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All Countries
General
- All Nations Are Superpowers: Due to Forma being much bigger than Earth, all small countries in Forma are actually quite big in Earth. For example, the small country of Corvus in Forma is massive on Earth and covers almost all of Germany, all of Denmark, most of Austria, Czechia, and Croatia, and parts of Northern Italy. A document here
shows the size comparisons between Forman countries and Earth countries. - Common Tongue: Librae (English). Every nation in Forma speaks or at least knows Librae. Even Riaa, a Centauran country up north and far away from the influences of Libra, speaks Librae as a second language.
- Conscription: It is said that most nations in Centaura other than Aquila practice conscription, with Antares attempting to make it more palatable and attractive by stating that being conscripted is a huge honor in Antarean society.
- Fantasy Counterpart Religion: While in the Centaura lore there is a unique religion known as "Astranism'' which is where people will believe in the god of a specific constellation their country is based on, the other religion known as "Unism" which is a monotheistic religion that believes only one God created the whole universe, Forma, and all living creatures is clearly based on Christianity.
- Fictional Flag: All countries in Forma have their own flag, although due to the lore being work in progress, some nations don't have flags just yet.
- Fantastic Racism: While racism does exist and is certainly not unheard of in Forma (for example, there are cases of white people or "Shiners" in more non-white areas being discriminated against in said areas than if they were in white areas) it is more nuanced than Earth, with the level of racism differing from person to person rather than it being culturally instilled. People in Forma usually discriminate a person based on xenophobia and their country rather than their skin tone.
- Multicultural Alien Planet: The countries in Forma have their own cultures that may or may not be based on their astranist religion, such as the Corvun's dedication to the Crows and the god Corvus or the Cetan's love for the sea and their attempt to cross the Inanis Ocean due to their religion.
- Opposing Combat Philosophies: Various countries in Forma have different ways to wage war, sometimes willingly or unwillingly and sometimes due to natural advantages, and Centaura is no exception, arguably showing the most prominent examples.
- In the Southern Corvus War, Cetus with it's powerful navy but weak and small army relied mostly on defensive warfare and trenches while also using naval ships whenever they fought near the coast to bombard the Corvun troops.
- On the other hand, Corvus has a very weak navy but compensates for having a much larger army than Cetus and having the advantage of better soldiers as many of them grew up surviving in the lawless and brutal cities and used survival skills for war. They were also highly motivated and vengeful for what they perceived as Cetus ruining their lives for their own gain.
- Aquila does not have a strong naval presence due being mostly landlocked (with an exception of a small area to the ocean) but focuses on a small but well-trained and stubborn all-volunteer army known as the "Iron Army", with the Aquilans mastering defensive warfare but otherwise lacking and not being as well developed in offensive warfare. Such defensive warfare is seen with their "Ring of Fire", a huge line of fortifications, field guns, and other elements designed to prevent full on offensives from being too powerful and slowing them down, allowing the Aquilans to beat them back. They also compensate for their small numbers by making volunteers go through tough and grueling training sessions to be more effective soldiers.
- Antares is a very militaristic country that enforces conscription and teaches people that serving in the military is a great honor. Thus, their military is very mighty with a large body of men ready to don a uniform. What is unique to Antares compared to other armies in Centaura however, is their innovation and speed. Antares learns from previous wars and uses that information for future wars to try and get better victories, as well as using troops from conquered nations to support them. Antares' army is also shown to be very fast paced and swift with armored units to quickly defeat nations in war, which is so successful that it conquered Aquila, Vega, and Grusa all in 7 years. Another example of innovation by Antares is shown with the Sweeper units; while these were being abandoned by various nations due to trench warfare (an area that Sweepers specialized in) becoming obsolete, Antares repurposed their Sweeper units to work alongside Assault units in regular battles, seeing much success in urban warfare where close quarters combat was common.
- Vega's abundant amount of iron means they can invest more technology into their army, such as having steel plates for their infantrymen, stronger armor plates for their tanks, and even planes.
- Theme Naming: All countries in Forma except Riaa are named after constellations or stars of constellations. This is explained in universe as Forma actually sees the constellations as those on Earth do and the Libran Empire (essentially Forma's Roman Empire) that conquered all of Forma named various countries after these constellations, likely based on what constellation or star was on the country.
Antares Imperium
General
Antares before it started its massive conquest
Antarean 1906 Standard uniform
Used in the Cetan, Aquilan, and Vegan campaigns
Antarean 1906 Officer uniform
Used in the Cetan, Aquilan, and Vegan campaigns
Though already quite a mighty and well-known empire during the early 1900s, by the 1940s Antares was a continental empire that ruled all of Centaura alongside its three puppet states. Antares was originally split up into 4 separate states, that being Scorpius, Norma, Ara, and Lupus. They united in the 13th century and have been ruled by the Tau dynasty ever since. During the 1900s, Antares was a semi-constitutional monarchy, although by then it was de-facto replaced by a royal dictatorship.
Antares had a strong military culture and an ultimate goal first envisioned by Emperor Kalvin Tau to conquer the entirety of Centaura (and expanded by Aran to include all of Forma) and end the concept of war altogether. Thus, they fought brutal wars in Centaura, the Libran Ocean, and some parts of Hydrus before being defeated by Orion, the Hydrus Commonwealth, and Libra, cutting up Antares into the four states it was once in.
- Animal Motifs: Scorpions. The Antarean flag was designed to resemble a scorpion's pincers, and the flag is also colored red, yellow, dark orange, and dark beige, which are common colors of Scorpions. Notably, Antares' most revered god is Scorpius, who is considered to be the strongest god in Astranism and is no doubt why Antares is so dedicated to military excellence and culture.
- The biggest and likely most influential state of the four that united into Antares was named Scorpius. When Antares lost the Forman War and was split into the four states once again, the dominant state seemed to be Scorpius as well.
- Badass Army: It conquered Aquila, it's traditional enemy, in just 2 years (while having just recently invaded Cetus) during the Centauran Wars and then conquered Vega and Grusa in 5. Then it conquered, Columba, Tucana, Centauri, and Riaa, the largest country in Centaura. While the army were not as quick to defeat Columba and Riaa during their respective campaigns, they at least had the fortitude and endurance to even go on to defeat them, as they could have easily given up or lost.
- Balkanize Me: After Antares lost the Forman War and all of their conquered territories, Orion and its allies basically forced Antares to split into its original 4 states, presumably to weaken and punish the Antareans for extensive warring and violence.
- Big Bad: Antares is clearly meant to be the ultimate nation in Centaura, as they appear in every campaign and chronological battle (excluding the early Corvun-Cetan battles) and also fulfil this role in the sequel Dead Ahead. Indeed, they do manage to conquer all of Centaura after decades of war.
- Conscription: Like many other nations in Centaura, Antares practices conscription, taking an extra step by claiming to its citizens that serving and donning a uniform is a huge honor in Antarean society. They even upped the alley in this lane as due to the high casualties sustained in the Columban campaign and more troops needed to conquer Riaa, they started conscripting UKM (Upperclassmen in the Union of Antarean Youth) starting from the age of 17! Even though they served mostly back-line roles due to them being students, they eventually started being sent to the battle without consideration for their academic status by the mid-Columban campaign due to aforementioned casualties.
- Chameleon Camouflage: Due to their dark grey uniforms, they blend perfectly with the night sky in Ascendēns Forest, which is a major advantage as they can leap out of the trenches and then jump and clean up enemies with the club/sabre or simply snipe away. Of course, it is not entirely foolproof, as the Aquilans can do the same and periodically, flares will be shot up that illuminates all those above the trenches. And then there is the machine gun fire that will mow them when the flare is up.
- Classical Tongue: Although Antares mostly speaks Librae, due to Antares' proximity to Libra (whose main language is Old Librae or Latin) parts of southern and southeast Antares can speak Old Librae, with Antareans there even mixing both languages.
- Elite Army: Despite their large numbers, the military doesn't seem to plagued with ineffective and/or poorly trained soldiers, as they're said to be well-trained and appear to be well-equipped as well. The military culture Antares has seems to help out quite a lot too. Notably, an Army ranking tier list in 1908 in the discord server puts Antares as number two, just behind Riaa, which pretty much confirms their elite status.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: The most elite soldiers that Antares has are the Shokk Divisions. They serve as multi-purpose combat units alongside being more skilled than regular soldiers, paired with unrivaled aggressiveness and stubbornness. They also serve as the spearheads for any infantry attack. Despite their skill and their advantage of having access to more better equipment, their numbers are very low as the training for a soldier is very rigorous. In Centaura, Shokk troopers are expected to appear in the Columban and Riaan campaigns, the latter fighting another elite unit known as the Riaan Republican Guard.
