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AKA The Alhanai Consortium, The Dominion, The Alhanai
Overview: |
The Alhanai Dominion is one of the wealthier Minor Empires in Sector Z. Incredibly wealthy from the sales of blackvoid, exquisite and deadly weapons, drive systems and power systems the envy of many other empires. The Alhanai's dominion extends over twenty eight systems in three quantum zones, and its sway covers nearly nine hundred nearby systems in those three quantum zones. Some members of the Alhanai can trace their lineages and their histories back to the times of the Lost Imperium.
Emerging from the death of the Iconian Empire, and in many ways predating the Iconian Empire, the Alhanai are an empire built upon the twin pillars of economic mastery and military genius. The Dominion was founded over 2648 years ago, when the last remnants of the Altirin Dynasty, the Rakheen Empire and the Kalain Coalition met together near the Black and signed the Charter of Dominance, building a new empire to retake the zones that had been their homes before they were driven out by the Iconian Empire. Since then, the Alhanai has evolved its own culture, and subsumed the entirety of the three founding cultures into one society of honor, intrigue and warfare. The Dominion has a merit based society within a system of Noble Houses, each of whom dominate in certain aspects of the Dominion's economic, scientific and political arenas. These Noble Houses, whose ruling members are referred to as the Lords and Ladies of Sylune (sentinels) for their historic purpose of watching the borders warily for signs that the Iconians had somehow broken the Shroud and discovered the Dominion; rule the Dominion and are the chief deciders of Dominion policy. These Houses have a history of constantly testing each other, within the bounds of the Charter and the complex code of warfare that keeps the Alhanai dynamic and innovative, and has led to its current great skill in all fields of scientific advancement linked to military and economic arenas, where as expected, the Houses have chosen to be their battlefield in the code and honor. The Alhanai have a high level of law and a strict code of justice and honor. The laws of the Alhanai are vigorously enforced by the Enforcers, a powerful and enigmatic law enforcement group that answers only to the Circle of Chosen. Citizens of the Dominion are always armed, and their abilities to defend themselves are of exemplary levels, the equivalent of many other empire's standing fighting forces. As a result, it is always adviseable for the traveler or visitor to wear the Pendant of Passage at all times. This Pendant gives the bearer the right to pass through any inter-House conflict unharmed, though accidents can happen. No Citizen will harm a Pendant Bearer unless the bearer is foolish enough to insult or attack a Citizen or otherwise threaten or harm property belonging to the Citizen. |
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Navigation:CoLC Index |
Index:Q-dex / Technology / Magic
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Q-dex: |
The myraid zones of the Islenier Group are an enigma to the average traveler. Unless one enters through the Slip, the zone simply does not exist to the traveler outside, who simply passes through the rough area of space of the Group and enters the quantum zone immediately in front of the Group. Likewise, except through traversing the Slip, the zones of the Islenier Group cannot access the Greater Galaxy. Hence the importance of control of the Slip for trade and defense.
The Islenier Group is a group of twenty quantum zones with a grand total of thirty six thousand inhabited star systems within its boundaries. A fuller listing of the zones including total number of inhabited systems will be appended at the bottom of this entry for reference purposes. The Dominion exists within the Group, holding fifty systems within three quantum zones near the Black. The Black, an aberrant zone, constantly deposits vast amounts of blackvoid in the systems near it, all of which are under Dominion rule. The three zones in which the Dominion's systems are located are, the Irendue Zone, the Maginox Zone and the Alviarin Zone. The other zones of the Islenier Group tend to follow towards this general rule. Most zones are fairly similar, often forming into groups of Matter or Energy based zones, with Matter/Energy zones being by far the most common. Of course, exceptions to this rule do exist within the vast confines of the Group. The most notable are the Maginox, Avano and Aldin zones, which are Charged Life Linear zones, grouped near each other. Some claim that the aberrant temporal folding occasionally found in the area of the Black has slowed the dissolution of quantum weather and made this area artificially stable, much like the eye of a storm. Further information on the Islenier Group and its zones will be made available once the information has been sifted.
Zones under Dominion RuleThe Alviarin Zone: T 690.3241/468.689 OM 586.3452/246.42 The Alviarin Zone is a Matter/Energy zone. The zone has a slightly above average handling ratio, a high advancement ratio, and an abundance of matter and energy. Tech storms are minor, infrequent, rather short and insignificant. The Dominion is cool towards outsiders, though they are treated with respect, very dynamically stable and closely allied with the Omnet. The zone is also a Mana Bipolar zone with an average handling ratio, high advancement ratio, and a slightly above average quantity measure on the mystic side. Mystic storms are minor, infrequent, average in duration and small. There are a total of three naturally evolving species within the Dominion. The Irendue Zone: T 688.5636/222.689 O M 790.2132/868.42 The zone is a Matter Bipolar zone with a slightly above average handling ratio, high advancement ratio and high quantity measure. Tech storms are average in magnitude, frequent, short, and slightly larger than average. The zone is also a Life/Essence zone with a high average handling ratio, high advancement ratio and a very high quantity measure. Mystic storms are minor, infrequent, rather short and small. The Maginox Zone: T 790.2132/928.689 O M 688.4562/587.42 The Maginox Zone is a Charged Life Linear zone with a high handling ratio, a high advancement ratio, and an abundance of matter and energy. Tech storms are minor, infrequent, rather short and small. The zone is also an Ordered Essence Linear zone with a slightly above average handling ratio, high advancement ratio and a high quantity measure. Mystic storms are minor, average in frequency, long, and small. |
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Technology: |
The Dominion's technology is highly advanced in all the technological disciplines, especially in the fields of miniaturization, drives, power systems, defensive systems and weapons. In addition the Dominion is adept at the extraction of blackvoid and its applications in technological stealth systems. As a whole, the Dominion's technological average is above the galactic norm, and due to the constant House conflicts, constantly improving and innovating, discovering new uses for the most unusual things.
