Lanaxdrian Warrior States

Similar to the oligarchic rule of two kings found in Classical Sparta, The Lanaxdrian Warrior States are a confederation of the legendary Lanaxdrians (a race of beings made of granite akin to Greco-Roman statues; originally called the Dodrians).

Differing from their democratic rivals, the Delothian Collective, the Warrior States are ruled by two kings: the Eurycurdrux & Aegeix lines (one line of Dodrians, one line of Aeonites). And live rustic lives among the Asteroid Range of the Taygestronese always preparing for war.   

The Lanaxdrian hoplons are the deadliest shock troopers in the sector. Able to rip open star-deck hulls with their bare hands or gathering in formation to be launched into an armada like a meteor shower. 

However, the Lanaxdrians have a very rigid societal structure that keeps them ready for battle and lacking in everything else. Forcing these warriors to heavily rely on their alliance with their sister patrokonoi: The Professional Guilds of Aeonite Craftspeople for ships and trade.

The Warrior States are known as the liberators of god and/or god-like tyrants. Symbolizing tradition and duty to protect those in danger just as their progenitor Dodrus did for Aeonia all those years ago.

Origins:

Like the other Patrokonoi-Hellecia, the Lanaxdrians trace their lineage to their progenitor Dodrus: created from the genetic material of Ares, Tartarus, Athena & their true mother Hellestine. 

The Dodrians were initially created by Ares to serve as Dodrus' vanguard (made from the marble fragments ground from joints) for one purpose: Kill Athena.

And Ares' plan nearly worked until Dodrus refused to kill a defenseless Athena. Furious, Ares forced his Dodrians to kill them both when Hellestine tapped into the Ichor (material) inside the Dodrians and led a revolt against Ares. 

After the four progentiors' imprisonment, nearly all the Dodrians were destroyed by Ares as penance for trying to kill his sister again. However, a number of them escaped this fate and assisted in the progenitors' escape from Karoj-Menos. 

With their progenitor in a pile of rumble aboard The Psygorellius after sustaining serious damage, the discovery of COAG on the volcanos of the semi-mythical planet of Deloth gave the progenitors a chance to overthrow the Pantheon.

Aeonia helped put Dodrus back together using COAG couplings to hold his frame together while his bodied healed (thus creating "The Shattering" ritual all Dodrian boys must go through to become a man). And also devised a way for the Dodrians (now called Lacdrians or No Gods' Shield in their tongue) to procreate and increase their numbers.

As the other progenitors went to rally their children spread across the sector, the Lacdrians claimed Lycurgius and (with the help of Aeonite sculptors and technicians) created an army of Lacdrians to one day storm Karoj-Menos and defeat the tyrants of their sector.

However, Dodrus was killed in the resulting supernovae from Karoj-Menos' destruction.

Returning home with a cocktail of the Ichor (material) taken from several gods, the Lacdrians became known as the greatest fighting force in the sector. 

Organization:

The Warrior States are comprised of oligarchic clusters of Lacdrians living on the partially formed planets trapped within the Taygestronese and its brown dwarf star.

Surrounded by floating asteroids and closely-packed debris, most Lanaxdrian patrols and hunting parties train by hopping from asteroid to asteroid to move through the Taygestronese rather than maintain a standing fleet.

Due to the impassible nature of the Taygestronese, the Lanaxdrian Citizenry are able to make their homes within their asteroids and claim loyalties and military service to the States their homes are nearest.

Each State, or number of planets under Lanaxdrian protection, are ruled by a council of Lanaxdrian citizens who are granted representation in the decisions made from the Courts of the Diarchy or two kings of the Warrior States.

They are honor-bound to defend the borders of the Taygestronese from invaders or thieves, pass down the Lycurgix Traditions (such as The Birthing Kiln, The Trials of the Warrior, "The Shattering" ceremonies, "The Mother's Shield and the Father's Spear" & laws involving all levels of citizenry), and to follow the orders passed down by the Diarchy from their homeworld of Lycurgius: a strategic world that prevents hostile ships from circumventing the Taygestronese without Lanaxdrian permission.  

While the Diarchy was initially made up of two Lanaxdrian lines. The Lycurgix line was thinned out by the Perxis-Sadem and completely eliminated by the Delothian Collective.

Due to the infertility of their neighboring planets and the Lycurgrix Tradition of forbidding citizens from selling trinkets for more than their allotted stipend, Lacdrians heavily rely on the trade between their allies within the Professional Guilds of Aeonite Craftspeople.

Trading for food, weaponry, star-decks, atmospheric reengineering, and other communal needs in exchange for their vast mineral deposits and exotic creatures found in the densely packed asteroids within their cluster.

In order to cement this alliance following their expulsion from the Taygestronese by the Delothian Collective, the Aegeix line of Aeonite Queens replaced the dead Lycurgix line. Uniting the Aeonites living in the Taygestronese to serve the Lanaxdrians as equal rulers of the Taygestronese.

