Content deleted Content added

Inline

Latest revision as of 19:14, December 22, 2025

A faint whisper carries itself across space and time, mostly in the form of gravity waves. The black hole of Nocturne is the source, its perfect ellipsoid event horizon rippling from time to time. These changes, invisible to the naked eye, are the beating heart of Sagittarium and the foundation on which Nocturne's greatest power is built.

Sagittarium is a vast empire with ten major worlds under its control. Such a large empire is by no means unitary; dozens of autonomous regions, each with their interests, pull Sagittarium in different directions. For international relations, Sagittarium's sub-governments demand representation as though they were states. Groups within Sagittarium are a part of the United Nations of Florathel and the Greater Martial Consilium. Sagittarium's head of state, the Chancellor, has permanent representation only in the Consilium. These complicated international relations only make domestic politics even more convoluted.

The worlds comprising Sagittarium were largely untouched for most of their history. Sagittarium had a handful of populations considered indigenous, including the Finalea People and Elkeres living around Finale. The only species to have evolved in Sagittarium's current territory are the Kajikali from Vistique also around Finale. The Rorazals, while still a major player in Sagittarium, are no longer native to the nation as their home seceded with Mandras. These various native groups had thriving societies of varying levels of sophistication, all of which fell to Sedrua in 5584 CE. Sedrua brought with them a massive influx of Zythyns and Bahattes. The Providence Union and Triumvirate Civilization split Nocturne as Sedrua collapsed. The only Triumvirate military base to survive the War of the Final Transition, Fort Aria, evolved into the Vaplein Republic. The Vaplein Republic controlled the frigid worlds orbiting Nocturne, a harsh radioactive environment that few could have predicted becoming the seat of a superpower. The creation of the first generatrices offered effectively unlimited power to the Republic. These devices converted Nocturne's gravitational radiation into usable power. The Republic used this power to terraform Nocturne's Thalia and Euterpe, melting those snowballs into livable worlds.

In 8567 CE, Klein Vay led a coup against the collapsing Vaplein Republic, making him Sagittarium's first chancellor. While in power, Vay established Sagittarian hegemony over the entirety of Nocturne and molded Sagittarium into the most prosperous member of the Core Worlds Alliance. After Vay's death, Veselko Abedayo took power and made Sagittarium into Cosmoria's fiercest military power. Abedayo led Sagittarium deep into Florathel, conquering its infighting nations with previously unseen efficacy. After several more chancellors, instability increased, and demand for change grew. With the disastrous Commonwealth's Eclipse, another coup brought Eris Sailem into power. An outspoken liberal, Sailem privatized Sagittarium's economy and disempowered the oligarchs. She became the first president of the United Republics of Sagittarium, Valme, Diadema, Rendellia, and Enkatz. With time, however, the oligarchs returned in a different form. Sagittarium gradually began to resemble its feudal neighbors as central authority once again decreased. It transitioned between various forms of governments all while gradually losing territory.

As central power eroded, oligarchs and business leaders formed a new aristocracy; their companies became organs of the state. While this led to a short-lived absolute monarchy, an anocratic elective monarchy emerged shortly afterward. It briefly regressed into the Second Sagittarian Empire during the War of the Ancients, before becoming the modern Fifth Sagittarian Republic. Local governments now handle most affairs as though they were sovereign states. While not quite the thriving empire it was in the past, Sagittarium remains a powerful force at the junction between Cosmoria's great empires. As some of its ruling class shifts attention toward Florathel, Cosmoria's greatest empires compete for authority in Nocturne, all while contending with Sagittarium's proud populous that strives for self-rule.

History

Primeval Era

Pre-Antiquity

The Kajikali are the only intelligent species to call Sagittarium's current territory home, though at the nation's height three separate species did. The Kajikali are from the planet Vistique around Finale—in the Kajikali tongue known as Vecroxmer and Sagasheft. They remained on their homeworld undisturbed until only five thousand years ago when they were thrust onto the galactic stage.

The Moridian High Command, a civilization ancient beyond belief, was the first to colonize Nocturne. They created the Aubade megastructure, a series of bands whose habitable area faced Nocturne. Generating gravity through centripetal force, these bands hosted as many as thirty trillion inhabitants, a number never seen again in Nocturne's history. With the extinction of Morid's Norlin people, Aubade fell uninhabited for millions of years. Aubade began degrading due to collisions with debris and perturbation from Nocturne's companion stars.

The Lareas Alliance refurbished Aubade some 200,000 years before the present day. They imported millions of Deviri to Garrea to aid in the effort and their descendants reside there to this day. They also created the Lamento megastructure orbtiting Requiem. Mostly Deviri resided on that great ring around Requiem. The collapse of the Lareas Alliance brought an end to this colonization program and left millions of Deviri stranded, where they became a distinct group from the main Deviri species.

Early History

Humans colonized Nocturne a little after the start of the Common Era. A part of the ancient First Aeternal Society, these Humans were few. About ten thousand called the system home, entirely within the Finale system. The harsh radiation around Nocturne, thanks to Aubade once again degrading, created fairly rapid evolution. The Humans living here would develop extreme pigmentation by about five thousand years ago, slowing the rate of mutation. These Humans became the Finalea People, one of Sagittarium's largest ethnic groups.

The fall of the First Aeternal Society did little to affect the scattered Finalea villages, save for allowing a small Un'oit and Rorran presence to accumulate over the years. Most Finalea resided on Patyrth, but some used Thaumaturgy to venture to nearby Vistique and settle with its Kajikali population.

Before modern civilization arrived, many others attempted to hold onto the large star system. For a handful of civilizations, such as Karith's Empire and Sedrua, Nocturne was seen as a frontier. It was a wasteland that, while plentiful in resources, was so large that securing all of it would take thousands of years. For this reason, these civilizations only superficially laid claim to the region. In many cases, small asteroids rich in rare materials would be exported, but the bulk of the system was untouched.

Sedrua had sovereignty over Nocturne starting in 5565 CE, as the nation claimed to be the rightful rulers of all descendants of the Humans. They most heavily colonized Requiem, resulting in a population of about one billion at its height. Sedrua established several military bases around Nocturne's other satellites, beginning the long process of colonization. The Dotsk created a handful of outposts as well in about 5841 CE, collaborating with Sedrua to colonize the endless wilderness. Though Sedrua continued to claim Nocturne, Un'oit warlords controled most of the system beyond Sedrua's military outposts.

Triumvirate and Providence

Though Nocturne was promised to the Triumvirate after the Sedrua-Triumvirate War as reparations, the Providence Union took advantage of Sedrua's weakness and conquered the Dorok, Lied and Requiem systems. The Triumvriate took the rest, including the Cadenza region. This icy disk of worlds and comets orbiting distantly from Nocturne became the center of Triumvirate exploitation of the region.

