PROXIMAN SUZERAINTY

The Proximans are an enigma among galactic culture. While they are clearly a very combat-oriented species, they have evolved culturally to avoid war among themselves, most likely due to their low birth rate and susceptibility to mortal injuries when their bodily structure is compromised. Instead, they satisfy their combat urges with gladiatorial combat of varying types (but almost always nonlethal). The Proximan family structure is centered around the clan, a collection of five to ten families who all share a common ancestry. These families are genetically divergent enough that interbreeding is viable, but it is usually frowned upon due to societal norms. The only designated familial role is that of the Lore-Keeper, who are the Proximans only institutionalized tradition of magic. In the Terran system of magical classification, Lore-Keepers are Contractors, bound to a spirit that has been contracted to the Lore-Keeper of their family for countless generations. Each Lore-Keeper designates a successor, and when they die the spirit passes to that successor. The role of the Lore-Keeper has fluctuated over generations, what was originally seen as a kind of warrior and champion for the family has since evolved into something more along the lines of a family historian. Some families, however, keep the old traditions alive and their Lore-Keepers go off to serve as gladiators, soldiers, or politicians.

Governmentally, the Proximans are best described as a Suzerainty. The entire Proximan domain is controlled by a single leader (the Suzerain), who oversees 36 vassal states. Each vassal state has a internal autonomy and self-rule, but foreign affairs (such as the relations with Earth) and inter-state relations are handled by the Suzerain and his independent, 37th state. The position of Suzerain is hereditary, and has been handed down the line of Naicun since Naicun the Great unified the planet and brought peace to the warring tribes. Each vassal state sends two representatives to the Suzerain’s court to serve for a single Proximan year (which is about 300 Earth days), an advisor to serve on the Suzerain’s Council, and a consort for the Suzerain’s harem. At the end of the year, these advisors return to their home vassal state, and any child sired by the Suzerain with that consort during that time remains a High Prince or High Princess but returns to be raised in the consort’s vassal state. The Suzerain and their state are responsible for coordinating the global military efforts of Proxima, along with any worldwide projects. This includes offworld projects, such as flux space gateways, interplanetary travel and mining, and military cooperation with the Terran Alliance.

Each individual vassal state is free to govern themselves as they see fit, and this has lead to a wide diversity in governmental structures among the states. Of the 36 vassal states, nine are hereditary monarchies, seven of them are representative republics, five are technocracies, four are gerontocracies, three are meritocracies, two are corporate states, two are perfect democracies (in the sense that every citizen has a vote on everything), two are theocracies, and one is an anarcho-syndicalist commune.

Socially, the Proximans exist as a semi-feudal heirarchy. While the days of true feudalism are gone in the Suzerainty, the overall social structure still exists. Unlike in a true feudalistic society, social mobility is a very real thing, and Proximans move up and down the social ladder with regularity. One of the most reliable methods for social mobility in this structure is military service – higher rank and better performance in training, wargames, and (more recently) field action are commensurate with upward mobility in the ladder. A Proximan’s parents determine a child’s starting position in the social ladder, but once the Proximan reaches adulthood (15 Proximan years), they are in charge of their own social fate.

Philosophy

Proximans love to fight. ‘To deny this would be to deny millions of years of evolution and history,’ Proximan philosophers are known to say. All Proximans feel an innate urge to do battle, but the species has tempered this over generations with a belief that all life is important. The more martial-minded (and bloodthirsty) Proximans tend to view this more as ‘it takes more skill to leave your opponent alive rather than simply killing them.’ This curious worldview is thought to have started to arise during the period of time that their homeworld was transitioning into its present state. The biological adaptations evolved by Proximans (and other lifeforms on their homeworld) left them hardy enough to survive this environment, but it also left them with a glaring weakness – when injured heavily, they will most likely explode due to blood boil-off. This left the species with a hesitance to heavily injure other native lifeforms, as doing so would most likely injure themselves.

“Armstrong”

If the Proximans had to declare a ‘planetary favorite sport,’ it would probably be the one who’s name translates roughly to ‘Armstrong.’ Armstrong is a martial combat event, in which two (or more) teams compete to see who will be the last one standing in a competition of combat. Armstrong is played in almost any setting imaginable, from matches in faux-urban arenas, to wilderness regions, to gladiatorial arenas. The PAL (Proximan Armstrong League (rough translation)) holds matches on almost a daily basis. It is worth nothing that the rules of Armstrong prevent actually killing your opponent, but accidents do happen from time to time.