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A Sci-fi Adventure and Politics RP Brainstrom

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FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#251: Oct 10th 2014 at 5:03:20 AM

After working on stuff with Flanker, I have now edited it. With the timeline as I understand it, there is now a 600 year or so gap between the Sirians leaving Jotun and the Nisi figuring out FTL travel; giving them about 200 years to be going around the galaxy. How's that?

EDIT: Changes specifically are at the ends of their history, government, and culture segments.

edited 10th Oct '14 9:00:18 AM by FirockFinion

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nman Since: Mar, 2010
#252: Oct 11th 2014 at 1:29:31 PM

Here's one character. I'll get to the rest eventually.


  • Name: Mostly untranslatable, but when select portions of the standard audible range are translated into English it is Jeona'first'Ceara'second'first'Malyxa'fifth'third'Isovaha'eighth'Tajima'Aux Sedonis'Behemoth'Annairbdnah Due to a portmanteau of the first two parts of her name sounding like "Jennifer", she goes by "Jenny" when dealing with people.
  • Age: 18 standard years
  • Sex: Female
  • Appearance: Wears what is best described as a human female lawyer outfit, though with the required alterations for non-human physiology. Her hair appears black, but when viewed in the infrared spectrum it has been dyed a color known as Frumbple.
  • History: Copies of resume available upon request.
    • Place of birth: Nation of Aux Sedonis, Zeconis, Kuhneebo Conglomerate
    • Junior Internship Program: Forty months.
    • Senior Internship Trade Languages Program: Eight months
    • Senior Internship Law Program: Eighteen months.
    • Aux Sedonian Navy: Thirty-three months.
    • Aux Sedonian Industrial Supply Corporation Assembly Line Program: Seventeen months
    • Aux Sedonian Industrial Supply Corporation Management Program: Twenty months
    • Aux Sedonian Industrial Supply Corporation Junior Legal Program: Thirty-four months
    • Transfer to Aux Sedonis Ark Behemoth, Legal Program: Fifty-two months
  • Position: Human Resources/Legal Department
  • Other: Owns various things that she carries on her person: A flask of heavy cream (its material construction makes it akin to a thermos), a Kuhneebo-made pipe designed to look like a Peterson Pipe, a lighter, a pouch of smoking herbs, a replica M1911A1 in a hip holster (Also a Kuhneebo-made replica. While performance far exceeds modern arms, is less powerful than most pistols of 3555 as it is designed for style and aesthetics, not high-performance.), and a hailer. Her pet is a standard sized short-haired dachshund, named Reginald. The flower in her hair is synthetic. She also has several copies of her resume available upon request.

edited 11th Oct '14 1:37:32 PM by nman

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#253: Oct 11th 2014 at 2:10:39 PM

[up][up]Better, but I'm still uncertain. I think the stick is the stone age part. I know we've accepted a lot of stretches before but I feel the need to be picky about this. A society that's most advance achievements are early farming and pottery is one I doubt will be reverse engineering and creating an advance space civilization within a millennium.

I do have a proposal I'd like you to consider. How about after being curbstomped during the initial invasion, the Uplifters or the Sirians themselves decided to take the Nisi in as a second soldier species? They started training up the Nisi as warriors and how to use their technology and science before they bailed. This leaves the Nisi in a lurch, but does give them a much stronger basis from which to develop so quickly.

[up]Acceptable.

edited 11th Oct '14 2:12:26 PM by Parable

FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#254: Oct 11th 2014 at 10:08:13 PM

If Flanker's alright with that I could work with it; I would think that that messes with the Sirians' history more so than either version of the Nisi history so far.

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FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#255: Oct 12th 2014 at 9:38:30 AM

Alright, after coordinating with Flanker, the Nisi history has been edited to your request. (Assuming I understood you correctly.)

I also changed the part in culture about their language to reflect this change in their history.

edited 12th Oct '14 9:38:50 AM by FirockFinion

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Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#256: Oct 12th 2014 at 12:01:19 PM

Okay, accepted then!

Darn it, every time this gets bumped I wonder how many people notice I spelled Brainstorm wrong.

FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#257: Oct 13th 2014 at 6:04:05 AM

So, you're saying I should post my characters one at a time, for maximum bumps? tongue

Nah but seriously, I'm still thinking on some things for the Caroline character, but I'm done with the Tranquility character, so here's her sheet.

  • Name: Byss Honorskull.

  • Age: 32. (Earth years.)

  • Sex: Female.

  • Appearance: Stands at 5'2". Has an uncommon pure black fur coat. "Hair" is also black, and hangs straight down to her shoulders. Eyes are yellow. Prefers a dark blue captain's outfit and matching hat like this, but without the gold detailing. (It is not an official Savages' uniform.)

  • History: Byss was growing up a rather ordinary life until the age of 16, though she did excel in learning more so than most Nisi. Growing tired of working as a waitress in the family restaurant, Byss dueled her Grandmother for position as head of the family, and won. Once head of the family, she had them sell the restaurant and join into the military, whereupon they were soon assigned aboard a Nisi Strike Jumper. (What other nations would call a light cruiser, but holding a full fighter compliment, as typical of Nisi ships.)

They served aboard the ship for about 5 years with all as normal. The captain of the vessel however, had grown disgruntled with their servitude to the Sirian Union, and decided to go rogue, taking the ship and crew with her. Becoming pirates, they started to hunt cargo freighters in Sirian space. Three months later, after their second raid resulted in disaster and the deaths of nearly a dozen of their own crew, Byss decided that clearly their captain was not cut out for this. She then decided to solve that issue in the best way she knew how; by beating the captain in a duel and becoming the new captain of the ship.

Byss proved to be a very competent captain indeed, and for the next ten years they thrived as a scourge of Sirian space, plundering dozens of cargo freighters and ransoming off their crews for even more profit. Eventually though, their success caught up with them, and they fell into a trap laid by the Sirian System Guard. After their surrender, it seemed certain that Byss would be facing a life sentence in Sirian prison, if not execution, with the rest of her family and crew facing large charges of their own. However, then Warlord Caniet took a personal interest in the case, asking that the Sirians hand over custody of the crew so they could be sentenced by the Savages instead of the Sirian Union; it took a number of political assets and cashing in on old favors, along with assuring the Sirians that Byss herself was facing the choice of either life in prison or a life of forced, unpaid service in the Department of War, but it worked. Byss, her family, and her crew were transferred to Jotun, where Warlord Caniet personally gave Byss the choice: imprisonment, or taking the one job that no qualified Nisi wanted to take; being ambassador of the Savages in the Galactic Nations.

Obviously, she took the latter.

  • Credentials: Byss is highly intelligent for a Nisi, able to speak both Abbit and Eqit eloquently, and has an easy time not only understanding foreign cultures and societies, but how they apply on a grand scale. She is a proven competent and capable leader, which may not matter so much to other races for their ambassadors, but to the Nisi it does. The same applies to proficiency in combat personally, which Byss is well known for.

But most importantly, unlike any other Nisi which the above also applies to, Byss is in a position to be forced to take the job or else go to prison; this is the lengths Warlord Caniet has had to resort to in order to keep the position filled. And for the sake of a plan that has been in the works for some time now, Caniet especially needs an ambassador in the Galactic Nations.

edited 14th Oct '14 12:17:14 AM by FirockFinion

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FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#259: Oct 15th 2014 at 2:38:05 AM

And then, a Caroline character! Thousands of them!

  • Name: Ligia Brightlight

  • Age: 17. (Earth years)

  • Sex: Female.

  • Appearance: Stands at 4'11", and a little fat for a Nisi. (Which compared to say, an average Human of the same height still makes her skinny by comparison.) Fur coat is primarily (Read: Over 50%, but only just.) black, with large brown splotches, and the fur on her hands and feet is white. Her "hair" is the same brown as the splotches, and she typically keeps it in a ponytail which reaches down to her shoulder blades. Eyes are lime green. Usually wears a sporadically multicolored set of t-shirt and pants, though currently has a large wardrobe of clothes to select from.

  • History: Ligia was, until just a year ago, growing up in one of the Savages' un-terraformed colonies. Her family was specialized in the Nisi tinkerer profession; what other races would just call an engineer, but particularly focused on adapting foreign technology. A few months prior to her leaving Savages' space, there was a terrible accident in the colony; a wall breach that resulted in an entire sector's internal atmosphere becoming compromised. Though Ligia survived the incident, her family did not.

A Female Nisi without a family is akin to a Human without a home; between societal pressures and being around other Nisi reminding her of her loss, Ligia decided to go abroad, taking odd jobs in foreign countries to get by.

  • Position: Nisi tinkerer. (Engineer, albeit a bit of a "putting junk together until it works" sort.)

  • Other: The pride of a Nisi tinkerer is in the things they've made from other nations' technology for themselves, and Ligia is no exception. She keeps what she currently considers to be her greatest feat of tinkering: A frankensteined double-gun made from a Sirian L42R2 and commercial Solar Republic laser bullpup. (It is now basically a laser bullpup with an under-slung, one shot railgun.) She also has an unfinished, homemade Nisi fighter craft, which she has been trying to learn to use via commercial training simulations. Finally, like many Nisi, Ligia is not very articulate, and tends to use Hulk Speak.

edited 15th Oct '14 2:45:01 AM by FirockFinion

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Parable Since: Aug, 2009
nman Since: Mar, 2010
#261: Jan 1st 2015 at 3:19:30 AM

It's a long time coming but I almost finished my ambassador(s).

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#262: Jan 1st 2015 at 11:59:15 AM

That only took forever. tongue

Game is open to new players! Anyone wanting to get in on this is welcome!

nman Since: Mar, 2010
#263: Jan 3rd 2015 at 2:47:22 PM

As a note, the Kuhneebo Conglomerate is a non-member observer state in the Galactic Nations, refusing to fully join on the grounds that the GN was formed in order to legitimize Imperial Verandi aggression and cripple galactic economic interests.


  • Name: Zemarius
  • Age: 33
  • Sex: Male
  • Appearance: Stereotypical male, doesn't have much to distinguish himself from other males visually aside from the fact that he's wearing a black suit with a blue shirt and yellow tie.
  • History: Zemarius completed his Junior Internship several months ahead of time, and instead of performing extra work for another year or two, enlisted in the Novaian Navy. He spent half dozen years sailing the oceans of Zeconis, eventually getting his own co-command of a carrier for three years. On shore leave one day, he met his future first Sife, and retired from the Navy to spend the next decade raising a family while pursuing his true passion, art. His Sife left him, growing bored with his lack of adventure, and with no more junior interns to raise, he enlisted as the chief of police aboard the recently-constructed Novaian Ark, Niveous, that was due to take its maiden flight. There he met his new Sife, Lisfinniarareran. In 3551, after the death of the previous GN ambassador, a friend of his from the Navy was now on the Novaian Executive Committee, and recommended him and his sife for the nomination, which they eventually won.
  • Credentials: Well-versed in all galactic languages, military matters, and various forms of art.

  • Name: Lisfinniarareran
  • Age: 30
  • Sex: Simale
  • Appearance: Wears a silver pantsuit with a gold shirt. Has a ponytail and a goatee.
  • History: Worked as a carpenter while xe raised xer first few junior interns. When xe was eight years old, xe used xer savings to get into Mechanical Engineering, where being one of the only simales allowed her to stand head and shoulders above her coworkers. Literally. Xe researched and developed several new processes for improving material yields and strengths so that by the time xe was thirteen, xe was already leading xer own division and responsible for co-managing Novaian production, acquisitions, and general trade relations with several nearby galactic nations. When working on the Niveous, xe met xer current husband Zemarius, and was likewise nominated for the ambassadorship, which they both won.
  • Credentials: Highly intelligent for a Simale, she is likewise well-versed in galactic languages and is very knowledgeable of matters relating to trade relations and the production of goods and materials.
    As far as GN regulations go, xe could be considered the ambassador, while Zemarius is legally an assistant. Even though he does the overwhelming majority of talking, and he is most likely the once deciding military matters, all decisions are ultimately xers, or approved by xer.

nman Since: Mar, 2010
#264: Jan 8th 2015 at 4:09:25 PM

[up][up]Yeah, now would totally be a good time for new players to join the game, since the political part of the game is currently wrapping up a meeting, and the adventurer part is on a planet so new people can join relatively easily.

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
Luthen Char! from Down Under Burgess Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Playing Cupid
Char!
#266: Jan 14th 2015 at 9:59:45 PM

If we were to jump in, do we create another faction, or can we make characters of someone else's civilization? Also is there a summary of the first 22 pages of the game available? Cause I'm interested but it'll take me a bit to read that.

edited 14th Jan '15 10:00:41 PM by Luthen

You must agree, my plan is sheer elegance in its simplicity! My Tumblr
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#267: Jan 14th 2015 at 10:09:54 PM

You normally make your own new faction. However, we do have a number of NPC states with very bare-bones characterization should you be interested in those.

Last 20 pages? Very simple. There's a space colony near Earth where representative from all the galactic nations have come to talk and negotiate and make peace and stuff like that. They all be talking about whatever until some terrorist attack spooked them enough to start building up an anti-pirate force to bring this unstable region of space back to civilization.

Said attack was thwarted thanks to the timely warning of a cargo ship, whose plucky little crew have since gone on to new adventures, namely fighting running away from chocolate robots at a chocolate convention.

nman Since: Mar, 2010
#268: Jan 27th 2015 at 11:14:38 PM

Guess you scared him off, Parabletongue

FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#269: Mar 4th 2015 at 4:31:07 AM

Figured I should get this information down somewhere other than just in my head. This was discussed on skype, and is not another nation I'm signing up, just an addition to my last one.

  • Species: Gleep.
    • A Jotun native, six legged, reptile-like species with avian features, visually similar to a Terran iguana. Gleeps' bodies are about four feet long, with a tail that adds about a foot and a half. Their front four legs all point forward, with feet that are capable of gripping and manipulation, but lack true opposable thumbs, making their dexterity limited; their rearmost legs point back, and are even less dexterous, but are much stronger and provide most of the force for forward movement. Their bodies are almost entirely covered in small scales, except for their back along their spine which have feathers, starting from the top of their head and going to about a third of the way down their tail. Gleep are known to come in a wide variety of colors, though except in rare cases their body scales will all be one color, with the feathers on their back being a different shade of the same color. (usually darker) Their posture is very low, with usually only an inch or two between the ground and their stomach, except for their head which they usually raise up to be almost a foot off the ground. At their widest point, a Gleep's body is usually around eight inches wide and six inches high, though their legs typically spread apart to just over two feet wide when able.

Despite being of a body type and size typically associated with non-sapient creatures, Gleep have been proven internationally as a fully sapient species, ranking just below Humans in tests to measure intelligence across different species; in fact they almost always score higher than the dominant sapient species of Jotun, the Nisi. Unfortunately, Gleep lack a natural voice box, restricting their natural communication to the most basic, animal-like calls, and forcing them to use methods like writing or typing to communicate beyond that. Gleep live for 50-60 standard galactic years on average.

  • History: The Gleep evolved alongside the Nisi on Jotun, failing to become the dominant species despite being smarter. While the Nisi evolved to be a predatory hunting species, the Gleep evolved to be a burrowing scavenger species, usually digging safe hovels under the trunks of trees to get away from the Nisi, who hunted them regularly. When the Uplifters and their Sirian vassals first arrived to Jotun, the Gleep were overlooked in favor of the Nisi, and thus the Gleep remained more or less unchanged by the ordeal. After the Uplifters and Sirians left and the Nisi began to develop, the Gleep were still treated as a prey species, the Nisi being unaware of the Gleeps' sapience.

In the centuries to come, the Nisi began experimenting in mass domestication of various species on Jotun, the Gleep included; primarily for the means of meat production, to supply the Nisis' carnivorous diet. Gleep were not the most popular animal of choice for meat and did not get domesticated en masse as quickly as other species, but by the time the Nisi reached space flight and went to war with the Sirian Union, there was a small industry for Gleep meat. While the Nisi didn't learn the full extent of Gleep intelligence until later, they had long known Gleep to more intelligent than most of the "other animals", and so there was limited attempts by the Nisi to domesticate them into pets, with varying success.

The truth about the Gleep did not become known until 3399, when Nisi singer Bytua Windrain traveled to the planet Paaneah to participate in the Verandi I-Jam music festival and brought her Gleep pet "Thumper" along; Bytua had trained Thumper to play a set of drums with his legs to go with her singing. Though far from the most popular performances, Bytua gained lots of notability with her's and Thumper's performance; the most remarkable moment being when Bytua claimed that the next song she would play had been written by Thumper, before she started singing the song. This was assumed to be a joke as part of a publicity stunt, until Bytua was approached by a Verandi journalist for an interview at the end of I-Jam. During the interview, Bytua had Thumper demonstrate his ability to both read and write the Abbit sheet music they used to perform; Bytua had failed to realize the significance of this, as had all other Nisi who also knew of it.

The Verandi journalist though, did not, and in the years to come many tests of Gleep intelligence were done among those that had been brought by Nisi immigrants, with the results quickly being spread internationally. After this was brought to the attention of the Savages' Warlord at the time, Diabya Bravekit, she quickly ordered their own tests to be done for confirmation, which indeed supported the findings of the Verandi tests; including a particularly notorious and embarrassing experiment in which the Gleep test subjects actually outsmarted the Nisi scientists testing on them. Fearing an international uproar from the likes of the Verandi Empire, the Sirian Union, and the Ashkathi Union, Diabya quickly made it law that the Gleep would have full rights as citizens of the Savages, including all the laws of protection that applied to the Nisi. This did cause some uproar, as now hunting and eating Gleep was illegal, effectively killing off the Gleep meat industry overnight; prominent farm and factory owners in that industry were among the most outspoken against the decision, until Diabya went and beat up the biggest names of the bunch in duels.

  • Culture: Having had no education among their species to speak of until around 150 years ago, Gleep culture that is unique to the Gleep is practically non-existent, which gives many of them a uniquely impassive view to start with in regards to most other cultures, including that of the Nisi. Though it is now illegal by law for Nisi in the Savages to own Gleep, many Gleep on Jotun live with Female Nisi families for practical purposes, filling more or less the same household role as pet guard dogs do among Humans. Gleep who've immigrated to other nations do tend to be more independent, as much as a species with no opposable thumbs and no voice boxes can be. For the Gleep, moving to other nations has become a moderate fad in recent history, as many Gleep are attracted by the prospect of getting away from the Nisi, whom plenty of Gleep still see as predators towards themselves. (And when talking about Male Nisi they're not always wrong, either.)

  • Trivia: Though it has thus far proven impossible to accurately census all the Gleep living on Jotun, it is estimated that about 1 billion Gleep are alive today in the known galaxy; of those, over 20% do not live on Jotun.

Gleep are quite possibly the only species in the known galaxy to be the most intelligent on their native planet without being the dominant species there.

edited 26th Mar '15 9:02:24 PM by FirockFinion

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AllHailThrall For the Horde! from Somewhere (It’s Ben 10) Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
For the Horde!
#270: Sep 14th 2015 at 9:03:07 PM

After what we discussed, here's the signup for the Sarken Hegemony.

  • Name: The Sarken Hegemony
  • Population: Roughly 20 billion (around 6 billion kakkons, 5 billion sarken, 4 billion raijalresh, 2 billion qualls, 2 billion airoth, 250 million volun, 80 million other species)
  • History: Originally, the planet Ersark was a flourishing garden world, brimming with life. However, the native Sarken, unwilling to restrain their twisted experiments in the name of progress, managed to flood their atmosphere with dangerous amounts of toxic chemicals. Unfazed by what they had done, the Sarken, instead of dying out, genetically altered their bodies to accomodate their new home. When they left Ersark, they found that they now had to wear breather masks and pressure suits to survive in conventional nitrogen-oxygen atmospheres.

By 2306, they made first contact with the Republic of Raijal, populated by the tech-savvy Raijalresh. Over the next hundred years, the Sarken maintained good relations with the Republic of Raijal, as well as its neighbor states the Mugsoon Kingdom and the United Dzawenid Clans. However, Raijal soon came into contact with the Kakkon Hive, an aggressive nation populated by the insectoid Kakkon species. Believing themselves to be superior to the other races, they attacked on sight. The Raijalresh fled, and warned the Sarken about the Hive, asking for assistance against the threat. When Raijal proposed an alliance, the Sarken accepted. Shortly afterwards, the two nations came together to form the Sarken Confederacy in 2430, and the two began to prepare. This wasn't enough, however— the Kakkons' sheer numbers overwhelmed the two fledgling nations.

Beaten back by the Kakkons, the Sarken retreated the sector and began to scout outside of the known galaxy for potential planets to refuel on. It was then that they discovered a race of iron-clad warriors living on the moon of a gas giant just south of the Known Galaxy. Going to the moon to investigate the warriors, members of a hardy race known as the Volun, the Sarken were intrigued by their fighting prowess and eagerness for battle and offered them a deal— in exchange for acting as the Sarken's soldiers and workers, the Sarken would give the Volun passage offworld, allow them to use Sarken weaponry, and give them the opportunity to wage war throughout the whole galaxy. The Volun accepted, and in 2470 the Sarken and the Volun struck back against the Kakkons, in a conflict known as the Kakkon War. In order to defeat the Kakkons, the Sarken and Volun managed to fight their way to the Kakkon homeworld, Zazkaklazn, and abduct the Kakkon queen. The Kakkons traded their freedom for the safe return of their queen. As punishment, the Kakkons were integrated into the Sarken Confederacy as a servant caste.

However, after the war, the Sarken economy nearly collapsed. In order to sustain themselves, the Sarken began conquering and exploiting the worlds they came across, renaming themselves to the Sarken Hegemony in the process. These included the Dzawenid and Jiptohr that they had previously been friendly towards. After a period of prosperity, the Sarken once again found their economy slowly falling apart, and in a bit of desperation, they attacked and invaded the peaceful, pre-FTL Airoth species. The Volun soon felt disillusioned with the Sarken and staged a rebellion in 2640. This revolution, known as the Volun Uprising, was fought against using the Sarken subject races, but as the war raged on, the Sarken decided that the war against Volun was wasteful, and soon began negotiating with the Volun patriarchs. The result of the peace talks was the formation of a Volun sovereign state, the Legacy of Delor, as well as a treaty of alliance with the newly founded nation.