- Early-Bird Cameo: They appear in the sequel Dead Ahead (which released before Centaura) as a part of the Atoll gamemode (now removed), where they're tasked with capturing bunkers and strongholds against Orion defenders. Now they will reappear in Centaura in more appearances and in a more older style.
- Fictional Combat Troop: The Shokk troopers may be inspired on the German stormtroopers in WW1, not least because they were considered spearheads for attacks and their aggressiveness and skill.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Antares militarily is based upon both Japan and Germany from both World Wars. In fact, the chest rigs on early Antarean uniforms are based on those of the German Schuztruppe (African troops in WW1) and Antares' bolt-action rifle, the E/VIII, looks like and is based on the Type 38 Arisaka rifle used by Imperial Japan in both World Wars.
- Irony: In Greek mythology, Zeus' hunter named Orion has two alternative deaths, one of them being killed by a scorpion who would later become Scorpius. In Forma, Orion, alongside all of the other Hydran nations and Libra, defeat Antares completely in the Forman War.
- Nicknaming the Enemy: On the receiving end. Opponents of Antares, especially those in Hydra, rudely refer to Antareans as "Ants".
- Proud Warrior Race: As mentioned above, military service is considered a huge honor in Antares, accompanied by mandatory military service. Thus, many Antareans are proud to serve in the military. Undoubtedly, Antares is a militaristic juggernaut that conquered Centaura in a few decades through innovation and speed.
- Scorpion People: Not literally, but Antares' god is "Skorpius", who is widely revered in Antares, so it technically counts.
- Take Over the World: In the lore, Antares' final goal is to ultimately conquer the entirety of Forma, much like the ancient Libran Empire. The motivations are different however, with Antares' reason ultimately stemming from Emperor Kalvin Tau. He was sickened of the concept of war and was aware that war would always occur due to political and ideological differences and the various countries' needs to constantly expand their borders. He decided that if Antares conquered the entirety of Centaura, then there would be no more concept of war and there would be peace. When Kalvin died and Aran replaced him, he expanded that concept to include ALL of Forma and not just Centaura.
- Token Minority: Unlike the other Centauran countries, Antares recruits black soldiers (and players can randomly spawn in as one in-game). Antareans having black soldiers while the other countries don't is justified in-universe as Antares is close to the black-dominated Libra, so there are much more people of color in the lands of Antares compared to other countries. There also appears to be no racial discrimination in terms of progression as black officers appear in game.
- This Means War!: On two occasions:
- Corvus asking Antares for help in defeating Cetus in exchange for assimilating peacefully results in them starting their plans to conquer all of Centaura and invading Cetus soon after.
- After an incident occurred where an Orion representative had killed a few Antarean counterparts before committing suicide angers the Antarean government and sees this as an excuse to declare war on Orion who are later backed by the Hydran Commonwealth, Musca, and Auriga, causing the Forman War to occur.
- The Assimilator: In order to "Antareanize" conquered territories, the Union of Antarean Youth was formed in 1919 to indoctrinate children in Vega, Cetus, and Aquila and teach them about Antarean culture and history, hoping they would be the next generation to lead Antares and live in unity. Only foreign children could join the UAY, as those born in Antares attended regular schools instead. The UAY was split between the 12-16 years old lowerclassmen (LKM) and the 17-20 years old upperclassmen (UKM), both living separately. Uniquely, girls and boys were both taught the same skills regardless of gender, meaning boys had to learn activities that may have been considered suitable for girls only (sewing, domestic, work, etc.) and girls similarly had to participate in masculine activities (hunting, camping, etc.). This helped for boys who fought in the Centauran and Forman Wars as they would find the girly activities they learnt useful in the field such as for suturing wounds or repairing tents.
- The Empire: A continental empire at that. Unfortunately for them, after they lose the Forman War, they crumble into 4 small states.
- Theme Naming: Antares is the brightest star in the Scorpius constellation. Notably, its three puppet states, Skorpii Corvus, Grusii, and Riaa have "Skorpii" in it, which is almost certainly a reference to the constellation itself. Antares was also the rival to Ares, who was the God of War, so Centauran Antares' military culture and prowess may be due to this reference.
- Antarean weapons also have theme to them, as they all start with the code "E/" (E meaning Exemplar) along with its presume year of creation, unlike other nations.
- The four states, Norma, Lupus, Ara, and Scorpius are all named according to their constellations. It seems Scorpius was the dominant state before they unified and thus Antares based itself on them the most, as shown with Antares' most revered god being Scorpius and their flag and emblem being based on a scorpion's claws.
- The Squadette: Unlike other nations in Forma, Antares is noticeably inclusive of women in terms of the military, as by the Grusan campaign, the Antarean military starts to allow women to join all branches of the military. For comparison, the Hydrus Commonwealth, which is considered the most progressive nation in Forma, only allows women to join the navy and not any other branch.
Kalvin Tau
The Emperor of Antares during the early Centauran Wars and the father of Aran and Andrew Tau, the former succeeding Kalvin. He fought in the Aquilan-Antarean War before his reign in 1875, and saw how horrific war truly was, becoming traumatized by the war. This caused him to despise war and its concept, and wanted to find a way to create eternal peace for Forma to prevent all wars from ever happening again and vowed to get revenge on humanity for simply accepting eternal wars in Forma. In his mind, the only way to end war was through war. His plan was to invade all of Centaura in order to instill this peace.
During the Southern Corvus War in late 1911, Kalvin received a message by the Corvuns asking for help in taking down Cetus in exchange for being peacefully assimilated under Antares. He saw it as an opportunity to finally start his plan and accepted the offer, invading Cetus soon after. He then invaded Aquila, Vega, and Grusa in succession, although he failed to conquer Columba as fast as his previous campaigns. He passed away in 1927 before the Columban campaign ended and was succeeded by Aran Tau, who continued on his father's plan, albeit expanding it to include all of Forma as well.
- All for Nothing: In the end, his plans for peace under one ideology never occurred as Antares lost the Forman War, had all of its former territories liberated, and got split into its original 4 separate states.
- Benevolent Boss: Notably, Kalvin was a very kind and respectful man and ruled over Antares benevolently. During the Centauran War, he ensured that each nation conquered by Antares was well treated and void of mostly any mistreatment by Antarean soldiers and officers, even creating the official "Kalvin's order" to make sure that every soldier and officer followed this principle closely. Punishments were also given out to those who disobeyed this order.
- Martial Pacifist: While he is a pacifist at heart, creating his own order for the army to treat conquered lands and people with high respect and wanting to end the concept of war entirely, he knows that his goal will never happen without warfare and conquering, so he starts the Centauran War for that reason alone. Even then, he wants the conquerors to be respectful and treat the conquered territories well and with little to no violence.
- The Conqueror: While he never succeeded in conquering Centaura as he passed away before he could, he still did gain a sizeable amount of land, including Aquila, Vega, and Grusa.
- The Emperor: His actual title in Antares, which definitely fits him.
- The Good King: Or Good Emperor rather. While we do not know what Antareans thought of his rule and himself, we can tell he was a kind and just king that did not want unnecessary damage or violence to occur in territories the Antarean Army had conquered, and this certainly would have helped build a high reputation.
- Take Over the World: Downplayed. He didn't want to take control of the whole of Forma, which was a sensible choice he made, but rather he wanted to take over all of Centaura and ensure peace and order was maintained in the continent.
Aran Tau
The Emperor of Antares during the Centauran and Forman Wars and the one who expanded his empire to dominate the Centauran continent. He was the older brother of Andrew Tau by 8 years and the oldest son of Kalvin Tau. He became the Emperor in 1927 at the age of 42 after his father had passed. He was quite paranoid of outside influences, especially the Orion Republic and the other Hydran nations. To solidify essentially a royal dictatorship, he appointed Andrew as the head of parliament and placed his children into the military, thus giving him nearly unlimited political power in Antares. After hearing about his daughter's death at the hands of the Riaans, he was enraged and accelerated his military campaign of Riaa, defeating them in 1940. After conquered Tucana and Centauri, he had finally ended the Centauran Wars and conquered all of Centaura. Despite this, he wanted to include all of Forma, so he did not yet finish the goal.
Already anxious with Orion's growing power, he conspired with the Ursan Federation to pacify and take over the Hydran nations, initiating a war that would transpire into the events of Dead Ahead.
- Didn't Think This Through: While Kalvin simply wanted to conquer all of Centaura for his plans of peace (which Aran completed), Aran expanded that to include all of Forma as well. What he didn't think about was that Antares was already extremely exhausted from decades of warfare and could not possibly and successfully have conducted another continental campaign that would have taken more time to complete. Additionally, both Orion and the Hydran Commonwealth had large and remarkable armies and navies, certainly giving Antares more pressure when they tried to conquer Hydra. Ultimately, that causes Antares to lose the Forman War and have their empire crumble and turned into 4 different states after Centaura is liberated.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: When he heard Maya had been killed in action by the Riaans, he became extremely angry and upset, causing him to accelerate the Riaan campaign to avenge his daughter's death, surely causing a lot more casualties for Antareans, Riaans, and Corvuns alike.
