Confederation of Xa'Sela

> "Burning away the decayed shackles of our masters, we have ascended free of their persecution and false trappings. Able choose our fate once more, we stand as a united confederation in our pursuit of a forgotten past once barred from us. The ancestors will be revered and our traditions returned from the precipice of extinction."
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 - Moati Kazin, Chief of the Eraash

## History

**Uprising and Relocation (29-31 NAC)** Jaded by centuries of repression and failed rebellions, the anti-slave movement within the Cestian Empire was gradually usurped by radical elements; the greatest of which was known as the Workers of the Flame. Garnering a reputation for brutality and bullying slave communities into supporting their cause, the -200s and -100s were marked by an unrivaled rise in the W.O.Fs prominence among the slave populace. Formed from a coalition of both tribal and advanced slave races wishing to revitalize their lost cultures and restore their fabled nations of old, a shared hatred for their masters ensured the W.O.Fs unity despite its diverse groups. Possessing a high degree of coordination and a thirst for freedom, the W.O.F began amassing supplies and stockpiles for an eventual rebellion against the Empire, it becoming a joint effort over time with multiple resistance movements pitching in.

Forming the United Resistance Front in 14 NAC, the risk for rebellion was highest in the early 20 NACs as the movement neared a comfortable size of supplies and soldiers. This brief period of strength would go up in flames after the Scarlet Raids in 24 NAC which saw Imperial moles reveal the location of several large arsenals. Betrayed by their own kind and vulnerable to subversion, the movement descended into infighting and accusations as the front dissolved along with its joint efforts. Splitting the remaining arsenals and soldiers among their respective territories, the different movements began to clash over resources and any sense of slave unity gave way to factionalism.

It wouldn't be until the Hallow War in 28 NAC that another attempt at a coordinated uprising would be seriously discussed. In the wake of a foreign invasion by the Kingdom of Zoscia and a losing Empire which found itself increasingly placed on the defensive, the W.O.F and their feuding peers called for a temporary truce so as to discuss their options. Split between differing schools of thought, some of the resistance factions found their best chance at freedom being with the Coronans whilst others wanted to flee the Empire all together in the ensuing chaos. Staunchly in the camp of rising up and carving out a land for their people, the W.O.F allied with several other movements to begin their preparations. Raids on the Coronan loyalists and slaves in favor of fleeing followed soon after, a combined effort being made to seize their arsenals and prepare for war.

Coming under the leadership of Commissar Ahjek in 29 NAC, the W.O.F found itself rapidly losing support after the slave reforms of Emperor Tyvius III. Willing to grant any and all slaves which serve the Empire loyally their freedom, the entire resistance movement found itself jeopardized and poised to strike before Imperial loyalists outnumbered them, the W.O.F rising up on Olipa alongside its allies. Receiving a mixed response from the populace, slaves loyal to the Empire formed emergency levies to combat their rebelling kin and subversive actors began to reveal themselves in the resistance; several arsenals barring their doors to the rebels and allowing Imperial levies to arm themselves. The situation neared on the verge of total chaos, Ahjek forming the Free Peoples Council to coordinate the rebellion with fellow resistance leaders and help bring a semblance of cohesion to the uprising.

Successfully beating the Imperial levies and going on to conquer to Olipa itself, the W.O.F received its first major victory against the Empire and drove the FAW off-world along with its ruling class. Inspiring the other factions with his success, Ahjek made preparations to support W.O.F cells abroad on other worlds, his Olipan forces seizing a small FAW fleet which had been caught off guard during the initial uprising. Invading the surrounding planets and linking up with fellow rebels, the rebellion despite its difficult start began to gain traction with the Empires forces being initially overwhelmed; a state of affairs which would turn against the rebels in 30 NAC. Sacrificing forces on the Coronan front to stamp out the rebellion, Tyvius III gambled with the nations survival so as to crush the rebellion before it disrupted the war further. Overextended and with a small navy to support the rebellions ground forces, the W.O.Fs fleet was decimated with ease by the Imperial armada which began to divide and conquer the various worlds; Olipa numbering among them and being one of the last to fall back under Imperial rule.

Seeing the writing on the wall, Ahjek with his remaining soldiers fled to the desolate world of Xa'Sela to escape Imperial forces and witnessed the twilight days of their rebellion. Hearing of their allies desperate last stand against overwhelming odds, Xa'Sela stood alone as the last bastion of the rebellion; their communications going silent and an Imperial taskforce arriving not long after to hunt them down. Forced to live off the meager land and utilize desperate guerilla tactics against a well supplied foe, Ahjeks forces held out for the remainder of the war with the W.O.F fracturing into different survivalist groups and ideologues. Receiving aid from the Coronans which came upon them in their disheveled state, the Kingdom of Zoscia offered them supplies in return for subjugation. Unable to resist and politically fractured, the W.O.F agreed to their terms and announced a demoralized victory in their long struggle for freedom.

