>>109644552>And considering that the highest caste seem to be more Genefeder how does that not bleed into the lesser castes more/why aren't the lower castes more up in arms than typical uprisings/moderate unrest about it?The Castes aren't linear like that, more horseshoed. The Copper and Plat have the highest status, but it's in different ways. The Copper are fabulously wealthy and super connected, but the Plats live in (by Aldish standards) opulent luxury from state/church welfare. Bronzes and Souds are actually the lowest castes, with the Bronze being mostly Gefendur. The three castes that get the most out of Ssaelism are the Jet (who are by genetics/culture sourpusses looking to improve the world), Souds (who are downtrodden and the same caste Ssael came from), and Silvers (Who have short life spans but don't have the welfare the Plats do).
As to the second point, because Alderode isn't that bad for most people. Most of Alderode's shittiness comes from its weird culture and the general bizarreness of the setting, not strictly because the Aldish state does anything. Alderode is a republic, and in theory everyone is equal before the government. The state government didn't make Lemuel join the army because Duane went to school, his ghers (essentially a super-extended family, a tribe) did. Sure, the Coppers run the show at the geopolitical level, but then who cares? They're literally bred to do that, just like Plats are bred to be inhumanly good Wrights. The non-Coppers have huge amounts of control over their own lives within their proper spheres.
Also, non-Soud Alds also have innate low-level telepathy (based on spell-capability), so they're really good at working out inter-Ald problems. This is part of why Souds are distrusted, because they can't do this.