- Like Father, Unlike Son: In contrast to his father, Aran was much more militaristic and aggressive in the Centauran and Forman Wars, as while he decided to continue his father's goal, he expanded it much more than his father had planned by including all of Forma. He also did not bother to keep enforcing Kalvin's order after he became Emperor, resulting in mostly new Antarean recruits showing less respectful and reasonable treatment of the newly conquered territories but more aggression and violence that saw even children mercilessly killed in the process.
- The Conqueror: His domination of the Centaura which he continued from his father's actions that caused the Centauran Wars makes him a continental conqueror, although he was restless and continued on to Hydra as an expansion of his father's original goal.
- The Emperor: His actual title which certainly fits for him as his entire empire controls the biggest continent in Forma.
- The Paranoiac: He was very paranoid and anxious about the countries in Hydra, especially the Orion Republic, as it could match Antares when working together with the other Hydran countries.
Andrew Tau
The younger brother of Aran Tau, he was the Head of the Supreme Council, essentially Antares' highest political body. He served from 1927 until 1961, but retook it in the same year. He was appointed to the position by his brother in order to establish a royal dictatorship of Antares, as it was a constitutional monarchy by law. Although he had different ideas and views than his brother, he kept those quiet as he feared being executed or imprisoned by Aran as a traitor and pretty much agreed with everything he said. After Antares was conquered by Orion, Andrew was tried in an Orion court for the same crimes as his brother, but Kaden, as the ruler of the new state of Scorpius, intervened and was pardoned. He then continued on to serve as an advisor to Kaden.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: The reason Kaden pardoned Andrew was because he treated Kaden with respect unlike his father and sister. Notably, Andrew continues to work for Kaden after his pardon, showing he appreciates being saved by him.
- The Consigliere: As the Head of the Supreme Council, he serves as Aran's top advisor and government official, although in reality all he does is just agree with what Aran says.
- Yes-Man: While his ideas and views are contrasting to his brother Aran, he does not openly share them and just agrees with whatever his brother says out of fear of being executed or imprisoned as a traitor.
Kaden Tau
The son of Emperor Aran Tau and the heir to the Antarean throne, born in 1908. He joined the Antarean Imperial Army at the rank of Lieutenant II, albeit reluctantly as his father pressured him to join the army to strength their loyalty to the Emperor like his sister Maya did with the navy. After Columba was defeated in 1933, he was promoted to Lieutenant I and in charge of a company, leading them to the Antarean campaign of Riaa, his first taste of combat. He lost almost his entire company, leading him with trauma and stress throughout his life.
After Antares lost the Forman War and was split up into its original 4 states, he became the leader of the state of Scorpius which he was unprepared for. Due to a combination of this alongside his PTSD and stress, he committed suicide, but not before left a note reading "Mankind will not change".
- Ensign Newbie: He was promoted to replace a company commander who was killed in action when he hadn't even seen any combat until the Riaan campaign.
- Trauma Conga Line: His experiences in Riaa truly haunts him as not only did most of his squad get vaporized in the war, but he saw the brutal treatment of Riaan citizens by Antarean soldiers and officers. This causes him to develop PTSD and even have no reaction upon hearing about his sister's death.
- Last of His Kind: If Andrew did not have any children or if there were no other Tau relatives and family, then Kaden's death without any children meant that the Tau dynasty ended with him.
- Warrior Prince: He joined the army in order to strength the Antarean Imperial Army's loyalty to the Emperor (unwilling), similar to what Maya had done (although not what she intended to do) for the navy. He is understandably hesitant to even be in the army in the first place and is very much stressed throughout the Riaan campaign.
- Young and in Charge: Given he's the heir to the throne, he already has some leadership responsibilities to begin with, but one of his earliest is in the army leading an infantry company where he could die at anytime and not succeed the throne.
Maya Tau
The daughter and oldest child of Emperor Aran Tau, born in 1906. Although the oldest, Aran wanted a son to be his heir, so he sidelined her for Kaden once he was born. This led her to be jealous of Kaden and caused her to annoy and pick on him for being supposedly quite weak-willed and lacking in ambition. She also tried to get her father's attention and prove she could be better than Kaden so she could be the heir instead of him. When she was 23, due to her life long interest in the navy, she joined the Antares Armada. Although Aran disliked the idea of her daughter going into combat, he realized it could solidify the navy's loyalty to him, so he accepted it. As Maya rose up their ranks, her ego grew more and more, believing she was intellectually superior to lower ranks and even to officers around her rank. After being promoted in 1936 to Kommander after a great victory in the Annulus Sea and then to Kaptain, she was killed in 1938 by a Riaan fighter plane.
- Academia Elitism: She believed she was smarter than the lower ranks in the navy and even to naval officers near her rank.
- Big Ego, Hidden Depths: Maya definitely has a huge ego, but she is not an unskilled naval officer, as she held a pretty high rank in the navy (Kaptain) and earned it after a great victory in the Annulus Sea. It was likely the rest of her promotions were due to merit or for service.
- Boyish Short Hair: Her hair isn't masculine short but it is definitely shorter than most girls.
- Killed Offscreen: Her death is likely not going to seen on-screen given the game is mostly about land battles.
- The Captain: Unfortunately the last rank she held before she was killed by a Riaan pilot.
- The Squadette: Although likely not the only female officer in the Antares Armada, she is certainly one of the most well-known and possibly feared, as her ego could have affected her leadership.
- Posthumous Character: Interestingly, while she is never seen (and likely will not be) in Centaura, she was killed off-screen during the Riaan campaign.
- Strong Family Resemblance: With her mother Anna. They both have short hair and Maya even has her sort of glare in older artwork.
- Warrior Prince: She joined the navy due to her lifelong interest in the navy, apparently not for any other important reason. This makes her different to Kaden who did not want to join the army at all. Due to her status as the oldest child of the Tau family, she also helped to boost loyalty to the Tau family and the Emperor.
Cassius
The titular protagonist of the short story CASSIUS
. He is a machine gunner in the Antarean Imperial Army during the Columban campaign alongside his ammo bearer named Kaelius.- Berserk Button: His nickname "Sassy". When Kaelius calls him Sassy, he immediately tells her not to call him that in a raised voice.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Due to his unique name, a name with a hard K sound yet not being spelt as a K (in Antarean Librae, all words with Cs that have a hard K sound are spelt with a K), his squad leader Porter ends up just calling him "Sassy" jokingly, a nickname he immediately detests.
- Hero with a Unique Name: While the "C" in Cassius is a hard K, meaning it would be spelt as a K in Antarean Librae, his parents apparently just named him as Cassius with a C with no particular reason to it.
- Meaningful Name: Cassius in Latin means "vain" or "empty", which his personality certainly feels like at times. Cassius is also derived from the Latin word "Cassis", or helmet, which is what he wears as a soldier.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: When squad mate Davis is with Cassius in chow line, he whispers to him about his "little girlfriend", that being Kaelius. Cassius ends up saying this trope verbatim.
Kaelius
The deuteragonist of the short story CASSIUS
. She is an 18 year old ammo-bearer for Cassius, being quite inexperienced and new to combat.- Bookworm: She always reads a specific novel throughout the short story, even just before they get into position to await a conflict with Columban soldiers.
- Meaningful Name: Kaelius (or Caelius) means "heaven" in Latin, which could be a contrast to Cassius being vain or empty. Their names also share an "us" sound near the end.
- Prim and Proper Bun: Kaelius is described by Cassius as having black hair "neatly tied back in a bun". Indeed, Cassius assumes that she comes from a middle-class family due to her being unused to drinking potato stew without a spoon and questioning how she would eat the potatoes without spoons.
- Sliding Scale of Gender Inequality: Around level 5 or so, as no one in her squad really hates or likes her, treating her as just another soldier. However, we do see one soldier passing by call her a "whore" under his breath, although only Cassius seems to notice, with Kaelius not.
- The Squadette: The only woman in her squad.
