The Sanctar Hegemony

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The Sanctar Hegemony Sporecast

The Sanctar Hegemony
“We find credence in the true faith; we swear to uphold the glory of the gods!”

The Sanctar Hegemony is an empire of religious zealots. They worship the Karrzi, a long-extinct race of aliens whom they consider to be gods.

The Hegemony possess several systems in the outer regions of the galaxy and constantly expand their territory. The majority of their military travel in an army of ships, referred to as the Sanctorus Holy Flotilla.

Upon discovering a new alien race, they descend upon their colonies and raid them, killing the population. They then harvest and extract as much technology and valuable resources as possible before returning on their crusade.

They believe that worship of the Karrzi is sacred and their moral duty in the galaxy. When any faithful being dies, they will be eternally rewarded in the afterlife. If the individual does not believe, they will be cast into infinite punishment and tortured for their sin. For this reason, the Karrzi are exceptionally faithful and loyal to their religion. They attempt to convert alien races to their religion but they rarely succeed. Aliens perceive them as a threat and resist, but are destroyed for their blasphemy. The Sanctar do not take pride in this destruction, but believe that they are noble in their quest to offer salvation to the worthy. If one chooses to reject the true faith, then their destruction is justified.

The Hegemony search the galaxy for artefacts of value to their religion. Any technology or religious materials are considered sacred and must be retrieved from planets, even if said planets are inhabited by hostile aliens. They show disregard for their own safety in these cases as they attempt to collect the relics by any means. It does not matter to them if they are sacrificed to secure the artefact as they know they will be rewarded in death.

Description


"We are the instruments the gods created for the greatest task in the galaxy... how could we not be designed perfectly?"

Honourable, chivalrous and intelligent, the Sanctar are fierce, agile warriors and a proud race. They are the exclusive species of the Hegemony and are strong both politically and in combat terms. They represent justice and law, securing their territory through means of military power.

Sanctar are bipedal amphibians that stand over eight feet tall. They have oily black and green skin and sharp claws that can be used in melee combat. Their home planet, Sanctorus, has very strong gravity, making the Sanctar far more agile and strong on other worlds. They are carnivorous, usually feeding on small fish. The Sanctar are noticeably intelligent and make excellent military tacticians. They have a life-span of 200 years, making some of the older Sanctar the most experienced and competent soldiers in the outer rim. Nevertheless, the Sanctar are so exposed to combat that few live long enough to die of old age.

Sanctar have both male and female genders and can be distinguished by their appearance. Males are identified by their tails and large crests on their skulls. These crests are actually pipes made from bone that the male can use to emit high-pitched screeches or calls. Although these were originally used for mating calls and other forms of communication when they were a primal race, they are now used to give orders during combat.

The Sanctar are a predatory race who were pack hunters before they achieved civilisation. They have evolved excellent reaction times and good eyesight. To find their prey, Sanctar use trichromatic colour vision in the ultraviolet range. They also have a lateral line organ which can detect changes in water pressure. They have no external ears, and only a vestigial middle ear. Although they prefer to work in teams with other Sanctar to make best use out of their pack mentality, they are effective individually too.

Sanctar are cold-blooded. Sanctorus is a warm, tropical planet and the Sanctar have adapted so that they work best in this sort of environment. They have an excellent sense of smell allowing them to track enemies miles away. Their eyes are embedded into the exoskeleton around their heads which gives them a fairly small field of view. They are entirely black and have a clear lid over the top so that they can still see underwater.

The skin of Sanctar is typical of amphibians. It is thin, permeable to water, serves as a respiratory membrane and is well-supplied with glands. It has highly cornified outer layers renewed periodically through a skin shedding process controlled by the pituitary and thyroid glands. During moulting, the skin initially breaks around the mouth and the individual moves forwards through the gap. When the arms have been worked clear, a series of body ripples pushes the shed skin towards the rear. The hind limbs are extracted and push it farther back before it is eventually freed by friction as the Sanctar pushes forward. In history, it is recorded that they would often then eat the resulting slough although this has become a cultural taboo that is all but forbidden.

Sanctar have exceptionally strong jaws. They are capable of crushing open shells of creature and even the armour of their enemies. Their teeth are tiny but incredibly sharp, designed to slice meats up for easy consumption and to catch fish in motion. They also fall out often, however. Every five years, the Sanctar 'sheds' its teeth and there is a new row waiting beneath. This process can seemingly be repeated an infinite number of times. Sanctar have bacteria in their saliva which they have developed an immunity to over thousands of years. If another creature is bitten by one, the bacteria can cause the victim to receive a deadly infection. In smaller animals, it can kill within an hour. Sanctar have both lungs and gills. The gills are external as visible slits beneath their eyes. This enables them to respire both in and out of water and to remain submerged indefinitely for surprise attacks.

Extreme temperatures have a profound effect on Sanctar. They are rumoured to become sluggish and tire easily in exceptionally warm or cold weather. When performing missions on planets with extreme climates, soldiers often use artificial temperature regulators in their armour.

The Sanctar are reasonably xenophobic, not because they feel threatened by other aliens, but because they are so obsessive about their cause. Often considered religious zealots, they are undoubtedly the most devoted- or the only worshippers- to the Karrzi religion.

