Name:
The Glorious Providence of Arlan

Flag:


Type of government:
Theocracy

Government description:
The Providence is headed by a Grand Theurge, a simultaneously religious and political leader. Each Grand Theurge rules until death or abdication, and is chosen by the previous Grand Theurge to take over after them. They wield absolute power, but a council of twelve Lesser Theurges advises them, and vote on decisions in the rare absence of a Grand Theurge, such as when they die before they get a chance to choose a successor. All thirteen are said to have a special relationship with the Iratoc's cheif deity, Ashula.

Main race:
Iratoc - A bipedal, humanoid race with blue-white skin, elongated ears and three horns. They are well adapted to the intense cold and near-constant snowfall of Arlan, but have difficulty sustaining themselves in hot environments. Additionally, having spent large amounts of their lives underground, Iratoc have naturally good night vision, but find sunlight and other bright light difficult to see in and slightly painful.


Minority races:
Just humans.

Demography:
60% Iratoc, 40% human.

Religion:
As a theocratic society, Iratoc religion is very important. They worship deities of the sun, Ashula, his three sisters, the moons Kaluseth, Alunen and Batret, and the stars, which hold a place similar to Abrahamic angels in the real world. Most are unnamed, barring a few exceptions such as Jarallian and Noellus, but are collectively known as the Valeston. Ashula rules the sky as a chief deity and the creator of all, whiles his sisters and their Valeston army guard his world for him when darkness preys upon it.

Culture:
Most of Arlan at any given time is completely covered with snow, in some places going up to a hundred metres deep. As such, surface travel is awkward, and ground vehicles are practically useless, while the entirety of Arlan's civilised locations are deep underground, in the rock below the snow. Food is produced primarily from fungi and other plantlike sources with low light requirements. Every Iratoc (and some humans) follows the same religion, and any who can make a pilgrimage to the surface in order to see the sky for themselves.
For a typical citizen of the Providence, life is dull, but not harsh. Everyone needs to do their part for it to survive as a whole, but as long as they do, things are generally uneventful. They have their role, they perform it, things continue safely. They do, however, have a strong sense of identity. They do not call themselves "The Glorious Providence" because they wish to serve the humans' interests over their own. Questioning the Providence's religion is a sure-fire way to get oneself treated poorly on Arlan, and outright denying it is a crime.

History:
During the invasion, the Iratoc hadn't yet ventured into space. The humans largely ignored Arlan, as the planet's climate made settlement difficult, and the Iratoc were undetectable to basic scans. It was only a few years later, when Arlan was considered for mining, that a mineral scan revealed huge underground networks wthin Arlan - the Providence's cities. The Providence fought the humans in a guerrilla war. They knew the tunnels better, and were more used to fighting in the darkness. Eventually, though, the humans' superior technology and numbers defeated the Providence.
Since then, a number of humans have settled in existing Iratoc cities. They were initially treated with animosity, but they made themselves useful, allowing the Providence to expand. They eventually reached high enough numbers that they could spare some materials, and began selling metals to the Empire. Ultimately, the Providence has largely benefitted from the humans, gaining significantly in technology and wealth, but these are beginning to fade. The Empire is driving a harder bargain on its trade. A few of the Lesser Theurges think they could do better alone, though so far they haven't said it aloud. Many Iratoc think those "faithless humans" could do with a conversion.

Important characters:
Grand Theurge Kalwara - A young but willful Iratoc, chosen by the previous Grand Theurge for her cleverness and ability to improvise. Having lead the Providence for four years, it has so far proven to be the correct decision.
Utwarn, Lesser Theurge of the Eleventh Seat - It is no secret that Utwarn is the elder brother of Kalwara, and her most trusted advisor. He is a zealous believer of the Providence's faith, next in line to be the Grand Theurge, and one of the strongest believers that the humans need to be ousted.
Joseph Clint, Lesser Theurge of the Eighth Seat - The decision to allow humans to become Lesser Theurges was controversial, but there has been no reason to regret it so far. Joseph is the first and only human Lesser Theurge, and an Iratoc sympathiser. Despite this, he has had difficulty in gaining any real influence on decisions.
Field Marshal Maltarn - While the Theurges hold political power, it takes someone with military expertise to command an army, and Maltarn fulfills this role. While there have been no major conflicts in the recent history of the Providence, war games have shown Maltarn to be one of the planet's brightest.

