Cavil

## **Summary**

Cavil is one of the species and divisions of the Crestseal. The nation of Cavils, a species emerging from planet Kergath. They are a very decentralized civilization lacking a headquarters, powerful rulers operate with many Cometwardens, celestial objects hollowed out and modified for Cavil habitation and spacecraft purposes, as well as for war. As they are a very decentralized civilizations and its subdivisions, the Congregations, are often at war with one another.

### **History**

Cavil emerged from the planet known as Kergath, located in the Andromeda Galaxy. It is presumed Cavil too was blessed and guided the Voyager for some time during their early history, likely for a brief period before she abandoned Kergath. Their nation was founded nearly twenty thousand years before the start of the setting, when a war of unification united the whole Cabal homeworld, Kergath, under one rule, led a man known as Yla-Blaya, and his Kingdom. They later expanded and took over surrounding planets, harnessed energy from their star, and expanded beyond. Cavil Empire grew more decentralized as it expanded, but its Emperor who ruled from Kergath had the authority over it. Certain Cavil Congregations would venture far away to take new lands away from Cavil's homeland, outside of their home territories near Kergath. Nearly twenty thousand years later, around a thousand years before the Calamity of Palovans, Cavil's homeland Kergath was attacked by the Swarm, who managed to open a portal on top of Kergath and overwhelm it. Most surrounding territories also fell subsequently, as the rapid loss of Kergath sent Cavil into disarray. Some Congregations survived this and were scattered far and wide, but were rendered without an Emperor as most of the sacred royal family was killed off.

One of the Cavil Congregations, Vsakra Congregation, which was near the Proxima Solar System at the time, survived from the Swarm onslaught mostly due to being so far away Vsak-Ra proclaimed the last dead Emperor as the final, eternal Emperor who is still incumbent despite his death, and sometime later established bases around the Proxima Solar System shortly after Calamity of Palovans.

Vsarka Congregation built itself there, and due to its massive size, it became the de-facto Cavil capital, as most Cavils were part of this Congregation. However, instability and fracturing resulted in permanent fragmentation of its territory in the form of various Congregations who acted independently and often were at war with one another. One of those independent-minded powerful Cavils was Gor-Talith, who gathered his force and fled, seeking to establish his realm for himself

Later on, Gor-Talith arrived on the Palovan Solar System, establishing himself on the Moon and declaring Talith Congregation. Eventually, Palovan resurgence unified by Pinnacle with the desire to retake their lands would start a conflict between itself and the Cavils of the Talith Congregation.

### Political Structure

Cavils are very decentralized. Each faction (called "Congregation") is effectively seen as a self-governing province. Before the war with Swarm, the Cavil Emperor who ruled from the Cavil homeland Kergath would have authority over all other Congregations, unifying the entire spacefaring Cavil civilization under one rule. But as time went on, Cavil Emperors did not influence other Congregations as much as they did earlier, and left them to rule themselves, but still took key orders from the Emperor in Kergath.

When Kergath was attacked and conquered by Swarm, this led to billions of casualties, the destruction of Cavils in their home world, and the occupation of its remains by Swarm. Incumbent Cavil Emperor and his whole family were ended by this, and this event made the position of Emperor, vacant. None of the surviving Cavil groups claimed its title as Emperor was hereditary and its lineage was considered sacred, though they eventually proclaimed the last Emperor who perished against the Swarm as the eternal Emperor, and revered him as a type of deity. Cavil no longer had an Emperor, but they had a God. All Congregators, no matter how independent, generally agree that they are part of the Cavil Nation/Empire, even if they are at war with one another constantly.

### **Characteristics**

Cavil society in Solar System is quite militaristic and hierarchical, mostly due to their past. Most Cavils are involved in military acts in one way or another. They are straightforward people and have a "shoot first, ask questions later" attitude, one of the reasons why their first interaction with Palovans led by Pinnacle was not diplomacy but a war, when Pinnacle launched an invasion of Cavil-controlled Moon, Cavil did not engage in any diplomacy and repelled the poorly-executed invasion with rapid military force, inflicting heavy casualties on the army of Pinnacle. Cavils do seem to be respectful, however, as they did not conquer or even step foot in Palova during the Dark Era and City Era, though the reason for this is not quite clear. They did, however, launch invasions on Palova after Pinnacle invasion of the Moon.

Cavils possess unique characteristics. These are as follows.

