Dominion of Astraeus

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Dance, O Freest Aeon

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Gran Rubedo
Tenshi

Ursa Syndicate

Dominion of Astraeus
9000 CE - 9749 CE

Greater Martial Consilium

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The Dominion of Astraeus was an empire centered on Astraeus, the outdated term referring to Eos and its satellites. At its height, the Dominion stretched across most of Aylathiya and had a population of seven trillion. The Dominion was formed of twelve domains, or cities, throughout Eos and its satellites. Two of these cities, Err and Deungnamu were "imperial cities" while the other ten were ducal. Beyond Eos, the division of territory was a mess of marches, territory ruled by a marquess, and the site of endless competition. The population and power imbalance between Eos and the rest of Aylathiya was so great that the Dominion abandoned any pretext of being anything but Eos exerting its will over the stars around it.

The Dominion did not represent all cities on Eos, the Civese Great Cities, Uspayador, Alphos, and Lowa never joined and represented a constant threat to the Dominion. As time went on, the diarchy system broke down, turning the Dominion into an empire of a single city, Deungnamu. During this period, the Dominion embraced Martial Civil Religion but also a reverence for the ancient Triumvirate Civilization, the previous mighty rulers of Eos. As the population beyond Eos began to grow, new stresses changed the Dominion into a decentralized association of cities constantly embroiled in warfare. The War of the Ancients created the Greater Martial Consilium; the scattered nobility of the Dominion united to form the Consilium.

History

Precursor States

The Dominion of Astraeus can trace its origins back to the Triumvirate Civilization, as so much of Aylathiya can. The smoldering ruins of the Triumvirate and a population measurable in billions were shadows of the previous order. The most remote places, deep in the wilderness of Eos, were the least radioactive and first to have abundant harvests. The Zhiteng and Yelaversk regions of Eos rapidly grew in population, leaving their cities with more hands to rebuild without the help of robots. H. Aimer Corporation, or the remnants flying in hardly functional spacecraft, landed on Eos one hundred years afterward. H. Aimer Corporation landed in Zhiteng, founding the Kingdom of Deungnamu in 8177 CE. Their Titan-class ship, half-embedded in the ground though it was, became a palace. The random assortment of soldiers they brought with them gradually evolved into a noble class, jealously holding onto some semblance of normalcy.

Yelaversk, while free of outside interference early on, fell under the control of Erstes Konsortium. While its productive capabilities were similarly ruined, they had taken much better care of the Triumvirate ships they still had, leaving them with an absolute advantage. They sought to use Yelaversk's large population to aid the reconstruction effort. A single company, more a pseudo-aristocrat and their family, had the task of developing Yelaversk. Without the proper economic incentives, the only growth in production came with the growth in population. Thus, settlement programs spread out the population to every square kilometer of arable land they could find.

The collapse of Erstes Konsortium left Yelaversk on its own for just long enough for a new series of states to emerge. Gran Rubedo, the Konsortium's successor, invaded all major regions on Eos and immediately began forced conversion to their religion. In doing so, they laid a faulty foundation, perhaps suitable for controlling Eos but utterly incapable of supporting the weight of an interstellar empire. Gran Rubedo faced resistance everywhere they went, but with absolute military dominance, the resistance flourished underground in Yelaversk and behind closed doors in Zhiteng, the difference in approaches was profound.

Resistance to Gran Rubedo

Open resistance aroused complete destruction. Entire worlds burned as Gran Rubedo's Magi "administered Mars's justice." The Ursa Syndicate, backed by the Confederacy of Borealis, was any other criminal organization before it began rebelling. Every conscript drafted, citizen impressed into slavery, or trafficked by some petty lord, harmed Gran Rubedo's reputation. Never mind that the former rulers did the same, the underworld brimmed with hatred. With their interests aligned, the Confederacy shipped weapons and even trained these groups, converting them from gangs of brutes to gangs of well-armed somewhat disciplined brutes. They would go on to form the Ursa Syndicate, a vast network of resistance groups, discontent nobles, and gangs that slowly formalized as power increased under House Zirchon.

Zhiteng's resistance was far more top down. In many of its cities, the same people ruled as had before, happily offering their new rulers whatever concessions they wanted to stay in charge. One thing motivated their discontent, they would be far richer if Gran Rubedo didn't take most of their tax money. Each great catastrophe was an opportunity to push the envelope further. More spending on domestic security forces, diplomacy with foreign powers, bribing Rubedan officials, all of these strategies slowly built up. Gran Rubedo could hardly police its internal affairs by the crowning of Imperator Leonitas.

Gran Rubedo was founded on notions of human supremacy. Its name, derived from the ruby red color of human blood, is a statement on humanity's place in the cosmos.

Creation

What a curious occasion, the binding of two individuals to become a single legal entity. The strange practice, originating from where else but Florathel, would be first practiced here on this day 8997 years after the origin of mankind. The motivation behind this exotic ritual is to allow for the smooth merging of Tenshi and the Ursa Syndicate into the largest conglomerate in history. Those witnessing the occasion are numerous, each one eager not only to see the spectacle but to forge a stronger alliance with the "bride" and "groom," strange words that no one attending can quite pronounce right.