Description of military:
While the Providence is lacking in ground vehicles, its infantry are strong guerrilla fighters and have a massive advantage in dark conditions (assuming the enemy isn't using night vision equipment). In addition, their defensive capabilities are second to none. What's a missile to them when their fortifications have to hold back several tonnes of snow anyway? And that would only be relevant if the enemy knew where they were in the first place. In terms of ships, it has a good presence of fighters and small ships, but very few large ones.

Technology:
The Providence is approximately fourty years ahead of real-world technology. It still uses ballistic weapons and armour, albeit relatively advanced ones. Most of its power comes from nuclear sources, and so containment methods have been advanced to make this safer. Technologies useful underground, such as mining and the farming of low-light flora have been advanced out of proportion to other technologies, for obvious reasons.

Additional:
It is worth noting that there is no difference in power between the seats of the Lesser Theurges - the numbers are purely to differentiate between them (i.e. the Lesser Theurge of the First Seat is neither the most nor the least powerful simply because their seat is first).

Flag: Dark Perennials (Fungal) | Light Perennials (Floral)
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Entity/Organization Type: Alien




Heroes, Primes, and Elites:

Leadership:






Research and Development:







Diplomatic Corps:







Organizational Expansion


Additional Detail:

Name: The Iukkoth Triumvirate



Type of Government:
-- Traditionally, a sort of collectivist meritocracy - since the Last Stand of the Pariah, however, they are officially an imperial colony at the whims of the imperial government.

Description of Government:
-- Prior to the Last Stand, Iukkoth's numerous clans and nomadic tribes were united by a set of three governments that functioned independently of each other but worked together due to their specializations. The result was somewhat difficult for outsiders to follow due to its complexity, but essentially proved to be a stable - if occasionally corrupt and easily exploited - government with three distinct 'branches'. Following the Last Stand, however, much of the government's power has been turned over to the imperial government and all Triumvirate decisions are rigorously screened and evaluated before approval is permitted.
---- The Landmarker's Coalition is currently the most authoritative of the Triumvirate following the events of the Last Stand, since its primary purpose - organizing the distribution and arrangement of territory, property and resources belonging to the Yaephath's many tribes - is seen as the least dangerous and intrusive form of independence. Primarily made up of government appointed Scout and Soldier-caste Yaephath, it is a bureaucratic nightmare that is widely disliked by the majority of Yaephath who live more traditional life-styles, since the hunting of wildlife and growing of food are tightly controlled and food shortages amongst smaller tribes are often caused by their mistakes and biases.
---- The Starspeakers/Yae'thon (Children of Yae) are the religious branch of the Triumvirate and have always been moderately powerful, since they represent the boundaries between life and death, land and sky, past and future, memory and oblivion. Since most tribes hold to a fairly common set of spiritual beliefs, the Starspeakers consist of shamans and priests from most tribes and attempt to achieve some sort of common ideas and teachings through debate and discussion. The imperial government, however, insists on closely monitoring their discussions after their role in the Last Stand, and much of their traditional theology has been deemed dangerous and heretical, with many shamans bowing to the pressure to work in worship of the human God Emperor into their discussions. Worship of the God Emperor is common across much of Iukkoth and wider Yaephath society.
---- The Trailblazer Council is the largest of the three branches and consists of representatives from all major tribes of the first through till twenty-eighth generations (IE up to twenty-eight degrees of 'we got too big and had to split off into a new tribe'). It decides on matters of lawmaking, inter-tribal conflict, education, childcare, medicine and most forms of industry or scientific research (though the study of physics and anything strongly related to space travel is controlled by the Starspeakers). It is also traditionally the seat of authority for anything involving military action between multiple tribes, though they lack the authority to take or order such action unless requested to do so by the imperial government. They are under the heaviest scrutiny due to their open rebellion during the Last Stand and their inaction during the earlier Moon Rebellions.

Main race: Yaephath
-- A seemingly reptilian species that reproduces through spores, they traditionally live nomadic life-styles across the vast plains and valleys of their dark and volcanic home world. Though they are hermaphrodites, they are born into reoccuring and distinctive Servant, Soldier and Scout castes focused on specific aspects of survival and function in a wider community and thus their languages frequently use distinctive terms or pronouns to define individuals (and often other organisms, machines, inanimate objects and even abstract concepts) according to this 'rule of three', sometimes with fourth or fifth variations for 'without caste' or 'containing all castes', respectively.

