OFFICIAL NAME: The Grand and Holy Concordat of the Exalted Thaurian Teo'logo, Savior of
the Universe, Master of the Many Realms of Trono, and the Magnificent and Truly Benificent
Sage of the Grand and Powerful Worship of the Mysteries of Everyman and His
Relation to Deslumbrador the True God of All True Gods, Who is So Opulent that He
Makes Even Sonridor the Magnificent Look Dowdy, So Powerful that He Even Makes
Brazo the Strong Seem like a Weak and Pitiful Insect of the Kind that Lies on
One's Back and Buzzes for no Appearant Reason, and Of Course the Very
Bright Light.
HOMEWORLD: Trono, in sector L-02-41 of the Thaurian Galaxy
HOLDINGS: Two galaxies and the expanse of space between them.
POPULATION: 550 quadrillion sentients
CONTROLLING RACE: Thaurian Si' (aristocracy) and Phi' (religious) social sectors
SUPPORTING RACES: Thaurian Trei' (laborer) and Hei' (merchant) social sectors
SUBJUGATED RACES: Thaurian Trei', thousands of single-world species
The Thaurian Concordat was the first true external threat to the Weirdo Zone's existence. A theocratic dictatorship, it is an ancient nation that has grown fat and stagnant on its success. Its technology is outdated, its political system is nearing collapse, and its society is facing unheard of discord. The Thaurians have been pushed to the side by the Weirdo Zone and are not even percieved as even a casual threat by most. However, their political instability in this time of crisis could possibly lead to the destruction of the Weirdo Zone.
POLITICS
First contact was made with the Thaurians in 2479 when a Thaurian armada swept unannounced into Weirdo Zone space and captured twelve systems. The Weirdo Zone was quick to react, sweeping the territory back into Zone control in under a year. A special naval task force, codenamed Retribution, of 30 battleships, 100 cruisers, and 170 destroyers plowed through the Thaurian Concordat, brought all of Primary Galaxy under Zone control, obliterated the Thaurian navy and even knocked on the door of the Thaurian capital world of Krondor in four years after that. The Weirdo Zone/Thaurian Neutrality Pact was signed in 2485, effectively ending all large-scale military conflict with the Thaurians with the establishment of a demilitarized buffer zone between the two empires. The Thaurians, sensing their capital was too susceptible to attack, retrenched their government on their ancestral homeworld of Trono. This solidified the power of the Phi' theocracy.
BIOLOGY
The Thaurians are rather dull biologically compared to the Reavers. They have a heavy frame with thick bones and strong muscles due to their homeworld's 2.5G gravity. They are all practically "built like barrels" and have resounding bass voices. Thaurian sexuality is based on two genders, and homosexuality is punished in the worst possible ways. Theological calendars based on the complex orbital motions of Trono's twenty moons (three standard and seventeen captured) regulate periods of fasting, procreation, harvest, et cetera.
Thaurians are quickly recognized thanks to their bright orange skin and the bony crest on the top of their head. Another interesting note of Thaurian biology is that their mandible is connected to the rear-bottom of the eyesocket crest rather than at the base of the skull like humans. No theory based on empirical evidence has determined the reasons for such an evolution.
SOCIETY AND CULTURE
Thaurian culture is centered around their religion, the Grand and Powerful Worship of the Mysteries of Everyman and His Relation to Deslumbrador the True God of All True Gods, Who is So Opulent that He Makes Even Sonridor the Magnificent Look Dowdy, So Powerful that He Even Makes Brazo the Strong Seem like a Weak and Pitiful Insect of the Kind that Lies on One's Back and Buzzes for no Appearant Reason, and Of Course the Very Bright Light.
This religion is based on a highly convoluted series of strange phenomena that occured on Trono approximately five million years ago. Unlike most Terran religions, which center around the life of a single messiah character or the lives of a select few prophets and visionaries, the Thaurian religion is based on a long period of historical strife and geologic turmoil which, after millions of years, has been interpreted into mythology as a war between the gods of which Deslumbrador won. While outwardly similar to the Terran work Paradise Lost, the Thaurian holy tomes are much more intricate and although of limited theological value are works of art and cunning.