The planet Thalia would be the first settled by the Triumvirate. Despite being an interstellar civilization, the Triumvirate depended a great deal on physical labor, creating an economy largely based on small-scale mining and farming. In 6123 CE, Thalia was given a local governor, forming the Province of New Albedo, named for the Human world of Albedo settled some centuries prior. Mostly Humans settled Thalia, though its dark and frigid conditions proved challenging.

The Finalea initially greatly benefited from Triumvirate and Providential colonization. They drove back the Un'oit and were valuable trading partners. The Elkeres created the Empire of Vistique-Sarpanitum taking advantage of trade to and from Finale. The War of the Last Alliance and collapse of the Providence Union, The Triumvirate wasted no time integrating its territory around Nocturne.

Triumvirate Republic

With the establishment of the Triumvirate Senate in 7971 CE, Thalia earned a single seat out of three hundred. While not much, it was the first time the people of Thalia had any form of self-determination. Initially, the governor had the duties of the senator in addition to existing duties. Thus, to determine who would be governor was the first issue in the new state.

The settler population supported the establishment of a hereditary monarchy. A stable system across much of the Triumvirate, this system has historically minimized power struggles. With power too decentralized, civil war would be an omnipresent threat. This monarch would issue edicts and appoint the senator. The people supported a system based on regular referenda, in which the king could only act with the people's consent. Additionally, the monarch would be elected. At the time, this idea was a radical departure from the Triumvirate's autocratic order. The looming threat of civil war, with the year-long travel times for federal troops, forced the adoption of a constitution for the State of Thalia. The governor would be a hereditary position while the senator would be elected every ten years.

By the time the Triumvirate entered the Republic Period, Nocturne and its stellar companions had a population just shy of fifty billion. Thalia, the only major Triumvirate world around Nocturne, had only twenty-five percent of this population, however. The Un'oit, who resisted any attempt at conquest, made up most of Nocturne's denizens. The rest of Nocturne was still a federally-controlled territory with no representation in the senate.

Consortium of Raddolcendo

During the War of the Final Transition, Titania Herschel's armies wrested power from Thalia's loyalist government. With the Triumvirate dissolving, Titania secured the lion's share of its territory. The Triumvirate's various bases around Nocturne became the Consortium of Raddolcendo. Unlike the self-governing Triumvirate state system, Consortia was centered on the local church. Florenta was a theocracy devoted to Ibaradism. While locals could achieve church roles, high-level positions were saved for Atlin priests. Over the next five hundred years, Thalia's government built the continent-spanning Temple of Diolunos. Ironically a deity associated with freedom, everyone in Raddolcendo answered to Titania's theocrats.

The first place attacked during the Second Un'oit Ascension was Thalia—it fell within weeks. As the rest of Cosmoria dealt with the brutally efficient Un'oit hoard, Thalia adapted to Un'oit rule under the Euphony Civilization. With Ibaradism banned and heavily suppressed, Un'oit religions took its place. With notions of dying in battle for glory lest one's soul end up cast into Nocturne, the Un'oit inadvertently ignited a spark of resistance. Finale's people, in particular, often murdered local Un'oit leaders, only to brave the resulting punishment in fortresses deep in their worlds' mantles. An underground network, called the Vaplein Front, embraced the idea of dying in combat against their occupiers. With a burning hatred for all deities, this misotheistic movement believed in the worship of victory. Of course, victory became a deity in and of herself named Sagitta.

The Vaplein Republic

The Vaplein Republic formed in 8538 CE after four hundred years of Un'oit occupation. Taking after their former occupiers, the Republic swiftly conquered Thalia, Euterpe, and Requiem. Centered on Patyrth, the Vaplein republic was the first serious challenge to Un'oit dominance. Unlike the cosmopolitan Euphony, the Vaplein Republic leaned on Human-centered nationalism. The Republic was careful to appeal to the existing Human ruling class. Local leaders, even those complicit in the Un'oit occupation, maintained their position in the Vaplein Republic.

Leaders from throughout the republic met on Thalia to draft the Vaplein Constitution in 8540 CE. With the difficult task of securing local sovereignty while also creating a strong central military to keep the Un'oit Collective at bay, resulted in two distinct Vaplein organizations. The Republic was responsible for international trade and diplomacy while the Nocturne Interprovince Compact established minimum military spending requirements and prohibited internal conflict. Thirty-five provinces emerged upon the signing of this compact. The exclusion of non-Humans carried over tensions from Un'oit rule, in particular resentment from the sizeable Nerata and Elkeres populations.

Florenta remained a great power in the rest of Aylathiya. As its largest vassal, Erstes Konsortium, expanded, its influence over Nocturne grew once again. When Florenta's central government collapsed, its Consortia fragmented into states of their own. The new government, Empyros, vowed to not only regain control but to exterminate all that defied their religion. This war later became known as the Great Empyreal Crusade. In 8539 CE, the nation of Empyros invaded all its former territory. The Republic mobilized its forces in 8547 CE, coercing each province to contribute nearly all production towards the conflict. With the alternative being extinction, its factions had little choice but to obey.

The Crusade culminated in the Battle of Thalia, a prolonged period of heavy fighting around the Republic's most populous world. The battle determined the fate of the war. It was a hard-won victory involving not just the forces of the Vaplein Republic but nearly every nation in Lacrimosa. In 8567 CE, the Allies drove Empyros back, ending both the battle and the war.

While the Vaplein Republic was able to survive, the previous order had not. The provinces ceded so much power to the central government that the Republic had become a unitary state. As the Vaplein Republic bankrolled rebuilding infrastructure on Eos, it crushed lingering nationalist groups. For the first time in history, the center of Aylathiya shifted from Eos toward Nocturne.

Transition to Sagittarium

During the Crusade, General Klein Vay became the "Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Lacrimosa." His name and great achievements entered the public consciousness to the point that his ascension to the chancellory was all but certain. Then-current Chancellor of the Vaplein Republic, Uriel Ibrahim had Vay exiled to Albedo. With connections throughout Aylathiya, Vay earned the sympathy of its governments. Vay in particular gained the support of Jayvyn Drusus, supreme leader of Gran Rubedo. Drusus used his great influence in Erstes Konsortium to fund an expeditionary force to Thalia.

High-ranking officials in the Republic grew skeptical of Ibrahim's ability to rule. Despite Ibrahim's efforts, whispers of dissent spread amongst the Republic's elites. When Vay's fleet returned to Thalia, its admirals allowed him to land. Vay's men surrounded the capitol building and entered a tense standoff with Ibrahim's guards. Vay grew impatient and broke through the lines, ordering one of the guards to hand Vay his weapon. The guard did so.

