The Confederation of Flowers

Government Form: Confederal Elective Monarchy

Demographics: 99% Human

Population: ~500 Million

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Planet Name and Description: Orion Paradiso; Earth Scientific Designation CX-48932; Trademarked designation "Becky's Crack" on December 21st, 2015 by Lloyd Williams in Little Rock, Arkansas "as a Christmas gift to my beloved Fiance".

History: (What happened after your Colony landed? This can be as brief or detailed as you like.)

Culture and Society: Life in the Confederation, from the lowest peasant to the Emprex themself, is centered entirely around one's home pyramid. The dense jungles of Orion, the persistent rot of the vegetation, and lack of certain naturally occurring materials means that these enormous "orbital colony drop structures" have not become the center of the human realms, but THE human realms.

Nobility, descended from the technicians, scientists, and security personnel of the original colonial effort, hold positions of prominence and ceremonial authority in day-to-day life. Societal expectations give the Flower Houses enormous deference in the running of affairs of state. But with that deference comes a powerful expectation to right any wrongs committed (at least, those committed in public).

Peasant laborers often engage in farming of the terraces along the pyramidal structures, work in the specialized factories deep in the hearts of the pyramids, and spend their leisure time enjoying sporting events, public festivals of art and fashion, or private family feasts. Social mobility is possible by striking out into the dense and ever-growing jungles to find new veins of solarite, new dyes or medicinal plants, or even starting an illicit "freehold" deep in the heart of the jungle. Freeholds exist in a legal grey zone- their citizens are fiercely independent and pay no taxes to the Emprex, nor do they answer to the laws of the Flower Crown. But they can expect no assistance in the event of plague or attack by another freehold.

Lastly, the Flower Throne often permits the custom of "social war" upon request. Peasants, warriors, and nobles alike may answer a call to challenge at a pre-determined field of war. Hard-light weaponry is used in a medieval scrimmage in which combatants battle until one side capitulates. Historically, this was a way to engage in battle without risking damage to the precious machinery that provides the manufacturing needs of the planet. Fewer conflicts for outright control of a rival pyramid take place with every decade that passes- though they do occur. Most "social wars" now hold a place between festival and sporting event. Peasants can achieve fame by defeating Flower Warriors in combat on the field, or

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Governance and Politics: The Monarchy of the Confederation is, much like the broader society, centered around the great Pyramid Cities of the original colony ship. The great houses- Rose, Lilac, Lily, Forget-me-Not, and others, have absolute control over the serfs within and upon the steppes of the great structures. Sub-houses- like the White Roses and the Yellow Lilies- occasionally are formed when expeditions into the great jungles of Orion are launched and manage to find enough precious stone to forge a new Pyramid complex. Many of the royal houses delegate their daily operations to stewards, flower-warriors, or even merchant-artisans, preferring to focus on expanding personal domains and managing the delicate balance of power in pursuit of the Obsidian Throne.

Outside of their personal domains, most politicking happens within the Great Pyramid of Landing, the only fully functional spaceport on the planet. Feasts of the Emprex are held here, as are crafting competitions and blood duels to jocky for formal positions within the Emprex' court and steer the course of planetary events as they jocky for position to be elected Emprex after the current monarch's passing.

Technology Overview: Orion Paradiso has an overabundance of vegetation, a lack of traditional "fossil fuels" that would feed normal industrial capacities, but it does contain a unique substance to its biosphere- Solarite. An amalgamation of Lithium and crystalline silicon occurring in mines beneath the jungle, the Solarite material is able to compensate for the lack of nuclear or petroleum fuels by providing exceedingly potent solar power generation.

The Flower Court has seen artisans pioneer the use of hard-light technologies for everything from personal weapons, to tools, to clothing. Indeed, only the truly wealthy find the need to wear full fabric cloth at all times- most of the peasant class prefers to use hard light clothing to better withstand the humidity found in their daily working conditions from the jungle world.

Machine tool growth has been limited over time, resulting in an over-reliance on Old Earth technology from the original colony ship. Only recently, a few years prior to the activation of the jump gates, did this change. The whole of the world stands on the precipice of a new age, for the Emprex' fledgling spacebound ships have completed a secret mission- retrieving precious metals from an asteroid in low orbit above Orion. The ability to bring rare metals to the markets may allow this dense jungle world to flourish into a new realm for humanity... or destroy it, when the Noble houses discover this upsetting revelation and rocks the balance of power.

Military Overview: Each household is encouraged and expected to field a personal guard that oversees daily security needs for the individual pyramid- calling on the Emprex to put down a peasant revolt or intervene in inter-house warfare is seen as a sign of weakness and will almost assuredly win the battle, but rule out the victor for future election to the throne of Landing. Most pyramids keep a cohort that is only a few hundred strong professional warriors, the Emprex has at their disposal a vast reserve of Solarite ore, ships capable of moving through the void of local space, and a palace guard of professional, full time soldiers.

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Additional Info: