Name of nation: Zorrozakiris (The Two Councils)
Species: Cholokah'zu (Translation from Yutan: Wise One), Hrahakan (Translation from Yutan: From Beyond)
The Cholokah'Zu are a grey skinned race of four legged aliens hailing from the world of Hahis. Their two arms evolved out of a third pair of legs and combined allow them greater stability while climbing along walls and ceilings. The ends of their limbs are covered in countless hairs which are both small and flexible so that they can make contact with as much of the surface as needed, 'sticking' them to it while allowing the Cholokah'zu to loosen its grip with minimal effort. For this to work, of course, they need to be relatively light; Whereas a healthy human male might come in at around 160 pounds, the average Cholokah'zu weights only 90 pounds, making the Cholokah'zu weaker in terms of pure strength.
They make up for this in speed and agility, however, with most able to move at speeds of up to 45 Mph and jump around eight meters. Their short claws are connected to poison glands in their hands and secrete paralytic venom when threatened, making them dangerous to exposed foes when in close combat.
These make a trained Cholokah'zu soldier a stealthy, swift and agile foe who is especially adept at ambushing and hit and run tactics.
As a notable aside, their natural set up is less energy efficient over long distances; they were primarily a sedentary and territorial species, sticking to hunting and gathering within a small distance of their den where they would store any uneaten prey for later consumption, avoiding unnecessary travel and so few of their societies were ever nomadic. Interestingly, Cholokah'zu are facultative hibernators and can induce the state at will. They do not 'dream' in this state, there is no sleep or REM sleep, but rather are semiconscious and perceive the world around them as if through a strange filter - Likely to allow them to wake up at the approach of a dangerous animal. Regardless, this has allowed some Cholokah'zu, particularly those of the Raver continent, to attach a spiritual meaning to their torpor and thus some Cholokah'zu use this as a meditative state during religious festivals and sermons or simply to 'commune with the spirits.'
Today this is a relatively unimportant distinction so long as the supply lines hold but historically caused a lot of grief for empire builders who had the logistical nightmare of feeding mobile armies over long marches made even worse.
The Hrahakan are a 4cm long wormlike symbiotic alien that can infect a wide variety of species. It's body has a series of small hook like appendages that extend out once it has found a suitable host. These appengades 'plug' into the victims nervous system to allow for control.
Outside of a host, a Hrahakan is weak and easily physically disabled, although it is surprisingly quick and can enter through any part of the body to make its way to the nervous system and as such is very dangerous if it is able to take a victim by surprise. In this state, the Hrahakan lacks much of its intelligence; It still has much of its knowledge and memories, but these are stored almost like a compressed computer file and thus inaccessible. Once the Hrahakan takes a host, however, it has access to the hosts mental faculties and uses them to great effect. Hrahakan can also act without the victim even realising that the creature is present; due to their control over the hosts nervous system and brain, they are able to manipulate their hosts into thinking that an idea of the Hrahakan is the idea of the host. Naturally, this action has to be something that the host considers logically sound or at the least consistent with their usual behaviour or the dissonance may tip off the host.
The Hrahakan can be symbiotic rather than parasitic; a Hrahakan can greatly increase the regenerative capabilities of its host, somewhat mitigating otherwise serious wounds and greatly increasing the creatures lifespan span. Additionally, Hrahakan who have had several hosts can transfer knowledge to their new host. Even on occasions where the Hrahakan has not revealed itself, it may benefit the host by reminding them of important information. The Hrahakan on these occasions will subtly aid hosts in rising to positions of wealth and security within a society, thus increasing the hosts available supplies and subsequently the food intake of the Hrahakan.
Although physical weak, the creature is resilient to environmental factors such as temperature and pressure. Additionally, although physical weak they can recover from grievous injuries if given sufficient time and resources. Being so small, they can hide away on crevices on ships or inside equipment and be transported unknowingly to a new world.
Description of government:
Zakir Ada (Council Spiritual) and the Zakir Hurota (Council Temporal) are the two main political bodies of the Zorrozakiris. The Zakir Hurota is mostly an administrative and legislative body and although nominally equal to the Zakir Ada, it is de facto subordinate and has some policies outright dictated to it. This is mostly due to the Zakir Hurota being a divided body composed of the Cholokah'zu tribes and clans which control their own parts of the world. These clans are always manoeuvring against each other though outright wars are rare; when this occurs, the Zakir Ada typically deploys the Order of War to police the offending clans and restore order.
Description of military:
Temporal Forces:
The City Watch: The City Watch is the secular police force of the Zorrozakiris that maintain order in the capital city. They are typically armed with electroshock batons but may be issued light ballistic weapons in times of conflict or civil strife. Unlike the Order of the Watch, unbelievers are accepted into the city watch.
Planetary Defence Force: The closest the Zakir Hurota has to a proper military force, the Planetary Defence Forces are a well-equipped and well-trained citizen militia that can be called up if that planet is threatened. Still, they are still ultimately a citizen-militia and will crumble under continuous pressure if not relieved.
Clan Armies and Guards; Each Clan maintains its own fighting force that varies in quality and commitment; Some of the Great Clan armies like that of Lrumah are as well equipped and trained as the Order of War while others, such as those of the Gkiz clan, only have a ceremonial household guard. Likewise, recruitment policies vary with more religiously devout clams only accepting believers.
Temple Orders:
Order of the Watch:
"Comfort is given, justice is taken."Theder of the Watch is the police force of the Temple; They supplant the City Watch and local clan guards on Temple Property and protect holy relics. Its members are expected and encouraged to be devout and pious but unlike the soldiers of the Order of War, the Watch have had no further mental conditioning or indoctrination.
Order of War:
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"Their hands." The Order of War is by far the largest of the branches of the Temples Military, encompassing both the army and the navy. It's soldiers are extremely zealous, with many willing to fight for the death even if the orders seem senseless. Many members of the Order of War are bonded with Hrahakan youth, allowing them to recover from grevious injuries and remain combat ready long after they should have passed on.
Order of War, Army:
"Their hands."The Military Technology of the Zorrozakiris is primarily energy based in origin, although in space they rely on rail guns and missiles for the most part, aside from heavy laser cannons and point defence lasers. On ground, one of their primary weapons is the energu Staff; The energy stave is, as the name would suggest, shaped like a traditional staff with an ornate headpiece, its shaft is actually a disguised capacitor and the crest a finely tuned focusing device. This allows the wielder to unleash searing, powerful bolts of energy graded for anti-armour work towards the enemy, perfect for blasting through heavily armoured enemy infantry or even armoured vehicles. The 'spike' like focusing components at the head of the staff are resilient enough to double as a melee weapon at closer range.
In case a target calls for a more explosive solution, one Order of War soldier per group will also carry a missile launcher. Another will carry the teams dedicated squad automatic weapon which spit out relatively weak energy blasts at an alarming rate, providing an excellent suppression weapon. The weapon is powered by battery pack the soldier carries on his back, making him less agile than his comrades and making him very vulnerable to attacks from the rear, as damage to the battery pack may render the weapon completely useless.
In addition to their standard personal energy shields, some soldiers opt to carry an additional energy shield in the former of- a shield. This shield is much stronger than that protected by their breast plate, however it naturally only covers one angle of attack. The shield projects an field around the shield that is visible to the naked eye as a faint bluish glow. The shield can be planted into the ground and the dimensions of this shield can be expanded to turn it into a sort of deplorable cover for the soldiers. These are generally used to deflect incoming enemy fire using the generators built into the device, preventing the force of the kinetic energy from impacting the soldier. If there are any nearby enemy units, the bearer will try to position the shield so as to deflect this firepower towards them instead
Their armour is made from two layers. The frst is a flexible undersuit made out of cloth padded graphene while the second is a hardened carbon nanotube ablative plating. Aside from their standard issue armour, some specialised variants are available for different conditions. Below is a suit of armour graded for use in the desert. Aside from the obvious colouration, the desert variants typically feature better thermal regulation. The generator for the soldiers personal shield is housed in the centerpiece of the chest plate and this is where the shield is strongest. The shield can be altered by the unit to response to circumstances - for example, to disable the shielding at the feet. Shielding would prevent the Cholokah'zu warrior from climbing vertical surfaces during battle, a tactic the Order of War takes great pride in considering their emphasis on movement and agility, allowing to take foes by surprise, organise elaborate ambushes and reach vantage points. Armour also varies based on squad position; the squad machine gunner has a sort of semipower armour exoskeleton to allow him to manoeuvre efficiently while carrying the heavy weapon and its power pack. Specialist squads may also have jump packs or stealth fields.
All soldiers carry a combat knife and a laser pistol siderm that is too low power to be reliably used against modern miltary armour, doing very little outside of the occasional lucky hit. Still, it makes a handy enough weapon if trying to fend off the local wildlife or intimidate someone. The leader of each Lance will have an integrated command and control system as well as providing direct audio-visual feeds to the COs. Sniper weapons are also energy based, using a highly focused beam of energy to cause a small explosion at the point of impact. Often deployed to support an ambushing pod, the Order of War snipers are a formidable adversary.
