Karrigan'Xalda
Daughter of the Karishzar
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on the Xioquo.
Image Credit: Here.
Canon: N/A.
Permissions: N/A.
Links: Twilight of the Goddess, Daughters of the Destroyer, Xioquo, Seekers of the Sky, Liavondra, Vashyada, Qadiri, Karrigan'Xalda, Order of Fire, Quas'Ziru, Kaylah Danton, Dominion of Light, Into Darkness, After Darkness, Teaching Resilience, Tylania, Elpsis Kerrigan, Firemane, Tlaxqui, Tygara, Firedawn.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Organization Name: Benefactors of the Karishzar's Mercy
Classification: Social aid and development association, propaganda organisation.
Affiliation: Daughters of the Destroyer, Siobhan Kerrigan, Xioquo, House Kerrigan, Quas'Ziru.
Organization Symbol: A circle with a hand coming from one side with other hands reaching out to it.
Description: The image many in Firemane's orbit have of the Daughters of the Destroyer is of a cult of fanatical, misandrist Xioquo who blindly worship Siobhan Kerrigan as some kind of deity. They are commonly assumed of having embraced the dark side. While this is not entirely untrue, the sect is a fairly complex organisation, and it offers its followers more than preaching about the greatness of the Karishzar. That alone would not attract members. Faith does not arise in a vacuum, after all. Though the group has radical and sometimes dangerous zealots, there are many Daughters who are rather less fanatical. Though the Dark Side has lured many of them, those in the Daughters are not Sith or anything close. Moreover, many have been drawn to the sect in order to make use of the patronage and social assistance networks it provides.
Politically, the Daughters are to the right of Xioquo society. 'Right' and 'left' are obviously deeply flawd simplifications, especially since they mean different things in different cultures. To illustrate, the Xioquo are traditionally a matriarchal society, so that is a conservative stance the Daughters. However, their economic principles are populist and, by the definition of the galactic standard, left-wing. The sect supports social solidarity and redistributive policies, while being critical of commercialism, individualism and laissez-faire economics. At the same time, the Daughters are militaristic. They contrast with the Seekers of the Sky, a light side sect that follows the teachings of Queen Lia. Unlike the Daughters, centrist-right economically, but on the left socially and culturally. Broadly speaking, the Daughters call for a strong military, industrial sector and a culture based on martial honour, but also a strong welfare policy and wealth redistribution in favour of the downtrodden.
If one were to walk into the Daughters' main temple during a sermon or attend a gathering in one of their chapterhouses, it would not be out of place to hear a priestess talk about social and economic issues, and sprinkle it with some religious rhetoric. The Daughters view themselves as the champion of the downtrodden - the former slaves and indentured, the common workers and rural labourers who were long oppressed by the aristocracy. Only the Daughters, so it is said, truly stand up for the common woman and protect her against exploitation by ravenous capital or nobility. Indeed, particularly radical Daughters want to disenfranchise nobles and 'profiteers'.
Among the Xioquo, the sect has become known for providing a wide range of social services. It aims to provide the poor, the wounded and the families of martyrs. This may seem strange since several Force-using cultists tend towards more darker aspects of the Force, but the Daughters' way is rule by the strong, and the strong look after their own and pass on their lessons of strength. As Tlaxqui has settled down, the Daughters have begun to empathise this charitable side of their ventures. In keeping with this, the sect has opened its door to helping those in need - and obviously build up its support base in the process. Welfare provision is obviously also a way to build street power, and keep constituents happy, thereby increasing buy-in.
This is where the Benefactors of the Karishzar's Mercy come in. They are the organisation that manages the Daughters' social welfare and development programmes. This is not simply a material exchange for support, though that is obviously a desired result. Many of the Benefactors are themselves former slaves or members of the lower classes and are thus motivated by visions of social justice. The Benefactors can distribute or facilitate access to social services out of altruism, depict the sect as the guardian of the downtrodden and thus live up to the rhetoric or expand its influence. Ideological and ulterior motivations are difficult to separate because people are complex beings. The ancien régime was not a friend of the idea that the poor needed welfare, and the downfall destabilised the old patronage networks, so the Benefactors aim to fill a niche here.
