Dominion of Astraeus

The Dominion of Astraeus was an empire centered on Astraeus, the outdated term referring to Eos and its satellites.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. The Astraeus Entente was the resulting coalition. At its height, twenty factions planned to rebel against Gran Rubedo. They represented cities, rebelling ethnic groups, entire species, and even coalitions of Nachleben. What these groups did not have was manpower. With only mercenaries at their disposal, the Entente could not agree to any date to start the attack. Anything that would put pressure on their mercenaries would not only increase the price exponentially, but may potentially cause them to defect to Gran Rubedo. Furthermore, the risk of getting troops up to the capital, Albedo, was risky in and of itself. Albedo orbited Eos but was still millions of kilometers away from the ground, giving Gran Rubedo a long time to shoot down any rising ships.

The solution was to starve the capital. The Entente by itself could only block about half of Albedo's imports. The rest was from the scattered towns of Yelaversk. The Ursa Syndicate had nearly sovereign control over all of Yelaversk, any Rubedan official in their territory was either under threat or a well-established member of the Syndicate. The only issue was that they were not of "noble blood." Unlike the other houses, House Zirchon had no tie to the Triumvirate and therefore no claim to "sovereignty." Gran Rubedo did not either, making many of Zhiteng's nobles fear corruption. Of course, amongst Humans, racial considerations also played a role. Zhiteng's houses were mostly non-native, coming equally from Aegyn and Petra. The native Vexlore Humans, as they were known, rebelled against the Triumvirate constantly and were more adapted to Eos' slightly higher gravity. This did not stop Tange Meiko, leader of House Tange from endless negotiation with Nicodemus Zirchon IV.

Creation

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 House Tange and the Ursa Syndicate. Legally, this was equivalent to replacing both individuals with a single one. Unprecedented in Aylathiya, but common across the core in Florathel.

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 shuddered, signifying the arrival of the betrothed. The relatively small space station orbiting Eos represented neutral territory, a perfect venue for the dozens of competing groups present. Everyone competed to show off their wealth, some wore robes of fine carbon fiber common in the Triumvirate. Others mimicked the the court practices of the Kingdom of Sarepha or the Euphony Civilization, anything but the drab native clothing of Eos. The bride floated through the airlock first, the station too small to even have spin gravity. She entered from an impressive battleship built in Sarepha. Her frilly clothes, clearly meant for ceremonies taking place on planets, formed a halo around her, black hair an equal and opposite sphere to the fabric over her lower body. From a restored cruiser handed down through countless generations, the groom entered. Unlike nearly everyone else in the room, wore traditional clothing from his own culture. Form-fitting cuts of blue fabric over an environment suit, golden threads weaved into every article so that one could only tell its value from up close. His close-cropped white hair and dark clothing only increased the contrast, perhaps an intentional statement on the pride of his people.

Their vows were short and spent more time decrying Gran Rubedo than proclaiming their devotion to one another. They unrolled a document written in Sarephan script, wrote "Meiko-Nicodemus Drusus" together, and, as though underlining it, kissed briefly. They decided to not consummate it right then and there as sometimes practiced across the core, so the quick show of affection was a proper substitute. The guests wasted no time rushing to meet the new diarchs of "Greater Tenshi." As per their contract, they would share authority over both Deungnamu and the Ursa Syndicate, making them, together, more powerful than even the Imperator. This part was not from Florathel, but became a new tradition. Guests lined up with gifts, in this case materiel, monetary tribute, or ultra-rare artifacts.

While decided beforehand, Meiko and Nicodemus delineated the new titles of "Dux" to their eight closest supporters. This is the origin of the ten duchies, who happened to be the most powerful people present. The rest, well aware of their less favorable position, received the titles "Marchionis of the Dominion," meaning they had the option of joining the rebellion or losing to the combined coalition. Every present agreed and the Dominion of Astraeus formed. Banquets were much worse in zero gravity, so the guests descended toward Eos, but the last part of the ceremony remained, burning a portrait of the Imperator. The bride and groom jointly signed the declaration of war against Gran Rubedo.

Conquest

As Gran Rubedo 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, the new Dominion of Astraeus promised a title and land to anyone who fought on their behalf. All of Eos, even the cities that declined to join the Dominion, embargoed Albedo. Despite their advantage of already being in space instead of leaving Eos' gravity, Albedo could not survive the blockade. Its vast fleets returned from throughout Aylathiya, but they returned to a burning capital. A group calling themselves Meihua began a rebellion. At the edge of the Astraeus system, the Un'oit ruling house declared fealty to the Dominion, forming Virtuosa. They both received the title of "Dux."

When Meiko and Nicodemus visited Albedo, Nicodemus gained the title of Imperator as per their contract. The formation of the Dominion solidified the modern aristocracy, saw a massive increase in the population, and solidified Eos as the capital of Aylathiya. It seized the Rubedan fleets that surrendered and destroyed the ones that rebelled.

Formation of the Duchy System

After the seizure of power by the Diarchy, they declared that every loyal nation could become a march, territory ruled by a Marchionis who then served a Dux (or the diarchy itself). This would at least allow for some semblance of self-rule even if they had to pay tribute to their Dux. It had the added bonus of not being destroyed, so many nations agreed. From the nonopolis of Enyo to distant worlds like Vyllurian and Gohbrin, the Dominion exerting its power over all Aylathiya. For the next century, the Diarchy and its Duchies waged war, competing with one another to carve up Aylathiya. Much of this time they spent fighting the waning Euphony, their warlords exchanging their title of "Conductrice" for Marchionis.

After a century, the various duchies had split up Aylathiya as much as they could. With nowhere left to expand, the marches had to find another way to appease their patrons. Should they fail to provide an ever-increasing yield, it would mean failing their duchy and letting it fall behind the others. With the twin imperial cities, Deungnamu and Err, gladly taking advantage of any weakness to ensnare its duchies, the next steps were obvious. It meant perpetual warfare, expansion, and growth.

Conquest of Enyo

Enyo, the nonopolis, was a hold out from Gran Rubedo. One of their proudest projects, over one billion loyal Rubedists settled the nine cities. With rails connecting the cities, they had rapidly become a single coherent entity. This identity continued on well into the era of the Dominion, but its nobility wasted no time carving up the Nonopolis.

Post-Diarchy History

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.

The Parliament

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

Parliamentary Government

Society

Martial Civil Religion

Main Article: Martial Civil Religion

Ibaradism

Main Article: Ibaradism

Economy

Military