Marakat

Marakat, officially the Federation of Marakat States, is the furthest counterspinward nation within the Vernarca Nebula. Found within the Parallelogram Cluster, Marakat borders Burumal towards the core, Voyorras and the Vernarcan Federation to spinward, and one of the Clans of Azan towards the rim. Counterspinward of Marakat and Burumal lies the edge of the nebula and largely worthless resource-poor space. While accurate population numbers are impossible due to the disorganized and lawless state of much of its territory, Marakat is estimated to contain approximately 29 quadrillion people within its borders, of which 3.7 quadrillion reside within the Deferna System where the capital is located.

History

Pre-Imperial Era

Tyran Colonization

Shahso's Oppression

Tyran War and Independence

Materica Courts Union

Democracy Attempt 2

Modern Lawlessness

Society & Culture

The culture of Marakat is an amalgam of various traditions which developed independently during the pre-Tyran era, distinguished by the syncretism of the dominant cultures of the Urann, Tarasze, and Iron Thelsa.

Marakat space is notably the origin point of the religion of Materica, with the first prophets claiming the title at Vistari in 624 BC. Thus, it became a center of influential scholarship as the then-dominant branch of the religion encouraged the seeking of knowledge. The cosmopolitan legacy created by the relatively central position of what would become Marakat is reflected in its rich oral heritage, featuring poetry, epic storytelling, and a wide array of witty proverbs.

A variety of traditional games represent the cultural commitment to mental acuity and knowledge which exists among the Urann and the local Tarasze populations. The relatively small population of Iron Thelsa which remain at Koraco and neighboring worlds spend great effort fostering the traditional poetic arts. In addition, the most common varieties of art within Marakat are notable for eschewing graphical representations of animate objects, preferring landscapes or geometric shapes.

Religion

Although its influence has declined somewhat, the majority of the Marakat population practices the religion of Materica, with most of them belonging to the dominant Beletho branch and Toṅ school of jurisprudence. Materica began spreading in 424 BC, when the prophet Utru began preaching the gospel of the Infinite Goddess and amassing a following. After being expelled from her homeworld, she and her followers settled on Overba and amassed a greater following. Materica continued to spread from there, and the later reconquest of ancient Nephran by the Amrak Sarichate established it as the official religion of much of the Urann species. Esoteric religious orders (Ulicha) have played a major role in both the history of Materica itself within Marakat as well as the modern history of Marakat at large, after the fall of the last of the Sarichates to the Tyran Empire.

The Ariru ulicha is the oldest, least strict, and most populous of the ulichas, named after noted philosopher Salo Oracham Ariru of Filikar. Its most prominent competitor, Utwilu, preaches a much more puritanical and fundamentalist form of Materica, rejecting the common idea of praying to the angels or past prophets for intercession as heresy. There exist other ulichas, but they command the attention of much smaller subsets of those who practice Materica.

Alongside the more secular education common to most advanced societies, there exists a system of religious instruction delivered to many throughout both Marakat and Burumal, where content is delivered based upon the Book of Dust. This education is theoretically regulated by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, but the lack of real government control beyond Deferna largely negates this.

Languages

A number of languages are found throughout Marakat, and due to its cosmopolitan nature none are truly dominant. Due to biological restrictions, most species can only speak the language of their own, although understanding is perfectly possible. The Urolic language family arose from Vistari, evolving beyond the planet's boundaries with the expansion of Nephran and the later Materican Sarichates. The Tyran Empire's conquest of the region and the introduction of colonists resulted in the concurrent introduction of the Tarasze's dominant language, Shah Sirilan. The Osmanya language and script spread alongside the Iron Thelsa diaspora following the ecological collapse of Koraco as well, and has since established itself as an omnipresent feature of Marakat culture.

Politics & Government

In principle, Marakat is a parliamentary representative democratic republic, with the Castellan acting as the head of state and commander of the armed forces and selecting a First Citizen to act as the head of government. Meanwhile, the national parliament of the Federation of Marakat States consists of the House of the People and the House of Lords, whose members are elected to serve four year terms. The Parliament elects the Castellan, the Speaker of Parliament and any deputies, and also has the authority to pass and veto laws.