Officially, almsgiving is a pillar of the faith. The group aims to remedy deficiencies in areas such as healthcare, education, housing etc. One particular focus lies in providing aid to orphans, the families or martyrs and wounded members of the sect. One group, for example, is engaged in reconstruction work in neglected areas, infrastructure development and distribution of compensation funds. Through the sub-organisations of the Benefactors, the Daughters have developed a curriculum and provide education in what is akin to monastic schools. The Benefactors have helped enhance the resilience and zeal of Daughters who serve in a military capacity, militia or similar by establishing a martyrs' foundation. It guarantees stipends and education fees for the families of fighters who fall in battle.
The Daughters do not champion male rights, as they have conservative social values and thus expect a matriarch to be in charge of the household. That said, the Benefactors aim to provide assistance to the husbands of martyrs. Critics allege that the Benefactors have politicised social aid. This is, of course, true, though it is probably of little interest to people who are able to put food on the table thanks to their assistance.
The Benefactors have cooperated, but simultaneously been in competition with Firemane organisations such as Firedawn, the megacorp's freedmen bureau. This may seem paradoxical since the Daughters venerate Firemane's leader Siobhan Kerrigan. But as Firemane officials have found out, the Daughters are Xio nationalists. While the Daughters venerate 'the Karishzar', they do not extend this to Firemane as a whole. Indeed, there are priestesses who make a habit of being critical of actual Firemane policies for not following the Karishzar's vision 'correctly'. 'With the Karishzar against the new mistresses!' is one of the group's slogans. Of course, saying that you are loyal to the Karishzar but her minions are not implementing her orders or telling her lies is a useful way to criticise decisions made by her without seeming disloyal.
A significant portion of the Daughters' budget is allocated to social programmes. Funding is provided by a variety of sources. The Daughters have created their own fundraising networks. These support the operations of the Benefactors. Moreover, the sect owns small-scale commercial enterprises, whose revenue is devoted to supporting its social infrastructure. All Daughters are expect to donate a portion of their income to the Benefactors. Furthermore, to put it plainly, the fledgling Daughters used the chaos caused by the fall of the ancien régime to engage in vigilantism, theft and looting against nobles and suspected profiteers of the old order. Some nobles have made donations as an attempt to buy their way into the sect's good graces and wash away the stain of their affiliation with the old order. This has, however, led to a bit of a backlash since older members view it as a dilution of the group's message.
GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Headquarters: Shrine of the Karishzar and Her Blessed Daughters.
Domain: The Benefactors are a social aid organisation and do not exercise rulership over anyone. The group does have influence among the Xioquo, as it is part of a popular new religious movement. As a result, they have a strong presence in Tlaxqui, the subterranean home of the Xioquo, as well as on the Sky Cavern Worldships they have settled on. An example for the latter would be the Caverns of the Overealm, the main worldship of the Xioquo.
The Benefactors are part of the local Xioquo communities and recruit their members from them. The level of influence obviously varies. The Benefactors' primary purpose is organising social development programmes. The Daughters' popularity is partly a result of these social services, and they have acquired a central role in the sect's manifesto and rhetoric. It focuses in particular on the traditionally poor and dispossesed lower classes. In poorer areas the Benefactors have brought in supplies, repaired schools and provided electricty and shelter. Their social welfare services have made a difference in the lives of many disadvantaged Xioquo, particularly former slaves who required shelter, education and employment.
This helps understand the appeal of a group that calls itself the sword of the peasants, the soldiers, labourers, the servants, and the poor, the oppressed and the deprived, the workers and the homeless. Buy-in from Xioquo followers and sympathisers of the sect has increased, though the group has come under fire for politicising social aid and trying to promote a partisan agenda to essentially buy support. Nonetheless, it has ensured that the sect is deeply embedded in Xioquo society. The Benefactors like to claim that the Xioquo government started implementing social welfare programmes because they were getting too popular. This is an exaggeration though, as it ignores the fact that sects like the Seekers of the Sky are also active as welfare providers.