Corvus Confederation (Skorpii Corvus)
General
Corvun Army Standard uniform
Uniform during the Southern Corvus War
Corvun Army Officer uniform
Uniform during the Southern Corvus War
A developing nation in the western part of Centaura, the Corvus Confederation's (led chiefly by the House of Khorin) territory was a peninsular rump state that was formed after the southern territories were annexed by Cetus. Before the annexations, Corvus' ideals and political beliefs were similar to Antares' and had a de-facto alliance that the Confederation only strengthened when Anna Khorin married the future Antarean Emperor Aran Tau
In 1886, the prosperous region of Southern Corvus was annexed forcibly by Cetus who required it for their grand plans of strengthening the navy and found trading too costly. As most Corvun cities in the south relied on electricity in Southern Corvus, this caused pandemonium and blackouts throughout the cities, as well as food shortages and inflation. These cities bred new men which the Corvun Army command believed they could use for the army, and thus the army numbers skyrocketed. After receiving intel that the Cetan Army was weak and unprepared, Corvus invaded Cetus in 1908, starting the Southern Corvus War.
While making gains from 1908 to 1910, they hit a roadblock and both sides were in a stalemate focused around trench warfare. While chlorine gas used in deadly numbers worked to push back the Cetans, they were still hard to fend off, so Corvus requested the aid of Antares in exchange for being assimilated peacefully. The Antareans agreed and defeated Cetus by 1912, with Corvus expectedly being assimilated into Antares as well. They would continue to support Antares in the wars against Riaa and Columba as Skorpii Corvus.
- Army of Thieves and Whores: Considering the state of Corvus in the 2 decades between the annexation of southern Corvus and the start of the Southern Corvus War, it is no wonder the army has a bunch of criminals and poor men in their ranks. In fact, when the army was sent in to police the cities during chaos, they themselves could not stop the criminals and other illegal activities as the army men also suffered under poverty and the effects of criminal activity and lifestyles. On the other hand, their motivation and hatred towards the Cetans for their presumption that they caused them to be under poverty and be a criminal means they're pretty good soldiers in the Southern Corvus War.
- Bird People: Surprisingly literal, at least religiously, as Corvuns consider themselves to be the descendants of the god Corvus who took on the form of a large raven. Crows are also naturally a part of the Corvun astranist religion, being considered messengers of Corvus.
- Deadly Gas: To break the brutal stalemates occurring in 1910, the Corvuns decided to use chlorine gas in hopes of breaking through Cetan defense. While used in the cities for sanitation, it proved devastating when repurposed as a weapon, especially since the Cetans had no counters to it at the time. However, the Cetans soon developed gas masks and filters to protect against chlorine gas, although the gas had already dealt huge amounts of damage to the Cetans, losing lots of territory. A representation of fighting in the chlorine gas occurred in Kelson Village in 1911.
- Human Sacrifice: According to Corvun religion, Corvuns had to conduct a ritual known as "Pascation". The god Corvus needed live sacrifices to eat in order to know that their descendants (the Corvuns) still appreciated and cared for them, hence why this was done. The ones who would eat the corpses — the crows — were considered messengers of Corvus and directly connected to them spiritually. Interestingly, Corvuns could only sacrifice those who were of honor; that is, someone who had fulfilled their goals and role while living. While this was loosely interpreted by the Corvuns, it eventually came to mean solely military personnel, as this role was seen as honorable since they defended those who could not fight for themselves. Due to the fact that only soldiers could be sacrificed, it was illegal in Corvun cities and was only practiced by Corvun military personnel during war. The victim was required to be alive during this painful act and cut in a manner so that the crows could eat the softer inner organs or flesh, which was easily done with a blade. In a symbolic manner, the crows were transferring the spirit of honor to Corvus.
- While Corvuns could generally sacrifice any soldier, especially POWs, some POWs needed for intel gathering or hard labour were given armbands known as "pascation marks", which prevented them from being pascated.
- As shown in the aftermath of the WARREN story, pascating non-military personnel is strictly forbidden and discouraged, with Warren being dishonorably discharged from the Army after it was learnt that he had done so. There is also massive social stigma associated with doing so as he was kicked out of his friend's house and his neighborhood pretty much ignored him on purpose. Even prisoners that were psychos and lunatics refused to speak with him.
- Nuke 'em: On the receiving end. After Orion conquered Skorpii Corvus during the Forman War, there were massive riots and protests about the Orion occupation which the latter could not control, so Orion preceded to nuke Corvus to stop the riots for good.
- Puppet State: Before Antares attacked Cetus, Corvus asked Antares to help with their war by defeating and invading Cetus in exchanged for being assimilated peacefully into Antares, which they accepted, likely due to their similar ideas and political ideologies. As Skorpii Corvus, Antares significantly improved Corvun livelihoods and helped trained the Corvun Army, causing the Corvun population to receive Antares very positively and even consider them as a sibling nation. They also played a major part in Antares' wars, helping Antares by invading and attacking both Columba and Riaa.
- Pretext for War: Zigzagged. While Corvus did just straight up invade Cetus without a declaration of war or any other warning, their reasoning for attacking is due to the fact that the Cetans had previously annexed Southern Corvus forcibly, an action that ruined the lives of many Corvuns living in the south and turned the southern part of Corvus into a lawless and army-controlled area for decades.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Needless to say, when the Corvun soldiers invaded Cetus and retook southern Corvus in 1908, they were VERY motivated to take revenge against the Cetans whom they all agreed ruined their lives and caused the 22 year old hardship. They showed no mercy as shown in the Battle of Blackton where they're implied to have killed unarmed civilians they saw in the town.
- The Federation: Corvus is actually a bunch of regions led by individual lords, all united under the dominant royal family, the Khorins.
- Theme Naming: Corvus is named after the constellation of the same name, with it's flag being a silhouette of a crow. Crows can represent many things symbolically, from positive things like joy, harmony, and rebirth to negative things like death, bad luck, and danger, sort of like what Corvus was before and after southern Corvus was annexed as well as after Corvus was assimilated under Antares.
- The Savage South: After the Cetans annexed southern Corvus in 1886, which resulted in the lost of multiple farms supplying food and tons of coal supplying the electricity and power grids, the remaining cities in the southern areas turned into a violent and crime-filled hell that even the army could not manage to restore order to when they were sent there. People were known to be killed by family gangs for no reason and food was worth as much as money.
- Voluntary Vassal: After Antares agreed to help Corvus defeat Cetus, in accordance to their agreement, Corvus was peacefully annexed by Antares after the war. They received much better treatment and aid from Antares and thus the Corvuns had much higher support for Antares than any other country. Antares even went out of their way to reform their army and revamp and improve Corvun society, improving the livelihoods of Corvuns as a result. They also helped Antares fight Columba and Riaa as well.
Anna Tau, née Khorin
A woman of the Khorin royalty, there isn't much known about her, but she was married off and paired with the Crown Prince of Antares, Aran Tau, in order to strengthen relations between Antares and Corvus (the two of which were already increasingly close). Her marriage did eventually lead to Corvus asking Antares to be annexed peacefully though. She shared the duties of the throne with Aran and was considered on par with him socially.
- Altar Diplomacy: She was married off to Aran in order to strength relations between Antares and Corvus.
- Royal Blood: Given she's in the House of Khorin, this is to be expected. As she is a member of the highest family in Corvus, she was picked to be married off to Aran Tau.
- Ruling Couple: Anna shared her monarchal duties with Aran, and was even on par with him in terms of social status.
Warren
A soldier of the Corvun Army, he joined the army not out of his will but due to the conscription enacted by the Corvun government and under the encouragement of his friend Bucky who was in the army. After the Battle of Blackton, he befriended a soldier named Collin and saw him perform the pascation on a living Cetan soldier. Since Warren rarely went to church and was not religious, he was unfamiliar with pascation and winced at the sight. Collin taught him all about pascation and its purpose in Corvun religion, but he crucially did not tell Warren who he needed to actually conduct the pascation on. As a result, he performed it on an innocent civilian girl named Sandra, assuming it was okay to do so. When he was brought the next morning to his captain and a lieutenant, they were shocked to see what Warren had done and the captain promptly locked him in the town's jail and dishonorably discharged him. Back home, it was not much better, as he was placed in house arrest and the community soon found out what he had done, even making Bucky kick him out of his home.
Warren technically first appears in the now purged but still existing story "SANDRA", but he was first identified in and is the titular protagonist of the story "WARREN". An aftermath of the "WARREN" story appears in the Lore channel of the Centaura discord server.
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: Given he lived most of his live in the crime-ridden and violence-filled streets of the Corvun cities, this is to be expected. He did flinch when he saw a Cetan soldier being pascated though, showing that he's not completely used to violence.
- Believing Their Own Lies: Even though he knew he performed the pascation wrong and believed Collin's lies, he did not show any sympathy or care to Sandra, saying, "But why did it matter anyways? It didn’t matter if it was a soldier or a child.", and even questioned why Collin wasn't arrested despite the fact that he performed the pascation correctly.
- Lack of Empathy: He didn't care that much about Sandra's fate even after he was arrested, saying that she was a "dirty" Cetan anyway.
