Ave Imperl'Oktavianus et Khyl!
(Hail to the Emperor Oktavianus and the Gods!)
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Table of Contents
- First Steps: Exploring the Solar System
- First Steps: The Stellar Neighborhood
- First Steps: Childhood's End
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The Distant Past
Space is dark, almost immeasurably so. This void is only broken by little pinpoints of light. Light so vastly far away you could travel your whole life and never get even a fraction of the distance between where you began and the lights origin. Though empty and void, space isn’t devoid of anything. Around these pinpoints of light circle balls of rock, ice, gases, called planets. A good portion of these worlds are circled by yet more of their own kind, satellite planetoids and asteroids normally called moons. Some of these can be as large as a small, rocky planet. However many more are simply asteroids caught in an infinite loop of orbit.
In one such star system, and likely many more, life managed to arise on one of the terrestrial planets orbiting close to the star, but not so close that it would become a sun baked rock. The third terrestrial body from this sun would end up hosting this life in abundance growing from microbial to multicellular until species started growing and becoming sentient. These growing civilizations, like most life, simply called Sun or Sol, or any other name you would give to a massive ball of plasma. Many worshiped what they could tell was some sort of creator entity as a god, others created gods from natural forces.
And like many worlds, sometimes sentient species screw up. Over ten thousand revolutions around their Sun civilizations rose and fell, only to end with the kind of bang that could have almost shattered the planet itself. Fire, death, destruction, and chaos engulfed what civilization remained, and whatever species occupied this planet’s distant past before us as the dominant race dwindled and faltered, it’s many great works undone in less than a lifetime. Some bits still survive, their ancient temples and bunkers, though any way of interpreting what they once were aside from the few stories we possess have been long since reduced to ash and dust.
While the planet itself almost died, though life always finds a way to exist and thrive regardless of its environment, or even in spite of it. Fire and death eventually subsided, a great extinction event forcing life along new paths previously thought strange and unusual. For even something great, explosive, and poisonous can lead to new life, and greater life than before. It’s only natural the gods would reform what was lost after all, and nature itself is their agent.
Over the lost ages, the world was reformed by tectonic forces. By the will of the gods, life resumed and began to grow back to its former splendor, and in fact even more than it had been at the end of the old civilization. Our great planet, Lykos, morphed from a toxic, barren world into one absolutely teeming with life, primarily jungle and forest covering most of the world now, new species rising and becoming powerful. The Gods remade the world over the ages for us to rule in the here and now. Now we rule the whole planet, keep it for them and the future, but even now our population is starting to strain the world’s resources.
Lykosian Races
The obvious reason for our current domination of Lykos is because we are the only ones with a form close to those of the gods. We Khydir are the only reptilian race of Lykos, and the only ones with members who the gods have deemed fit to allow share their form, that of great Dragons, as even the ancient legends of those who came before us speak of. Our lords, the Hali-Khydir even are gifted with some of their powers over the mind and elements. Nothing rivaling a god, though many believe the emperors ascend to divinity upon death to join them.
Our race’s rise to power over this planet was never a certain thing Like any good servant of the gods they deigned to challenge us, put ahead of us a difficult task of uniting our own race and subjugating those other races that are only meant to serve us. For you see, when the old world died, instead of one properly sentient race coming from it, Seven new races did.
It is unknown which race appeared first, though the first to settle into cities were we Khydir, a draconic race strong in what we now call psionics, and the ancients called magic. We come in many forms, which in our current era we have split into defined castes:
- Hali-Khydir: Our rulers, high nobility, and often prophets. Extremely strong in psionics and the magic of the gods. They are ordained by their forms and birth to rule by the mandate of the gods who they share form with. Quadrupedal, with dexterous forelimbs, great size and wings able to fly long distances, the Hali are the fewest in number but by virtue of their power and close relationship with divinity rule over us. In scale they are the size of small houses for the lower classes, needing grand structures to properly rule from and with a taste for the grandiose and elegant. They only grow larger with age, and have an incredibly long lifespan at that.
