Allied Sovereign Nations

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The Allied Sovereign Nations were a dominant spacefaring power in the South Arm. Originally founded as an alliance between various space pirates, assassins and ruffians, it grew exponentially in size and civility. While it rivaled the First Galactic Senate in scope and power, the two never had any formal first contact events due to how remote they were from one another.

History

Origins

The Allied Sovereign Nations arose in the wake of a multitude of corporatocracies that had ruled over the remnants of the warring factions of the Children of the Dhragolon and the Ramusian Socialist Republic. When the Allied Sovereign Nations first began, the Vaikan were still suffering the skewed gender ratio artificially enforced on them by the Eghos’ genocide about 5,000 years prior. There were still a greater number of males than females, and in spite of that, females were often mistreated and often seen as a means of purely maintaining a decent population. That would change dramatically with the recognition of Vaikan women being bolstered by the powerful crime lord Sokeja Skaista.

Sokeja Skaista had begun life as a slave who worked as an exotic dancer on the planet Jaran. She was highly renowned for her skills, enchanting movements and looks. However, her master Slik Katag was infamously abusive to his slaves. Without batting an eye, if one of his slave girls failed to meet the absurdly high expectations of his clientele, he would toss them in a pit to be eaten by Arkleon tigers. When one of Sokeja’s closest friends was killed by Slik’s Arkleons, she plotted revenge. One night, after seducing Slik and getting him drunk on Dulkolas Ale, she slit at his throat, but deliberately not enough to kill him. After torturing him for hours, she allowed him to get eaten by the same Arkleons that had killed many slave girls. She sought to give her abusive master the most painful death she could, and she enjoyed every cathartic moment of it.

Sokeja Skaista soon rose with her influence and reputation as the one who killed Slik. Her rise in power allowed her to amass many followers. As her presence grew, she became reputed as a matriarch. She fully embraced her beginnings as a dancer and used her own beauty and charisma to become a powerful crime lord. She brokered information and ancient artifacts. Her spy network was known for being all-female - they were known for seducing other nobles to gather information. She also convinced her followers to become more promiscuous with one another. Males often became willing subjugates who would do anything for Sokeja - their queen. In Sokeja’s name, they would go on the most dangerous missions for her from retrieving artifacts to conquering smaller kingdoms. They had become willing sacrifices for their matron.

Although Sokeja’s methods were questionable, she succeeded in evening out the population to 50/50. The factions that still had skewed populations were eventually assimilated or absorbed as Sokeja’s spies were introduced into the area. The male population was also reduced in what was considered at the time to be a humane way.

Despite this, a few remnant factions disapproved of her methods. A group of assassins known as the Sutemos, disciples of rival crime lord Mylon Sutemos, gathered together in an attempt to kill Sokeja in order to stop her reign from getting out of control. Mylon and his assassins were contract killers who often targeted petty dictators and mob bosses.

When Mylon and Sokeja encountered one another, their first reaction was to immediately try to kill one another. However, both were equally matched in skill. Although most details of the encounter remain unknown having fallen into the realm of mythology, it is thought that their attempts to kill one resulted in what appeared to be a synchronized dance. As they became more in sync, they no longer had a desire to kill one another. They had fallen in love and had slept with one another that night. Legend has it that their emotions resonated so strongly that the resulting electrical reaction between the two of them shut down the power of Sokeja’s palace.

The next morning, both Mylon and Sokeja had made peace with one another and had seen the error of each other’s ways. They chose to marry one another to begin an alliance and a foundation for a new government. This sudden turn of events caught the attention of many nearby star systems who willingly supported the newfound peace. Thus formed the Allied Sovereign Nations.

With two of the most powerful crime lords having made peace with marriage, Mylon and Sokeja decided to promote a society based on pleasure and hedonism. And with that came prosperity with more and more encouragements to explore. Perhaps one of the most important discoveries to come of the events following the truce was the discovery of an ancient jumpgate that lead to the Greenwater Nebula - a region of space where a new frontier of valuable resources awaited.

Additionally, with the expansion of the ASN, even more species were being discovered including the Drussiray, the Tokarthi and the Delsons. In some respects, the Allied Sovereign Nations was on its way to evolving to a similar scale as the First Galactic Senate. However, neither polity would establish formal relations due to the remote distance between the two.

Sterility Plague

The sterility plague that had originated on the opposite side of the galaxy made its way over to Allied Sovereign Nation space by complete accident. Travelers from the First Drussiray Empire that had gone to visit the Omni homeworld of Kollha had returned to their embassy on Jaran after a lengthy expedition. The Drussiray while unaffected by the plague had unknowingly become carriers. The plague spread quickly across not only Jaran but the overwhelming majority of the ASN's territory. The Vaikan were rendered unable to breed but could still form viable embryos through cloning. Although the ASN was able to devise a solution to endure the plague, they were not prepared for the societal impacts. The ASN quickly lost its grip on their territories as mass hysteria took and rioting took over. The question over how ethnicities should be preserved became a point of contention as some saw it as an opportunity to restart the Vaikan race. That is, to redesign the genetic aspects and appearance of the Vaikan from the ground up. The wars between the disparate factions lead to the fall of the ASN into rogue dictatorships and isolated pre-industrial societies. One of the most notable of these societies was the People's Republic of Motina which appeared on Ner'Ackarra. Motina prided itself in devising the perfect ratio to ensure the survival of Vaikan genetic diversity.