After the Volun left, the economy started picking up again until the Dark Age caused another depression. During the Dark Age, the Jiptohr and the Dzawenid also staged uprisings, and were also released from the Hegemony. To prevent another uprising from occurring, the Sarken cracked down heavily on insubordination, as well as installed many checks to the power of the subject races. By 2922, the Sarken Hegemony managed to make contact with a Kaladian scout ship heading galactic-south, and diplomacy talks were established, during which the Sarken were introduced to the galaxy at large. During this period of time, the Sarken typically backed Kaladia in matters of galactic importance, and they developed a close relationship with the United Stars of the Snailian People. In 2958, the Hegemony had brought another race under its dominion, the Qualls, who were put to work as a caste of workers. This caused a minor outrage from the galaxy at large.

The biggest principal interaction that the Sarken Hegemony had with the galaxy at large prior to the Freedom War was the invasion of the Triple Alliance (along with the Legacy of Delor) in 3320. The Sarken Hegemony managed to take one of the Alliance's planets before the two nations declared a ceasefire 5 years later. When the Freedom War kicked up, the Hegemony offered its services to its closest ally, Kaladia. The Hegemony did not fight in the war directly, but supplied Kaladia with Hegemony weapons and troops, mainly Kakkon and Raijalresh mercenaries. Regardless, Kaladia was still defeated.

Near the end of the war, another Uldermach took control, and pulled all support from Kaladia. After the war, the new Uldermach, Taerich, negotiated with the Galactic Nations and, a few years afterwards, with the support of the United Stars, the Sarken Hegemony joined the Galactic Nations.

  • Government: The Sarken Hegemony was established after the Sarken Confederacy, the prior state, fell during the Kakkon War. The Hegemony is led by an Uldermach, a leader who holds a life term, voted up by the Board of Machen, a council of the most brilliant Sarken minds. However, Sarken are nothing if not ambitious, and the position of Uldermach is extremely dangerous, since it is often targeted by assassins and twisted experiments. Below the Machen lies the Antermachen, who are roughly equivalent to senators. Each planet in the Sarken Hegemony sends a number of Antermachen proportionate to the planet's population, and act as liasons between the Sarken and their subjects. Aside from antermachen, subject citizens are not given representation in the federal government, but they are allowed to vote in planetary elections and are able to live and work in any of the worlds in the Hegemony.
    • To a Raijalresh, knowledge is the ultimate power. Typically, the leaders of the Raijalresh are scholars, engineers, or researchers. The current leader of the Raijalresh, the Provost, is voted into power by the populace, and the Provost answers directly to the Sarken board of Machen.
    • The Kakkon Hive is led by the Tenders, a group of priest-like individuals whose job is to tend to the Kakkon Queen on Zazkaklazn. Despite her name, the Kakkon Queen holds no actual power aside from making more Kakkons.
    • The Airoth leader, or argoi, is in charge of the department that looks after all the mayors of Astara, similar to a burgomaster or chairman. However, the title of argoi is typically passed down the generations. Currently, the role of argoi is held by a Sarken-backed antermach who oversees Astara.
    • In the days before the planet Telpker was subjugated by the Sarken, the Qualls lived a socialist lifestyle, where all work that was done was for the good of the entire community. The Sarken put this mindset to work, but in order to oversee their quall workers, the Sarken also installed a Chancellor of the Quall People, to enforce the rules of the Hegemony.
  • Military: Being naturally gifted in genetic engineering and technology, yet lacking the moral shackles to keep their progress in line, the Sarken Hegemony is more willing to use obviously experimental or dangerous weaponry in the name of science. Sarken flagships run on nuclear fusion, but some even use experimental singularity drives to generate nearly limitless power at the expense of an occasional explosive core malfunction. In short, Sarken very rarely stick with the same equipment, constantly upgrading and changing out their weapons and battleships. Sarken themselves rarely fight, however, and prefer to let their subjects do most of the fighting if need be.
    • The Raijalresh in particular have a special firearm that fires smart bullets. They attached a scope to one of their stalk eyes, then fire. By pointing the eye in different directions (as the Raijalresh can orient their eyes whatever way they choose), they can guide the rocket in the air to dodge around fortifications and hit priority targets.
    • The Kakkon strategy in military is to attack and keep coming. The typical Kakkon tactic is to swarm the opponent without giving them a chance to retaliate, which, given the Kakkons' typical numbers advantage, is a more effective tactic than some realize.
  • Infrastructure: The Sarken Hegemony is divided into the Sarken themselves, and the four subject nations within the Hegemony. Members of subject races are not treated like slaves, however. They are given working hours, paid for their efforts (in the Hegemony currency, "kallen"), and allowed to keep their culture and homes. In addition, the usage of large numbers of subject races dedicated to certain tasks means a caste system has risen up to determine professions. A subject race is allowed to practice a set number of different professions laid out by their Sarken masters, and are given moderately light rule for their work.

However, the true infrastructure of the Sarken Hegemony is the Sarken brain. Sarken constantly build and create things that keep the Hegemony afloat, but just as easily bring it to its knees. One of the most important Sarken inventions in recent years, aside from the black hole generator, is a device they call the Fabricator, which like a Swiss army knife can "fabricate" most important tools quickly, sort of like a 3D printer with metals. Since Sarken are nothing if not cunning, a Sarken will always carry a Fabricator on his person, even though said Fabricators tend to be unstable. The discipline of an individual Sarken varies, anywhere from machinery to genetic engineering to mad alchemy. If it works (and sometimes even if it doesn't), it can be put to use in the Sarken eyes.

What the Sarken Hegemony does not keep for itself, it often sells to other nations. The primary export of the Sarken Hegemony is computers and consumer electronics, including Sarken fabricators. These electronics are often made in bulk by skilled Raijalresh machinists; thus, Hegemony-made electronics tend to be very top-of-the-line.

  • Culture: The pollution and corruption of the planet Ersark has made research on pre-pollution Sarken difficult, and Sarken do not like to discuss their history, in favor of discussing science and progress. They dismiss the stories of their ancient gods as fairy tales for children, or wash them clean of supernatural elements and describe them as ancient scientists with powerful, sufficiently advanced technology. This proves an important section of the Sarken mindset: progress is more important than history. As far as the Sarken are concerned, why dwell in the past, when you can live the future? The Sarken encourage what other races would call "mad science", while the nation subsidises promising scientific discoveries, leading to a culture that favors intellect, cunning, and ambition.

One remnant of their pre-scientific culture lies with pseudo-historic individuals that the Sarken refer to as "philosopher-kings". These individuals, with their description of scientifically-advanced technology centuries ahead of their time, and their almost complete reverence by their followers, were almost certainly considered gods in those times, especially the chiefest of the philosopher-kings, Stranz. It seems that all paranormal influences were wiped clean by cultural personnel, as the Sarken do not wish to admit they believed in the divine at some point in time.

While both the mother and father do take care of their children, they are also both expected to work, and thus children are often nannied by either a robot, or a member of a servant race. For this reason, Sarken rarely become as close to their families as humans in their respective situations do. A Sarken child is considered an adult when he or she has proven they can sustain themselves (which can be as early as the mid-teens or as late as the late 20s). The average young Sarken will usually face intellectual pursuits for entertainment, such as playing strategic games, writing, or planning. However, many will often push the boundaries of their research to brag to their friends. For instance, a Sarken interested in cars may either build a car themselves or outfit a bought car with a wide variety of addons and mechanisms.

Life for the average Sarken is fairly cushy, due to the subject races propping up the Sarken's lifestyle. Most physical labor is unheard of for Sarken to perform, so the vast majority of Sarken workers are white-collar. The Sarken home life is similarly cushy. Robots and subject servants perform the vast majority of Sarken household tasks. Sarken citizens will readily join clubs that promote their particular interests. Members of these clubs will work on joint projects, discuss philosophy and scientific discoveries, and overall collaborate. However, due to the racial pride and ambition that the Sarken have, many of these clubs devolve into a couple of ambitious Sarken grasping for power however they can.

