Kex is a nation built on the theological premise that hierarchy is the foundational truth of the universe. Its citizens believe that all beings have a natural place relative to one another, determined by worth and power, and that this order reflects divine will. The nation venerates Malabolous, god of order and hierarchy, and is culturally aligned with devil worship — specifically the Nine Hells model of absolute hierarchical order.
Kex is expansionist in ambition, constantly eyeing neighboring Teorainn for conquest, and is heavily involved in technology, manufacturing, and finance. Despite its nominally democratic government, it functions as a theocratic hierarchy in practice.
The Height Doctrine
Height is a status marker in Kex society. Taller individuals receive social deference. Short individuals — including Kex citizens of shorter stature — face internal scrutiny and pressure. The hierarchy polices itself through whispered social surveillance.
Kex theology holds that certain ancestries — halflings, dwarves, goblins, gnomes, and others of short stature — are inherently inferior beings, destined and deserving of servitude:
“If they were not destined and suited only for picking the fields, why did Malabolous make them so close to the ground?”
Chattel slavery of short-statured peoples is legal, normalized, and theologically endorsed. Plantation agriculture is a significant economic sector. Slaveholders understand themselves to be maintaining divine order, not committing cruelty.
Social Culture
A common insult in Kex dialect reveals the system’s internal anxiety:
“I figli dei tuoi schiavi sembrano sospettosamente alti…” (“The children of your slaves look suspiciously tall…”)
This implies illicit mixing across the hierarchy — a grave social violation. Its existence reveals that the system knows it is unstable and polices the instability through shame.
The War of Dominion
Fifty years ago (circa 1070 4E), Kex prosecuted the War of Dominion — a military campaign that included the sacking and ritual desecration of Noureddine, the holy city of Ronahiya. The war culminated in the Ritual of Sundered Day, which killed combatants on both sides and resurrected them as undead, creating the cursed megadungeon that now occupies the ruins.
The city’s destruction was understood by Kex as a military and theological victory — the subordination of a rival divine order to Malabolous’s hierarchy.