Government[]
The turian government, known as the Turian Hierarchy, is a hierarchical meritocracy. While it has great potential for misuse, this is tempered by the civic duty and personal responsibility turians learn during their childhood.
Turians have 27 citizenship tiers, beginning with civilians (client races and children). The initial period of military service is the second tier. Formal citizenship is conferred at the third tier, after boot camp. For client races, citizenship is granted after the individual musters out. Higher-ranked citizens are expected to lead and protect subordinates. Lower-ranking citizens are expected to obey and support superiors. Promotion to another tier of citizenship is based on the personal assessment of one's superiors and co-rankers. At the top are the Primarchs, who each rule a colonization cluster. The Primarchs vote on matters of national importance. They otherwise maintain a "hands-off" policy, trusting the citizens on each level below them to do their jobs competently.
Throughout their lives, turians ascend to the higher tiers and are occasionally "demoted" to lower ones. The stigma associated with demotion lies not on the individual, but on those who promoted them when they weren't ready for additional responsibility. This curbs the tendency to promote individuals into positions beyond their capabilities. Settling into a role and rank is not considered stagnation. Turians value knowing one's own limitations more than being ambitious.
Turians enjoy broad freedoms. So long as one completes their duties, and does not prevent others from completing theirs, nothing is forbidden. For example, there are no laws against recreational drug use, but if someone is unable to complete their duties due to drug use, their superiors step in. Judicial proceedings are 'interventions.' Peers express their concern, and try to convince the offender to change. If rehabilitation fails, turians have no qualms about sentencing dangerous individuals to life at hard labor for the state.
The Turian Hierarchy has seen respect from several governments across the milkyway. Notably Exon and Sangheilios, both of which have not only had the longest sustained contact with the main Turian government body but have earned their hard earned respect due to the twos heavy militaristic society.
History[]
Unification Wars[]
The Unification War, as it was later named, began with hostilities between the colonies furthest from the turian homeworld, Palaven.
These colonies were run by local chieftains, many of whom had distanced themselves from the Hierarchy. Without the galvanizing influence of the government, the colonies became increasingly isolated and xenophobic. Colonists began wearing emblems or facial markings to differentiate themselves from members of other colonies and open hostilities became common.
When war finally broke out, the Hierarchy maintained strict diplomacy and refused to get involved. After several years of fighting, less than a dozen factions remained and the Hierarchy finally intervened. By that time, the chieftains were too weak to resist; they were forced to put an end to fighting and renew their allegiance to the Hierarchy. Though peace was restored, it took several decades for animosity between colonists to fade completely. To this day, most turians still wear the facial markings of their home colonies.
First contact[]
First contact is made between a newly formed Exon and the Turian hierarchy (both weakened at the time and wary after both leaving wars), after several botched diplomacy attempts due to Exon's ignorance of Turian culture resulted in a short ugly war that proved at first disastrous for Turian ground forces but Exon couldn't sustain a war for long, and resulted in the loss of 2 Exon Colonies before diplomacy was re initiated using Sangheili diplomats. As the two races both showed martial prowess and Exon's ground fighting capabilities during what came to be known as the "LV-314 Incident".
Systems Alliance[]
After several years and a symbiotic relationship relations between the Turians and Exon would somewhat falter, as the Turians would see Exon as a highly instigative like faction that would lead to serious war with another similar super faction NuNs after the CGE was formed. The Turian hierarchy and Sangheili Government would then go to make the Systems Alliance to make several laws directed at the two super factions as a warning against invasion of neutral colony worlds or their own. The two races would go on to make the Citadel.
Military[]
The Turians have what Exon refers to as a "phantom military", meaning that first impressions may seem to hide something much much larger. The Turians have a massive space faring military fleet that isn't entirely impressive per ship, but it makes it up in numbers. The Turians split its fleet evenly throughout its colonies unlike most super factions currently which fleets seemingly base around their home fleets. The Turian ground forces are extremely adept which has earned the respect of the Sangheili for both their tactics and battle prowess.
Culture[]
Turian culture bases heavily off of their martial abilities and the Hierarchy itself. Most dedicating their lives to the Hierarchy. As Turians usually put their needs behind others, as well as heavy emphasis behind self sacrifice and public service. The Turians normally make for terrible entrepreneurs, they do however allow client races in the Hierarchy make up for this such as the Volus or Humans.
Due to the Unification Wars, the Turians still have a emphasis on tattooing themselves to distinguish where they are from. This has rubbed off on Exon, who tattoo/dress differently on where they are from.