to ally with the Forgotten was tactfully thought out, being that the Forgotten was a multi-species faction personifying Unichi's theme of unity, and that this alliance would smooth out the Forgotten's rocky past histories with the Republic and especially the Scorpion Tribe. Additionally, the Bear Tribe (whose leaders had disappeared) had recently allied with, and been absorbed into, the Forgotten, meaning this would repair the Republic's awkward relationship with the Bears as well.

However, as the Unichi leaders went their separate ways following the meeting, Stannis Rax showed himself to the Scorpion Consuls, revealing that the Spider Tribe had already been allied with the Forgotten since after the disbanding of the Arachnid Alliance. The Spider King stated that he'd aid Unichi in retaking Crystal Crater from the Icebears, in addition to simply dissolving the Spider Tribe into the Forgotten, just as Wotjek had done with the Bears, if the Scorpions gave the Spiders shares of Crystal Crater’s mining profits in return. The Consuls agreed, figuring that the Spiders could redeem themselves in their eyes after the Arachnid Alliance debacle.

#### Another War Begins

A while afterward, following the battles of Eagle Spire and the Phoenix Isles that resulted in "Erdrik" being exposed as Galvanor, Lycan's death, and Lycor being made Lion King (this was a relatively peaceful time for the Scorpions and the other Unichi members, as they mainly focused on preparing for their campaign against the Hunters at Crystal Crater), Lycor and Galvanor's respective speeches officially declared the start of the Second Chima Civil War. Despite the war primarily being between the Chima Alliance and the new alliance Primordium, the Scorpion Consuls soon learned of the part they'd play in the conflict, when they, the other Unichi leaders, and Lycor were simultaneously contacted by Wol'jin, who explained that he'd formed a Government Restoration Party within the Wolf Tribe, and that he intended to take down Lobo and remove the Wolves from Primordium, returning them to Unichi. Wol'jin also expressed his approval at the addition of the Forgotten, declaring that Unichi would now be four factions strong.

Agreeing to aid Wol'jin, Craunus Maximus personally took a force of veteran Scorpion soldiers to The Great Forest by night, where he discreetly met with Ghana, Wol'jin, and a Lion squad led by Sir Leon to plan the covert operation even as the war raged on around them. After talking with Maximus, Wol'jin came up with the idea to use the old tunnel network the Republic of the Claw had dug beneath the Crocodile, Wolf, and Eagle lands to infiltrate Lobo's headquarters. The present Wolves, Scorpions, and Lions began to put this plan into action, while Ghana returned to Gorilla HQ to report to President Gorvan on the matter.

#### Triumph and Preparation

During the Primodrium tribes' retreat from the Battle of Lion City much later, Lobo returned to Wolf City with the battered Wolf Army, only to be ambushed by Wol'jin, Leon, Craunus Maximus, and their respective forces, who'd infiltrated the Government Building through the old tunnels. The Battle of Wolf City was very brief, as Lobo unexpectedly surrendered; Wol'jin, surprised by this, allowed Lobo to remain in the Wolf Tribe, under watch. Wol'jin regained his presidency as the Wolf Government was restored, and the Wolf Tribe returned to Unichi. As Wol'jin began preparing to defend the southwest against the inevitable next attack from the Hunters, Maximus took his Scorpion forces to Black Fang Mountain, now a Unichi stronghold, where Scorpion, Gorilla, and Spider-Forgotten forces began gathering to prepare for a massive assault on the still Icebear-controlled Crystal Crater.

The preparation and meticulous planning for the assault took place over a long period of time, as the Second Chima Civil War continued to the west of Black Fang Mountain. During this time, the Scorpion Consuls and Praetors were contacted by the long-disappeared Scorponok, who revealed that both he and his faction still lived, and sent the resurgent Stinger Brotherhood Air Force led by Silas to Black Fang Mountain, to aid Unichi in the coming fight; a show of good faith and cooperation between the Brotherhood and the Scorpion Tribe. The Consuls graciously accepted both his aid, and that of Phoenix King Winslow, who'd removed his tribe from Primordium and arrived with not just a fresh supply of fire chi, but his own forces as well, who swore that they'd lend their aid in battle. There was also news of the Empire of Balance moving its forces in from the northwest to serve as backup.

