The Imperium of Vipra's Factbook (FT) (2.0)

by **Vipra** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 3:59 pm

Directory:

Category:
1. Statistics, Government, and Administration

Category:
2. Racial Data

Category:
3. Territory
3a - Core Systems of Alpha
3b - Core Systems of Beta
3c - Core Systems of Delta
3d - Core Systems of Gamma

Category:
4. VIPs

Category:
5. Crown Monopolies, Trade, Corporations, and Border Control
5a - Corporations
5b - The Border

Category:
6. Military Contractors, Criminal Organizations, and Terror Groups

Category:
7. Vipran Culture, Laws, Customs, and Religion
7a - Laws and Customs
7b - Religion

by **Vipra** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:01 pm

Government:

The Vipran government is a gargantuan organization topped by the Imperatrix who the head of both state and government, her power over the nation not limited by a constitution, assisted by a straightforward appointed Imperial Cabinet. These appointed officials act with the Crown’s de-jure sanction to carry out her will within their departments, interdepartmental communication kept open and clear due to the centralization and authority of the cabinet within the Imperial Palace as well as a clear chain of command with the Imperatrix the final authority. Despite this there are no obvious measures against corruption beyond the clear and present threat of Imperial disfavour and the intelligence reports of the Internal Security Agency that can bring corruption to light. Due to the nature of appointment most positions are taken by atoran and other persons from the core populace of the Imperium, the Imperatrix selecting from people she personally knows or those recommended to her. A degree of favouritism and nepotism is unavoidable.

The ministers and other officials of the Imperial Palace that compose the Imperial Cabinet control the executive and legislative branches of government. They work with their subordinates in their departments to draft new laws, or changes to existing ones, and present them to the Imperatrix for approval before they can be applied. Emergency laws, such as martial law, can be declared in a non-core system without the Imperatrix’s approval but are reviewed after the fact. Small internal changes, such as adjustments to tax rates or the execution of eminent domain, are delegated entirely to their respective ministers and department heads.

Outside the Palace Administration and the Imperial Cabinet the highest ranking official are the governors of the core-systems and the Inner Fringe provinces. Governors exercise limited authority, their powers restricted to an entirely administrative role that defers to the central authority. The exception are military governorates, which are declared by Imperial mandate and have the authority to create and enforce temporary laws as well as suspend rights. Ultimately all governors, apart from military governors, have no military authority apart from paramilitary police forces and are administratively separated from the commanders of the military garrisons and stationed fleets who assume total local authority in the event of invasion. Governors are appointed for five year periods after which their administration is reviewed, most governors being renewed to their post. Military governors are again the exception, retaining their position at the pleasure of the Crown.

Law Enforcement:

Largely paramilitary, the Vipran police are given the task of enforcing Imperial law and keeping the peace within the core systems and Inner Fringe. Law officials are mostly devoted to investigation and criminal detainment, petty crimes are managed entirely by autonomous drones. As such Imperial police tend to be unseen, investigating felony crimes from behind closed doors, and when they are visible are often busting gang operations or arresting violent criminals. Most officers as a result are former military, even the desk jockeys, and tend to be heavily armed while the police organization is hierarchical with a strict chain of command and government appointed superintendents. By design the police force is intended to be a potential military auxiliary in the event of invasion, their organizational structure capable of being absorbed into a military fighting force with little fuss. Despite the militarism, however, use of lethal force is rare outside of raids into known criminal dens, and less-than-lethal armament is commonplace.

Detainment and interrogation are deceptively difficult for the police force. Suspects and other persons in custody enjoy rights before, after, and during detainment to protect them physically as well as psychologically. Similarly property damage is kept to a minimum, the police force having to compensate owners if they damage their property while executing a raid that did not result in evidence being seized, persons being aided, or criminals being detained. Essentially any raid upon innocent persons will see them reimbursed for any damages caused while they were carried out. This leads to cautious application of raids, the police force only busting down the doors when they are sure there is criminal activity occurring. A wide net of cameras, drones, and other passive information collection services aid in ensuring they do not act without foreknowledge unless absolutely necessary. The surveillance web is omnipresent and often unseen, drones no larger than a grapefruit floating through the air while cameras and listening posts blend into the scenery.

Criminals taken into custody face what appears to be a very lenient system, with no death penalty and a focus on rehabilitation. Prison sentences, however, are universally indefinite with only one means of release. Criminals are kept in state operated prisons and rehabilitated until such a time that they are deemed to be socially suitable and are thereafter released. Due to the intense nature of certain crimes and the potential for chemical imbalances or other biologically driven psychosis there are also voluntary psychosurgery programs that can alter brain chemistry and psychology mechanically. Criminal records are kept secret, apart from petty crimes and fineable offenses which are kept on public record, and rehabilitated criminals are allowed to participate in public affairs as any other citizen.

Imperial Security Agency:

Founded in order to manage intelligence threats, the Imperial Security Agency is tasked with managing threats to Imperial security that originate both domestically and from foreign nations. To this end the ISA has two main branches, the Domestic Security Branch and the Foreign Security Branch. Both work in concert through the overarching ISA organization, sharing information and periodically exchanging agents for maximum efficiency. Agents operate in cells that are difficult to directly communicate with, the head of the ISA’s control over them not readily apparent, and they can carry out operations without access to the ISA’s budget or resources. Both branches, however, are overseen after success of operations by the central ISA bureaucracy and its own agents to maintain control of information as well as to maintain agent loyalty.

Deterring, mitigating, or outright resolving any potential information leaks, terrorist cells, and foreign agents within Imperial territory fall to the Domestic Security Branch. They operate within all sectors of the Imperium, monitor citizens and foreign nationals within Imperial borders, and carry out operations to ensure national stability as well as social integrity with minimal public attention. Foreign criminal organizations are treated as though they were spy agencies and are dealt with by the DSA and will employ information taken from customs as well as law enforcement without their knowledge. Agents prefer to detain and secretly interrogate rather than assassinate foreign nationals, psychosurgery being used to extract information if the interrogation is not fruitful or to create sleeper agents. No means are held back from DSB agents in theory but in reality they operate underneath the law only so long as they maintain their secrecy.

The counterpart to the Domestic Security Branch, the Foreign Security Branch works in parallel with it and fills the role of managing intelligence and security operations outside the Imperial borders. FSB agents are primarily employed to infiltrate foreign administrations and technology sectors in order to retrieve state and industrial information, but they will also infiltrate foreign criminal elements in order to gain access to a native black budget from which other FSB operations can be funded without tracing back to the Imperium. Assassinations are relatively uncommon given the attention they garner but are not ruled out in the case of particularly dangerous individuals. In the event of war in an infiltrated nation FSB agents may be directed to carry out sabotage of information, military industry, and civilian infrastructure as well as to assassinate capable leaders.

Imperial Services Agency:

Fringe Affairs Bureau:

by **Vipra** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:06 pm

Additional Core Races:

After wide ranging genetic therapies and modifications the inhabitants of the Hymns of Ascent have diverged from baseline maekari and become their own distinct subspecies but continue to refer to themselves as maekari, even if the are more correctly referred to as Ascent Maekari or Vipran Maekari. Their phenotype is very similar to baseline with extremely humanoid features, gender dimorphism, salmon pink skin, eyes that range from violet to pink, and anywhere from twenty-four to forty-eight tentacles on their scalp where hair would be on a human. Men still have the chitinous layer of keratin that forms a pseudo-exoskeleton, beginning to grow when they hit puberty and fully grown by the time they are thirty, covering them from head to toe in organic plating and tough membranes. Women are largely similar as well, but their life cycles are dramatically changed.

Where they differ from their kin is in their internal workings. Ascent Maekari are not bound to the same life stages are the original maekari and their lifespans are dramatically longer at roughly one hundred and seventy years for both sexes. A smaller change are new lavender smelling pheromones that exude from both sexes bodily fluids, giving them a permanently pleasant odour as their sweat carries the pheromones in small amounts, and endearing them to aliens as well as each other. Most minorly the height difference between sexes became more distinct, with women average five and a half feet tall and men six feet tall and their body shape, while still being thin and slight, has more variety in bulkiness than the baseline.

Men are the most unchanged with only a few changes and unexpected consequences of the genetic manipulation, that being that they are more pronounced in showing their age such that as they grow older their tentacles stiffen and curl up like nautilus shells tight against their skull. As well they become thinner and their chitinous growths develop some further protrusions and crests. Their muscle tissue bonds close to the chitin to the point where it can serve as a secondary mechanical lever akin to a regular exoskeleton by the time they are fifty. This allows older Vipran maekari who appear as though they should be weaker to actually have significantly more leverage for their weight, allowing them to move much quicker and be more precise in their movements at the same time.

On the other hand women are no longer divided into strict life cycles. With the caretaker stage removed entirely and the Sister stage merged with the Adult, maekari girls become known as maidens once they reach eighteen years of age and they become functionally fertile after years of development throughout puberty. They stay in this stage for thirty to fifty years, slowly transitioning to the mistress stage. First as a consequence of the changes, and then modified with intent to help engineer the species’ survival, Ascent Maekari women exhibit the promiscuousness of the normal Sister life stage throughout their lives, something that only lessens when they become a mistress, and are superfecund. The adrenal glands of the regular adult life stage develop naturally in their mid-twenties, and their aptitude for the arts aren’t lessened even if they are delayed to the mistress stage and thusly take much longer to develop. Additionally their tentacles continue to grow throughout life, eventually reaching the back of their knees.

The most dramatic change, from the maekari perspective, is that when female Ascent Maekari sightjack they also experience the tactile, gustative, and olfactory sensations of the individual. They still require physical contact, and they require practice to manage the overwhelming sensations without suffering overload. Men are the same, still able to sightjack anyone who has come into contact with a maekari in their close vicinity, but taking in other sensations along with sight and hearing. They also still suffer the degradation of their sense the more they use this ability, but it extends to all their sensations and not just their eyesight. Perhaps to combat this or maybe through the interactions of the genetic modifications the Ascent Maekari spontaneously developed significantly heightened tactile sensitivity, first apparent in men and then, very shortly after, the women.

Born amidst the apocalyptic ruins of Ekilion, their world ravaged and raped by an infesting and voracious entity monikered as “The Coalescence”, the Ekonites are the warped successors to the now extinct Ekilionites who preceded them. Found by the Viprans amidst the wracked cities of their world inside warrens carved into the bedrock and lined with quivering flesh, they were reintroduced to the galaxy and left their barren homeworld behind for scavengers to pick through. Now migrants travelling within large living spacecraft organized into large fleets, Ekonites have also immigrated in large numbers to the Imperium and settled in cities throughout the Core and Fringe.

Like their antecedents (the Ekilionites) the Ekonites have mutable physiology, but they differ in that the new species has conscious control over the changes that take place and can guide or even take direct command over their own physiology to the degree of changing themselves on fundamental levels. The easiet way for an Ekonite to change itself is by copying, typically by ingesting organic material with genetic or other forms of intrinsic organic coding, allows an Ekonite to copy the form and composition of the entity it came from or incorporate elements of it into their being. However this is not necessary and an Ekonite can experiment upon itself to create new appearances, organs, and other personal changes independently. This process takes longer however, albeit practice can shorten the time required significantly. The average Ekonite will take many weeks or months to shift their appearance independently, while a trained and skilled expert can alter their body in minutes.

This skill with their own bodies extends outside of it however, and Ekonites possess and preternatural ability to weave flesh and bone. An Ekonite can gestate biological constructs (bioconstructs) and release them in juvenile form, allowing them to spawn numerous subservient organisms. These young bioconstructs then develop rapidly and can themselves create further drones that culminate in vast organic architecture and massive creatures on the scale of starships. Ekonites dislike having to create the initial bioconstructs with their own bodies due to extreme pain and fatigue involved, but when wearing their biosuits, which are discussed below, they can have their suit carry out the process in their stead in a more efficient and painless manner. Effectively, each Ekonite can replicate their favoured ecosystem over a long period of time.

Physically the average Ekonite, if any can be considered that due to their mutable phenotype, is divided into two large categories: The Fleet Ekonites and the Imperial Ekonites. Fleet Ekonites are those born on the Ekonite migrant fleet or first-generation immigrants from it, and are short humanoids with inhumanly pale skin and wispy white hair. Conversely Imperial Ekonites, who are native to the Imperium, are much taller and with heftier builds, skin colours ranging wildly from atoran blues and greens to human browns and even improbable scarlets and neon pinks. Imperial Ekonites also tend to lack hair and instead have head stalks much like the atoran they imitate. Due to their shifting and morphic physiology however they can take almost any form if given the time and organic energy required, no two Ekonites looking alike.

Another intrinsic part of Ekonites and their culture is the suit each owns. Each suit is a work of art created by the maker to suit their personality, Ekonites growing their suits over their skin in a long and slow process that result in them being perfectly acclimatized with their suit. By the time they are done growing, an Ekonite’s suit acts like enclosed mechanical powered armour, with a limited onboard intelligence. Alive in their own right, suits have brain nodules interspersed throughout the suit but primarily behind the neck that allow the suit itself to better assist the wearer. By linking with their suits, connecting their nervous system with them, Ekonites take full advantage of this and gain superior reflexes, senses, and other benefits. Theirs suits do have a common feature however, that being tendrils in one place, usually from the scalp, that allow them to further connect to bioconstructs or other Ekonite designed biology. Aside from this their suits may have built-in weapons systems, extra limbs, dispersed eyes, and other such design choices made during growth.

Fringe Races:

One of the many non-humanoid races of the Outer Fringe the gruukaphalak, called gruuk for short, are centipedal insects with full sapience and the ability to verbally communicate. Their bodies average four feet long, eight inches wide and three inches thick, with two thick antennas topping their rear end and a flat face on the front. Their face is utterly flat, with no discernable head, instead their segmented body terminates suddenly and a wide pink gummy mouth is visible surrounded by seventeen beady black eyes. Their eyes do not blink, and eight inch long scything mandibles are hidden inside their mouth to snap out and yank food inside where an internal chewing mandible can grind it down. Along the side of a gruuk’s wide body are limbs, sixteen arms that end in small pinchers on the front third while thirty six stubby legs protrude evenly spaced further along the body. Gruuks hold themselves in a semi-upright position, their body in a trailing S shape, and can move surprisingly fast along any surface their legs and pinchers can find purchase.

Gruuks do propagate by semi-typical means, breeding sexually, but do find no enjoyment in the act. A male penetrates the carapace of a female and injects his sexual cells into the female’s body cavity where it eventually reaches interconnected wombs along her back. Ten to thirty gruuk grow within their mother’s back for thirty four weeks before hatching, the mother’s carapace distending and bulging with her young by the time they are ready to be born. Gruuk use their mandibles to cut through their mother’s skin, and spill out the first opening to be made. The mother will take several months to recover, her exoskeleton taking time to recover, and she feeds her infants with regurgitated crop milk. Gruuk are weaned by six months of age, and are adults at fifteen years of age.

However gruuks are considered odd and off putting for other reasons, mostly their vocal control and their odd fixation upon humanoids. Gruuks have an amazingly well designed diaphragm and vocal cords, able to control their voice to perfectly imitate others or even the sounds of machinery and inanimate objects, gruuks often speaking with humanoid voices. This has a tendency to disturb the people they adore, the centipede-shaped species have a species wide adoration of the humanoid form. Gruuks don’t know why they have this fixation, but don’t question it either. They will watch humanoids sleep, collect their hair or trimmings, and otherwise surround themselves with relics and fetishes dedicated to their favourite humanoids, finding any excuse to physically interact with humanoids.

Arriving from a region known as the Wastes, the Elysians are a race that underwent rapid and widespread mutation into their current state under the influence of the Coalescence. They are a confluence of the various Olacian elven races, Elysians have a life cycle that consists of biological castes and telepathic community within the communal mindscape of Elysium. They live in a instinctually structured society headed by the Nomarch caste, with the remaining four filling out the bulk of their civilization. Blooded are the soldiers, guards, and civil protection while Wayfarers explore the stars as well as develop new theorems. Factotum are the bedrock of the Elysians, the labourers and workers who toil. The last caste are the Painted who hold the social order together by creating cultural works and relieving the stress of other Elysians.

All Elysians are born casteless no matter their parents, small and sexless, weaned and raised by Factotums as they develop physically and travel Elysium in their dreamstate. During their childhood they are hairless and chubby, their skin pallid and eyes with pale blue irises. When they hit puberty their bodies undergo a dramatic shift, gaining sexual characteristics and transforming into one of the five castes. They are transferred to the care of their caste at that point and by the time they reach full maturity they are of their caste’s phenotype and are entirely encultured to their new way of life.

Elysium, the communal dream and mindscape of the Elysians, is a telepathic realm shared by all Elysians. All Elysians aside from Nomarchs only visit Elysium in their sleep, the highest caste able to interact with Elysium and its inhabitants at all times. Despite not being aware of it during their waking hours Elysians are always in contact with the dreamscape and can be influenced through it by the Nomarchs, indeed the Nomarchs maintain control of society through influencing the mindscape of other Elysians actively within Elysium. In addition to this they can cause psychosomatic effects in others through the dreamscape, causing them to heal quicker, helping them resolve personality issues, or even cause them to develop down different paths. Through this Nomarchs are able to heavily influence which caste a young Elysian will grow into and continue to affect their development throughout their lives.

-Nomarch Caste-
By right of their caste the Nomarchs are the leaders of Elysian society and rule over the other castes. Psionically potent and able to act within the dreamrealm of Elysium when fully awake and aware, they guide the lower castes through that communal mindscape and control the fate of the Elysian people. Their influence is not limited just to Elysians and through concentrated effort they can connect outsiders to Elysium, thereafter influencing them as they would an Elysian and even altering them physically. Physically Nomarchs are tall and ivory skinned, the shortest seven feet in height, their long limbed and hairless bodies thin yet exuding a strange grace that the serene expression of their delicate if straight-featured faces compliment. They can be of either sex but are highly androgynous, although both sexes are infertile, and the only obvious difference aside from sexual organs is that women have larger eyes and shorter canines.

-Blooded Caste-
Warriors and soldiers, Blooded are a passionate and violent caste that are entirely female. Perhaps as a means of survival they mimicked one of the varieties of infested that roamed the former Olacian worlds and took on characteristics of women turned to perpetually bleeding and feral cannibals. Mutualistic fungi, bacteria, and multicellular organisms riddle their tissues and aid in processing lactic acids and provide myriad other benefits. Their physiology is highly robust as a result of this in combination with elastic tendons, carbon structures that permeate their skin and bones to make them intensely hard to cut or break, and internal membranes that disperse incoming energy to protect organs from concussive force. Their skin is raven black yet, during times of distress, they bleed through their pores and their bodies are coated in a protective layer of scarlet ooze as the specialized blood and plasma congeals into flexible organic body armour overtop already bullet resistant tissue. Phenotypically they are stout and hardy, with a layer of bodyfat overtop lean if highly developed muscles that gives them a voluptuous form, and they have wild orange hair that often covers their long pointed ears, shrouds their yellow eyes, yet does nothing to veil rows of perpetually growing serrated teeth.

-Wayfarer Caste-
This sexless caste is the shortest and lightest, with hollow bones and other oddities that set it apart from the others immediately. Most noticeable is the fact that Wayfarers have two thumbs on each hand as well as on their feet, which are just as articulated as their hands. Closer inspection reveals their orange and white splotched skin is covered in transparent downy hair that acts as cushioning and insulation in place of bodyfat. Eyes, with proportionately large pupils, dominate their faces above thin noses and small mouth while their enlarged skulls give them a huge amount of encephalization. It is because of all this that they are the most nimble of Elysians and can climb nearly anything and are expert spelunkers, translating well to movement in zero-gravity situations, as well as the most intelligent in regards to mathematics and logic. Within Elysian society Wayfarers are the scientists, academics, crew of starships, and the advisors to Nomarchs.

-Factotum Caste-
Grey skinned and with strong physiques, Factotums are the foundation of Elysian society and the majority caste as they carry out the majority of labours. Their hair is either ashen or onyx, ears shorter than other Elysians but pointed nonetheless, and their eyes tend to be pale blue. Averaging six feet in height and with builds that support intense musculature Factotums have many of the same mutualistic flora as Blooded and can work continuously under hard labour conditions without tiring. Disproportionately the Factotum caste are men, with three fifths of the Factotum population male, and are employed as manual labour. Women often have domestic duties as well as secretarial work, alongside wetnursing and raising Elysian young in creches, but a good half of Factotum women also work in manual labour fields. Although they tend to work menial or tedious jobs, Factotums are not without intelligence or ambition as they match human intellect and will often compete for superior jobs, the attention of other caste members, and better social standing.

-Painted Caste-
Of all the castes the Painted are the most relatable to outsiders, appearing the closest to their Olacian precursors. These typically gorgeous Elysians range in height from five to seven feet tall for both genders and often have athletic or statuesque figures that are accented by flamboyant and bright skin colours that can be, but are not limited to, azure, forest green, amaranth, gold, and even iridescent purple in solids or patterned combinations. Their hair, shining and luxurious, is similarly colourful and always contrasts with their skin. Similarly their eye colour varies widely and they have large irises to show them off. Like all other Elysians they have pointed ears, although theirs are the longest. They differ in that their skin and other tissues are far more elastic and do not tear easily, they have pubic hair and the men have facial hair that develops during puberty, and their pointed tongues can stretch up to a foot from their lips. Additionally they are the most fertile of the castes and the progenitor of most. Mentally the Painted are highly imaginative, almost all being eccentric, and take up several artistic pursuits or devote themselves to mastering a particular art form.

by **Vipra** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:07 pm

Territory:

The Imperium is a colossal sprawl, with territory and military holdings in all four quadrants of the galaxy. Imperial territory is divided into three categories, each under varying degrees of direct control and with their own subdivisions. The regions of the core and Inner Fringe are part of the Imperial borders officially, patrolled by Imperial customs and the military. All ships arriving in Imperial space, aside from Imperial military vessels, are required to slave their vessels’ systems to a control station and allow remote control. Those that do not hand over control are considered hostile and are detained or destroyed as is deemed prudent. No foreign territorial presence is allowed within core system or upon worlds administered by Vipran officials. In this way embassies are not considered to be the sovereign territory of another state and must abide by Imperial laws and customs.

The Core Systems: Those systems that were conquered, assimilated, or otherwise made a part of the Imperium during its initial five year expansion into space, the core systems are administered by system governors and are the cultural, as well as economic, hub of the Imperium. They tend to be more heavily populated than most Fringe worlds and have a massive amount of infrastructure as well as industry.

The Inner Fringe: Those colonial, corporate, and protectorate systems that have been annexed into the Imperium after its creation of the Imperial Fringe are organized into Inner Fringe provinces that compose an average of five to twenty systems each. Provincial governors oversee the Inner Fringe territories and aid in the integration into the Core Systems as well as the collection of taxes. Inner Fringe provinces tend to be sparsely populated with each province focused around one to four central systems with high numbers of human, atoran, or alien populations that serve as the focal point and administrative center of the province while the remaining systems are low-density colonies and resource extraction centers.

The Outer Fringe: The frontier of the Imperium, the Outer Fringe is an eclectic, half-anarchic collection of corporate conquests, private colonies, alien protectorates, and warlord states. Any state is considered an Outer Fringe state so long as it has an agreement to pay tithes, taxes, or some other form of payment to the Viprans in return for protection, trade access, and other elements intended to begin their slow integration by the Imperial government. Corporate holdings are de-jure and de-facto Imperial territory of the fringe. The Vipran agency known as the Fringe Affairs Bureau is most present in the Outer Fringe, monitoring mercenaries and corporations for any criminal activity or atrocities and keeping the semi-sovereign states of the Outer Fringe to their agreements with the Imperial government.

by **Vipra** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:11 pm

Core Systems of Alpha

Valethus System, the Imperial Capital:

Arkani System:

Farenik System:

Population: 7,000,000,000 (70% atoran, 17% other, 8% human, 5%balu)
Planets inhabited: 1
Moons inhabited: 0
Cities: Tylande, Eerioph, Ulsapha
Governor: Charanni Vektiem
Overview:
The first system with a native population to be absorbed into the Vipran Imperium, Farenik is considered the jewel in the Imperium’s crown. The system was absorbed into the Imperium with no resistance expected, being the second stop after the discovery of Arkani, but the native balu population of Volutiol quickly reacted to the atoran incursion and attempted to violently repel them with primitive pre-bronze weapons. The native population was harshly corralled and placed into residential schools in an experiment to see if they could be atoranized as well as to aid in clearing space for atoran colonists. This discriminatory system was abandoned after only a few years and the natives instead given Imperial citizenship, private ownership over their tribal lands, and encouraged to assimilate after being taught the Vipran language.

