Karrakin Trade Baronies

The Karrakin Trade Baronies (also known as the KTB or simply Baronies), known in a more official capacity as the Federal Karrakin Monarchy (FKM) [note 1] were a member-state of Union and one of the most powerful interstellar states in the Orion arm. Karrakin industry was the primary mechanism by which Union was able to maintain the post-scarcity society of the Galactic Core, and this leverage allowed the Baronies to exist in flagrant violation of the guiding ethical principles of governance that Union traditionally considered non-negotiable.     The social order that Karrakin individuals would themselves describe as "the Baronies" first came about in the early 4th millennium u, as a post-Union-Karrakin War FKM integrated into the wider interstellar society of the Orion arm under the guidelines of the New Prosperity Agreement. The term "Karrakin Trade Baronies" began to see popular mainstream use from circa 3150u onwards, while the society was still in the early stages of expanding its economic base via early paracausal technology, namely NHPs and the newly-constructed blink network.   The Interest War was a conflict fought between the Karrakin Trade Baronies and the recently-created Harrison Armory in the immediate aftermath of the revolution that overthrew Union's Second Committee and replaced it with the anti-interventionist ThirdComm. Starting in the early 4600s and ending in 4620u, the Interest War represented the first large-scale use of mechanized chassis in warfare after the Hercynian Crisis, with Harrison Armory's usage of them being a major factor in them securing a victory against the Baronies.   The Baronies' defeat in the Interest War represented the second time they had lost a war to an outside power, at a time where victory in a similar scenario had yet to ever occur. In response to its repeated failures, Baronic Unified Command heavily reorganized its military apparatus, establishing the house company system. Additionally, the performance of the Armory's chassis in the war prompted a surge in popularity for mechs within Baronic space, prompting an accompanying series of societal and cultural shifts to accommodate their significant presence. This included the establishment of the Karrakin Cavalry College and the popularization of pankration mekani as a sporting event, among other changes.   As the Third Committee established itself, it began to become apparent that several crucial aspects of Baronic society were approaching the ends of their lifespan. Firstly, the overpopulation and unsustainable industrial activity throughout the Concern was beginning to present direct ramifications into the long term, as the nobility struggled to produce enough of a surplus to maintain their wealth via exports.   Secondly (and more visibly), the institution of ThirdComm and its more genuine belief in utopian dogma compared to its predecessor was a major contributor to already-growing anti-authoritarian sentiment within the Baronies. In the following centuries, Republican ideology, already present for millennia, grew increasingly popular as an alternate means of governance (to the point of having converted two major houses in their entirety by the 51st century) that dissolved the state-enforced boundaries between the nobility and ignobility. At the same time, more militant resistance to Baronic rule came to a head in the Sanjak Revolution of 4601u, which spawned the Ungrateful movement across Baronic space and beyond.   Karrakin society was notable among other civilizations across the Orion arm (especially ones interplanetary in scale) for its strict maintenance of social stratification and severe, formalized political inequalities along the lines of economic class. This enforced hierarchical structure was in place from the earliest days of Karrakis' post-colonial history, and represented a ritualized identity that formed the core of what Karrakin individuals had been socialized to view as their history and way of life. This sharp contrast to most other interplanetary societies was exacerbated by a culture of relative insularity, meaning that Karrakins rarely left Baronic territory and generally remained uninvolved in galactic politics that did not concern them. As a consequence, the Baronies were often viewed as socially backwards and monolithically conservative to outsiders.     A noble court within the House of Remembrance The nobility represented the ruling and owning class of Karrakin society, being generally defined as individuals who had some state-recognized hereditary claim to land and/or title, and in most cases had a recorded history of their family (though the continuous ennobling of new families meant that this latter element was not a necessity, merely recommended). These recognitions of status ensured that any given noble individual essentially had a "floor" of power and influence within Baronic society that could not be taken away from them, while ensuring that inheritance and politicking permitted theoretically unlimited upward mobility.   