When Vay found Ibrahim in his office, he unloaded that gun into the man. As its coils melted from overuse, Vay tossed his ruined weapon to a cowering aide and ordered them to dispose of it. The aide kept the weapon and to this day is kept in Sagittarium's state museum. Vay's soldiers secured the rest of the capitol complex within minutes. With no one left to challenge him, Vay officially became chancellor.

Reform

Once in power, Vay began the arduous process of reforming the vast Vaplein Republic. Harkening back to the ancient goddess of victory, Vay named the new nation Sagittarium, meaning the "domain of victory." Despite promising an end to the existing corrupt power structures, Vay knew that someone else would revolt against him if he tried. The solution was simple; citizens needed to be allowed to produce value themselves. At the time, Sagittarium was a heavily state-based economy, with most industries under state control. The Great Empyreal Crusade gave the central government a reason to seize control of locally-owned factories. This order gave the immense central bureaucracy and its leaders tremendous power. Every aspect of the economy was under their control.

Vay had some of the most powerful Vaplein oligarchs killed and transferred ownership to anyone that would develop the land. Millions of enterprising citizens moved into these lands and Sagittarium enforced their ownership of the land. The idea was that spreading out land would keep them from becoming rivals. Vay told the people about their right to enterprise, while he told government officials that this model would increase economic output. While initially a plot to take power from his rivals, Vay inadvertently laid the groundwork for Sagittarium's democratization centuries later.

Recent technological advances came with the promise of infinite energy beyond mere fusion energy. Nocturne produces a great amount of energy as its spherical surface deforms a reflection of its singularity splitting into multiple pieces, deforming, and collapsing back into its proper shape. The cause was Laborosoarchod, a legendary spirit sealed in the black hole thousands of years ago. Sagittarian scientists, the finest in the universe at that time, created the first Generatrices. These massive devices took advantage of Nocturne's gravitational waves to move large dense masses. They worked on the same principle as conventional tidal power, though on a much larger scale. These large masses, usually small asteroids gently placed on the surface of a planet, generated a large amount of heat as they moved within the generatrix. This heat terraformed Thalia and Euterpe and fueled Sagittarium's new manufacturing, painstakingly kept widely distributed lest more oligarchs form.

Vay spent the rest of his chancellorship diminishing the power of the oligarchs, in particular by pushing for growth at a faster rate than they could hurt it with their corruption. With the new energy Nocturne was producing, Vay showered the government employees with money, so much money that they hardly had any motivation to be corrupt. High-level officials became some of the wealthiest in Cosmoria. This was a very unpopular strategy at first, but as corruption decreased and a culture of anti-corruption formed, Sagittarium became more safe for business. While Vay could have simply left it at that, he believed that giving every citizen a comfortable government job would lead to "a degeneration of the populace into useless wards of the state." Taking a page out of the kingdom of Tenshi's playbook, Vay began mass privatization, gutting the massive bureaucracy.

Sagittarium became a remarkably low-corruption state with cheap labor, perfect for receiving investment from foreigners. Nations in the Core Worlds Alliance invested vast sums of money, building infrastructure that normally the government would have had to. Doing so brought the Alliance and Sagittarium closer together while also greatly expanding Sagittarium's fledgling economy.

In 8570 CE, Gran Rubedo began its war against Ma'eau, one of the Three ancient leaders of the Triumvirate. To fight against Ma'eau was tantamount to declaring war on nature itself, however. Ma'eau had the abilities to manipulate microorganisms in targeted biological warfare. Within days millions were reduced to puddles of sodium hydroxide as microbes within them produced the substance in large quantities. Sagittarium, while not directly involved in the conflict, supported Gran Rubedo in their efforts. The development of a key technology spared Gran Rubedo—that of the Ripresa.

The Ripresa, now representing over a percentage of Sagittarium's population, are cybernetic beings whose brains have been transferred to a robotic body. With the brain entirely sealed off from the outside world, Ripresa could resist Ma'eau's biological warfare. Though the problem of needing to eat was never solved, and the operation to make one into a Ripresa is very difficult, the operation became fairly popular. There are numerous advantages, in particular as front line soldiers. The government offered healthy sums to anyone willing to undergo the operation and fight Ma'eau, for which millions volunteered.

Using the remaining military technology, Sagittarium crushed much of Martial Space while Gran Rubedo handled Ma'eau itself. In 8581 CE, Calithyia was sacked by both the Rubedans and Sagittarium, ending the conflict as their enemies surrendered. With this victory, Sagittarium's status as a military power was fully cemented and with the reparations its enemies had to pay, it faced little repercussions for the massive spending to create a new Ripresa armies. Following the victory, Sagittarium joined the Core Worlds Alliance.

Sagittarium's workforce, decimated by the conflict, was made up mostly of Ripresa and the scattered Human remnants. While the cost to hire them increased immensely, so did their value in the economy. Wages rose sharply as Sagittarium's wartime factories were distributed amongst many firms, now desperate to use them to make a profit. This prompted Sagittarium to join the Core Worlds Alliance. A controversial decision at the time, it proved to be a good one. Sagittarium's government rebuilt the ruined members of the Alliance, all while Sagittarian firms supplied them with consumer goods, returning every cent spent by Sagittarium's government to the home country.

While Sagittarium would come to dominate the politics of Aylathiya, it struggled to gain influence far beyond. Under Vay, the few campaigns against other regions resulted in only meager colonies, always failing to gain substantive footholds. These colonies in Zalanthium and Florathel were little more than propaganda tools for the state. Even the edges of Aylathiya were areas it had trouble influencing. In an attempt to secure influence over Martial Space, Vay personally led fleets to begin a campaign of conquest. This, however, would result in several space-based organisms, called The Pestilence, to descend upon Vay's fleet, nearly destroying it. Vay died in 8582 CE as his ship was overtaken.

Succession Crisis

Vay, having lived for so long already, was seen similarly as one would see a law of the universe, permanent and unchanging. His death sent waves throughout not just Sagittarium, but also the galaxy as a whole. While the people of Sagittarium demanded that the military exterminate the Pestilence, the remaining generals and other high-level officials knew that it would be futile. Those with significant power, or those with significant enough social capital to make their way into the elite, would form a council to decide the future of the nation post-Vay.

The council, however, proved divided as few agreed on who the next chancellor should be or if there should even be another chancellor. They did not have time to debate. Almost as soon as they met on Thalia, news of an attack by the Un'oit began to come in. Eager to put themselves back on top in the Nocturne system, it seemed they were waiting for this moment to strike.

The various generals and oligarchs, without much direction, attempted to push back them back. Each admiral was attempting to make a name for themselves as a potential new chancellor, rushing their fleets in only for the Un'oit to tear them to pieces. Veselko Abedayo, one of the leading generals in the military, grew frustrated with the council's lack of coordination. Once the council began their discussion of a counter-attack, Abedayo simply declared themself Chancellor effective immediately while heavily criticizing the council for "soiling Vay's legacy." The meeting, publicly broadcast, spurred great fervor amongst the people; they wanted another chancellor. Abedayo declared a referendum, without official power, and stated that it "would be what Vay would have wanted." The referendum went through with a little over half of the population choosing Abedayo, appointing them the same day.

With power finally centralized, Abedayo had Sagittarium begin its largest successful campaign in history. The campaign to push back the Un'oit was largely successful, giving Sagittarium control over Oratorio, Etude, and Zarzuela. They made Etude into the somewhat self-governing colony of Enkatz. Abedayo was not finished with Circuinotturna—the territory around Nocturne. Their fleets, ushering in a new epoch of warfare with new strategies and technologies, struck deep into Paleas and beyond into Florathel.

As the Core Worlds Alliance and its nations were recovering, their labor became far cheaper than Sagittarian labor. Rather than risk all this infrastructure going unused and making Sagittarium into an import-dependent nation, Abedayo did the same trick as Vay. Florathel, hurting from the recent Tripartite War and other major conflicts, were new markets for Sagittarian industrialists. Its military bases protected Sagittarian firms as they extract obscene amounts of wealth from Florathel, mostly legally and peacefully. Furthermore, with the sheer amount of raw materials coming in from Florathel as well, Sagittarium undercut its "allies" back in Aylathiya and destroyed their domestic resource production. This was actually under threat of invasion, though this would only be revealed to the public centuries after the fact.

What was to be done with the largest economy in the universe and tens of billions of well-trained and healthy workers? Megaprojects the likes of which have never been attempted by contempotary nations—that and buying so many things. Wealth management firms became major players in the economy as they pooled the wealth of Sagittarium's elite workers, buying everything from property on Eos to most of Indar, then a minor agricultural world. Sagittarian wealth management firms outright owned several worlds including Nusti, Incalescence, Aetherisynth, and Myra. The posessions around Iriat, threatened by local governments discontent with the purchases, became the target of Sagitarrium's military might. Its navies laid waste to its nations and replaced them with satellite states. From Iriat, Sagittarium conquered world after world, chasing the remaining Un'oit warlords. In all, Sagittarium conquered Valme, Haurvatat, Kronjuwel, and Khae.

The vast amounts of wealth generated from Sagittarium's exploitation fueled projects such as the reconstruction of Ta'Koro and the many terraforming projects to make Sagittarium's new possessions habitable for Humans at the expanse of others.

Decline

Uchenna Vay would be the next chancellor. As Klein Vay's grandniece, Unchenna Vay held a reasonable claim to power. While maintaining the policies of her predecessors, Sagittarium's economic growth began slowing as Nocturne became fully utilized. Furthermore, as Florathel began to rebuild, Sagittarium's factories once again went quiet. There was no one else to sell to and the cost of land in Sagittarium made doing business prohibitively expensive. On the other hand, the Nocto had become a universally accepted currency and Sagittarium's wealth management firms still controlled the vast majority. Uchenna Vay created by far the most Sagittarian megaprojects, most infamously the "terraformation" of Garrea, seizing a great deal of land from native Elkeres to bolster Human settlement.

Following Vay was Azazel Pascuet, a high-ranking official in the government. By the time Pascuet took power, the economy was nearing a collapse as Sagittarium became far too dependent on trade. Its once large consumer base had been disempowered, with one of the largest transfer of wealth and land in history to Sagittarium's elite class, only just bested by Sagittarium's conquests. Pascuet focused on seizing the ailing factories and using them to maintain Sagittarium's colonies and military, both of which were getting more difficult to control.

Prelude to the Eclipse

As tensions rose within the Core Worlds Alliance and its neighbors, a massive level of capital flight and a run on the banks caused an economic collapse, further propelling it into disorder. The very firms that Sagittarium's government killed millions to empower, left the country the moment it became more profitable to do so. These tensions, caused by a lack of central authority, were most certainly not helped by Sagittarium's heavy-handed foreign policy and aggression. The Golomian Confederacy, a non-Alliance member, had to constantly open counterintelligence investigations to prevent influence by Sagittarium. It was not alone, virtually every nation in the area was at each other's throats, reducing investor confidence as war seemed imminent.

The economic collapse facing the Alliance caused not only Sagittarium, but the entirety of the CWA to lose its prestigious spot as the number one galactic economy. Both Tenshi and the Confederacy of Borealis surpassed the Alliance in economic output, with rising powers like Khela not far behind. The humiliation of losing their prestige, coupled with ever rising costs of living, created an anxious populous. Sagittarium saw the rise of Satella Laghari, an ultra-nationalist who had the goal of returning Sagittarium to greatness. The people greatly enjoyed her rhetoric to the point of essentially begging the government to start a new war. As other Alliance nations experienced similar trends, military spending began increasing wildly. Soon after, a web of alliances formed where nations with similar interests would form alliances or cartels. Sagittarium had no cordiality within the Alliance.

In 8900, the government seized the assets of most corporations within its borders; due to increased tensions, its economy was weak. They began using a state-capitalist model to revitalize the economy this time using corporations as tools of the state. While resources were mostly managed by AI, minimizing losses and shortages, it destroyed investor confidence and foreign investment from fellow Human nations all but ended. Its economy was effectively at zero growth and debt skyrocketing, the nation's military was the only thing it now had going for it. Of course, the people blamed the Alliance and Golomian Confederacy for this and began calling for everything from sanctions to outright war.

Commonwealth's Eclipse

Main Article: Commonwealth's Eclipse

In 8912, tensions between the Core Worlds Alliance and Golomian Confederacy reached their peak, causing war to break out. At once, every nation, which had been yearning for war for so long, sprung into action. Sagittarium, within hours of learning of the conflict, officially left the Alliance and declared war on all of its neighbors. Its troops quickly moved into several Alliance nations near it, creating a huge surge of morale in the nation. After the initial gains, the conflict ground to a halt as the alliance began managing the two-front war they found themselves in.

In 8917, Golomian lines suddenly broke and Sagittarium was able to send their armies deep into Golomian territory. At the same time, its leaders sent envoys to the Golomian capital, asking for surrender. As they refused, Sagittarium continued pushing deeper until taking the Eye of Aylathiya. Golomian officials refused to surrender but, at this point, they were effectively knocked out of the conflict. This impressive invasion, sending forces nearly a quarter of the way across the galaxy, would prove to be Sagittarium's downfall. It was not because they could not handle the conflict, but because the Golomian Confederacy was the only thing keeping the Core Worlds Alliance at bay.

Sagittarium's weak economy was unable to handle the strain of exerting itself so much holding onto so much hostile territory in addition to its colonies. Going as far as essentially liberating the colonies to free up troops for the conflict, Sagittarium sued for peace in 8928. The various factions within the Alliance, the remains of the Golomian Confederacy, and the Confederacy of Borealis all agreed to allow this to happen. They faced no repercussions besides permanent expulsion from the Core Worlds Alliance.

By the time the Eclipse had ended, the democratic nations reigned supreme and Sagittarium had little to show for the conflict besides a large number of casualties and its colonies being harder to manage. As the central government began losing control over increasingly rowdy external territories, private organizations from the Alliance and Martial Space began moving into Sagittarium. The people, as temperamental as always throughout Sagittarian history, abandoned the government of Laghari in favor of allegiance to these external organizations.

Democratization

These international corporations would soon begin disseminating pro-democracy propaganda since it would create a more stable and more trade-friendly government. They got their wish when Laghari would be ousted and replaced by Eris Sailem, a radical advocate for liberalism, then not a silly thing to call liberalism. Though the "republic" was a very old form of governance, liberal democracy was brand new. The rising Sovereign States of Aylathiya was happy to aid the fledgling democracy on Sagittarium.

Some of the more brutal leaders were "banished" to Eos, which meant that they were given large homesteads on land owned by the state. The remaining colonies were given more independence as the historical treatment of its natives was questionable at best. Every state corporation was privatized in an attempt to reinvigorate the economy. This was all in an attempt to save face with the wider galactic community, with the end goal of entering the economic bloc of the Confederacy of Borealis.

In 8976, the nation adopted the currency and official language of the Confederacy of Borealis, giving Sagittarium access to free trade with the Confederacy. Later in that same year, Enkatz also joined its bloc. The Confederacy of Borealis would go on to create a millennium-lasting empire by copying Sagittarium's exact strategy, but in a far more measured manner. It took centuries for historians to notice, but by then the Confederacy was already the most powerful socialist movement in history. When the CoB lets a nation into its trading bloc, it elevates an element of its workers into "members," while also granting many of its second and third sons membership for fighting (whether economically or militarily). This created a massive meritocratic pressure in both the Confederate homeland and the new member nation. With property rights respected in Sagittarium, the "socialist" Confederacy could take advantage of Sagittarium's workers without having to dirty its own hands, while also getting to keep the best of the best for themselves.

As time went on, the Chancellor began transferring their power to the newly-created Congress. Even though little more than precedent would keep the chancellor's power in check, referenda, and bills passed by Congress had new great power. Other changes include the gradual shrinkage in military spending as well as the gradual shrinkage of government authority, all due to foreign influence on the populace. Sagittarium became a middle economic power whose economy outshined the Dominion of Astraeus. The Dominion, locked in a centuries-spanning cold war with the Soviereng States of Aylathiya, viewed Sagittarium as a third player in the cold war, but both were allies with the Confederacy and therefore one another.

Aristocratic Era

Once more following Tenshi's example, this time accidentally, Sagittarium's economy slowly became dominated by large family-owned enterprises. This was mostly in opposition to the powerful worker cooperatives who had long stopped accepting new members. Akin to the aristocracy found across Martial Space, these groups would accumulate as much capital as possible—land, factories, small businesses, anything that could be a store of value. As this new aristocracy crushed all opposition, the chancellor had to increasingly capitulate to these groups and could hardly act without approval from a majority of them. The military would end up split between these groups as various admirals and generals were inducted into or replaced by these families. The collapse of the Dominion of Astraeus and its nobility put further pressure on Sagittarium's elite to secure their positions as well.

Conflicts amongst the Aristocracy

War of the Blume Order

In 9410 CE, the Blume Order, at the time one of the most powerful landholders in Sagittarium, was declared a national security risk as the group was loyal to Tianshi, the largest remnant of the Dominion of Astraeus. The massive Sagittarian Military was able to eventually expel the group while simultaneously keeping most of the fighting away from population centers. The defeat of the Blume Order significantly weakened Tianshi's influence in Sagittarium. The Confederacy of Borealis remained neutral, not wanting to hurt its relationship with either party.

Un'oit Crisis

In 9613 CE, Un'oit warlords and oligarchs were officially banned from doing business in Sagittarium, explicitly in the service of maintaining Human sovereignty over Sagittarium's industry. They responded by getting the Rorran Intendancy and its dozens of component orders to strike back, prompting the Sagittarian government to ban Paladins, the members of orders who are powerful warriors. Banning all Paladins and the orders they represented was effectively banning all the competition to the new aristocracy.

First Borealis Conflict

A militia jointly hired by the Monday Conglomerate and Adam Consortium attacked a worker-owned factory on Thalia in 9616 CE. This factory, associated with the Confederacy of Borealis, prompted a militant response by the Confederacy. As planned, the two conglomerates petitioned Chancellor Itanya Abrahms to request protection from "Confederate Aggression against Sagittarian-owned industry." It was the Confederacy that was sanctioned for their response, prompting the Confederacy to relocate much of its industry out of the country. What remained became heavily guarded. This conflict greatly strained Confederate-Sagittarian relations.

Chancellorship of Luka Caxaro

A Human male born on Patyrth, Luka Caxaro would come to power in 9617 CE. Luka Caxaro abandoned any pretext that Sagittarium was not entirely under the thumb of these industrial titans. Caxaro massively cut spending on the expensive Sagittarian military, the nation's pride and joy for all of its history. Instead, it was these companies and their militias that would maintain order. The central government let its military waste away as it greatly cut taxes for these companies. By this point, Sagittarium had lost much of its prestige, but Caxaro and other top government officials became spectacularly wealthy. The conglomerates showered the chancellor with immense amounts of wealth, while also compensating the now-poorly-paid government officials with bribes. Needless to say, Sagittarium became a much worse place to do business as these large conglomerates removed any semblance of the rule of law from it.

Second & Third Borealis Crises

The Worker Movement was a Confederate-backed project to return democracy to Sagittarium, though that just meant taking back their assets in practice. The Confederacy of Borealis, a thorn in the side of the conglomerates, was the last barrier to their full control. This brazen act to increase its influence within Sagittarium earned only token resistance at first. When large numbers of people began joining the Confederate-backed unions or guilds, the conglomerates realized that they had no choice but to fight Sagittarium's greatest ally.

This culminated in the Second Borealis Crisis, the beginning of government persecution of Confederacy-associated unions. The last form of organized labor, the move was greatly unpopular. Pressure from the Caxaro administration kept protest activity minimum, however. What began as a cold war between the Confederacy and Sagittarium was, in actuality, a cold war between the conglomerates and the Confederacy. It boiled over into an outright war between a Confederate Syndicate and the Monday Conglomerate in 9620 CE. The Syndicate would end up winning, but this only caused Sagittarium to crack down even harder on Confederate activity, officially declaring that organized labor was inherently anti-Sagittarian.

