Imperial Dra'almarr-Vaadwek Duumverate
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Imperial Dra'almaar-Vaadwek Duumverate | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Motto: Harmony and Conquest | |
| Anthem: "Grand March of the Duumverate" | |
| Capital | New Vaald Dra'al |
| Official languages | New Vaald Standard |
| Recognised national languages | Old Vaald, Vaadwek, New Dra'almarr |
| Recognised regional languages | Volkan, Unified Kulovian, Zoth Standard Tongue, Zoth Lunar, Parraxian |
| Ethnic groups | Vaadwek 42% Dra'almarr 37% Kulovian 6% Human 6% Zoth 5% Poslato 2% Other 2% |
| Religion | Various |
| Demonym(s) | Vaald (Primary) Vaadwek Dra'al Imperial (state and military use mostly) |
| Government | Semi-constitutional Monarchy, Multi-Party Imperial Duumverate |
• Emperor | T'kelis I Vaaldkuz |
• Duumvir of the Vaadwek | Xeren Derifex |
• Duumvir of the Dra'almarr | Z'dendar |
| Establishment | |
• Great Split | 0 UE |
• Vaadwek Empire | 1529UE |
• Dra'almar Subjugation | 1894UE |
• Dra'almarr Revolution | 2807UE |
| Population | |
• TBA census | 571,828,182,845 |
| Currency | Imperial Astatine Mark Lead Cased Astatine (IAM) |
| Date format | dd/mm/yyyy (AE) |
| Driving side | right |
The Imperial Dra'almaar-Vaadwek Duumverate, more commonly referred to as the Vaald Duumverate, Vaald Empire or IDVD, is an interstellar empire centered around the dual capital planets of Dra'al (also known as Vaald), and Vaadwek, in the Oxus cluster. The Empire controls a total of 40 systems, for a total of 31 inhabitable planets, 105 uninhabitable planets, 71 dwarf planets and over 400 moons. The population of just over one trillion, is spread out across the Empire, with the largest concentrations being within the heart of Vaadwek and Dra'al, and their neighbouring systems, this population is heavily diverse, with 21% of the total population being neither Vaadwek or Dra'almarr, mostly living among the western fringes of the Empire.
Etymology and terminology
History
Pre-spaceflight Vaald History
Prehistory
Vaald Civilization
The Vaald pre-spaceflight civilization is one of the most ancient in the galaxy, with the oldest known evidence of agriculture, metallurgy and civilization lasting almost a hundred thousand years into the past, with the oldest known inhabited city being the ancient city of T'lenen, which has been dated to approximately 97,000 years ago. A crude and primitive culture at the time, the Vaald were in no way exceptional, their lives were short, brutal and often meaningless during these times. City-states dominated certain areas of the globe for thousands of years while most regions of the planet remained full of tribesmen and barbarians. The Vaald were a relatively slow-developing civilization compared to many others of the galaxy. It was not until approximately 20 thousand years of dark ages that more permanent and established states began to develop.
Ran'tior Imperium
The Ran'tior Imperium was at its height in 10,000EV, the largest empire in Vaald's history before the unifications of the spaceflight era. It stretched across the entire continent of Nyugatfel, and half of the continent of Del'dez. The Imperium assimilated all those civilizations they came across, subjugating those who would resist and assimilating those who were willing to submit. The Imperial Armies were heavily based on heavily armoured and lightly armoured cavalry units, the soldiers of which were also capable of dismounting and fighting on foot when necessary. This gave the Imperium the mobility needed to defeat far larger forces and maintain a stranglehold over their empire. The Imperium continued to persist for thousands of years, they slowly lost territory to both rebellions and external invasions, but by 4,000EV the Imperium began to falter to internal conflict and ultimately birthed the Ran'tior Republic, resulting in almost two centuries of civil war between Republican and Imperialist factions.
This war ended at approximately 3,800 EV (before evacuation), the centuries old Ran'tiors became a mid-strength power, the war had ended in a stalemate, with two equally sized states, one retained whatever remained of the royal family, while the Republic held a corrupt, but democratically elected government. It was in this period from 3,200-3,000EV that gunpowder began to become developed, both remnants of the Imperium were slow to adopt this new technology, feeling large cannons were too cumbersome and would spook the cavalry which had defined their success in the past.