-- Though not technically nocturnal, the thick atmospheric clouds of their home-world - coupled with heavy pollution caused by their own industry and the arrival of human mining operations - has left it a permanently dark and unpleasant place. Although they struggle to form deep one-on-one bonds, their survival instincts and deeply ingrained senses of low self-worth lead them to naturally step into line by the opinions and decisions of those considered to be either 'older' or 'more numerous'.
-- At the front of their skull is a series of organs designed to produce high-powered 'clicks' and to then detect the echoes from such and interpret the data received as images. Echolocation is a key sense for their species, even more so than their eyesight, which though widespread due to the width of their eyes, can only see in a smaller spectrum of light and cannot pick out fine detail with the effectiveness as human eyes. The shorter and more stoutly-built Servant caste are very distinctive for their complete lack of eyes, instead possessing a second set of forward facing ears and a more refined echolatory system that makes them excellent wardens and miners. Traditionally, this extreme distinction in their body-structure was often seen as a sign of being more 'in touch' with the universe, and most traditional Yaephath religious beliefs hold that the Servants are 'closer to the ancestors'. For this reason, many tribes and clans reserve the position of 'shaman' or other religiously and spiritually significant roles for Servant caste Yaephath.
-- Their Soldier caste are the genetically most common and 'typical' of their species, the most adaptable, tallest and physically strongest, and traditionally become 'leaders' in their communities. However, following the Last Stand, imperial decree states that all tribes are limited to no more than 20% of their population to be of this caste, and abortions, cannibalism or abandonment of Soldier caste infants is extremely common. There are rumours that many tribes ignore or minimize this requirement, however, and the number of supposed 'accidents' at imperial mining facilities has drastically increased following the introduction of this law.

Minority races:
-- Humans, who mainly live on mining stations or military and research outposts. A small imperial fleet is based at the Iukkoth moon station due to the planet's valuable strategic location and the risk of future rebellions. It seems that, for reasons not fully understood, there is a higher than usual concentration of anti-Imperial sentiment amongst the humans on Iukkoth.
-- Klideu, a species of spindly, many-jointed, six limbed crustacean like creatures. Naturally short-lived and isolationist, they were often outnumbered and existed in a bitter rivalry with the Yaephath for thousands of years but were slowly dwindled away by their larger, more numerous and technologically advanced rivals. Although their role in the Last Stand nearly led to their extinction at the hands of both human and Yaephath, a sustainable population exist in specially cordoned and monitored 'Klideu Homelands' in a number of river deltas - carefully patrolled by the imperial army, these are little more than work camps and breeding grounds, the Klideu brainwashed and genetically engineered from birth to serve the empire and then used as highly effective engineers, surgeons and fighter-pilots across the galaxy.

Demographics:
-- Yaephath (~58%)
-- Human (~41%)
-- Klideu (<1%)

Religion & Culture:
-- Traditionally ancestor and star worship, whereby the two concepts are tightly linked - each star in the sky is a Yaephath to be or a Yaephath that was. While modern science has refuted much of this, it is often justified with the idea that stars either contain the resting place for Yaephath souls, or else that the frequent death and birth of new stars somehow correlates, usually through very complex deductions, to the birth and death of tribes.
-- Cannibalism is a common motif and cultural tradition tied up with a number of religious beliefs that has drastically increased over the last few centuries. Since the stars are so difficult to see, it is feared that new souls will struggle to arrive and old ones will fail to leave. For this reason, most funeral rites involve consumption of the dead body by a close relative, which is said to ensure the soul will survive through the relative as a sort of 'host body'. Critics note that this would mean current generations consist of 'hosts' for dozens of souls each at least, and the subject is hotly debated by the Yae'thon, with some claiming this explains why the current generations live longer lives - apparently ignoring advancements in medical science that have eradicated several diseases and made many formerly fatal injuries no longer fatal.
-- Especially since the Last Stand, the empire has placed a great deal of pressure for the Yae'thon to spread the ideals of Emperor-worship, and although it is often unpopular - especially amongst the more traditional tribes - it has slowly been gaining traction in more densely packed (and military controlled) areas. Ironically, most Yaephath will, if asked, openly pledge their allegiance to the God Emperor, but their description of his personality will usually sound an awful lot like the personality of some key founding member of their tribe or important ancestral figure, and they'll all swear that the Emperor is some sort of reborn ancestral figure or a well of Yaephath souls. More apockalyptic shamans will often claim that the Emperor is soon approaching a sort of critical mass of
---- tl;dr Yaephath religion is complicated and often contradictory, but they'll still swear by it because that's what every other Yaephath does, and if every other Yaephath does, it's got to be right, right?