With the exception of those circles of Karrakin society that had adopted a Republican political framework, the nobility had nearly exclusive influence over matters of governance and law, and noble status was viewed as a necessity if one were to attempt any sort of claim to political power. This system of stratified political rights had existed since the initial creation of the noble class during the Melee, and even during periods of Karrakin governance such as the New Federation that claimed to abide by political strictures of "equality", the right to influence Karrakin government was reserved almost exclusively for the nobility.   Young nobles were known to travel outside the Baronies (but often stayed geographically nearby) due to experiencing what was known internally as Second Choice Syndrome: Restlessness and a desire for "adventure" spurred on by excessive wealth. Multiple systems were in place to cater to such moneyed youth, including curated wilderness "adventures," work exchange programs with other states, and contracts with projects abroad.   Names among the Baronic nobility were usually structured as "[Main title] [personal name]-[minor house] of the [major house]" (E.G. Principe Silas-Moulin of the House of Moments). However, several houses instead placed the minor house name before the personal name, (I.E. [minor house]-[personal name]), as was the case for (among others) Houses Alexander and Yond.   Minor houses (known simply as "noble houses" prior to the establishment of their major counterparts) were hereditary dynasties invested with recognition from the Karrakin state to administer territory (though not all of them did so). Noble families were all, by definition, accounted for in the Order Xenoglossia's Baronic Record, and a defined position in at least one such family was required for an individual to receive the legal status of nobility.   Minor houses were significantly more variable in their composition, size, and internal culture than the major houses that they comprised. Individual minor houses within a major house could diverge significantly from their major house's dominant ideology, and ranged in size from controlling entire moons or large space stations to having minimal assets beyond their remaining titles. However, at any size, any given minor house was represented by an individual with the title of "Baron" (or a major house-specific equivalent).   The social institution of the noble house was in place for as long as the Karrakin noble class itself, and for a large portion of their history, titles within them imitated the inheritance laws of the Passacaglian royalty, with succession determined entirely by primogenitary birth order. As time passed, however, the normative method of succession transitioned to a more meritocratic system among all but the smallest or most conservative houses. Title holders chose their heirs rather than having them be predetermined by rigid protocol, and the heir's claim would then be recognized and assured by the Baronic Council.   This new system served mainly to avert the rates of regicide and assassinations of those ahead of oneself in the order of succession, and was largely (but not totally) successful in doing so. In addition to being educated in etiquette and cultural customs from a young age, Baronic nobles were brought up with training in various personal martial practices. This was done mainly to ensure the superiority and high pedigree of potential rulers, but also served to make much of the noble population capable of dueling with members of their own house or with outside rivals.   Conflict between houses was common, but restricted to highly formalized ceremonies, typically in the form of disputes being resolved by personal duels, which were facilitated by the ubiquitous combat training of the nobility. As was the case in many similar martial ceremonies, duels to the death were legal, but much more rare than duels to first blood.     The ignobility made up the vast majority of the population in pre-Republican Karrakin society (variable from area to area based on the local level of prosperity and political importance, but generally no less than 95%, and most often around 97-98%). Individuals native to outside the Baronies were considered to be ignoble, but this label had less significance in such cases due to those individuals' less entrenched position in the hierarchy of Baronic society, even upon immigrating to the Baronies.   The highly variable level of development within different parts of Baronic territory meant that, aside from minimal political rights, the living conditions of the ignobility differed highly from area to area. Although during periods of Annorate rule (especially the Annorum Passacaglia) the ignobility had been restricted to pre-industrial pastoralist society via the withholding of particularly advanced technology, and in some parts of the Baronies a similar system was upheld, in other places the ignobility were a more familiar-to-outsiders urban class of laborers.   Although ignobility correlated strongly to low economic class, they were not synonymous: The sole defining characteristic of an ignoble individual was that they did not hold state-recognized title as noted in the Baronic Record. Wealthy and powerful ignobles were a known occurrence, mainly existing in the form of guilds or similar mercantile organizations that were not integrated into the apparatus of the Karrakin state. Similarly, ignobles comprised the majority of the BUC, and occupied a notable minority of high-ranking officer positions.