There are naturally specialist weapons for special duties but the aforementioned equipment is by far a more common sight.
The typical small unit structure of the Order of War in battle is as follows
Battle Twins: Two Soldiers. A temporary or informal unit with two soldiers working together to advance through bounding overwatch. That said, it has also been applied to a unit with one shield bearer providing mobile cover for a soldier with a squad automatic weapon. Snipers are the only type of unit to have this as a permenant, official unit size.
Lance: Four Men (One Soldier with a Shield and a Staff Weapon, One Soldier with a Staff Weapon, One Soldier with a Light Machine Gun, One Soldier with a Staff Weapon and a Missile Launcher)
Pod: two+ Lances + any attached support units such as Snipers Battletwins or armoured support.
The lightest and fastest of their vehicle is a fast attack/scout single man speeder. They use a repulsion plate to skim a planet's gravitational field, simulating the effect of flight, and enabling them to perform low-altitude manoeuvres, it skims over otherwise impassable terrain as if it were nothing and is capable of limited flight. It bears a dual pair of autocannons, suitable for anti-infantry use but all but useless against armoured tanks. Suited for harrassment and raiding, it is aptly named the Pulut, after a farmyard pest known for killing poultry and stealing food.
In addition to a pair of under slung laser weapons suited to anti-infantry work, this alien craft possesses what is effectively a scaled up version of the energy staff, possessing much more power. It is for a good reason that this tank got the name Daril Ukhulay, which translates into "Demon Killer". The Daril Ukhulay is designed for taking out large targets, enemy positions or clumps of tightly packed enemy soldiers. Like all Order of War vehicles, it is constructed with reasonably thin and light Armour, resistant to small arms ballistics but like paper-mache to a railgun. Equipped with a repulsion plate, these overgrown cannons are swift moving and provide a meaty punch in an Order of War strike.
A very strange alien device that is an odd amalgamation of organic parts and metal. It does not have a pilot in the traditional sense; organic nerves were threaded through this vehicle by a Hrahakan. The vehicle is piloted by one of these symbiotic which 'plugs' itself into the nervous system and operates the vehicle from deep within as if it were a host body. It's fast moving turret fires a continuous laser beam that is well suited to bringing down enemy aircraft or missiles but can also be put to work on other enemies provided they do not get within its minimum range. The Ruhkt possesses no other weapons.
The Zakir Zo is a heavy, slow moving artillery piece. Aside from its two anti-infantry weapons, any opponent too close for the Zakir Zo to bring it's main weapon to bear will find little resistance.
Order of War, Space Forces:
"Glory and honour guide our ascension."
In general, the Order of War follows the philosophy that its better to get out of the way than risk taking a shot given how dangerous even a small breach can be. As such, it's ships are generally not heavily armoured but rather possess a large number of thrusters for quick manoeuvres.
FTL Capable:
Akulxixas (Carrier): At just over 310 meters long from its furthest points, the Akulxixas carrier is the largest space craft of the Zorrozakiris - and with only two currently in existence, it is easy to see why it is the largest. Expensive to make (and equip) and with nothing to use it on, the Akulxixas is considered to be something of a waste by the Order. Carrying four Inbukhtuay, four Tucahay'ko and 20 fighter/bombers internally spread over four hangars as well as six Orhnak Zak attached to its exterior, the Akulxixas is a nasty surprise for any foe whether they be on the ground or in space. Covered in 22 point defence lasers and sporting a pair of railguns of its own, it is not adverse to providing support to the craft it has launched.
Kull (Cruiser): Coming in at 298 meters, the most noteworthy design feature is an expansive series of internal cross bracings and redundant systems built in honeycombs sectioned off from each other by bulkheads. This makes the ship surprisingly durable to damage and hull breaches, with some Kull having continued to fight despite losing 80% of their armour and suffering breaches to all decks. Even gutting the ship with a nuke is not a surefire way to disable it. However, this has made the ship's ungodly expensive to produce and they lack the speed favoured by the Order of War. As such, there are only three of these ships in service and the deployment of a cruiser is generally a sign that the Zorrozakiris is committed to a full scale battle. With 22 point defence lasers, 32 heavy missile pods, two heavy railguns, four light railguns, six heavy laser cannons and a plasma cannon, the devastation this ship can wreak with a single salvo is considerable as is the punishment it can take. The plasma cannon is a recent development and has a long cooldown time compared to their other weaponry.