- Sociopathic Soldier: Given that the Corvun Army encouraged the pascation and Warren is a soldier in it, this is to be expected. He's a particular example though because unlike the other Corvun soldiers, he does the pascation completely wrong and gets ostracized and shunned back home for it, even being called a psycho by his captain. Worse yet, he doesn't even feel sorry for the person he did the ritual on and complains about his punishment.
Empire of Cetus
General
:Cetan Army Standard uniform
Cetan Army Officer uniform
Exercitus Maris Standard uniform
Exercitus Maris Officer uniform
The Empire of Cetus was a developing maritime nation that had a sole objective which was to explore the Inanis Ocean, which never came to fruition due to their defeat in the Southern Corvus War and subsequent annexation by Antares. Cetus was one of the larger remnants of the dissolved Libran Empire, where they were mostly a neutral fishing nation for most of their existence. During an age of conquest and industrialization, they allied with Antares to conquer countries eastward, before being stopped by Aquila. After the Persean treaty and some parts of southern Cetus bought off by Antares, the territories remained much the same for a while.
In 1886, seeking to expand their naval capabilities but finding it to costly to trade with the neighbor Corvus for materials needed for massive naval ships, they decided to annex the prosperous southern Corvus. This would anger Corvus, culminating in the Southern Corvus War in 1908. While initially Corvus was dominating Cetus, in 1909, a stalemate occurred between the two nations due to trenches and other massive defenses. Corvus eventually requested Antares to attack Cetus from the unprotected south side in exchange for being peacefully annexed to become a puppet state. Cetus lost the war and was soon conquered by Antares.
- Archaic Weapon for an Advanced Age: Compared to the Corvun T05 and the Antarean E/VIII bolt action rifles, the Cetans use the M1889 LA (lever action) rifle when they first fight the Corvuns in 1908. For balance purposes, it has the exact same stats as both bolt-action rifles so the only differences are visual ones. However, in the lore, it is said that it had superior firepower than the T05 (only when it was in perfect condition though) and a simpler reloading mechanism, making it easy to fire. The M1889 LA being in perfect condition was of course impossible as mud and dirt frequently broke the rifle's lever mechanisms which made it difficult to cycle and caused it to jam.
- Born Under the Sail: Even before its naval dominance in Centaura, Cetus was a fishing nation for most of its existence, likely due to its huge coastline, so even with lots of grasslands used for farms, they still appear to be a somewhat seafaring nation. Then we have the fact that after it started to pump up its navy, not even Antares could compete with it (the latter has quite a large and exceptional navy of their own).
- Crippling Overspecialization: The Cetan government focused much of the budget and resources to the Cetan Navy in the hopes that they would be able to cross the empty Inanis Ocean, which made the Cetan Navy an extremely power force that even Antares couldn't rival. However, this had a costly result, which was that the Cetan Army was now deprived from needed manpower as too many potential recruits kept on joining the Navy rather than the Army due to the former's higher popularity and prestige. While it was not necessarily under-equipped (because of the newly gained Corvun mines that provided tons of resources), the lack of soldiers meant that there wasn't enough equipment to give out. This lack of manpower was a crucial reason as to why Cetus lost, as they were forced to be on the defensive a majority of the time and focus solely on the northern side of the Cetus, leaving the south open; an opportunity Antares saw which caused them to invade from the south and defeat Cetus with Corvus.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Soldiers of the Cetan Army are referred as "tortoisemen" due to their helmet's shape and their nature of being on land compared to the navy. While this does sound neat, tortoises are also sluggish and placid, which is not exactly something an army should be known for, on top of the Cetan Army already being overshadowed by the Cetan Navy in popularity and reputation.
- Gratuitous Latin: The Cetan Marines are officially called the "Exercitus Maris", meaning "Army of the Sea", likely highlighting that the marines are more important and vast in Cetus than in other nations because of how big the Cetan Navy is (and how small the Cetan Army is).
- Inter-Service Rivalry: The difference in reputation and prestige between the Navy and Army is very noticeable, as the navy has way more men than the army does, including a higher level of prestige. The naval command also refused to support the army with actual ground troops (the Exercitus Maris) in the Southern Corvus War and even made them camp around the Western Islands for the whole 4 years of the war, ostensibly to preserve their numbers. Despite this, it clear that many marines and lower ranking officers did not approve of this and even mutinied to join the army, who happily accepted them despite orders to execute them for treason.
- Militaries Are Useless: Despite the Exercitus Maris being a part of the esteemed Cetan Navy and being slightly lower in size to the Cetan Army (if not equal or bigger), it was not as skilled or effective as the Army, likely due to their lack of experience and the fact that they were facing against the much larger and prepared Antarean Army. Their loss at the Whitemouth Estuary proves that as well.
- This is heavily downplayed for the Cetan Army. Although they did end up losing and not be able to fend off the Corvun and Antarean invaders, there wasn't much they could do as they were heavily undermanned and were forced to send all of their soldiers to the northern side, leaving the south vulnerable for the Antareans. The Cetan Army also did quite well despite being smaller than the Corvun Army, as shown when they were able to repel them for 4 years before Antares joined in.
- The Enemy Weapons Are Better: In the lore, it is said that many Cetan soldiers dropped their unreliable M1889 LA's for the more reliable and accurate Corvun T05 rifles from dead Corvun soldiers. Picking up weapons (presumably enemy weapons as well) is slated in the "Uncategorized Content" in Centaura's Trello.
- The Mutiny: Due to major inactivity of the Cetan Navy and the Exercitus Maris under orders of the naval command, despite the Cetan Army losing ground and manpower progressively, many marines, lower ranking officers, and sailors could not bare to stand around anymore, angrily mutinying and leaving the Western Islands to help out the Army. The latter happily accepted them due to manpower shortages.
- Theme Naming: Cetus is named after the constellation of the same name, which has a generally aquatic theme. Interestingly, Cetus was a general term for a a sea monster in Greek mythology, with both Perseus and Heracles killing on in their own stories. There even is a sea monster in Centaura, with the region where it was sighted named "Cetus" after it.
- It is likely that a in-lore universe explanation for Cetus' naval power and dominance in Centaura was because of the overall aquatic aspect the name Cetus gave.
- Suspiciously Small Army: Cetus' army is very small, so much so that Aquila, which has an all-volunteer army, has more men than the Cetan army.
- This is explained in the lore by Cetus focusing much onto its navy. Cetus also cutback the army due to perceived safety from it's neighbors, not realizing that it's trading relations with nations were crumbling. This of course meant Cetus' Army was massively undermanned (although not underequipped due to an abundance of iron and other materials), as many recruits joined the more popular and comfortable Navy instead of the Army.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Their annexation of southern Corvus in 1886 which caused the Corvuns to attack them in 1908 essentially doomed Centaura as the Southern Corvus War prompted Antares to join in and begin their plans for continental and later on world domination.
Frederick Scapha
The King of Cetus, he led Cetus during the Southern Corvus War up to its annexation by Corvus and Antares in 1912.
- Authority in Name Only: Due to centuries of peace and growth in Cetus, the Cetan monarchy's power had been greatly reduced, which affected Scapha's control during the Southern Corvus War heavily. The latter proved crucial in Cetus' failure in the war as his already weak control over the military essentially boiled down to the Army and Navy rarely listening to him and the two being pretty much independent.
- Meaningful Name: Scapha in Ancient Greek means "light boat" or a "skiff". It makes sense when you think about the fact that he's the leader of a naval-based fishing nation but one that doesn't have much authority over it, meaning he's indeed a "light boat".
Kingdom of Aquila
General
Aquilan Army Standard uniform
Aquilan Army Officer uniform
The Kingdom of Aquila was a constitutional monarchy situated on the eastern part of Centaura. It was well-developed, being a truly democratic country that the populace were content with. Aquila itself is covered in temperate forests and flat grasslands with these areas being mixed with populations of urban dwellers and farmers. Due to the amount of trees, the lumber industry in Aquila is massive, with many houses and buildings made almost entirely of wood.
Aquila is well-known for its military successes and the effectiveness of its army, nicknamed the "Iron Army". It had beaten Cetus, Antares, Vega, and Grusa in wars throughout a millennium, and had also defeated Antares a few times.
However, in 1912, just after Antares conquered Cetus, they immediately turned to invade Aquila. While the Aquilans were very good at the defense and had beaten Antares multiple times, they proved to be a struggle to fight as the Aquilans could not push back the Antarean tanks, armored vehicles, motorized infantry, and Shokk troopers. In 1914, they were totally conquered by Antares as they set their eyes onto Vega and Grusa.
- Arch-Enemy: Antares. Aquila had fought with Antares multiple times, winning pretty much every war against them. Unfortunately, the Aquilan Campaign from 1912-1914 had Antares get the last laugh and not only defeat them, but entirely conquer their lands.
