Holy Empire of Athania
| Ship Selector |
| Strike Craft |
| I-Wing |
| F-Wing |
| B-Wing |
| Gunship |
| RF-Wing |
| Capital Ships |
| Paladin |
| Lightbringer |
| Sanctuary |
| Archangel |
| Armageddon |
| Blockade Runner |
| Seraph |
| Troop Transport |
| Dedicated Carrier |
| Spinal Mount |
| Sensor Disruption Picket |
| Ultraheavy Capital |
| Non-Combat Ships |
| Mobile Production Base |
| Mobile Research Ship |
| Survey Ship |
| Transport Ship |
| Colony Ship |
| Generation Ship |
| Civilisation Ship |
| Empire Information | |
| Played by Abdiel in CYOE2 | |
| Capital Ship Doctrine (Capital Phalanx) | |
|---|---|
| The strength and might of your empire is reflected in the rugged formations of your mighty capital ships and their courageous captains. Any empire wishing to fight your fleet had better bring greater numbers in the hopes of having an even fight. Mechanically speaking, add 0.5 to your opponent's Combat Ratio when calculating for Capital Ships. | |
| Marine Focus (Super Soldiers) | |
|---|---|
| Maybe life on your planet is tough or perhaps you have the most rigorous training regime since ancient Sparta, or perhaps it’s your augmentative technology for your troops. Whatever the case your ground forces are peerless, if you are invading a planet, boarding a ship or repelling boarders, the enemy is in for a fight they’re not soon going to forget. Mechanically this improves your ground combat effectiveness by 25% and gives you the opportunity to potentially capture ships before they can self destruct. | |
| Ancient (The Elders) | |
|---|---|
| Your empire is older than living memory, with pillars of science beyond imagining. You start with 3 techs instead of 2. Note that you still have a total of 5 tech slots, so you only have 2 free ones. | |
| Strike Craft Neglect (Forgotten Pilots) | |
|---|---|
| Maybe your people just aren’t cut out to be pilots, perhaps you commissioned your strike craft from the lowest bidder or perhaps you just take the TIE approach to fighters, whatever the case your Strike craft are at a marked disadvantage against others. Mechanically speaking, add 0.5 to your Combat Ratio when calculating for Strike Craft. | |
History
One of the initial Earth colony ships landed on an Earthlike planet today known as Athania. They discovered a living world with oceans, mountains, forests and wildlife, almost resembling Earth itself. The colony Athania-1 was established soon. From the beginning it was designed to be self-sufficient, and ample natural resources of the planet itself allowed the colony to survive even after being cut off from Earth. Not long after the Scattering, inhabitants of Athania-1 discovered that their planet is a host to another intelligent species. The grey-skinned Dowwar were a primitive culture living in the forests. They were very scared of the new settlers, and very few of them have been seen at first. But as any developing culture, they became curious and started visiting human settlements more and more often. Eventually, after many years, they learned Human language and established permanent contact.
The Dowwar were humanoid, shorter than average Humans, with grey skin and red eyes. At the time of the Scattering, their technology was very primitive, they have only recently mastered the smelting of metals. However, they had very little natural enemies and lived in harmony. They also possessed a very unique ability: many of them had strong telekinetic and telepathic Powers. The powers were, in fact, their way they impressed Humans and managed to communicate with them at first. For hundreds of years both races were developing side by side, human colonies turning into towns and cities, and Dowwar undertaking huge leaps in technology assisted by the new visitors. The source of their Powers, however, remained unknown.
But it would be wrong to assume that Athania was always at peace. There were fractions of both races who disliked the other, even to the point of deliberately attacking their settlements and killing one another. Moreover, neither people had a stable government: the Humans were spread across many colonies, mainly lead by scientists and industrialists; while the Dowwar were a tribal society, with hundreds of distinct clans, most of which were nomadic and had no stable home. This often resulted in frequent local struggles in the countryside. Human farmers demanded help from larger cities, but when the reinforcements finally arrived, the Dowwar raiding parties were long gone. The situation in large cities was much calmer, with both races living side by side, eventually even having children together.
