Droga

A droga, or clan, is the primary unit of Stenza society, and serves a handful of key functions:

1. They raise the pups born to the women of the clan
2. They serve as the touchstone for organizing the Stenza military
3. They subdivide internal management of Stenza affairs

Everyone within a droga is considered "cousins" to one another, with varying degrees of closeness (see Litter Mates). It is common for people already related this way to become Blood Siblings during conflict, but it is becoming increasingly common for this bond to be forged across clan lines. These social bonds allow for a culture of "it takes a village to raise a child", as pups are basically "new/baby cousins" who get into everything they can reach. This has fed back into the long-held idea that it doesn't matter who the parents of the pups in question are, creating a sense of shared responsibility and a lack of exact lineage (and thus any concept of heritability). Pups' clans are marked primarily by ear-shape, but unless one is scientifically curious that is all the detail a Stenza feels is necessary.
Before Unification, clans had a long history of going to war with each other, and everyone got involved to the best of their ability. Rather than fix something that isn't broken, Iradae the Lawgiver allowed clans to retain their own standing armies with the understanding that each is to come to the table first in the event of a conflict. Over time, the idea of droga as in "clan" and droga as in "military unit" became synonymous, to the point that the names of soldiers are noted with determinatives for both (see Mudeweian Stenza).
A droga is also responsible for its internal affairs. Officers manage their armies, allocating resources as needed between support and front-line soldiers. Clan elders (Droghi) manage civil matters like long-term unions between couples and often overseeing burial of the dead. Furthermore, droghi serve on a council which advises the Leader and debates certain wider issues, often vehemently. They are also the people who set the Leadership Challenge, before anyone gets any ideas about their clan taking over the spot permanently.

Structure

Droghi
First Officer
Second Officer
Third Officer
Fourth Officer
Followed by a number of elite troopers of other types (such as the Drop Unit ), infantry, retired army in civilian work, and civilians.

Culture

The droga is an extended family, and it is very common for members to know, or know of, other members (their "cousins"). Within this group, it is also common for there to be other forms of connection to bind people together, such as blood brotherhood, being Litter Mates, and the interplay between the two. In almost all clans it can be proven genetically that individuals are related closely enough that marriage within a clan is ill-advised. (The incest taboo applies to blood siblings across clan lines, interestingly enough.)
In military matters, the most prized attribute is whether or not an individual or small group can advance the goals of the unit more broadly, rather than the ability of the individual to follow orders (as in other cultures). It was once said,

Nothing succeeds like success.

And this carries over into the military. Competent people are given the task of training newer recruits who want to pursue that particular career, and such training is only modified in the case of people with transferrable skills, such as Medical Doctors in certain cases. The distinction is applied in strange ways when it comes to applications for leadership of the Stenza at large, since in theory the challenge is meant to find people who can adapt to strange, unfamiliar challenges (such as a hostile environment), or who have moral fiber (in the case of the fringe method of killing the current leader in order to protect someone or a home territory), but usually results in finding the baddest, most self-centered people around.

Military

see Droga 

Type

Geopolitical, Tribe

Alternative Names

Clan

Formation Type

Droga - Military

Government System

Meritocracy

Power Structure

Dependent territory

Economic System

Mixed economy

Subsidiary Organizations

• 'Elokh
• Clan of the Lost
• Jal'sa

Related Traditions

• Qúṣ
• Religion
• Spinning Customs of the Stenza
• Trophy Hunting

Related Ranks & Titles

• Citizen-Recruit
• Droghi
• First Officer
• Fourth Officer
• Second Officer
• Task Unit Leader
• Third Officer

Related Professions

• Khe'drakha Performer

Related Myths

• The Spirits of Ice and Snow