Farenik is a binary system with a yellow star and a smaller red dwarf that orbit each other bathing the six planets of the system in mixed light. Volutiol, the world which hosted the evolution of the Balu, is far enough that it is not scorched by the radiation of the twin stars and yet close enough to be made liveable. The other five planets are not so lucky, all closer in than the terrestrial world and a variety of sun-blasted hellscapes. Beyond Volutiol is a collection of asteroids in a large disc. The twin moons of Volutiol, Daius and Taius, provide protection from stray asteroids but have since had their role replaced by technological intervention and have become stopping points for visitors and merchants as well as the suppliers of most of the planet’s processed mineral resources. Numerous space stations and a large customs force are present to service the tourist industry centered around the outermost world

Volutiol itself is composed of three continents that are unilaterally covered in a solid canopy of giant mangrove-like trees, and the world is consistently sunny with a hot and humid atmosphere. On top of the canopy, which forms a second layer over the land, there are lakes caught in the boughs and other plants growing into the bark. Below is a cavernous network of bayous filled with fungus, large insects that can grow to monstrous size, and phosphorescent molds that give a measure of illumination. Cities upon the world tend to be built into both layers with elevators and roads giving easy access to both, residential housing on the canopy while the commuting network is composed of sub-canopy subways. The majority of Volutiol’s economy is based upon tourism and upper class estates.

Solkar System:

Nakotar System:

Nowem System:

Adien System:

Cuatour System:

Dorse System:

Dova System:

Kunlun System:

Arion System:

Raknold System:

Tyet System:

Lazaro System:

Yaltar System:

Orrus System:

Gerrain System:

Thierra System:

Ersteroch System:

Ellevar System:

Illustan System:

Kempfar System:

Nekk System:

Gordoni System:

Irul System:

Irocia System:

by **Vipra** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:13 pm

Core Systems of Beta

Chin System:

Sarai System:

Edom System:

Enoch System:

Helios System:

Pandora System:

Prometheus System:

Virmire System:

Hydra System:

Oceanus System:

Aquarius System:

Bifrost System:

by **Vipra** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:15 pm

Core Systems of Delta

Titus Verge System:

Pretor System:

Nectos System:

Herculius System:

Forta Omicron System:

Pax Vestigium System:

Terracon System:

Seronis System:

Razon System:

Aurona System:

Aesano System:

Golga System:

Sarturus System:

Rex Rgis Tractus System:

Iriquois Omega System:

Klendathu System:

by **Vipra** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:15 pm

Core Systems of Gamma

Cholic System:

Csilla System:

Kaze System:

Golan System:

Rhydin System:

by **Vipra** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:17 pm

VIPs

Government Leaders and Personnel:

Imperatrix Thanalli Alataryx
Age: 140
Height: 7’6”
Atoran Ethnicity: Matrilineal Farthii, Patrilineal Horusii
Originally born Thanalli Tarreul, the Imperatrix was born into the Tarreul noble house and reared to take part in corporate espionage. For decades she was groomed to be a spy and infiltrated Turophan United Technical Services specifically. Before she could carry out the subterfuge that would lead to the demise of the corporation and ruin the noble house that owns it, she was married to Imperator Ultoll Alataryx and was forced to break convention and take his name. She ruled behind the scenes, Ultoll a weak man and a worse leader, and orchestrated the creation of Vipra through the throne of Farthia and united the atoran nations through political arrangements and violence. She was effectively the ruler without officially being such until her powers were made official after she gave birth to Anammi and Vaesheer and gained Divine Right according to old Juntist succession laws, deposing Ultoll in a legalistic coup. After that she has ruled the nation directly, effectively divorcing from Ultoll after ensuring the succession with her further daughters Tavanni and Javaelli and her sons Rihtam and Vaesium. She has since married the alumina Nylia Aria d’Tean and had a child, Nemmi, with her and has guided the Vipran Imperium into what is not inaccurately labelled a golden age.

Admiral Daron
Age: 59
Height: 7’4”
Atoran Ethnicity: Farthii
The only male atoran admiral, Prenium Daron was born into Farthi nobility and was thus destined for great things. Instead he abandoned his family ties and forged his own destiny. His family, however, intended for him to be married into another noble family where he would father many children and ensure close ties. Instead Prenium, being gay, had no desire to be hawked off and left his family to join the military as a naval officer. He proved himself during the unification wars and was promoted accordingly, and when the space navy effectively replaced wet navies he was transferred to command of a picket vessel and sent away to cease being a problem for the matriarchal Admiralty. Instead he proved himself by rescuing one hundred alien slaves from death, liberating them into the Imperium, and aiding allies of the Imperium at the same time. After another decade of continued exemplary service he was promoted to admiral on the recommendation of Thanalli, the Imperatrix forcing the Admiralty’s hand, and he was immediately assigned the duty of pacifying Golan. He carried this out with minimal losses and secured the system for the Imperium, later going on to be assigned the “problem operations” that other admirals were not deemed capable enough to handle. He is considered the ideal atoran officer in all but one regard, his gender.

Merchants, Traders and Businessmen:

Alo’aman Deversh
Age: 27
Height: 5’6”
Species: Dahlusian
A member of the far ranging nomadic Dahlusian people, Alo’aman is even more freespirited than is common among his people. He is also, unbeknownst to most, immortal. After a fashion. Early in life he set foot upon the Undying World, the same place that the Undying Legion of Setulanites calls home, and became bound to the world, manifesting on the surface of that world whenever he dies. Which is rather often, having been snuffed several times thus far by jealous lovers, rival treasure hunters, and twitchy security systems. However not all his ventures end in his untimely demise, and one such adventure within the Republic of Setulan resulted in his securing enough wealth to buy his own ship and support two adventuring companions that he has rescued in his travels. The stoic talythian Gran from Lanyon’s World and the flirtatious maekari Valyrri aid him in hopefully not dying more than is necessary and retrieve him from the Undying World whenever he does.
His ship is the Winds of Luck, a large corvette.

Contractors, Criminals and other Vagabonds:

Aidimanni Tefe
Age: 124
Height: 7’9”
Atoran Ethnicity: Horusii
A soldier in the Horusii army and then the Farthii armed forces, Aidimanni suffered physically and psychologically from the atrocities committed during the pre-unification warfare on Allurus. After the world was united under the Imperium she returned to military academy and became a naval officer, attaining the rank of Captain quickly. During her captaincy Aidimanni negotiated for the maekari vessel Hymns of Ascent to become an Imperial enclave while also meeting the kitsune merchant Captain Mitsune and causing a diplomatic incident with the Xiscapians, the Viprans first contact with them. After the incident she was allowed to resign from the navy and joined the landed maekari cathedral ship as Commander of the Guard. She has run a tight ship, keeping it safe from all threat almost overzealously, and failing to woo Speaker Hath. Eventually however she would instead become the lover of Captain Mitsune.

Karri Vememiman
Age: 75
Height: 7’8”
Atoran Ethnicity: Horusii
Being relatively young when Allurus was subsumed into the advent of FTL travel, and having left the navy a scant few years prior to the Unification War due to medical concerns, Karri avoided the bulk of the conflicts that had cost her mother Yizinni her arm. She managed this by signing on with a merchant company and serving in a vital industrial sector that had her overlooked for the short lived draft. After the war she found the company she worked for taking a more keen appreciation of things less watery, and had to take courses on how to serve as crew aboard one of the many new space-freighter ships that were rapidly fabricated. Turned out she was better at it than damn near everyone else in the company, and she got a captaincy out of it. That lasted a few years until she had earned enough through her paycheck and tacking ‘unspoken additions’ onto the cargo she was transporting for numerous less than legal patrons. Her extralegal activities got her the funds to purchase the Vital River though and she left the company for something that gave her the freedom she desired, doing essentially the same thing she had been doing for a couple decades but without having to follow corporate mandates. Albeit everything she did seemed to come with more risk, more reward, and definitely more excitement; smuggling between empires and free trading in the less than secure portions of space isn’t the safest, but it gives you stories to tell.

Vivvi Kakrovna & Titti Kakrovna
Age: 237 / 28
Height: 7’7”/ 7’9”
Atoran Ethnicity: Farthii / Matrilineal Farthii, Patrilineal Horusii
Archeologists, Vivvi and Titti Kakrovna work as a pair. It helps that they are related, Vivvi the direct matrilineal antecedent of Titti going back many generations and thus her Korkaikrat or “Greatest Mother”. Vivvi, being as old as she is, has lived through a lot and is jaded, cynical, and covered in scars that came along with pre-unification archeology on Allurus. Her descendant Titti on the other hand is fresh faced and never felt had the singeing metal of war as it marred her flesh but carries on the family tradition of assisting Vivvi. The role of assistant has a high turnover rate, or used to, due less to the dangers involved and more to do with Vivvi’s caustic personality. Titti, or “Tit” as her Korkaikrat likes to call her, is unbothered by the teasing and abuse, helping her ancestor in every capacity she can and learning from her in turn.

by **Vipra** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:19 pm

Crown Monopolies, Trade, Corporations, and Border Control

Crown Monopolies

The economy of the Imperium of Vipra is a strange system adapted by necessity to rampant automation of the post-labour marketplace. The corporations are leveraged to act as providers of opportunity for the population despite the associated cost, and the government only provides for its own employees beyond basic welfare. This is done through various methods codified within the system of Crown Monopolies that are an extension of the business laws that most atoran nations practiced prior to the Unification as well as the culture of corporate aristocracy that came with it. The two main means are crown monopolies in industry and trade that are assigned to corporate aristocracy alongside a system of political patronage, working in conjunction to facilitate the economic needs of the people and state.

Crown monopolies are the Vipran crown outright endorsing families to the status of corporate aristocracy or empowering existing corporatocrats who are organized into noble houses. How this is exercised is the crown assigns a monopoly on an industry or trade within a region of space to a corporation and its corresponding aristocracy. The precision or breadth of the economic slice they are given, as well as where, varies dramatically. Older and well established corporations might be given the entire span of the Imperium and whole sectors of the economy to control, such as Turophan United Technical Services’ near total control of all space-habitat construction within Vipran space whereas Lanyon’s Trainingyard only has its monopoly on former Talythian systems and certain high gravity worlds outside that expanse.

Competition is not outright banned, but it is harshly penalized as it must occur between monopolized corporations operating in different regions of space. This is counteracted by the terms of the monopolies which are laid out by the crown to ensure cost efficiency for the people but mostly for itself. Some of these are hard limits by the government, such as enforcing that basic foodstuffs must be affordable below the poverty line, but more commonly are softly enforced by the merit of the crown being able to rescind the monopoly at any time if they become displeased with a corporation’s activity. As well, they can create direct competition by granting a rival a monopoly in the same field and area.

Small business continue to exist as well, as individuals and small groups that do not expand beyond the planetary economy scale are allowed to carry out economic activity independent from the crown monopoly system. Should a small-scale venture reach a certain size, determined by their physical scale or income, they are then considered for monopoly status. Often they are granted a local monopoly on the premise that they came that far while competing with monopolized corporations and thus are deserving or they filled a previously undiscovered niche. These upstarts can gain further status by upsetting the balance, gaining broad monopolies from the crown if they outcompeted a larger corporation locally as they would have proven they bring more to the table.

Although the monopolies are the more immediately obvious economic scheme the underpinning that keeps it directly beneficial to the general population is contractual patronage. This relationship is between the corporate nobility and the general population as patrons and clients respectively, although the crown itself patronizes as well. A client is typically employed by their patron directly, e.g. a nurse working for Presokin Medical is very likely to be a client of Presokin Medical patronage, and a soldier in the Vipran Armed Forces is always the client of the Vipran government’s patronage. A client need not be an employee however, large numbers of corporate aristocracy clients being unemployed as a result of the previously mentioned wide-scale automation.

There are expectations, both unspoken and legally binding, placed upon both client and patron in the contractual relationship. The client expects to receive many economic benefits, most commonly their housing being paid for and healthcare covered while they also receive a monthly or yearly stipend. On top of this they will generally expect small tokens or boons doled out by their benefactor such as company products or access to events. What the patron gains is the political backing of their clients, the clients obligated to throw their weight behind their patron’s political moves and activities if they wish to continue the reciprocal relationship. Clients are also typically expected to promote the products or activities of their patron, to encourage others to sign onto their patronage, and may be encouraged to network with other clients of the same patronage in order to create ad-hoc product test groups and think tanks.