The Third Crisis saw the Confederacy banned from Thalia, strangling much of its ability to fight back against these policies. The Confederate government officially removed all of its assets from Sagittarium in 9621 CE, an economic crisis for Sagittarium but a win for the conglomerates nonetheless.

Tenshin Crisis

The Duchy of Tenshi, at this point a shadow of its former self, nationalized and re-privatized all Sagittarian-owned industry in its territory, prompting governments across Eos to do the same. Unlike Sagittarium, its vast conglomerates having completely bought out the government, Tenshi maintained an autonomous state despite dealing with the same large companies. While ideologically similar, Tenshi gave up on any prospect of Sagittarium returning to its previous trade-friendly state. It prevented these vast conglomerates from expanding much into Martial Space.

The reason this is referred to as a crisis is because it greatly hurt the income of these conglomerates, leading to a major shift in the power balance, numerous small-scale civil wars, and yet further consolidation of power in Sagittarium.

Ojo Crisis

The Ojo Crisis began in 9638 CE in response to the growing power of the Ojo Merchant Corps. The corps, much more like a guild than a family-owned business, became the number one enemy of the other conglomerates. The central government, at this point just one tool of the wealthiest Sagittarians, did not lift a finger as its ruling class began fighting.

This conflict set a precedence of paranoia in which success, ambition, or gaining too much power too quickly was greatly punished. Generals, bureaucrats, and even aristocrats that showed too much promise were purged. By the end of Caxaro's rule in 9641 CE, Sagittarium had been divided into tracts of territory owned by an aristocracy that punished any dissent from strict guidelines, especially innovation.

Involvement in the War of Saiheran Succession

To maintain its lucrative influence over the Paleas region, Sagittarium would become involved in the War of Saiheran Succession. Chancellor Mikhail Vooren mobilized the small central military to help defend Thalvett, Sagittarium's largest colony, against an onslaught from Marakat and the Areial Union. This attack threatened the assets of the Monday Conglomerate, at the time the most powerful of the houses in Sagittarium. The central government attempted to rally the other houses behind this cause but was unable to get them to commit to the expensive prospect of defending their rival's assets.

Sagittarium lost much of its central army as Marakat annexed Thalvett. While the central government tirelessly attempted to retake its colony, its attempts failed as it lost millions of soldiers each time. Sagittarium would have to sign a formal treaty with the Confederacy of Borealis, its closest ally despite being in the middle of a cold war with it, to secure arms. The treaty stipulated that the Confederacy would be able to operate in the colony if they liberated it, giving it an unprecedented opportunity to access new markets.

As the War of Saiheran Succession began winding down, the Confederacy declared war on Marakat. It would have to abandon Thalvett as Confederate marines secured key objectives on Thalvett's capital, Kihow. The Confederacy and Marakat reached a peace agreement in which the Union was guaranteed access to trade from Thalvett's ports. In exchange, it would allow the Confederacy to return Thalvett to Sagittarium. This complicated mess of a conflict weakened Sagittarium even if its lucrative colony was returned.

The War of the Ancients

Main Article: War of the Ancients

When the War of the Ancients began in 9730 CE, the once effective Sagittarian military was humiliated by the Civese Great Cities. It was roped into the conflict not by the decaying conglomerates but by a power bid by chancellor Palese Abubakar. With a large number of young aristocrats, aspiring organizers in the growing worker's movement, and rowdy rebels around Finale, the best thing to do would be to ship them all out to die. The survivors would be forever imprinted with a desire to keep Sagittarium around, and so, Abubakar rallied the people and immediately embarassed his nation.

Sagittarium mostly fought the conflict far from its borders, leading to great logistical difficulty. Numerous times, especially during battles such as The Battle of Finale, Civese forces proved to be nearly insurmountable for Sagittarium's military. Where Sagittarium had numbers, the Cities had incredibly effective massive ships capable of fast deployment as well as matching even the largest of navies.

As the aristocracy lost many of its powerful members due to bombardment, assassinations, and in-fighting, it began consolidating behind the Gwynn Group. Dhalia Gwynn, would become the next Chancellor in 9735 CE. The conflict resulted in the full unification of the conglomerates and the Sagittarian government into a single entity. This united government, called the "United Chancellery of Sagittarium," saw a single family officially own the entirety of the assets within Sagittarium. In other words, Sagittarium formed a monarchy.

Learning from the example of the Great Cities, Sagittarium restored the ancient ship known as the VSS Readymade, a powerful craft created by the Triumvirate Civilization. It spent most of its time defending vital worlds, preventing further Association attacks on Sagittarium. After the fighting left Sagittarium's borders, it still fought, supporting its sister states in the conflict. Abubakar's plan ended up working, but the man was long dead before Gwynn could enjoy its fruits.

Post War

Immediately following the War of the Ancients, Jezebel's War began between Jezebel Drusus and her followers and the Confederacy of Borealis. The nobility of Martial Space, refusing to recognize the Gwynn Family as "noble-blooded," would see Sagittarium not participate in the conflict. Instead, Sagittarium had domestic issues to worry about, in particular the renewed loss of Thalvett. The Confederacy abandoned the nation and, in its absence, Thalvett declared independence.

By the end of Dhalia Gwynn's reign, Sagittarium had wasted much of its resources on maintaining control over their prized colony. Sagittarium's next monarch, Xengo Gwynn, oversaw further shrinkage as Sagittarium lost its grip on the outer Finale system. Sagittarium also saw the loss of its unique cultural identity, the nation had become so intertwined with the rest of Martial Space that it was effectively just another duchy under the control of the Imperator.

By the reign of the third monarch, Ambi Gwynn, the Gwynn House had lost so much power that it had become a nearly redundant part of Sagittarium's governance. The nation was effectively an alliance of states and organizations. The monarch called what is known as a "Consilium," a council of powerful individuals, to maintain the unity of Sagittarium. The Consilium soon began resembling a parliament as it delegated much of the management of Sagittarium to a central bureaucracy. As the prime minister became increasingly powerful, the old monarchical chancellery was abolished and replaced with an elected official from amongst the parliament members. The "president," however, was still known as the "Chancellor" and was elected by a vote amongst less than a thousandth of the population.

Modern Era

Sagittarium "re-democratized" in 9980 following the abdication of Ambi Gwynn and the election of Eriol Alade. This new system encouraged aristocrats and private organizations alike to cooperate, use diplomacy instead of violence, and collaborate with the central government. While unruly aristocrats or powerful merchants would plague Sagittarium through the present day, they became much weaker as vast coalitions handled their rebellion. The central government could then focus on maintaining a strong military to preserve Sagittarian independence.

Generatrices

A generatrix is a generator capable of turning gravitational energy into usable power. Ranging in size from automobiles to freight vessels, the generatrices are the backbone of Sagittarium's economy. Appearing like turbines, a generatrix works in reverse to the hypothetical "Warp Drive," causing space to become flatter and releasing energy in the process. Exotic Matter with a negative mass is essential for these devices, the gravitational waves causing the generatrix to spin as the conventional matter affixed to it is tugged along. Since such a thing does not exist, mimicking the effect with grimoires is the core of the technology.

