Speciesm in Kæra'zna

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Speciesm (also referred to as Specism or Speciesism) in Kæra'zna comprises a set of societal beliefs and government policy that is inseparably intertwined with the current institutions of the state, with the self-proclaimed "Collective Purity" to be the only known example of a contemporary ethnostate, with speciesm playing a recurring role in Kæra history, peaking in the 1880s during the Purification of Sight under the Kæra Collective Republic, though has significantly re-escalated in public consciousness following the signing of the 1.4 Mandate in 1991, which prohibited population growth exceeding 1.4 million, with broad use of involuntary euthanasia and strict regulation of reproduction used as a way to enact a form of Social Darwinism, which served the purpose of increasing fear of non Az'ra entering the country as any foreigners would be added to the population, meaning more Az'ra would have to die to make room for what felt to be inferior.

Pre-19th century

While the pre-19th Century period of Kæra History did not have the amount of violence justified by speciesm found later one in the doctrine of the Purity faction, discrimination based upon species is a deep rooted concept in Kæra society, dating back to widespread animosity towards Nekomimi which is believed to date back to antiquity. This originated based upon the values of Proto-Azraic cultures, evolving into the concept of the Collective Society, which advocates for the creation of a homogenous system in order to increase the chance for all to survive inside inhospitable environments. The unviability of offspring between Elves and Nekomimi created a challenge to such an idea, leading to the rejection of Nekomimi in the societal model, using an older version of the term Ryn'ul (Traditional: Чιп-жϟ) as a derogatory term to describe non-elven sapients, meaning 'outsiders to all', though the term fell out of usage in the 17th Century before being revived by the Az'ra Society in the mid 1800s.

Early Ny'sæk Empire

During the period of Proto-Az'ra and Az'ra rule of the Ny'sæk Empire, Nekomimi were excluded from participating in wider society, in a manner similar to religious disfellowshipping, with state institutions censuring non-elves, with a culture of shunning those not a part of the close-knit communities of Elves, mostly Proto-Az'ra with a few Z'rei who ventured northeast from where they originally arrived. While Z'rei were seen as foreigners to most originally, their nature as elves allowed them to join and receive the benefits of Kæra communities which were not granted to Nekomimi, and marriage between Proto-Az'ra and Z'rei was socially accepted and legal.

Due to the community-based structure of working for a communal good, the exclusion of non-elves from Kæra towns and villages forced them to form independent settlements, alongside those who had fled after acting against the community. These settlements, known as Ry'uk, existed in a status of both being lands of the Empire as well as acting as a residence to those which the Empire did not recognize as part of the Collective, creating a system in which their existence was allowed through the grace of Emperors refusing to acknowledge them. This grace was withdrawn often, however, with the lack of habeas corpus for those not within the elf-exclusive collective meaning that if a member of a Ry'uk broke the law of the Empire, it was expected that the Ry'uk deliver the corpse of any accused to a local community leader, or face violent reprisal. Such a policy was later extended to any Ry'uk which, purposefully or not, gave a perceived slight to a Kæra would face destruction of their settlements and killing of their residents who did not flee.

Opposition to Speciesm

Attempts to challenge this policy date back to the mid-16th Century, when a group of mostly Z'rei Elves began to question the notion that non-elves could not participate in the community, harkening back to interpretations of the Cardinial creation myth which suggested that Pæf created all that were capable of faith to form a Community, however such a notion was rebuffed by the Cardinial Church, whose doctrine stated that non-elves were created by Læs to disrupt Pæf's perfect community, and could not truly understand the world and therefore truly have faith. This schism eventually led to the creation of the Læsic Church amongst the Ry'uk - which were now more populated thanks to the influx of self-exiled reformists. In reaction to this, some members of the Church began to lose their more tolerant status, forming the first Churches of Pæf which explicitly excluded Z'rei on account of their "sympathies to Læs", beginning the first wave of Z'reiphobia.

Conflicts between intolerant Az'ra against Z'rei and Nekomimi became increasingly common throughout the 16th and 17th Centuries, with Ry'uk settlements beginning to arm themselves and refuse tribute to the Kæra communities, with some becoming comparable to the settlements of the Empire due to the influx of educated Z'rei and Az'ra worshippers of Læs. A period of instability hit the Empire as Ry'uk would occasionally act in all-out revolts against the Empire, though such remained difficult to coordinate as many in a Ry'uk did not want to draw the ire of the Kæra. This could not be sustained forever, however, as when an army of the Ry'uk seized the capital of Zhar'osyk in 1709, the Monarchy was forced to grant the crown to their leader, Fly'ra'du-Øzna , a Z'rei former member of the ruling family who had been shunned for supporting the reform effort

Late Ny'sæk Empire

While reforms slowly allowed reintegration of reformist Z'rei and the granting of limited rights to Nekomimi to live and work in some areas of the Empire, the nature in which such was forced caused even more resentment from parts of the Az'ra of the Empire, cementing the anti-Z'rei sentiments which would further add to the targets genocides of the 19th and 20th Centuries. Several rebellions against the new Empire, headed by members of the Church of Pæf would occur, with the Wars of Reclamation (1734-1762) underpinned by Az'ra opposition to both the Z'rei and Nekomimi and wishing to 'reclaim' their speciest society from the Empire which was now moving towards modernization and equality.

The Wars of Reclamation, due to their nature of being intertwined with speciest rhetoric, gave a glimpse into the actions of the Kæra in the 1800s, with clashes between species commonplace and explicitly advocated by the rebel forces, though some saw it more-so as an act of holy war against Læsism and refused to outwardly call for such, even if some still participated in the systematic murdering of non-elves when ordered to by their superiors, who had promised them Absolution for impurities if they did so. Rebel forces went from Ry'uk to Ry'uk, and at each sacked the multispecies settlements and using Pre-Reform law as justification to round up and slaughter Nekomimi, forcing an exodus of Nekomimi from rebel controlled areas, with some who had lived there their entire lives being forced to leave their country, in fear of brutal practices such as the burning of children and the wearing of nekomimi ears as Medallions of Purity. Following the end of the wars and the establishment of the Kæra Republic after the defeat of the rebels at the cost of the lives of the last Emperor, the Nekomimi population was drastically decreased, further fuelling the feeling that they were outsiders amongst an elven majority.

19th and early 20th centuries

Under the Kæra Republic

Following the creation of the Kæra Republic and the establishment of multi-party democracy, the 'Species Question' became embroiled in the underlying debates which weakened the fledgling democratic, with the struggle between politicians on who would fit within the "community of state" and thereby be granted suffrage. Many still held onto the beliefs of the past, and would fight heavily for limitations on suffrage which led to a system where Nekomimi were barred from the democratic process and economic disparity between the Az'raic dominated cities and the Ry'uk allowed for the overrepresentation of Az'ra in Government. It was in this context that the writer and economist Kel'næ rose to prominence, creating Genetic Advancement Theory, which advocated for the removal of the Ryn'ul in order to form a 'society of coherent community', as well as promoting Eugenics as a way in which to artificially further evolution through selective breeding, as had previously proven effective in plants and domesticated animals. Kel'næ later founded the Az'ra Society in order to progress his goals, acting as the predecessor to today's Purity faction.

Members of the Az'ra society would soon co-opt the Monarchist movement by advocating for a return to the exemption of habeas corpus for all Nekomimi, and the repeal of the progress in rights for non-elves, stating that the Z'rei Monarchy and succeeding Republic was illegitimate, and therefore the laws instituted by those institutions should be opposed by any true Monarchist.