This reciprocal relationship disperses income through the Vipran population, ensuring liquidity and that the population can actually afford the products made by the corporations despite the post-labour economy. At the same time this also gives powerful corporate nobility political clout as they can call upon their clients to lobby for them, promote programs that coincide with the corporation’s interests, and in the cases where a vote is held they can call them out to do so on their behalf. This is not to say there is economic equality within the Imperium of Vipra, as the corporate aristocracy themselves live in exceptional luxury and excess. Yet, due in part to this system as well as the continuous pressure from the crown as well as other corporations competing for the political clout of clients, the corporate elite invest enough in their clients to ensure they are spared the anxiety and suffering of low income and poor conditions. Even the most wretched client will have a comfortable living space, fresh food daily, access to media, and healthcare coverage. Those who refuse to become clients, however, must fend for themselves.

Trade Relations:

The Imperium does not carry out trade itself, private companies and interests carrying out all trade. However, the Vipran government does give favourable trade arrangements and make border-crossings easier for trusted nations. Nations that have earned Vipran ire are the subject of tariffs or, very rarely, outright closed borders in an attempt to stifle the rival’s economy. All nations and their citizens private interests are allowed to trade and operate within the Imperium however, but must abide by Imperial laws and customs while doing so.

Favoured States:
All TSAR nations
People’s Republic of Alversia

Disfavoured States:
United Star Empire of Valinon
Imperium of Vernii

Embargoed States:
N/A

Import - Export Index

by **Vipra** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:20 pm

Corporations

Imperial corporations are mostly descended from pre-unification organizations and companies, and all interstellar scale corporations are active as crown monopolies. Each corporation is owned, and managed, by a single proportionately large noble family in the manners of the Farthi nation which founded Vipra. The families monopolize control over their individual corporations and do not tend to diversify as that may nullify their monopoly status and expose them, only competing with other corporations where their monopolies are not enshrined.

Novalisk Technologies
Operated by the Valich family and headed by chief executive officer Kaesahn of the same house, Novalisk Technologies is the premier research and development firm in the Imperium. It pioneered the fields of powered armour, cybernetics, and spacecraft within the Imperium and was essential in the Farthii unification of Allurus into the Imperium of Vipra. Their technical advancements in military fields were given over to A3 Industries for further practical development and deployment in the wars, and they reaped the benefits. Since unification Novalisk has continued to be at the forefront of Imperial technology, developing the cyberbrain and the basis for full-body prosthetics, and has its fingers in all branches of technology from nanotech, genetics, and metamaterial development to structural engineering, AIs, and practically all other fields. It is vastly wealthy, buying planets and systems in the Outer Fringe as well as having deep space stations made where it can safely create and test weapons of mass destruction.

A3 (Arms, Armour, and Ammunition) Industries
Unique in that it is owned entirely by the royal family and linked at the hip to the government, A3 Industries produces almost all non-civilian grade military weapons, vehicles, and spacecraft. It routinely produces thousands of military spacecraft, of frigate and larger class, and replacement components as well as planetary vehicles and infantry armament. Most of its technological basis is developed by Novalisk Technologies and then made more practical and rugged by A3 designers, creating powerful weapons and even cybernetics that are used by the Imperial Armed Forces and those nations where A3 has business. They have an incredibly monopoly on military arms production but do not meddle in civilian arms, allowing other companies that field, but A3 make a massive profit regardless due to the armed force’s insatiable appetite, sales to other nations, and military contractors seeking heavier firepower than they can find elsewhere.

Turophan United Technical Services
One of the few corporations to be truly diversified, Turophan UTS is regardless mostly concerned with the development of space habitation and infrastructure. Run by the Vapranya noble family, Turophan produces most of the O’niel Cylinders seen within Vipran territory as well as other space stations not of military purpose. The company was founded post-unification by a collection of Yarashii atoran matriarchs, their investment securing the orbital industry around Allurus and being used by other corporations to begin the flourishing of the Imperium’s space economy. Their initial space stations have all been retired from usage over Allurus, removed to other worlds or scrapped, but their replacements were likewise built by Turophan on government contract. Stations aren’t their only venture, civilian arms and pressure suits sold to the people and the government while such necessities as vehicles, mag trains, and other infrastructural necessities are all sold by Turophan UTS with the same sleek designs.

Lanyon’s Trainingyard
The premier training center for private militaries and independent contractors, Lanyon’s Trainingyard was founded by the talythian officer-caste Kal Rorik as a private military school, military academy, and specialized training center for the highly militant population of Lanyon’s World. It served the talythians of its homeworld well, preparing them for service in the Imperial Armed Forces and making a tidy profit from government contracts to give preparatory training to tens of thousands of young talythians. With those profits it expanded to other worlds, all notable for their high gravity, and began to train more than just talythians as well as taking on numerous special forces veterans to train former soldiers and private citizens up to a similar level so they could join the military at an advanced level or go and find work as a military contractors. To that end Lanyon’s Trainingyard also facilitates recruitment for the PMCs willing to pay for the right.

Alpha to Omega Resource Extraction and Refinement
The largest Omegan mining and gas capturing corporation that controlled most of the mining operations within Omegan space before the annexation, Alpha to Omega was bought out by an association of atoran and Omegan humans of the newly founded noble house of Koryik-Talilogos shortly after integration. With the contacts of both portions of the house they were able to seize upon numerous mining contracts within the Delta and Alpha quadrants of the Imperium after the integration of Talyth and the Omegan rebellion. Within Alpha they seized upon cheap asteroid mining to supply the shipyards of Talyth and after the rebellion in Delta the company bought up a large percentage of the minor resource extraction operations there. The company is not the only extraction and refinement company, there being many more, but it is the main supplier of A3 Industries and thus tends to earn the largest contracts. Additional processed resources and metamaterials are sold to other private interests as well as abroad.

Pollöke Climate Engineering Conglomerate
Founded just after the wars that unified the atoran peoples as the various corporations and interests invested in terraforming Pollöke were united under one company by government mandate the PCEC was coalesced to ensure the climate and atmosphere engineering of that world continued and accelerated. It did just that, the combined assets and resources of the conglomerate allowing it to take the extreme measures necessary to make Pollöke habitable. instead of shutting down after the success of their initial venture the PCEC began to take contracts terraforming other worlds and purchasing less than colonizable planets so it could make them habitable and sell it either in whole or pieces to settlers and corporations.

Csarser Shipping and Freight
One of the major transport companies of the Farthii kingdom before the unification of Allurus, Csarser was invested in interplanetary shipping before the unification and the advent of FTL. They sent the third group of colonists to Pollöke, the Farthii settlers and were essential in the industrialization of Elek. They frequently came into conflict with the transport companies of other atoran nations and were thus heavily tied to the military until that marriage of necessity ended post-unification. Since Allurus has been a united polity Csarser has been given favouritest treatment by the Imperium within Valethus system and, from the profits made before the preferential treatment ended, entrenched itself in the systems colonized, conquered, and incorporated into Vipra. The Csarser company is commonly seen within all Imperial systems, Core and Fringe.

Tsertlane Finance and Loans
The major banking service in the Imperium, Tsertlane is one of the few Vipran companies not controlled by a single noble family. Instead it is operated by a collection of three families that united their assets and took control of differing divisions of the bank in order to maximize efficiency and profits. They are also one of the few companies to be under official government oversight. Tsertlane banks are present on all Imperial worlds, Core and otherwise, and it is company policy to aggressively seek footholds in foreign nations for if, or more likely when in the case of the minor nations bordering the Imperium, they need to take out large loans to purchase arms from A3 Industries and other Vipran services. They make a tidy business on this as well as their financing work for the corporations and companies of Vipra.

Presokin Medical
Once a part of Novalisk, Presokin splintered off with the help and blessing of its mother corporation and temporary government subsidies. Purchasing Novalisk’s hospitals, removing the stain of the former owners status as a research and development firm with new management and a new logo, the owners of Presokin are the family of the same name and are closely tied to both the royal family and the house of Valich. They have constant government contracts serving government employees, members of the armed forces, and veterans. Private citizens not engaged in private military contracting have life threatening surgeries and ailments covered by government subsidies at-cost, while any minor, prescription based, or unnecessary procedures come out of their own pocket.

Karkosha Cybernetics and Augments
Closely linked to both Presokin and Novalisk, Karkosha is similar to A3 in that they hire Novalisk to develop prototypes for them and then make them practical as well as profitable. In Karkosha’s case however the technology develops are cybernetic augments and prosthetics, genetic-altering retrovirus augments, and nano-machine augs. Karkosha clinics are typically integrated into or attached to Presokin hospitals so as to be able to immediately serve those in need of emergency prosthetic organs as well as to have medical staff on hand in the unlikely event of an emergency. They do have their own hospitals, few in number, as well as clinics attached to hospitals run by other companies. Their augments and prosthetics are ubiquitous across the Virpan Imperium, particularly the cyberbrain which they continually update and upgrade in cooperation with Novalisk Technologies.

Bathurdul Scholarly Association
Named after the Imperial capital with the special allowance of the monarch the Bathurdul Scholarly Association (BSA) is dedicated to museums, archeology, the collection of ancient and modern knowledge, as well as the preservation of cultural, religious, and historic sites. They turn a profit on their museums as well as the tourist industry of the ruins, restored and otherwise, that they own and operate. Similarly access to their records requires a donation or a subscription, otherwise would-be academics have to spend far more time and effort hunting down specifics and authentic records for free on the internet. The profits are turned around and spent on schools, archeological digs, and the purchasing of more alien ruins where they can perform digs and drum up tourism.

United Allurus Information Network
Formerly the Farthii News Network, the United Allurus Information Network (UAIN) changed its name and used its position as a Farthii corporation to supplant, browbeat, and overpower its competitors in the rest of the post-unification Vipran state. Thus it became the largest non specialized broadcasting service on the world and later the Imperium’s interstellar holdings. They do not attempt to compete or wrangle with independent bloggers and small news companies, knowing themselves incapable of stopping the tide, instead branching out from their domination of ‘official’ news and sponsoring video entertainment as well and distributing it through the internet on a subscription package. UAIN is, however, not as strong in terms of assets when compared against those that deal in material matters as well as Vraykt with its predominance over gaming and the arts aside from video yet retains a high degree of influence due to its media control.

Vraykt Publishing and Entertainment
The chief entertainment, art, and media enterprise within Vipran space, Vraykt has humble origins. It started as a one-woman company in a basement and grew from there after a surprise hit in the early gaming section of the Farthii media industry. After expanding and hiring employees Tetianni Vraykt began to publish for others and began to dominate the gaming industry after developing a much cheaper and more affordable console of her own that replaced the formerly upper-middle class only varieties. By the time of the Unficiation wars Tetianni’s company was also producing movies, publishing books, and sponsoring other artistic ventures. It was, and is, by no means the only publishing or entertainment company but has a large presence and is notable for aggressively pursuing the right to market and sell its products to the AXIS states during the cold war.

Tenebavnya Corporeal Services
Despite how it dresses itself, Tenebavnya Corporeal Services (TCS) operates brothels, pheromone-laden space stations, and “Pleasure Worlds” in the Outer Fringe while producing pleasure-augs, gadgets, and droids designed to cater to individual needs. It is a very powerful corporation due to the services economy of the Imperium and the subjective pricing of its services, able to extract a profit from all classes and worlds with little initial overhead. It’s further products simply add to the margin with metamaterial bodypaints, injectible pleasure-receptor nerve augs, and customizable droids a very small sample selection. They are also a company that rides the line of legality, as might be expected, creating clones that pay off their creation-debt through contractual employment and impressing similar strict and extensive contract on peoples from less fortunate or outright conquered worlds. Their association with various PMCs that aid them in carrying out annexations of worlds with native populations in order to create tourists attractions is not viewed favourably by most Vipran citizens however. Yet they continue to grow.