The room shudders, signifying the arrival of the betrothed. These two people, some of the wealthiest to ever inhabit Cosmoria, decided that the ceremony would commemorate with a grand entrance. The two largest warships fielded by either group both docked at our relatively small station. From one, came Nicodemus IV, First Lord-Officer of the Ursa Syndicate, and from the second came Meiko III, archon of Tenshi. After much fanfare and greetings, they gave their vows. The first marriage in Aylathiya's history took place, and with it a complete upheaval of Aylathiya's order.

This day marked the creation of the Dominion of Astraeus. The two promised their guests tracts of land across Martial Space. In a brazen act of treason, the newlyweds burned the flag of Gran Rubedo and declared themselves its rightful rulers. With loud applause and much celebration, Meiko and Nicodemus signed the declaration of war, arguably one of the most important in history.

Creation

As the Rubedist Party waned and their nation fell into disarray, nearly every polity in the region scrambled for a chance to become their successor. As dozens of worlds burned as every warlord in Martial Space took the opportunity to make a name for themselves, a discussion began taking place within the Ursa Syndicate. Ideologically far closer to Tenshi than the Confederacy, they broke the alliance and instead opened trade to Tenshi.

Their alliance would only deepen as the Confederacy occupied Albedo, the capital of the Tubedan government, and began asserting their dominance over Martial Space. In 8999 CE, the Ursa Syndicate would work with Tenshi to kill the Imperator. Two years later, the symbolic crown would be split between the two nations, creating a Diarchy in which the leader of the Ursa Syndicate would share the title with the leader of Tenshi.

Formation of the Duchy System

After the seizure of power by the Diarchy, they declared that every loyal nation would become a duchy while those disloyal to them would be forcibly disarmed. Starting a century-spanning war, the Diarchy and its allies fought across Martial Space. In 9005 CE, the president of the Confederacy of Borealis agreed to become the "Duke of Borealis," ending their involvement in the conflict and thus most of the resistance to the accession of the Diarchy.

A new noble class was born at this time, the rich and powerful across Martial Space ascending to various thrones. These thrones did not rule territory, however, but the economy. Dukes of various organizations would specialize in certain industries and would be guaranteed capital that would be protected from warlords, pirates, or competitors in the same industry.

With time, most industries were controlled by the nobility with large-scale production of goods banned. This was a huge blow to the Nachleben, ancient asteroid or even planet-sized machines capable of full self-sufficiency. Millions of these machines would be purged as they resisted opening themselves up to the galactic economy. Both co-rulers, Nicodemus and Meiko, would not only personally lead armies against dissenting Nachleben, but would go on diplomatic missions with other nations to clean up the poor reputation of Martial Space.

Thaumaturgy and Mars

As the new rulers took control of the nation, the favor of Mars quickly turned to the new rulers, forsaking the Party that it created. Mars would begin a more active role in Martial Space, adding weight to the words of the Diarchs for which no mere corporeal authority could substitute.

With a nearly deific status, Mars has mostly been a representation of the people of Martial Space, an entity with little more than symbolic power, however. As the Dominion continued its expansion, a new phenomenon called the The Blessing of Mars began manifesting, granting both leaders immense power as Magi. This allowed them to continue leading troops into battle not just as figureheads, but as fighters on the front lines. Thus a trend began of an increasing reliance on Thaumaturgy by the Dominion, its military becoming characterized by noble Magi leading vast swarms of machines in the fight.

The Dominion would be a magocracy, a society ruled by Magi. Nicodemus and Meiko, who both abdicated at the same time when Mars began favoring the next leaders, were replaced by Adeline I and Jintao. From that point on, the diarchs would share the last name Drusus, the name of the legendary Human known as Hal Drusus that led an ancient rebellion against the legendary Holos.

Early Government

The rule of law was a relatively new concept to much of Martial Space, especially for many of the less developed regions. Throughout most of history, law was simply a tool used by rulers to maintain their authority. With the ascension of the new diarchy, the law became a strict code applied to all equally. The first centuries of the nation came with large-scale wars waged against nobles and wealthy individuals who violated the law and were willing to die over their ability to continue doing so.

The Diarchy

The Dominion was a constitutional diarchy with power distributed throughout the nation to lesser oligarchs, called dukes, who managed regional governance. The dukes were first permitted to field small militaries, levy taxes, and pass laws.

Constituent Territories

There were ten officially recognized "Crowns," now referred to as "duchies," within the Dominion. These duchies were headed by individuals or groups initially loyal to the first two rulers of the nation. Many of them, however, would take centuries to receive their rightful land as existing power structures had done much to interfere with the ascension of the Dominion

Society

Martial Civil Religion

Main Article: Martial Civil Religion

Ibaradism

Main Article: Ibaradism