Post-Imperium chaos
The Imperium and Republic both fell within a century, and by 3,000EV both states had collapsed and ushered in an era of instability. The remaining powers jostled for supremacy, and technological and social development stagnated greatly. With crude muskets, as well as older melee weapons, these states did combat for millenia, and the loss of stability led to the Vaald industrial revolution coming far later than it could have. By approximately 900EV, these wars had finally died away, and technological progress began again, the first industrial steam generator was completed in 881EV, and in this new era of peace Vaald flourished.
Industrial Age
The age of peace following the end of the post-Imperium chaos did not last forever, and by 450EV the Vaald society had entered a new age, an age of atomic energy, motor vehicles and aircraft. These new weapons of war did not have to wait long before they were used. A great global war was fought from 643-637EV, the bloodiest 6 years of Vaald's history. Tanks, warships and soldiers marched across the planet killing, raping and burning, but like all bloodshed it would eventually end. The Nyugatfeli Alliance eventually forced the submission of the Coalition of Nations, subjugating large portions of their lands and incorporating them into their own empires. These imperialist monarchic states were initially harsh masters, although as time went on their leniency increased, and eventually the Alliance covered much of the planet.
Unification
By 371EV the Vaald entered a new period of computerization, spaceflight and robotics. It was a period of much transition for the old-fashioned Alliance, monarchic nations who found it difficult to maintain their control during this new era. The largest Alliance State of Peridex fell to an internal revolution in 350EV, and it seemed a new war would be upon the world. Nuclear warheads flew, but with advanced interception technologies on both sides, the vast majority of the warheads were never detonated. What few warheads made it through the defence grids only increased the people's desire for war. Peridex fought its fellow alliance states for almost ten years, until the Peridex capital of Nova Peridex was surrounded by Alliance forces.
The siege of Nova Peridex was expected to take another year to finish, the Peridex State was unwilling to surrender, and the city was heavily fortified and full with plenty of supplies and manpower. That was when the Poslato arrived. The Vaald were one of the few, or possibly the only advanced civilizations that the Poslato had encountered in their time. The Poslato invasion led to the end of the war, the Peridex surrendered and offered their men to fight the alien incursion. The Poslato had typically won all the battles they had faced against the 'lesser races'. However, the Vaald were one of the few peoples in the galaxy who would not submit, and who would challenge the Poslato military. The Vaald Alliance ground forces, who were already vast in numbers, technologically advanced and experienced from the ongoing war, proved to be more than a match for the Poslato forces. Reverse-engineering of captured Poslato tech only helped the Vaald forces, who eventually found themselves at a strategic advantage on the planetary surface.
The Poslato retreated from the planet in 330EV, unwilling to maintain the difficult occupation and ongoing conflict with this belligerent people. They sabotaged their nearby wormhole device so that if the Vaald were to use it in an attempt to become an interstellar power themselves, their planet would be destroyed. The Alliance members agreed to unify into a single federal government in the face of the invasion. They began to continue to prepare themselves for future possible Poslato invasions, setting up vast orbital defence networks, advanced reverse engineered Poslato suborbital interceptors, and a very militarized hierarchical society. Their star system became one of the most heavily defended in the galaxy beyond the Poslato homeworld itself. They lacked efficient interplanetary engines for a long time however, and it was not until 200EV that they began mining activities elsewhere in the star system, and not until 100EV that they began to attempt starbases and military bases in orbit of, and on the surface of, other planets in their star system.
Usage of the Vaald Wormhole
By 17EV, the Vaald began their attempts into an interstellar empire, following warnings by the Poslato they had not attempted to use the Wormhole which they had long known existed in orbit of the first planet from the sun, but time tends to fade the knowledge of warnings, and probes were first sent through, followed by manned exploration and eventually colony vessels to the planet of New Vaald, a lush rainforest world with approximately 80% of the gravity of Vaald itself.
After a few years of colonization efforts, the homeworld was wracked by major seismic and other calamitous events which couldn't be explained. The elite of the planet rushed aboard crude interplanetary spaceships and made their way their newly founded colony in great colony ships. Through the wormhole they arrived in the system which had been known as Asztrek-91, promptly renamed New Vaald, or Vaadwek in their native tongue. They would colonize this new world, and within the next few hundred years would once again become the power they once were, with soaring cities across the planet and interplanetary colonization underway.