Wikalaman Textiles and Fashion
The primary proprietor of fashion and the fabrics, textiles, leathers, and metal-thread required to make apparel and accessories, Wikalaman is the source of most all Vipran civilian clothing. Even realms that would normally be considered part of another corporations purview are instead under their thumb as they work with TCS to create lingerie sold in the other company’s store. Their reach extends into nearly all sectors by virtue of cooperation, creating technical pieces of clothing such as the mechanical-counterpressure and climate control undersuits worn by every spacer with a brain and standard issue in the military in collaboration with Turophan and A3 Industries. The main bulk of the corporation’s output however is standard clothing and high fashion organized into various lines that wear their chief designer’s name over the generic Wikalaman brand. The brands vary wildly however due to how Wikalaman grew, absorbing smaller fashion companies and incorporating their houses into its own as semi-independent fashionistas. As such they range from simple and elegant to extravagant and eccentric, or simply neurotic.

by **Vipra** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:20 pm

The Border

Border Control:
Rather twitchy and violent in regards to maintaining its territorial sovereignty, it is hardly surprising that Imperial Customs maintains the border in conjunction with the Imperial Navy. Trade and interstellar travellers are required to arrive only in certain parts of each system and to slave their controls, as well as many other systems, to a control station. Spacecrafts that do not arrive in the ordained areas are swarmed by Imperial customs and naval ships, and if they do not relinquish control they are seized or, more often, destroyed outright. Those vessels that refuse to slave their controls meet an identical fate, just faster. Vessels that comply are treated to intensive inspection by Customs, the degree of time spent depending on their certification. Ships that travel only between core systems have a much easier time at customs while foreign vessels are treated to a full sweep and what amounts to informal interrogations by surly customs officers.

Immigration:
The Vipran government handles potential immigrants on three grounds: Where they are heading, whether it is the Fringe or the Core; their personal skills; and the nation they hail from. Immigrants to the Inner Fringe are given much more lenient treatment while those that seek to immediately settle in the Core Systems are vetted intensively by the government. Personal skills always help as well, country bumpkins finding it almost impossible to immigrate unless practically their entire family is already in the Imperium whole doctors, scientists, publics relations reps, and trained soldiers have a much easier time. Perhaps the most deciding factor however is the nation they are emigrating from, with the Vipran governments relation with that nation deciding how preferential or discriminating they are.

Emigration:
There is little stopping Vipran citizens from emigrating. Officially. Persons of interest are not allowed to leave however, especially if they have information that might be of value to enemies of the state, and tend to be grabbed by intelligence agents and have the relevant information removed via psychosurgery before allowing them to go on their way. Otherwise, there are few stumbling points for citizens seeking to emigrate from the Imperium and they are almost always allowed to retain their Vipran citizenship.

by **Vipra** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:22 pm

Private Military Contractors:

Iron Law

Created during the aftermath of the unification of Allurus, Iron Law is a highly specific military company dedicated to occupations, paramilitary policing, and increasing stability. Zaekammi Xanyaloc was a Horusii military police officer decades before the wars and after them applied her skills to found Iron Law in the chaos of Vipra’s foundation. Her first contracts were within the annexed Molokarii jungles, a job that was deemed to be too costly to devote already overreaching military forces to. Her immediate success was that she and her employees did not die horribly at the hands of disgruntled Molokarii, an even greater success following as she managed to enforce Imperial law and maintain the peace within the jungle until the Molokarii were, in all practicality, exiled in almost their entirety from Allurus. Their first contract a major success, Iron Law’s reputation was immediately secured.

They are armed and armoured in modern Vipran equipment and are recruited from former police officers and military police, an understanding of law enforcement important to almost all Iron Law contracts. Less than Lethal weapons are more common than typical firearms given Iron law’s focus and the management’s desire to maintain their reputation. And that reputation has been maintained by being selective in regards to the contracts they take as well as ensuring they have a full understanding of the local laws and customs of the region they are being deployed in. Iron Law is one of the few military contractors to have sensitivity training for their employees.

Horizon Risk Management

Founded after atoran unification by a Farthii-naturalized Molokarii, Xavvi Mippilvae, Horizon Risk Management (HRM) is an infamous military contractor that has found work in the Outer Fringe conquering worlds for corporations, suppressing rebellions for foreign states, and raiding pirate bases to prove where they are on the food chain. They are this way because of Xavvi’s belief that the decimal places on a contract outweigh any morality, her employees agreeing. Without a moral compass and their leadership guided by profit alone, HRM has become perhaps the wealthiest and most powerful military contractor to originate from the Vipran Imperium. Their ships and soldiers can be seen throughout the Fringe as corporate enforcers and as the clenched fist of whatever minor states can afford them. Those that can’t sometimes end up getting crushed themselves, HRM taking worlds that are weak or unstable and parcelling them up to be sold to corporations and other states.

Their armament and ships are supplied mostly by A3 Industries and is one of their largest buyers with several fleets and many armies worth of mercenaries on the official payroll. Many more are not on any paperwork and are funded with a blackbudget created by facilitating the sale of planetary populations to slave traders and the seizure of cultural artifacts during contracts. Their official soldiers have a uniform of powered armour and railguns akin to the Imperial army but many have additional prosthetic limbs attached to their armour controlled by cyberbrain uplink. Vessels large and small, ranging from dreadnoughts to corvettes, can be seen within the HRM naval assets and they are often flanked by vessels appropriated in the course of their contracts. Contractors that are not on the books dress and arm themselves as independents, as they are officially such, and are typically given paralegal contracts and jobs or sent to infiltrate before HRM will officially arrive.

Lanyon’s Legion

Many talythians were initially out of a job after the incorporation of the Dominion of Talyth and the citizens of Lanyon’s World filled that void immediately under the guidance of Breki Clonhar. Breki was an officer caste talythian and a war veteran, after the integration he was left unemployed on Lanyon’s World waiting on the Imperial promise to find employment for or re-recruit the affected talythians. It was supposed to take two to five years, a reasonable time frame for the numbers and logistics involved, but for most talythians that was a good chunk of their lifespan. So Breki took it upon himself to collect his former subordinates and found a mercenary company, making do by working for cheap and making their employers supply transportation. After three years Lanyon’s Legion bought its first ships, mothballed Talythian vessels they were comfortable with, and from there the Legion began to take proper contracts.

Lanyon’s Legion was initially composed entirely of talythians but has recruited broadly since it broke from small contracts and began taking larger scale jobs. The Legion maintains its standards however, with low and high G training a requirement as well as specialized courses at Lanyon’s Trainingyard. Before his death Breki was able to negotiate a long term agreement with the Trainingyard in order to secure cheaper training for the employees of his Legion. Thus their military skill is assured and they have the funds to procure sufficient armament to lay waste planetary garrisons. Their presence is felt largely in Delta and Alpha, securing cheap recruitment from talythian populations and skilled warriors from retired soldiers.

The Laximites

Born from a militant religious order, the Laximites are dedicated to the goddess Laximus and fight in her name. They are far more ancient that the Imperium, at least on paper, but do not represent the original order in any way other than the omnipresence of Laximite dogma and the membership of a handful original Laximites. With the unification promoting the worship of Laximus by the sword and defending the Farthii state became less important and even illegal, leaving the Laximites without purpose. They rediscovered themselves outside the Imperium, fighting for glory in the pursuit of personal perfection. Spreading devotion to Laximus has become a secondary concern to the goal of embodying her ideals. In their pursuit of this perfection they seek ever greater challenges but do not turn down the minor, any victory worthy regardless and the payment of fulfilling contracts letting them maintain their lifestyle.

The Laximites receive many contracts, mostly from Juntists, and from this revenue they have transformed themselves and become a culture unto themselves. Separating themselves from civilians and regular society the Laximites live entirely within battleships and other military craft. Their recruitment is unique among the Imperial PMCs, with none occurring. Instead they use artificial wombs and genetic engineering suites to create new generations of Laximites within their ships using the genetics of their best warriors after improving upon them. Born to a legacy pursuing perfection and a lifestyle of violence, Laximites are some of the best soldiers in Imperial space and arm themselves accordingly. Their refurbished ships are maintained as close to perfect working order as possible and their planetary equipment is purchased from A3 Industries directly.

Criminal Organizations:

Vyenlothi
A Yarashii atoran organization based within the land on Allurus once called their own, the Vyenlothii organization, or Five tongues in basic, are a monastic order. Or at least that is what they are officially, an order of female monks dedicated to Horut. Their devotion to knowledge extends beyond books and meditation however. Spies and information brokering are the true purpose of the Vyenlothii along with a side business in smuggling. Managing and selling information rose naturally from their ancient role as advisors to the Yarashii leadership and later corporate families as those began to establish themselves. Smuggling and other enterprises, however, began after they gained special treatment as a religious order to travel unmolested. From there using their knowledge to solidify themselves, the Vyenlothii were capable of dominating their corner of the underworld while retaining the image of saints.

After unification they carried on strong, stronger than ever in fact. Their information network expanded beyond the former Yarashii state as they gained the confidence of the Juntist population by charitably repairing damaged schools and temples across the world. Recruitment is slow, only taking in orphans below the age of four and raising them in monasteries to be dutiful to Horut as well as their fellow Vyenlothii, but their membership is composed entirely of supremely loyal warrior monks indoctrinated into the order. Vyenlothii have manage to stay off of the government’s shitlist despite their illegal activity by feeding them information as well, working with intelligence agents when the price is right and smuggling for them as well.

Madra Zukaikai

While most Krachii were impoverished after the unification war, having been on the wrong side of it, the daughters of a few former oligarchs rebounded their fortunes by using what they had: A large population of Krachii atoran that weren’t loyal to the new Imperial government. Using the contacts of their mothers, their own popularity among the Krachii, and what wealth had been hidden from the conquering Farthii the new generation of Krachii oligarchs worked together to found Madra Zukaikai. The Dry, as they are known in basic, used the relative instability and overextension of the new Vipran nation post-unification to overtake and dominate the underworld, taking up illegal gun trafficking, organ harvesting, and racketeering. Once interstellar colonies and conquests began and the Imperium bloated Madra Zukaikai expanded its operations to include illegal slaving and neutronium smuggling among multitudinous other illegal and paralegal pursuits.

The leadership of Madra Zukaikai is entirely Krachii, the founders racially selective towards their ethnic kin, while the middle management and muscle are typically of the local flavour. Their haunts blend into the background, using nightclubs and other legitimate businesses as fronts for their operations below. In the Outer Fringe their operations are more brazen, trafficking in sapients and operating brothels worked by them or aggressively pushing designer nanodrugs to enslave men and women to addiction. They protect their territory brutally and expand into their rivals with overwhelming force, keeping alive the executions popular among pre-unification atoran militaries as they make examples of those that won’t bend the knee and join their network.

Terror Groups:

Sons of Sol

Human supremacists that appeared after the first human states were annexed by the Imperium, the Sons of Sol have grown exponentially as the Viprans have incorporated more and more humans into their Imperium. They started initially on Solkar, that vehemently pro-human society a breeding ground for resentment against non-humans. It came as little surprise to the Imperium when the Sons formed, what did surprise them was the speed with which it spread from that dark and cold system. In a matter of half a decade the Sons of Sol had cells operating across the Imperium. However the Sons play it smart and do not openly attack the government or non-humans. Instead they act the charitable organization and have the welfare of poor humans as their stated goal, backing this up by aiding humans in need to find housing and stable employment among many other benevolent acts to better mankind within the Imperium.

Secretly however the Sons of Sol are violently attempting to facilitate a human takeover of the Imperium of Vipra from within. Violence and assassinations, the establishment of short lived criminal organizations to demonize rivals, and pushing their own players into positions of middle bureaucracy are their means of slowly gaining more influence. Sleeper cells are placed throughout the Imperium, with active cells operating in the Fringe to bring human worlds into the Outer Fringe and increase their recruitment pool as well as the presence of humanity within the Imperium. Their ultimate goal isn’t to dissolve the Imperium or destroy it, but instead to supplant the atoran and make mankind the dominant species within the nation, to this end they encourage the dominance of the Imperium abroad and its stability within but are using all means available to infiltrate the administration.

Molokarii Raiders

The Molokarii atoran were exiled from Allurus in all but name, only those willing to adopt the official culture remaining behind while the majority that preferred to remain traditional were given old ships and quietly allowed to leave the core systems so they could be forgotten. The Molokarii, however, don’t much care to fade into the background. They continue their old violent ways with new weapons, raiding and pillaging outside the Imperium to bolster their pride, wealth, and favour in the eyes of the gods. But mostly they raid because they enjoy to see others suffer. Empathy is limited only to other Molokarii, aliens and even atoran of other ethnic groups little more than animals to be skinned then killed. Imperial forces continue the policy of ignoring them so long as they keep their barbaric activity outside of the Imperium and its Fringe, but will engage them ferociously when they become too cocky and endanger those under Vipran Protection.