Sanctar have a clear and deterministic psychology. They are honourable and respectful to their elders and other Sanctar and pledge themselves fully to the Hegemony. They follow unspoken ‘codes of honour’. Performing any action for personal gain that has a negative effect on their society as a whole is considered treason. This makes the Sanctar loyal to their justice system not because they are scared of consequence but because they are too principled to do otherwise.

Eggs and Hatchlings
"Life is not a right, but a privilege."

Sanctar are oviparous. The eggs can vary in colour but are usually blue. They must be kept in a suitably warm environment but are fairly strong. Aboard the flotilla, many parents send their eggs to Eggkeeper companies where they are placed in incubators and properly sustained. This is popular with couples who work in the military and do not have the time to care for eggs.

After 4-6 months, the egg is ready to hatch. No intervention occurs during the hatching process as there is a cultural and spiritual ritual associated with it. Sanctar eggs have evolved to be extremely strong. Although this makes them resilient to damage, it serves another purpose. It is very difficult for the hatchling to break open the shell, therefore only the strongest Sanctar ever break free and survive. This ruthless but nonetheless effective factor causes the average Sanctar to be physically fit from an early age. If the Sanctar never escapes the egg and eventually dies, it is disposed of cleanly and unceremoniously. Those that survive receive a formal blessing from a priest and are named by their parents.

Hatchlings are not only much smaller than fully grown Sanctar but lack the leathery skin and are a more yellowy hue. Hatchlings do not technically have a gender. They are born without crests or tails and will gain these after metamorphosis. Hatchlings spend much of their time sleeping or eating. For such tiny creatures, they consume immense quantities of food. Overall growth is not visible until after metamorphosis.

Metamorphosis
"Bow down to our creators and let yourself be improved."

shit's getting redone

The Sanctar's Origins


The earliest date the Sanctar can be traced back to is approximately 11 million years before the Great Unification. The Sanctar’s home planet, Sanctorus, was – and still is - a lush rainforest world covered in vegetation. It was host to thousands of species of both predators and prey, and has a warm, humid climate.

The Glitt Fish is the earliest known evolutionary ancestor of the Sanctar. It was a tiny aquatic creature that lived in the warm freshwater pools in the rainforest. Although it was covered in tiny silver scales, the mud and composition of the water would often stain them brown. They ate small insects that rested on the top of the water and smaller fish. They often fell victim to other predatory fish, however, and the future of the Sanctar was already threatened. Had the Glitt Fish not adapted to its surroundings as well, the Sanctar might never have existed.

The Glitt Fish evolved into Senk Fish. Senk Fish were much larger than their ancestors and had much larger fins, allowing them to be far more manoeuvrable in the water and catch more prey. They began the dominant species in the ponds of Sanctorus and had no aquatic predators whatsoever. Their only weakness was land-dwelling organisms who would often pluck the Senk Fish out of the water for food. The Senk Fish then evolved into Senkators. Senkators were similar to monitor lizards, eating small mammals, crustaceans and flying insects. The Senkators were incredibly strong, capable of crushing open the shells of crustaceans and scaring away other animals.

Unfortunately, with their low-lying bodies, unevolved legs, they were often too slow to catch their prey. To make matters worse, their cold-blooded nature meant that they had to bask in the sun for long amounts of time and wasted precious hours when they could be hunting. They began to lose their scales over time in place of leathery skin and became warm-blooded Sankton by about 9 million years BU.

Sankton were larger, more mammalian Senkators. They moved in the manner of a big cat, sprinting through the forest and pouncing on unsuspecting creatures. Their fast sprints combined with their strong jaws made it easy for them to catch prey. Now the dominant species on all of Sanctorus, the Sankton began to evolve into the Sanctar that exist today. Their skin became a more yellowy hue to camouflage with the fauna on Sanctorus and they began to walk upright. By 6 million years BU, Sanctar began to walk upright and by 4 million years BU the entire species walked upright all the time. They were almost visually indistinguishable from the modern Sanctar.

The Dawn of Technology
By approximately 2 and a half million years before Unification, Sanctar began to develop mentally. They achieved more advanced brain function and invented the earliest tools on Sanctorus. Basic wooden and stone instruments were invented and Sanctar exhibited examples of civilisation. Sanctar used tools to hunt, break open shells, cut down trees, and construct simple buildings. This is also believed to be around the time when they fully developed the ability to use their crests as a form of communication. Around this time, Sanctar also developed larger brains and large cranial cavities.

By less than a million years before the Great Unification, the Sanctar had built proper settlements and huts as opposed to their nomadic wandering before. Sanctar invented language and started to communicate with each other. This brought together communities and caused Sanctar to finally cooperate. This was a turning point in Sanctar evolution and led them to invent fire and musical instruments, often made from the bones of animals. They started to wear clothing and maps of the world began to take shape.

The Sanctar also created farming. Agriculture was of limited interest to the Sanctar due to their primarily carnivorous nature, but the manipulation of animals was highly significant to them. They realised they could control the growth and breeding of their prey in closed environments.