Since the Sarken have allowed free practice of the subject nations' cultures, subject culture has leaked upwards into the Sarken way of life, typically Raijalresh culture due to the similarities between the nations.

  • The Raijalresh are a people that embody curiosity. Ever since they adapted to the now-extinct Walkers, the Raijalresh feverishly explored their home, as well as explored various avenues for knowledge to understand the universe. The Raijalresh believe in a sort of universal gestalt of all the knowledge in the cosmos. Every so often it dips into the mortal realm, where talented minds can "tap" into it. When a Raijalresh dies, his or her collective knowledge is poured into the universal gestalt, and other Raijalresh can tap into that consciousness to gain their knowledge. To a raijalresh, a study session is just as much a session of meditation as it is a way of learning.
  • The Kakkon Hive venerates the Queen that birthed them, and the Tenders who keep watch on the Queen pass on the her "word" to the rest of the hive. The Queen is barely sentient, and so the Tenders must "interpret" for her. Somehow, the beliefs of the Queen usually tend to "coincidentally" line up with the general beliefs of the Tenders keeping watch on her. For this reason, the Sarken try to install Tenders that are loyal to the Hegemony.
  • The Airoth believe in a set of gods known as the Green Host. The seven gods and goddesses of the Green Host were the creators of the world in ancient Astaran mythology: Telluth the god of the sun, Alith the god of the sky, Vastel the goddess of the harvest, Selaroth the god of the earth, Lamidel the goddess of the sea, Rudimith the god of nature, and Wadel the goddess of night. The god Selaroth was said to have created the airoth from stone in his own image, and so Selaroth is the primary deity worshipped by the Airoth. Temples to the Green Host are common fixtures in every Airoth city and town. While the Sarken Hegemony officially does not agree with the worship of the Green Host, the laws of preservation of culture prevent them from snuffing out the religion, so they tolerate the construction of the Green Host temples. This has led to several communities of other subject races, mostly raijalresh and qualls, converting to the Green Host faith.
  • The Qualls revere a formless deity called the Deep Mother, who was said to live in the center of the world and from the endless caverns of Telpker, created the Qualls. Mostly, though, the Qualls are a very secular, socialist society. Most property on Telpker is communally owned, and everything is made for the good of both the Quall people and the Sarken Hegemony in general.
  • Territory: The Sarken Hegemony, aside from Ersark, has seven colony worlds nearby the capital, each of which is terraformed to be as polluted and shriveled as Ersark, due to their new need for polluted atmosphere. In addition, there are countless "testworlds", planets that they run twisted experiments on in order to find new potential bits of technology. Finally, the Sarken have control over nine subject worlds, each worlds originally belonging to an alien race integrated into the Hegemony: four kakkon worlds, two raijalresh worlds, one airoth world, one quall world, and one world plundered from the Triple Alliance inhabited primarily by aht, tidenal, and fasir.
  • Trivia: Sarken are tall, hunched beings, frail-looking but tough. A Sarken can survive injuries that would kill most other beings. Since they have adapted themselves to a poisonous atmosphere, they wear full-body pressure suits and breathing masks in conventional nitrogen-oxygen atmospheres. However, underneath their suits, they have wrinkled, mostly hairless skin; sunken in, black eyes; and long snouts. Their hands and feet have prominent claws on them— it can be assumed that they are descended from digging creatures that ate insects. Males and females have very few differences, but overall, females tend to be smaller than males and have shorter snouts. Sarken give birth to live young, up to 3 but usually 1 or 2 at a time, after a relatively long gestation period of 10 months.

edited 28th Sep '15 1:41:12 PM by AllHailThrall

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
nman Since: Mar, 2010
#271: Sep 14th 2015 at 9:04:49 PM

  • Name: The Legacy of Delor
  • History: The volun developed from a prey species on the world of Forjar, with their ancestors fending off scores of predators until they were capable of utilizing tools, and a heavily combatitive culture arose out of the necessity of defending against natural threats. For several thousands of years the Volun developed into a a widespread society on their world, eventually reaching the late iron age. During this time, in 2440, invaders from the skies landed on their planet, and began mining their resources. The local clans mounted all of their warriors in a show of tremendous force in order to repel the invaders, only to be laughably innefective against their space-age technology. This marked the beginning of the relationship between the two species as the volun were taken under the wing of the sarken, and promised the chance to fight countless battles on worlds beyond the stars. By 2470, enough volun had been integrated into the sarken military to begin their campaign against the rest of the known galaxy.

The first alien race the sarken pointed them at were the Kakkon. Over the course of the next two and a half decades, the volun were unleashed against the kakkon, first by pushing them off of conquered worlds, then spreading to the hives themselves. Their physiologies were suited for long campaigns, allowing them to fight unhindered on the kakkon's worlds as they headed deep into their hives. When the kakkon were finally broken, the volun returned to the old ways, focusing on gaining dominance of their newly-conquered worlds. However, after having gotten a taste of conquering worlds, they longed to once again test their mettle against the galaxy, rather than against their own kin. Their wish was granted quickly, as the sarken turned against the Mugsoon Kingdom, and the volun were once againt able to prove themselves against warriors from other stars. After the Jiptohri came the Dzawenid, whose united clans proved to be another great challenge.

After having conquered all of the spaceflight capable species known to the Sarken, there was a decades-long period of recovery and integration. During this time the volun settled into their new worlds and established infrastructures, but always with the thought in the back of their mind that this would only last until they found the next species in the galaxy to conquer. They once again were given the opportunity to prove themselves when the sarken discovered the planet Astara, populated by the pre-FTL airoth. However, with their primitive technology, limited population, and agrarian ways, the invasion became a bloodbath instead. Many volun grew disillusioned with the sarken for making their warriors into nothing more than butchers. This marked the start of the Volun Uprising, where the fleets used against Astara were turned back against their Sarken creators. For two decades the war raged on until 2641, when the Hegemony granted the volun their freedom. This new government was declared the Legacy of Delor, in honor of their greatest culture hero.

After the Dark Age, the Legacy was involved in various border skirmishes with the Jiptohr Empire and Bolaemia Bureaucracy. The relationship between the Sarken Hegemony and Legacy were slowly repaired during this period of time, with the two nations eventually resolidifying their connections to each other. As the centuries went on, many Jiptohr immigrated to the Legacy, while Bolaemian relations soured and the two nations came to blows in several conflicts.

In 3320, shortly after the Bolaemia Bureaucracy and Jiptohr Empire became entangled in the Expansion War, the Legacy allied themselves with the Sarken Hegemony for a rapid invasion of Triple Alliance space. All seven of the Alliance's worlds found themselves under siege as the two nations moved into the worlds of Niata and Hahio, establishing footholds. By the time the Triple Alliance fleets managed to push hard enough to reach their occupied worlds, they had been reinforced and secured. After several years of hard fighting, both worlds were annexed and brought under the control of the two nations, with the Sarken taking Niata and Legacy claiming Hahio. A century later, while the rest of their neighbors were occupied with the Resurgence War, the Legacy again invaded the Triple Alliance, this time only targeting the world of Beluru and and reinforcing it immensely. After another long campaign, the Triple Alliance was forced to withdraw while the Legacy tended to its new world. In the decades following the Resurgence War, in no small part due to the public desires of their Jiptohri citizens, the Legacy was involved in several small disputes with the Bureaucracy, under the guise of objecting to the Bolaemian treatment of the gzydeotmid. During this period of time, millions of Gzydeotmid were allowed to immigrate and be absorbed into the Legacy, with many moving to Hahio and other less-developed worlds.