The Dominion's crowning glories are in the fields of drive systems, where their understanding of chaos principles have created the coveted and extremely expensive Void Drive. These drives are similar to the Void Travellers used by the Omnet and other empires, but are far more powerful, and level surprisingly well, perhaps due to a better understanding of the principles of the Void left to them by the Dariyans. The Void Drives are small, capable of traveling nearly 800 lightyears in a standard day, and level surprisingly well. The principles upon which the drives function are an enigma to all, though various empires have attempted to reverse engineer them, generally with catastrophic results. Omnet scientists are working with the Dominion's Technomages to devise better techniques of manufacture and improving the basic design of the drive. In addition, Omnet scientists also work extensively with the Technomages in the arts of miniaturization of drive types. The Dominion has also made remarkable advances in military weapons, with the Slicer weapon ranked as among the most coveted weapons of the Dominion available for sale. The Slicers are among the most deadliest weapons ever developed, and size for size deal incredible damage, as well as been small and light by comparison to the equivalent spinal mount weapons. The Slicer functions along a principle similar to that of the other Dominion Void systems, tapping into the entropic forces of the Void to generate a beam of incredibly tight entropic force that literally slices through everything in its path, returning the Energy/Matter/Essence/Mana/Life of anything in its path straight to the Void. Though it does not level quite as well as the other weapons, within the confines of the three known zones where the Dominion has built these weapons and adapted them, they function perfectly and are the weapon of choice for large battleships (Class VIII and above). The defensive systems of the Dominion have not been left behind. In the field of defensive equipment again the Dominion has again been at the forefront of technological development, with the Void Web. As its name implies, the Void Web is a web of entropic forces, temporarily manifest around the ship/star system. At its height, the Void Web is used as a defensive system for an entire star system, harnessing power through a myriad web of power sources. The Void Web surrounds the object with such microfine and dense webs of entropic energy that anything passing through is demolished, returned to the Void. Though the energy drain is immense, where it works, it works so well that a ship protected by the Void Web is almost impregnable except to large numbers of enemies launching a concerted attack. Of course, any concerted attack would have to deal incredible damage first to destroy the shields, then the armor and then the hull. Few known enemies could do that to a Class IX an above Doom Shield dreadnought with any hope of success before the dreadnought reduced them to their component elements. |
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Magic: |
In the fields of magic, the Dominion has also innovated, though not quite as much as the technological fields. The Dominion's mystical average is about the same level as the galactic norm, though there are of course flashes of brilliance from the same House warfare that has resulted in the technological advancements of the Dominion. | ||||
Size: |
The Dominion's dominion extends over twenty-eight systems. The Dominion has assets and holds sway over the nearby worlds of the Maginox, Alviarin and Irendue zones, numbering roughly nine hundred systems in its sway.
Technically, as the Iconian Empire surrendered to the Dominion in 1874 AD, all worlds once owned by the Iconian Empire, numbering 20,000 systems in twenty quantum zones, now belong to the Dominion. Technicality, however, does not make right, and the Dominion is at current fighting to dominate the worlds in question through military, economical and political means. |
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Population: |
The Dominion's Census of 2120 are as follows, 198.7 billion humans and 36.7 billion rakh are full Citizens of the Dominion.
The ranks of the genetically engineered quantum flux feeding Morshak number 1.2 trillion, and the Darshak number 2.1 trillion, sufficient to do most of the work of the Dominion in the agricultural fields and manual labor fields, and to mine the blackvoid for export and internal use. |
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Climate and Geography: |
The Dominion's worlds represent many different climates and geographical conditions, and are too numerous to detail in this general overview. | ||||
Flora and Fauna: |
Within the three zones of the Dominion there is a diversity of flora and fauna that is almost incredible to behold. However, three main fauna are of note to the traveler, as he will in all likelihood encounter all of them at one point or another in his stay in the Dominion.
The most obvious of the fauna a traveler will encounter is the Darshak. The Darshak are among the most important members of the Dominion's workforce, accounting for almost all of the Dominion's manufacturing, agricultural and mining force. A gift from the Dariyans, who for reasons of their own aided the Dominion in the early years of its existence, the Darshak are unique in the Greater Galaxy. They seem to be formed of a living crystalline base, though this is hard to determine, as to most, the Darshak appear to be more or less organic, with a suppleness of movement unusual in crystalline lifeforms. They are quantum flux feeders, feeding upon the natural, if low level quantum fluctuations of the zones, and require no atmosphere or life support to survive in space. The Darshak are non-humanoid, standing on the average twelve to fourteen feet in height. They have a total of four arms, two larger upper arms for brute strength, aided by their ability to convert quantum flux into pure motive force within their arms, and a pair of smaller arms for finer, detailed work. They are docile, fairly intelligent, and dedicated body and soul to the Alhanai Dominion. This dedication is an ingrained pattern within the Life that created the Darshak, and parallels the dedication of the Morshak to the fighting arts. To a Darshak, happiness is in serving the Dominion. A Darshak is not happy unless given some task by the Dominion to handle as best it can. The Darshak are created within secret places within the empire, and are sent to wherever they are needed. None know the exact process by which the Darshak are bred, and it is believed that the Dominion is only able to work the machines, not truly understand them yet. The Morshak are the more lethal cousins of the Darshak. Like the Darshak, they are the result of the Dariyans, and are thoroughly engineered to be the best fighters the Islenier Group knows of. The Morshak are powerful, chilling fighters. Their nine feet of powerful strength, highly dense, hard crystalline/adaptive skin, lack of requirement for regular food or water, and lack of need for life support systems have made the Dominion ships lighter and more capable of packing in weapons and equipment useful for it in the wars and skirmishes that make up the current expansion of Dominion territory. The average Morshak are about nine feet tall, graceful, almost blindingly fast and intelligent. They are encouraged by the Dominion to study every form of military skill known to the Dominion, and their constant testing and innovating has kept the relatively small Doom Shield among the more powerful fighting forces in the Sector and the Islenier Group. The Morshak are linked together in a groupmind of incredible power. Whatever one Morshak learns and develops is instantly learnt by all other Morshak, leading to an incredible military advancement and success rate. Doom Lords pride themselves on the fact that the Dominion never lost a single major battle in the Crown and Scepter Wars, and the further conflicts with the more powerful of the splinter empires. This has been born out by Omnet investigations, and many Centirion Observers agree that the Doom Shield is among the better fighting forces for its level of funding and zones. The final form of life that a traveler is likely to see are the rakh. The rakh are the most magical race of the Dominion. As natural mages with an affinity for magic of all sorts, the rakh are the centerpiece of any magical research system. The rakh have their own Houses, and are known for their magical prowess. The Houses of the rakh, Xorlarrin and Velarrin, are known for their constant testing of each other's mystical knowledge in extravagent and often relatively harmless mystical meets. Rakh are physically humanoid, standing about five to five and a half feet tall, and slender, fine boned and with an almost feline and ethereal grace to them. In some other worlds, they might be mistaken for elves, but for the more feline eyes that they possess. The rakh are deceptively fragile. Their fragility is actually thoroughly false. The average rakh could probably beat much of the life out of the average human without too much difficulty. It is advisable to avoid antagonizing a rakh, unless one wishes to be scraped off whatever hard surface there is near the scene of the fight. |
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History: |
The history of the Dominion extends back a fair way, but the actual age of the Dominion is relatively young on the galactic scale. The Dominion's ages can be split into three basic ages: The Age of Flight, the Crown and Scepter Age, and the Age of Expansion. These ages correspond to the three major events that form the Dominion's history, namely the Flight from the Iconian Empire, the Crown and Scepter War in which the Iconian Empire was utterly obliterated, and the current age, that of the expansion of the Dominion's sway and dominion.
The earliest history of the Dominion is that of the three founding empires whose defeat at the hands of the Iconians began the process that led to the founding of the Dominion. The first and oldest of the three founding empires was the Altirin Dynasty, one of two that can trace their histories back to the Lost Imperium. Official records can be traced back to 1338 BC, indicating the existence of a stable, powerful empire within the Alviarin Zone, spanning nearly 400 systems. The Altirin, then ruled by the powerful Overking, had a history of rapid development mingled with long periods of stagnancy and sometimes regression as new developments in technology and magic were deemed too dangerous to be used or simply too against the social mores of the Dynasty. In the nearby Maginox Zone, the Kalain Coalition, a conglomeration of merchant corporations had extended their dominion to 134 systems and their sway to nearly 600, dominating their worlds with economic force and careful applications of political manipulating and military force. Their deep space merchant marines penetrated the front in 980 BC and found themselves in the Alviarin zone, not surprising when one considers that all three zones are adjacent and that all empires developed rather close to the fronts. This first contact was surprising for several reasons. One was the fact that both the Altirin and the Kalain spoke almost the same language, with only slight differences in pronounciation and meaning. The other was the relative ease with which the two races found themselves adapting to the notion of different realities. To them, it was simply confirmation that what their ancient legends had always spoke of were true. To many, it was sign enough that Kendis-dai was real, and that their legends of the Lost Imperium were true, and with that, they began to develop a close series of alliances, and inter-zone travel became more and more standardized, leading to close alliances between the corporations of the Kalanis and the Altirini nobility. In 623 BC, the front separating the Alviarin Zone/Maginox Zone and the Irendue Zone was breached, and the first explorers were shocked to discover the last member empire who would later found the Dominion. This empire was the Rakheen Empire, founded by two races, the rakh and the humans. They dominated the most number of systems, with nearly 500 systems in their dominion, and a further 203 systems in their sway. Their language was far more different, but the basics were still similar enough that translation was possible in just a few years, and the Rakheen integrated into the alliance. However, the discovery of the Rakheen Empire and the Irendue Zone coincided with the invasion by the Iconian Empire in 602 BC. The Iconian Empire seems to have had records of the other quantum zones and technology to function in them, a mystery that some indicate can be solved by this simple explanation. At one time when the Kendis-dai Imperium ruled, the Iconians received information through the dissemination of quantum zone information, and had in their possession technology that allowed them to dominate their zones, and the surrounding zones. Whatever the case, when the Iconians entered the Altirin Dynasty's space, a massive interstellar battle between the outer defenses of the Altirini and the Iconians decimated the weaker and less well prepared Altirini Defense Fleet. The Altirini, having met only peaceful empires like the Kalanis and the Rakheenai were thoroughly unprepared militarily for the conflict they suddenly found themselves facing. The Altirini, though supported by the Kalanis of the Kalain Coalition for nearly forty years, eventually fell in 562 BC, at the same time as the Fourth Holy Symphony of Conquest entered the Maginox Zone. The Altirini homeworld of Quinath was wracked by some of the harshest fighting, in which the last true Overqueen, Queen Alassra Altir led the last defensive force of the Altirini, the Knights of Mysteries, and held out for nearly two months before the Third Holy Symphony of Conquest arrived to relieve the tattered remnants of the Ninth Holy Symphony and used immense Fleet Lasers in a terrible planetary bombardment that left the planet a wasteland that even to this day is uninhabitable. The last of the Altirini nobility, ordered by the Overqueen to protect her last distant heir, the Princess Alanna, fled to the most distant worlds of the Dynasty, where the war had not yet reached, settling on Qualinar in 551 BC. Within the Maginox Zone, the war did not go well for the Coalition. The merchant marines of the Kalanis fought bravely, and many great battles that are beyond the scope of this introduction wracked the Zone as the Kalanis fought with desperate fervor, dealing out whatever damage they could, and otherwise vanishing behind the veils of recently developed blackvoid shields. Their fleets were at a disadvantage, though. They were not dedicated warships such as the Iconians had, and their lack of true organization within the ranks of the corporations meant that few tasks were ever carried out with any efficiency. The war effort was a series of mistakes, defeats and occasional brilliance. The Coalition lasted a scant fifteen years before been forced to sue for peace in 546 BC. This offer of peace was refused, for the Iconians had suffered much humiliation at the hands of Admiral Tarkan and the Tri-Corp Fleet, including the utter annihilation of twenty forward battlestations in the Travan Raids. The final decision by the Coalition was to flee to the meeting point of the three zones, near to the Black, where the effects of blackvoid would help to disguise their presence. This decision was the best decision the Coalition and the Princess Alanna could have made. It was decided to request that rather than waste themselves in battle, the Rakheen begin to lose battles and then to appear to be thoroughly defeated, allowing them to flee to the New Worlds with more of their might intact. This might have worked but for the ferocious rage the rakh had for the Twenty-Ninth Holy Symphony. In what should have been a 'thrown' battle to the Twenty-Ninth, the Rakheen Entannar (Grand Admiral) Jaredo reacted with typical Rakheen emotionality when faced with the insults of Master Songsmith Kalzancoatl and the display of executions of rakh civilians across the conquered worlds, and launched a ferocious attack, leaving the second wing of the fleet only lightly defended. In a surprise move, the Fourteenth String of the Twenty-Ninth outflanked the second wing and destroyed it in a series of daring, brilliant attacks that left Entannar Jaredo's fleet surrounded. The last and mightiest Rakheen fleet was utterly vanquished. The remnants fled to the New Worlds, bitter over their defeat, and the knowledge that their civilians in the conquered worlds were been murdered for the 'crime' of been non-human and for resisting the Iconians attempts to enslave them. The New Worlds were among the least known and least understood worlds of the three empires. They had only been integrated and colonized recently, and much exploration had yet to be done on them. The three governments in exile were in the process of negotiating a new charter, and a new alliance bent on rebuilding and hiding when a discovery was made that would shake the three empires. This discovery was the discovery of a fourth race in the Group. A race far more ancient and different than any other. The Dariyans. The Dariyans are the most unusual race known to the Omnet. That they exist has been confirmed too many times for doubts to exist. That they are not interested in the Galactic Union, or in the Omnet is also confirmed. The Dariyans were however, interested in the three empires' plight. The Dariyans are natural born quantum frontal sentients who have learnt to exist outside of the fronts for brief periods of time. Their knowledge of Life and engineering it across zones is unparalleled, and their understanding of chaos was the prime reason the Dominion was able to develop the Void Drive and their other Void based technology. The discovery of a small Dariyan message beacon in 540 BC, left there for reasons as yet unknown, had tremendous implications for the three empires. The Princess Alanna activated it by accident, and received a telepathic message from the Dariyans. In it, they indicated their willingness to help the three empires and hide them from the Iconians. It would seem that the Dariyans had no greater liking for the Iconians than many of the other races in the Group. The Dariyans spent less than a year building the Shroud, but at the end, it was one of the greatest marvels of the Greater Galaxy. Extending across three zones, it made the Dominion's space appear to be part of the Black, and prevented the penetration of ships that weren't equipped with the Shroudrunners to detect the actual area of the fronts. In the mean time, Alanna was able to put forth the Charter of Dominance in 540 BC. A masterful work, it was a