The Kallan States
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As you start reading any of the novels or short stories I’ve written, you’ll see mention to different places within Kalla. Locations are a big part of any story, but often not everything is told in a single story. It’s not always possible to say much in a scene or story without it sounding like an information dump.
As with many writers, I spend a lot of time working on having some structured behind what I’m writing. I want to know details and decide things even if I don’t mention them to the reader. That allows us to drop gems of information about the place into the text to help shape the character, the setting, the history.
The basics
The Kallan Empire is made up of 71 states, each different from the other. Some are larger, others are smaller. They all exist on the homeworld and are semi-autonomous. They each have their own governance that reports back to the main Kallan authority of the Kordagsar. This governance includes their own fleet and they generally have choice in most decisions that directly affect their state.
Each of the state governments is independently structured. Some have kings, princes or other dignitaries acting as a figure heads. Some focus more on a group of people making the key decisions, others a single key person. Some of those figures have their authority given them by a group of people, other times they are trained from childhood to take over from a relative.
Whatever the internal structure, the individual must be upstanding and dedicated to their role. That is common among all the state structures.
The history
So how did it all come about? The back story for the states is important and goes right back to the start of the Kallan Empire.
When the Kallans as a group arrived on Kalla, they landed just off a continent that became known as Masio. Masio was the first state, the home of the Kordagsar (ruler of the Empire) and the closest location to The Hole and the exit into space.
As they started to spread out and explore, other continents and island chains were discovered. Each was settled, and right there at the start, each gained their own autonomy within the Kallan Empire. Mitioa was the next big state to form, Abrazen shortly afterwards.
The first sixteen states formed around the first continents and islands to be discovered and are known collectively as Gor ZhaXu. The others were settled later and are known as Gor SaXu. The Gor ZhaXu states are generally the largest and most populated, whereas Gor SaXu states are smaller and the least populated.
The people
Over time physical characteristics developed in each state, with more people born in there having similar features. For example, a typical Masian has a deep tan, blonde hair and blue eyes. Mitioans have a light tan, blonde hair but green eyes. Sedorians have black skin, black hair and brown eyes and are often powerfully built.
Most states also have at least one unique language that developed from the early Kallan language. Children are taught their local languages, of their city or state as well as the main Kallan language.
Culture differs greatly as well. Some are more open, loud and flamboyant, others less so. They have their own unique styles of dress, most often seen on special occasions like weddings or celebrations.
The colonies
Each state has a Colonial Institute that manages their space fleets under the overall oversight of the Kallan Star Command. These Colonial Institutes setup training, build ships, plan expeditions and colonise new planets as their state needs.
Each state on Kalla plans a new colony to help prevent overcrowding on their homeworld. The state focuses on training families and individuals to fulfil specific roles and jobs that will be required. Their fleet spend time identifying and researching prospective locations, often closer to their existing colonies so that more support can be provided.
Later the state builds the required colonisation ships and support fleet to achieve that. Some of the stories I’ve written so far touch on some of these ideas and activities.
The oversight
To prevent complete chaos, all the states work under the Kordagsar and the administration that sits above local state authority. Some rules and directions are not possible to override without the direct say-so of the Kordagsar or the council that works with him.
In another blog I’ll talk more about the Kordagsar and their role, of how they get it, etc. I’ll also look to write some blogs about some of the key states. Not surprisingly, you won’t see all the states feature prominently in every story. The plan is to try and bring some reference to them gradually over time as I write more stories.
If you have any questions about the information here, please feel free to post a comment or question and I’ll try and get an answer to it as soon as I can.