Tanukithar

Tanukithar
Tanukithar is the name of a nation external to the known worlds of Rathnir, Eldham and beyond, existing in the realm of Dagdeth, a peripheral plane which possesses its own ecosystems, climates, cultures and naturally, civilisations. Dagdeth is known to be a Pangaea world with a northern island chain. A major extinction event occurred an unknown amount of years prior to discovery of Dagdeth by The Dominion of Free folk, wherein a vanguard force of Foraith and other not fully understood creations hailing from The Black Place landed centrally to the continent and rapidly devoured and terraformed the landmass. Tanukithar survived only due to its strongly militarised state which was strategically located within a since-dead deep sea magma vent, and remains standing today with the support of the Dominion. Its population is made up primarily of the Tanukith, an amphibious, sea-dwelling canid species. The second largest demographic comes in the form of the Healokith, a once-prolific sister species.

Population
The Tanukith is a species of canid endemic to the peripheral plane known as Dagdeth. It is one of two species in the genus Kithae, alongside the formerly coast-dwelling Healokith, which upon discovery by The Dominion was first believed to be a member of the same species.

while the Tanukith have only just assumed power as the dominant race over Tanukithar (formerly known as Healokithar), they have always played a significant role in its history since ancient times. During the Healokith dominant era, Tanukith were commonly scapegoated as thieves, idiots and soulless immitations of the Healokith. Evidence of this is presented regularly through trends in since-destroyed or defaced Healokith art, particularly statues, carpentry and stonework.

due to the inability of the Tanukith to breathe upon the mainland for long periods of time, the vast majority of their civilisation remains on the ocean surface. This evolutionary limitation, despite prior land dwelling Tanukith (possibly before the divergence of the Kithae Genus into two separate species) led to the Healokith posessing a significant resource and technological advantage, did not hinder the development of Tanukith hunter-gatherer culture. While both races rose to the apex of their respective ecosystems, notable divergences in minor traits occured. In order to better hunt as underwater predators the Tanukith developed razor-sharp canines and incisors, along with sleeker, oilier fur that grows far thicker that that of the Healokith. Healokith have mostly flat teeth, although their four front teeth are longer and broader, presumably for the purpose of piercing the shelled Flora that was once prevalent along the Dagdeth coastline.

Government and Political System
The City-State of Tanukithar is arranged in a post-feudal, militaristic hegemony with a dual monarchy at its highest point. It was historically a gender-segragated and socially conservative isolationist empire, although these traditions have since been lost, leaving only linguistic remnants and lingering repurposed architecture. Following the collapse of Healokithar as a major power, the old guard aristocracy conceded and the Tanukith who had previously held a societal status as lower than citizens assumed roles in government for the first time in recorded history. A mural celebrating the historical divide between Healokith and Tanukith was brought to the seafloor citadel, wherein it was displayed above the makeshift throne room for a few years before being scorched during the uprising that led to the formation of Tanukithar, although it remains there to this day beside the two thrones.

at the top of the Tanukithar hierarchy are the Tanukith and Healokith monarchs, with one being an internal monarch and the other being an external monarch. This position revolves over a bi-monthly period, with Aristocrats acting as middlemen between the two.

In the upper third of the society there is a majority population of Tanukith, with the middle third consisting of the aptly named Perioikith, a mercantile middle class that developed from the discovery of other peripheral planes. this class are entirely foreign and share equal freedoms with the aristocracy.

At the lowest third of the Tanukithar social hierarchy is a nameless class of the incredibly poor, the majority of which are Healokith. This inequality is partly due historical political stigma as well as the lingering Healokith incompatability with the permanently submerged work infrastructure and therefore inability to operate much of the non-indoor machinery for the same length of time as permanently aquatic Perioikith.