Government and Politics

The government of Sagittarium has gone through several forms, called eras. The current era, a rebirth of democracy, sees a government ruled in equal parts by an aristocracy and the common folk. This government, an anocracy, is a hybrid system between a parliamentary republic and a constitutional monarchy. Power is thusly split between democratic local governments and the more autocratic central government. There are 73 prefectures, a federal district, 13 provinces, and 5 wards. The prefectures are ruled democratically while the other divisions are ruled by the chancellor or parts of the aristocracy.

Elected officials are elected using an approval-based system, where citizens can vote for as many candidates as they please, the candidate with the most approval overall is elected. This tends to move parties towards the center, pushing radicals out of government.

The Federal government is divided into 1523 Ministries. Each ministry is responsible for running a certain aspect of the state. These ministries govern Thalia and the other places not governed by prefectures. The military represents over half of the ministries, the vast bureaucracy needed to coordinate its large number of troops employing more than any other in the country.

Classes

Sagittarium has several classes in which its subjects are divided. Subclasses divide the three official ones: serf, citizen, and patrician.

Serfs: Serfs make up under a fifth of the population and are not considered citizens. They are directly ruled by the federal government and thus have no representation within it. They are tied to the territory in which they live and can be used as labor in some cases. Serfs can earn citizenship through military service, buying their freedom, or being freed by their patricians.

Citizens

Clients

Clients represent the largest individual share of the population at over a third. Clients are essentially the "default" mode. Free to move around the nation as they like, clients are represented in parliament and are never forced into the military. They are free to enlist as officers if they so choose. They are free to emigrate to other countries and immigrants are usually given client status.

Merchants

Merchants are the citizens that own capital in any form. Whether they were industrialists, traders, or simply business owners, merchants were the reason why the citizenry had any power in the first place. Merchants hold most of the wealth in the nation and own most of its production capacity as well.

Nachleben

The Nachleben are a class of citizens that, like the serfs, spend most of their time in virtual reality. Unlike the serfs, the Nachleben are uploaded minds that control huge amounts of wealth, production capability, and even population. They are halfway between aristocracy and citizen but are still represented by members of the parliament like any other citizen.

Patricians

Knights

Knights are high-level officers in the military who serve as elite troops. They are usually accompanied by large numbers of serfs and lower officers on their missions. Behind the front lines, Knights own a decent amount of territory and the serfs on it. They are usually given missions with rewards coming in the form of the land of deceased knights or state-owned land. Knights are often also Paladins in various state-sanctioned orders, most notably the Alkan Intendancy.

Governors

Governors are top-level officers who command knights. They directly control a few serfs, depending on their knights for serf-related affairs. These ultra-wealthy individuals rule millions each. Governors directly own the military equipment they lend to the knight's soldiers. The position is usually hereditary but can be granted to citizen officers or to knights who are promoted.

Administrators

Every continent or region in space has an administrator, a non-military ruler of territory. Administrators are powerful enough to not only effectively appoint a personal delegate to parliament, but for themselves to be their delegates. Administrators each control a portion of Sagittarium's military but also have control over local laws, trade, and industry within their territories. This is the highest non-elected position within Sagittarium. Administrators are usually members of "houses," alliances of administrators that vote together in parliament.

Delegates

Delegates are officially the most powerful individuals in Sagittarium. They must be a member of the patrician class before being elected to the position. Delegates, of which there are only ten thousand, represent administrators, coalitions of administrators, or other powerful noble groups such as houses.

Government for Citizens

Above the administrators is a large federal government created to hold the nation together. Balancing the interests of both the citizenry and the aristocracy, the central government controls most of the military as well as governing the civilian population. The aristocracy has little to do with the civilian government.

Parishes: For civilians, the parish represents the lowest level of government. Every settlement with over ten thousand inhabitants is a parish. Parishes have a mayor, council, and several bureaus which manage justice and most other civilian affairs. Citizens will rarely interact with higher governments than this save for the appointment of their representatives.

Members of Parliament: Non-delegate members of parliament, simply called "MPs," represent one million citizens each. In total, there are well over one million MPs. Members of parliament, being so numerous, rarely leave their districts. They vote remotely for laws and, given the sheer number of them, this is their full-time job. They are reelected every five years.

Consul: For every planet or ten billion individuals—citizen and serf alike, there is a consul. Consuls serve to organize administrators, appoint positions for certain positions, and handle other non-military affairs. The person in this position is required to be a non-military-affiliated citizen and is elected every ten Thalian years. It is at this level of government that the interests of both the aristocracy and citizenry collide.

Chancellor: The Chancellor is the head of government of Sagittarium. The chief executive as well as commander in chief of the military, the chancellor of Sagittarium is perhaps one of the most powerful individuals in Cosmoria. The position is always occupied by a member of parliament. They usually lead political parties within parliament and are usually patricians as well. The current chancellor is Eriol Alade who has served on and off for the past twenty years.

Parliament

The parliament of Sagittarium officially rules the country, dividing the "head of state" title amongst each of its members. It has the sole power to pass laws, declare war, and appoint the chancellor. There are two kinds of parliamentarians, delegates and members. Delegates have 33% of the vote divided amongst themselves while the civil representatives have 66%. In the rare case in which commoners and their representatives are fully in favor of something, they can leverage this majority to pass laws without the consent of the delegates. Most of the time the delegates and the ruling party need to cooperate to pass laws, however.

Political parties remain a powerful force in Sagittarium. Among delegates, they are called "houses" while amongst representatives they are simply parties. Parties usually vote as one on specific issues; meaning that dissent within parties often causes them to split. Citizens are sometimes allowed to join parties, but this is usually reserved for more prolific campaign financiers or other influential figures.

Bureaucratic Privilege

The government jobs within the nation are ultra-competitive, with nearly every citizen desiring to join the government. Government officials each get over triple the mean income at the lowest levels. At higher levels, government officials eclipse some governors in how much wealth they control. This massive compensation, intended to disincentivize corruption, represents a large portion of the government budget. Middle-level officials often use other benefits such as rewards to incentivize good behavior.

With power rivaling many patricians, much of Sagittarium's government positions are held by second or third children of patricians with few prospects for ruling any territory themselves. This creates a far more stable state of affairs as it makes assassination, which is already very risky, a foolish endeavor as wealth and power for patricians is all but guaranteed. Even so, there are always excess elite and only so many positions of power to go around. This is where the military comes in.