The Suffering of Eldos
With the development of community and the invention of primitive technology, the Sanctar became more advanced thinkers. Although they will innately sceptical about the supernatural, around 4,000BU many Sanctar questioned life itself. Obsessed with the mysteries of the world, ancient scholars wrote about their beliefs. Forums were held in the ancient city of Eldos wear the greatest minds from all over the continent came to discover the secrets of existence.

As each scholar expressed their opinion, the contradictions between each idea became more and more infuriating to the Sanctar. Livid that they did not understand the very universe they lived in, they were outraged. Turning to the council of Eldos, they asked for a shrine of contemplation to be constructed in the very centre of the city.

After almost a century, the temple was finally complete. Thousands flocked from all over the planet to witness the fabled building, so tall it seemed to tear into the very skies themselves. The halls were filled with the chattering and murmuring of the Sanctar exchanging ideas. They developed new philosophies about life itself.

Unfortunately, the leading councillor of Eldos, whose name has been forgotten in time, was highly corrupt. Realising the immense significance and the potential of the congregation, he schemed a way to exploit the opportunity. The councillor fabricated a philosophy that dictated that riches must be donated to the temple as a sacrifice to God and so that they might please him and learn the secrets of the universe.

Being the most intelligent minds on the planet, the scholars realised that this was no more than a cheap scheme for the councillor to become immensely wealthy. Although the weak-minded upper-class aristocrats donated in waves, the intellectuals rejected the philosophy. With the riches he had earned, the councillor order the soldiers of Eldos to execute anyone who rejected his 'undeniable truth'. The scholars were captured and imprisoned before being hanged one by one. Satisfied that his plan had succeeded, the councillor proclaimed himself to be a messenger from God and took control of much of the continent.

Although many historians dismiss it as ironic coincidence, in less than a month the land, and specifically, the city, were subject to catastrophic natural disasters. Hurricanes, tsunamis and storms took thousands of lives. Farms were destroyed and buildings collapsed. In a desperate attempt to survive, the councillor ordered his quickly depleting numbers of personnel to construct increasingly elaborate and costly shelters for, only for each one to collapse in quick succession. Eventually, a volcanic eruption on the perimeter of the city spelt the doom of Eldos. Clouds of ash and smoke smothered the city and the people in the streets collapsed, choking to death. Hot magma spilt over the walls and consumed the buildings.

As debris rained down, crushing the last people of Eldos, the councillor hid himself in the temple he had constructed. He locked the doors, preventing others from entering. As people let out their last screams just outside the door, the councillor hysterically repented for all of his sins. He confessed all over the horrible things he had done and begged for forgiveness.

But he was not forgiven. The glass windows shattered and the red liquid rock spilled inside, filling the halls. Scrambling on top of a podium, the councillor cursed the God he had created and was swallowed up in the burning mess.

The city continued to burn for days, weeks, perhaps even months, until eventually the magma solidified and the city that was once the envy of the world was nought more than a charred remain.

The Liberation of Zenth
Upon witnessing the hideous destruction of Eldos, the Sanctar were finally resolute in their beliefs. The councillor had fabricated a false god and had angered whoever the true deity was. He was punished for it. The Sanctar concluded that, until they could truly learn whom they should worship, they should not 'invent' their faith.

For 500 years, this belief remained true in the minds of the population. Nevertheless, in the far off city of Zenth, business was finally establishing itself. The only economical power on the planet, Zenth became an incredibly wealthy place. The people there were delighted at their riches, constantly trading and bartering with the merchants who travelled to their city.

Zenth manufactured almost anything. Clothing, food, early vehicles, building materials and even exotic hats were all common in their markets. Unbeknownst to the people of the city, however, was the King's dastardly nature. The reason for the city's success was not due to the brilliant markets, but due to his evil manipulation of the populace. His private guard stole from supplies and even homes and forced heavy tolls on the travelling merchants.

The guards blackmailed the merchants into handing over huge sums of money and valuables. If the merchants refused or tried to tell others of this corruption, they mysteriously disappeared without any explanation. The authorities in Zenth never investigated the disappearances either. Although the corruption seems obvious now, the merchants were not the only ones being exploited. The people of Zenth were kept oblivious to these acts. None were allowed to leave and if people asked questions, they vanished too.

A small crime syndicate who referred to themselves as the Red Stone resisted the authorities in Zenth. Most of them were merchants who had been arrested and stolen from by the guards. They escaped the prisons and began harassing patrols and spreading propaganda. As desperate as they were to make the people of Zenth see the truth, the King's immense wealth allowed him to pay for an exceptionally large garrison of guards who were there to foil the Red Stone's plans at every turn. It seemed that they would never stop the corrupt King.

The King now held a monopoly over much of the entire continent. If anybody wanted something, they went to Zenth, and it only made the King richer. Hearing of his miraculous riches, the monarchs of the other countries and independent cities visited Zenth. Deeply impressed, they were easily charmed by the King's lavish gifts and great hospitality. One group were suspicious, however. The people of Delgar were not as easily fooled. Duke Nolst of Delgar and his servants escaped the King's castle and went to explore the city. He found the Red Stone planning to crash the King's party for the people of the other cities and quickly warned them not to. An intelligent man, he devised a clever plan and agreed on it with the Red Stone.