- Waln-Khydir: The second highest caste, who make up lower nobility, upper classes, and the bulk of our politicians, high command, and priesthood. Waln are large, in the area of two meters tall. Relatively close to Hali in form they are nonetheless bipedal and weaker in psionics. Their size makes them stronger than most other races and the lower classes physically, which makes them prime for the specialists in the military and Praetorian Guard for the Emperor, the best of the best.
- Brar-Khydir: Our middle and low class brethren. Save the random mutation there are few Brar who are skilled in psionic power, and the main factor that separates them from Waln is the lack of wings. About 1.5 meters on average, they do the bulk of economic activity, skilled labor, and the various things that help our grand empire run on the small and large scale. Loyal and proud of their position regardless of their deficits, some have managed to rule in their own right as governors, mayors, and other relatively minor positions. They make up a good bulk of the professional armies and population.
- Grah-Khydir: Little more than slaves under the greater Khydiric races, Grah are diminutive, weak, and often dimwitted. The occasional exception is for these as well, as there have been records of psychically gifted Grah-Khydir leading slave revolts, and other such things. Only a meter tall, but fast breeding and relatively short lived, most are enslaved to the state to work the fields, mines, and other kinds of hard labor around the planet.
Aside from us there are many races. The rest are all of mammalian variety, though it has been proven that our reptillian nature has given us dominion over them as well, due to our proximity to the gods. They are as follows:
- Hypastians: Lapine, with long ears, muscular lower bodies and weaker upper bodies, Hypastians are most known for the ingenuity and technical prowess. Their short stature, similar to a Grah, and deft movements allow them to do things we cannot trust the dim Grah to accomplish, and many of them have earned the rights to address Brar and even Waln-Khydir as equals in their fields of scientific and technical advancements. Crafty little buggers, in my opinion.
- Izae: Supplementing our armies extensively, the Izae are an honorable and just race whose natural abilities of flight complement our forces quite well. Moderately large in stature, and very colorful in plumage and feathers, these avians are an interesting race. Always a nuisance during the old days, since their subjugation they've proved nothing but staunch allies, with the occasional rabble-rouser motivating revolts which are always difficult to put down. Show a natural aptitude to warfare, and have long since converted to worshiping our pantheon. With obvious reason, Corvulius is their favorite.
- Nazarene: The lupine Nazar show natural proclivity for submission for whatever reason, so it was easy to convince their ancient rulers to accept our lordship over them. Similar in statue to a Brar-Khydir, they help mostly with agrarian efforts and food growing, though plenty of them have joined our armies in times of need. Many are taken as personal servants to Hali and Waln Khydir due to their loyalty and attentiveness.
- Narid: One of the races our ancestors considered almost equal to themselves, these vulpines are crafty and psionically gifted. though their small stature worked against them in warfare. Natural traders and very lucky as well. Many of them live in our vassal republics and kingdoms in Valupia, but those in Mediopont work extensively with the priesthood to study the nature of the gods and our psionic abilities, so many of them see action during conflicts or act as spies to hide their duplicitous nature with their natural gifts.
- Ainushi: Very solitary ursines, very strong too. They live in the far north and keep to themselves mostly, but have long learned submission to the Khydir is only a matter of time and destiny. They inhabit the arctic regions in clans, and are experts at exploring the oceans and exploiting them for resources to keep are arctic cities alive. Very dependable sort, too, if a bit frigid.
- Naumesae: Finally, the most disloyal of races, the feline Naumesae. Last to be subjugated, and they still raid our shipping and cities from time to time. Most of our forces like to think this as free target practice to keep skills fresh! Very sneaky and untrustworthy sort, though they show a natural skill towards naval pursuits. Almost relish the water for whatever reason.
We all share this world in peace(more or less), united under the great Aksarbenos dynasty of Khydiria and Lykos. But it was not always this way!
The Ancient Empire
Beginning from a lonely city-state set among the mountainous regions of what we now call the Patriae, in a small city named Aurepoli, our great Imperium of Aksarben was born as they were forced to defend themselves. Like other Khydiric nations, we had a god we call supreme over all others. The one revealed to our oracles as supreme was Aurelius the Golden, thus the name of our old capital. This, as we learned later was only one of the great gods who would support our nascent Imperium, the many others we worship now being shown to us over the centuries by Aurelius in his wisdom as the Brilliant Sun Dragon.
