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 emblem of the Holy See.

Overview

As both the smallest empire and youngest government in recent galactic history, the Holy See of Visra has the distinct honor of being the only uplifted government to hold weight on the galactic stage. The Holy See is a blend between a constitutional monarchy and a theocracy; the church oversees all facets of daily life, and the head of the church, known as the Seraph, is a hereditary title. The Seraph rules with the help of parliament - the House of Lords and the House of Commons, made up of nobles and peasants respectively. At the time of their discovery the Lumii had only just entered the late iron age but have now come into their own as a spacefaring species, though not without a vocal population of traditionalists and conservatives.

General

Capital: The Vault of the Twins, Visra

Leader: Seraph Alexander III

Demonym: Visran

Official Language(s): Lumiite

Population: 8.3 billion

The Lumii were accidentally found by human survey teams hundreds of years ago. The Coalition had incorrectly believed the planet to be uninhabited, as the swirling blizzards that coat most of Visra insulate its surface from detailed scans. When they landed and found a species that had yet to even discover electricity, however, the Coalition was unceremoniously tasked with fixing their mistake and uplifting the Lumii, lest this accidental miscalculation irrevocably stunt their natural growth. At the time of their discovery, the Lumii were a deeply religious species. Their belief in their twin deities was interwoven with daily life and impacted everything from the jobs one could hold to their government structure. It is because of this that the Lumii can be seen as a patriarchal society, as they place more value on men and male firstborns than they do women. In practice, this is not always the case.

Certain government positions can only be held by men, and it is true the title of Seraph is a male-exclusive one. Men worship Ymir, the god of war and justice, and only men may be priests or monks of Ymir. Many male Lumii are expected to take up jobs that are traditionally considered masculine, such as serving in the Temple Knights or working as a carpenter. They are not strictly forbidden from taking positions that might be favored by women, like cooking or sewing, but they might be seen as a strange hobby for a man to have. Equally, female Lumii worship Sarai, the goddess of love and compassion, and only women may be nuns or join a cloister or convent. It is standard for women to be homemakers or teachers, or have a career that can be seen as effeminate; yet just as men may be cooks or tailors, women may serve in the Temple Knights if they so choose or work in the mines as an example. Ultimately, what is most important to Lumii society is ensuring you go to mass, pay your tithes and offer part of your wealth to your assigned deity - lest you catch the interest of the Temple Inquisitors.

As a traditionalist species, the Holy See employs the Inquisitors to hunt down and eradicate subversive behavior that is decreed to be unholy or degenerate. Lumii accused of these crimes are typically forced to stand trial, where being found guilty can result in corporeal punishment like flogging or beating, or at the most extreme banishment or death. What is deemed 'unholy', however, is hard to pin down, and can be something as simple as drinking too much or as heinous as adultery. Thus, the Lumii who remain on Visra are the most conservative of the species. Those found in the galaxy have either been banished or left of their own accord, unable to fit in with such a restrictive society.

Demographics

Lumii do not allow aliens to become citizens of the Holy See or live on Visra. At most, there may be a small alien population due to treaties or agreements permitting mining and research on Visra, but that is the extent of the welcome the Lumii give to outsiders. Not many jump at the idea of living on Visra, thanks to its freezing, harsh weather patterns and the economic disparity that leaves many Lumii poor and destitute even this many years after their uplifting. To many aliens, the Lumii are backwards and too conservative for the liking of even traditionalist societies like the Gwix.

Politics

Visra is ruled by the Seraph, who serves as both the head of state and the head of the church. Citizens are mandated to attend religious ceremonies every week and on top of the taxes paid to the government, the average peasant must also ensure they pay tithes to the church. The Seraph rules with the assistance of the Lumii parliament, comprised of the House of Lords and House of Commons. Nobles are seated on the House of Lords and are given more voting power than the average people that make up the House of Commons. This has made cultural change very difficult, and as a result most Lumii peasants remain poor. Both the House of Lords and the Holy See reject what they see as alien influences in their politics, which includes liberal ideas like a social safety net or universal income.

The seat of Seraph is a hereditary title and is passed down from father to child. The wife of the Seraph, Mother Superior, oversees all cloisters and convents on the planet and is seen as the head of the female church. While she is not as important in decision making, most Seraphs have come to respect the advice of their wives. Both nobles and peasants elect individuals to their respective chambers of parliament, though ultimate authority rests with the Holy See. The Seraph may veto any bill that may be deemed sinful or degenerate, even if it has the unanimous backing of both chambers. Ultimately, the House of Lords typically sides with the Holy See in most matters, as the Temple Inquisitors can strip nobles of their titles and cast them out if they find that they have violated religious laws.

Military

The Holy See maintains a large army of knights, squires and lords called the Temple Knights. These men and women serve as the dedicated local peacekeeping force and would, in theory, help protect Visra in the event of an invasion. The Temple Knights can trace their history back to the knights of eld, clad in heavy plate mail and wielding massive greatswords. While Lumii technology has advanced considerably since then, it is still typical to find Temple Knights outfitted in modern suits of power armor, wielding advanced melee weapons and firearms. When a Lumii joins the Temple Knights, they begin as a squire and must prove their worth to eventually be knighted. The Temple Knights are overseen by the Lord Commander, typically the right hand man of the Seraph and the third most powerful man in the Holy See.

The authority of the Lord Commander is surpassed only by that of the Chief Inquisitor, who oversees the Temple Inquisitors. While smaller in number than the Temple Knights, they are outfitted with more expensive technology like rudimentary cloaking devices or tracking tools. The purpose of the Inquisitors is to root out corruption and sin amongst the local Lumii populace and are vested to take command of squads of Knights in order to achieve this goal. Inquisitors are typically the most devout and loyal clergymen and women who have served the church for many years. They are subject to even more stringent religious laws than the commoners, and to disgrace one's title as an Inquisitor is to be sentenced to death.

At one time, the Holy See was technically a territory of the Coalition, which freely exploited their planet's resources as 'repayment' for uplifting them. With the onset of the Succession War, however, the Lumii found themselves surrounded by Federation armies, and their colonizers were called off-world. This allowed the Holy See to declare independence and free their society from the shackles that the Coalition had placed around them.

Economy

Part of the economic disparity on Visra has to do with the Holy See refusing to really negotiate with or trade with alien empires. 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. Unfortunately, the reality is that Visra does not have many natural resources besides heavy metals and oil; the Lumii do have some mining installations to sift through the asteroid ring that orbits their planets and are sometimes forced to sell these rare metals in the event of economic downturn, but the Holy See has gone through great effort to prevent further influence from outsiders out of fear that another government may ravage their planet like the Coalition did.