Notable Assets: The Benefactors operate a couple clinics, soup kitchens, a few warehouses, an orphanage and educational institutions. Many of these facilities have been set up in confiscated manses of nobles, former Myrou shrines or factories that have been closed. There is only limited space in the Underealm, and so nothing can be allowed to go to waste. Shrines of the Daughters have a religious obligation to offer hospitality, provisions, nourishment and meals to the poor and needy.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
Hierarchy: A collegial body called the Council of Munificence is responsible for day-to-day management of the Benefactors. It reports to the High Priestess of the Daughters of the Destroyer. There are various departments beneath the Council. The Society of the Forge and Hammer is responsible for building up infrastructure and other construction projects. It runs civic engineering projects, operates vocational training centres etc. The Society of the Bereaved is a foundation that supports the families of martyrs, including of murdered slaves and resistance fighters. Meanwhile, the Society of the Restoring Torch helps the wounded and maimed, specifically those injured in battle or abused by slavers. The Society of the Helping Hand provides general welfare services to poor, needy families. The Society of the Strong Future is responsible for education for orphans and slave children.
Membership: Must be a Xioquo and a supporter of the Daughters of the Destroyer. Unlike the Daughters, who are all female, the Benefactors also allow male Xioquo to join. This is not a sign of them being rebellious, but rather in line with traditional Xioquo gender norms, which are an inversion of those common among patriarchal cultures. The top positions are still monopolised by women though. The Benefactors may espouse populist, left-wing economic and social policies, but culturally they are conservative.
Former slaves, lower caste members and individuals who were persecuted by the old order are preferred, and promoted through what amounts to an affirmative action programme. The Benefactors have both full-time staff and volunteers. The group includes administrators, teachers, medical professionals, accountants, clerks, labourers, lawyers, agricultural specialists, logisticians, translators, civic engineers and others. In some ways it is not too different from trying to get a job at a non-government organisation, albeit one that is pushing a religious message and steeped in mysticism. Volunteers are baid a stipend to cover basic living expenses.
Force-Sensitivity is more common among the Xioquo than say humans, and so the Benefactors have their share of Force-Sensitive members. Given their line of work, they focus on cerebral skills rather than raw destructive powers. The Daughters have other groups for those who want to pursue a more martial path. Broadly speaking, a Force-Sensitive Benefactor would focus more on utility purposes than all-out combat applications. On average, the Daughters do not attract many light side adepts, and so the Benefactors do not have many Force healers. Skill in abilities such as telekinesis or earth shaping abilities are helpful for those Benefactors who are civic engineers and build homes and infrastructure though. But even water shapers can help out by say using their abilities to treat burn wounds.
Climate: Essentially a combination of idealism, business efficiency and religious zeal. The Benefactors do attract many idealists who want to improve the lot of their fellow Xio, as well as people who join to benefit from their patronage and networking. The group is very conscious of the fact that they represent the Daughters and can foster good will - or conversely drive those they want to help and potentially convert away. This means that the more fanatical members of the sect tend to be steered away. The group seeks to attract professionals and good communicators who can authentically communicate the message of the sect and at the same time deliver actual aid.
Benefactors are exhorted to be friendly, approachable and professional in all their dealings with fellow Xioquo as well as foreigners - though their attitude towards profiteers of the ancien régime will be far colder. This is a bit of a balancing act, and certain Daughters grumble that the Benefactors do not pay enough attention to dogma and the true mission of the sect. But overall, the attitude is professional. The group prides itself on its fast response time when there is a crisis. Benefactors must demonstrate a commitment to the community and strive to build a sense of solidarity. The credo of the group is to demonstrate faith through action. They will demonstrate the truth of their faith by using it to build a better life for Xio in need. As a result, they tend to attract the more moderate members of the Daughters.
This also includes helping out fellow Daughters in need. However, this framework of brick and mortar clientelism does not disregard the Daughters' religious and social beliefs. The Benefactors are not a neutral organisation, but part of the machine of a religious sect that aims to entrench itself in Xioquo society and be relevant beyond the confines of the Underealm. Participating in religious services and rituals and meditating on the teachings of the sect are part of daily life for a Benefactor, though the degree of religious zeal obviously varies. While they venerate the Karishzar, the cultists also revere the spirits of the sky, earth, water and fire that the Xio traditionally worshipped.
Quite a few ex-slaves among the group bear the surname Karrigan, which refers to Siobhan Kerrigan, the idol of the Daughters.. It is not uncommon among Xio who used to be slaves to take the name of their liberator or patron as their surname. There has recently been a pushback against this since the only ones eligible to take the name should be former slaves and other members of the oppressed classes, yet as time has gone on people have started taking the name even if they were formerly higher up the chain as it were.