mixture of alliance, unification, and code for the new culture to follow. The work on the Charter continued for nearly 20 years, improving the words, codifying and making the Charter able to stand up to the test of time. Princess Alanna herself did not live to see the Charter completed, dying in 522 BC, just two years before the completed Charter was presented to the First Sword of House Dantir of Altirin, the Council of Trade of the Kalain Coalition and the Matriarch Xen'lath of the Rakheen Empire. The Charter was signed by all three representatives in 519 BC, marking the beginning of the Alhanai Dominion. It was decided that the Alhana, a mystical and wonderful bird that rises from the ashes of its own death, reborn and revitalized, best described the spirit of the Dominion. In addition, Alhana was the name of the first Overqueen of Altirin, and the namesake for whom Alanna derived her name. It was decided that this would be an excellent way of honoring the woman who had devoted her life to this unification. From then on, the Alhanai people devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the continued improvement of the Dominion in preparation for the great wars that it knew it would someday have to face. The Alhanai were no idiots. They knew the could never hope to hide forever. Eventually a reckoning would be made, and the Dominion and its Houses would have to face the might of the Iconian Empire. As time went by, the corporations and the nobles began to grow closer and closer together, leading to an eventual growth of the twenty five Houses that dominate the Dominion, while at the same time the Dariyans had begun work on the extensive development that would eventually give the Dominion the Morshak and Darshak. In 560 AD, the Dominion began the first of a series of careful political manipulations, using deep cover agents who had often been inserted and allowed to gain the trust of the Iconians for years before been activated. Most notable was the Darcoatl Civil War that tore through the Iconians after careful manipulation made it seem that the Lorgaryen Dynasty was about to collapse. The Darcoatl Civil War lasted for nearly fifty years and allowed many slave races to revolt and cause even greater problems for the by then weak and ineffective Iconian Symphonies. The Darcoatl War also brought about the division between the Old Nobles and the New Nobles to a new height when the influential Targeyn family forced the Old Nobles to acknowledge them as the new Imperial Family, ending the civil war and executing vast numbers of Old Nobility who failed to bow and swear allegiance to the Targeyn Emperors. The Targeyn's decisions to install members of their family and close adherents to all positions of power created an even greater political instability that the Dominion exploited to the best of their abilities. The favoritism was later to set the stage for the gross incompetence and absolute stupidity that characterized the Crown and Scepter Wars. In 781 AD, another, more deadly problem instigated by the Dominion swept through the Iconians. In their search for the ideal of genetic purity, the Iconians had left themselves open to a biological plague that the Dominion's House Jasiryn was able to create. The plague left the slave races relatively unharmed, but to the almost identical genetic stock of the Iconians, it was devastating. This plague, one of the most devastating ever, resulted in a total of 8 trillion Iconian deaths across the Empire, including much of the nobility, leading to even greater instability as the remaining families grappled with each other for dominace over the empty places in the Imperial Court. The array of plagues, revolts, and a general hatred of the Iconians led to many of the sway empires simply breaking free of the weakened Iconian Empire, and further weakened the Empire, who depended on those worlds for additional resources and for much of their prestige in the eyes of the slave races. The slave races, conditioned to believe in Iconian superiority being their mandate for rulership, lost faith in the Iconians, and revolts became so common that there was no single time when the empire was at peace with itself. In 1279 AD, the Dominion led the first of twenty slave revolts that crippled the Iconians, secretly supplying the slaves with weapons and advice from trained military leaders of the Alhanai. It was timed to coincide with the first application of blackvoid stealth techniques and military tactics, and it was a stunning success. The Symphonies were all but unable to stop the vastly superior training of the Alhanai military leaders, and the slaves, equipped with weapons, were a crude but fanatical fighting force, willing to die by the thousands to destroy their hated overlords. In addition, the Symphonies could not detect the blackvoid stealthed warships of the Alhanai, proving House Jaledyn correct and increasing the prestige of that House. It was in 1294 AD that the Morshak and Darshak were perfected by the Dariyans, who then ended their dealings with the Alhanai, leaving a parting present to the Alhanai. They destroyed nearly seventy percent of the Symphonies, an act that left the Iconians wide open to attack from the Dominion. The Dominion demolished the outer layers of Iconian defenses and began the age of the Crown and Scepter Wars. In 1305 AD, the Dominion successfully crushed the Twelfth Symphony and liberated the member worlds of the former Mrynidon Consortium, gaining a valuable ally that to this day have been under the sway of the Dominion. The Mrynidians rose up as one to aid in the destruction of the Iconians, and the atrocities committed by the newly freed slaves on their former masters has never been truly revealed. The Consortium, newly freed, received aid from House Jaledyn and House Laeral to bring them back up into a fighting force capable of aiding the Dominion in its conquests. The Consortium's first test came in 1315 AD, when at last an Iconian Symphony came to retake the renegade region. Aided by Morshak shock troops, they threw back the Symphony and captured many examples of Iconian technology, many of which were so crude and unwieldy that the Dominion scientists found absolutely no use for them. This fact encouraged the Dominion to attack further, and in another brilliant engagement, defeated the Neocount Larkonat of the Maora Region, crushing him in sixteen battles, each of them demonstrating the efficiency of the Dominion's troops and tactics. Losses in those battle were upward of 20,000 warships for the Iconians, and well below 50 for the Dominion. The blackvoid stealth equipment of the Alhanai left the Iconians blind to their enemies until it was too late, by which time the Dominion forces were in position, and most ships were destroyed in the first few blasts, caught between hundreds of Fleet Lasers firing at full force, scything through their ranks with impunity. In 1456 AD, after several more battles had been fought between the Dominion and the Iconians, the slave races revolted on Mortayn, the capital of the 9th Province, and resulted in the death of the Imperial Overlord and his court, and leaving the Province without a central authority. The lack of authority led to confusion in the ranks, ending with the conquest by the Dominion, and bringing four provinces into the control of the Dominion. By this time, the Dominion was growing overextended, and it was decided that the provinces under Dominion rule be given their independence and allowed to defend themselves. The Dominion's dominion shrunk by 11,000 systems. The entire time of the Crown and Scepters War can best be described as a series of battles, almost all of which were won by the Dominion, and the gradual destruction of the Iconian superiority. At the end, in 1734 AD, the Iconians held onto only twenty three systems out of their nearly thirty thousand systems. Most systems were freed by the Dominion, whose influence was still felt, though only a few systems were actually added to the Dominion. The Dominion bombarded the Iconian homeworld of Trantrin in 1734 AD, using Particle Wave Projectors to shatter the last bastion of Iconian strength. It must be noted that this is one of the most brilliant examples of poetic justice the Omnet has noted. The conquerors were now the conquered. At this time, Crown Prince Aelerius Targeyn, last of the Line of Targeyn, surrendered unconditionally to the Dominion, ceding all worlds of the Iconians to the Dominion, and agreeing to turn over the members of the nobility of the Empire for trial as war criminals. Prince Aelerius was himself among those tried for war crimes, and executed in 1734, just days after he had signed the papers giving away the Iconian Empire, by then just a tattered remnant of an ancient glory. The Dominion had at last completed what it had started out to do. The Iconians lay in ruins, and would never rise up against them. Brutally exhausted by the war, the Dominion retreated back to their core worlds, needing time to reforge themselves and redefine their future now that the chief aim of the founders had been achieved. The Age of Crown and Scepter had ended. From then on, the Dominion began the long, slow process of redefining itself to a new paradigm. It took a slow, gradual change, but as times went on, the Dominion's member Houses began to grow closer and closer to each other, and mercantile aims bagn to take precedence over military expansion. This unprecedented shift in the opinions of the member Houses did not occur overnight. The Dominion was wracked by a significant amount of chaos and internal disputes as the various Houses contested in conflicts over which plan for the future of the Dominion would become the central plan for the Dominion. In 1803 AD, a Wavefront Runner by the name of Keve Islenier successfully penetrated the Slip, and found the Dominion. The Rangers who evaluated the Dominion found it established, with a basic understanding of quantum fronts, and advanced enough that First Contact would cause little or no societal impact. The Covenant between the Dominion and the Omnet was finalized in 1804, just a year after the first contact had been established. The Dominion readily acceded to all of the Omnet requirements and soon became a Omnet member state. In addition, the Dominion soon became known as a weapons dealer and expert military master, as well as an innovator in the field of military technology, becoming one of the great suppliers of weapons to the Greater Galaxy. The future of the Dominion in the Age of Expansion now remains a mystery. Though many agree that since meeting the Fartrade Coalition in 1805 AD and the Ruqua Dynasties in 1824 AD, those Houses that advocated mercantile expansion and conquest through trade have gained the upperhand, there are still many who would claim that the methods of the K'tan Empire have their benefits. Thus far, the Dominion balances between a thin edge of military conquest and mercantile interest, with many Houses openly advocating for both sides. |
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Government: |
The government of the Dominion is an oligarchy. The ultimate ruling body of the Dominion is the Circle of Chosen, made up of thirteen members who between them set the general foreign and domestic policy of the Dominion, administers to the Doom Shield and the revolving forces of the various Houses, and resolves inter-House disputes.
The Circle of Chosen are enigmatic. Nothing is known about the member's identities. When a member of the Chosen dies, a total of thirteen people from all walks of life will be considered as candidates. Shortly after they are chosen as candidates, they vanish. After a month, a new member of the Chosen is announced. No names are ever given, and no failed candidate is ever seen again, indicating that the testings for candidates might well be fatal to failures. The true ruling body of the Dominion are the twenty five individual Houses, who are organized into the Circle of Sylune. This Circle, consisting of representatives of all ruling Lords and Ladies of Sylune discusses most of the particular details of the domestic policy and foreign policy not covered by the decrees of the Circle of Chosen. The Circle has the seven Major Houses in the upper body, and the eighteen Minor Houses in the lower body. The Circle is also responsible for the addition of new systems to the Dominion. A House may sponsor a system for entry in to the Dominion, however, unless the House can prove to the Circle that it is capable of developing the world, sponsorship will be refused, and the system will be up for the 'highest' sponsor, or rather, the House that can most effectively develop it. As a rule, the two Circles function exceptionally well, especially in these times of expansion, and by general consensus, the Dominion's inter-House disputes are at an all time low as they expand. Government: Foreign Policy The Alhanai Dominion considers its relations with other Minor Empires and all Major Empires to be of the utmost importance. The Alhanai are closely allied with the Fartrade Coalition and the Ruqua Dynasties, as the Alhanai are themselves predominantly a trading culture. The Alhanai are willing to trade with anyone who can match their prices, as long as such trades are done through the agency of one of the more reputable bankers of the galaxy, the Ruqua Dynasties. The Dominion's relationships with the other empires are as follows: Omnet: The Alhanai support the Omnet and are very cooperative. IGNM penetration is high and widely followed, especially concerning the economic stabilities and needs of nearby empires. The Alhanai's respect for the Omnet and the Galactic Union is extremely high, and most Vestis are pleasantly surprised by such cooperation and warmth. Very few things within the Dominion are barred to the Vestis, and Vestis agents often describe the Dominion in glowing tones. Ruqua Dynasties: The Dominion has close ties with some of the minor houses and major houses of the Ruqua Dynasties and respects them as they do few other empires. The average Dynastic traveler receives special treatment and often are granted the best accommodations one of the Major Houses can give them. Fartrade Coalition: The Alhanai has close ties with the Fartrade Coalition. Fartrade representatives are often found within Alhanai space purchasing weapons and other exquisitely crafted items of the Alhanai to be sold to others. Lights of Ja'lel: The Alhanai respect the Lights, and citizens of the Lights are granted similar rights as those enjoyed by the Fartrade, though not up to the level of respect and treatment offered to members of the Ruqua. Minor Empires: The Alhanai refuse to conduct mutual defense treaties, and are unwilling to project their military outside of the three zones that the Alhanai are currently in the process of integrating back into their rule. The Alhanai has never conducted joint research with any other empire, and does not allow research programs that attempt to break the monopoly they have over the Void Drive. They do license it to some major corporations that use the Technomages and their own teams of scientists build them, but the licenses are proprietary, and the Dominion strictly polices these licenses, often with the full force of both their own forces and the thousands of mercenary companies willing to work for the Dominion in exchange for excellent payments. Government: Domestic Policy Domestic policy is set in part by the Circle of Sylune, and the individual Houses. On occasion the Circle of Chosen will actually determine domestic policy, though this happens rarely. The Alhanai as a rule are as free and individualistic as possible, within the codes and rituals of the Dominion and the Houses. Individual Houses police their own areas of space, though the trade routes are maintained predominantly by the Doom Shield. The harshness of sentences is often variable, depending on where one is sentenced. House Laeral often shows a fair bit of leniency, while House Xorlarrin shows none whatsoever. |
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Society: |
The society of the Alhanai is as shifting and dynamic a society as one will ever see. Power changes hands, and influence is measured, though always with the knowledge that the Chosen watch, and their decisions can topple even the most powerful of the Houses. The code of conduct included with the Dominion prohibits extensive use of damaging force, and prohibits the destruction of a House by military, political or economical means. However, within the constraints of the Charter, conflict occurs and builds up the Dominion's dynamic development, leading to many advances and innovations as individual Houses attempt to outshine their rivals. However, due to the Circle of Chosen, these developments generally get distributed throughout society rather rapidly, leading to a greater frenzy of development and a constant and swift improvement of Dominion technology and mystics.
The Alhanai are as a rule proud, though many often assume a less prideful point of view when dealing with others, at least until they have gauged the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents. Society is honor bound and has evolved a respect of skill, strength, intelligence and anything else that permits an individual to advance himself and the House, and thus, the Dominion. The fierce pride of the Alhanai can and do lead to duels for honor, and it is advisable for most foreign sentients not of the Dominion to avoid such challenges. The average foreign sentient does not have half the knowledge nor skill needed to match an Alhanai in combat. The Alhanai tend to form close attachments to family and House, and to honor-friends, friends whose honor is valued as highly as the Alhanai's own House and self. It is customary for children to be raised in groups within the House, and form close attachments within the House and with members from other Houses who often train together at the Mathere-Arenth, or Academy of War and at the Arcanis-Arenth, or Academy of Arcane and Science. As an appendix to this entry, a listing of the Major Houses can be found below:
Society: Languages The official language of the Alhanai is referred to as Standard. The individual Houses often have their own secret languages taught to their members and fiercely guarded. These House languages allow for covert dealings and intrigues, though as again, few truly devastating intrigues are ever done. Society: Religion The single religion of the Alhanai is the worship of the Lady of Mysteries and the Lord of Law. The Lady of Mysteries is widely believed to be a representation of Shauna-kir, and is present in the records of all three founder empires. The Lord of Law is probably a representation of Kendis-dai. The general level of respect accorded to the Lady of Mysteries is often high, though this varies. The Lady of Mysteries is widely acknowledged as a deity interested in the mystical, in the unknown and with a great love of life in all its diversities. The Lady of Mysteries encourages experimentation and a spirit of freedom and risk taking that has led to a faith based deeply on innovation, new ideas and the encouragement to learn more about the universe. This encouragement is tempered by the opposite figure of the Lady of Mysteries, the Lord of Law. The Lord of Law's philosophy is that of rigid Law, of order exemplified by the power of the Sword of Justice he holds in one hand, and the Shield of Mercy he holds in the other. The Lord of Law is often described as All Knowing (a reference to the Mantle of Kendis-dai, no doubt), and powerful beyond belief. As a rule, respect for both deities is high, and ceremonies and religious days observed with due care and consideration. To show otherwise is to lose honor and status in the Dominion. |
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Economy: |
The economy of the Dominion is as vast as the Dominion itself, and as diverse. Most wealth that the Alhanai accrue originates from sales of blackvoid, and of weapons. In that aspect, the Dominion has achieved spectacular success, and the revenue generated from sale of weapons outside of the Islenier Group has made the Alhanai incredibly wealthy, and proud. Few Minor Empires make more than the Alhanai, and few are as respected for their military potential. Most customers are aware that if the Alhanai sell such advanced weapons, they must have much more advanced weapons available for themselves, and are leery of crossing the Dominion. The Dominion's mass production of weapons exceeds most empires, and their focus on weapons has led to a massive arms industry, and vast facilities for the production of such equipment. In addition, the Dominion has an active and thriving industry in the refinement of blackvoid and in preparing it for use in synthetic minds.