- Chameleon Camouflage: The Aquilan uniforms have the same color as the Aquilan grass (examples being in Roland's Prairie and the Siege of Talona), meaning it allows them to camouflage and blend in with it nearly seamlessly, likely due to their defensive nature. One Aquilan helmet variation also has camouflage painted on it.
- This even applies to their tanks, as they're covered in the same camouflage patterns as that helmet variety.
- Elite Army: They certainly live up to their nickname. While the Aquilan army was small (although bigger than the Cetan army) due to it relying solely on volunteers, this was made up by the fact that all recruits had to go through tough training cycles intended to make them efficient soldiers and make them adapt to environments that they will be in during war. Recruits were also expected to operate in fields without food or water for multiple hours, which would be useful in the plains and grasslands that did not have much water. Seeing as it is an all-volunteer army, it is likely Aquilan soldiers were more motivated as well.
- Indeed, while Antares did eventually conquer Aquila through new innovative tactics with tanks, it is said that the Aquilan infantry were mostly able to overpower the Antarean ones (and the fact that the Antareans actually suffered heavy casualties which caused them to commit "The Scorch"), proving that they could have defeat Antares had they not faced such large amounts of armored vehicles and lagged behind in innovating new methods of war.
- Somewhat downplayed as an Army tier list in the Centaura/Dead Ahead server places it in the 10th place, which is worse than Vega and Grusa.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Technology wise, they're based on France-Poland. However, their helmet is based on the Swedish M21 helmet and the M99 rifle looks similar to the British Lee-Metford, which are rather interesting choices for a French-Polish based Aquila.
- Their defense against the Antareans is very similar to France defending itself against Germany in WW2 (and WW1 to some degree), relying on the Ring of Fire that seems similar to the Maginot Line and also struggling to defend against new Antarean tactics like how France struggled against the German combined arms tactics and Blitzkrieg. This is not mentioning that Antares itself is based on Japan-Germany, two Axis factions in WW2.
- Hold the Line: The sole strategy for Aquila when fighting Antares in 1912 is to rely on the "Ring of Fire", a line full of forts, artillery batteries and field guns to prevent the Antares from advancing too far. Of course, Antares' armored vehicles, aircraft, and tactics eventually break through the Ring of Fire, although it is worth noting that Antareans had attempted to break through the Battery Liberius of the Ring of Fire two times, failing both attempts before being presumably victorious in the third attempt, meaning that it seemed to be quite effective at what it was intended to do, just that it could not sustain multiple direct attacks.
- Home Guard: Aquila had a special formation known as the "Civil Guard". This was essentially a militia intended to complement the Aquilan Army in wartime. When Antares invaded Aquila in 1912, they had some successful in defending farmlands and fields, although their lack of explosives meant the armored vehicles soon pushed them back. They were generally more effective when fighting alongside the Aquilan Army and especially in urban warfare, as materials in homes were used to create makeshift bombs and incendiary explosives to use against the Antareans and specifically their armored elements. Unfortunately, as all of the Civil Guardsmen fought in their normal civilian clothes, it caused Antareans to become more hostile to Aquilan citizens and even shoot them on sight in some cases.
- Jumped at the Call: Unlike the other Centauran countries, the Aquilan Army is fully volunteer-based, meaning every soldier and officer in the army are just regular men who wanted to risk their lives for Aquila. It isn't explained why they Army is volunteer only when the other Centauran countries practice conscription, but its likely due to it being a true democracy which emphasize freedom for people; an army based on conscription would challenge that.
- Stone Wall: In contrast to Antares' aggressive and fast-paced nature, Aquila is more focused on defending its lands, clearly represented by its Ring of Fire, a massive line of field guns, fortifications, trenches, and bunkers. Interestingly, Aquila wasn't as defensive and conquered many smaller nations in its younger days. Unfortunately, Aquila's defensive strategies don't go anywhere as Antares' tanks and tactics prove too much for Aquilan defenses to handle.
- Theme Naming: Aquila is named after the constellation of the same name. Aquila in Latin means "eagle" and is the bird carrying Zeus and Jupiter's thunderbolts in Greek mythology. Due to the fact that real eagles are quite tenacious and fearless, it is likely that Aquila's stubbornness derives from the eagles' own traits. Also, most of Aquilan territory would be suitable habitats for eagles to live in.
- The Great Fire: Due to heavy losses the Aquilans were inflicting, Kalvin's military advisors convinced him to allow the Aquilan grasslands and forests to to be burnt in order to demoralize and weaken the Aquilan army. While Kalvin strictly ordered it to not continue over a week, it instead kept burning for more than half a year. This burning was known simply as "The Scorch" which devastated the Aquilan countryside by 40%, something that affected the Aquilan economy and industry for a while even with Orionite aid. Ironically, the Scorch did not demoralize the Aquilan soldiers, instead doing the opposite and causing them to fight harder for land that was not already taken and burnt by the Antareans. It also meant the Antareans couldn't forage food from farms as they were burnt, on top of supply lines being stretched, which proved to be more of hindrance than the forests themselves.
- Urban Warfare: In 1914, Antares pushes deeper into Aquila, with troops managing to attack Talona, an Aquilan city. This battle appears in Centaura as the last battle where Antares fights Aquila, and it will see Antarean trucks with machine guns on the back, the Aquilan Civil Guard, and flamethrower tanks.
- Velvet Revolution: In the 1800s, Aquila had a mostly peaceful revolution that took away political power from the monarchy and gave it to the people, turning it in a democracy. However, because the Royal Family had a mostly positive past associated with them, they were allowed to stay in power, albeit only to serve a ceremonial role as the nation's representatives.
- We Have Become Complacent: Unfortunately, due to the Aquilan Army not launching many offensives and instead mastering in defensive warfare, this caused them to not innovate as much into warfare compared to their rival Antares. Indeed, Antares was invading with a fleet of tanks and armored vehicles while Aquila had nothing to speak of, developing such things too late in the war to have much effect.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: The Aquilan Army is nicknamed the "Iron Army" due to their stubbornness and having multiple military successes while defending.
Dominion of Vega (Domínio de Vega) (part of Skorpii Grusii)
General
The Dominion of Vega is a monarchical country located in the eastern part of Centaura. It is neighbors with Aquila and Grusa and is quite close to Columba geographically. In between Aquila's forests and the Grusan deserts, Vega's environment consist of chaparrals (warm and dry but rather grassy). Vega and Grusa in particular are traditional rivals, as they were originally a part of one kingdom before splitting into two due to disagreements between the two royal families. Unlike the other Centauran countries, they primarily speak Vego (Centaura's version of European Portuguese). This language was created out of spite against the Grusan language (that being Grusi; European Spanish), although Vegans can speak Grusi due to the languages being similar and likely because of years of being with the Grusans.
Vega's main industries are the food and mining industries. Food was an important cultural part of Vega before they had ever separate from Grusa; in fact, most pastries in southern Centaura were from Vega. As for the mining industry, Vega had tons of ores and minerals located at the edges of the Murus Plateau, an area of land in southern Vega that protected against invaders coming from Aquila, and the rocky northern border with Columba.
Before the 19th century, the Vegan Royal Army mostly maintained a strong army to maintain their independence. However, attitude changes in the Vegan government caused them to switch their focus on maintaining independence to reclaiming their rightful lands, so the Vegan army built itself up to prepare for an invasion of Grusa. This saw extensive mining efforts in the Murus Plateau and the border with Columba, collecting tons of iron that was used to make steel plates on the shin, knees, and shoulders for infantrymen as well as thicker armor for their tanks.
During the Centauran War, Vega was not unduly worried about Antares' growing power, as they assumed that their invasions of Cetus and Aquila were based on the old historical rivalries they had. As such, most of their army was stationed to the Grusan border, not expecting the Antareans to invade Vega. Even then, initial Antarean invasions through the Murus Plateau saw extensive Antarean casualties and were mostly disasters.
However, the Antareans decided to invade the less defended coastlines of Vega, and a counter attack by the Vegans from the north was stopped by Antarean general Reyes and he successfully split the Vegan army in half. Shokk divisions captured the Murus Plateau and allowed for supply lines to connect as well as tanks to push back the Vegans. Although Vega lost the war, many elements of the Army still remained to serve with the Grusans.
- Arch-Enemy: Vega's arch-enemy is Grusa, having a hostile relationship since the 1600s. Despite that, they have apparently never engaged in open conflict, and the fact that many Grusans seem to actually like Vega (as there were multiple pleas for reunification and multiple protests in Grusa about them not supporting Vega, not to mention multiple Grusans volunteering into the Vegan Army) seems to show that only the government and royal families dislike each other.