As a small kingship our lands were largely ignored by our larger neighbors, though over time the constant feuding of Hali-Khydir dynasties would end up feeing into their own destruction, while our own stayed stable and loyal to the state. Like the many empires of the time we engaged in raiding our various neighbors to seize Grah-Khydir servants, take towns, earn the loyalties of the generally militaristic Waln-Khydir nobility with our discipline, and that of the superstitious and weak Brur-Khydir with the abilities of ruling family, blest by Aurelius as they are.
Over time we grew in strength and stature, growing from a kingdom to an empire spanning continents, and eventually encompassing the whole of Lykos. Through war, conquest, defeats, and glorious victories we Khydir united under the Aksarben dynasty. Proving that we were the ones blessed by the gods with our many victories and conquests, and soon all Khydir worshipped the same gods as the great Aksarben dynasty. As expected, not all did so willingly, especially much of the rest of the Hali-Khydir. Our emperors were forced to campaign against various rebels as they consolidated their hold on territory and the populace, usually led by Hali-khydir families who believed they knew better than our nation did about the true nature of the gods.
It was during this time of consolidation that Imperator Alexandros recognized the need for a great new capital, in a more central location than Mediopont’s far western mountains. Aurepoli was given over to the growing priesthood as a pilgrimage site to be maintained by them, while the newly crowned Emperor and his family ordered the construction of a great capital along the Crystal Strait between the Ocean of the Sun and the Golden Sea. Emperor Nemo Aurem consecrated the new capital as Aksarbenium in honor of the dynasty which brought the Khydir together once and for all. It is still the capital to this day, though has grown from the small efficient city it used to be to a sprawling megalopolis covering both sides of the strait.
Following the foundation of the Aksarbenium, the ruling dynasty settled for a while, the Khydir tired of the constant warfare that united them. Increased raiding from the Izae and Hypastians to the north, and the Nemausii pirates always frustrated these efforts at simply having peace as well. A good century after the creation of the capital, the aging Emperor Nemo decided it would be best to create a new calendar system focused on the date of the founding of Aksarbeninum as a way to help usher in the golden age the oracles were promising that was to come. This new reckoning was simple: After the Founding and Before the Founding, AF and BF, with year 1 being the first year of Aksarbeninum’s existence. This era which followed was considered a golden age, though as any so called golden era of peace, it can either be shattered or fall into hubris.
For a long time our great empire stagnated, the border marches and counties breaking off and forming their own new kingdoms under Hali-Khydiric dynasty, or blasphemous nations with equality between the Castes, republics, theocracies, and pretty much any kind of nation imaginable. Our dynasty succumbed to decadence, and eventually civil war. Even though we had once united the continent, our empire had all but collapsed, and much of our world fell into a dark age as the collapse of the Aksarben Empire lead to greater chaos worldwide. Even the imperial city was sacked by invading forces several times during this dark era, and many scions of the imperial family fled the city’s fall and ended up setting up their own kingdoms in various parts of the world. Very soon the empire faded into history, though its capital was always important due to its location, and being dedicated as the home for the high priesthood.
The Chaotic Interregnum and Rise of a New Empire
A few centuries after the Fall, explorers from the Naumesae holds discovered a distant continent on the other side of the world, which was named Valupia, after some Naumesae whose full name and role was lost to history. The first contact with the Narid and Nazarene was with the Naumesae, though the various Khydiric kingdoms soon joined them in attempting to get a foothold on this new world. However, it seemed the natives weren’t very appreciative of these efforts, and fought back heavily. A few permanent settlements were made from each of the races on Mediopont, though most of the new continents and islands remained under the control of the native empires and nations.
This era without a unifying empire was bloody, long lived, and seemed to have no end in sight. The natural aggression of our own species turned inward was vicious and unending, and many lands which used to be considered part of Khydiria were lost to invasions of foreign races and powers, especially the Naumesae raiders and pirates who desired footholds on the mainland of Mediopont. However, not all was lost, nor dark during this era. Worship of the Aksarbanii gods continued to spread until it was the dominant religion of Khydiria. Eventually the pantheon was considered the Khydiric pantheon rather than just Aksarbanii. Like many pantheistic faiths though, there was contention over supreme god between all of the Six Lords. In the homeland of the old Empire the cult of Aurelius remained strong, though incursions by other races made the cult of Corvulius strong as well.