Those who were left behind on Vaald were not so lucky, scientists had concluded that the regular usage of the nearby wormhole by colonization, exploration and mining vessels had somehow destabilized Vaald's magnetic field and thrown the planet and the star it was orbiting into disarray. Once the colonizers had left through the wormhole which once again became unused, with no more exploration or mining vessels travelling out of the Vaald system, and the new colonizers in no position to return. The planet began to stabilize once more after the ordeal, although much of the population had been killed and much of the infrastructure destroyed. Scientific researchers on Vaald determined that should any more ships proceed through the wormhole, the planet would be once again be almost destroyed, or in the worst case scenario, completely destroyed. With a new series of spacefaring vessels, the Vaald would destroy the Poslato devices keeping the wormhole stable, in doing so completely severing any chance of contacting the colonists who had fled.
Contact re-established
Over the course of the next thousand years, the two groups, although closely related, became largely distinct from one another, the Vaadwek colonists had adapted to different atmospheric and gravitational conditions by growing taller, and with striking golden skin. The Dra'almarr, or the forgotten, had continued to look much the same as before, with a shorter stature but greater strength and darker skin. A second Poslato wormhole was shortly found on the far reaches of the Vaald system, the Dra'almarr concluded that this wormhole would be no threat to their planet, and sanctioned the use of it. Eventually both peoples began to develop small interstellar colonial holdings in neighbouring systems, completely forgetting about one another over the course of history.
At 1452UE, the two peoples made contact with one another. The Vaadwek encountered a Dra'almarr exploration ship which had been wiped out by interstellar pirates. They were perplexed by these beings which were virtually genetically identical to themselves, as well as featuring unmistakable phenotypical similarities such as the ubiquitous vented ears of the people. Investigating star maps on the Dra'almarr ship, a Vaadwek navy frigate was sent to investigate and make contact with their forgotten cousins. The meeting was initially a friendly one, the two peoples were very close to each other spatially speaking, although their direct connections to one another via the wormhole had been severed. Peaceful diplomatic and trade relations were established between the two peoples, although governmental differences often proved a source of dispute. The Vaadwek were a proud and aristocratic people with a monarchic government, a product of their past as the elite of the old world. The Dra'almarr were often more warlike and secretive people, distrusting of outsiders yet boasting a fully functional democracy.
Second Poslato Wars
At 1598UE, the growing Vaadwek Empire made contact with the shrinking Poslato Empire, the long memories of both peoples led to almost immediate conflict. The Vaadwek colony worlds fell one after another in the face of the Poslato forces, but as the Poslato supply chains lengthened and their fleets became depleted, Vaadwek forces began to push back, and eventually by 1604UE, the colony worlds had been liberated and the Poslato Empire began to crumble, other wars in far off reaches of their empire drew their forces thin, and the Vaadwek began to advance, subjugating even Poslato-majority worlds in their advance. By 1609 the Poslato and Vaadwek both had no ability or desire to continue the conflict, and the following peace conference ushered in a period of peace and even limited cooperation between the first enemy to ever rival the Poslato eons ago.
The Dra'almarr however, envious of the territorial gains of what became now their greatest rival, were not content to sit back in the shadows, and began their own campaign against the Poslato in 1615UE, the already heavily depleted Poslato fleets stood little chance against the Dra'almarr. The Dra'almarr cut a swathe of destruction throughout Poslato space, which led them ultimately to Polati itself, where they encountered the last remnants of the Poslato defence in 1623UE.
Tasting victory in the air, the Dra'almarr launched a full scale invasion of Polati Prime. However the Poslato were not yet defeated, and after a three week long space battle which saw the vast majority of both the Dra'almarr and Poslato fleets eviscerated. The war then ended in a stalemate, with the crippled Dra'almarr fleet fleeing back to their space and the Poslato in no position to pursue.
Dra'almarr Coup and the Subjugation War
At 1852UE, the Dra'almarr homeworld was wracked by a violent coup which saw a violent populist group of xenophobic collectivists take power from the established ruling parties and groups. This group was harshly opposed to the Vaadwek, and resulted to slaughtering Vaadwek traders, civilians and diplomats who had been unfortunate to be captured in the bloody coup. The Vaadwek, prideful and often arrogant, took a deep offence to these injustices, and intended to travel to the Dra'almarr homeworld which they referred to as Dra'al, to exterminate or subjugate the population and seize their systems for the Vaadwek Empire.