Their initial ships have become mobile hulks, parts from dozens of technological bases fused together into motley dreadnoughts supported by ragtag frigates, freighters, and corvettes that have been rearmed with overcharged Molokarii custom weapons. Their personal armament are perhaps oddly advanced, the Molokarii entering into agreements with Novalisk to fieldtest their weapons and cybernetics. In exchange for field testing prototypes extensively in realworld scenarios, the Molokarii get to use advanced kit when they pillage and massacre. Albeit their cybernetics have a high frequency of glitches and their guns, occasionally, explode. Molokarii tend not to mind, replacing damaged organs with more cybernetics so they continue to accumulate more scalps and loot for their gruesome holds.

Tzunakahlii

A vast network of partisans from all branches of society the Tzunakahlii are the vilest and most reviled sort, republican revolutionaries. They were practically nonexistent before the unification of Allurus, only one republic existing among the atoran nations, and after unity the majority of atoran were as content as they could be with autocracy and the naturally contentious rallied for other causes. As non-atoran states were absorbed into the Imperium and the specter of existential warfare began to fade the ideal of republicanism spread among the Imperial population. Most brush it aside, stability and prosperity more than enough, but for some personal freedoms were not enough. They demand the creation of a democratic Vipra, for the Imperium to be of the people instead of the Alataryx family and its chosen. The government, very obviously, considers them to be traitors and dissidents.

In return they act the part. Tzunakahlii are true believers, using any means to achieve their goal of a new Vipra and without much consideration of the damage they cause in their attempts. Bombing government buildings is a favourite tactic as is the destruction of constabularies, but their primary actions are to threaten government officials. They are well armed, composed mostly of veterans or those trained by them, and are funded by criminal activity. Kidnappings, extortion, and the trafficking of slaves are all in their portfolio in order to keep their operations going without relying on donations or other avenues that could easily lead to infiltration.

by **Vipra** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:24 pm

Vipran Culture

Contrary to popular belief the Vipran culture is not the culture of all atoran and definitely not the entire Imperium. Instead it is the culture of the Farthii atoran given a name change during the creation of the Imperium of Vipra in an attempt to appeal to the history of all atoran cultures and make it more palatable. Additionally the Vipran culture takes from foreign cultures extensively, such as adopting an Alversian sport and several styles of Terran dress. The Vipran culture however is pushed upon all the core systems and the Fringe in the hope that their social engineering will smother the native cultures and give further stability to the state. This is especially true in regards to non-Farthii atoran, who are the particular target of cultural engineering in an attempt to unite all the atoran races and remove the differences between them. Their success is highly varied, but the Imperium continues to push its agenda of cultural unity regardless. Only the methods change.

Classical:
For the Viprans their classical music involves a large amount of percussion. Military tunes and marching drums, the stuff of war meant to invigorate and kickstart the martial trance. Not that the atoran need help with that, but they enjoy the music regardless. Other cultures tend to describe it as tribal or archaic, the drums violent and powerful while flutes and rattle shakers add to the mix. It all seeks to replicate the tumult and fervor of battle, war chants sung along to the beat by deep voiced choirs. The entirely instrumental songs, of which there are many, also tend to use string instruments such as thrumming harps or even older instruments such as ceramic horns. Almost universally Vipran classical music is martial in nature.

Pop:
A very modern development for the Viprans and an example of cultural diffusion from alien cultures, pop music has become popular among Viprans with several bands appearing. They tend to be of mixed species, with atoran and human mixing together with other races joining as trends and band dynamics require. Notable bands have appeared within the Imperium and earned fame, and notoriety, for their genre. Delta Squad, an Omegan boyband that is highly popular in Razonite systems among teen and young adult women. The talythian pop, or T-pop, band Live For Today is composed entirely of officer caste women in tight blouses and shorter skirts and are popular throughout the Imperium due to odd visuals in their music videos as well as the novelty of talythian girl bands.

Metal:
It is unsurprising that metal is popular within Vipran culture and was already in existence before the cultural influence of non-atoran states came into the mix. Loud, heavy, militant sounds of industrial machinery, recordings of artillery and gunfire, as well as sirens are all common sounds in Vipran metal songs. Their singers are usually atoran women with strong voices singing from the diaphragm, matching their lyrics to the heavy drum beat of their songs and usually singing about violence, war, and other situations that were endemic to atoran society pre-unification. Stage theatrics are important with makeup and costumes omnipresent among metal bands, often painting themselves to appear as the servants of one Juntist god or another. Notable is the band Razkrat, all its members atoran that dress as agents of Ponitmal the god of fire and passion and their songs revolve around the battles of Unification war.

Non-Fiction:
Biographies and textbooks are common in Vipran households, particularly biographies of historical figures such as famous Farthii monarchs or generals. However modern books tend to focus on the histories of foreign nations, particularly the nations that the Viprans have had rocky or outright hostile relations with. It is in the nature of the Viprans, having been at war for so long, to be interested in their enemies and why they think the way they do. The axiom of understanding one’s enemy is held close to heart by many atoran and so biographies on Kitsune emperors, Alversian Premiers, and Huerdean Generals sit on shelves beside books of famous atoran conquerors and the founder of the Alataryx dynasty.

Science Fiction:
Much of Vipran speculative fiction focuses on ascendancy, further development and the potential boons of as well as potential demons within cyberbrain technology, and spatial anomalies. These stories tend to be popular with younger Viprans who like to believe that they will see the technologies and societies that are in the pages within their lifetimes. No matter how wrong or write they are, Vipran writers are prolific in this genre with such books as the cyberpunk dystopia of The Cost of Paradise sitting beside the time-travel space opera epic Dots. They have as many ideas as there are books, some turning out to be accurate and others complete bunk, but they explore ideas nonetheless.

Fantasy:
The Vipran take on the fantastical and magical often takes place within the distant past, back in the days of axe and steel, and often involving gods, creatures of atoran myth, and spiritual beings. They tend to explore the concept of gods among mortals and the implications upon society, often drawing influence from Juntist theology and history in the process. Fantasy is not the most popular genre, being linked closely to religious fiction and historical fiction of a particularly literalist Juntist interpretation of history, but a variety of epics and series continue to be written to the delight of niche fans.

Historical Fiction:
Atoran writers love to take liberties with their own history, and Vipran writers prolifically change details, insert characters, and generally treat the past as a general guideline for their narratives. The most common period for historical drama among the Viprans is the many industrial-scale wars of the Farthii, Horusii, and Krachii. In particular is the novel series Our Fallen Sisters which follows a Horusii woman called Vraebbi Naetyar. The first book starts with her birth and follows the specter of the wars to come as well as the then occurring war with the Farthii. By the second book Vraebbi has been trained in partisan warfare and is on her way home as peace concludes with the Farthii only to find it under attack by the Krachii and the narrative follows her struggle to find and rescue her younger sisters, finishing with her finding her sisters’ bodies as the Farthii army arrives to aid the defenders. Later books in the series focus on her struggles in the Horusii ghettoes of Bathurdul, motherhood, and the death of one of her daughters in a continuation of the war her sisters died fighting. The series concludes with her cremating her daughter and spreading her ashes over the same field as her sisters.

Comedy:
Dark, dark comedies are the norm among Viprans when aimed at adults while films and shows aimed at younger audiences are much the same but without as much violence and more puns that can be enjoyed by children and their parents. The most popular movie, dating back to before the unification, is The Southern Front, a film that takes place during the Farthii attempt to colonize the Molokar region and follows two soldiers as they blunder through the violence through being genre savvy, cynical, and just plain lucky. At least until the end of the film where one slips and sets off a mine the pair were ordered to place at the beginning of the film. Another popular comedy is the series The Gods are Bored which revolves around the Juntist gods interfering in the life of a down-on-her-luck Krachii atoran as she attempts to make it big in the Fringe.

Adventure:
Focussing on the many lost cultures and nations of the Milky Way, Vipran adventure movies have transformed since the advent of FTL. Ancient galaxy-threatening relics and diabolical powers such as in Cycle of Eternity, corporations reviving elder evils in an attempt to gain inviolable power as occurs in Darkness Within, and invasions by extradimensional beings that can only be stopped by activating a macguffin device in time like in Beyond the Stars. They all focus on generally relatable protagonists and tend to have motley crews of various races, albeit the most successful do not have bland everywoman main characters and instead invest in their individuality.

Horror:
Isolation and dread of the unknown is a common theme in Vipran horrors, characters being separated from each other and confronting whatever terror is awaiting them alone or forced to watch as others do so. The film Empty is often considered one of the pioneering films in the genre, focussing on a trade ship that suffers a technical failure during FTL and the artificial wormhole destabilizing to send part of the ship and a solitary crew member adrift in the space between systems. From that point it becomes psychological horror from the perspective of the crew member as she goes mad from the isolation over the course of years, able to survive within what remains of the ship due to redundant systems and, ultimately, killing herself by breaking the oxygen recycler in a fit, causing her to slowly suffocate as the camera pans out to show how truly isolated she was.

Drama:
Viprans, and atorans in general, love soap operas. They become attached and involved with fictional characters easily and can keep easily keep track of a vast number simultaneously, so their television dramas tend to have a plethora of characters in even the most simple show. This isn’t to say they don’t enjoy other dramas, indeed Viprans become invested in dramas of any other genre just as easily. However the highest rated series drama is what appears to most non-atoran viewers as a muddle of characters that come and go at lightning pace, but should an atoran watcher be asked they can likely explain all the happenings within the show and how they relate to every individual character. That series, Under the Surface, follows an atoran family that has risen from poverty to becoming a noble house and corporate moguls only to be thrown to the edge of ruin again, with hundreds of characters and plotlines that span upwards of a dozen seasons.

Romance:
Viprans love to love, and their romance genre doesn’t hold back. They tend to portray affairs that shirk tradition and discrimination, such as a period piece where a Farthii Imperatrix has a love affair with her batwoman that must be kept secret from scheming officials and disapproving nobles. More commonly however they portray relationships that have to surmount national animosities or racial differences. The most dramatic example is the romantic-comedy T and T that follows a relationship between a Huerdaen and a talythian after they become stuck in a trench together while both being too weak to stab each other, talking because there’s nothing else they can do while pinned down by crossfire, and hit it off for the rest of the series as they keep on stumbling into each other on the battlefield.

The ‘flesh plants’ of Allurus, mavua includes a broad spectrum of trees, shrubs, seaweeds, and other plants and plant-like organisms that produce either in their tissue or fruits easily digestible carbohydrates such as glycogen, varied proteins, and even lipids. This means that otherwise obligate carnivores can successfully digest mavua fruits or tissues, supplying proteins otherwise found in animal tissue. Additionally these properties lead to the fruits and/or tissues in the mavua group having a universally oily juice and greasy texture. The taste also tends towards sweet and savoury as various sugars and fats are present in all mavua.

Zusa lepesvekt (grey flower)
The pulpy yellow fruit of the zusa lepesvekt shrub grows throughout the large bush, developing from pollinated flowers with the archetypal grey petals of the plant. The shrub itself grows in freshwater bogs and marshes with acidic soil, requiring a constant water supply. Seeds are held in the center of the fruit as drupes, the semi-citric tissue pulpy but solid enough to be sliced, and were intended to attract the attention of large flying reptiles that would eat the fruits whole and deposit the large seeds at other watering holes. The flesh of zusa lepesvekts contain a lot of fluid but dry well, becoming light and a touch rubbery but preserving for years, but is often cooked with or in place of meat in stews and stirfries due to its natural sweetness as well as its retention of shape through cooking.

Kroszitrua (copperberry)
Sprouting from a tiny seed, the monopodial branchless kroszitrua tree grows to be ten meters tall and is crowned by huge broad leaves. Those tiny seeds are nestled inside the berries of the tree that grow at the very top in large bushels. Starting off a shiny brown-orange the berries mature to a pale green, earning them their name as they tarnish like copper over time. Upon reach maturity the berries loosen in their bushels and three small leaves attached to the top of each berries will carry them away during a windstorm to land far away and sprout more trees. If harvested before they can blow away, kroszitruas are bitter if eaten when ripe and intolerably so if unripe. If baked however the bitterness goes away in part and is replaced with a sweet tang, the flesh of the berry cracking opening in a quad and the seed dropping out as the berry sizzles.

Brezkatrua (darkberry)
The brezkatrua tree is a colonial plant that lives on saltwater coasts with pneumatophore roots rising out of the ground to coalesce and create a gestalt organism that can cover miles of coastline. The fruit of the plant are berries the size of a pingpong ball. Nestled in the center is a dense seed and surrounding it a fleshy exterior lighter than water that carries the seed, a black skin coating the berry. The berries are meant to drop from the canopy and into the water where it is carried away, the flesh of the berry either eaten or decaying so that the dense seed is freed and can drop down to take root in the coastal floor. Aside from acting as a buoyancy material as well as attractor for fish, the flesh of brezkatruas are spongy with a light cinnamon flavour.