Military

Federal Military

The Chancellor has direct control over about one-third of the military, forming the "Federal Military." The plurality of funds spent by the federal government go towards this organization. It is headquartered on Thalia and its top officials are exclusively citizens appointed by the chancellor. The minister of defense is the second-highest ranking official in Sagittarium and takes the place of the chancellor in the event of their death. Six percent of GDP is spent on this force.

The central government has military bases scattered across Cosmoria that are mostly remnants of Vay's and Abedayo's extensive military ambitions. A large number of these bases are located around the core in neighboring nations, most of the rest are in Aylathiya, and exactly one is in Florathel, although this base is jointly controlled by Sagittarium and Thalvett.

Aristocratic Military

The various aristocrats of Sagittarium, when called for war, are required to each supply an equal number of troops to the war effort. Administrators will contribute as many as one hundred thousand knights, more than enough for most conflicts. These knights are supported by as many serfs as they can utilize. Officers in the military are usually civilians but serfs can also serve this role if need be. This portion of the military, while far larger in terms of manpower, costs about as much as the central force. This part of the military is unable to operate outside of Sagittarium without official authorization. Even so, this does not stop the powerful from exercising their power outside of Sagittarium's borders. This contributes greatly to the nation's poor reputation as corporations or other non-governmental organizations contend with rogue Sagittarian nobles.

Other Military Forces

Private companies and militias run by civilians make up the rest of Sagittarium's military power. Even more prone to quarrels with outside organizations, these paramilitaries are often forcibly disbanded. Despite this, many are employed by either the federal government or aristocracy. Occasionally, they are even hired by nations within the rest of Martial Space especially those on Eos.

Previous Governments

The Chancellery: This period was the centralized imperial era of Sagittarian history. Emerging from a failing republic, the nation intentionally abandoned democracy in favor of autocracy. Capital was regularly redistributed to prevent the emergence of a power that could threaten the Chancellor, leading to overall much higher quality of life than their neighbors. Market competition brought about massive economic growth. This time saw Sagittarium at its greatest extent and most powerful relative to its neighbors.

The Republic: This period saw full democracy for nearly every high-level position as the Confederacy of Borealis influenced the nation. The economy remained privately owned; however, there was also a great deal of collective ownership. Organized labor defined the economy, further increasing economic output as workers had more disposable income.

The Corporatocracy: Sagittarium became dominated by large conglomerates and finance during this period. They were not a part of the government but had effectively become extensions of it by the end of this period. Wealthy individuals and companies destroyed organized labor; however, large economic growth during this period prompted politicians to largely ignore the mounting problems. By the middle of this period, economic growth slowed and the political will to change the system was entirely gone.

The Kingdom: As the corporations unified into one aristocratic class, a briefly-lived absolute monarchy ruled Sagittarium. The owners of the powerful corporations unified to form an aristocracy as they split territory amongst themselves. This was little more than a change in titles as land was already ruled in this way. This period saw intense rebellion by commoners discontent with the current systems.

Major Constituent States

Rendell

Capital: Ohkostadt, Patyrth, Finale

Thalvett

Capital: Kihow, Abedayo, Valme

Vanaheimr

Capital: Minuet, Introit, Nocturne

Morpheus Chanceux

Capital: Archgeist, Vistique, Finale

Major Political Parties

Exalted Nocturne Party

Headquarters: Idarte, Thalia, Nocturne

Knight Errant Association

Headquarters: Cepheid, Requiem, Nocturne

Sagittarian Astral Party

Headquarters: Erebus, Euterpe, Nocturne

Veil Party

Headquarters: VSS Sachitel's Thesis, Nocturne

Major Aristocratic Houses

House Drusus

Headquarters: Rhea, Sarpanitum, Finale

House Tsega

Headquarters: Arzma, Patyrth, Finale

Demographics

To this day, Humans have a substantial majority in Sagittarium. For quite some time before the War of the Ancients, things were more equal; however, a large influx of mostly human refugees and subsequent immigration from Aylathiya pushed the percentage of humans up to where it is presently. The ratio was only further bolstered when Mandras took its large Rorazal and Elkeres population with it—though both groups remain a substantial force in Sagittarium's remaining territory.

Despite the majority of Humans, Sagittarium is fairly equal as far as nations go. It lags behind some of its cohorts in the rest of Aylathiya, and certainly most members of the United Nations of Florathel. The Human majority is expected to diminish within the next millennium as immigration and other factors cause non-human populations to grow.

Economy

The economy of Sagittarium is a somewhat highly-developed mixed-market economy. Most of the economy is owned privately, with state ownership mostly coming in the form of its remaining feudal land titles. Once numbering amongst the largest economies in Cosmoria, Sagittarium currently ranks poorly for a nation of its size. Coming in seventh for economic output, compared to first place over a thousand years ago.

The backbone of the economy is the tremendous amount of energy that Nocturne provides. Where fusion, in the form of solar or reactors, powers most of Cosmoria, the energy released by Nocturne is mostly gravitational waves. The generatrices offer cheap power and maintain Sagittarium's large industrial base. Many of its factories have been running non-stop since before the nation's founding.

Trade with Florathel is a vital source of income for Sagittarium. A net exporter, Sagittarium has made it a priority to maintain friendly relations with external nations, though it used to use force to make nations purchase its goods. It maintains a large military to not only protect merchant ships but to keep internal powers at bay. Local nobles unhappy with trade deals represent a constant threat to trade and are the main source of uncertainty. For this reason, Sagittarium has low investor confidence. In more private areas, investment is safer. The rural areas in which the aristocrats tend to rule receive little to no foreign investment.

Society and Culture

Sagittarium is home to many cultures from across the galaxy. Relatively lax immigration laws put in place after democratization caused large numbers of individuals to migrate to the nation. Even more immigrants entered the nation after the War of the Ancients due to the nation's relatively untouched state. Planets such as Thalia and Euterpe were flooded with refugees.

The government struggled to make room for all of these individuals, many of which required their orbital habitats or accommodations entirely unavailable within Sagittarium. Many people were crowded onto orbiting cylinders while space for them elsewhere was being freed up or created. In these cylinders, dozens of cultures mixed, all with influence from the previously mostly-human Sagittarium. The product of this was a distinctly Sagittarian culture that can trace influences from dozens of places around Aylathiya and beyond.

The mixture of cultures as well as its time separated from the Confederacy before 8500 caused Sagittarium to speak and write a form of Boreal Basic called "Sagittarian Basic." This dialect of Basic is fairly easily learned by non-native users, as it removes five letters from the base alphabet. However, the pronunciation is entirely different from other human nations using the language. The dialect relies heavily on vowel sounds and has a great deal of superfluous silent consonants. Loan pronunciations for words are common, despite most of the pronunciations being bastardizations of the original languages they came from. In particular, Sagittarium adopted Un'oit transliterations for things such as the names of many regions, the names of almost every mythological concept, and most words related to music, of course.