Hroa'agh Factbook [No Posting]

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The Grand Empire of the Thousand Suns

The Grand Empire of the Thousand Suns is the largest hroa'agh state, home to more than 10 billion, spread out across half a dozen systems. There are several other, minor states around the edges of the Grand Empire, none larger than a single system. Many are centers of illicit trade and even some piracy.

The Grand Empire is a stabilizing force in the region, and Imperial ships are not shy about patrolling outside of their jurisdiction, as long as they have not been forbidden entry. While not especially expansionistic, the Grand Empire is interested in spreading the rule of law, and is not above using economic pressure to get other systems to obey Imperial law and to cooperate with the Imperial gendarmerie. Despite the frequent shows of force, the Grand Empire is not warlike, with only one world (a notorious hroa'agh pirate base) having been invaded during the history of the Empire.

Ultimately, the Thousand Suns (all six of them) are on relatively good terms with their neighbors, and are usually willing to sign economic treaties or help out with police actions.
The United Dominion of the ixee first contacted the hroa'agh during their Age of Steam, allowing world unification and accelerating the leap into space. Relations between the Grand Empire and the United Dominion are cordial, with many treaties tying the Grand Empire to the Dominion.

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Physical Traits

Hroa'agh resemble snakes with four arms, though they are not related at all to terrene serpents. They are warm-blooded and their circulatory system uses a form of hemocyanin to carry oxygen, leaving their blood a powder-blue. They evolved high in the treetops of temperate rainforests on their warm, humid, heavily volcanic planet.

Their teeth and the dermal scutes that cover most of their bodies are made of calcium carbonate. They do not have tongues as such, but they do have a fan of tentacles housed in the roof of their mouth that also serve as their main scent organ. Air is taken in through two holes, one on either side of their neck – these have secondary scent receptors and can be sealed. Behind the air holes are air sacs and vocal cords. They can easily support their weight on their long, muscular tails – however, slithering on their tails is slow, and usually use their bottom pair of arms to help locomote. They are capable of short bursts of speed, but they are generally ungainly on flat ground (though they are generally adept in rougher terrain). Hroa'agh are excellent climbers and brachiators, and are generally more comfortable hanging from the ceiling than on the floor. They are fairly strong swimmers, and can hold their breath for upwards 15 minutes without ill effects.

There is little variation between the sexes, with females tending to be slightly larger.

Speech

As their sound production does not involve lips or a tongue, their speech is unlike that of most species - mostly involving air between air sacs, it has been described as being similar to “whalesong” or “a frog playing the bagpipes”. Hroa'agh hearing descends much lower than that of humans, and their speech does as well, and they tend to rely on translators to communicate with other species.

Society

Family Structure and Breeding

Hroa'agh are long lived and slow breeding. Only fertile for about a fifth of their year (which is admittedly 70% longer than Earth's), they are incapable of mating at other times. Children are generally celebrated and prized. A premature death of an individual is considered to be a terrible tragedy.

Most child-rearing and other familial responsibilities are handled by extended family or friend groups. A low birth rate ensures that only a few children will need care at any one time. These family groups also often give adolescent and young adult hroa'agh a hand up in life – nepotism is alive and well in hroa'agh societies.

Pecking Order

Surprisingly (at least, to more herbivorous species), the mostly carnivorous hro'a'ag do not usually seek out combat. Most interpersonal conflict is handled through boasts and bluffs, which is just as well – 250kg of sharp claws and teeth can do a lot of damage. Usually one will back down and violent crime rates are often surprisingly low.

Hroa'agh society does not regard humility as a virtue, and greetings often involve a quick boast. This might occasionally come off as arrogance to other species, but it can often serve to establish a hirearchy. Titles are also quite popular, with gradated ranks in virtually every sector of society.

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The Grand Empire of the Thousand Suns

The largest hroa'agh power, and the only one that controls multiple systems. The central hub of the government remains their planet of origin.

The Home Planet - Rai'ifaagai

The hroa'agh come from a warm, wet, and rather volcanically active world – though ecologically-friendly technology was introduced by the ixee Dominion before they could develop true industrialization, the atmosphere is contaminated by natural pollutants. They evolved from rainforest climbing predators and developed mass agriculture relatively late in their prehistory, which necessitated hroa'agh spreading across the planet.

Hroa'agh settlements are largely vertical, reflecting their tree-climbing heritage. They also tend to be smaller and less spread out than the cities of other species.

Its Moon - Zo'aghai'a

As mostly nocturnal species, hroa'agh religion and culture is greatly influenced by the moon of Rai'faagai. It is also home to the oldest interplanetary settlement, and host to the largest shipyard in the Thousand Suns.

Slightly smaller than Luna, it orbits its planet much closer, resulting in high and powerful tides. It orbits Rai'faagai about once every 13.2 local days, and the hroa'agh use it's cycles to divide their year into durations roughly analogous to weeks.

Its Systems

First of a Thousand - Commonly called "First" (or "Ghahi'ae"), this system was the first settled by the Empire. An unremarkable G6-V star, it's main planet is also unremarkable, with light seasons and little in the way of mineral resources. It had independently evolved life when it was discovered, though this was limited to bacterial mats and a few types of herbal coral. Since then, these have been genetically modified to fit into the thriving ecology transplanted from Rai'faagai.

Red Ice - This cold red star (M4-V) has a few planets orbiting it - the main installation is sunk into the surface of a planet covered in water ice, with a few isolated seas made of ammonia and chlorine compounds.

Grand Conquest - A dual-star system (K4-V and M3-V), the Grand Conquest system only contains one habitable world. It was settled peacefully and uncontested - it's settlement was a triumph of terraforming rather than military conquest. Colder than Rai'ifaagai, it is still considered a bright jewel in the crown of empire, and fungal forests transported from the homeworld have begun to thrive.

Two Suns Spinning - Commonly just called "Two Suns" ("Mai'a Ma), this dry world orbits a White Subgiant and Yellow Sun Pair. The main planet is quite rich, and it has become an important manufacturing and mining hub.

Four Lords - This system was named after the system's four gas giants, all but one possessing spectacular rings. Already possessed of a flourishing ecosystem, its settlement was unsanctioned by the Grand Empire, and it quickly became known for its unsavory element. Several decades ago, it was brought into the fold through a deal that saw the rise of a ninth great house.

Government

Contact with the ixee allowed a single kingdom to achieve dominance, spreading its influence though economic pressure, coercion, and sometimes even outright war. As a result of the relatively peaceful unification of the pre-contact powers, many of them remain semi-intact to this day, several centuries later.

These ancient lordships have evolved into noble houses that form the basis of the feudalistic government of the six systems of the Thousand Suns. The number of great houses have increased slowly over the centuries, though the number of lesser noble houses has grown noticeably - the houses are determined by power, not heredity.

Inheritance amongst the various houses is a tricky affair, not determined by age or birth order, but by whoever is willing and able to take control. This is usually a child of the old ruler, and almost always a blood relative, but unrelated usurpers are not unheard of. Given the hroa'agh typical avoidance of direct conflict, coups are usually relatively bloodless, but can take time as the claimants jockey for position. The Grand Empire's government is rather stable, however, given the length of hroa'agh lifespans - and the fact that the rulers self-select for competence.

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Military

The Grand Imperial Gendarmerie is headed, at least in theory, by the Emperor themselves, though most emperors have left the strategy to the actual generals. There is no real separation of forces, though due to the differences in tactics between ground, space, and law enforcement, troops and officers are given specialized training depending on their intended post. The offspring of noble families usually go straight into a command rank, but officers are frequently promoted out of the troops. As a non-warlike power, the Grand Imperial army spends most of its efforts on police forces.

Military service usually is associated with military knighthood - knighthood being an award for some service done for the empire, and organized into many ranks. Usually, the first rank of military knighthood is given for surviving one's first successful military encounter (or given to the officer in charge of a successful arrest).

Forces expecting armed resistance are usually armed with projectile weapons or ixee-style x-ray lasers, though flamethrowers and missile weapons are also popular. Those forces on police duty are usually armed with electric darts with enough power to stop a 400kg hroa'agh.

The ships of the Grand Empire of the Thousand Suns are built for hit and run attacks, focusing on (in order) speed, defense, stealth, and then offense. They tend to favor missile weapons, with some beam weapons and chaff dispensers (deadly when used by or against ships moving at relativistic speeds). Grand Imperial ships rely more on automation than manpower, necessitated by the species low birth rate.

Hroa'agh Ships

Never really having gone through an industrial age, most hroa'agh ships are built to general specifications, but each is a unique creation, and no two are exactly the same.

Notable Ships:

Cenotaph of the Spectral Emperor - One of the first ships built by the hroa'agh, the Cenotaph (like most Grand Imperial ships) is in a constant state of upgrade. The one thing that hasn't changed is the silver and aluminium tomb in the center - the body of the emperor who commissioned the ship is sealed within, and it is believed that his spirit still guides the ship.

Militant Librarian of the Golden Tower - One of the more heavily-armed ships in the gendarmerie, the Librarian is one of the few ships designed purely for war. It is able to launch a staggering number of missiles per volley, but is not equipped to fire very many - instead it is designed to jump into a system, launch a few relativistic volleys at a few important targets, and then jump out.

Obsidian-borne Strength - In contrast with the Militant Librarian, the Obsidian-borne Strength was designed for policing duties. With light armament, most of it highly accurate beam weapons, it has good defenses and powerful engines.

Silver of the Abyss - This ship has impressive stealth systems and is quite fast. Armed with a few missile tubes and point-defense beams, it also has a number of mine and offensive-chaff deployers. Still, it has seen several campaigns were it did not take part in any pitched battles, instead serving as a scout, sometimes approaching detected within a few thousand miles of enemy ships.

Sky Drenched Arrow - The closest thing the Grand Empire has to a fleet workhorse, the Sky Drenched Arrow and ships like it have strong engines and defenses, with good mixes of missile and beam weapons. The Arrow is the flagship for one of the top generals in the Thousand Suns' gendarmerie.

Weighted Blade of Verisimilitude – One of the largest ships in the Grand Empire's navy, it has inspired enough imitators that 'Weighted Blade' can be considered a classification of ship. Far more heavily built than most Thousand Suns ships, the Weighted Blade of Verisimilitude and its imitators focus on defense and maneuverability – their size and still-formidable firepower make them a force to be reckoned with, and they are often used to break up enemy formations.