The Balance Coalition

The Balance Coalition is the loose unification of the four nations of Balance, an attempt to, in times of interstellar need (such as foreign invasion), to unite and fight off threats. Balance was once a terrarium colony designed to experiment on gene modification on a societal level, but the project lost funding from its backers and the colony (and its inhabitants) were abandoned. Several hundred years later, the dust cleared and four kingdoms arose.

The unified flag is four colours split by diagonals with a silver scale in the middle. The four colours, clockwise from the top, are evergreen, steel blue, cyan, and maroon. The vast majority of citizens of the four kingdoms are Oddbody (by definition), with very little immigration diversifying the lot.

Life in any of the four kingdoms varies immensely. From the near-monastic quiet of Felsal to the boisterous cities of Sothal, life as a citizen in the Balance Coalition can be wildly different depending on where one resides. A natural born (human) citizen of the four kingdoms will have been had their genes modified to suit their principality, listed below. Residents of Stasis Station generally resemble whatever lineage they come from, but given the nature of genetic modification it tends to look like a messy mix of things.

• The Valley Kingdom - Vadral - Vadral is the second most accessible of the four kingdoms, but the most well known. They work on a classical monarchy, with a royal family and then nobles that marry into the royal family to produce heirs and help rule the different territories. Their capital is located in a plateau situated in an even bigger valley. Their citizens have all gene-modded to be more catlike. The national magical talent produces soul-beings tied to their casters called Forces.
• The Forest Kingdom - Felsal - Felsal is a very isolated kingdom. Their rule is one of force, with the “royal family” picking and choosing their mates as they please, and keeping a very tight grip on their kingdom's affairs. Their capital is located in a foggy tree-city amidst a forest of massive trees. Their citizens have all gene-modded to be more foxlike. The national magical talent produces combat-eidolons that allow themselves to be wielded or worn by their caster.
• The Archipelago Kingdom - Sothal - Sothal is a sunny, friendly kingdom located in the tropics - the easiest to get to and get around in. Theirs is a fractured monarchy, with many city-states ruled by individual monarchs, and one high king to rule them all. Their capital is located in a large cove flanked by a dormant volcano-mountain. Their citizens have all gene-modded to be more wolflike. Their national magical talent is palpable shadowmancy, allowing them to produce many beautiful crafts out of what appears to be solid darkness.
• The Mound Kingdom - Lynval - Lynval is a quiet nation located in warrenlike tunnels. Theirs is an councillary monarchy, with a council of rulers to guide them through thought-magic. Their cities are located in massive caves, filled to the brim with golden glowing buildings. Their citizens have all gene-modded to be more rabbitlike. Their national magical talent is light manifestation known as lucemancy, allowing them to build vessels and buildings out of solid “light”.
• The Control Center - Stasis Station - Stasis Station is the odd one out. It has no government of its own, just a coalition force from the Four Kingdoms to help maintain and control the place. Stasis was once the control center of the corporation running Balance's project, but was long since abandoned. Nowadays, it has been repurposed to be an immi/emigration control center. Nobody gets on or off the planet without going through Stasis Station, as only specifically licensed vessels have permission to fly through the atmosphere.
• The Prison - Scale Complex - Scale Complex is located on one of Balance's two moons. It was previously an attempt to terraform the moon, but the facility had only just finished construction when Balance was abandoned. Nowadays, the very dark and depressing building is used as a prison for criminals who break international code.

Members of the Balance Coalition, on a governmental level, pay into a joint fund, paying for international transportation, road maintenance, Hekate monetary licensing, and more. Between eachother, they settle disputes in a very grecian fashion, setting up a predetermined destination, forces, rewards and penalties for victory and loss. Otherwise, the members of the Coalition don't interact much.

The Balance Coalition utilizes the Denarius monetary system. They utilize the Denari loosely like a barter system, with the different grades and power-levels of each coin giving each a different value. Below is an excerpt.

Coins come in three sizes in distinct categories of use, and then are further divided by actual capacity for each category. The grades of metal indicated below have nothing to do with the actual makeup of the coin, just the colouration of it.

• Sprite (4cm) - (1.57 inches) The smallest grade of coin, used for powering small devices. They're emblazoned with the image of a fairy.
  • Copper - Has five pips. A full charge can power a regular communicator for 10 hours.
  • Tin - Has eight pips. A full charge can power a regular communicator for 25 hours.
  • Bronze - Has ten pips. A full charge can power a regular communicator for 50 hours.
• Chimera (5cm) - (1.97 inches) The middle grade of coin, used for appliances to small vehicles. They're emblazoned with the image of a lion, snake, goat's head, befitting a chimera.
  • Silver - Has five pips. A full charge can power a skimmer for 3 hours.
  • Gold - Has eight pips. A full charge can power a skimmer for 8 hours
  • Platinum - Has ten pips. A full charge can power a skimmer for 15 hours
• Golem (6cm) - (2.36 inches)The heaviest grade of coin, used for larger vehicles and buildings. it is emblazoned with the image of an armored being.
  • Palladium - Has five pips. A full charge can power a 2 bedroom house for 1 day
  • Cobalt - Has eight pips. A full charge can power a 2 bedroom house for 10 days
  • Carmine - Has ten pips. A full charge can power a 2 bedroom house for 50 days.

The Balance Coalition maintains a very isolationist perspective on interstellar affairs and conducts little more than a few standard trade routes between neighboring systems. Their general goal is “gain boons without giving any” in their dealings. One key element of this are the Arbiters, the group of trained diplomats used to settle internal affairs - but by lending them to other nations they can get a decent exterior cash flow for very little extra investment. Interstellar conduct is only performed through Stasis.

While each nation maintains their own standing forces, they each contribute a portion of their military for joint training into a Coalition task force. The task force remains fairly small, as it has never been mustered to deal with an outside threat, and only on a few occassions has it been needed for an internal one.

When it comes to law, the BC has a very important role to play for its member nations. The BC does not maintain much internal law, but it does arbitrate all disputes between the nations as a neutral third party. They train specialized Arbiters to handle the affairs, individuals who are trained and conditioned to be the perfect neutral party. They are effective enough that the Balance Coalition uses them to bring in extra funds by arbitrating other stellar nation disputes, with no personal stake in the affair.