The war was devastating and lasted over 40 years, with neither side having a significant advantage for much of the war. It was not until the Vaadwek utilized their newly developed warp drives to travel directly to Dra'al from their fleet holdings at Vaadwek. This surprise attack took the Dra'almarr by surprise, their fleets in the System were largely damaged and outdated ships, as most of the warships had been at the frontline. Seizing the wormhole gate and trapping the Dra'almarr fleets in the outer colonies, the homeworld was besieged. After a few months of siege and most of the Dra'almarr fleet being destroyed or mothballed from lack of supplies, the Dra'almarr surrendered, and became subjects of the Vaadwek in what would initially turn out to be a brutal occupation.
Dra'almarr Revolution
The growing Vaadwek empire began to treat the Dra'almarr more fairly as time continued to roll by, with many eventually even being allowed to live freely on the Vaadwek homeworld. It would not last forever however, as in 2807UE the Dra'almarr staged a series of massive rebellions which crippled the entire Vaadwek empire, outside forces took advantage of the situation and seized world after world belonging to the Vaadwek as their troops and ships were pre-occupied with the rebellion. After a mere few months the Vaadwek conceded, and the Dra'almarr were treated as equal citizens to the Vaadwek themselves. The Emperor of the Vaadwek then was married to the Queen of the Dra'almarr to seal the dual monarchy, and establish even separate independent fleets for both the Vaadwek and Dra'almarr navies, as well as a unified Imperial Navy. The half-caste first child of the two monarchs became the first unified Emperor of the Vaadwek and King of the Dra'almarr, and the supreme ruler of the Imperial Dra'almarr-Vaadwek Duumverate.
The Third Collectivist War
Geography and climate
Military
The Imperial Military is split into three independent organizations, the Royal Dra'almarr Military, the Royal Vaadwek Military, and the Imperial Starfleet. The Royal Miltiaries report directly to the elected Duumvir of their respective Kingdom. The Imperial Starfleet is the unified command corps of the Duumverate, reporting directly to the Emperor.
Imperial Starfleet
The unified corps of the Duumverate, the Starfleet is primarily an offensive tool, they typically do not engage in patrol operations or peacekeeping, and are mostly reserved for interstellar combat with major powers, as such they have the most impressive ground and space forces, with the most powerful starships and most well-trained soldiers. The Starfleet includes the primary offensive land combat forces of the Duumverate, the Imperial Assault Trooper Corps which includes land soldiers, elite forces, ground vehicles, and terrestrial aircraft. The Starfleet includes ships from both the Dra'almarr and Vaadwek shipyards, providing a versatility of operations and a mixture of aggressive and defensive ships.
Imperial Assault Trooper Corps
The IATC includes ground forces, air forces, surface-to-orbit forces, and a limited amount of terrestrial aquatic forces. The soldiers of the IATC are trained in a variety of planetside combat, starship combat, and zero-g combat tactics and techniques. The Imperial Troopers also include elements capable of orbital drop, HALO, and other special infiltration techniques, with the greatest of these being the special "Special Infiltration Battalion 407". In addition to land and space infantry available to the IATC they also make extensive use of armoured and other combat vehicles such as tanks, armoured infantry fighting vehicles, artillery and more. In ground combat the IATC generally relies on orbital support for their offensive operations, and is primarily focused around CBRN-equipped infantry, with the bulk of artillery and combat support provided by light planetside artillery and orbital strikes.
Imperial Tactical Air Wing
The Tactical Air Wing is the incorporated air wing of the IATC, with a mixture of sub-orbital attack craft capable of assaulting enemy vessels or ground targets, and atmospheric fighters capable of engaging enemy bombers, attack craft and fighters.
Royal Dra'almarr Military
The Royal Dra'almarr Military is the armed wing of the Dra'almarr Kingdom, and is split between the Royal Dra'almarr Navy and Royal Planetside Defence Force. The Royal Dra'almarr Navy is the interstellar wing of the Dra'almarr military, the RDN often utilize outdated and experimental ship models, and have distinct applications and appearances compared to Starfleet or Vaadwek ships, included within the RDN are the Royal Space Marines, who are primarily stationed on starships and intended to board enemy ships or defend RDN ships from boarding parties. The Planetside Defence Force is a primarily defensive tool utilizing a mixture of reservists and professional troops, and are primarily used to patrol both occupied and homeworld systems, they include air assets, armoured assets and terrestrial naval assets.