Tucahay (Raider Carrier) A 182 meter long ship, the Tucahay fufills a special role. The ship has two parralel FTL drives, allowing the ship to bypass the cooldown for a second jump. It is designed to make precision jump into an enemy system and deploy it's fighter bombers close to a strategic target; The craft then deliver their payload and return to the ship, after which it makes its second jump out of the system before the enemy can mount an organised response. Such raids have a hard time limit of 5 minutes and if a craft has not returned to the carrier by that time it will be left behind. It is equipped with a considerable 20 point defence lasers but no main guns. It carries 16 Fighter/Bombers and two Dropships split between two hangers.
Fargothay (Destroyer): The Fargothay trades most of the frigates point defence weapons for a pair of heavy railguns, twenty heavy guided Missile pods, six heavy laser cannons and a trio of nuclear Missiles. It is surprisingly highly manouvreable and nimble, more so than the frigate. For defence against starfighters, the Fargothay carries a mere six point defence lasers. Although reliant on other vessels for point defence, the Fargothay is capable of wreaking havoc and destruction.
Imalah (Frigate) The 101 meter long Imalah is designed as a mainline warship, capable of engaging in a protracted fight and typically used to support a destroyer. Attached to its 'underside', the Imahlah carries two Orhnak Zak patrol vessels or one Inbukhtuay for FTL travel and as such the underside point defence weapons are retractable and the Imahals main gun is mounted on the top of the ship rather than down the centre. The Imahalah is equipped with 14 point defence lasers, twelve heavy guided missile pods, two heavy laser cannons and railgun.
Non-Ftl CapableInbukhtuay (Corvette): At a little under 51 meters long and 21 meters across, the Inbukhtuay is a humble warcraft. Sporting six point defence lasers, two guided missile pods and with its main gun being simply heavy laser cannon, the Corvette is best suited for defence action, dealing with enemy fighters/ballistic missiles and providing support for larger vessels during engagements.
Orhnak Zak(Patrol Vessel): The 31 meter by 10 meter Orhnak Zak is in many ways a dropship with its troop bay removed replaced with more weaponry. In addition to the 50mm autocannons, has a point defence laser on it's other four faces with its gravity lift being replaced with a single larger laser. It is thus suited for dealing with enemy fighters and ballistic missiles.
Lagailok Daril (Bomber): The Lagailok Daril is a 32 meter wide and 21 meter long 'bomber' designed to deliver conventional and nuclear payloads. Aside from being used for strategic strikes on ground targets, it is capable of causing considerable damage to other ships if equipped with a nuclear payload.
Tucahay'ko (Dropship): The 31 meter by 16 meter dropship is a triangular design equipped with a single gravity lift for dropping and retrieving troops. It has three 50mm autocannons in a triangle around the gravity lift, used to lay down suppressing fire while it deploys its troops.
Quarra (Space Fighter): At 18 meters long, 16 meters wide and 7 meters tall, the Quarra is an agile fast attack craft designed to endure dogfighting with its two 50mm autocannons and two missile pods while being capable of delivering a payload
Order of War, the Inquisition:
"Better broken in body than corrupt in mind"
Those who watch the watchers, the Order of the Inquisition is effectively the military police of the Order of War, ensuring that soldiers do not neglect their duties or breach conduct. Despite its name, the Inquisition is one of the organisations that has the least religious duties, dealing in the letter of the law rather than matters of faith.
Order of the Solemn Guard (Lagailok Orhnak):
"Her reflected glory."
Elite Veterans of many battles, the Lagailok Orhnak have been reborn through the seven trials on the death world of Gallahakir, named after an ancestral god of the underworld. Bound with a Hrahakan and armed with the finest equipment money can buy, the Solemn Guard are amongst the finest soldiers the Cholokah'zu have ever known, slipping past enemy lines to assassinate commanders and disrupt enemy operations and then disappearing without a trace. The Solemn Guards adaptive armour is probably the closest one can reasonably get to 'invisibility' for moving organic beings, adapting to the scenery around them to provide the illusion of invisibility. This isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination; while extremely difficult to discern while the object is stationary, moving greatly harms the illusion to the point where it will be obvious to any close observer. They are in service to Hayun-Ornis.