The people of the Red Stone stole up to the King's castle in the dead of night. They came to the secret entrance at the back of the building where the Duke, accommodated in the castle, unlocked the door to let them in. They then crept into the top of the King's tower and stole his written plans to exploit his people. His royal seal appeared on all of the papers, proving they were genuine.

The next day, the King of Zenth made a speech to the people of the city. He brought the other representatives up to his stand and spoke to the population, exclaiming his desire to build new trade routes with the other cities. Unbeknownst to them, he planned to exploit these trade routes and buy out the other cities until he controlled much of the planet. Half-way through his speech, however, he was pushed of the stage by the Duke of Delgar. The King's guard ran up to arrest the Duke but the people of the Red Stone shot them with crossbows before they could stop him. Despite the panic, the Duke explained to them the King's treachery, throwing the plans into the crowd. Shocked by this revelation, they booed and raged about the way they were treated.

The crowd spilled out onto the stage and beat down the guards. The King was carried away into the desert where he was tied up and abandoned. He was never seen again.

The Duke of Delgar returned to his city with gifts and money that the people of Zenth had taken from the King's castle and given to him. A parade was held in his honour by the people of both Zenth and Delgar.

The Siege of Cheen
At about 2,000BU, Sanctorus was a thriving planet. Although they had yet to accomplish some of the most impressive discoveries and inventions such as electricity or machinery, the population was well-sustained and the Sanctar were fully settled into their cities.

There were five great cities that constituted the majority of the planet's populations: Delgar, Zenth, Tarron, Illnix and Cheen. Delgar was home to great politicians and people of nobility. They had the strongest military and a heavily fortified city. Zenth remained a place of production, but no longer just a place of manufacture, it was now filled with inventors and great minds. Tarron covered large tracts of land but the population was much less dense than the other cities. Many Sanctar split into smaller groups and only joined together to perform raids on small villages or attacks on other cities. Illnix was an island in the centre of the Oltoriss Sea. It was close to Tarron and Cheen but was highly isolated. They had the strongest navy but rarely fought with the other cities on land. Cheen was built between Tarron and Delgar. It was built upon the ruins of Eldos, WIP

The Global War
The Global War was the first and only world war on Sanctorus. Excluding rebellions and criminal attacks on colonies, it was the last civil war the Sanctar fought it. It is the common belief that is one of the most important events in the Sanctar's pre-space history, as it determined who would control the species in the future.

After a series of natural disasters, the nation of Tarron was suffering. Food production had almost completely stopped as livestock had died in their millions from the extreme weather conditions. Tarron was incapable of supporting its own population and, due to the negative responses to territorial expansion they had recieved in the past, they did not have sufficient space for agriculture or housing.

While desperately scavenging for scraps of food in the swamps around Tarron, a group of civilians found an ancient machine buried beneath the mud. It was a vehicle that could accomodate several people and had a large weapon armed on the top based on technology far too advanced for them to fathom.

Willing to seize any opportunity they could, Tarron's authorities analysed the vehicle and deemed it a weapon that would give them significant advantage in conflict. Keeping the vehicle secret from the other nations, they invited miitary representatives from Illnix to see the weapon. Illnix was an island where travellers from Tarron had settled and was now a nation of size almost as great as Tarron.

Deeply impressed by the find, Illnix agreed that the weapon was indeed impressive but they were curious as to Tarron's intentions. Still sore from losing land to Cheen in the past, Tarron sought to retake the territories they had lost through force. Although Tarron had a considerable land army, their navy was no match for Cheen's. They asked for Illnix to join them in the attack as their multitude of ships would be invaluable.

Naming themselves the 'Sintully Alliance' after the continent that Tarron and Illnix resided in, the army marched West and attacked the unprepared Cheen guard forces. Although the infantry were equally matched, the vehicle was instrumental as it instantly destroyed buildings and villages with a single shot from its weapon. The Cheen Army's morale crumbled as they witnessed their homes burned and their friends and families crushed by the Sintully soldiers.



At the southern end of Cheen, military ships were deployed to attack Tarron's soldiers on the coast. Unfortunately, they were attacked in force by Illnix's navy. Illnix had faster ships with more firepower that decimated Cheen's ships. All seemed lost as cannons blasted away the boats, sinking them one by one.

Fortunately, a small patrol of ships from Delgar were surveying the area. They witnessed the destruction and split into two groups; one distracted Illnix's navy away to give Cheen time to retreat, and another group to return to Delgar and relay news of the attack.

In a few short days, the Western continent of Artnis scrambled together a force of ships and infantry with some of Zenth's mobile cannon weapons. The united armies of Delgar, Zenth and Sondabarr marched East to Cheen where they met Sintully forces head-on.

Realising they were overwhelmed, the Sintully Alliance requested reinforcements from the other nations in and around Sintully. A small fleet of ships from Jullotch, Pol and Molanis departed East to attack Artnis on their home turf. As luck would have it, the extreme weather persisted and storms raged Sintully. Exceptionally strong winds tore away the harbours and it is claimed that boats were pulled up into the air and smashed back down onto each other.