The Consuls realized that this had now gone beyond just Unichi's personal campaign, becoming possibly the culminating battle between the people of the south and the Ice Hunters. Calloran Fen, not considering himself much of a general, then returned to Scorm City, switching places with Praetor Scarabus, and also arriving in time for his wife to birth their daughter, Celica Fen. At Black Fang Mountain, meanwhile, Unichi and their unofficial allies received even more reinforcements in the form of a Chima Alliance Bear squad sent by Lycor and Bliston soon after the end of the Second Chima Civil War. Finally, after possibly months of planning, the allied force marched and flew from Black Fang Mountain, back into the Outlands.

### Legacy Era

Little is known about the Republic of the Claw's leadership and territorial status in the years following the events of the Roleplay (as well as whether or not the Republic still governs the Scorpion Tribe proper). What is known, is that the daughter of Calloran Fen, Celica Fen, married Scorponok's son, Scorion, in the year 20 AR. The marriage subsequently ended any poor relations between the Stinger Brotherhood and the Republic of the Claw. Additionally, Scorion (having taken his wife's last name as his own), upon replacing his retired father as Stinger Brotherhood Headmaster in 29 AR, declared the reformation of the Stinger Brotherhood into the Fen Empire.

## Power Structure

The Republic of the Claw's power structure was a relatively simple one, in contrast to the more complex ranking systems of most of Chima's other republics. The highest rank was that of the Consul, held simultaneously by Craunus Maximus and Calloran Fen. The equal leaders held the most power over the faction, and could veto laws passed by the Citizens' Jury\*, but only if both Consuls agreed to the veto; otherwise, a second vote for the Citizens' Jury\* would be allowed. The one Consul who disagreed before would no longer have the power to veto the vote the second time around, unless he'd gotten the other Consul to agree with him.

The second highest rank was that of the Praetor, held by both Scarabus and Sirius. As the second-in-commands of the Republic, they had power over the military, and, if currently in a war, the Praetors could lead the army into battle with the permission of the Consuls, and without the vote of the Citizens' Jury.\* Of course, if the Republic wasn't currently in a state of war, the Consuls and Praetors could only initiate a battle if the Citizens' Jury\* voted "yes". A preemptive strike was illegal, unless anyone obtained physical evidence that a different faction was planning to go to war with the Republic of the Claw. In that event (after the evidence was confirmed to be legitimate), any vote "no" from the Citizens' Jury\* would be vetoed, and the Praetors could take the armies to attack the enemy faction at any time, if the Consuls agreed.\*\*

After the Republic took over the main Scorpion Tribe, the old Citizen's Jury (see below) was disbanded, in favor of all scorpions over the age of 18 having the right to vote. This was Scorpix' vision for the Scorpion Tribe, and sortition was only a temporary system he'd set up, to be used by the Republic until the Scorpion Tribe was taken over. Other than that, the power structure and veto system remained the same. After the formation of the political parties, these systems remained unchanged, and scorpions weren't required to permanently "register" with either party.

(FORMERLY) Below the Praetors, who held the highest military power, all members of the Citizens' Jury technically held the rank of third-in-command. Any scorpion within the Republic at least 18 years of age could apply for a spot on the Citizens' Jury. Because of the Republic's sortition system, any scorpion wanting a seat on the jury would need to take an intelligence test, which had been written and prepared by Scorpix before his death. The Citizens' Jury had the power to vote on all major acts and laws that the Republic would pass or deny. The Citizens' Jury was not comprised of multiple political parties, and the majority vote of the people would win.

\*Now all adult citizens of the Scorpion Tribe.

\*\*This last rule was altered slightly after the formation of Unichi; the Praetors would now need permission from both the Consuls and the other leaders of the alliance before initiating a preemptive attack on any enemy faction, except for the Ice Hunters, who Unichi was already at war with since its conception.

## Trivia

* The Republic of the Claw's origin and naming convention was inspired by the Empire of the Hand from the Star Wars Expanded Universe.
* Originally intended by JGREAD to be another Scorpion splinter faction during the Crawler—Ice Hunter War, the Republic of the Claw was later retconned to be a direct creation of Scorpix, acting as a posthumous expansion of the Scorpion RPC's story.
* The conflict between the Republic and Lycan over the custody of Scorm was originally meant to set up a "Second Chima Civil War" that would've pitted the Chima Alliance against Unichi. However, this idea was dropped almost immediately after Craunus' meeting with Lycan, in favor of the supposed Second Chima Civil War being between the Chima Alliance and The Forgotten (though that version of the SCCW was ironically also dropped).