Xel-Ti Confederacy

## Separate, Different, Unequal, but One

The Xel-Ti Confederacy is a large conglomeration of various sentient animalistic races that, despite maintaining independent cultures, customs, languages, and even religions and technology, identify as one unified space-faring intergalactic empire. This main and overarching central identity has earned the empire the title of Confederacy, as each race technically maintains independence from the others, only listening to a vague and very weak central government. The Xel-Ti Confederacy has kept positive and pleasant relations with the Kodian Empire and Westgaardian Empire through sharing of technology and intergalactic trade market, where the Xel-Ti offer much of the galaxy's exotic goods. The Xel-Ti are currently undergoing talks at the highest levels of their government to decide whether or not to subjugate themselves under the Dardarian Dominion, and some claim that the more warlike races are planning on separating themselves completely and waging war against the Dominion's forces.

## The Xel-Ti Confederate Congress:

The Xel-Ti main central government is the political body that represents the Confederacy as a whole when dealing with outside forces, including the Kodian Empire and Dardarian Dominion. The Congress is purposely weak and incapable, as well as slow and inefficient. This inefficiency was a conscious decision by all of the smaller racial governments, as they wanted to maintain as much autonomy as possible, yet still wanted to identify as a single intergalactic empire. The Congress handles foreign diplomatic relations, and maintains the standing navy/army forces, as well as placing tithes on the racial governments. The Congress cannot directly tax the individual citizens, but is allowed to forcibly overthrow a racial government if it is deemed harmful to the overall Confederacy. The Congress can declare war on other galactic empires, but cannot handle the internal relations between individual racial governments, which often adds to the gridlock of the Congress when several races are actively engaged in warfare against one another, yet must still come to peaceful decisions that effect the entire empire.

Representation in the Confederate Congress is determined by the size of the tithe that the racial government is able to provide. This representation is percentage-based, and can fluctuate on a yearly basis. This means that races can stockpile supplies for a great number of years, saving for an important political debate, and then 'donate' that massive stockpile of goods when an especially advantagous appeal is presented to the Congress, allowing races to completely overpower others. This system is flawed, but otherwise cannot change, as there are never enough races opposed to it at any one time to warrrant a change. The tithes can be made up of soldiers, ships, food, energy, information/research, and more, and are all valued by the intergalactic market's prices at the time, meaning that certain tithes could be made completely worthless as they are delivered to the Congress, due to the large and frequent fluctuations in the intergalactic market.

## The Racial Governments:

The Xel-Ti Confederacy is made up of a number of smaller racial governments that all maintain independence, autonomy, culture, technology, language, and more via their Confederacy status. These more local racial governments can act as small intergalactic empires, in the sense that they can colonize worlds, terraform, mine, change, etc. all without the input of the Confederate Congress. The racial governments do not even have to abide by a particular standard of technology or even political system/ideology, with some races living under utopian societies while others exist under brutal tribal conditions. The following list denotes the various racial governments, and the important details surrounding them:

* The Zoag-Tan Plutocracy: The Zoag Tan are a race of extremely wealthy slug-people who rely on advanced technology, trade, and robotic servants to survive and thrive. The Zoag-Tan Plutocracy is incredibly wealthy, operating under a system where the wealthiest individuals rule. This means that capitalism and money is worshipped above any or all gods, although religion is used as a means of scamming the common man. Extremely xenophobic and hostile towards any and all races that are not Zoag-Tan, the Zoag-Tan Plutocracy is outwardly antagonistic towards basically every other Xel-Ti racial government, and only trades in massive tithes and/or with external galactic powers (including the Dardarian Dominion). The Plutocracy relies on exports and imports to survive, its planets all massive paradises where its inhabitants exist in constant bliss, aided and maintained by their incredibly advanced (and hoarded) technology and their robotic slaves. The Zoag-Tan Plutocracy is a very tall empire, preferring to further develop the internal structures and economy of their empire than expand outwards. Their entire military and police force is all automated via advanced AI and robotic soldiers, meaning that the Zoag-Tan are rarely exposed to combat or armed engagements of any kind, but this does not mean that the race is adverse to battle- the Zoag-Tan are equipped with plenty of advanced weaponry to dispense of any would-be assassins, also enjoying the idea of hiring on foreign mercenaries as bodyguards (or slaves).
* The Canian Nation of Counties: The Canians are a race of bipedal mammals that resemble the dogs, wolves, or hyenas of Terra, and operate under a further series of complicated divisions and separations into tribes, or Counties, that all answer to a large council of Elders. The Nation of Counties operates on a technological level that is, at best, ancient. They are mostly incapable of space travel by themselves, and rely on the conquering of other peoples or the theft of ships through space piracy to acquire said means of travel. The Canians make extensive use of their natural skills and characteristics, including incredible speed, strength, sharp teeth and claws, and excellent sensory abilities to bully and intimidate other racial governments or groups into cooperating with the demands of the wider Nation of Counties. Individual tribes fight amongst one another just as much, if not more than, they fight collectively against other major racial governments. The Canians operate under a very warlike society, where the strong rule over the weak and the weak toil to appease their brutal superiors, and this has led to great debate amongst the wider Xel-Ti Confederacy over whether or not the Canians will be forced to change their ways. The Canians often pay their tithes through slaves, raw resources, stolen goods, or soldiers, as the Canian Nation of Counties creates millions of incredible warriors every year, due to their high birth rates, quick aging process, and frequent internal fighting. Canians often sell themselves as mercenaries to either other racial governments or to other intergalactic empires/external groups. The Canians that brave space travel long enough to integrate into another intergalactic civilization are often regarded as cowards and traitors for their abandonment of the Nation of Counties and their home tribe, often identifying as their own separate political entity or as citizens of their new homes/groups. These traitors are often less hostile than their home-bound counterparts, and are often times far less xenophobic. The Canian Nation of Counties is generally regarded as a tall empire rather than a wide one, but even that is a generous term considering the constant states of internal fighting that the Canians undergo constantly. The main council of Elders do their best to limit the infighting, but are often unsuccessful in their attempts, and as such very little is done to unify the Canian race under one banner.
* The Viridian Autonarchy: The Viridians are a race of sentient plants that make extensive use of their ties with nature and Cyanite Energy to survive, using the large animals of their homeworld and their extensive knowledge of Cyanite to create relatively advanced technology, similar in level to the Sovereignty of Gratiil. The Autonarchy operates as a direct democracy and a xenophilic utopia focused on ensuring equality and a safe haven for all races that wish to seek aid. Generous, friendly, and relatively pacifistic, the Viridian Autonarchy is famous for its peacefulness and amicable attitude towards other races, including the Dardarian Dominion. The Viridian Autonarchy provides tithes in the form of Cyanite, Cyanite research, and other forms of natural technology (like advanced medicine techniques). The Viridians are spacefaring, and provide the overwhelming majority of the overarching Xel-Ti Confederacy naval ships and standardized weaponry.
* The Boletian Royal Monarchy: The Boletians are a race of sentient, bipedal fungus creatures that operate under a feudal monarchy, following the every order of their beloved High Empress. Despite being a feudal society, infighting amongst the Boletians is relatively rare, as the High Empress rules and dictates the feudal society and the families that control the land. Although lesser monarchies control the individual planets and systems of the Boletian Royal Monarchy, the High Empress still rules over the families with an iron fist, operating as the highest level of authority (besides the Confederate Congress). The Boletians make use of a relatively advanced level of technology, despite their rather archaic system of government, and are spacefaring. The Boletians frequently offer food, energy, and soldiers as their tithes to the Xel-Ti Confederate Congress. The Boletians are untrusting of other races and external groups/empires, but are not immiedately hostile, and is willing to hear out any and all groups so long as they cooperate with the Boletian customs. The Boletians do not worship the High Empress, against the common rumors that suggest the opposite. The Boletians are aslso famous for their durability, amazing regenerative properties, and adaptability in hostile environments. Boletians are often the first wave of Xel-Ti settlers and/or soldiers on a world, and are often responsible for clearing an initial landing zone and creating habitats that are more suitable for the other races.
* The Vespan Divine and Venerated Theocracy: The Vespans are a race of sentient, bipedal, flight-capable insectoids that heavily resemble the wasps of Terra.