Yaszakrek (moonfruit)
Their tree growing to one hundred meters tall, discounting the extensive roots, and with a lifespan that extends beyond two millennia the fruit grow in the plant’s high crown under the shade of broad acuminate leaves. A one foot diameter sphere growing from thick fibrous stems that hang from the bottom of branches, yaszakreks are covered in a leathery white shell that gleams in the moonlight to lend them their name. Under the quarter-centimeter thick skin of each fruit and in the fleshy pericarp are hundreds of small indigestible black seeds. The flesh of a yaszakrek is muted yellow, very soft, somewhat gummy with oily juice, and has a mild sweet and savoury taste that can be quickly overridden by introduced flavours through marinating or cooking. If dried the fruit tissue becomes brittle, but if baked in its own or other juices the fruit flesh transforms into a doughy and chewy texture.

Syuva (seaweed)
One of the basic large-scale algaes of Allurus, syuva grows anywhere from two to fifty meters tall and clumps in knots every two feet from which hundreds of leaves grow out from and out of which millions of tiny filaments billow invisibly. The filaments pick up microscopic organisms and pull them into the syuva for digestion and also entangle detritus, waste, and decaying tissue that attracts and fosters colonies of edible microorganisms. Syuva grow fast and produce clusters of pods at the base of the yellow stalk near its roots, the pods containing the proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids akin to mavua fruits. Growing in bundles of dozens, each pod has a rubbery green shell three centimeters in diameter and holds pre-fused gametes in a suspension of thick oils and stringy fats. The taste is nearly identical to that of fish with a lingering buttery aftertaste. Syuva pods are cooked like eggs, thickening when heat is applied, but the shell is also edible if tough and only a source of dietary fibre.

Zeshuntkr (voidtuber)
An exceptionally hardy tuber, the zeshuntkr is so called because it has a deep black skin. This skin is composed of a thin mucus layer produced by the tuber layered over with mutualistic lichens and molds that are an integral part of the zeshuntkr, the tuber actually a colonial organism. The lichen layer assists in bringing in outside nutrition and water and passing it along while being fed processed nutrients by the rest of the collective organism. As a result of this the zeshuntkr is not photosynthetic and does not produce leaves or above ground components, instead growing entirely underground. Nutritionally a zeshuntkr is like other mavua, with high protein and lipid content alongside sugars, and possess a high vitamin content as well which allow it to supply all the nutritional needs of atorans, humans, and many other species. The taste is said to be rather milky in taste, and the tissue is hard unless thoroughly cooked or boil to softness when it can be turned into a mash or paste.

An unforeseen characteristic of the zeshuntkr makes it particularly appealing however, in that it is entirely unaffected by low gravity and even grows better in zero-gravity circumstances as they will then grow colonially in every direction possible if given sufficient nutrients and water. Normally the organism procreates clonally, spreading horizontally and deeper vertically via adventitious roots to create clonal colonies. Thus the zeshuntkr is a ship and station-board staple, requiring only a vat of nutrient-rich mud to grow, and when sufficiently sized they can be fished out, washed off, and eaten while the immature zeshuntkrs continue to develop and spread.

Eleksav: Celebrated upon new years day, Eleksav is related to the goddess Elekialli and focuses upon celebrating family and in particular mothers. During this joyous day families come together around the eldest female relation and celebrate with a feast along with some recreational activities and games. Mostly it is a time to have a family get together, celebrate the dawn of a new year, and catch up with distant relations. Due to the very large size of most atoran families and how many there can be in an extended family the parties often spill out of the household and are held in public spaces, rented halls, and other venues as groups of hundreds to thousands of atoran mingle.

Jarrsav: Upon the 1st of Jarratol the nation holds a military holiday, with parades and marches in honour of the Eternal Guardian. This serves many purposes, showing the people that they are protected by the strong arm of the Imperium, flashing about new military equipment to impress allies, and to cow potential enemies. Ritually, the parade is done to appease and show Jarrol that he can still rely upon the atoran.

Pollsav: The opening day of the month of Pollatol is spent celebrating with romantic interests. As atorans are almost always in group marriages they generally have a party, starting in bars and clubs and moving back to their homes after they’ve had their fun and drinks. Individuals that aren’t in a relationship are encouraged to head out as well and socialize with married groups, getting drawn into revelry and hopefully new relationships a common event. Additionally and as might be expected many marriages are officially made and celebrated on this day as it is believed to bring good fortune to the marriage itself and the marriage group on the whole.

Pontisav: A day of jubilation, the 1st of Pontiatol is dedicated to nigh-frenzied passions and festivities. Parties and parades are common with cities orchestrating elaborate carnivals. Pontisav celebrations center around large fires with choreographed dances around and through the flames, fire-eaters showing off, and fresh meat being cooked by racily dressed priestesses. During this celebration it is common for men and women alike to wear outlandish and showy costumes, dance provocatively, and partake in excessive indulgence. Notably enforcement on public drunkenness and nudity are dramatically reduced, only aggressive acts and outright public indecency drawing the attention of constables, so festival goers can get away with exposed skin, blatant intoxication, and wild ad-hoc parties in public spaces.

Jullsav: The 1st of Jullatol is a day of charity and gift-giving. The Imperial Family and all noble houses donate lavishly to adoption agencies, charitable foundations for the homeless, and refugee aid. The average citizen however might only donate a token sum to charities or donate their time to volunteer work, instead partaking in a more domestic portion of the holiday and purchasing presents for their children and loved ones. The gifts are generally presented in the evening after dinner, capping off the night.

Heltisav: Unlike the other holidays the first day of Heltatol starts as a somber day. Past wars and conflicts are recalled, cities and towns organizing small and solemn dedications to the dead on any beaches they might have, and it is customary for veterans to wear their dress uniforms throughout the day. The stoic tone of the day only last until the early evening, after the last dedications and prayers the participants typically enjoy a revelry. The sacrifice of ancestors and loved ones is celebrated, often resulting in festive beach parties that last through the night and thunderous headaches the day after.

Killisav: The 1st of Killiatol is dedicated to the god of creation and physical art, such as sculptures, art displays, and archeological relics. This is treated as a general holiday by most, but museums take it as an opportunity to advertise and mark the occasion. There is an uptick in visitations to displays, and many artists take the day as an opportunity to present their sculpts and other physical-medium art. For the average citizen however it is a day of leisure, and partaking in the arts is often an excuse to then head out to the pub after or socialize with friends.

Falisav: Much like Killisav, Falisav is dedicated to art and takes place on the first day of the namesake month. The main difference is the medium, with Falisav favouring paintings both upon canvas and skin, eloquent poems, and philosophy. Art exhibitions are often crowded and many works of art sold. Aspiring artists can easily see their career started on Falisav, the uptick in interest that the holiday kicks off enough to get even modest artists digital commissions. Unlike Killisav this holiday is usually far less visible as people opt instead to browse online art galleries and head out with friends and family in the evenings.

Horusav: Quite possibly the only holiday simultaneously loathed and yet loved by children and teenagers, the 1st of Horuatol is dedicated to education and learning. On this day all students are expected to do a mandatory test, but the day after is the beginning of a month long vacation from all such worries. Those not in the education system as students or teachers often spend the day like any other, although scientists and intellectuals often choose to spend the day reading or studying as Horut would want them to.

Hallisav: A day to celebrate life and living, outdoor excursions or picnics are common upon the opening day of Halliatol. Those that celebrate the holiday go on hikes, excursions, or other trips away from urban areas. Often this is the time when citizens take their vacation time and go on a trip abroad, as it both honours the day and they get an extra day off to begin their vacation. For those that either cannot afford such a vacation or simply do not want one, a picnic in one of the many public parks serves well.

Nihsav: The holiday of Nihsav is about giving a disturbing offering to the violent goddess. In particular the day revolves around the evolution of an ancient ritual, the creation and burning of dolls. People will make or purchase a simple textile doll, mark it as their own with some of their blood, keep it with them throughout the day, and at sundown they ritually decapitate their doll. The ancient philosophy behind the ritual was that Nihint would be tricked into seeing the doll that carried a woman’s blood as a newborn and that the destruction of the doll would sate her, thus distracting her attention from real children. In modern times it’s treated as a festivity, although foreigners are sometimes disturbed by the whole affair as they watch atoran women laughing while severing dolls’ heads.

Laxsav: The day dedicated to Laximus is usually spent watching the Laximian Tournament, a nationwide test of martial and physical skill held within the ancient and grand coliseum at Laxerum on the holiday. Warriors and other skilled persons arrive in the city from throughout the entire Imperium to partake as and earn the title of Laximians. Preparations begin many days before Laxsav itself on the 1st of Laxiatol and the tournament continues for many days past Laxsav. At the end the victors of each contest are awarded medals by priestesses of Laximus who act as judges and the victor of the most medals receives a commendation and award from the Impertrix. Those that fail, even those that are second best in each category, receive no award.]

by **Vipra** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:26 pm

Laws and Customs

All persons within the Imperial borders are expected to follow the law, whether they are domestically born or foreign irrelevant to the matter. Prolific reading and awareness materials are provided for visiting tourists to acquaint them with the laws of Vipra, few and lax as they may be, so they have no excuse should they commit anything more than a minor infraction. It is rare for the laws to be broken however as visitors to the Imperium often find its laws to be few and far inbetween, with most things left to personal judgement. Violence is unilaterally stopped however, aggressive disturbances of the peace not tolerated. This does not mean that criminals from foreign states can expect to wander through Imperial territory without worry, law enforcement taking a dim view of extranational criminals and detaining them with impunity. Aside from laws and their enforcement there are certain cultural customs among the dominant Vipran culture that are expected to be observed or at least respected. Tourists and other visitors are given the benefit of doubt if they stumble through culture and custom but those that go out of their way to understand Vipran ways are welcomed eagerly.

by **Vipra** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:29 pm

Juntism, Religion of the Atoran

The Primary religion of the atoran Juntism (Pronounced Huhn-tism) was the only faith across Allurus before the advent of faster than light travel and interaction with alien species. Since then the religion has spread to the other worlds of the Imperium as atoran have colonized and settled throughout Vipran territory. Yet it does not proselytize as much as other religions despite being the de-jure faith of the state, the core stance of Juntism being that non-Juntists that are cajoled or pushed into joining the faith are never as honestly devout as those who seek it out for themselves. Thus converts to Juntism are not sought out but are welcomed eagerly regardless, most often guided to the worship of Elekialli, the mother goddess, and encouraged to take on an atoranized name to finalize their living-rebirth as a Juntist.

Juntist tenets and dogma relate to twelve gods and an initial creator diety. The creator deity, Junt, is principally the most powerful and fundamentally cosmic of the deities but is also not given prayer or devotion like the others. Junt is matter and energy, every wavelength and possible facet of reality composed of the cosmic entity. Thus there is no separation from the creator and all states of being are simply transitions from one form to another within the totality that is Junt. Instead the gods and their attention are the conduits through which an escape from the cycle of corporeal reincarnation can be attained for a time. The deities are considered half mortal, half cosmic and as riding the boundary between the sensical and the impossible, beings from before such things as time, physics, and thermodynamics but their interactions now bound by them. They are meddling gods though, adoring prayer and attention, and are believed to subtly intervene on behalf of their faithful in the mortal world and to reward those who showed devotion in life by pulling them out of reincarnation to exist in their state of being for an indeterminate amount of time.

Creation Myth:

In the beginning Junt sat alone in the center of vast emptiness. For untold time the great god did nothing, a single point of light, matter, energy, and all things compressed down. Life not understandable by physical norms formed upon and within that primordial singularity, the gods of the universe begat from Junt’s body spontaneously. As soon as the gods became aware of each other they went to war, annihilating one another and creating an anarchy of entropy within Junt. Eventually the warring woke the great entity itself. Seeing its budded creation murdering each other within itself, Junt wept. This cleansed and rewrote the essence of the gods, cleansing the remaining divinities of their hate. Junt then once again slept.

