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Description

Hailing from the world of Alanerth, close to the Hanabdis Empire's core worlds, the Zithorians and their state, the Nagoran Mandate, are a vassal to the stronger empire.
Their homeworld is larger and more massive than Earth, but has a similar gravity- the zithorians are distinguished by their bipedal stance, standing on two thick legs with three digits and two sets of arms (two large primary ones with four digits and two smaller, vestigial ones that have lost all but two small digits) and are covered in hard, overlapping bony plates along their backs, shoulders and head, which presents two sets of eyes and a large mouth with two large protruding fangs. The zithorians have evolved in the vast prairies of Alanerth as mainly carrion eaters, roaming in large packs in set territories in search of food; their coloring provides ample camouflage, making them blend easily in the tall grass that dominates their preferred environment.
Since they are not hunters by nature, they prefer not to provoke violence outside social norms, but are more than capable of defending themselves and in fact can become irrationally violent when defending their territory or status. They have a deeply rooted mentality of obedience to their leaders, who wields near absolute power. Over the course of their history, several city states have arose from the grasslands and brought together numerous clans under their banners; only about 20 of these survived into the modern era, with most of the others either destroyed or abandoned in the many wars that plagued their history. As such, Alanerth is not a very industrialized world, with about 70% of its wilds still untamed, only the occasional small pack of naturalist, nomadic zithorians making the occasional camp.
The zithorian society is overwhelmingly religious, with about 95% of the populace of Alanerth (7 billion total) affiliated with the Nagoran Mandate, centered on the city of Nagora. In the distant past, Nagora was the birthplace of the planet's first real empire; its series of kings managed to vassalize several other city states, becoming the dominant power of the planet. One particular king and hid dynasty, in order to bring all the different culture together, became a patron of the city's growing religion, a cult dedicated to ancestral worshiping. Over the next centuries, the king himself and the following dynasty also became deified, and along the way Nagora conquered or destroyed nearly all opposition. Part of the reason was that it was the first to develop nuclear weapons, which the kings used on several occasions, leaving numerous cities as nuclear wastelands. In the process, however, it managed to more or less unite all the various tribes into one fairy homogeneous whole.
Shortly after first contact was achieved around 500 BCE, with the neighboring Hanab, the Kingdom and its monarch were violently overthrew by the very religion which once it helped grow from an obscure cult into a daily facet of billions. The Mandate, as it grew to be call, forced a theocratic government to replace the old one, taking advantage of the people's blind obedience to create a new order; since zithorian society is also fairy darwinian, with leaders expected to seize power and not take it for granted, besides the violent execution of the royal family the coup went off fairy peacefully.
Unfortunately, the Mandate's main reason for the coup, namely its xenophobic anti alien policies that the king opposed, drew the ire of the Hanabdis Empire, which was less than pleased with having a hostile government on its borders. Since they were primitive, however, and the Empire was busy with its cold war with the Voir, the Mandate wasn't a priority. That changed when an ambassador from the hanabdis was lynched just a few years later by violent protestors who wanted all alien influences off of their world. In less than a week, the planet was under Hanab occupation and was given a choice: serve or be exterminated. The Mandate Theocrates had little choice, and the zithorians became a subservient vassal to the Empire.
Despite a fringe minority that continued to fiercely oppose outside influence, the Mandate slowly shifted into a far more tolerant society (at least towards the hanab) and after centuries of servitude has in fact became one of the Empire's most loyal vassal. Religion still plays a very central role, however it has since taken a less than central role in politics, as per the decree of the Empire's constitution that prohibits religion to play roles in governance-which extended to its vassals, but only as far as external policy. Thus, the Theocracy started to wane as it started to loose its influence in exchange for survival, with the Mandate becoming more and more in name only.

Description

Hailing from the world of Alanerth, close to the Hanabdis Empire's core worlds, the Zithorians and their state, the Nagoran Mandate, are a vassal to the stronger empire.
Their homeworld is larger and more massive than Earth, but has a similar gravity- the zithorians are distinguished by their bipedal stance, standing on two thick legs with three digits and two sets of arms (two large primary ones with four digits and two smaller, vestigial ones that have lost all but two small digits) and are covered in hard, overlapping bony plates along their backs, shoulders and head, which presents two sets of eyes and a large mouth with two large protruding fangs. The zithorians have evolved in the vast prairies of Alanerth as mainly carrion eaters, roaming in large packs in set territories in search of food; their coloring provides ample camouflage, making them blend easily in the tall grass that dominates their preferred environment.
Since they are not hunters by nature, they prefer not to provoke violence outside social norms, but are more than capable of defending themselves and in fact can become irrationally violent when defending their territory or status. They have a deeply rooted mentality of obedience to their leaders, who wields near absolute power. Over the course of their history, several city states have arose from the grasslands and brought together numerous clans under their banners; only about 20 of these survived into the modern era, with most of the others either destroyed or abandoned in the many wars that plagued their history. As such, Alanerth is not a very industrialized world, with about 70% of its wilds still untamed, only the occasional small pack of naturalist, nomadic zithorians making the occasional camp.
The zithorian society is overwhelmingly religious, with about 95% of the populace of Alanerth (7 billion total) affiliated with the Nagoran Mandate, centered on the city of Nagora. In the distant past, Nagora was the birthplace of the planet's first real empire; its series of kings managed to vassalize several other city states, becoming the dominant power of the planet. One particular king and hid dynasty, in order to bring all the different culture together, became a patron of the city's growing religion, a cult dedicated to ancestral worshiping. Over the next centuries, the king himself and the following dynasty also became deified, and along the way Nagora conquered or destroyed nearly all opposition. Part of the reason was that it was the first to develop nuclear weapons, which the kings used on several occasions, leaving numerous cities as nuclear wastelands. In the process, however, it managed to more or less unite all the various tribes into one fairy homogeneous whole.
Shortly after first contact was achieved around 500 BCE, with the neighboring Hanab, the Kingdom and its monarch were violently overthrew by the very religion which once it helped grow from an obscure cult into a daily facet of billions. The Mandate, as it grew to be call, forced a theocratic government to replace the old one, taking advantage of the people's blind obedience to create a new order; since zithorian society is also fairy darwinian, with leaders expected to seize power and not take it for granted, besides the violent execution of the royal family the coup went off fairy peacefully.
Unfortunately, the Mandate's main reason for the coup, namely its xenophobic anti alien policies that the king opposed, drew the ire of the Hanabdis Empire, which was less than pleased with having a hostile government on its borders. Since they were primitive, however, and the Empire was busy with its cold war with the Voir, the Mandate wasn't a priority. That changed when an ambassador from the hanabdis was lynched just a few years later by violent protestors who wanted all alien influences off of their world. In less than a week, the planet was under Hanab occupation and was given a choice: serve or be exterminated. The Mandate Theocrates had little choice, and the zithorians became a subservient vassal to the Empire.
Despite a fringe minority that continued to fiercely oppose outside influence, the Mandate slowly shifted into a far more tolerant society (at least towards the hanab) and after centuries of servitude has in fact became one of the Empire's most loyal vassal. Religion still plays a very central role, however it has since taken a less than central role in politics, as per the decree of the Empire's constitution that prohibits religion to play roles in governance-which extended to its vassals, but only as far as external policy. Thus, the Theocracy started to wane as it started to loose its influence in exchange for survival, with the Mandate becoming more and more in name only.