Other Space Kaiden
Better than other-other space Kaiden
All living creatures serve the Yuuzhan Vong, and we serve the gods.
Our castes are rigid, inflexible and merciless to the weak. All Yuuzhan Vong are born into a caste and will remain there for the rest of their lives - fulfilling a specific need of our Holy Covenant. Some castes are higher than others, while some are of the same standing - demotion to a lower caste is a common punishment and promotion to a higher one is rare and reserved.
A caste with occupancy of but one living member and the legions of the dead rulers that came before them. The Supreme Overlord is the God-Chosen leader of our Holy Covenant, the sole link between our people and Yun-Yuuzhan and the communicator of his will.
Before them, all other life is forfeit. Their voice is law and their hand our sole guidance.
In the ancient times, several heir apparents would be chosen by the Priest Caste and trained for the position at the same time. Ascension was done through murder. This way has been dispensed with and succession is now decided upon based on the reading of divine omens by the Priest Caste after the Overlord's death.
One may refer to their ruler in one of many ways:
Hierarch, Supreme One, God-Chosen, Most Potent and Powerful One, Great Lord, August Lord, Dread Lord and/or Most High of Prophets.
Not the largest, nor the smallest, the Priest Caste is undoubtedly the second most important caste level in The Holy Covenant - second to only The Supreme Overlord.
The priests are looked upon by every caste below them to beseech the gods, ask their favor and conduct rituals in which they translate the divine words of their many masters or prepare Yuuzhan Vong for various tasks. One such holy ritual is that of preparing Arbiters for their redemption by scarring their body and conducting the Bloodening in which the Arbiter's mother's blood is mixed with oils and poured upon his head as the first step in their journey for atonement.
Each priest worships but one god of their choosing - devoting life, body, and flesh to serve them and translate their will. Such devotions include prayer, sacrifices, invocations in their name and cleansing the faithful of the gods of technological taint.
While priests do fight in battle, they are much better suited to the tasks of support roles and investigation into Yuuzhan Vong artifacts. One cult in particular, who worships Yun-Harla [The Trickster Goddess] act as spies throughout the galaxy.
The second largest and third most important caste is that of our Most Pious Warriors. Crusaders, Holy Warriors, and Zealots of our people - the warrior caste worships Yun-Yammaka [The Slayer God] as their Patron Deity. They are akin to Templars or other religious, military orders.
Trained and conditioned from birth, The Warriors of this caste do not fear death - but rather the cowardice of fleeing from it. Dismemberment and physical pain mean nothing to them; for they never scream out in pain nor do they hesitate to take their own lives in any way possible to avoid capture or dishonor.
Among their number, Generals are some of the most respected members of Yuuzhan Vong society. None, however, meet the respect garnered by the leader of their caste; The Warmaster.
Ritualistic scarring, tattooing, and dismemberment are frequent among this caste - and the refusal of any personal challenge is seen as an insult to their caste and their race. It is this emphasis on strength and skill that makes the warriors generally look down on all other castes aside from those two above them.
However, It is not unheard of for even the particularly skilled Slaves or Repentant to achieve ranking in the lowest tiers of the caste for having proven themselves. While never being allowed to command over true Yuuzhan Vong, these members are treated as equal to any Yuuzhan Vong in the same tier as they.
Deviants. Schemers. Serpents. These names and many more foul slanders have been used to designate this governing caste. While others fight and conquer, or speak for the gods, the Intendants take care of all the internal workings of The Holy Covenant.
Logistics, supply lines, organization, negotiations, tending to shaper creations and assimilation of native species into the slave castes - these are but some of the internal workings handled by this caste.
Oftentimes, they would serve as spies and advanced scouts for campaigns in order to establish the necessary routes and intelligence needed to successfully invade an alien world.
These individuals worship any god of their choosing.
Creators of Life. Twisters of fate. The Shapers are the equivalent to the bioengineers and scientists employed by the infidels. Individuals of this caste worship the Goddess of life, Yun-Ne'Shel.
Using the sacred knowledge of the Eight Cortexes, the shapers progress through three levels of shaping to become masters of their craft. Little do the Shapers know, however, that the Eight Cortex still lies empty.
Regardless, the shapers create everything from simple clothes to ships and great beasts of war - all of it through the manipulation of organic life. Without them, the pillars and foundations of Yuuzhan Vong life would crumble around them.
The heretic and the infidel are lost to the gods, but those who prove themselves worthy of more than bondage may become more than simple slaves.
The Repentant is a caste new to Yuuzhan Vong society, replacing the scale of power once occupied by the Worker Caste - which has since been dismantled since it's revolt in the First Invasion. Heretical Vong, worthy slaves and those who submit to Yuuzhan Vong will before subjugation are filed into this caste.
Promotion from this caste is impossible - except in rare instances in which a Repentant is given the honor of serving on the lowest tier of the Warrior Caste. A Repentant will never be allowed to command Yuuzhan Vong but may grow to command legions or even fleets of the Repentant manned craft.
What is unique about Repentant is that they may learn of any caste's trades - spare the shaper and Supreme Overlord castes which was deemed too sacred for any but the most devoted.
In order to be considered a Repentant one must;
Be non-vong or a heretical vong
Devote themselves entirely to the True Path
Refute the use of technology
Have earned the blessing of a priest and partaken in the Ritual of Repentance - in which they ritualistically scar their bodies with symbols of all Yuuzhan Vong gods.
The second lowest caste, higher than only the outcast or executed Shamed Ones, are The Slaves to the Yuuzhan Vong. Many of the slave races are ancient in origin, originating from the Yuuzhan Vong Galaxy - thus have been subjected to millennia of genetic tampering.
This is not the limits of Yuuzhan Vong slavery, however. Any race subjugated before they bow before the Vong - and any races not deemed worthy enough to become independent client races - are enslaved into legions of workers and freedomless armies.
Slaves are not given any chance to promote and the only demotion is death. There are only rare exceptions of slaves being allowed to become Repentant and even rarer for them to be accepted into the warrior caste for outstanding achievements.
Supreme Overlord
Warrior Caste
Priest Caste
Intendant Caste
Shaper Caste
The Slaves