The status quo continued for hundreds of years. Local struggles devastated large areas, but Athania has never fallen into a global war. However, around the year 650 AS, a cult known as the Order of the Silver Sword came to power. They believed in human superiority and hated the Dowwar. This gave them popularity among human commoners, but their growing numbers and many incidents lead to the Order being outlawed in many major cities. Around 700 AS, news started spreading across the entire Athania about countless Dowwar clans gathering to attack. Nobody knows today whether the information was genuine or just a ruse by the Order, but it lead to much more distress than ever before. Year by year, Humans and Dowwar became more and more hostile towards each other.
The situation climaxed in 741 AS, when a group of the Order raided a small, but well-known trade hub named Rubicon and massacred every Dowwar they found. Very soon three factions formed: the Order of the Silver Sword, gaining more and more popularity, who now openly proclaimed the Dowwar as a lesser race and as enemies; the Human government, seated in the cities, who tried to keep the colonies safe but failed more and more; and the Dowwar, who increased the frequency and cruelty of their raids manyfold. The largest war Athania has ever seen had started. For decades, there was fighting in the forests, across the plains and within cities. While Humans had a definite technological advantage, the Dowwar had much greater numbers and their Powers. They started slowly gaining advantage and were razing one Human settlement after another.
As villages and small towns fell one by one, the government realized that the Dowwar wouldn't stop at burning farms and shipyards. They retreated into larger cities and gave more and more support to the Order. The situation, however, was becoming more and more hopeless. The Dowwar have unleashed their Powers in amounts never seen before, destroying city walls with mere thoughts and turning Human soldiers against each other. In the early 9th century, Humans only had three large cities and several smaller settlements under their control. But the Dowwar were also weakened by the war and by the lack of Human supplies they became dependent on. They gathered most of their remaining forces for an attack at the capital city of Athania-1 itself.
The Order of the Silver Sword knew about this, and made preparations of their own. Their scientists have been investigating Dowwar Powers for a long time, and they had come up with a way to contain and control them. This was their last chance: if Athania-1 fell, there would be nothing stopping the Dowwar from completely eliminating the human race. The battle finally began in the early days of 826 AS. The Dowwar came in astonishing numbers, thousands and thousands were killed, but more kept coming. They easily destroyed the first lines of defense forces. They gathered at the gates of Athania-1 and started channeling the Powers to break through. The situation looked almost hopeless, when Illmaren Kavash, a High Templar of the Order, appeared on top of the walls. He was not carrying armor, sword or any gun, but he seemed to resist every attack by the Powers of enemy troops.
The Dowwar commanders, however, paid little attention to the lone fool. They ordered to break the gates down. Hundreds of Dowwar released their Powers, targeting the massive door. A flash of light brighter than the day sun appeared, blinding every Human and Dowwar in sight. But Illmaren did his duty: he managed to channel the Powers through his body, divert them from the city walls, bind them and unleash them again, this time against the Dowwar army. When the soldiers regained their senses, the gate was still standing, but the place where the invading army was previously positioned was turned into hell. The ground itself was burned for miles away and covered by scorched Dowwar corpses. There was not even a sign anywhere of anything left of their wooden war machines. The few Dowwar who survived, quickly realized what happened, and scattered in the woods, frightened to their death.
However, the victory did have its price: not only were many Human soldiers caught in the blast, but Illmaren Kavash himself could not contain so much Powers and died in the process. But his sacrifice saved Athannia-1, and all the Humankind left on the planet. The victory gave the Order of the Silver Sword new strength and courage, and they started pushing the Dowwar back. By analyzing data from the battle events and comparing them to previous knowledge, they were able to forge armors that could block the Powers, and weapons that could penetrate the Dowwar Powered shields. With these at hand, the Humans turned the tides of the battle. It was now the Dowwar who were scattered, without a leader, still shaken by their horrible casualties at Athania-1. They were losing ground by miles.