Generally, Thaurian society is a stratified culture with four Hegi' (Estates or strata). The Phi' strata, made up of the clergy of the Worship, is the highest and controls most of the Thaurian state. Far from being true religious thearchs, the Phi' maintain and increase their secular power through proxies, power plays, and less-than-divinely-inspired "religious visions" that take advantage of the highly religious Thaurian Si' and Hei' castes. They have managed to instill a great hatred of their enemies (the WZ and the RBC) by characterizing them as athiests and pagans controlled by gods trying to overthrow Deslumbrador.
GOVERNMENT AND ECONOMY
The government is a despotic theocracy with
a pyrimidal structure. At the base of the pyramid are the Trei' laborer caste and
thousands of subjugated species; the base has no power but rather produces all
political power through production or military service. All laborers are controlled
by the Hei' merchant caste, who take the goods or services the laborers provide and sell
them to higher castes and other, less specialized, Hei' merchants called Hei'-tha, or
Merchant-Traders. Hei' do struggle against each other, but, instead of outright
warfare, they (usually) only vie for the size and power of their economic fiefdoms.
The Si' aristrocratic caste controls the Hei' through trade laws and simple
feudalistic methods, while battling each other for dominancy in political power. The
Si' are commanded by the Phi' through religious domination, which often presents itself
through blessings, curses, and more "holy visions." There are no checks or
balances in the Thaurian system except in the infighting inherent in each caste higher
than the laborers, and this is why the Phi' priesthood intentionally sets powerful Si' and
Hei' families against each other. The Thaurian pyramid is capped by Master-Cleric
Teo'logo, the Mouth of Deslumbrador, a doting individual who sits in the Ponticular Dais
and therefore controls the Thaurian empire. Through his dotage and poor judgement,
he has taken his already weakened empire and destabilized it further by causing disastrous
infighting.
The disasterous infighting is a battle between the Si' houses of Imcedi
and Garbog, the two most powerful and well-connected houses in the Thaurian Concordat.
Through a tangled web of alliances and intrigues that puts the first Terran World
War to shame, this fracas is almost destined to become a full-scale civil war.
MILITARY
The Thaurian military is a laughable collection of
mercenary legions led by Hei' warrior-merchants and perpetually hired by specific Si'
lords. These mercenary legions are made up of poorly trained and maintained Trei'
laborers and subjugated races who are clothed, equipped, and fed by the lowest bidder.
Despite common sense, however, they are dedicated fighting forces because of the
numerous "holy" edicts set out by various Master-Clerics over time demanding the
destruction of the pagan RBC and WZ. They fight poorly, but with a zest which can
strike fear (if not pity) into the most battle-hardened Weirdannihilator. No
Thaurian unit has ever surrendered of its own accord, but Thaurian Si' lords in command
have surrendered them in order to save their own hides. Surrendered Thaurian units
tend to participate in ritualized mass suicides in order to not fall into the clutches of
the evil gods of their enemies.
Thaurian military technology is far more advanced than Weirdo Zone
technology but is shoddily built and therefore highly ineffective. Thaurian military
strategy is an oxymoron, as Thaurian campaigns are made up of conflicting orders given by
politically driven Si' lords whose entire family lines have never seen a day of true
combat (except against themselves).
FUTURE POSSIBILITIES
The Thaurian Concordat is highly unstable and prognosticatory scientific simulations predict a seventy-two percent chance that it will completely fracture itself in five years. When the houses of Imcedi and Garbog are finished with laying waste all of Thaurian space, the Phi' priesthood will probably collapse upon itself thanks to a very old Master-Cleric who is near death and has no heirs to the Dais. Weirdo Zone fears in this situation usually concern a probable Reaver expansion effort into Thaurian territory that the Weirdo Zone would have to counter.
A second possibility, according to WZISS agents, is that the Thaurian Concordat may attempt to apply for membership into the Weirdo Zone with the caveat that if they are refused they will start a total war. As absorbing the entire Thaurian Concordat in its current state would send the Weirdo Zone economy into shock, they would be promptly refused and a war that would divert resources from the Reaver front would commence. While probably short, this action would put the Weirdo Zone just off guard enough for the Reaver Biological Collective to mount an effective counter-attack and push the tide of the war in their favor.
A third possibility is that the Thaurian Concordat will stabilize. WZISS agents are currently working, oddly, towards this goal while trying to keep Weirdo Zone involvement (as a target) to a minimum.
Weirdo Zone Public Relations Office netdoc
WZ.61.24.62.189
Published 9.23.3001