The Holy See of Visra

Lumii Lore Pages
Species Lore Pages		Lumii | History of the Lumii | Vennism
Planet and System Pages		Visra
Governments and Organizations Pages		The Holy See of Visra

The Holy See of Visra
Empire Info
Capital		Vault of the twins
Leader		Seraph Alexander III
Government Type		Theocratic Republic
Dominant Species		Lumii
Population		28.3 Bil.
Anthem		{{{Anthem}}}
Color Scheme		Yellow and White

Government

The Holy See is a theocratic republic. It is led by the Seraph, a hereditary title passed from father to son, who oversees the running of day-to-day affairs, while the laws and rules are determined by the Council of Visra, a senate of clerics from temples all across Lumii space. Outside of these two bodies is the Inquisitorial Tribunal, a group of three secretive Inquisitors who oversee the republic and ensure that no single figure ever attains true power over all of Visra.

While Senators are commonly voted on by the people, it is often that the elections sway heavily in favor of those with a popular namesake, making progressive law making it quite difficult within the government. Because of this, most of the senate are composed of those with blood ties to the Kingdoms of old.

The Tribune is both a force of spies and warriors who ensure the prosperity of Visra above all else. Two of the Inquisitors oversee internal issues whereas the third turns his attention to exterior threats. The first two are chosen by either the Seraph or Council to watch over the other while the third is chosen by both. While these Inquisitions do function as internal espionage they rarely, if ever, work against the will of the people and instead focus on halting despotic leaders from arising.

Culture

Most of the Lumii culture can be understood through looking into their main religion, which focuses on the worship of the twin deities, Ymir and Sarai. Ymir being the god of war and justice, Sarai being the goddess of love and compassion.

The majority of the population of Lumii like to relish in their history, with a plethora of art, music, and pottery to show for. These are hobbies that even poor Lumii can participate in, so while many Lumii are poor, they tend to be very skilled artists of a specific trade. The Holy See's churches promote the arts heavily, claiming that by paying tribute to the days of old, Lumii heritage can help push out alien influence. After the Succession War, this has lead to a near nationalistic approach to Lumii culture on Visra.

Military

The bulk of The Holy See’s military is controlled by the Tribune, who divide themselves into two parts: The Sable Order, and The Ivory Order. The first commanded by the internal inquisitors who use it as a policing force. The second is commanded by the third Inquisitor and is most often the larger force of the two and the one that is used during times of war. After the Succession War, it was common for veterans within the Ivory Order to be re-assigned to the Sable Order, as less forces were needed for war.

While Visra may be on the lower end in terms of technological supremacy they make up for it by sheer skill and natural talent for espionage and tactical genius. They are often capable of squaring off even against the special forces of the Rokhandans and causing considerable damage. This is attributed to the quality of their training and the devout nature of Lumii who devote themselves to the order.

Visra relies on the Ivory Order for most military functions, however there have been cases in times of war when drafts were initiated to fill out the ranks, however these troops rarely held the success rates of the Inquisitorial orders.

Economy

Despite being a republic, the Holy See has created a blend of socialized care, with the rare occurrence of capitalist trade. The Holy See discourages too much alien influence on their population, so trade is rarely done unless required to recover from an economic depression.

There still exists a great level of bitterness in regards to the Coalition taking advantage of the Lumii, and the Seraph and the Holy See would prefer self-sufficiency over subjugation.

Tithes are collected weekly by each city and village's churches. These cities then pool their tithes together, and provide them to the Knights, which pool together the total tithes from each quadrant. Once all tithes are collected, audited, and accounted for, they are given to the Treasury of the Holy See for budgeting for social services. These range from roads, healthcare, emergency services, food distribution, and of course, funds for the military. Should an audit show a discrepancy, the Knights are to report to the inquisitors, who then investigate the source of the shortage, and prosecute accordingly.

Oceans provide the Lumii with the majority of their food, making fish a staple to Lumii diet. Introduction to environmental domes from the Coalition allowed the Lumii to grow plant-based foods in areas normally incapable of doing so. The ability to feed the population allows the economy to sustain itself for some time. However with a large population, over-fishing is common, and food shortages can usher in a depression. To which the Seraph may consider selling Visran metals and minerals to outside traders to sustain itself.

Laws

To most outsiders Visran law is seen as both cruel and antiquated, hardly relying on the more modern concepts such a justice being blind, cases being decided by a jury of peers, and a tendancy to avoid corporal punishment. On Visra justice is more often acted upon by the community and decided upon by a singular pillar of the community such as a priest, rather than being a government affair. As a result laws are usually enforced by traditions and community practices rather than any overarching regulations from the Seraph or ruling council. Likewise the judges are encouraged to take into deep consideration how both the punishment and conviction might affect the community as a whole. This has often resulted in stricter punishments and higher conviction rates against outsiders.

The most common crimes dealt with in these courts therefore tend to be those that negatively impact the community. Robbery and assault will vary widely depending on the situation and how much the damage impacts the victim. Prostitution is largely legal but the act of adultery is punished severely due to its negative impact on families. Drugs on the other hand are vilified on Visra, and while those that partake in them are often only given punishments such as brief imprisonment or branding, those who sell and smuggle substances to the community are often executed or branded and exiled.

Visran punishments are often a point of hot contention in the galactic community. Depending on the offense a criminal may find themselves whipped, branded, caged publicly, exiled, but very rarely imprisoned or executed. Imprisonment is often used solely for those who commit minor crimes but who are still seen as a positive part of the community and simply need time to contemplate their choices. Execution on the other hand is rarer still, reserved only for those who the judge deems as hazardous to any group they might encounter such as serial rapists and murderers, as well as the occasional drug smuggler.

A unique punishment that still exists in Visran courts is the act of ‘Outlawing’ or branding someone as outside the protection of both the community and law itself. When convicted the offender is branded with a symbol recognized among all Lumii and even some outsiders, placed on either their neck, hand, or cheek as to be easily found.