By the end of the 9th century AS, the Humans have reclaimed all of their lost territory and expanded even further. In the aftermath of the Athania-1 events, the Order of the Silver Sword took over the government and declared the birth of the Holy Empire of Athania. They proclaimed Illmaren Kavash saint and the postmortem first Emperor. The Empire has soon created laws against the Dowwar and started hunting every single of them down -- even those who had never anything to do with the battle. The Order was also frequently killing half-breeds of mixed Human and Dowwar blood, proclaiming them "tainted" and enemies just as the Dowwar. The Dowwar were almost all wiped out or forced to hide deep in the forests and jungles.
In the last almost a hundred years, there has been relative peace on Athania. The Empire rules over all the commoners and uses the Order of the Silver Sword to keep peace. After defeating the Dowwar threat, they have launched their space program again. Following the discovery of the new Nodes, they have claimed several neighboring systems and settled in them. Recently they have established contact with two other groups of Humans who have settled in the sector. The current Emperor is Abdiel Kavash, he earned the position in 1011 AS after the death of his father.
Society
The Holy Empire of Athania is an aristocratic society, all the ruling power is in the hands of the Emperor and few of those close to him. The common people accept the system, as they believe in the government's power to keep them safe. Past hostilities against the Dowwar have turned into inherent distaste for those different from the norm, especially nonhuman and half-breeds. Yet while the Order continues to vigorously hunt down the remaining Dowwar and their descendants, in the general population it is fear that is prevalent instead of pure hatred.
Emperor. The Emperor is the head of the Empire, and he claims almost godlike powers. A continuous bloodline of Emperors is maintained, starting with Illmaren Kavash. Traditionally, the Emperor used to reside in his palace and keep very little direct contact with the outside world. This, however, has started to change in the past few years, especially with the last Emperor Abdiel Kavash.
Tetrarch. The Emperor's guides. The four Tetrarchs are personally chosen by the Emperor, and assist him in making decisions. However, the Emperor's word is always final.
Praetor. The Praetors are the Emperor's extended arms in every reach of Empire's space. A Praetor governs a large area of ground or space, and as long as he stays in line with the Emperor's orders, he is generally the supreme ruler in his province.
Legate. The Legates are officers under command of a Praetor. A Legate usually leads an army, a fleet, or governs a single city.
The Order of the Silver Sword. The Order is prospering now more than ever, being the Empire's single army, police, and justice force in one.
Grand Master. The Grand Master leads the Order and responds directly to the Emperor. He is formally given a title of a Praetor, but the Grand Masters seldom use it, stressing their leadership of the entire Order. The current Grand Master is Lysander Tullis.
Judicator. Roughly an equivalent rank to the Legate, Judicators command large Order fleets and operations.
Templar. The Templars are the Order's elite soldiers, trained from their childhood in proficiency with close-ranged and long-ranged weapons. They are absolutely dedicated to the Order, and by extension to the Emperor, and willing to give their lives for their cause.
High Templar. A High Templar is a leader of a squad of Templars, usually chosen by battle tournament among the most experienced ones. A High Templar can for example serve as a capital ship's captain.
Dark Templar. Back in the war with the Dowwar, the Order was experimenting with the natives' Powers. The Dark Templars were a result of such experiments: a Human genetically enhanced and "tainted" with the Powers to gain incredible strength and abilities. However, only few could control the Powers within them, and most died within a year or several years after their tainting. All Dark Templar have died long ago, and any further experiments with the Powers are outlawed today.
Commoners. Commoners, or Plebeians, are the workforce of the Empire. From farmers, through architects, mechanics and engineers, all the way to starship officers who are not affiliated with the Empire government or the Order of the Silver Sword. There are, however, no slaves - the commoners are free and have all the basic human rights.
Forces and Technology
The Empire of Athania has restarted its space program in the beginning of the last century, after the war has calmed down somewhat. Their facilities and production processes are not fine enough to manufacture small fighter crafts, and they are generally viewed as ineffective use of qualified pilots. Therefore, the Empire specializes in massive capital fleets. On the ground, they are even more effective than in space: the Templars of the Order of the Silver Sword carry powered armor and wield swords enhanced with high-technology forcefields making them able to penetrate even the strongest metals. It is the bright glow of the swords when active that gave the Order its name. Of course, when the time comes, the Templars are not afraid to pull out a regular railgun if they can not close the distance fast enough.