Thus, the tradition of the "Mother's Shield" was born. When the representatives of the states ratified their call for war, the Lanaxdrian king would symbolically ask the Aeonite Queen for their shield to protect their allies and in return the Aeonite Queen would ask for their Dodrini or assault rifle to defend their homes while the armies are away. Vowing to return to their thrones either returning with their hoplon/equipment or on it.

The Lanaxdrian Citizenry is meant to mirror the Spartan lifestyle (excluding the ownership of Helots or slaves; replaced with Aeonite craftsmen who do all the work Lanaxdrians are forbidden to partake).

Most of their military force is used to patrol the boundaries of the Taygestronese against invaders, miners, packs of beasts hiding in nearby asteroids, etc. Many believe the Taygestronese holds the entrance to Tartarus and the Lanaxdrians are the prison guards keeping its dangerous prisoners from escaping.

These stories are strongly denied by the Diarchy. Claiming them as mere legends circulated by soothsayers, CHONPS Mysteries members high on "Green Tide" & Collective-sympathizers. While many argue the highest concentration of the sector's most dangerous beasts capable of surviving in the Interstellar Medium or ISM live in the Taygestronese. 

Gates of Tartarus or not, the asteroids in the Taygestronese are important components to life within the Taygesronese.

Which is why some of the most stringent policies held by the Diarchy are those involving citizen mining or free market profiteering and possessing a strong centralized military force loyal exclusively to the Diarchy.

While the Lanaxdrians are entitled to the resources found in their homes. The State owns the rights to sell these resources to their allies while every citizen is given a stipend to live on in all walks of Lanaxdrian society.

The Aeonites living under the Warrior States are considered partial citizens (after completing a Vow of Loyalty to the Diarchy), are allowed to operate any business or guild within Taygestronesian space, and are allowed representation within The Courts of the Diarchy.

However, as part of their Vow of Loyalty, these Aegestronites (or Aeonites citizens in the Warrior States) are forbidden from possessing any forms of weaponry used for self-defense.

While Aegstronites are free to mine ore from their asteroids and enjoy Lanaxdrian protection, they aren't allowed to possess any personalized weapons inside The Taygestronese and must do the following: stay within markets protected by State-Sponsored Hoplons/Fleets or request a military detachment from the Diarchy and give up all ownership rights to the state. Lanaxdrians are forbidden to sell their services as mercenaries while inside the Taygestronese.

These policies are meant to keep the Lanaxdrians focused on their training while honing Lanaxdrian military prowess, to shun lives of opulence and greed, to protect civic centers and the interests of the Diarchy from armed brigands and mercenaries, to keep a centralized peace keeping force loyal only to the Diarchy and the Warrior States, and to affirm loyalty and reliance to the Diarchy.

In these terms, the Lanaxdrian Warrior States operate under a form of socialism.

Many of the ruling Lanaxdrians find issues with their policies around their Aeonite allies. While their society wouldn't exist without their help. Along with the existence of the Aegeix line and the prohibition of weaponry keeps their industrious natures in check.

Those outside the Diarchy wonder who truly rules the Lanaxdrian people: their rightful king or a foreign queen.

Defend or Fight:

Before the Lanaxdrian Revolt at the Festival of Shattered Gold, the Lacdrians were content to maintain their hegemony over the specific boundaries of their large cluster within the Taygestronese. Unless they were an outright threat to their territory within the Taygestronese, the Lacdrians remained  hesitant to venture outside their boundaries (considering their ineptitude on star decks and navigating through deep space).

However, once they were forced to abandon Lycurgius and the Taygestronese by order of the Collective, the Lacdrians were forced into a tight spot.

Following the death of their princess Lanaxdrite, the Warrior States revolted and escaped aboard Delot ships.

Seeing as their knowledge of the sector was limited only to the asteroids around their brown dwarf star and their chief allies from the Kothrian Pass dissolved their treaty with the rebel Lanaxdrians to save their monopoly in their region from a Delot takeover. Many assumed, the Lanaxdrians lost their way back to the Taygestronese.

Others believe they made it back to the Taygestronese and are living on the outskirts of their old oligarchic colonies, too cautious to take on the occupying Ionites (and by extension the Collective).

However, a small minority believed they scattered throughout the sector and (with the help of their duplicitous Aeonite allies), are positioning themselves at key positions and waiting for the perfect time to take down the Collective in one fell swoop.


All of this is speculation at the time of the series, as the Lanaxdrians haven't been seen since the Revolt on Thessalis-Prime.

The unusual presence of comets circling key Delot strongholds and the appearance of Lysandrix (though kept a secret by the Psygonauts), spark hope in those oppressed by the Collective hope and even prayer in the return of the Lanaxdrians to liberate them from the new hegemony.

Progenitor: Dodrus

Defeated Gods/Possessed Ichor:

• Tartarus
• Poseidon
• Ares
• Athena

Greek Comparison: Sparta (along with the Peloponnesian League)

Homeworld: Lycurgius-Rax within the Asteroid Range of the Taygestronese

Type

Geopolitical, City-state