Yet six had hidden, surrounding themselves in the flensed fabric of their siblings. They retained their primal, entropic, violence. They burst from their hiding to slaughter their pacified brethren, only six surviving the massacre. Once again Junt awoke, and this time raged upon seeing his remaining spawn about to be destroyed. Such was Junt’s rage that it tore apart its body, matter, energy, and all other things exploding from the center of the universe outwards in flame and light. The accumulated energy of Junt’s destroyed children became the fabric of fundamental laws, forming thermodynamics, gravity, and other forces of nature. At the same time the remaining twelve gods were bombasted with the power of Junt and transformed, retaining their fundamentally impossible natures but a connection to the physical as well. The six butchers were locked away beneath Allurus in the act of creating the universe as it is know and the six remaining cleansed gods watched over them to ensure they never escaped.

Over the course of millions of years the remaining gods kept their siblings imprisoned, preparing in the event that they escaped. Killius and Falius shaped the world, carving the oceans out of Allurus and using the discarded dirt to mould the mountains. Elekialli and Polluti joined in union, all beings pouring forth from them to spread across the world. Horut the Seer locked herself away close to the heart of the world to always keep a close watch on her disgraced siblings. Jarrol entered the oceans created by Falius, wandering the currents to watch the deep places of the world. In turn the betrayers clawed against their tomb, volcanoes bursting onto the world, earthquakes tearing the earth asunder, and tidal waves sweeping away the coast time and time again.

From the life given form by Elekialli and Polluti were the atorans, beings of purity chosen to safeguard the world from the destroyers’ intrusions in the stead of their pacifistic parents. They were blessed with the ability to wander both the depths of the oceans to join Jarrol’s vigil and the surface where they could live in peace. Time was a distant notion in those lost ages, and there is no record of how long the first atorans lived among the gods. Yet they were of the gods and war is as much a part of the divine state as creation. Soon different atoran cities were attacking each other, bent on eradicating the other for perceived slights or insults to honour. Millions died as they fell to the blade of their own blood, a repetition of their parents’ plight. Unlike their creator the gods refused to intervene lest they be forced to banish their cherished children to places of untold darkness. So war played out, atorans fell to cruel earth, and the gods fell silent.

Soon enough the imprisoned gods below learned of the blood being spilt over their heads, and they took delight in the realization that some part of their own being flowed in the atorans. As more and more atorans died and the gods became despondent Jarrol became distracted and Horut was lost in despair. The six destroyers rose out of the earth, sundering a great rip to the core of the world in the depths of the ocean. They crawled out, pushing past their fugued brethren to climb onto the land and watch their kindred spirits spill their life onto the battlefield. They were sorely disappointed to see them battling with petty weaponry, and each sought to improve upon the atorans in their own way.

Pontimal brought with her the very heat of the earth, burning the land with each step, and she taught the atorans how to tame fire and cook their enemies. Nihint gathered a great many atorans around her and stripped mercy from their souls, allowing them to slaughter without care and replace their enemies. Hallias forced the atorans to destroy all before them, stripping the earth barren so as to starve the life from their enemies. Laximus beat the weak to death, forcing the strong to grow stronger, making those that survived fiercer than their enemies. Jullunt welcomed those without a place in the world looking for a new home and told them to carve one out of the flesh of their enemies. Heltimax, the greatest and most warlike of the gods below, organized the atorans into armies and marched them forward in formations to crush their enemies. All spread their blood among the atorans, commingling and miscegenating with them to breed them truer and closer to their godly heritage.

Only after the gods below had corrupted their children did the gods that had created them intervene, finally breaking from their torment. They felt within their breasts the rage that had been washed away from them so long ago and once more battled their siblings. Much of Allurus was shattered in the clash that ensued, with both sides begging the atorans to help them. Elekialli went down to her cherished children and showed them all the tears she had shed for them. Heltimax commanded them to join her in glorious combat, demanding that her bastard children must fight at her side lest she destroy them. The atoran people split down the middle, half joining the banner of their creators and the others joining those that had made them stronger.

The oceans ran red with blood and bodies. The destroyers forced Killius and Falius off of Allurus, forever to wander the stars and work their wonders among other worlds. Pontimal was doused in the oceans and forced to retreat back to the center of the world. Jullunt gathered all his followers and disappeared after whispering in their ears, what he said a mystery. Horut was stabbed in the heart by Laximus, forced to return to her contemplation outside of the destroyers’ cage for eternity. Nihint and Hallias fought against Elekialli and her husband Polluti, the two destroyers banished back to their prison and the gods that spawned the atoran people forced to leave the world and continue to spread life elsewhere. Jarrol, enraged at the loss of her closest family, clamped her jaws around Heltimax and mortally wounded the goddess, forcing her to crawl back down to the depths of the world. Only Laximus stood and Jarrol was weakened from her encounter with Heltimax. Laximus laughed as she stood above Jarrol, deflecting all lunges and bites, ready to bring her mighty blade down upon the serpentine deity.

The corrupted intervened, moved by Jarrol’s suffering and seeing only pain and suffering living under their dark mother. Throwing themselves onto Laximus’ back and forsaking her dark banner, the corrupt redeemed themselves. Shocked at her soldiers’ betrayal, Laximus was struck by Jarrol. Her body wracked and ruined by the vicious bite, her blood flowed over the land and formed the rivers. She fell to the ground, defeated, but proclaimed her pride in the works of the atorans before receding to her dark domain. Atorans thus hold the blood of both the gods below and above, and are cherished by all their godly ancestors. Jarrol, the only creator god to remain, took up his guard again, making the great gateway to the underworld his home and snapping up all that tries to pass through.

Afterlife and Reincarnation:

Clergy:

The Gods Above:

Elekialli the Mother
The kindest of all the gods, Elekialli cares deeply for all her children and is always watching from afar even as she wanders the stars. She is also seen as the direct ancestor of all living species, including alien life, and is seen as the linking factor between atorans and other species. The Mother is depicted as a mix of animal parts, a massive gestalt entity of untold size whose body constantly shifts with new limbs forming across her body as its surface squirms from squamous to chitin plated, furred, and back again. Her face is depicted as the wide maw of an animal with atoran eyes, a loving smile filled with sharp teeth. All Juntists women adopted the pattern of her name’s last syllable to remain close to their ancestral mother as well as to honour her, all Juntists loving the Mother even if they are devoted to other gods.

Jarrol, Guardian of the Underworld
Ever watchful, vigilance is the creed of Jarrol and her initiates. The serpentine guardian of the deep Jarrol is represented as a segmented snake with hundreds of violently taloned insectile legs, her head a massive jaw with no eyes and fangs like mountains. She is a judgemental goddess, the guardian and protector, patron of those that would see the law carried out. Her symbol is often used by law enforcement and is placed upon the Vipran flag as a sigil to bring safety to the Imperium and its people.

Killius, Forger of Mountains
Wreathed in red tentacles and with a head that is broad and flat, Killius the Red is the moulder of the worlds. He is the patron of all juntists wishing to create sculptures, erect buildings, or mine the earth. Tokens dedicated to him, a coin of bronze dipped in red wax, are traditionally buried underneath the corners of foundations as a building is erected and his name is carved above mine entrances. He is believed to be one of the more caring gods, Juntist history teaching that he taught the atoran how to build walls and work metal when he saw them struggling after their birth. Thus while not as universally beloved as his twin Falius, the mark of Killius is still felt.

Falius, Sculptor of Oceans
Twin sister to Killius even in form, only of opposing gender and blue skinned, Falius the Blue is the fashioner of water, the lifeblood of all terrestrial worlds. She taught the first atoran how to exploit the shellfish of Allurus, working with her brother to create the first aquaculture pillars and urging the atoran to remain beloved of water and all the boons that come from the oceans. Of particular joy to Faliu are artists, painters in particular, the use of water and oil to create portraits abstract and realist another gift of hers to the early atoran.

Horut the Seer
The farseer, the hidden one, the omniscient one: Horut the Seer has many names. She is the pantheon’s advocate of knowledge and science, obsessed with understanding all that can be known as well as that which cannot be. Chemists and astronomers used to regularly pray to Horut to lend them insight into the secrets of the universe, and most ancient scholars accredit their works to the intervention of the horned goddess. Depicted as a three eyed atoran with large horns on the sides of her head seated on a throne of leather, Horut still receives much adoration from the scientific community as well as schools with libraries holding small shrines to the goddess.

Polluti the Father
Dispassionate and disappointed, Polluti disapproves of violence among the atoran and other Juntists. So thoroughly disappointed by his children was the god that he willingly took to the stars with Elekialli after the atoran gave in to divine instinct. Polluti is the only truly pacifistic god in Juntist cosmology and does not tolerate any violence among those who seek his favour but those priestesses of Polluti preach that the Father welcomes the penitent to his realm and his waiting arms. The father of the atoran species, Polluti is as alien and amorphous as Elekialli.

The Gods Below:

Hallias, The Shapeless End
The decay of life, the slow advance of entropy, death overcoming any obstacle to obtain all in the universe, Hallias embodies all of this and more. This god is not given any specific gender, both male and female pronouns used interchangeably, and it is considered unimportant beside Hallias’ role as the god of death and entropy. An edgeless black cloud, Hallias’ followers contemplate death and learn to be unafraid of the inevitable end. Hallias is drawn as a simple black circle, and in the ancient days of Juntism it was common practice to paint the sick and dying with the dreadful mark so that others would know to leave them to their fate. In the Imperium however the symbol is associated with mortuaries, tombs, and warning signs.

Pontimal, Master of Flame
Anger burning eternally, Blood boiling as she waits, Pontimal is the entity that brought fire to the atorans and breathed passion into them. Pontimal is one of the more benevolent of the Gods Below, her focus not being the destruction wrought by fire but rather how rapidly it spreads, the intensity of it, and its unstoppable heat that spreads ceaselessly. Passion, living in the moment, and throwing caution to the wind are all in her portfolio as well as those of her followers. She adores romance and anger, the joy of holding a child and the outright fury that boils to the surface when a loved one is struck. Pontimal, the eternal flame, loves all these things and her small scorch-mark holy symbol can be found any place where passion reigns.

Laximus, Scourge of the Weak
Only the strongest are allowed to worship Laximus, she accepts no less. Iconography of Laximus always shows a powerful atoran woman in steel armour, only her weapon of choice and whether she has a cape changing from depiction to depiction, her stance always one of victory. She is the patron of soldiers and warriors and is thus the most visible goddess aside from Elekialli, the red symbol of two crossed swords, often a simple X, present pretty much anywhere that soldiers and other sorts frequent. Athletes and other physically active sorts similarly tend to dedicate themselves to Laximus, her pursuit of perfection appealing to them, and even Juntists in other fields will take her as their patron for much the same reason.

Nihint, Lord of Slaughter
Genocide, rage, and the glory of slaughter all run hot in Nihint’s blood. Before unification Nihint was a popular god, the believed necessity of genocide facilitating her worship by soldiers hardening themselves for what they were going to do and absolving themselves of what they had done. Since unification the blood-drenched goddess has seen her cult decline dramatically, the Imperial persecution of genocidal states as well as its own fair treatment of conquered atoran peoples irrevocably damaging her standing compared against the other gods. For the most part her worshippers are pirates, Molokarii raiders, or traditionalists that believe the old ways shouldn’t have been abandoned.

Jullunt, King of the Forsaken
The weakest of the six and the only to back down from combat to re-enter the underworld, Jullunt is only given his due thanks to his love of those that have been abandoned. Practically every Juntist that follows Jullunt as their patron grew up an orphan and parents who adopt such youths are beloved by the god of the forsaken. Orphanages are universally dedicated to him, with his symbol of a three-peaked crown above all the entrances, and he is also the patron of perhaps the most kind Juntist holiday. During his holiday gifts are given to children without parents, adoption is encouraged, and in general it is used by Juntists to feel better about themselves by giving to little lost souls.

Heltimax, Marshall of Atorans
The root of war, master of ordered combat, and patron of warlords, Heltimax is one of the most popular gods among Imperial officers and mercenary leaders. She is the great master of war, strategist and mastermind that still schemes from her prison within Allurus. All images of her are of an atoran with a red line painted across her face, over her eyes, holding dice in one hand and a dagger in the other, manic and confident at the same time. The dice represent the element of chance that is within every battle, the odd chance of nature or distant events skewing events, while the dagger is the weapon of assassination and more subtle deaths. She is not the blunt and brutal warrior Laximus is, she plans the long game and uses all the tools at her disposal to her advantage, her followers doing the same but reluctant to use her symbology lest they become a pawn in her plans.

The Imperium of Vipra's Factbook (FT) (2.0)

The Imperium of Vipra's Factbook (FT) (2.0)

Who is online