Sadly, there is still an unfortunate culture of misandry. The Daughters may be on the left economically, as they strongly support public works, social welfare programmes and relief for the poor, but culturally they are quite conservative. In Xioquo context, this means they believe Xioquo society should remain a matriarchy. They do not want to go back to the oppressive extremes of the old order, but still believe in traditional gender roles. The Benefactors do recruit Xioquo males, but they tend to hit a glass ceiling at some point when they rise in the ranks. There have been cases where married men were pushed into 'spending more time with the family' or passed over for promotion. This may have also been the result of behind the scenes intrigue and office politics. Unsurprisingly, it has sparked criticism from male rights groups and liberal Xioquo women who strive for gender equality.
At the same time, there is tension between Benefactors who believe they should only serve their own' - in other words cater solely to fellow believers - and those who argue that the group must be willing to distribute across sectarian lines. Here it is pertinent to note that those in the latter group are not necessarily more altruistic. Indeed, they may be more concerned with the acquisition of political and economic influence for the Daughters and believe that distributing services more broadly will accomplish this. More conservative elements see this as a dilution of the group's message that will encourage cynical opportunism, arguing that welfare benefits should be concentrated on the core group.
Within the Benefactors, funds are requested from the bottom and approved or denied by the top-level approval authority. This can be compared to the manner in which a business or non-government organisation would run things. For example, a group will submit a budget request, which inludes the costs of current projects and a list of proposed projects with estimated costs. It has brought a business efficiency to the group. Particularly expensive or important ventures require approval from the Daughters' senior leadership, which is composed of the High Priestess and six senior priestesses.
Reputation: Popular among many members of the Xioquo underclasses due to their social welfare programmes and aid. They appeal to Xio who are still quite culturally conservative, but don't want to be under the thumb of aristos. Even poor Xio who do not share the Daughters' beliefs have received aid. Citizens rely on a cross of public, private and non-state actors to ensure their basic needs are met, and the Benefacors play an important role as welfare providers in some contexts, though the Daughters are not the only Xio sect operating a network of social welfare associations.
It helps that the activists and spokeswomen of the Benefactors tend to be the more media-savvy, approachable Daughters. The group has built up ties to fledgling trade unions that agitate for workers' rights. However, the Benefactors have been accused of politicising social aid and essentially buying support for the Daughters. There have been accusations of sectarianism, and lack of transparency. Liberal and progressive forces criticise the Daughters' sexism. Male rights activists have criticised the group for not being interested in addressing structural discrimination against men. They allege that misandrist stereotypes continue to permeate the movement.
The Benefactors have worked with the Xio government, but are also in competition with its social welfare departments. The institution is little known and poorly understood outside of the orbit of Firemane and Tygara. Most non-Xio elves will generally view it as an appendage of a strange cult and little else. Firedawn has frequent interactions with them since it is concerned with helping freed slaves receive education and employment opportunities.
Curios: Tattoos are common in general amongst the Daughters, but all of the Benefactors have a pendant with the symbol of the group. They are also issued a copy of the Daughters' book of faith, the Precepts of the Daughters of the Glorious Karishzar.
Rules: The Benefactors are bound by the rules of the Daughters of the Destroyer - as well as laws of the Xioquo government. They are supposed to do good works, be honest and law-abiding - and of course spread the faith. Officially, they are supposed to provide aid to Xioquo in need without sectarian bias. They shall not aid enemies of the Xioquo people or the Daughters. In dealing with outsiders, they must be cordial and professional, and never forget they represent the Daughters. Thus they must always remember that the civilian and militant wings of the Daughters must maintain a perfect synergy so that the group can act as the Sword of the Karishzar. The Daughters have a single leadership - the High Priestess and the conclave that decide and manages all religious, political, cultural and social activities, meaning that the sect has one leadership and one administration.
Thus all branches of the sect must act in concert. Male Xio are allowed to become Benefactors, but they must conform to the conservative views of the sect. There are strong rules against theft, bribery, rumour-mongering etc. Benefactors must obey orders from their superiors and always be ready for deployment, even on short notice. Projects pursued by the Benefactors must conform to the highest standards in regards to reliability, impact and safety. The credo is that they must live the faith. Showing that the Daughters can make a difference in the life of the downtrodden will spread it more efficiently than compulsion.