Order of Holy Restoration:
"His Hands of Healing"
The Order of Holy Restoration is not an exclusively military organisation - in fact, it is mostly a civilian organisation. Still, the members of the Order of the Holy Restoration make up the doctors and medical staff of Order of War fleets and battle groups and so for the convenience of this list it has been categorised as such. It's members also make up many of the Temple Healers and Doctors of Zorrozakiris society and they are sworn to help any who come to them for aid free of charge. Their patron is Jubin-Arnos.
Order of the Learned Warrior (Nhu Kull):
"His Guard against terror."
Handpicked to be the bodyguards of Kulan-Mylin from recruits of the Order of War and the Order of the Watch, the Order of the Learned Warrior are excellent at surveillance, security work and detective work.
Order of the Book:
"Wisdom and Knowledge are the birth of the sun."
The Order of the Book is primarily a civilian organisation but, as the engineers and technicians of the Order of War come from the Order of the Book, it has been listed here for convenience. The Order of the Book is effectively the academic and intellectual centre of the Zorrozakiris, sending the knowledge back and forth between the academic institutions of its planets, let alone its continents. It's main institution is on the continent of Mistay and its patron is Nhuzak-Tyun.
There are a number of smaller special orders and chapters as well, but these are not important enough militarily to be described in detail here
Technological Overview: Their power is primarily nuclear in origin, dumping their waste onto one of the uninhabited worlds on the edge of their primary star system, Daetherius. That said, geothermal energy is extremely common at the actively volcanic regions of Cevik and provides some of the plants energy upkeep.
Their warp FTL drive demands an extremely high amount of energy to work. Antimatter is required to produce this level of energy and due to the high cost of producing antimatter this makes FTL extortionately expensive to use see. Concordantly, for the most part only the larger ships have any form of FTL drive; Escort Craft and patrol vessels lack an FTL drive. Escort Craft and patrol vessels will dock inside the hangerbay of another ship will 'attach' themselves to the side of a larger ship for FTL travel, producing strange Frankenstein blobs for FTL travel which separate as they arrive.
The Zorrozakiris have likewise produced a number of biomechanical devices from the unique properties of the Hrahakan and from stem cells. Examples are the healing pods which allow a Cholokah'zu to heal grevious injuries by encasing them within a synthesic, programmed fluid synthesised from the Hrahakan and as such considered something of a divine cure. It is effectively a biological nanite to repair the body - without the Hrahakan symbiotic itself, the treatment does have its flaws and can sometimes results in cells turning cancerous. However, given that this can even rebuild limbs if given enough time, a trait not native to the Cholokah'zu, the Order of the Holy Resurrection considers it approved for use by Healers.
Most industrial work is automated and almost always has been, the preindustrial Cholokah'zu were effectively skipped forwards centuries by the arrival of the Hrahakan.
The cities have a well developed public infrastructure system that allows for the quick transport of goods and people. This infrastructure system has greatly improved industrial growth and development.
Cultural Overview:
The official language of the Zorrozakiris is Yutan which has supplanted most other languages to the point where it is the primary language on the Hahis, Aldgurgan and Mistay continents although many other languages exist and are still spoken prominently in some regions. The other important language is the tongue of the Raver peoples, an amalgamation of old tribal languages mixed with influence from the now dead Aldgurgan languages. They prefer their tongue over Titan and although many are at least capable of understanding it, they may pretend they can not simply to avoid outsiders.
The majority of the Cholokah'zu consider wisdom to be the primary characteristic of a good person. In their fairy tales, heroes spend much of the story planning and consulting with wise elders to decide upon the correct course of action. The villains in these stories instead act rashly and fail as a result of an oversight.
The largest religion is the state religion of the Adakoras J Kru Syfhendaris (Holy Temple of the Ancients), but there are two other important religions factions within the Zorrozakiris; The first is the Jogah while the second is the traditional ancestor worship of the Cholokah'zu tribes of the south eastern continent of Raver.
The Jogah are the most controversial of the religious organisations in Zorrozakiris as they believe that, contrary to the claims of the Adakoras, godhood is unobtainable and that the Ancients were never gods. The Jogah believe in a pantheon of four gods; Deh (God of Love and Peace), Gallahakir (God of Death and the Afterlife), Ornothex (God of Wisdom and Nature) and Jubidak (God of War and Honour). They believe that these gods smited the ancient ones because they were arrogant and viewed themselves as being above religion. They believe that the teachings of the Adakoras temple will inevitably lead to the same state of affairs and thus stand in direct opposition to them. The beliefs of the Jogah are fundamentalist and its members believe wholeheartedly in absolute morality.
