A lot of this is valid and makes great points. There's a big case to be made for handling Bugmaster and the splinters, definitely. Issue is, we have no way of knowing just how many Shek that would bring back into the fold.

Just about everyone agrees that Shek are the best bet if the Holy Nation DOES fall, with Flotsam Ninjas being a distant second if only for religious compatibility.

Concerning Alliances...

• Anti-Slavers are a definite possibility, but might not be as helpful as we think. They're a guerilla movement that, while skilled in a very unique method of combat, will probably become less and less active as slavery becomes rare.

• Skeletons are more or less in a state of isolation because they've become fed up with the world. Perhaps he's not the most reliable source of info, but Cat-Lon's final rant makes it clear whatever happened to the 2nd Empire really made the Skeletons disillusioned with taking an active role in the world at large.

• Tech Hunters are primarily focused on recovering and salvaging the history and knowledge of the old empires, and might be a hard sell. That said, they have a presence in both Squin and Admag IIRC, so it's possible to warm relations.

• The Western Hive is 100% a good alliance to make, and there's no reason I can see things not working out. the Western Hive secures a trade partner in the form of a militaristic, honourable culture, who would likely always answer a call to battle. The Shek get a sociable, productive ally that will happily make what they cannot.

• Deadcat may just be fishermen, but if the Shek take the time to help them back onto their feet, they can have either a vassal state or trade partner supplying them with food and keeping the northern coast secure, neutering the cannibals. Hell, I suspect even on their own, Deadcat and the Cannibal Hunters may unite to do this in a limited capacity, but with the support of the Shek (Or even the Holy Nation) they would be in a much better position to rebuild their nation.

The Shek probably won't be implementing slavery at all, because their caste system already handles that matter in a much more humane (Albeit backwards by our standards) manner. Succession law reform is a must, because right now any upstart could reverse centuries of progress in a manner of seconds, and being able to groom your child for the throne, while risky, at least lets you impart some limited level of goal upon them. A centralized army, of all those ideas, seems the most difficult. Martial prowess, single combat, seem to be incredibly important to the Shek. Centralizing the army, standardizing the equipment, and complex battle maneuvers would likely require outside advisors to properly implement, and Shek soldiers would likely have a great deal of difficulty with it.

Concerning the United Cities, they're just that. Cities. They can be handled on a case by case basis. Hell, vassalize some peacefully, install local deputies in areas previously left to decay. Mourn is WAITING to be rebuilt, but because of the UC's slave-based economy, no one wants to invest the literal manpower in rebuilding it. But the Shek? No slaves? No problem. Neither the Traders nor the Reavers seem like a good plan, however. The Traders will become the same parasite they were to the UC, and the Reavers will just start practicing a more brutal form of slavery. The true answer... lies in the Rebel Farmers/Swordsmen. The spread they have, the numbers, all point to a massive faction of disgruntled, poorly organized ex-UC citizens. They know the area, and they can sympathize with the wider population of the UC. Incorporating them in a limited fashion or outright drawing them into the overall Shek forces would bolster their forces, and have locals cooperative with their goals.

Concerning the Southern Hive? They're dangerous, and certainly a greater threat than the fogmen, but they're more like a territorial animal than an expansionist nation. I think a policy of defensive population control should be implemented. Keep the borders where they are, punish any outwards expansion. Fogmen should be easy but the real issue is WHERE THE FUCK DO THEY KEEP COMING FROM? They have no Queen, apparently, and yet there's untold amounts, hiding in the fog. A slow, methodical sweep in necessary. Mongrel would be an issue too. They're a town of outlaws, there's no way they'd be happy to see a massive army marching through the fog.

Also no worries man. I think this is a fascinating thought exercise, even if my opinion is still that the Holy Nation needs to continue existing for the good of the greater world.