- Inherently Funny Words: The demonym for Vega is "Vegan", which is... unique to say the least.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: As mentioned above, Vego is just European Portuguese in the Centaura universe. They're also geographically and culturally close to Grusa, a country that speaks Grusi or European Spanish, in a similar situation to how Portugal and Spain are.
- Overnight Conquest: While a year is not particularly fast, the fact that Aquila took 2 years to be taken down by Antares and Grusa in 4 shows that Vega was conquered comparatively easier and quicker. Still, at least it's not Lacerta.
- Theme Naming: Vega is the brightest star in the Lyra constellation. While the reason for this naming in a Doylist view is not particularly clear, Vega is believed to have come from an Arabic term (Al Nesr al Waki) that was translated into Latin as Vultur Cadens, or the "Fallen Eagle/Vulture", which could perhaps show that Vega is the opposite of Aquila that is also an eagle but fell a bit slower than Vega.
Kingdom of Grusa (Reino de Grusa) (part of Skorpii Grusii)
General
The Kingdom of Grusa is a monarchical country in the east of Centaura. They border Vega to the southwest and Columba to the west, but they also share a sort of maritime border with Centauri via the Sagittarius Strait. Most of Grusa is comprised of a barren desert, so it seems many people live in the coast lines and in the Murus Plateau that is compromised of savannahs. Grusans speak Grusi, Centaura's European Spanish, which is derived from Librae (which is English and that is derived from Old Librae which is Latin) and similar to Vego and Aurigan (which is Italian). Vega and Grusa have been rivals since the 1600s after an event that split Vega and Grusa into two different kingdoms.
In 1915, after Vega was invaded and conquered by Antares, they attempted to do so for Grusa. Unlike Aquila, Cetus, and Vega, they managed to hold off the Antareans in the southern deserts for 3 years until 1917. The year after, Antares changed their strategy and invaded Grusa through the coastlines, using naval ships to bombard targets on the shore. Despite their resistance, they ironically fell like Vega as they too were overrun via the coastlines. Grusa and Vega were later combined to form Skorpii Grusii and act as a puppet state, helping out Antares with reinforcements in later wars, including their invasion into Hydrus. Grusans were considered expert shots and were equal to Aurigan shooters and snipers.
- Arch-Enemy: Grusa's arch-enemy is Vega, having a hostile relationship since the 1600s. Despite that, they have apparently never engaged in open conflict, and the fact that many Grusans seem to actually like Vega (as there were multiple pleas for reunification and multiple protests in Grusa about them not supporting Vega, not to mention multiple Grusans volunteering into the Vegan Army) seems to show that only the government and royal families dislike each other.
- Desert Warfare: As Grusa mostly consists of deserts, Antareans had to fight in desert warfare a lot of the time, and a desert map is planned to be one of the maps Antares will fight in against Grusa.
- Qurac: Zigzagged. While most of their land is inside a desert, camels are said to exist, and most people live in the coasts, they don't speak Arabic or anything Middle Eastern like but rather Spanish.
- Theme Naming: Grusa is based on the Grus constellation, meaning Crane (the bird species) in Latin. This could be a contrast to Vega which is a fallen Eagle instead of a Crane.
Lacerta
General
Lacerta is an island country located in south Centaura and just below Antares. Like Musca in Hydra, Lacerta is disconnected from the rest of Forma and is by far the most underdeveloped country, using very outdated and decades-old technology and weaponry in their military and industries. While Lacerta can sustain itself, it is mostly considered a joke by the rest of the world.
In 1920, during the Columban campaign, Antarean forces invaded and annexed Lacerta, its military and government falling in a few weeks due to its outdated technology. Lacerta was later repurposed as a testing ground for Antarean weapons and prototypes, with its civilians functioning as test subjects. One of these weapons was KF gas, which was first created and tested in Lacerta in 1928. When used on several Lacertan towns, none of the residents survived the gas, having their skin chemically burned, muscles curled up and shrunken, and bubbles under the flesh that were allegedly KF gas.
- Overnight Conquest: At least Cetus was conquered in around a month at max by Antares, Lacerta got conquered in a few weeks at most.
- Theme Naming: Following the trend of country names being named after constellations, Lacerta is named after the constellation of the same name, which means lizard in latin.
United Columban Territories
General
The United Columban Territories is a mountainous country whose mountains serve as a natural barrier against invaders. They border various countries, which includes Aquila, Cetus, Riaa, and Grusa. Due to the amount of mountains, there are only 2 major cities near the Annulus Sea, while villages are spread throughout the mountains. To help with traveling and access, railways and travel routes were built to help Columbans do so. A Columban engineer in 1846 invented a telegraph system that not only made communications easier for Columban towns but revolutionized long-distance communications across Forma.
In 1915, while simultaneously attacking Grusa, Antares attacked Columba through various points from Cetus, Aquila, and Vega. Although Corvus in 1917 attempted to aid Antares from the west, they were stopped by the Columbans and thus were unable to do so. Throughout the fighting in Columba in 1923, the Antarean army suffered enormous casualties as the Columbans skillfully used the mountain terrain to their advantage, putting machinegun nests in unexpected areas and creating easy spots to ambush Antarean soldiers along the main trails. The high mountains also impeded the Antarean advances as well. In 1924, the Antarean high command ordered mass production of medium bombers to bomb positions.
After more than a decade of fighting in 1931, the Antareans managed to push through the east coast of Columba that bordered Grusa. Antares would then send forces to march through the Corvun-Riaan border and attack from the west in the same year. In 1932, Columban forces in the mountains were cut off from the northern areas and surrounded as Antares continued their march to northern Columba, ignoring the trapped enemies. By 1933, the Columban capital was sieged and taken in weeks. The remaining soldiers would be cleared as the war progressed.
- Capital Offensive: In 1933, the Antareans manage to siege and take the Columban capital city after 18 years of pretty much no progress. The fact that the capital was taken in weeks compared to almost 20 years of fighting to get to there is worth mentioning.
- Forever War: For the Antareans, it seemed like the war with Columba was this, given that it was nearing 2 decades of warfare in Columba and yet had only made substantial progress in 1931.
- Home Field Advantage: The Columbans used the mountains to their advantage as much as they could, which had already impeded Antarean advances and caused them to move quite slowly, by creating ambush spots and putting machine guns in areas Antareans would not expect. The effects of the Columban mountains are shown when you compare Grusa, Aquila, and Vega falling in 7 years combined, with Columba taking 18 years to be taken down.
- Mountain Warfare: Considering that Columba is full of mountains, this was to be expected when Antares and Corvus attacked Columba. It seemed to have been extremely arduous, as compared to Aquila falling in 2 years and Vega & Grusa falling in a combined 5 years, Columba fell in 18 years.
- Funnily enough, even the Northern Centauran Alliance (between Columba, Riaa, Tucana, and Centauri) had trouble fighting in the Columban mountains, which goes to show how effective they really are in war.
- Theme Naming: Columba is named after the constellation of the same name. In Latin, Columba means "dove". Since the dove usually represents peace and love, it can be an ironic name as the Columban War saw 18 years of violence and destruction as well as the deaths of numerous Columban, Antarean, Riaan, and Corvun soldiers.
Riaan Republic (Skorpii Riaa)
General
The Riaan Republic is an old and aging republic that has existed for centuries, with a government similar to Antares. They ruled over the northern parts of Centaura through long-lasting traditions. Although not quite as fanatical as Antares is, the government still rules the country with absolute power and Riaa is plagued by inner turmoil and protests over its outdated class system and unfair wealth distribution. Due to their old school beliefs and laws, they're technologically outmatched by Antares but compensate for it by being the largest country in Centaura both in terms of population and territory size as well as friendly relations with neighboring countries.
To explain how Riaa got into its democratic form, the Riaan Civil War has to be discussed. It occurred in 1888 as the Nationalists revolt against the Imperialist government. The Nationalists quickly gain support from Riaa's neighbor Tucana, who help push out the Imperialists. They eventually fled into the Vulpan Islands, declaring independence from the Riaan mainland and naming themselves Vulpa.
Although Riaans can speak Librae, they're bilingual, as they primarily speak Rodinese (Russian), now called Ursan, which is a language that their continental neighbor Ursa speaks and the language of the Rodinese Mandate that had conquered and influenced Riaa.
After Antares conquered them, they turned it into a puppet state, likely due to Riaa's territorial and population size making it impossible for Antares to manage directly.
- Bilingual Bonus: Riaans speak Ursan as their first language and Librae as second, the former being because of their close relationship to Ursa and them being under the Rodinese Mandate.
- Civil War: Had a massive one in 1888 between the Nationalists (backed by Tucana) and the Imperialists, with the latter ultimately losing and forced to flee to Vulpa.