Of course, the way of the Daughters is the right one and the nation should be governed by it. It would be anathema for a Benefactor to say otherwise. But the multisectarian and pluralistic nature of contemporary Xio society is a fact, and so members must operate within it. Members of competing sects such as the Seekers should not be insulted or denigrated. But wherever possible, the Benefactors must fill a void left by state institutions and competing sects. They are the ones who distribute food to the hungry, provide shelter to the poor, minister to those who feel a spirititual vacuum, and inspire hope in people who would otherwise have none.
Goals: Support charitable works, and provide social aid and educational programmes for Xioquo in need, especially the destitute, the wounded and the families of martyrs and former slaves. Give low class Xio a voice and empower them. Raise public awareness of and draw attention to the plight of those who suffered under the ancien régime. Promote the vision of the Daughters and embed them in Xioquo society in order to expand their influence.
MEMBERS
Karrigan'Lalax (NPC) - Lalax is a priestess of the Daughters of the Destroyer. She holds the title of Centurion. Her experiences under the ancien regime have shaped her into a dedicated, but somewhat unconventional devotee of the cult. She was born a free woman, but it was easy for a freeborn Xioquo to be enslaved under the ancien regime. Punishment for crimes, demotion by the whim of one's Lady or being captured in battle were all easy ways to be enslaved.
Lalax was a bard and a poet. However, one of her performances was secretly satirical and judged to be seditionist. She suffered public humiliation and punishment, before being branded and collared. She was enslaved by a priestess, who was a dedicated follower of Myrou and fond of threatening to sacrifice her to the dark goddess. Lalax suffered physical and mental abuse, but her intellect and literacy kept her from being sent to the mines. Instead she was employed as a scribe. While she was Force-Sensitive, her affinity for the Force was too weak to merit serious training. This meant that she was not considered dangerous to keep as a slave.
Her time as the priestess' slave gave her a dim view of traditional religion until the Karishzar came. Unable to bear the defeat, her mistress decided to commit suicide and take her slaves with her. Fortunately, Lalax found out what she intended to do and switched the poison for a fake and played dead until her mistress poisoned herself. Lalax played a role in the post-war cleanup. Her role as a scribe had made her privy to secrets which helped convict some nasty people. Her strong code made her a good judge and advocate, who gave proof for and against convicted nobles of the old order if she believed them innocent or guilty.
Lalax is one of the Daughters, but in a mild way. She takes a philosophical view of the Karishzar as a prophetess and believes that her strength is what makes her worshipful. Thus she has a more intellectual view of the cult's icon, but still reaches the same conclusion. Nonetheless, Lalax is a good preacher and well-liked, though there are clerics who believe her views are too heterodox. She is adept at selling the story of the Karishzar, having written religious text in favour of Siobhan and the new settlement. She is something of a leader and a good influence on the extended Karrigan 'family'. Her views also make her useful for marketing when dealing with non-cult members or foreigners, as she is more approachable than say Quas'Ziru, the leader of the Daughters, who has been described as unsettling and very intense.
Xykan'Varrou (NPC) - a senior Benefactor who focuses on infrastructure and civic engineering projects. She was already an engineer under the ancien régime, albeit an indentured one. She used to work on one of the ironclads. She was a skilled worker, and thus privileged compared to an ordinary slave, but not a free woman. And she could be killed without repercussions if she failed to deliver. Varrou has gone offworld to get an education and learn about modern technology. While studying abroad she obtained a degree in engineering. She has returned with many new ideas, even if she was disapproved of a lot of the star people's ideas. Today, she runs the Society of the Forge and Hammer.
All construction projects must be approved by her office and submit a budget to her. Varrou has a very hands-on management style and can often be seen supervising projects. She has taken an interest in infrastructure planning. She is not a rabble-rouser or demagogue, but a professional. However, she is also prideful and a bit full of herself. Varrou is fascinated by modern machines and has an astromech droid to assist her. She treats the 'metal golem' more like a companion than a simple machine. However, she finds human mega-cities ugly. She can speak Basic, albeit with a Xio accent.
Karrigan'Xois (NPC) - a male Xio who has skills as a diplomat. He used to be a 'personal attendant' for a highborn lady. He has since a great dislike for privilege and class. Gives away all he can to the poor, lives humbly. Dislikes sexism, but is a bit himself towards wealthy women. The Benefactors accept males, but he is given crappy assignments that do not get a lot of credit because sexism. His bosses tend to send him on 'outreach' assignment outside of the Underealm. This includes going on trips to nice, sunny and bright regions, too. The rays of the sun are painful for Xio, so he has to wear covering robes and sunglasses when out in the sunlight.
Xois is understandably not too happy about this, but patient, dogged and methodical. He makes the most of it because it has allowed him to see places most of the sisters will never lay eyes upon. has conducted trips to remote Xio communities that live outside the Underealm. An example would be the cold, icy north, where some have joined the Zaldrani. He has been involved in organising the return of Xioquo who were taken captive and enslaved by the Qadiri. Due to his foreign contacts, Xois can speak and understand Zandri and Basic.
Karrigan'Narryn (NPC) - not every Benefactor has altruistic motivations. Narryn is seemingly incredibly invested in the whole mission. She has taken the Karrigan name even though she secretly was not a slave. Indeed she was quite well-off. She has done a good job obfuscating her true origins. Narryn does not care about the Daughters' mission and is cynical about their religion, but considers them a useful front to acquire money and status. Narryn does not really have a political agenda, and has a keen eye for which way the wind is blowing. She uses her skills to ostentatiously help people but is actually using them for her personal advancement. She works in the personnel section, which gives her a lot of ability to network, make allies and acquire influence without arousing too much attention.
Tasarran'Etalpalli (NPC) - a rabidly xenophobic Daughter who is dedicated to 'Xio First' views. She acknowledges that Myrou was evil and rightly cast down by the Karishzar, but the outsiders can now go. And take their lackey queen and tree hugging Seekers with them. Tlaxqui should belong to the Xio alone and no foreigner has any right to judge them. Etalpalli is opposed to paying reparations to Qadiri or Vashyada victims of the Xio or returning relics and artefacts that were seized by Xioquo war bands on raids. Etalpalli is still opposed to the old order and does not think the Xioquo were ever great in the past. But they could be if they were free of foreign meddling and were not 'told to feel ashamed of being Xio because of the crimes of a few'. In her view, the Xioquo were the main victims of Myrou and the oligarchs. Etapalli works in the logistics branch. She has a knack for organisation and managing supply chains, ensuring that the Benefactors' various projects have the resources they need.
Karrigan'Adrou (NPC) - Adrou is a senior Benefactor concerned with the group's social welfare functions, especially for the wounded and families of martyrs. Fittingly, she is disabled herself, having lost an arm in the final battle against the dark goddess Myrou. Adrou was enslaved and sent to toil in the Blood Forges after being accused of defeatism. She participated in the revolt and was severely injured. The Daughters are a martial sect, but Adrou is not militaristic. At least not in the way it is typically understood. She doesn't glorify warfare and indeed responds poorly to Daughters who are too enthusiastic about it. War is hell, that is why the Daughters and all Xio must be prepared. However, she has actually been a voice for reconciliation because she knows that war is hell and dreams of conquest are vainglorious. To this end, she has actually organised get-togethers between wounded veterans from both sides - Xio and the people they fought. This puts her at odds with certain hardliners.
Xavael'Zarra (NPC) - a teacher type who used to be a slave scribe. Now she is highly placed in the Society of the Strong Future, the body responsible for the education of orphans and slave children. As a scribe, she belonged to a select strata of slaves who were granted an education. Zarra is a follower of the Daughters, but a fairly moderate one. She is a little more open minded than her sisters in the faith, leading to some accusing her of being a plant by the Seekers.
She is also less sexist - to a point. According to her detractors, she is trying to water down true doctrine. This is untrue, of course. However, Zarra opposes those Benefactors who believe their services should be distributed along sectarian lines. She argues that membership in the sect should not be a prerequisite for receiving an education at one of the Benefactors' schools. She is also a bit more willing than most of her peers to engage in outreach programmes with other groups, even the Seekers. She gets on well enough with Lalax, but is disliked by the more militant Daughters. Some criticise her for keeping her own surname instead of adopting the Karrigan name.
Karrigan'Coaxoch (NPC) - a gifted propagandist and one of the most radical leaders of the Benefactors. Coaxoch is a subversive force opposed to the queen, though she does not air it publicly. She feels the Seekers of the Sky and Queen Lia are holding the Xioquo people back. There should be only one queen - Siobhan. At the same time, Coaxoch has what one might call socialist, anti-capitalist views. She supports coop-led markets, strong labour unions and wealth redistribution. She has supported striking workers demanding better working conditions.
Being a socialist and a monarchist is undoubtedly bizarre on first sight, but she doesn't see it that way. The Xio have no tradition of queenship - not in the normal sense. Myrou was 'queen', but entombed for most of her reign while the Council ruled in her stead. In Coaxoch's view, the queen would be a guarantor of stability, and virtuous protector of the common people. Essentially, a benevolent philosopher-queen imbued with quasi-divine power. Her beliefs are controversial to say the least, and she is careful in how she phrases them to avoid accusations of being a foreign stooge or a seditionist. Coaxoch is quite short and physically unimposing, but she has an intense gaze and a powerful voice.
She has a sarcastic, razor-sharp wit, but is motivated by deep-seated convictions rather than just being a cynical opportunist. Indeed, she is a woman of great courage. Coaxoch has artistic talent and a knack for coming up with propaganda posters and caricatures. She edits one of the Daughters' newspapers, using it as her bully pulpit to bludgeon reactionaries, profiteers and even fellow Daughters she regards as insufficiently committed to the cause. Even Firemane officials are not immune to her rhetorical artillery salvoes. This has gotten her into trouble, and she has been sued for libel.
Coaxoch has a clubfoot, which placed her at risk during the time of the ancien régime because the old government targeted severely mentally or physically disabled due to the asinine, inhumane belief that they were a burden to society. She was smart so she was employed as a scribe, but still bullied mercilessly. It has given her a lot of empathy for the disabled and she has become an advocate for them, trying to raise awareness about the systemic discrimination they still suffer from.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Xioquo society has long been steeped in the Dark Side. For centuries, the drows were governed by a ruthless mageocracy where only those who pursued the path of Darkness ended up on the top. Thousands laboured as slaves to serve the whims of the mistresses who sat on the top of the pyramid. The disobedient were brutally punished and often sacrificed in ghastly rituals to power war machines or be turned into abominations. Believing that Tygara was theirs by right and that one day their 'demigoddess' Myrou would awaken to lead them to conquer Tygara, the Xioquo warred against their neighbours and rivals, the Qadiri and Vashyada.
While the technologically most advanced of Tygara's natives, their low population, incessant power struggles and the constant need to be on their guard against slave revolts kept them from fulfilling their potential. It should come as no great surprise that the idea of social safety nets was anathema to such a toxic, predatory society. Though the Xioquo did not call it that way, their economy was a highly unrestrained form of anarchocapitalism combined with Social Darwinism.
The Xioquo state, had no time for charity, unemployment money, national healthcare and so on. Indeed, it might be a misnomer to call it a state per se. The Xioquo 'government' was a bit of a contradiction in terms. A Council of Ten (actually nine) handed out responsibilities depending on who had the support and power. But they didn't exist as a centralised government, more a collection of squabbling nobles who jealously guarded their privileges and treated their portfolios as private fiefs. A Xioquo noble looked after her clients and associates and crushed everyone else, using a combination of carrot and stick to keep her minions in line. If the poor, the old and the sick would not work they would be expelled as useless eaters or fed to the Blood Forges to fuel the machinery of war.
A harsh, authoritarian culture permeated Xioquo factories. The family matriarch had the right to put a child up for adoption or sell the rights to the child in a voluntary contract. Poor Xio who could not pay their debts risked being enslaved, and their status would be inherited. The Xio nobles maintained that their nation was the pinnacle of economic freedom. Charity would only make people lazy. If someone got sick, it was a test from the Goddess. Financial blessings and physical well-being were a sign of divine favour, while poverty was equated with sin. The Second Chance Society 'assisted' the poor in finding jobs...mainly as cannon fodder in the military for a house. If someone got labelled a 'second chancer' this was seen as a bad label, almost as bad as being called a layabout or a shirker.