By the time the ships arrived at Artnis, the vast majority had already been sunk. The last six remaining boats were forced to dock at Austiss Island as much of the crews had drowned or been thrown into the deep by the storms and were never seen again. The sailors were taken prisoner and were not released until the end of the war.

As air vehicles did not exist at the time, the Artnis soldiers were left with no choice but to trudge through the swamps around Cheen. Many became lost in the dark, seemingly never-ending forests and were never seen again.

When the forces did arrive, they were amazed to find some of Cheen's garrison still alive and still fighting to protect their nation. With only simple gunpowder weapons, no armour and dwindling food supplies, it was a wonder that they had managed to keep the city walls intact for so long.

Around the time, the Sintully Alliance made their final push into Cheen, using the vehicle to blow apart the capital's walls. The two sides met in the very heart of Cheen, battling through the scorched streets and decimated buildings. The few civilians who had not evacuated on foot to Delgar were still hiding in their homes as explosions rang out around them and the Sintully Alliance killed anyone who attempted to stop them reaching the presidential palace in the centre of the city.

With a much larger army and soldiers who were fresh to the fight, the Artnis Alliance believed their victory was assured. The capital was gradually cleared of Tarron soldiers and the day seemed saved. Just as they thought they had won, the ancient vehicle crashed into the city centre and blasted away the foot soldiers. The Artnis soldiers fled as the vehicle crushed buildings and people underfoot. It fired a single shot at the capital building and reduced it to a pile of ash.

It turned to the Artnis soldiers and civilians running in the street and, just as it was about to fire, shuddered to a halt. The vehicle had been through the swamps so much that the metal had rusted over and the joints were clogged with mud. It exhausted its fuel supplies just as the tied of war changed and the Sintully forces were defeated as a result. With the vehicle immobilised, the Artnis soldiers, Cheen guards and even the unarmed citizens chased the fleeing invaders out of the city, never to return.

Hearing of the failure on land, the Illnix navy realised their defeat was invetiable. Artnis ships surrounded them and they all surrendered.

Tarron and Illnix were forced to pay reparations to repair Cheen. Zenth provided some agricultural equipment to assist Tarron in regrowing and making itself self-sufficient, but they were forced to surrender all of their military ships and weapons.

Tarron and Illnix never caused another war, but it should be noted that worldwide ceasefires were held as the nation united and Delgar and Tarron formed a single nation that was announced as the capital were Delgar once was. This city was named Delgaron and is still the capital to this day.

The vehicle never worked again and it was discovered that it ran on Koranite and was most likely a Karrzi vehicle in the past. It still resides in the Cheen city centre as a monument in front of the capital building and a symbol of the war.

The Great Unification
A thousand years ago (Sanctar Date 50BU, years before Unification), the Sanctar were a pre-spaceflight race that had established an efficient society with a strong government. Although they were culturally exceptional, they were lacking in technology.

They were a peaceful and highly spiritual race. Although they were predatory carnivores, they were innately calm and non-violent. Their homeplanet, Sanctorus, was a lush world covered almost entirely in rainforests. Almost all Sanctar lived in a single continent, where the government and the religious figureheads resided. The capital was called ‘Delgaron’.

Although Sanctorus was a visceral paradise, it was a difficult place to live. Deadly wildlife and a harsh climate meant that the Sanctar cities consumed large amounts of natural resources and caused large amounts of deforestation to accommodate the growing population. The most valuable resource on Sanctorus, however, was a precious mineral called ‘Koranite’. Koranite occurred naturally deep underground but took centuries to be produced. There were limited quantities and the mineral was almost completely harvested within a few hundred years.

With the lack of Koranite, the Sanctar had no fuel or power for their technology. Vehicles became useless, agriculture began to fail and the government was breaking down. Many rioted against the various religious Churches, believing that their superfluous consumption of resources largely contributed to the catastrophe. Conflict broke out in the streets of Delgaron with demonstrators hurling rocks at law enforcement officers. Local militia turned on authority too and used firearms.

In a last desperate attempt to salvage society as they knew it, the government deployed mining teams all across the planet to search for emergency Koranite reserves. Without any usable vehicles and amidst the fighting, the teams were largely unsuccessful. Many became lost in the rainforests outside of the cities and were never seen again.

One team, however, discovered monolithic architecture and technology buried beneath the surface of the planet. They studied the materials, deciding that they were far more advanced than their own. The Sanctar came to the conclusion that an alien ship must have crashed there millions of years before. They also found a compound used as fuel that included Koranite.

The announcement quelled the rioting and much of the entire population congregated in the city centre to witness the discovery being transported. The SFG, Sanctorus Federal Government, declared the technology property of the Sanctar government and seized them for further scientific study. From the memory on the computers and the hardware around the area, the Sanctar learned a great deal and progressed technologically more than they had in the previous thousand years. They established new resources for fuel, discovered new forms of architecture and vehicles and, most importantly, discovered how to build ships for themselves.

A fleet of unarmed ships were sent out into the system and secured Torellius, a nearby planet that had an inhabitable atmosphere. They used the alien technology to establish a colony and carried over much of the population. Torellius had small Koranite reserves too, although not as much as Sanctar once had.

The Sanctar were amazed to discover that there were more traces of alien technology on Torellius, all originating from the same civilisation. With this technology, Torellius became self-sufficient with food production and life support systems that they could never have built on their own.