As defined by the Provisional Constitution of the Federation of Marakat States in 125, the national court structure is divided into three tiers: the Consistorial Court, the Circuit Courts, and the much more numerous local level courts. A judicial service commission consisting of a variable number of members appoints judges to the Circuit Courts, and presents possible judges to the House of the People for approval to serve in the Consistorial Court.

Foreign Relations

Marakat foreign relations are theoretically handled by the Castellan, First Citizen, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, the large-scale collapse of government control beyond Deferna in practice enables the numerous factions to conduct their own informal relationships with the nations surrounding them. The federal government still maintains bilateral relationships with countries including Voyorras, the Vernarcan Federation, some of the Clans of Azan, the Thelsan Assembly, the Talarian Union, the Federate of Varaltin-Zartha, and others. Additionally, Marakat maintains several diplomatic missions beyond even its nominal borders, with corresponding embassies and consulates found on Vistari and elsewhere in the country.

Military

The military forces of the Federation of Marakat States were established in the provisional constitution as headed by the Castellan as commander in chief. They are constitutionally mandated to protect the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Marakat, although all but one of those ideas have largely been a pipe dream for some time. Prior to the ascendancy of the Materica Courts Union, the military was strong and bolstered with experience fighting in the Tyran War, but the MCU disbanded the institution to replace it with its own fanatical armies. After the fall of the Materica Courts Union, the gradual process of reconstituting a professional military was begun by the provisional government. After the fragmentation of political control in the nation, the central government lost control of branches of the military based in outlying regions after local factions took command.

Astrography

The Federation of Marakat States is a large, highly decentralized state found throughout the Parallelogram Cluster within the Vernarca Nebula. The capital system of Deferna is near the edge of the nebula in the midst of the Ilidarian Clouds and the border of Burumal. The rest of Marakat territory is split between the endlessly shifting territories of various pirate factions, militant religious groups, and other rebels, with the central government at Vistari exerting very little control beyond its planetary system.

A number of unique astronomical features exist within the borders of Marakat. Notably, the large structure of the Ilidarian Clouds occupies roughly a fourth of Marakat space, and supermassive stars like Kerillis, Aelvin, Folctha, Ilidaria, Delias, and Tetrae dominate the rest with their luminance.

Capital

Vistari is a superterrestrial, largely oceanic world within the ternary Deferna System, homeworld of the Urann, and the official capital of Marakat. One of many proposed options for the capital world of the Federation of Marakat States, Vistari ended up on top due to its cultural significance and distance from the front lines of the Tyran War. Despite this, it suffered severe damage during its bombardment in the Battle of Vistari, although wide-scale destruction was averted by the arrival of the fleets of the Yazera Pact. It has returned to great prominence in its own right even as much of the country has descended into lawlessness, piracy and factionalism. Its orbit is filled with numerous habitation stations and other infrastructure, some of which date back to the days of ancient Nephran.

Notable Star Systems

Neighboring Powers

The territory of Marakat is surrounded by many nations. Core and counterspinward lies the modern breakaway republic of Burumal, which declared independence in 133 AC at Filikar after driving out the various factions and pirate groups and establishing a proper democratic government. Burumal is recognized by basically everyone except Marakat. Counterspinward of Marakat and Burumal is nothing but the resource-poor, unclaimed space beyond the nebula, populated by very few except particularly daring pirates. To spinward, the tinpot dictatorship of Voyorras holds a long border with Marakat, as does the Vernarcan Federation member state of the Enolian Coalition. Finally, the rimward end of Marakat territory briefly borders the Rho Clan of the Clans of Azan, near the eponymous system.

Similar to Burumal, many smaller regions have managed to establish their own governments in the absence of proper Marakat central control. However, they have yet to gain widespread recognition in part due to their positions as enclaves within ostensible Marakat territory and smaller size.

Major Worlds


	Vistari	Overba	Koraco

Location	Deferna System/Calisa	Buruli-Gatega System	Delias System


Population	7.38 trillion	8.92 trillion	1.44 trillion


Unique Attributes: