Social Kjeldoranism

**Social Kjeldoranism** is a name given to various theories of society which claim to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology and politics. Economically, social Kjeldornists argue that the strong should see their wealth and power increase while the weak should see their wealth and power decrease. Different social Kjeldornists groups have differing views about which groups of people are considered to be the strong and which groups of people are considered to be the weak, and they also hold different opinions about the precise mechanism that should be used to reward strength and punish weakness.

## Kjeldoran Society

The Kjeldoran live atop of gigantic white Spires scattered throughout their remaining settlements and colonies. Each of the Spires reach high above the clouds, have no stairs, ladders or any other climbing implements. The only way to reach the top is to fly, and anyone incapable of flying is considered to be undeserving to visit the top. Each Spire culminates in a flat area known as the Garden. The Gardens are extremely beautiful and meticulously maintained places of leisure. The Celestials themselves live in hollowed out chambers inside the Spires, and they congregate in the Gardens. The more important members of society live higher than the less important ones.

The taller the Spire, the more prestigious it is to live in. The tallest and largest Spire (called the First Spire) always resides at the center of a Kjeldoran community and is reserved for the Lord of Spires and his court. The First Spire is off limits to everyone else, even the members of the court are only allowed to enter or leave by invitation and permission from the Lord of Spires himself. Merely gazing at the First Spire is punishable by beheading, making it customary to avoid looking directly at the First Spire to avoid offense.

Each other Spire is ruled by a Spire Lord, who lives at its highest point within the Garden itself and has absolute power over the life and death of all his subjects. The slightest disobedience is typically punished by cutting off the offenders wings and tossing him or her off the edge of the Garden. Failure to show proper reverence or respect to the Spire Lord on the other hand is typically punished by blinding the offender. Kjeldoran have no courts and justice is delivered by the Spire Lords.

After the Spire Lords, the most powerful Celestials are the Magi. They are few in numbers but make up for it in power. There is typically one or two Magi (wizards) per Spire, the second one typically being an apprentice. They act as advisers to the Spire Lords, and serve as formidable weapons during times of war. They typically wear ornate armor and masks while carrying staves that denote their social status and power.

### Celestial Caste

Below the Garden live the Celestial proper which are the warrior and aristocrat caste. Their society is very rigid, and orderly guided by tradition and ritual. The society pushes the strong, ruthless and unforgiving individuals to the top, and stigmatizes and punishes any sign of weakness, empathy or compassion. Those in power are encouraged to abuse their position and bully their underlings, whereas any push-back is considered a mortal offense and severely punished (typically by death or physical maiming). Any sign of physical weakness is considered unacceptable. Those who become permanently disabled, or are too old to fly are considered parasites and usually ordered to be tossed over the edge by the Spire Lords.

Disabled children are culled right away, unless parents manage to hide their infirmity. Children who do not have the desired characteristics (blond hair, blue eyes, proportional body, white wings, etc..) are typically consigned to lower castes. Sometimes parents will secretly dye the hair of their child if it is the wrong color, but hiding an undesirable in your house is typically punished by death.

Celestials are mostly patriarchal, though women are expected to fight alongside men. They can be military officers, but not mages or Spire Lords. When they become pregnant, they typically retire to dedicated chambers in the middle portion of the Spire, where they are cared for by the lower caste of Watchers. Only a few days after being born the children are inspected, measured, assigned names and caste. Those with “proper” features can move in with their parents. Those with darker hair or wrong colored eyes are raised by the Watchers. Those with black hair and black plumage are taken to the bottom of the Spire to be raised by the Fallen.

### Watcher Caste

The Watchers are the middle caste made up of the individuals who do not meet the eugenic requirements set forth by the Spire Lords. This typically includes having blond hair, blue eyes and white wings, but taller and more prestigious spires are even more stringent and measure the proportions of the skull, the size of the nose, the distance between the eyes, and etc. Most commonly, Watchers have white, blue or purple hair and slightly tinted plumage on their wings. They are permitted to live in the mid-section of the Spire, but cannot visit the Gardens. They take care of those who fall ill, and pregnant women and act as expendable troops in battle. Swords and shields are noble and sophisticated weapons, the Watchers are not permitted to use them and instead fight with pole-arms.

Because they are considered to be genetically inferior, they are not permitted to breed themselves. Some Spires however will tolerate occasional breeding to bolster their Watcher population. The taller Spires however pride themselves on being “purer” and having a small to non-existent Watcher population.

### Fallen Caste

The lowest caste are the Fallen who live at the bottom of the Spires. They typically have dark hair and dark plumage. They are not permitted to enter the Gardens under any circumstances. In fact, the tradition holds that if a Fallen would step a foot in the Garden it would become tainted and it would have to be re-consecrated. Many Spire Lords order the wings of the Fallen to be clipped in such a way to prevent them from flying properly to make sure this never happens. This is presumably where they acquired their name.

The Fallen are tasked to work with the slaves and “lesser” races. Kjeldoran rarely trade or have any diplomatic relations with other races, but when they do, they typically bring a Fallen to do the actual talking. If a diplomat of another race desires to present a Kjeldoran noble such as a Celestial with a gift, they would hand it to a Fallen, who would then take it to a Watcher standing about ten feet away. The Watcher would then take the item further away, wash it with the water from the Garden and ritually consecrate it. Only after then would it be proper for a Celestial to gaze upon it. Most high ranking nobles and Spire Lords would never actually consider touching something made by a untamed savage.

The Fallen also serve as the slave masters of the Kjeldoran society. Many of them do not enjoy this position, or even openly resent it, but many relish it. It is considered improper for Celestials and Watchers to touch or interact with slaves, but someone has to build their spires, and work the fields which supply the spires with food. That job belongs to the slaves who live in the shadow of the spires. Most of the slaves are members of other races. A good number are Fallen or Watchers whose wings were cut off for some transgression. Upper caste Celestials typically do not survive this type of punishment because they are thrown off the edge and plummet to their death. Only those who live and/or committed their transgression near the bottom of the tower tend to live long enough to become slaves.

As a rule, anyone without wings or the ability to fly in Kjeldoran society is automatically considered a slave, and property of the Spire Lord who controls the territory. Orc and Ogre slaves are most sought after because of their physical strength and resilience.

### Seeker's

Not all Kjeldoran are happy with how their society is being run. There are those who would wish to end the caste system and end the tyranny of the Spire Lords. Some even object to slavery. Few however dare to speak out because dissent is punished very harshly. Because they are raised to believe other races are inferior and repulsive, most dissatisfied Kjeldoran never leave their society unless they have to. Those few who do leave Kjeldoran society call themselves Seekers. Some seek refuge while others have disgraced themselves but most are simply unhappy as to how their society is being run.

The life of a Seeker comes at no small price. A Kjeldoran who seeks to live among savages rather then his or her own people commits a terminal offense. Elite squadrons of Watchers are often sent by a furious Spire Lord to bring the Seeker back at any cost. If the squad sent fails in their task they are often executed, making it customary to return only with the Seekers head in hand.