The RDN is the primary armed wing of the Royal Dra'almarr military, and their ships have vastly different combat applications to Vaadwek and Starfleet ships. Royal Navy Ships tend towards more aggressive combat applications, with a greater emphasis on high speed, heavily armed, escort vessels with stealth capabilities. The greatest examples of these are the heavily armed Kezenek and Ran'tior class attack ships, which have the highest acceleration, turn rates and top speeds of any ships in the Imperial arsenal, and are among the fastest, nimblest ships in the Oxus cluster. Beyond the fast attack ships like these, the Royal Navy also utilize a roster of heavily armed and armoured support ships, including the perennial Glorifax-class and the new but effective Pz'enyy class, which are armed with heavy long distance torpedoes, extensive CIWS systems and extremely advanced sensor and targeting suites.
Royal Dra'almarr Planetside Defence Force
The RDPDF is the primary terrestrial wing of the Dra'almarr military, primarily comprised of reservists called into action during times of war or other threats, the RDPDF is a generally defensive tool, with a heavy reliance on sturdy, utilitarian equipment designed to hold invaders at bay on the planetary surface long enough for the Royal Navy to lift the siege and engage the enemy forces with marines. Included within the RDPDF is an extensive fleet of armoured vehicles, as well as both sub-orbital and atmospheric bombers, attack craft, superiority fighters and interceptors. The Royal Terrestrial Navy also includes a fleet of oceangoing vessels, although this branch is one of the smallest, it is useful for both surface-to-orbit engagements, as well as surface-to-surface fire support and engaging enemy vessels.
Royal Vaadwek Military
The Royal Vaadwek Military are the armed forces of the Kingdom of Vaadwek, it answers to the Duumvir of the Vaadwek, but is ultimately subservient to the Emperor of the Vaadwek and the Dra'almarr. Well equipped and numerous, the Vaadwek Military is within its own rights, one of the most powerful in the Galaxy, despite playing second fiddle to the Imperial Starfleet within its own nation. The Vaadwek Military is split into two branches, the Vaadwek Imperial Fleet, and the Vaadwek Terrestrial Force.
The Vaadwek Imperial Fleet is heavily outfitted with both outdated yet upgraded equipment and new experimental equipment deemed too inconsistent or unproven for use by the Starfleet, included in the Imperial Fleet are the Imperial Marines, who fulfill the roles of planetary assault (when necessary) and shipside infantry combat (primarily). The Vaadwek Terrestrial Force includes an air wing, a ground wing and a naval wing, and is a defensive force to defend Vaadwek planets. The VTF makes extensive use of robotic and power-armoured soldiers, to limit the reliance on sheer manpower.
Vaadwek Imperial Fleet
The Vaadwek Imperial Fleet is an impressive force of ships, with a doctrinal focus much closer to the Imperial Starfleet than the Royal Dra'almarr Navy. VIF ships have a greater reliance on long range bombardment with Neutrino Disruption beams, with a heavy focus on defense, each of their ships featuring extensive CIWS coverage and a great focus on Disruptor beams. Vaadwek commanders are also renowned for greater restraint with their vessels compared to those of the Dra'almarr.
Vaadwek Terrestrial Force
Politics
Imperial Politics can be separated into three separate entities, with the highest of these being the office of the Emperor of the Vaadwek and the Dra'almarr, an inherited position currently held by Emperor T'kelis I. The office of the Emperor has theoretically unlimited power over Imperial society, but generally delegates the matters of statehood to both those within the Chamber of Continuation, his personal advisors, and the individual Duumvirs of the two halfs of the Empire. The Emperor has the sole power to declare war, and is the ultimate authority in terms of disagreements of state which cannot be otherwise managed.
The Duumvir is the highest form of elected office in the Empire, with two Duumvirs being elected every 5 years by popular vote between the Vaadwek and Dra'almar peoples, as well as any other alien minorities which are registered and cleared to vote. The Duumvirs have power within their respective kingdoms second only to the Emperor himself, and oversee 500-member elected cabinets from a multi-party system, where any Vaadwek or Dra'almarr can run for office with their political parties, alien minorities are permitted to run for the cabinet of the Duumvir but not the office of Duumvir itself, but are permitted into the highest political offices in regional planetary governments (with the exception of the planets of Vaadwek and Dra'al themselves).