With the knowledge that, if alien technology had landed on Sanctorus and Torellius, then alien life must exist elsewhere in the universe. The flotilla travelled to the nearest system where they made contact with an alien race there; the Plorgo. The Plorgo were a far more militaristic race than the Sanctar. Although they were stronger in a combat sense, the Sanctar’s colonial technology was exceptionally advanced by comparison. The Plorgo informed them that the technology the Sanctar had discovered must be from millennia ago, considering how different it was from their own.

After visiting a number of other alien planets in peace, they assessed that, even though they had not managed to extract the full potential of the technology they found on Sanctorus, there were still no planets they had found with technology as complex or old. They deduced that the aliens must have been a long forgotten race that preceded much of the present galaxy. Realising the scope of this, they considered the crashed ship to be a gift from the extinct race, worshipping them as gods. Even though they had died millions of years ago, the Sanctar believed that the aliens must still exist in a spiritual form and that they were guiding them throughout their advancement into a true space-capable species.

They named the race ‘Karrzi’; an old Sanctar dialect for ‘those who uplift’ and constructed buildings of worship on Sanctorus, their newly established colonies and even aboard the ships of the flotilla. Although there was extremely advanced technology, none of it was designed for military use. The Sanctar interpreted this as a sign that they should not fight.

The first Church of Karrzi was formed too. Representatives from politics and the military were chosen to lead a High Council that would control the entire Sanctar civilisation. All other religions were dissolved and made illegal to practise.

The revolution caused unrest on Sanctorus. Believers of other faiths revolted against the new religion imposed on them and they rioted against the High Council Temple in the capital city, Delgaron. With the power of the military in their control, the Council ordered soldiers to protect the city by any means necessary. Hundreds of rioters were killed and countless numbers were arrested.

Public reception to the occurrence was varied; many claimed that the rioters had been heretics and that, in rejecting the one true faith, they had already condemned themselves. Their destruction was justified. Although there were great losses for Delgaron as many innocent civilians had been injured and lots of buildings were destroyed, the overall effect on the Sanctar could be considered positive. With all opposition to the Church of Karrzi eliminated, they now had influence over the entire species. This is referred to as date ‘0’, as it is the time of the Sanctar Unification.

The Dark Reign of the Orathni
Now a fully unified civilisation, the Sanctar returned to the Plorgo. Expecting the Plorgo to have reached the same conclusion that the Karrzi were gods, they were shocked to learn that the Plorgo had their own religious system. The Sanctar pleaded with them to convert to the Karrzi religion so that they would be saved from eternal torment when they died.

The Plorgo were resilient and rejected the Sanctar’s claims. They were deeply offended when the missionaries told them that their faith was ‘wrong’, and declared war on the Sanctar. The unarmed Sanctar fleet was attacked by the Plorgo’s planetary defence ships. Hundreds of civilian ships were destroyed before the flotilla had escaped the planet.

Returning to Torellius and Sanctorus, the Sanctar were shaken by the experience. In order to show that they would not give up on the gods in this time of tragedy, they built thousand of temples on both planets to praise the gods. It is rumoured that they even discovered technology to speak with the spirits themselves, but this is largely regarded as myth.

Learning of the Sanctar’s unique, ancient technology, an alien empire known as the Orathni opened communications with the Sanctar in the year 91AU. They threatened that the Sanctar must hand over all of their technology to the Orathni or they would be destroyed. Even without a proper military, the Sanctar rejected this demand. Deeply insulted, the Orathni used their superweapon, ‘The Hellfire’. The Hellfire was a small, mobile space station equipped with highly sophisticated weaponry. It instantly destroyed Torellius, reducing the planet and all of its inhabitants to flame and ash. There was massive unrest on Sanctorus. Half of the population surrendered, believing that they should not waste their mortal presence and continue to worship the gods as they would inevitably be saved.

Some Sanctar chose to fight against the Orathni. The military, law enforcement, religious guards and volunteer civilians banded together to combat the invaders. Unfortunately, the Orathni were a violent and aggressive race who stole technology from other civilisations. Whilst the Sanctar had advanced technology, none of it was designed for military use. The Orathni used tanks, air support and infantry. Over one thousand Sanctar were killed within the first hour, although countless numbers went missing.

The Sanctar surrendered with many being captured. The honourable warriors and religious figureheads amongst them killed themselves to prevent the Orathni from having any gain from them. The Orathni transported the entire race to their own system. This system only had two planets; Orath, the Orathni homeworld, and Pellix. The Sanctar were imprisoned in camps all over Pellix. They were separated from their families and their names were removed in place of numbers. They were put to work in mines and to build more technology for the Orathni. The Orathni treated them as slaves, many being tortured to work harder. The violent treatment meant that many Sanctar were worked to death. Nobody was spared- even the children were forced into manual labour.

In charge of these camps was Commandant Volkus. Orathni lived for hundreds of years and Volkus was no exception. He had murdered thousands over his lifetime whilst working for the Orathni military. He took a sick psychological pleasure in personally inflicting pain on the Slaves and killed them with reckless abandon. He ordered that the surface of the planet be covered in a deadly nerve gas, except for the areas the workers inhabited and the Orathni cities. If any slaves tried to escape, they were shot down by guards. If they were fortunate enough to get past the borders, they choked to death on the gas.