History:
-- Pre-Imperial
-- Initial Resistance
-- Moon Rebellions
-- The Last Stand of the Pariah
-- Post-Last Stand

Important characters:
-- Manak Li'Roe, head speaker/representative for the Landmarker's Coalition, a blue-speckled Scout caste of the Kure tribe. Fears the slow extinction of the Yaephath species, and has been working to redistribute resources for the creation of mass medical supply depots and more widely available check-ups, something that some Imperial officers have discouraged on the grounds of 'unnecessary spending'.
-- Avaz No'Kure, main representative of the Starspeakers/Yae'thon, a shaman with the special title of 'Voice for the Stars' who holds great weight on the Triumvirate. A Servant caste of the Roe tribe with a prominent scar across zhyr front-left ear, sister tribe to the Kure. Is a fiery and impassioned speaker, which draws some criticism from other members of the Yae'thon but has made zhyr popular with the common people.
-- Varaz Moln, main representative of the Trailblazer Council, a dark-red Soldier caste of the Moln family and rumoured to have been a veteran of the Last Stand. The Triumvirate denies that xe had any such connections to such events, however, and xe primarily now just works in the oversight of (imperial sanctioned) mining operations.
-- Kree Jamieson, chief 'ambassador' to the Imperial garrisons stationed on the planet and in orbit/on the moon, originally 'adopted' by an imperial officer following the end of the Last Stand. A dark blue/purple Scout caste from an extinct tribe.
-- Iuon'Ka Nden'Wi, a member of the Starspeakers responsible for managing the Yaephath used as workers on the orbital stations/fleet used by the empire. A very loyal, mid-green Servant caste.

Description of Military (ships and ground troops):
-- Prior to the arrival of the empire, the Yaephath lacked a large-scale military. Individual tribes handled their own defense and rarely used anything more powerful than simple pre-industrial handheld weapons for hunting or intimidation of enemy tribes. During the initial invasion, the larger city-states - known as the 'crossroads' for their highly multicultural and loosely governed nature - did attempt some larger and more organized resistance, reconfiguring a number of powerful non-military mining and exploratory technologies to create bombs and artillery, but these were ineffective in the long-term in comparison to the Empire's far greater resources, manpower, and military-focus.
-- During the Moon Rebellions - and later during the Last Stand - the tribes were able to produce and use a surprising quantity of both stolen Imperial weapons and 'home-made' vehicles of surprising durability and containing impressive firepower at a large number of secret facilities managed by the Trailblazer Council. This coupled with clever guerilla tactics, human collaborators and a short-lived alliance with the remaining 'free Klideu' nearly granted them independance... only for it to be crushed by the empire with renewed and brutal vigour.
-- After the Last Stand, the Triumvirate lacks the authority to organize or produce potentially dangerous military technology without strict supervision by imperial officials, and individual tribes are no longer allowed to carry personal or handheld weapons unless they apply for an imperial-allocated license. That said, a number of tribes residing in less heavily controlled regions are noted to flaunt these rules or find loopholes, and many tribes have used the imperial-provided technology for 'neurological harnesses' (a kind of mind-control through implants/cybernetics, provided by the empire to help calm fears that with less access to firearms the tribes would be unable to hunt safely or protect themselves from criminals/rival tribes) to bend the will of the wildlife on their planet.
-- In the totally hypothetical (and in no way realistic because they'd never try it again) situation that the Triumvirate was to seize enough power to start a new wave of rebellion and take another attempt at independence, their forces would likely consist of a mixture of secretly produced or stolen Imperial armoured vehicles and massed part-time/volunteer/civilian infantry, using tamed/harnessed/augmented wildlife as shock/support-troops and making heavy use of guerilla warfare or sabotage long enough to establish some sort of heavy anti-orbital or orbital defense against Imperial retaliation.

Technology:
-- This mostly consists of Imperial tech that has been built using available Yaephath materials and resources, resulting in an often hardier but less power-efficient variation. The introduction of Imperial technology has theoretically improved the lives of Yaephath on the planet, but in practice the advancements in medicine, transportation, communication and infrastructure are limited to the Yaephath living in human managed towns or facilities, with the average Yaephath nomad not living much different from xyr ancestors a thousand years ago - accept some stranger from an alien world gets to decide what's best for xyr entire social circle, culture, and family member.

Additional:
-- Will start off very much as pawns of the Empire with little autonomy, but will likely rebel given a number of circumstances or the arrival of outside help.