Collective One
Considering the alien anatomy of the Spiderlings that inhabit its vast subterranean complexes, the fact that said species is led by a mundane nation-state, known to Sera as Collective One, may come as a surprise to uninformed observers.
Public Agenda
True to its name, their goals are set by a consensus-based system, relying on the methods of communication intrinsic to Spiderlings.
Though comparisons can be drawn between the Appachian Strongholds, considering the dwarves' own subterranean constructions and collectivist mindset, the similarities are superficial. The Collective has a much larger population, and their densely populated cities are sparsely-decorated and organic in design. And perhaps most significantly, the Swarm is far less isolationist than their dwarven counterparts, with a curious nature and a vested interest in understanding both the wonders and the dangers of the outside world.
History
Due to the typically organized and stable nature of Spiderling civilizations, historical records of Collective One are almost on par with those of the Bysian Realms, albeit rudimentary in its formative years. Thus the earliest Collective nest can be narrowed down to a crevasse within the Cylun Formations, a small range of mountains and rocky terrain well to the southwest of the Appachian Mountains that the dwarves call home. Timekeeping as surface-dwellers understand did not exist at this point, but it is certain that the Spiderlings, despite their wishes, did not make contact with any other sentient species for a significant period of time.
Their settlements slowly grew in population and size, and sometime in 2300 BV a Spiderling miner stumbled upon a Dwarven miner (or vice versa). After a short period of chaotic brawling, the two groups were broken apart at the collective realization that both parties weren't mere unthinking monsters. For the Spiderlings, this was a surprise as they had never encountered intelligent life outside their confines, and for the dwarves it was the first time meeting another subterranean society. After about a half-decade of deciphering each other's languages, the two young nations managed to avoid the pitfall of bloody expansion for the sake of aggression surface societies so easily fell into by agreeing to stay in touch and expand in the opposite direction.
Fast-forward to the most destructive and widespread period of violence during its era, the Great War, and it becomes notable that despite their proximity to the Eclipse's border the Collective's nests lost little territory in the ensuing conflict. In fact, groups of their warriors slipped through enemy lines and aggressively attacked supply lines and reinforcements headed for distant battlefields, forcing Eclipse commanders to reduce their presence on the front lines just to protect their own logistics and arguably shifting the favor of certain battles in the Alliance's favor. For their services rendered, the Collective were accorded political goodwill, and (perhaps more importantly) guaranteed rights to a significant westward swathe of the recently-vacated surface in the victory conferences.
Besides the Great War, the Spiderlings have been relatively passive on the international stage, seemingly satisfied with their territory and sending out scouts to mingle with foreign cultures in a benign manner. They have proven a reliable trade partner for the North-West Bloc and the Utar Confederacy alike, and there is less of a sword hanging overhead during negotiations than with other, more ill-mannered nations' diplomats.
Military
Wars with the Collective are few and far between, despite the unnerving nature of its citizens. Preferring underground habitats alleviates most conflicts over territory, and incursions into Spiderling dens were a horrifically suicidal endeavour even before the Collective built up a substantial industrial base. Despite their proclaimed disinterest in violence, the Swarm always comes before one's life, and its soldiers will not hesitate to charge a repeating cannon head-on if ordered to do so.
This nigh-suicidal devotion to duty, lightning-fast reflexes, and the fact that Spiderlings are not, in fact, mindless drones, makes the claustrophobic, winding tunnels of the Collective's cities both a metaphorical and often literal minefield. This is how the Collective withstood the onslaught of the Eclipse during the Great War despite sharing a border with the Great Enemy, and why centuries later, few visitors dare to cause trouble in their lands.
Additionally, despite their seeming disadvantages in non-subterranean fighting, the Collective has bred different subspecies of Spiderlings to supplement their still-deadly warrior classes on land and sea, and have stockpiled a significant number of anti-airship guns on top of a small maritime and airborne navy. While their tactics have remained relatively untested since the Great War and the initial days of the Cataclysm, no one is stupid enough to challenge the Collective's disturbingly blunt natural selection approach to the art of war.
Type
Geopolitical, State
Alternative Names
Starless Empire
Demonym
Bugs, drones, cave-spiders
Government System
Hive-mind
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Command/Planned economy
Neighboring Nations
