Neal Society

The Neal are a hyper conservative society of cetacean bipedal land mammals. They possess a distended rear cranial cavity which stores extra gray matter thought to act as back up or reserve functioning should other areas become defunct. Attentive to detail and cautious planners the Imperate is not an empire that grew over night but rather the compounded effort of a many generations. The conservative but forward planning nobility have shaped this mindset and formed the structure for the Nealan advancement machine. Under the many ruling families a feudal like corporate system has been established where the average Neal slaves away for his assigned at birth noble family. The nobles in turn own the companies which look after every aspect of life in the Imperate from the gas lighting to adolescent education. These companies pay into the Imperate but also sell their services and manpower to fuel every day governance, military operations, and all manner of the institutions government provides.

The current Imperate under this system is experiencing a new renaissance, with technology and fashion similar to the Victorian era. The early education in zoal manipulation has allowed nearly every citizen to become an employed and productive worker. The average employee/serf for a Nealan company migrates every day from his or her family's living quarters to their assigned office complex all of which is encapsulated within the giant single structures that the Neal call cities. Nealan societal theory contends that by assimilating every individual and providing them no recourse but to work continuously that this strong base will allow the nobles to grow strong who will in turn support the Imperate central government which can then look after every individual. This theory has never been rigorously tested or contested, however, as pure academics or scientists are very rare in Nealan society. Only the nobles possess the time necessary to produce analytical studies, but they rarely do, trusting instead in tradition.This structure results in little growth and it is therefore only through the dogged persistence of the Neal that they have attained such great heights.

The average Neal therefore expects very little out of life save the imperceptible march of progress. The only diversion for them is found in the Cellsphere. The Cellsphere (the Neal are atrociously literal name givers) as the name implies is comprised of minds linked by a spiritual nexus and organized in a sphere akin to the cells of a giant, simplified brain. This linked system while rarely able to convey the messy and fast information that represents a thought; can instead convey raw emotional content. Because of the bland nature of the average Neal's life and the redundant areas of the Nealan brain they can withstand emotional extremes that would drive other sentient species mad. The collected deep sorrow, extreme anger, and pure joy of every member in the nexus provide an incredible rush for the stimulus deprived Neal worker. The nobles have often thought of banning the Cellsphere, but for the possible back lash and  the fact that the Cellsphere only provides a momentary emotional surge. Only on a rare occasion does a user become so over come with emotion that they explode into a self-destructive or violent fit. On such occasions the army quickly substitutes itself for the non-existent police force to exterminate the afflicted.

The army is the principle institution of the Imperate's governing capabilities. It builds, protects, and conquers all the Imperate's interests. The composition of the army is therefore very strange. The grunt soldiers are largely not Neal but at once oppressed and catered to Norus males. This unique group of the Norus has been assimilated into the Imperate for so long that they now make up their own subspecies and subsection of Nealan society. They paradoxically enslave themselves by making up the backbone of the army that lords over their populations, despite this there have been no uprising among the Norus population, perhaps because they are so secure, if not free, as the lap dogs of the Imperate. These grunts typically go into battle armed with short one-sided blades similar to a Falchion which in the case of the Norus are as much for slashing as they are for bruising. Norus heavy troops cover themselves in metal and leather plate and carry large containers on their backs filled with boiling water kept liquid by applied zoal pressure. The heavy troops fight by releasing the exit valves and scalding their enemies, armor or no in a blast of steam. These grunt troops are typically commanded by neal officers who wield specially crafted umbrellas that ward of incoming missiles and zoal blasts as well as blasting quick cutting streams of zoal out the hollow internal tube. Neal commanders and high commanders rarely take the field but when they do they are a force to be reckoned with; masters of zoal reinforcement and long range attacks they are machine-like in their discipline and command. The Nealan army is speckled with many early defeats but through their perseverance, numbers, and technology the Nealan army has strut victorious across innumerable battle fields while Neal society continues its seemingly unstoppable spread across the known worlds.