* Cavils only subsist off of a chemical compound known as Lathar, they do not need to eat or breathe, only need Lathar. They use Procedurator, mostly mechanical semi-sentient machines with some biological components, to harness energy and certain matter to convert it to Lathar. These machines are difficult to build as their building process requires compatible Cavils to be sacrificed to be used as building parts, which are also rare. Cavil not only feeds off of Lathar but grow more powerful and capable when fed more Lathar. Their hierarchical society means the upper class has more access to Lathar, which makes them more powerful and capable, which allows them to maintain their grip on Lathar monopoly.
* Cavils are linked to what they call "Grit", which is the determination of shorts. Cavil's mental grit and resolve can affect their physical capabilities, this is mostly defensive, allowing Cavil to survive in situations that otherwise would be fatal, and can push through and adapt to situations through sheer grit. Congregators have so much mental grit that they simply are too resolute to die, all Congregators can survive and remain functional even when they are reduced to their skeletal structure and deprived of Lathar. Most Cavils do not possess this level of grit, however, which will be outlined below. This Grit is not limited to resilience, through Grit, Cavils can change what dissatisfies them about their existence, this mostly manifests in the form of their being able to alter their biological sex. Speaking of sex, Thirdly, Cavil biology allows for something called Fragmentation, which is asexual reproduction; a female Cavil can give birth without needing a male, which results in a sterile female. Fragmentation Pregnancy is only about 1 day for average female Cavils but can be much shorter for high-ranked, with regular pregnancy being 6 months. The resulting offspring is a sterile female that is small, about 10 cm tall, It quickly grows in size to reach 1 meter and forms the cannon fodder class of Cavil military that are Voideons, but they can still grow in power and rank with sufficient Lathar.
* Cavils are one of the species that are Rulemakers. This allows them to set the rules that apply to them as well as their targets, and they gain their abilities via this method.

Cavil territory is divided into Congregations, each led by a Congregator, the highest ranked Cavils, making the Cavil Empire an authoritarian stratocracy. These territories are effectively independent nations on their own in the form of a complex symbolic ritual. Cavil Emperors exerted very little control over different Congregations, and with the end of active Emperors, all Congregations became even more independent than they were before and are actively at war with one another, only occasionally forming alliances when there is a threat to Cavils as a whole, even then some Cavils may choose to ally others against their fellow Cavils or simply remain neutral.

As mentioned, the Cavil Empire is hierarchical and has many ranks, these are as follows

* **Congregator:** The highest-ranked, most powerful, and capable Cavils. All Congregators have similar levels of capability to one another. This is not technically a rank, but rather a status given only to those who proclaimed a Congregation. To proclaim a Congregation, one first must be a Condenant, and have possession of a large celestial body (about the same size as the Moon at minimum) or have over 10 Cometwardens in their command, as well as at least one Procedurator to make Lathar independently. A Congregator is responsible for the existence of their own Congregation, and the Cavils that belong to it. They maintain Lathar's production and distribution. They are all functionally immortal and have enough grit to simply not die unless their body is destroyed. They are around 3 meters normally. They are almost always Rank 1 or Special Rank 1, it is very rare for a Congregator to not be physically powerful.
* **Condenant:** The second-rank Cavils, are usually personal advisors, guards, and elite forces of Congregators, with the very high-ranked Condenants being as powerful as Congregators themselves in their own right. They have at least enough Grit to survive and remain functional even when most of their organs are severely damaged and reduced nonfunctional, with some, higher-ranked ones being immortal akin to Congregators. They are around 3 meters normally. They are generally Rank 4 at the very least, while average Condenants are Rank 3 to Rank 2. Most capable Condenants are no different Congregators in terms of power and can be Rank 1, including Special Rank 1.
* **Conjor:** The third-rank Cavils, are generally field commanders of the Cavil Army, capable enough to lead and numerous enough to not be too important for the Congregation. They have enough grit to survive severe organ damage, and limb loss and remain functional. They are around 2-3 meters normally. They are generally Rank 7 to Rank 6, some high-ranking ones can be Rank 5.
* **Conral:** The fourth-rank Cavils, they are elite foot soldiers, the backbone of the Cavil Army. They are very numerous and decently capable of most operations. They have enough Grit to push through severe burns and physical injuries that can reduce limbs useless and unable to fight. They are around 1.5-2 meters normally. They are generally Rank 9 and some high-ranked ones are Rank 8.
* **Conpeon:** The fifth-ranked Cavils. These are abundant, and cannon fodders for a Congregation. They are deprived of Lathar and are desperate for survival, to prove themselves to get more Lathar. They are not capable on their own, but mass wave tactics are used by them, and those who lead them, who are mostly Voidrals. This is not rank for regular Cavils, all Voideons are products of Fragmentation mentioned earlier, thus all are sterile and female, but can still grow in power and ascend in ranks with enough Lathar. They are around 1 meter tall at the smallest and can be up to 1.5 meters at the largest and most capable. For comparison, they are much weaker than all other Cavil morphs, though the most powerful Conpeons might be ranked Rank 10.