Back in the ancient Aksarbanii homelands, a distant descendant of the old kings of Aksarben was beginning to gain sway over a local kingdom, both in the clergy and populace, Tavix the Noble. He had been visited by Aurelius, who’d claimed the Hali-Khydir as his son and reportedly gave him even grander powers than most of his kind, and was charged with building a new Aksarbanii Empire, which he would give control over the whole of Lykos, from Mediopont to the distant continent of Valupia. Charged by the gods to begin this task, Tavix gathered support and impressed people with his piety, before leading a revolt against the monarch of Relen, a minor kingdom near to the ancient capital of the Aksarben Empire and Aurelius’ great temple at Aurepoli.
Relen’s capital was in the city of the same name, an ancient castle constructed by the cult of Corvulius before he joined Aurelius as a Lord of the Pantheon. Far from the grand city of Tavix’s ancestors, the small holdfast could barely be called a castle in any sense anymore. So his plan was instead to continue on this momentum of conquest, inspiring the common folk of the Khydiric kingdoms to follow him rather than the various upstart dynasties, proclaiming a return of the Aksarbanii. Obviously, the less devout and true Khydir refused to follow what they saw as an obvious pretender, and the rise was slow.
Tavix was blessed with an unusually long life, even for the Hali-Khydir’s century long lifespan for that era, and as such only continued to prove his worth far into his second century, leading his armies and consolidating territory under his family once more. Shortly after his 125th hatchday, the old capital of Aksarbenium itself was seized, and Tavix moved his court back to there. In taking the city he also secured his new dynasty’s legitimacy among many Khydir, and he saw fit to officially retake the title of Emperor for his own in the name of Aurelius and his brood. Many of the smaller Khydiric crowns swore fealty to the new Emperor of Aksarben, though many refused to bow and continued to fight.
Emperor Tavix the Noble’s reign was known for his immense fairness and nobility while ruling, never treating his enemies with disdain nor scorn as other rulers were oft to do. His newly established dynasty was named after the ancient Aksarbanii dynasty, Aksarbenos Palatinus. This dynasty would finally reunite the Khydiric families once more. Though like all great rulers, Tavix eventually would pass, his death being known as the first openly proclaimed apotheosis of an Emperor upon death.
The Domination of Lykos
Similar to the ancient empire however, the Khydir, especially Hali and Waln-Khydir, became restless during this time of peace, and rebellions sprang up, and wars between vassal states and kingdoms. Empress Vixtinia began the trend of attempting to enforce internal peace, forbidding the use of military force within the Empire except by Imperial order. Consolidating territory both inside and out led to increased centralization for the empire under Imperial control, and more and more landless nobility.
These landless Waln and Hali would become more and more of a court nuisance, and eventually Vixtinia had enough. In the interest of expanding the empire and fulfilling the old promise of Aurelius to her grandfather Tavix the Noble, the Empress decreed any Hali and Waln-Khydir, indeed, even lowly Brur-Khydir, who organized and seized lands and subjects from other races would be allowed to keep them and become official lords over them. Due to their wealth it was usually the upper two castes who ended up following through on this Imperial law, but there were notable exceptions of vassal Brur-Khydiric republics such as the Northholds and Cretelia.
Due to this policy and imperial efforts, Khydiric power over the planet grew as time advanced, the first races to be subjugated being the closer ones of the Izae and Hypastians, whose own kings, chieftains, and lords would swear fealty to the Imperial crown and Khydiric Pantheon. Worship of the Khydiric pantheon spread, and more gods were added to the pantheon over time, including the Patrons, representatives of Khydiria’s various subject races. The empire eventually officially declared themselves the Aksarbanii Empire of Lykos, claiming the whole world for their own by the Divine Mandate of Aurelius the Golden.
The races of Lykos either willing or unwilling are now subjects to the great empire, and the closer territories are administered directly by the Imperial Crown and Senate. Further afield lands still have native rule, which is unlikely to change unless they are willing to give up self determination entirely, but most races just don't seem to understand the need to do so for order to exist in the universe. It is all decreed by Aurelius and his brood that order is of utmost importance, and worship of his own. The Industrial revolution occurred following these periods of nationalization and centralization of crown authority, transitioning us into what we now call the Modern era.
Modern Era and Future
As we know today, it was proven true that we Khydir were blessed by the gods to rule over Lykos. Though the final subjugation of the Naumesae was only a few decades ago now, all lands of our world now swear loyalty to the Emperor. The reformations in the Imperial government in 2306 AF brought the various peoples of our world closer together by officially abolishing the ancient feudal laws and codes. As always Hali and Waln-Khydir make up the upper classes and nobles, though all landholding is either in the name of the state or emperor now, with Imperial Provinces ruled by governors appointed by the Senate. But as always, the supreme power of our Empire rests solely in the Emperor’s grip, currently our glorious Emperor Octavianus Iratus.
Many of you seem to be wondering why today’s lecture was over the history of the planet in brief. Well, it should be obvious to some, but the final lesson of our history is that the gods have decreed we Lykosians, especially the Khydiric race, are destined to rule all we can. History has proven this, and soon enough the future will too.
As many of you may be aware, our great Empire is standing at the doorway to the universe. Our recent discovery of what the Hypastians have chosen to name a “Hyperdrive” has led to the real possibility of faster than light travel in our near future. Our diviners, astronomers, and theorists all agree that with the vastness of space, it is likely we are not alone. Even on our own world there is a multitude of life of all different shapes, forms, and colors. From us sapient races to those nonsapients, even our fauna. If the rest of the universe is anything like Lykos used to be, there is chaos, disarray, and lack of knowledge of the true Lords of Creation. It is up to our glorious Empire and Emperor to bring order and peace to the multitudes, and the enlightenment our gods bring.
With their blessings we cannot fail, though as always they will challenge us, and make us earn our domination of the galaxy, and someday the universe. Vixtinia will grant us this, as will the Lords in their mercy and wisdom. It is only a matter of time now that we can explore the universe.
Scholar Cassius Priitanus,
Imperial University of Aksarbenium,
2558 AF
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Originally posted on NationStates (check the other factbooks for cultural details of the Lykosians and mostly the Khydir, which I'll be updating often.
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Okay, now onto the OOC details! This AAR will follow both my first game(unless it fails utterly spectacularly, at which point I'll reset and start from that) and the rise of this nation and world I have been creating the universe for, the Lykosian Empire.
It is set in an alternate timeline of Earth, far far into the future. It was alternate in the sense the Roman Empire never entirely fell, but ended up shrinking to a few holdings in Italy. It eventually was reborn as a reborn Roman State in the late renaissance, the still largely Celtic and Germanic populations of Europe being displaced by this into the New World upon its discovery. This will eventually set a stage to a modern era superpower of the United Nations of New Britannia and the Roman Republic following populist uprisings, and eventual nuclear war that leads to the extinction of humanity. The races that rise from this redub the world Lykos in the far future, and the scraps of culture that manage to survive become the basis for the new nations that form, such as the Greco-Roman inspired Aksarben Empire that eventually dominates the world.
In game terms, I'll be changing a few things. Since the game lacks a properly draconic looking species and I don't like the look of most of them, I'll instead be going with the Space Fox mammalians to represent the Khydir, and abstract the social classes away for now. I'm also making the nation a divine mandate, and since I don't know how to change this simply going to ignore the ruler title until God Emperor appears later.
I'll also try to keep a weekly schedule of updates, unless I decide to change it later! I'll be doing it in the perspective of someone within the empire, potentially different people each week involved in whatever interesting events happen.
Now that that's all out of the way, I hope you enjoy this introduction which goes over the bulk of Lykosian history, at least in an abstract form, brought to you by the Scholar Cassius Priitanus!
And as a quick bonus, the starting makeup of the Lykosian Imperium!
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YAY, Space Foxes. I did seriously consider an AAR with them but noticed just how much there is to keep track! Good luck with your first game and wish for the best!