Nemesis came to their subterranean kingdom, the Underealm, when a coalition of Firemane, Eldorai and Qadiri forces invaded their territory, defeated their armies and war beasts, and finally slew Mystra herself. By that time many Xioquo had become disillusioned with their creator since she fed on them just as enthusiastically as on their enemies. Slaves rebelled, seeing a chance to cast down their chains, and the remaining mistresses finally capitulated. Trials were held for several war criminals, slavery was abolished and a new government was set up. The present Queen of the Xioquo, Liavondra, was an adept of the Light Side, who sought to lead her people on a better path. However, change was difficult to bring about. Slowly weaning them off despotism, and reclaiming their independence would take time.
Moreover, the war and what amounted to the collapse of Xio society had caused a lot of devastation. Many Xio nobles and clerics had perished, the city of Tlaxqui had suffered severe damage and now there were millions of often malnourished slaves who needed to be fed, clothed and housed. Firemane and the new government committed resources to alleviate this humanitarian crisis, but it was not always enough. So a new sect called the Daughters of the Destroyer took it into their own hands to help feed and rebuild for the poor, who alos happened to be most of their supporters. During her campaign, the Xioquo had conferred the title of Karishzar upon Siobhan Kerrigan. It means Destroyer in their language.
At first it was supposed to condemn her as an abomination that threatened everything the Matriarchy stood for her. To many freed slaves, it became the title of a liberator, for it showed the hated mistresses feared her. A select number of Xioquo went a step further and came to see the Karishzar as a demigoddess. By slaying Myrou, she had taken her place and set the dark elves free. Their leader was a former slave called Quas'Ziru who had risen to become a priestess under the ancien régime, before being purged for 'heresy'. The death of Myrou saved her from being sacrificed. To her this was divine revelation.
From early on the Daughters adopted a radical populist stance, casting themselves as the vanguard of the oppressed and the downtrodden who alone were truly committed to fight against the reactionaries and profiteers. They saw no contradiction between this and their fervent worship of the Karishzar. This manifested in vigilantism and vengeance killings. It is an open secret that the sect carried out politically motivated murders and expropriations. But it also started to provide an extensive array of social services that catered to the needy poor. This led to the birth of the Benefactors. In the early days, they outright took over manses or factories abandoned during the fighting. This later led to legal issues when some of the nobles were able to execute a smart pivot towards the new order.
As the Xioquo settled down and both the new government and Firemane cracked down on actions that upset the fragile order, the social aid networks built by the Daughter increased in importance. They were a way for the sect to build legitimacy. However, there was also tension with the royalists. The Seekers, a sect of Xioquo who followed the Light Side teachings of the Queen, were also reformist, but their economic policies were centre-right. At the same time they were more culturally liberal than the Daughters, who were still quite misandrist.
Moreover, radical Benefactors demanded larger-scale expropriations of nobles and businesswomen, who in their view had not truly atoned for their complicity in the old regime. In truth, if one punished every Xio who had collaborated, there would be few left. Incidents occured when Benefactors supported striking workers protesting against unfair working conditions. Ironically, one of the factories picketed was run by a manager close to Firemane. Karrigan'Coaxoch was a particularly radical agitator who made herself a name as a fearless voice of the downtrodden, even when threatened with prison and lawsuits.
There were also tensions within the Benefactors between those who wanted to make conversion to the Daughters' faith a precondition to be eligible for social aid and those who wanted to provide aid to all Xioquo downtrodden, regardless of their religious beliefs. One of the senior Daughters who took an active role in pushing the Benefactors' agenda was Karrigan'Lalax. A former poet who had been enslaved during the twilight of the ancien régime, she was one of the moderates among the sect and took a philosophical view of the Karishzar.
This made her suspect to the zealots, but more approachable for people outside of the sect. Moreover, she had testified against cruel nobles at the war crimes tribunal following the downfall, which gave her a certain renown. This gave her the necessary clout to oversee many of the welfare efforts of the sect and take care to weed out petitioners who approached the sect for self-serving reasons rather than genuine need. Recently, the Benefactors received support from Elpsis Kerrigan, the so called 'Heir of the Karishzar'. The 'Heir' was sent by Firemane's leadership to visit Tlaxqui after Siobhan Kerrigan's prolonged coma led to disquiet among her followers and the members of the extended Karrigan family.
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