The Tribal Ancestor Worship is still held as the religion of a number of Clans on the Zakir Hurota and these clans are the biggest force against absolute temple dominance. The Adakoras simply holds that these beliefs are not incompatible with the faith of the Syfhendaris and continues to try and convert these tribes to their faith. There is a great degree of overlap with the two faiths due to the Adakoras J Kru Syfhendaris effectively supplanting ancestor worship in many Cholokah'zu societies. The main point of contention between the two is that while the tribes believe that all of their ancestors have become part of the spirit world and influence the mortal plane, the Adakoras J Kru Syfhendaris teaches that only souls who achieve enlightenment ascend into this state with all others being reincarnated instead.
Some Cholokah'zu believe that their hibernation/torpor is actually a meditative state that they can enter for various religious reasons. Adakoras J Kru Syfhendaris faithful will typically enter this state in the hopes of making progress towards enlightenment while Raver ancestor worshippers believe it is capable of allowing one to communicate with the spirits of the dead. As such, these Raver typically enter the catacombs of their ancestors and enter the state to communicate with their ancestors and some take hallucinogenics before doing so. The Temple has issued many proclamations against this practice and tried to stamp out. In fairness, hallucinogenic meditating has resulted in more than a few -bad trips- where a Raver tribesmen believes they have been contacted by some long dead ancestor and ordered to drive out the 'imperialist scum'. One can hardly blame the temple for disliking this practice, as they are often among the targets of these psychosis induced killing sprees. Media stories covering these events have led the Jogah fundamentalists into thinking that hibernation is more likely to result in communication with and possession by some unspecified demons.
While religion plays an important role in Zorrozakiris society, it is naturally not the be all and end all. The Cholokah'zu have many literary icons such as Grungis Hruma who wrote countless plays and poems and is considered something of a literary genius by many Cholokah'zu. Those on the Raver continent typically prefer the works of their own writers like Zharanana Gkiz who compiled the poetic traditions of many tribes and added many of her own in her magnum opus Ancestor Hymms, or the (possibly apocryphal) writings of Zozumiralpachar Yeherradad, the first 'Zruti-jyo-Zrutit' (Chief of Chiefs in the tongue of the Raver people) who united the Raver tribes during the Aldgurgan colonisation. He was eventually betrayed by the Tribe of Ahalkalun who led him into an ambush in exchange for wealth, territory and power in the Sothis Empire (An Aldgurgan trading nation that was in ascendancy during this period, the Sothis would maintain its empire for 230 years before it finally crumbled to infighting. Many Ahalkalun choose to fled to Sothis after the Empire crumbled rather than remain behind to face retribution from the other tribes. Those who have Ahalkalun ancestors are still distrusted and disliked to this day by the other tribes).
Another important cultural icon is the Arum, a wooden ball of nested concentric spheres. Hidden in its core is a message that can only be removed when the player works out the complex alignment of spheres. To reach the core, each sphere has to be operated in turn to activate the next. No sphere can act without the next one moving. A Cholokah'zu is traditionally gifted four Arums at birth; One from his father, one from his mother, one from the local Makayada and one from his godparents. Each of these messages is supposed to impart both wisdom and love for the child, which the child will uncover throughout his life as he solves the Arumis in any order he chooses.
The most popular sport in the Zorrozakiris is a form of honourable fighting that is held in arenas and broadcast around the worlds. Many of these duels involving melee weapons are usually done until first blood and blows to the head and neck are strictly prohibited, although some arenas prefer fights that go on until one party yields or collapses from exhaustion. Safer still are the duels involving 'ranged weapons'; Typically, these are done in specialised suits using laser weapons that cause the suit to freeze up if hit and are often held between teams of several dozen combatants vying for glory. Many of these are professional arena fighters, although the Order of War often trains soldiers in combat in the Arenas. Finally, however, are the 'blood rounds'. These fights are to the death and typically involve convicted murderers, rapists, traitors and other such violent criminals. A criminal who survives 20 of these battles has his sentence commuted to banishment but few survive 20 of these fights.
With the Hrahakan having effectively pulled the Cholokah'zu past several stages of development, communism or its equivalent idea never developed in Zorrozakiris, the closest they have come is the Temple itself. Democracy, too, is not a familiar idea to the average Cholokah'zu; although local regions might hold elections for their officials or clans might hold elections for their councillor, this is neither universal nor the norm. Their idea of the perfect ruler might come closest to the idea of a philosopher kings; a highly educated ruler with a love of knowledge, intellect and wisdom. The Adabhutay are said to be all these things and to love their people unconditionally. Some Adabhutay are selective with their appearances, inviting only a select few great people to discuss with them. Others are more open, frequently travelling their province and speaking with the people, sometimes with fantastic and extravagant processions.
History: It was the year 525 of the Fifth Era of the Hahis Calendar when the first UFO crash landed in Darrasan, a small town in the country of Yundun. By this point, the Cholokah'zu had just begun to explore steam power and were amazed - and slightly scared- by this strange alien contraption from the heavens.
By the next morning, the King, Yagijuv and his councillors had arrived to investigate this discovery. Ignoring his councillors advice for caution and in an action most unbecoming of the usually cautious Cholokah'zu, he ordered it opened up to which the towns people semi-reluctantly obeyed. Inside there were nothing but skeletons and dust, the space shuttle was truly nothing more than a life-pod that had been adrift for decades at least.
In opening it up, they had inadvertently released a plague on their people. This alien bug ravaged across Hahis and spread to Mistay and Aldgurgan before eventually being transmitted to Raver. Countless died and many villages were wiped out in their entirety.
It is little wonder that the Cholokah'zu considered it divine intervention when, just a year later when a meteorite that had landed in the Aldgurgan nation of Sothis contained strange alien life. At first, the jaded Sothis attempted to eradicated this new life form but a local priest, Jubin, allowed one of these alien symbiotes to merge with him. The Hrahakan that merged with Jubin took the name Arnos and the combined being dubbed itself Jubin-Arnos, who would eventually become the first Adabhutay of the Adakoras J Kru Syfhendaris.
Jubin-Arnos brought knowledge from an alien civilisation that, to the Cholokah'zu, seemed like magic. He instructed the people on sanitation and medicine, healing the sick and bringing comfort to the dying. Before long had accrued a large following of men who believed him to be a divine saviour.
The Sothis Koras, who followed the pantheon that would later become the pantheon of the Johan, demanded that the king have Jubin-Arnos killed as a heretic- the king was intrigued by this holy man however and had him brought before him first. In the throne room of King Lakun, Jubin-Arnos offered to prove his 'divinity' by allowing the priest to stab him through the stomach, telling the King to leave his body alone in the dungeon afterwards. The Priest eagerly accepted and ran Jubin-Arnos through with his blade thrice before dumping the 'dead' man into the dungeon, thinking little more in the matter that evening.
That night, the jailor came to the kings chambers with a face as white as death itself. In a trembling voice, he declared the impossible; Jubin-Arnos had risen from the dead and was requesting an audience. The King took this as proof of the mans divinity for how else could one so mortally wounded and yet risen once more?
The Koras were not so easily swayed and declared Jubin-Arnos a foul sorcerer while declaring the King a heretic. This schism erupted into a brief but violent civil war followed. Jubin-Arnos granted his knowledge to the kings knights, arming them with exotic weapons that the men at arms swore harnessed the winds of death themselves.
Jubin-Arnos arose the new living God at the centre of a new religion. He brought his three most dedicated followers to the meteorite he had rode in on and granted them the gift of 'enlightenment.' They joined with the eldest and most knowledgeable of the symbiotes and became another three divine prophets. The four spread out to the infected continents of the world, dedicated to curing the plague on each and winning the adoration of the people. Their tales are documented in separate scriptures; The 42 Parables of Jubin-Arnos, the 21 Sermons of Hayun-Ornis and the Homilies of Nhuzak-Tyun. Kulan-Mylin, who went to Raver, wrote no books personally although his right hand man wrote the "Blessed Perseverance of Kulan-Mylin" which documented his many struggles to convert the Raver people - and the many attempts on his life.
Once the plague was cured and the people saved, the three Adabhutay set about restructuring society. They set up many institutes of learning through their new temple, promising that enlightenment lay through wisdom and knowledge. They shared technology beyond the wildest dreams of the most daring Cholokah'zu; where once a journey would have taken a dozen days it now took by an hour by the might steel Alit and shorter still by the fantastical flying machines. Where once a Cholokah'zu farmer had ploughed using an Alit, he now ploughed using a Motorised Carriage. Truly, the prophets gifts were great and they grew greater and greater with each passing decade - to document the developments of those decades would be a herculean task in and of itself, both a miraculous leap into the future and a painful overhaul of society. Within a lifetime, the world was so much changed from what it once was that it was difficult for some to even comprehend.
Most remarkable of all for the Cholokah'zu, the Hrahakan took them beyond the sky and into the cosmos that they had formerly considered heaven. They showed them that the stars in the sky they had once thought holes into the spirit world were in fact distant suns with planets of their own - and some, the Hrahakan promised, bore life of their own. The Hrahakan told them tales of the ancients who had come before, who had mastered the universe and their destiny and eventually ascended into state that can only be described as godhood. What happened to them after that, the Hrahakan could not divine. Yet together, the Hrahakan assured them, they would spread across the galaxy and reach the same enlightenment, remaking worlds as their saw fit and seeding life where there was death.
The Cholokah'zu were captivated and pledged themselves whole heartedly to the cause, following their holy seers into the stars...
Other:
Special Positions/Titles of the Temple
Wredru Zak (Layman; Literally, Ritual Person): Typically a young girl or boy who has been taken in by the Temple or who assists in religious rituals in exchange for education.
Nhu'ko (Novice; Literally, little/less learned/educated): Someone who has undertaken religious education at the Temple. One must join the Temple as a Nhu'ko if one wishes to join the Clergy or enlist with the Order of War but the Temple accepts any who wish to learn more about the faith and its history, even unbelievers.
Nhu (Adept; Literally, Learned/Educated): A person who has finished their religious education and is able to commit to joining the Order of War or the Clergy. At this point, the individual has not taken any vows and is not considered to have sealed a sacred pact. As such, they are perfectly free to choose a separate career path and many devout Cholokah'zu have attained this rank in the Temple simply out of a desire to understand their faith better or to continue down the path to enlightenment. Nhu could be considered a title rather than an actual rank, a degree in theology if you will. As such, unbelievers can be considered Nhu without holding any official position in the Temple. To advance to Acolyte or to join the Order of War, they must take sacred vows and forever be sworn to them.
Clergy:
Juhuada (Acolyte: Literally, Helpful Holy): A Juhuada is an a fledgling clergyman who has taken their vows and has entered into service. They are usually young and will spend their time as an Acolyte assisting the Makayada before being apprenticed to a Makayada as a Kopada.
Kopada (Curate: Literally, Lesser Holy): A Kopada is effectively the most Senior Acolyte, the apprentice of a Makayada who is being prepared as his successor.
Makayada (Priest; Literally, Teacher Holy): A Makayada is the priest in charge of a Adakoras (Temple/Church/Shrine). They will have a Kopada as their apprentice and eventual successor and may also be in charge of some Acolytes.
Makayada'te (Bishop; Literally, Great Teacher Holy): A Makayada’te is the religious authority for a Province, having two or more Makayada as their subordinates.
Adabhutay (Prophet; Literally, Holy Seer): An Adabhutay is the highest position one can attain within the Temple. An Adabhutay is the religious figure head for the continent on a developed world and can be considered nothing less than a living god - or at least the closest one can get without ascension - to the Cholokah'zu people. The four original Adabhutay are considered to be senior and greater than the others, holding more importance and influence.
Adabhutay and their Crown provinces (Note: not be an exhaustive list of colonies)
World of Cevik
Continent of Hahis: Hayun-Ornis
Continent of Aldgurgan: Jubin-Arnos
Continent of Mistay: Nhuzak-Tyun
Continent of Raver: Kulan-Mylin
World of Zuuz Solatun (First Seeding)
Continent of Markanis: Laros-Zuruhn
Continent of Lakun: Vacant (Continent has no population)
Continent of Iviris: Vacant (Continent population too small to support true temple Hierarchy)
World of Zorrouz Solatun (Second Feeding)
Continent of Abagar: Jagar-Šarn
Continent of Contrisan: Vacant (Continent population too small to support true temple hierarchy)
Continent of Ruban: Vacant (Continent has no population)
Continent of Akramahun: Vacant (Continent has no population)
Continent of Jubin: Vacant (Continent population too small to support true temple hierarchy)
World of Veritiun
Continent of Cholokah: Zalbah-Mishun
Continent of Zorro Kinuh: Vacant (Population too small to support true temple hierarchy)
Continent of Lagailok Jogah: Vacant (Population too small to support true temple hierarchy)
World of Gallahakir
Continent of Kuin: Vacant (Population is too small, there is only a colony of the Gkiz Tribe and a hall of the Order of the Solemn Guad)
Continent of Uujan: Vacant
Continent of Grungis: Meris-Zothos
Space
Ada Orhnak (Major space station/space port): Ayler-Umbacan
Member
shylarah,
Hyperdrive