Culture

Names

In the Allied Sovereign Nations, names were not necessarily determined by bloodline with the notable exception of being among the nobility. Most often, when a child was hatched from an egg, they received only a one word name. When the Vaikan matured to an adolescent, they are bestowed their second name, a process described as one filled with ceremony and celebration. While it was possible for a Vaikan to acquire a new name later in life, it was highly uncommon.

Format: <trait name> <birth name> <profession/honorary title>

Typical life

Individualism and self-fulfillment are central to ASN culture. Vaikan are taught basic survival skills upon reaching age ten. It is emphasized that should a Vaikan be left on his own, they would be able to fend for themselves. After that, it was up to the Vaikan's guardians for guiding him until age 30 where the Vaikan is expected to live on his own. After being taught life skills to succeed, a Vaikan is obligated to return the favor by doing something for society which usually was as simple as getting a job or going to an academy where they can prepare further. The academy that they went to depends largely on their own interests as well as family tradition.

It would also be after age 30 when a Vaikan would be responsible for finding a mate. They would often wear an amulet to indicate that they are searching for one. Males and females would each have their own unique amulets; during marriage ceremonies, the bride and groom would attach their amulets together in place of a kiss. Non heterosexual marriages would also go through a similar process with one partner choosing to assume a specific role.

Polygamy was not uncommon, and the royal bloodline is especially known for it. However, having multiple mates was only allowed if one was willing to manage all of them. Leaving a mate was considered unfaithful and blasphemous.

Once a Vaikan found a mate and has children, they were responsible for preparing them just as they were prepared by their parents. Once these children reached age 30, the Vaikan parents would often go back to their jobs. What they did with the rest of their lives was up to them.

Entertainment

• Competitive Dueling- Two Vaikan would challenge each other head on in gladiator combat. It was encouraged for the tournaments to be nonlethal, but this was not always enforced. The rules for the Duel Tournaments were documented in a pamphlet known as "Manual for Dueling". The author is currently unknown, but a copy of it was excavated from the ruins of the ASN during the Fifth Age of the Vaikan.
• Airball- This sport took place several miles above ground. Vaikan would keep themselves aloft with either jetpacks or through other electromagnetic devices energy.
• Challenge Puzzles- Solving puzzle cubes was common enough to be a galactic-class sport.
• Footracing- The most common entertainment where Vaikan compete to see who the fastest runner was.
• Simulations - An early form of VR that was used to display holographic images to be used for entertainment.
• Dungeon crawling - A network of labyrinths would be constructed for a Vaikan to travel through and collect a treasure at the end.
• Ice surfing - On oceanic worlds, Vaikan would often surf the waves on icebergs.
• Synth Matching - A game where two synthetics were pitted against each other in a closed arena, where the goal was for one to completely destroy the other. There were no rules aside from not being able to harm organic beings or damage structures outside the arena.

Speech and gestures

• A Vaikan's birth name should only be used in casual or close conversations. In formal settings, either their second name, profession or full name is used.
• It was customary to exchange names when meeting someone for the first time. This would be done just before either the handshake or bow. For close or intimate greetings, a hug would be used.
• A salute would be done by quickly raising the right hand to the edge of the left shoulder.
• A gesture of affirmation was to quickly drop the head so that the chin met the base of the neck; a gesture of rejection was done by quickly turning the head to the right and raising it 45 degrees.

Creative arts

• Music - The best music from the ASN was said to tap directly into one's soul and emotions. They would have multiple complex tones at varying frequency ranges.
• Visual arts - Art takes advantage of ultraviolet light depicting many bright colors and distinct patterns. To other species, they may appear grayscale as Vaikan do not have trichromatic vision.
• Writing - High fantasy and romantic adventures were popular in the ASN. A particularly influential novel was written by Kelric Dagaborn who based his book The King of the Demon Lands on Khathic mythology.

Religion

Main article: Dragon Daughters of Krayhan

The Allied Sovereign Nations are the earliest predominant civilization to worship the Dragon Daughters of Krayhan. It involves a great degree of reverence and respect for females for being the brings of life. Three goddesses known as Sashelma, Yoltoria and Kezoa are worshiped as the embodiments of the traits of an ideal mate. It is thought that the religion originated from an ancient breeding program by Rustiagon Gelda in the city of Wythua. This program was to save the Vaikan from extinction due to an imbalanced male to female ratio caused by a series of genocides by the Eghos. As these events occurred thousands of years ago, they were mythologized and retold over the years.

Burial customs

A funeral service could be either burying or cremating. It was believed that when a Vaikan was buried in the ground, their soul could reincarnate into another individual. Burying was often chosen instead of cremating during times of war as it is believed that a soldier's fighting spirit could reincarnate into another warrior to continue the fight.

When a soul was ready to be released into its final resting place, a funeral pyre was built of logs covered in holy oil. When the fire burned out, the ashes of the individual were scattered into the wind, freeing the soul from the mortal plane.

Technology

Genetic engineering

The ASN resurrected the long dead Lusari species to create the Eros Ka'Rinah. They were often used as spies and assassins due to their ability to shapeshift. They were renowned for their ability to consume victims without leaving traces of a body. The Lusari would be rendered extinct permanently following the sterility plague, and samples from the era of the Drallan Federal Monarchy became no longer viable for cloning due to deterioration of its preservation methods.

Numbering system

The numbering system was base 8, used first by Yallvusians. The Vaikan have a total of eight fingers, so a Vaikan would add the next digit at 8. Vaikan built computers used a hexadecimal system. This system would be adopted by the Karalian Empire as well.

Species

• Vaikan
• Drussiray
• Delson
• Lusari

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