The worlds of the Islenier Group are for the most part dependent on the Alhanai for much of their needs. Dominion equipment is the best, and few empires can hope to survive without such things, especially the stocks of power sources and other necessities sold by the Dominion. The Dominion controls such wealth that it is needed for the rebuilding of the infrastructures of many worlds. This has led to a vast amount of Dominion holdings in almost every world of the Group, and made the eventual absorption into the Dominion almost a certainty for many worlds. The Dominion has made certain to develop its assets in all worlds of the Group, hedging its bets and providing it with vast incomes in addition to the incomes it gets from sales outside of the Group. Intra-Dominion economy is often complex, with shifting balances and interdependencies beyond the scope of this document. The Dominion's Houses produce much of what they themselves need, and specialize in one or more high technological/mystical arenas. These specializations result in vast wealth, as many Houses have already exceeded the Galactic Norm in their areas of specialization. Most Houses are interdependent, as such specialization must often be carried on to other fields before the true benefits can be accrued and used. However, only a fool would assume that these alliances are permanent or even semi-permanent. Often they can shift with barely a moment's notice as new developments necessitate new measures, leading to the conclusion that at no time should a traveler or trader assume that existing alliances are still in use. He might be proven fatally wrong. |
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Military: |
The Alhanai has two military forces. The Alhanai's Doom Shield is the main fighting force of the Alhanai and is under the authority of the Circle of Chosen. The second fighting force are the individual House Shields, elite fighting forces trained by the Mathere-Arenth in the fighting arts, and ranked as some of the best privately owned fighting forces of Sector Z. The individual House Shields are required by mandate of the Circle of Chosen and the Circle of Sentinels to serve on a rotating basis with the forces of the Doom Shield, and thus improving both the efficiency of the House Shield with the introduction of new techniques and tactics learnt from other House Shields who are on the same rotational rate, and increasing the total fighting force of the Alhanai.
The Doom Shield is comprised exclusively of the genetically designed Morshak gifted to the Alhanai Dominion by the Dariyans when the Dariyans responded to their plead for aid in 540 BC. The Doom Shield's Morshak are among the best fighting forces in Sector Z, and few indeed have the kind of adaptability or sheer skill that the Morshak show. The ships of the Doom Shield are best described as among the best one can find for the money, that is to say, nearly unlimited wealth. Military grade Dominion weapons and defensive systems are several times more efficient than the commercial versions sold to outsiders. Doom Shield vessels run the full range from Class IV Heavy Fighters to the dreaded Class XIV behemoths. The pride of the Doom Shields, no Class XIV behemoths have ever been defeated in open battle. They are capable of leveling entire planets, often carrying several massive planetary attack weapons. Though few in number, the behemoths serve as a powerful deterrent, especially after the Velden Tyranny attempted to block House Laeral from protecting its assets in the Tyranny. A full Doom Shield fleet, including just one behemoth demolished the Tyranny's central world, leveling mountains and shattering the Tyranny and absorbing it into the Dominion. Few worlds in the Group now will dare to cross the Dominion for fear of what the behemoths can do to them if they do. The mainstay of the Doom Shields are the modular, graceful Class VII and above capital ships. These ships are driven by Void Drives and are able to sail the Dominion's three zones with impunity. They are also armed and equipped with some of the best, and what the Dominion does not have in the best, they purchase from others, regardless of cost. Given the incredible wealth of blackvoid deposited by blackvoid storms from the Black, the Alhanai have not much need to worry about cost. As such, any ship attempting to face the Doom Shield are certainly doomed unless they have better tacticians than the vastly superior Morshak Masters of Tactics, or have divine intervention handy. |
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Sports and Leisure: |
The Alhanai's leisure time is spent in a mixture of different activities. The shifting, fast moving pace of Alhanai life has led to a love of innovation and fads, often derived from fads that begun in the Union of Stars.
As a rule, music, fine arts and extensive board games that test the tactical and strategic skill of the players find great support from the Alhanai. In addition, games of skill that hone one's fighting abilities are also highly followed, with non-lethal, non-honor duelings being one of the more popular sports to indulge in. Literature is also a highly sought after category of leisure, and very many Alhanai are well read and enjoy books that range from light reading to treatises on Galactic History. |
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Major Population Centers: |
Arenth is one of the most beautiful capitals in the Greater Galaxy, though as with all things made by the Alhanai, practical first, beautiful second. Of course, exceptions to that rule exist. The graceful form of the Temple of Mysteries is one example, and draws tourists from all around to witness a temple built on the style that was in use in 1338 BC, just shortly after the Shattering of Suns. The Citadel of Chosen is another sight that is imposing, more because of its practicality than its beauty, though as again, there is a striking if stark beauty to the Citadel. |
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Chronic Problems: |
The Alhanai face challenges from many in the Islenier Group who would choose to break the monopoly the Dominion has on high tech/mystic items and other such things. The Dominion sees this as challenges, and has devoted much time and effort to crushing them, to very little avail. Many of them are too entrenched for simple diplomacy and trade control to weaken, and the Dominion faces constant military battles to expand its influence and to keep the trade lanes open. | ||||
Submission Information: |
Submitter's Name: Darius Picard
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