**Confederate Golden Years (31 NAC to Present)** Disjointed between various survivalist groups and leaders, the victorious W.O.F found itself unable to reunify and Ahjeks authority actively challenged by his peers. Unwilling to abide by the brutish model and policies of the W.O.F any longer, the survivalist communities delivered an ultimatum for Ahjeks regime to disband and a more accommodating form of government to take its place. Threatening to secede fully if Ahjek refused, the umbrella movement unceremoniously dissolved itself and began talks about forming a new government. Officially announced as the Confederation of Xa'Sela in late 31 NAC, the new administration took a more liberal approach to its populace and institutionalized cultural revivalism so as to appease all of the groups which participated in their liberation. Led by the Council of Fire, the first administration of the newly formed nation focused primarily on settling survivalist groups and establishing reservations for those which refused to assimilate back into spacefaring society.

Supplied by the Coronans to establish cities and jump-start their economy, the Council took full advantage of their foreign aid and leaned heavily into its mining industry and trade to grow its prosperity. Having been split evenly between tribal and spacefaring cultures, the original Council held a balance of both groups interests; a balance which would tip heavily in favor of the tribals during the next cycle of elections. Following the Confederations initial development and establishment, a national election was held in 35 NAC to select the next Council for the coming four years. Believing in equal representation and only inducting fresh unrepresented member states onto the Council, the advanced races found themselves at a vast numerical disadvantage compared to the tribal communities and received substantially less representation on the new Council of Ash.

Having their ideals and solutions challenged on account of primarily dogma against Cestian concepts, many tribal councilmen found themselves at odds with the more opportunistic spacefaring leadership; the latter of which desired to integrate positive elements of the Empire within their nation. Frustrated and having to struggle through two more cycles of tribal dominance before an equal Council was once more achieved, an attempt was made to amend the Confederations constitution to ensure equal representation for both societies. While made in good will, the appeal was seen as an insult by the tribes which perceived it as an attempt to increase spacefaring representation at the expense of the tribes. The amendment was rejected, a growing tension between the two societies forming as each found themselves static in their ideologues and dissatisfied with the Councils policies that predominantly favored one of the two.

In spite of these disagreements, the Confederations founding is coined the 'Golden Years' by its citizens which remain unified despite their political disagreements. As time marches on though and the Hallow War fades into memory, the comradery of past conflicts and campaigns has become less impactful on the populaces demeanor; new struggles and conflicts taking shape in their wake and causing fresh divides that will test the fledgling nation

## Culture and Society

A melting pot of various beliefs and cultures, the Confederation is a multicultural nation which unifies its people through the common cause of freedom. Opposing the beliefs of their previous Cestian masters, extensive censorship and authoritarian policies are looked down upon by the general populace. Valuing their heritage and lost history, the Confederation shares similarities to the Cestian Empire in its efforts to memorialize different societies; the ultimate goal being to revive cultures eradicated by Imperial assimilation. In their opposition to Cestian ideals however, racial prejudices have developed against their previous masters and the Coronans which now subjugate them. These prejudices at times delve into the realm of paranoia and radicalism, a mark left behind by the W.O.F's reign.

Reactionary towards most technologies and advancements pushed upon them during their enslavement, the Confederation has become distinctively split between two major sects of society. Having been indiscriminately enslaved and forced to live amongst one another, both spacefaring and tribal societies were artificially brought together and unified in opposition during the Hallow War. While each brought benefits during the conflict, the postwar has seen rising tensions regarding the Confederations direction with spacefaring races wishing to abandon technophobic policies and return to a state their civilizations once existed at. In contrast, tribals were forcefully ascended after enslavement and want to return to the old ways of their ancestors so as to reject the technologies which ruined their societies.

Currently dominated by primarily tribal leadership, the Confederation has reached a middle ground with the establishment of advanced settlements and reservation grounds for nomadic clans to roam. While the unity from fighting in a war together still remains among the populace, a growing divide is becoming increasingly more apparent as Xa'Selas populace turns its gaze away from the Empire and towards its own concerns.

## Religion

Home to a multitude of beliefs and religious systems, the Confederation takes a secular stance on religion with a preference for its populaces indigenous beliefs. Allowing worshipers of the Light and Celestial Cult, the Confederation nonetheless treats these faiths as foreign and limits the extent of their evangelism. Cestian gods in particular are subject to controversial regulations with a large portion of the confederation having converted over centuries of enslavement, a state of affairs that the ruling administration wants to undo through the promotion of indigenous beliefs. Walking a controversial path with secularism and suppressing foreign faiths, the Confederation is subject to a litany of hypocritical scandals regarding this key tenant.

## Territory

Inhabiting multiple planets during the Hallow War, the W.O.F found itself pushed to Xa'Sela near the conflicts conclusion and isolated from most other resistance cells throughout the Old Empire. Stranded on an underdeveloped world with only a minuscule supply of resources to support themselves, the rebels decentralized themselves into nomadic groups to conduct guerilla tactics against their pursuers. Establishing hunter-gather societies as the norm for several years, the postwar Confederation found itself at odds with many of these nomadic groups. Unwilling to settle and develop themselves, these nomads had come to enjoy the traditional lifestyles of their ancestors and refused to surrender themselves to spacefaring standards similarly to what the Cestians had pushed upon them. In an effort to keep the peace, Xa'Sela was split into differing reservations for nomadic tribes and provinces for cities to establish themselves within. Currently split between these two distinct societies, the Confederations territory has become disorganized with differing methods required to govern the reservations and provinces.

*♕ Exalted Chiefdom's*
*Harsh Environment*
*Disunited Populace*