Fiction:Valian Empire/Culture

Fiction:Valian Empire

Bio-creation
"These...Starmen, they’re different. They’re compulsive molecular meddlers… they like to turn everything into themselves."

- Explorer Mayna Yules

The destruction of Nol Aris and the extinction of its ancient species has always resonated in the Volanti mindset, to the point of shaping the contemporary empire. Restoring them is central to Valian philosophy, spawning thousand-year quests to find remains of the Old Home and, if possible, give new life to them in the present. DNA sequences, specifically a set of alleles that the Volanti shared with the extinct Nol Arisian life, called the Strand, are how they manage it. By altering modern plants and animals with the data they find in archeological findings, they can create entirely new species similar to those that lived before the Ruin. The only species (besides the Volanti themselves) to have survived whole were seeds of the blood-tipped Nol Arisian rose, and since their doctrine prohibits meddling with the bodies of their own kind, it is from this plant that they gained the way to the Old Home's rebirth. The Valian Rose has since become a symbol of all of Valian civilization, featuring prominently in the Empire's flag and the shields of many of its houses. And new species, borne out of original species and the old genes of its code, are used to fill Volanti worlds with a uniform flora and fauna. In changing many of the galaxy's races to more resemble themselves, Valians believe they are doing it a service and making its inhabitants fundamentally better.

"Never has an alien dared to play lord over a son of the Mother Moon. And never will there be."

- Anonymous Volanti

Historically speaking, Valian culture has been xenophobic to the point of carrying out extermination campaigns against other, "alien" species. In modern times, however, it has become much more lenient. There is still a social class system within the Empire, but it much less pronounced than before. Beings of every race, particularly those whose homes were absorbed by the Empire in one of its many expansions, are full Valian citizens, though they are still excluded from joining the Legions or the nobility. Foreign entertainment (and alien performers) are extremely sought-after in the Empire, where millions flock every year to attend popular Plunii operas, traditional Koburan-style theatre plays and to place bets on the Nadian Ast'rikk Races.

Aesthetics
Because Volanti believe that time and nature have formed every species perfectly (especially their own), modifying or cutting into one’s body is considered taboo. Uniformity and “perfectly regular” features are considered more beautiful than unique ones. Volanti born with malformations are shunned, as are cripples and amputees (on the plus side, this has led to the complete disappearance of genetic diseases, and phenomena such as homosexuality are nonexistent). Twins and triplets are extremely rare and thus considered extremely unlucky. Furthermore, altering one’s race’s genome by mixing it with another, such as through inter-species marriage, is seen as the ultimate aberration. In all this, it could be said that Starmen practice eugenics on a cultural level.

Values
The word ‘freedom’ has a relatively different meaning and history in Rohse than it does in the rest of the universe. To the Volanti, who have been overwhelmingly single-minded and pro-monarchy for the greater part of their existence, it at first meant nothing. The state did the things it did for a reason, and was never to be questioned. Any self-respecting Valian citizen could see that. With the acculturation within the Empire after the Great Atrisian War, however, as it began to meet myriads of new societies and cultures, new ideas flooded in. Among them were things called ‘rights’, brand-new ideas about morality, a new questioning of authority and alterations to the Valian government. The creation of the Diet, for instance, was believed to have been inspired by other species’ democratic governments. (The wearing of clothes and jewelry was also appropriated from foreign cultures). Thus, new steps were made toward what some called ‘modernization’, such as defining most of what the Crown, the nobility and the nobles could or could not do without facing punishment of some sort. Freedom of speech and the press, however, remain quite limited in Rohse; the imperial crown holds (and often exercises) the power to prohibit anyone in the galaxy from publicizing anything it deems unpleasant. This can be a valuable tool for keeping the peace by keeping crises quiet, but a dangerous one nevertheless. Notably, so far the Heuron has been unable (though by no accounts unwilling) from extending this power outside the galaxy; Rohse’s satellites are always teeming with sensationalist stories, where publishers are free to print whatever they want about whomever they wish.