Interregnum
Portrait of Cilxin Inaverta 2nd Consul of the United Formican Republic
Xalcrax system
Xalcrax (pronounced zhal-cra-ks) is a type A blue luminous star, mostly typical for its age. Around it consists eight planets and an asteroid belt rather close to the star itself. The inside of the asteroid belt called “The habitable zone” is the only place capable of hosting sentient life. There is only one planet that managed to host this habitable life, the rest are only barren and empty. It still is a grand mystery as to how Naxtac came to have life, but the prevailing scientific theory is one of Trans-spermia.
Naxtac
Naxtac itself however is a planet that predominantly consists of a large expansive Savannah biome. Other biomes do exist on the planet such as the thick forests that hug the Oases or the colder Grassland biomes towards the poles. The planet is sparse with large wild life, each with their own evolutionary quirks such as the Stonebison, a Bison that managed to evolve an exoskeleton.
Water on the planet is sparse, covering approximately 5% of the world. Water that does exist is in expansively deep pools called an “Oasis”. Much of the planet's biodiversity hugs these Oases or mass migrates from one to another. Predators have evolved to hunt down animals on journeys from one Oasis to another.
Formicans
The Formicans would come to evolve on this harsh planet much like all other life did, through pure chance. Formicans were a weird race that could stay upright for long amounts of time as if they were bi-pidal. Soon the species would make a full bipedal transition.
Formicans carry six limbs, although the first two have mostly evolved to become smaller and smaller as time went on. Originally part of the mouth as larger pincers for weapons the invention of tools managed to make these pincers largely irrelevant outside of cutting up food for eating purposes.
They have two legs, and two arms, the arms of which managed to evolve six bendable indexes. This would prove to be its most important adaptation, second only to the Exoskeleton which it managed to evolve due to the need for protection against the large amounts of radiation that bombards the planet. This Exoskeleton has made the species not only strong but impressively formidable. Inside the Exoskeleton however is a softer skin that could easily suffer damage from just the UV rays alone.
Formicans are not Sexual Dimorhic, and thus a male is indistinguishable from a female outside of the reproductive parts. A typical lifecycle for a Formican is a Male and a Female Formican will mate and the Female will spawn a smaller grub. This Grub is tiny and almost worm like but requires help for basic things such as food. Once it has grown enough the Grub will enter their first Molting Cycle where they fall into a thick rock like cocoon. During each Molting the Exoskeleton of a Formican grows to become bigger and bigger. A formican has 4 molting cycles before they die of old age.
Sociology
Formicans by their nature are typically solitary. This does not mean they do not share a sense of Community, only that they are very particular about their space. Along side of this they seem to value Traditions to a higher extent than most species. It's likely that this has also influenced their tendency to be slightly more rebellious than most other species.
A cornerstone to the Formican Society are its Enclaves, and the rituals they form in life with none more important than the Finding.
Enclaves and The Finding
Enclaves are similar to a workers union or its equivalent. Enclaves typically consist of Skilled workers that specialize in one field of work such as Martial Skills or Agriculture. Enclaves have existed for the majority of Formican history and have been evidenced to date back to the Bronze age with some even estimating it has its roots in the Stone age or further.
Enclaves also tie into a fundamental ritual that all Formicans must take once they’ve reached their 2nd Molting Cycle: The Finding. The Finding is a ritual where Formicans roam from Enclave to Enclave, searching for which one they fit in the best.
The Finding could take a whole life time, or two days. Once formican reaches an Enclave the Enclave will give them a taste of what they are to expect living there. If the Formican does not enjoy the Enclave he will ask to leave to which the Enclave will replenish his supplies and point them to the nearest Enclave.
The Lost
This has become a principal myth in Formican society, the Myth of the Lost. The Lost are Formicans who haven't found an Enclave to call their own and are thusly doomed to wander Naxtac aimlessly for eternity. Each culture in Naxtac have a variety of opinions on them, some calling them myths, some believing them to be Grim omens, or Blessed Omens. For the most part however this is believed to be a cautionary tale created early on in Formican history to ensure that someone finds their place in one of its many Enclaves.
Culture and Beliefs
The Culture of the Formicans is wide and varied, due to their belief in keeping senseless slaughter away. Even though much of the Formican history is marked by wars, for the most part violent pillaging of civilians has been ignored due to the basic fundamentals of their beliefs. These Fundamental beliefs which has become the Cornerstone for every Formican Society is known as “The Codes of Order.” They are as follows:
“One must show Humility in all things,
One must allow any into your Enclave that seeks their Finding,
There is honor in the task you do,
Mercy is a virtue show it often,
The defenseless are innocent, do not waste their lives,
Give Charity to those in need,
We each do our duty according to our Finding.”
Each culture as added to these codes in some way, shape, or form.
Outside of these basic beliefs Formicans also enjoy various forms of Entertainment. A prized sport is Martial dueling, a battle between two foes. At the end of the Fight the winner is to grant the loser mercy instead of slaying them.
Outside of the Arena they also enjoy Music, and other forms of Auditory Entertainment like Radio Shows or Podcasts. As for Movies, they exist but are often focused around Epics due to the massive cultural differences. Formican Epics typically are similar to Biopics and have been known to stretch onwards for hours on end with the longest reaching 6 hours. These movies are being phased out in favor of T.V. shows due to their digestible nature.
Government
Flag of the United Formican Republic
The United Formican Republic is a Republic of the various Enclaves in one Union. Each Enclave will elect for a Representative to be sent to the Republic head, where they represent and help decide and vote on what would be best on behalf of the Enclaves they are from. The “Republic” is more of a loose federation of Enclaves. The UFR doesn't have the authority to override laws made by the individual Enclaves and mostly helps with diplomacy and trade issues.
The head of the UFR is the Consul, voted on by each Enclave around Naxtac. The UFR does have the authority to take command of Enclaves in times of great danger to the Formicans such as the rise of the Hulkrab Empire, but this is a dangerous gambit as Formicans have been known to gather their pitchforks in less dire circumstances and is thus avoided unless it can't be helped. The UFR has also an important duty in streamlining the Finding Journey through their Governmental Service system. After a Formican reaches his 3rd Molting Cycle he is given the option to stay in the Government Service as part of the Administration nicknamed the Administration Enclave, or is given the chance to be released to an enclave similar to their skill-set.
Military
The military of the Formicans are tied around the various Martial Enclaves. The Martial Enclaves are tied to a fundamental Warrior Culture that has existed since their inception. This has managed to continue even after the invention of Gunpowder and Mechanized Warfare. These Martial Enclaves will still have occasional brawls with each other from time to time to test their might. These fights are usually highly ritualized, or rules of engagement are made before each battle.
Economy
The Economy of Formican society is mainly based around a simplistic Barter system. While this may seem like they have a basic understanding of Economics, this is not the case as Formicans have been shown to understand equivalent trade and tend not to undo others in a trade, or have even been known to give gifts. The barter system often works from small scale bartering such as a Smithing Enclave asking a Miner Enclave for resources in exchange for new tools.
Science
Predominantly the majority of the Science developed by the Formicans come from Enlightenment Enclaves which focuses on scientific study and advancement. Enlightenment Enclaves is generally the Catchall term for scientific based Enclaves. The Enlightenment Enclaves have mostly broken into various other Enclaves such as Sociology, Biology, and so on and so forth. Another Enclave which is recent within Formican History is the Void Enclave, a new Enclave that has focused on pursuing exploring and taming the wild expanse of the Void.
Interesting times indeed.