- Democracy Is Flawed: Despite them being a republic, they're infected with outdated class system and a strong class difference between the wealthy and poor. Additionally and perhaps ironically, they have very traditional views and ideals as a republic.
- Eagle Squadron: After Cetus lost the Southern Corvus War and was fully assimilated by Antares, most of what was left of the Cetan Navy sailed upwards to Vulpa and Riaa, with elements eventually joining either the Vulpan or Riaan fleets.
- Elite Army: In the Dead Ahead/Centaura discord server, an Army rankings list by AbsoluteDuck put Riaa as number one in 1908, which is saying something when we compare that to Antares' placing of two. It was probably downplayed by the time Antares invaded Riaa however.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: Due to the Riaan Army's enormous size causing challenges in deploying them to specific theatres of war, a decision was made to grab all of the elite Riaan soldiers and consolidate them into one corps size unit; most elite units would probably not number more than a division. They were better trained than a normal Riaan conscript and possessed more equipment and gear. They even had their own air and mechanized units. They would be the main force that the NCA (Northern Centauran Alliance) relied on for their massive counteroffensive against Antares. In Centaura, they're expected to have their own battle against the Antarean Shokk troopers.
- Grim Up North: For the Antareans invading Riaa. In fact, Kaden Tau's first time commanding a company and going into combat is in Riaa, where we hear that his entire company was nearly wiped out by Riaan guerillas.
- North Is Cold, South Is Hot: While its not explicitly said for Riaa, the fact that Tucana, a country that is to right of Riaa, is covered in snow and ice implies that it is the same for Riaa as well.
- Puppet State: After Riaa lost to Antares, they turned it into a puppet state to make it easier to manage as its size would be impossible for them to do so directly, installing governors to help with this endeavor.
- Ruritania: Riaans speak the in-universe version of Russian and are located very much up north like Russia. The Riaan Civil War also bares a remarkable resemblance to the Russian Civil War, with the Imperialists (Russian Republic) fighting against the Nationalists (Bolsheviks) and losing to the Nationalists, leading them to take over Riaa like how the Soviets took over Russia after they were victorious.
- Interestingly, while the northern Riaans write in traditional Ursan cyrillic, the southern Riaans write in romanized Ursan. The government also embraces and supports romanized Ursan in the modern age.
- Theme Naming: Unlike the other nations, it is averted for Riaa, as its name is not based on a constellation or star since it resisted Libran influences effectively. In fact, even its name under the Rodinese Mandate is unknown, although the Libran Empire called it "Riaa" based on the war cry of its native warriors.
Empire of Tucana (Imperio Tucani)
General
The Empire of Tucana is a monarchical country located in the northeast of Centaura. It is allied with its neighbors Centauri and Riaa. Its lands to the north comprise of taiga forests and heavy snow areas, so most of the population of Tucana live near the Tucana-Centauri border. Tucana's main industry is in lumber and ice, with lumber mostly being used by towns in the frozen northern areas.
Tucana was under the reign of the old Grusan Empire before it collapsed, so the Tucanese speak Grusi. However, plenty of Tucanese people speak Ursan due to its proximity to Riaa and Centauri. The Tucanese can also speak Librae due to influences from the Libran Empire. Thus, Tucana is technically trilingual although the languages spoken heavily differ from region to region.
- North Is Cold, South Is Hot: Indeed, being a northern country, it is filled with taiga forests and areas with heavy amounts of snow, which are common characteristics for countries up north. Ice being a main industry especially demonstrates the environment in Tucana.
- Theme Naming: Tucana is named after the constellation of the same, the latter being named after the toucan. It is close with Grus, as those two alongside 2 others are considered the "Southern Birds". The country may be named Tucana in Centaura because of its in-universe connection with Grusa, having been conquered by the Grusan Empire many years ago, being geographically close to it, and many Tucanese speaking Grusi.
Kingdom of Centauri (Reino de Centauri)
General
The Kingdom of Centauri is a peninsular country located in northeastern Centaura. It is bordered with Tucana and is allied with them and Riaa. It is also surrounded by three bodies of water; the Libran Ocean, the Sagittarius Strait, and the Annulus Sea. Its shores boast the greatest coastal batteries and defenses in Forma, armed with loads of heavy-caliber guns (203mm-356mm) and several concrete fortifications that are reinforceed. These lines of defenses were constructed in 1890 due to tensions with Grusa across the Sagittarius Strait.
Uniquely, Centauri is not motivated by imperialism, but rather protecting its lands and improving its society, the latter through means other than dictatorships or authoritarianism.
After seeing Riaa and Tucana fall to Antares, Centauri prepared to defend against them. Even before Riaa and Tucana had fell, many Centaurian citizens boarded ships and planes to Orion, Ursa, and Libra, with much chaos ensuing when Riaa's capitulation made its way across headlines in 1940. Ships became overcrowded and there were soon not enough liners available to transport those who wanted to flee. The last planes and ships left in 1941, never to return to Centauri. Unfortunately, it was not safe even for those who had escaped on ship, as many of were sunk by Antarean naval ships conducting a blockade, and most passengers drowned or froze in the water as the number of lifeboats were insufficient for the overcrowded ships. Those stuck on the lifeboats were forced to either go back west to Centauri or simply starve to death, with no way of getting past the Antarean Armada.
Back at Centauri, it was not much better, as when the harbors and airports officially closed down, those inside awaited their fates, as even if it hadn't started, it would soon. Even before the siege had started, many Centaurians committed suicide as they feared living under the Antareans after hearing about the brutal treatment of the Riaan occupation. This greatly impacted the morale of the Centaurian military, who were certain they could defend against Antares.
In 1942, Antares officially sieged Centauri. The Antares Armada began a 2 week bombardment of the southern coastal defenses, following by an amphibious landing. In the north, the army commenced an attack with their new "bunker buster" vehicles.
Much like Aquila, the Centaurian battle doctrine focused very much on defending, with the borders littered with bunkers supporting each other which made it hard for Antareans to capture. Guns and artillery camouflaged in forests and foliage, bunkers and anti-tank obstacles lining the countryside, and the Centaurian armored elements made it quite difficult for the Antareans to get through.
Despite this, in 1943, most of the Centauri's defenses were demolished via a new strategy by the Antareans that used mass artillery barrages to defeat hard points. The southern coastal defenses were destroyed by this new strategy and the Centaurian army got encircled. Later in the year, they had been pushed back to the capital, holding on for months before finally being defeated in 1944.
The fall of Centauri marked the end of the Centauran War, which had lasted from 1908 (1912 for Antares) to 1944 and lasted for 36 (32) years.
- Final Boss: The final nation that Antares fights in Centaura.
- Last Stand: The final battle in '"Centaura"' is in a busted-open fort between Centauri and Antares. It's even called "Last Stand" in the trello.
- The Siege: Basically what the Antareans did to Centauri, even having a naval blockade to prevent ships from escaping.
- Stone Wall: Like Aquila, the Centaurians focused much into defense of their nation, using bunkers and obstacles to delay and stop the Antareans. Unfortunately, this did not do much as the Antareans simply mass bombarded defenses and got through anyway.
- Theme Naming: Centauri is named after the constellation Centaurus, with its genitive being Centauri. Centaurus itself is named after the mythical Centaurs, the half-human half-horse species. Interestingly, Centauri is very similar to the continent's name of Centaura and is also the last nation that Antares fights in Centaura, possibly implying that it has a sort of symbolic connection with Centaura.
Empire of Vulpa
General
Vulpa is an island nation in Northwest Centaura ruled by the Imperialist party of Riaa. The Imperialists once ruled all of Riaa but were defeated by the combined forces of the Nationalists and Tucana during the Riaan Civil War, with the Imperialists fleeing from the mainland into Vulpa and declaring themselves a separate country, thus cutting off from the mainland.
During the Centauran War, Vulpa was surprisingly the only country spared from the wrath of Antares, even after Riaa was conquered by them. It is said that Vulpa decided to trade with Antares either during or after the war.
- Irony: Despite being separate from mainland Riaa and presumably wanting nothing to do with them, they rely on imports from Riaa in order to sustain themselves, so they're in a way controlled by Riaa indirectly.
- Theme Naming: While its not very clear, it is likely that Vulpa is based on the constellation Vulpecula, meaning little fox in Latin.
- Why Isn't It Attacking?: For unspecified reasons, Antares never attempts an invasion of Vulpa, despite them being easy targets and having conquered Riaa. It may be because Vulpa did not pose any military threat to Skorpii Riaa or any other Antarean territory and so invading them would just have wasted time, energy and possible manpower/equipment. Vulpa's need of imports from Riaa (thus controlling them indirectly) and them deciding to trade with Antares could also be possible factors.
