diff --git a/src/lib/data/index.ts b/src/lib/data/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6d05e8c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/data/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+import { parseSpecies, parseCitizenships, parseLanguages } from './parse';
+import citizenshipsXml from '../../../data/citizenships.xml?raw';
+import languagesXml from '../../../data/languages.xml?raw';
+
+const speciesModules = import.meta.glob('../../../data/species/*.xml', {
+	query: '?raw',
+	import: 'default',
+	eager: true
+});
+
+export const species = Object.values(speciesModules).map((xml) => parseSpecies(xml as string));
+export const citizenships = parseCitizenships(citizenshipsXml);
+export const languages = parseLanguages(languagesXml);
diff --git a/src/lib/data/parse.ts b/src/lib/data/parse.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eaac11d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/data/parse.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+import { XMLParser } from 'fast-xml-parser';
+import type { SpeciesData, CitizenshipData, LanguageData } from './types';
+import type { Template, RecordDef, FieldDef, SelectOption } from '../types';
+
+const parser = new XMLParser({
+	ignoreAttributes: false,
+	attributeNamePrefix: '@_',
+	isArray: (name) => ['entry', 'ref', 'field', 'record', 'option', 'citizenship', 'language'].includes(name),
+	trimValues: true
+});
+
+function extractRefs(container: any): string[] {
+	if (!container?.ref) return [];
+	return container.ref.map((r: any) => r['@_id']);
+}
+
+export function parseSpecies(xml: string): SpeciesData {
+	const root = parser.parse(xml).species;
+	const subspecies = root.subspecies?.entry ?? [];
+
+	return {
+		id: root['@_id'],
+		name: root['@_name'],
+		description: root.description.trim(),
+		subspeciesLabel: root['@_subspeciesLabel'],
+		languages: extractRefs(root.languages),
+		citizenships: extractRefs(root.citizenships),
+		subspecies: subspecies.map((e: any) => ({
+			id: e['@_id'],
+			name: e['@_name'],
+			description: e.description.trim()
+		}))
+	};
+}
+
+export function parseCitizenships(xml: string): CitizenshipData[] {
+	const root = parser.parse(xml).citizenships;
+	return root.citizenship.map((c: any) => ({
+		id: c['@_id'],
+		name: c['@_name'],
+		description: c.description?.trim()
+	}));
+}
+
+export function parseLanguages(xml: string): LanguageData[] {
+	const root = parser.parse(xml).languages;
+	return root.language.map((l: any) => ({
+		id: l['@_id'],
+		name: l['@_name'],
+		description: l.description.trim()
+	}));
+}
+
+function slugify(label: string): string {
+	return label.toLowerCase().replace(/[^a-z0-9]+/g, '-').replace(/(^-|-$)/g, '');
+}
+
+function parseOptions(field: any): SelectOption[] {
+	if (!field.option) return [];
+	return field.option.map((o: any) => ({
+		value: o['@_value'],
+		label: o['@_label']
+	}));
+}
+
+function parseField(raw: any): FieldDef {
+	const base = {
+		key: slugify(raw['@_label']),
+		label: raw['@_label']
+	};
+	const type = raw['@_type'];
+
+	switch (type) {
+		case 'text':
+		case 'textarea':
+		case 'date':
+			return { ...base, type, placeholder: raw['@_placeholder'] };
+		case 'list':
+		case 'height':
+		case 'weight':
+		case 'species':
+		case 'subspecies':
+		case 'citizenship':
+		case 'languages':
+			return { ...base, type };
+		case 'number':
+			return {
+				...base,
+				type,
+				min: raw['@_min'] != null ? Number(raw['@_min']) : undefined,
+				max: raw['@_max'] != null ? Number(raw['@_max']) : undefined,
+				unit: raw['@_unit']
+			};
+		case 'select':
+		case 'multi-select':
+		case 'checkbox':
+			return { ...base, type, options: parseOptions(raw) };
+		default:
+			return { ...base, type: 'text' };
+	}
+}
+
+export function parseTemplate(xml: string, id: string): Template {
+	const root = parser.parse(xml).template;
+
+	const records: RecordDef[] = root.record.map((r: any) => ({
+		type: r['@_type'],
+		expanded: r['@_expanded'] === 'true',
+		preamble: r.preamble?.trim(),
+		fields: r.field.map(parseField)
+	}));
+
+	return {
+		id,
+		name: root['@_name'],
+		description: root.description ?? '',
+		schemaVersion: Number(root['@_schemaVersion'] ?? 1),
+		records
+	};
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/data/types.ts b/src/lib/data/types.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..da92d87
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/data/types.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+export interface SpeciesData {
+	id: string;
+	name: string;
+	description: string;
+	subspeciesLabel: string;
+	subspecies: { id: string; name: string; description: string }[];
+	languages: string[];
+	citizenships: string[];
+}
+
+export interface CitizenshipData {
+	id: string;
+	name: string;
+	description?: string;
+}
+
+export interface LanguageData {
+	id: string;
+	name: string;
+	description: string;
+}