Cisenila

**Cisenila** is a country in the Nesarian Empire, distinctive for being an ethnostate of Cisens. Its head of state is the First Patriarch, a position which is elected by the wider community of Patriarchs, who are themselves elected from amongst the Harmony caste. Its national animal is the hedgehog.

The name Cisenila is the Elvicised form of Kyçenil, which literally translates as "Cisen land"; *Kyçen* being Cisen and *il* being land. Kyçenil is sometimes confused with the term Kyçenesak, but the distinction is important; Kyçenesak refers to the Cisen nation, i.e. the people, whereas Kyçenil refers to the physical land that Kyçenesak inhabits. This is similar to the distinction between the Heguomin terms Heguo and Heguongu; Heguo refers to the nation, and Heguongu to the land. In the language of the neighbouring Asmukharians, Cisenila is known as Kitsaan.

The state of Cisenila was originally an artificial construct, devised by Emperor Athdus III and his wife Avemiri to solve the long-running issue of Human-Cisen conflict in Asmukhar. What became Cisenila was already a majority-Cisen area, but it became almost exclusively so when the borders of Cisenila were settled and a major population exchange was organised, in consultation with the Cisen tribes, the Raskevite city-states and the neighbouring Asmukharian nomads.

Cisenila's geography is a mix of swampland, marshland and wooded hills, with some moorland in the north-west. Along the eastern coast, many of the marshes are salty, but the remainder consist of freshwater. The saltwater and freshwater wetlands are easily distinguished by their flora and fauna, avoiding potentially lethal confusion.

## Society

Though all of Cisenila is considered to be one overarching Greater Hive, ruled by the First Patriarch, the country is divided between numerous Hives, each ruled by their own Patriarch. What constitutes a Hive is variable; it may be a collection of separate villages and towns, or it may be a single city. All of these Hives follow the caste system, dividing up tasks in society according to the proper caste. The economy of Cisen Hives is not based on the free exchange of goods and services, and the rural ones do not even use money; rather, each member of the Hive is provided with shelter, security and a decent living by the Hive as long as he fulfils his role.

The scale of this societal caste-based organisation increased with communications technology; with modern infrastructure and the internet, the First Patriarch and his council are able to co-ordinate the entire country of Cisenila according to their proper purpose. Not only are individuals within Hives assigned their purpose, but so are entire Hives themselves, specialising in particular industries which are then shared amongst the Greater Hive.

This style of society probably comes from the innate communal mindset of the Cisens, but it is also greatly inspired by the Natrakhsanian (or Sanykekh) virtue of Takyç (or Symphony), the belief in co-operation within and between communities and between folk and nature, and the belief in self-sacrifice for the good of the community. Historically, and (as mentioned) even to some extent in modern times, the Cisens would refuse to use money, seeing it as a foreign invention of a corrupted world, only begrudgingly using currency when they traded with outsiders. Private enterprise is an alien concept to the Cisens.

Due to this belief in intra-Hive cohesion, religious differences are quite simply not permitted. When significant populations of Christians and Muslims did arrive, they were obligated to create their own Hives, as integrating them into the devoutly Sanykekh societies of the pre-existing Hives was simply impossible. If anything, the Christians and Muslims were relieved at this development, as they no longer had to conceal their faith.

### Castes

Each Cisen is born to a caste, which then dictates what kinds of roles they will fulfil within their Hive. Similar to the Dragon caste system, the physical and mental traits of each caste reflects their role, though in this case it was more likely that the caste system resulted in these differences, unlike the Dragon system which is generally agreed to have arisen due to the racial differences. The Cisens as a whole are satisfied with this caste system, comfortable with being assigned a duty in life, even if it means other options are closed off to them. Some scholars believe that this is simply due to them being content with the social system, but others propose a darker perspective, arguing that pheromones from the ruling Harmony caste keep the lower ones content and subdue ambitious or rebellious tendencies.

The reproduction rates of the castes are monitored and managed to ensure their population does not exceed or fall below that which is necessary to serve their purpose. The Harmony caste has historically gone as far as placing a limit on the number of children an individual in a caste can sire, obligating the abortion of any eggs which go beyond this limit, but they prefer to use more moderate methods, and if possible merely give instruction on reproduction goals. To encourage reproduction, a caste is simply ordered to produce more children, liable to be punished for defying orders if they are unable or unwilling to meet the quota.

It is absolutely forbidden for a member of one caste to breed with a member of another caste. Cross-caste marriages cannot occur. Those who break this most fundamental of rules are executed, and any children sired by this relationship are either left in the wilderness to die or are raised by the Harmony caste as monks.

The castes of Cisen society are:

* **Harmony** - The Harmony caste is, quite simply, in charge. They are in control of all civil and religious authority. They co-ordinate the actions of the other castes, arbitrate in courts of law, and keep the word of the divine. Patriarchs of Hives are elected from amongst the Harmony caste, and the First Patriarch of the Greater Hive is elected from amongst the Patriarchs by the Patriarchs. The Harmony caste is the smallest of the castes, and they are typically tall and slim, featuring intricate patterns on their bodies of a smooth, flowing and swirling nature.
* **Stone** - The Stone caste consists of the non-agricultural manual labourers, which can cover a wide range of professions from factory work to construction, carpentry to high-tech engineering. Historically, they were numerically inferior to the Grass caste, but rapidly expanded following the industrial revolution to become the largest caste, as they were incentivised to grow to fulfil the new industrial needs. The Stone caste is generally short and stocky, and the patterns on their bodies are blocky and geometric with sharp angles.
* **Grass** - The Grass caste consists of agricultural labourers, responsible not only for producing the raw food but processing it into other edible products. They were historically the largest caste but are now relatively small as agriculture has become increasingly mechanised. Some families in the Grass caste were even moved over to the Stone caste as the labour requirements for agriculture diminished. The Grass caste is generally short and stocky (though not as much as the Stone caste), and the patterns on their bodies are smooth and simple.
* **Blade** - The Blade caste, as one might expect from the name, consists of soldiers and policemen. This caste greatly diminished in size with the subjugation of the Cisens by the Nesarian Empire, but certainly did not disappear entirely. In fact, the growth of the Blade caste beyond their necessary size was a major reason for the Cisen Revolt during the Imperial Civil War. The Blade caste is generally tall (though not as tall as the Harmony caste) and muscular, with particularly powerful wing and leg muscles. The patterns on their bodies are intricate and dense, and feature sharp angles and straight lines.

Although the Harmony caste is quite evidently above the others in political and legal authority, beyond that there is no sense of other castes being "above" or "below" others. Each has its separate role to fulfil and is not considered to be superior to the other. This is starkly different to the Dragon caste system, which was stratified by levels of authority and respect.

As well as having their designated roles, each caste is free to pursue its own hobbies, particularly in the arts. There are painters, sculptors, musicians, gardeners, authors and dancers from each of the castes, but the Harmony caste tends to be overrepresented in these fields. The Blade caste is also overrepresented amongst the dancers, as dance is seen as not only a useful hobby and a means of entertainment for the soldiers but also a way of improving the body. Though such behaviour is sometimes met with disapproval from the Harmony caste, the castes also often have hobbies that cross into the dominions of other castes; for example, archery is a common hobby despite it being a skill of war which should technically be reserved for the Blade caste, and many members of other castes keep small vegetable gardens or fruit trees to supplement their diet despite agriculture being the pursuit of the Grass caste.