Most recently, during the Freedom War, the Legacy allied with the Jiptohr Empire for a total invasion of the Bolaemia Bureaucracy. Hitting several fronts at once, and quickly neutralizing Tredmoi, the two nations managed to branch out rapidly. Capitalizing on the inability of most neighboring nations to assist the Bureaucracy due to the situation in Kaladia, the Legacy and Empire were able to occupy most of the Bureau's worlds. However, once the Freedom War was resolved, a coalition of several nations, including the Triple Alliance, United Stars, Nation of the Zehir, Kingdom of Knotar, and Izeran Empire came to the aid of the Bolaemians. Overextended against the united front, the Legacy and Jiptohr were ultimately forced to withdraw to prevent disaster, ending the occupation of Bolaemia.

  • Government: The Legacy government is a clan-based religious military dictatorship. Clusters of families will tend to form into herds, with the group being referred to as a blood pack, indicating that although they may not all share the same blood, they are willing to shed it for each other. The leaders of each family determine who is the leader of their blood pack. The blood pack leader's family elects a new family head, and then swears a blood oath to fight for the betterment of his pack. Clans are formed by large groups of blood packs, with the leader of each blood pack having a say in who is the leader of the clan. Just as with blood pack leadership, when someone is selected as leader of a clan, they swear an oath in blood to fight for their clan. This hierarchy continues until it reaches a planetary leader, equivalent to a planetary governor. These governors in turn select the leader of their nation, who is known as the Legend of Delor.

In the Legacy, individuals who exemplify aspects of Delor are known as Legends, with each Legend representing a single virtue. The exception is the leader of the Legacy, the Legend of Delor, who instead of exemplifying a single aspect of Delor, best embodies the sum of his virtues. There are a few dozen Legends, with many of the more well known ones being government officials, such as the Legend of Vengeance, who is responsible for the military, the Legend of Wealth, who oversees the economy, and the like. Less prominent virtues are held by correspondingly less prominent Legends, who are more akin to local celebrities or princes. These titles are not inherited, instead being appointed by Champions, with the exception being the Legend of Delor. In the rare event where there are insufficient Legends to select new Legends, the Clan leader of the previous Legend votes in their stead. Below the Legends are the Champions, who have exhibited strength of character in a respective virtue, and have been appointed by the Legend. It is the duty of every Legend to have a certain range of Champions appointed, and appointment lasts for a lifetime unless the Champion is found to have performed dishonorably. There are no defined requirements on age, experience, or status for being appointed, though certain virtues have inclinations for certain people. For instance, Champions of Wealth tend to be wealthy individuals, and Champions of Vengeance are typically soldiers of great accomplishment.

  • Military: Due to the militaristic nature of the government, it places heavy emphasis on military strength. It is a legal requirement for all Legates to own weaponry and be prepared to defend their homes and their blood packs, and it is seen as a disgrace to be unarmed. The entirety of the volun population is always considered a reserve member of the military. For matters of defense and security, clans and planets are expected to maintain their own militia forces.
    Most Legacy military technology is ultimately of Sarken design or origin, due to having relied on Sarken technology for the entirety of their interstellar history, or from one of the other races in the hegemony. Capital ships are similar to those of the sarken, and feature a medley of laser and rail technology. Military tactics place heavy emphasis on the natural proficiencies of volun at using boarding craft. Their spacefighter craft are slower and less maneuverable than others, as they are designed to also operate as aircraft and are equipped with more armor and weapons.

An oddity of volun infantry combat is the extensive use of animals. Army infantry groups are supported by savage animals trained for the purpose of warfare. Due to their natural strength and durability, the volun beasts of war can be extremely vicious and hearty predators, capable of biting through heavy armor and using their sheer mass to break up enemy formations. As a result of extensive Sarken genetic engineering over past millennium, beasts employed in the Volun army are especially viscious, durable, and resistant to chemical and biological agents. This practice is a holdover from their ancient warfare techniques - as volun are too heavy to effectively make use of mounted units, much more effort was put into the domestication of beasts and maturing the techniques of training them for battle. The most iconic beast of war is the irlava, which resembles a metallic cross between a bear and a komodo dragon. Shoulder and back-mounted weaponry are commonplace, taking advatage of the stability provided by volun bulkiness.

  • Infrastructure: Volun have to consume both iron-based compounds for nutrition, and carbon-based compounds for combustible energy, giving them a complex diet.
    Institutionalized education is nearly nonexistent among volun in the Legacy, with most learning happening on-the-job as a form of apprenticeship. Although it is mandatory to carry a weapon and every volun is a warrior of the military, it is not socially unacceptable for a volun to offer the labor of his mind to the Legacy. People such as engineers, doctors, historians, and scientists are considered Warriors of the Mind, and are seen as performing duties that allow the Legacy to grow. Because the sarken rapidly introduced the aspects of modern infrastructure, volun culture adapted to allow for warriors to learn these new sciences and arts, pass them on to their children, and in doing so make all of the volun strong.
  • Law Enforcement: The volun typically do not use capital punishment outside of the battlefield, instead preferring to place criminals into labor camps, where they are disgraced by being stripped of their weaponry, and then forced to work until their debt is paid off. In cases where multiple lifetime sentences are required, immediate family members are made to work off the additional time. After the sentence is finished, the individual's weapons are returned to them and they are reinstated as a volun. Battlefields and war zones tend to be the only places where executions are utilized, due to the unique circumstances and severity of betrayal, cowardice, and other such crimes, combined with the need for expediency. In the situation where a battlefield execution is required, the preferred method is the breaking of limbs and submerging in a body of water, but in situations where time is of the utmost essence, gunshots are permissible.
  • People: The volun are an iron-based species from the plant Forjar, which is the moon of the gas giant Malque. They are asexual, with each one possessing a set of internal organs capable of producing a clone of the parent. Despite their genderless biology, they tend to be referred to by masculine pronouns. They are stocky, lumbering, durable creatures, with adults measuring between five and seven feet tall, depending on age, and weigh between 700 and 1500 pounds. Gestation lasts approximately fourteen months, during which time the father passes on approximately the latest two decade's worth of memories genetically to the child.

They possess two arms, hands with three fingers, two legs, bulky feet with three wide toes, and thick steel-like armored skin. Their fingers are blunt and lack nails, as do their toes. They have two pairs of eyes that see in the visible spectrum and parts of the ultraviolet, giving them a 240 degree field of view, and a large pair of nostrils. Volun have two horns, one that is about a foot long and protrudes from between their forehead and nose, and another that is approximately four inches and extends from their chin. They have large front teeth, which are visible even when their mouths are closed. A hump protrudes from their back, which houses the majority of their breathing system. Their noses are tuned towards identifying metallic compounds, leaving them unable to distinguish between what most species consider "pleasant" and "foul".

Rather than the commonly-used respiration, volun rely on combustion instead, which functions by taking in atmospheric oxidizers. Their organs analagous to a respiratory system are combined with their digestive system, as the two rely on each other, doubling as both lungs and digestive systems. Although their lungs are insulated from the rest of their body, a volun is still relatively hot to the touch for most species. They can survive in extreme heat and cold, and can resist drowning or suffocating underwater or in a vacuum for nearly an hour. They use water as a solvent, similar to carbon-based lifeforms, but have a lower body concentration, typically obtaining what they need from the atmosphere.

As they are iron-based, volun are susceptible to illnesses and toxins made using their own form of biochemistry, while unaffected by diseases and chemical compounds that affect carbon-based life. Volun bodies are extremely durable, and due to their homeworld frequently passing through a Van Allen belt, they can endure environments with severe long-term radiation conditions. When a volun's skin is punctured, they exhibit a phenomenon akin to scarring in humans, where it rapidly clots in order to prevent bleedout, but it is more comprable to fast rusting. This small film quickly forms and keeps the volun's blood from escaping, but is much weaker than the armored skin that it replaces. Their armor can repair itself from most wounds, but larger lacerations typically require the painful surgical procedure of welding new material onto the location of the injury. These plates are kept in place for months or even years, being replaced as the volun grows, until the armor underneath has finally healed. Volun do not have an adrenaline response. Instead, to deal with injuries, a volun can temporarily disable his pain receptors, at the expense of his scent and hearing. If a volun is near-fatally wounded, his body will cannibalize his reproductive system in an effort to recover, leaving him sterile and sending him into the Patriarch stage early.

A volun never stops growing, and becomes larger until he dies from old age. Certain physical traits become more or less pronounced during the aging process, resulting in physically distinct appearances. These tend to be broken down into four stages of a volun's life.

  • The earliest years of a volun's life is spent in the initiate stage. This stage is short and rotund, with his upper body nearly as wide and deep as it is tall. As he grows into further stages, he will become more humanoid in shape. His hump dominates his upper body and protrudes nearly a full foot above his head, giving a heavily hunchbacked appearance. His teeth are short and contained in his mouth, his chin horn is only a short stub while his forehead horn is only a few inches short of adult length, and his shoulders are partially sunk into his hump.
  • The adept stage is the second stage, when a volun has finally developed the majority of identifying traits. His primary horn has reached adult length, a medium-length chin horn has developed, his fangs are large enough to always be visible, his shoulders are now mostly emerged from his hump, and their bodies are more vertical. A volun is usually around thirteen years of age and four and a half feet in height by this stage. He will spend the next two decades slowly growing larger and taller as he matures into adulthood.
  • The third stage, known as the apex stage, is the main phase of a volun's life. His upper torso no longer hunches forward, and his head now protrudes above his hump. At this age, a volun's internal reproductive organs have fully grown, allowing him to begin growing a child. He is generally around 33 years old and five and a half feet tall when he enters this stage, and will be in it for approximately five decades.
  • The final stage is the patriarch stage, which begins when a volun's reproductive organs cease to function. At this point, his body's systems will focus on survival as it can no longer reproduce. His body focuses on gaining more mass than height, which is usually around six feet at this point, and approaches six and a half as he ages. Additionally, his body cannibalizes his reproductive organs and repurposes them. As a result, he gains mass at a faster rate than before, and his physical capabilities increase. His head now protrudes well above his hump, while his shoulders become increasingly broad and the blades are more pronounced. This stage lasts approximately forty years on average, and ends with the volun's death. As he ages, his heart ultimately becomes incapable of supporting his weight.
  • Culture: Volun life follows a slow cycle, as days on their homeworld last approximately 163 hours. Volun sleep for periods of nearly fifty hours, followed by nearly five standard days of activity. Their two most important meals are breakfast and dinner, as they must fill themselves up with several days of food for dinner before sleeping, and breakfast must replenish everything they consumed in their sleep.

In volun society, family is the most important relationship. As children share knowledge of their father's lifetime, brothers and their fathers are extremely close to each other, while uncles and cousins are still close, albeit slightly less so. Government and religion are intermingled, with the supreme leaders of the volun being considered akin to demigods, and the assorted Legends and Champions being living heroes.

There are two personal weapons with a greater cultural significance to the Legacy than all others. The first is the Dagorath, or variable railgun, which borrows heavily from raijalresh and sarken technology. The dagorath is a railgun of raijalresh influence that utilizes sarken fabrication technology, which loads solid iron ingots rather than conventional rounds. Dagoraths are larger than comprable railguns, as they include a mini-fabricator inside which utilizes a precision laser to cut round from the ingot. Smaller rounds require less energy to fire, and can be shot more rapidly, while larger rounds take longer to fire. Typically a dagorath can switch between three firing modes, though larger or more advanced models may have more. One consequence of this is that the weapon is usually inoperable for several seconds after changing modes or reloading as it prepares the ingot and laser, usually requiring it to be accompanied by a sidearm.

The other most significant personal weapon is the laerath, which is similar to a mace. A laerath will typically either be flanged or spiked, and have a chain embedded into its handle. Depending on whether the chain is locked in place at the bottom or top, it can be used like a mace, or like a flail. Advanced laeraths can feature plasma or vibration technology for added effect.

In a volun funeral ceremony, the body of the deceased is melted down in a ceremonial furnace, and then forged into the a strong iron alloy used to create weapons for his children, brothers, or other close friends. These weapons are believed to possess the spirit of the deceased, and are said to bind the spirit to the soul of the one who wields it. Weapons made in this manner are called ravanaga and gain the honorable prefix of rava-, which loosely translates as legend or legendary. Thus, a dagorath made in this manner would be known as a ravadagorath, while a laerath would be dubbed a ravalaerath. As a volun ages and his father, brothers, friends, and even sons perish, he builds up a collection of these ravanaga. When he dies, the weapons that were not considered significant enough to merit bequeathing to someone in his will are melted down with him. In this way, a volun is said to be carrying the strength of his ancestors, all the way back to Delor himself. A common funeral rite roughly translates as "You are dead now. But I will make your blood my steel, your will shall be my blade, and your soul will guide me. I carry you with me into battle until my own body fails, and my sons must carry on for me. You are dead now, but I will make you immortal."

Because of this, a volun's weapon is considered an extension of his own soul, and "rath" is the volun word most commonly used to describe both "soul" and "changing weapon", referring to the malleability of one's soul to fit many ravanaga. It is considered the ultimate sin to lose one's soul, and those that do so are made outcasts. There are only two ways to revert this status. The most common method is to retrieve their soul, which is done by finding one's lost weapon. If that is not possible, then an outcase volun must live without help from other volun for twenty-seven (Forjar) years. If the volun can survive this period of time he is allowed to return to his clan and blood pack. This is due to the belief that they were found worth enough to have their soul return to them.

In cases of dismemberment, while some volun will simply replace them with a mechanical prosthetic limb, the far more socially acceptable replacement limb is a mounted weapon with a simple prosthetic hand. By doing so, a volun ensures that he is never without his weapon. Additionally, for ravanaga that are integrated into the body this way, a volun can have the souls of his ancestors welded to his body. Body markings are also popular, with volun etching meaningful patterns into this armor, and other species tattooing them.

The most common form of entertainment in the Legacy is physical competition, which manifests in countless forms, including bloodsports. The most popular of these is the, which resembles a combination of gladiatorial combat and promotional events. Animal fighting is also immensely popular. Due to their inability to swim, water sports are limited, and bear little to know resemblance to those in the rest of the galaxy. Volun water sports usually resemble slow-paced versions of field sports that are simply played underwater.

An integral part of Legacy society is their religion, Delorism. The namesake of the Legacy, Delor, is the mythological founder who united the volun, established laws, promoted technological advancement, and defeated many enemies in order to shape the volun into people instead of animals. Notably, Delor is never attributed as being the first volun, as he has numerous mythological ancestors in the distant past, referred to as the Time Before Memories. The volun were originally disorganized and savage, split into small tribes based on the size and shape of their horns and teeth, the color of their metal, and other traits that tied them to their fathers. Delor led his forces to conquer his foes, but instead of killing them to the last man to prevent their bloodline from continuing, as was the custom, he spared them, had them swear their loyalty to him, and then declared them brothers in his blood pack. When the forces of Forjar itself raged against the volun, he turned to the fire and flames, using the forge to create cities. With that development, volun abandoned their nomadic ways as they now had a land to call their own. He then used the flames to create weapons, inventing the laerath. Armed with weapons and glorious purpose, the volun set out to conquer the forces of nature, and seized control of Forjar.

His final physical act was his duel with the irlava chieftain, Gorgorot, who had been possessed by the spirit of death. Gorgorot mocked and taunted Delor, claiming he should surrender now, as his victory was inevitable. Regardless of what he did, Gorgorot claimed, no volun could ever escape death. In response, Delor simply stated "You speak the truth. However, I shall speak the truth as well. Death may come for all of us, it may come for me, it may come for my sons, and it may come for every one of their sons until the world is nothing but fire. But your victory will not be given freely. You will have to earn it. And if your strength, and the strength of your sons, proves weaker than the strength of my arms, and of my sons, then the victory shall be mine." The two began to fight in earnest, their battle lasting for several days. Finally, Delor channeled the last of his strength into a final blow, destroying Gorgorot and himself, and creating a canyon.

Before going to face his enemy, had Delor commanded his sons that should he fall, they were to take his body and forge it into weapons, allowing him to lend them his power. These were the Voravanaga, and all ravanaga are said to possess parts of these first weapons. Channeling his power, the Sons of Delor defeated Gorgorot's second, and then beat back his forces. With Delor guiding their hands and lending them his energy with every strike, there was no victory that could be denied them. Only the smallest and weakest were able to hide from their wrath, resulting in irlava now only being a ninth of their original size. This was followed by a lengthy period of prosperity until subsequent generations grew fierce and greedy, and once again fought each other.

Fire and blood are two important elements of Delorism. One's blood is said to carry the strongest concentration of one's soul, while fire and heat are believed to enhance the spiritual energy in the blood. There are no traditional gods in the Legacy, instead all people are considered to be bearers of spirits. Major figures, such as Delor himself, are regarded as mortals who accomplished great deeds, relying on their own strength, intelligence, courage, and persistence, without any sort of "divine" influence. Because of this, while the Legacy population does have a majority of volun due to historical reasons, Delorens are not spiritually segregated due to race or species. Disembodied spirits that represent concepts, such as chaos and death, are frequently villainized.

Clan and Blood Pack leaders are responsible for determining when volun are permitted to have children, in order to prevent overpopulating and conserve their local resources. It is the responsibility of the leadership to ensure that each bloodline has at least one heir, and tend to use a rotating cycle to determine who is allowed to have a child that year. Clans and Blood Packs that are incapable of meeting the needs of their members may sometimes find themselves transfering members. While not uncommon, and not dishonorable, this practice of having a clan "adopt" other members does tend to carry a negative connotation, as it means the originating clan was incapable of tending to its own. Clans are also responsible for maintaining their own collection of beasts.

  • Territory: The Legacy controls 13 inhabited systems, the majority of which were taken in various conquests. Their homeworld, Forjar, is a moon of the gas giant Malque in the SYSTEMNAME system. Two systems, containing the worlds of Hahio and Beluru, were annexed from the Triple Alliance within the last few hundred years.
    The volun homeworld, Forjar, is a moon of the gas giant Malque. It is tidally locked, and as a result Malque is always visible from the near side of Forjar. It has a high concentration of metals in its crust, resulting in the iron-based lifeforms that reside on it. Deserts are locations of high volcanic activity, while forests and jungles tend to be short, with even the tallest trees only reaching fifty meters. Countless ruins are scattered across the planet, fortresses of stone and iron from times long gone by.
  • Population: The majority of the Legacy population is made up of the volun species, but has a significant mix of other species as well. These non-volun populations are concentrated on their most recently-conquered planets, as they are the only ones with atmospheres they can breath on. The population of the Legacy is just under 18 billion, consisting of 12 billion volun, 2.4 billion Jiptohr, 1.9 billion Triple Alliance species, 700 million gzydeotmid, and a billion other individuals of other assorted species. The majority of members of the Legacy are Delorens, with only remnants of older religions remaining on Beluru.
  • Trivia:
    • The volun, and by extension the Legacy, use the base-three number system.
    • Because they lack true vocal cords, instead using controlled bursts of air from their lungs, the volun are incapable of whispering. Even at minimal volume, it sounds as if a volun is shouting.
    • The literal translation of Forjar is "place of ultimate suffering". Due to the lack of a Deloren concept of hell, when such locations have to be translated Forjar is used as a stand-in.

edited 20th Sep '15 2:47:21 PM by nman

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#272: Sep 15th 2015 at 2:48:42 PM

Thrall: I'm concerned about this 'aloof' aspect. You spend a lot of time bemoaning the fact that you made your two previous nations hard to interact with and now it seems you're going out of your way to do it again. If Verandi and Izera, who are on opposite sides of the Known Galaxy, can have a working relationship, I'm certain you can work out something for the Hegemony.

Nman: No to the genetic memories. And the smoke thing just sounds annoying, so please remove that as well.

AllHailThrall For the Horde! from Somewhere (It’s Ben 10) Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
For the Horde!
#273: Sep 15th 2015 at 4:40:32 PM

Sorry. Edited.

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#274: Sep 28th 2015 at 1:41:08 PM

The Hegemony is accepted.

edited 28th Sep '15 1:58:29 PM by Parable

AllHailThrall For the Horde! from Somewhere (It’s Ben 10) Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
For the Horde!
#275: Sep 28th 2015 at 5:04:31 PM

  • Name: Tac Manaress
  • Age: 300 (equivalent to middle-age)
  • Sex: Male
  • Appearance: Like all Raijalresh, Tac has a pink body with lighter-pink spots all over it, and two stalk eyes with orange and black eyes. He has a thick, spiky shell that curls around and spirals up, like that of a marine cone snail. The shell is a a rich green, with the spikes tinged with blue, and the whole shell is knobbly. He rides on top of a great, bulky-looking four-legged mechanical walker. He is always flanked by two Kakkon bodyguards, as his walker is not equipped with weaponry.
  • History: When Tac was a hatchling, he and his 46 siblings scattered to make names for themselves. Tac found that he had a knack for talking with others; he was an unusually charismatic member of his species and so he always headed the debate teams at his university. When he graduated with two degrees in law, he ran for office as a senator, and got the job. While working as a senator, his area received unprecedented amounts of productivity and voter satisfaction, and when his term was up, Tac was personally picked to act as ambassador to the Galactic Nations by the Provost of Raijal. After the Sarken Antermach overseeing Raijal approved it, that is.
  • Credentials: Tac has two degrees in law from the Grand Academy of Raijal, the most prestigious school on the planet. While he was working as a senator for his district, his area entered an economic boom, displaying some of the highest standards of living in its history. The Provost was so impressed by Tac's management of the place, that when his term was up and he could no longer work as a Senator, the Provost sent him to work where he could still do good for Raijal.

  • Name: Adenmach Angellvar fanna Ralnich
  • Age: 25, equivalent to 30 in Sarken years
  • Sex: Male
  • Appearance: Angellvar wears the standard Sarken armor: a bulky, hunched suit with a mask that has wide green eyes and a long snout ending in a breathing apparatus. The hands and feet end in claws, and he has a cloak behind him. The main difference is that Angellvar's suit is a dingy-looking white instead of dull green, and his cloak is teal blue instead of brown.
  • History: Angellvar fanna Ralnich was a brilliant scientist, geneticist, and doctor from Ersark. For eight years, he worked as a physician in Taria, the Sarken capital city, but he was laid off when his superiors decided to use medical drones in the hospital he worked at instead. Outraged, he left Ersark and sought out a chapter of the Galactic Aid Organization. He showed his credentials and was signed on, worked for a couple of years for them serving planets around Norb space, but in 3555 he was suddenly laid off a second time. Now livid, Angellvar began searching for job openings wherever he could find them. But there is not much call for a doctor in Norb space...
  • Position: Medical officer

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.

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