When Sanctar died, their corpses were either processed as food for the other Slaves or impaled on spikes as a message to the others to work harder. For coming up with this idea, the Emperor of the Orathni heavily praised the Commandant and ordered a suit of armour to be built for him from parts of Karrzi religious artefacts. Relics were melted down to from the plates and a sword was made from parts of a sacred monument. This caused outrage amongst the Sanctar.

The treatment had immense psychological effects on the slaves. They became extremely disturbed and distressed- constant work and only half an hour to consume meat from their relatives and friends before being forced back into work.

In a desperate attempt to preserve morale, they swore to have faith in the Karrzi, no matter what happened. They built discreet religious shrines in the mines and camps were the worshipped without the Orathni’s attention In the year 290AU, the Commandant himself discovered a shrine. He ordered that all shrines on the planet were to be demolished and that all of the Karrzi religious artefacts were to be removed from Pellix and flown to Orath.

He brought all of the slaves to one camp so that they could bear witness to the execution of the Sanctar who had built the shrine. He began killing them one-by-one with his sword.

However, a Sanctar slave who had been brought to be executed fought back. She attacked the guards and rallied the crowd. The slaves broke free from the barriers and trampled the guards underfoot. The guards used firearms to shoot at the slaves but there were far too many. The outpost was overrun and the guards were killed with guns stolen from the armouries and various improvised weapons.

The Commandant attempted to attack the slave who had caused the riot. She used the chains on her wrists to strangle the Commandant and disarm him. As he readied a gun to shoot her, she picked up the sword and decapitated him in one blow.

The slave was celebrated by everybody at the camp. Although her name was forgotten as it was replaced by a number, she is referred to as ‘The Saviour’ in all religious accounts.

The slaves collected up the weapons and disabled the nerve gas around the camps. They then used the ground and air vehicles to assault the capital city on Pellix. The helicopters flew over the city, deploying the nerve gas into the streets. The entire Orathni population on Pellix were killed.

Realising that the Sanctar would undoubtedly get revenge on the Orathni homeworld next, he mobilised the entire Orathni fleet. An army of Orathni ships stolen by the Sanctar departed from Pellix at the same time and the two sides met half-way between both planets.

Although the Orathni were more experienced with the military technology, they had not properly calibrated their ships’ targeting systems. With decades of planning, various Sanctar technology experts who had been enslaved made all of their ships exclusively target the enemy. The Orathni discovered that the targeting computers would not let them fire at a ship that was identified as an ally. With this simple fault, the entire Orathni fleet was destroyed by a handful of ships.

The Orath Purge
With their entire military decimated in the space battle, the remaining forces on Orath were no match for the heavily-armed Sanctar. They former slaves marched through the streets burned the buildings. They showed the same mercy that the Orathni had shown to them; none. They used the spikes from the camp to demonstrate the cruelty of the guards by impaling the soldiers onto them.

Innocent civilians were allowed to leave once they had surrendered all of their weapons. Those who tried to double-cross them by leaving only to return in a surprise attack were destroyed with anti-air weapons. A small group of military ships carried the Karrzi artefacts off of the planet and managed to escape the Sanctar.

Sanctar forces surrounded the Emperor’s tower and killed the security force. When they reached the top floor of the tower, they broke into the Emperor’s office only to find him begging them for forgiveness, claiming that he could not be blamed for ordering the deaths of thousands. Disgusted at his lack of honour, the Sanctar threw him through the glass window of the office and down to the streets below. He landed on one of the spikes and bled to death.

The Emperor’s tower was destroyed and crumbled to the ground, burying the corpses of the Emperor and his guards.

The Sanctar collected together and departed from the planet with the Orathni’s remaining ships. After they had recovered the Orathni’s military technology, they attacked the Hellfire which had just arrived in orbit over Orath. The ships landed on the Hellfire and the Sanctar order the surrender of all personnel aboard. The innocent Orathni who had nothing to do with the military operation were allowed to go. Those who resisted and were responsible for the destruction of Torellius were launched out of the airlock.

With the Hellfire at their disposal, the Sanctar realised they now controlled a weapon of mass destruction. They observed that the weapon system was powered by Koranite and that it required immense quantities to power- more than all of the Koranite in the system. There was still enough for one use, however, and they fired it at Orath as they considered it to be ‘tainted by a false god’. The planet was destroyed.

They accessed the Orathni computers and discovered that the aliens had been investigating the Karrzi for many years before the Sanctar had achieved space flight. It was revealed that Karrzi technology could be found all over the galaxy but much of it was incomplete or damaged. The only way to fully harness its power would to be collect large amounts of it. The Sanctar also learned that the Hellfire itself was a piece of Karrzi technology that the Orathni had taken from a race they conquered.

Finally, the computer detailed that the Karrzi artefacts from Torellius and Sanctorus that had been taken to Orath had been evacuated during the invasion. The ships had dispersed into the galaxy to prevent the Sanctar from ever getting the artefacts back.

The Economic Crash
Although they had survived their first encounter with aliens, huge populations of Sanctar had died in the process. Order was lost and the government collapsed. Agricultural industries all over the planet had been unattended for so long that all of the food supplies for the race were destroyed. There was almost no money for anybody to use and the government had no money to improve the state of the planet with.

All space craft was either damaged beyond repair, without the necessary fuels or simply too expensive to build.

The leader of the new government, Chancellor Gullus, was an ageing individual who had been a fairly low-ranking politician in Delgaron before the Orathni abduction. With the most experience he was thrust into the position of control for all of Sanctorus, even though he was 189 years old and had no experience in such a highly significant role. He ordered that the cities attempt to begin manufacturing of the technology the Sanctar had used before the abduction so that they might become self-sufficient once again. Unfortunately, there were insufficient funds and many of the politicians and workers who had supported the industries before had died on Pellix.

In a desperate attempt to rectify this problem, Gullus printed massive numbers of credits and provided them to the population of almost the entire planet. It was a massive objective and depleted even more resources. Even with these credits, corporations had no produce or physical wealth to trade with and the money was effectively worthless. In order to make it viable, more money was created until their was a critical economic crash.

Sanctorus suffered a terrible state of hyperinflation. Almost half of the people on the planet lived in poverty and there were no corporations to provide jobs for them as they could not afford it. Thousands died from starvation and vagrants travelled from city to city in search of work, many collapsing dead on their journeys.

To generate funds to boost the industries, Gullus had no option but to create massive taxes in physical possessions. The law enforcement in various cities acted as bailiffs, removing prized objects from homes as the money was useless. Outraged, the people of Sanctorus started riots and refused. Even the government in Sanctorus had now completely depleted its wealth in their various attempts to salvage society. Gullus died from old age within two years of office. His funeral was widely attended but there were no remembrance ceremonies outside of Delgaron. Sanctorus was still in crisis.

The Formation of the High Council
Realising that there were no suitable dictators as so many Sanctar had died on Pellix, within three years of the return to Sanctorus, a full political reform occurred. Representatives from the ten largest cities on Sanctorus formed an anonymous High Council. Without known identities, the public had no way of rebelling against the individuals, but they could still cast votes on them in their anonymity.

The first step in rebuilding society was the dismantling of all Orathni technology- although it was kept in museums and places of remembrance for those who had died a the hands of the Orathni. The technology was repurposed for providing for the Sanctar- agricultural machines and facilities, homes and long-distance travel vehicles were all created as a result. These offered new industries to provide the essentials for Sanctar and created thousands of new jobs.

One of the High Councillors was responsible for monitoring the reform of the global economy. He regulated trade between the nations and carefully managed credit production, keeping a balance that ensured the survival of people on all different parts of the planet. In under a decade, the whole planet was reformed; unemployment was greatly reduced, the global market was strong and crime was dropping.

The government funded more expeditions at the order of the High Council to locate Karrzi artefacts on Sanctorus. Not only did this prove useful for boosting morale amongst believers, but the technology further improved the quality of life for the Sanctar and progressed them further into a hyper-advanced race.

A Totalitarian Society
In less than five years, Sanctorus was restored to its former glory. The economy was steady once more and it became even more powerful than it was before the Orathni abductions. Although the majority of Sanctar considered the High Council's rule to be a step forward for their race, some were still against them. The fact that the council further enforced Karrzism caused religious deviants, criminals and anarchists to band together, some reforming organisations that had first existed after the Great Unification. The most notable would be the Vaydel League, named after the trade group who supplied them with munitions. They performed terrorist attacks on government buildings and encouraged hatred for the new administration.

To combat this, the High Council formed the first Guardian Defence Force; an organisation of counter-terrorist operatives and police officers to help prevent crime sprees. They also received the necessary assets to protect the planet in case of another alien invasion. Many assessed that they would have been strong enough to defend against the Orathni had the arrived when the Guardian Defence Force were in power.

The Phantoms of Phaestos were also established at this time; a secret organisation that answered directly to the Karrzi Church. They were to detect heretics in society and terminate them without being detected, cleansing all of the sinful Sanctar and creating a single group of believers.

Although these two groups successfully dealt with criminals, it did not discourage crime initially. The High Council desired a larger military force which would impress the people of Sanctorus with its strength and discipline and prevent potential criminals from violating the law. It would cost large amounts of resources and credits to form an army such as this, but the High Council still considered it essential to create their idealistic view of Sanctorus.

One of the councillors, the one had allowed the economy to recover, was against this idea. He tried to discourage this plan as it would destroy all his work in bringing Sanctorus to its former glory. They could not afford to build a military that large and society would fall back into anarchy as they would be unable to keep the planet running. Outraged, the other councillors stripped him of his title and publicised his name; Larr Stetonin. Stetonin was also convicted of treason and directly attempting to undermine the High Council.

He started a protest in Delgaron's city centre, just outside of the Sanctorus Federal Government's capital building. He attempted to rally other protesters, but only amassed a meagre 20 people. These 20 were all businessmen and economists and agreed with Stetonin's opinions, attempting to warn the High Council of the consequences of their plans. For trying to reveal the High Council's plan to the public, they were thoroughly punished. Each was sentenced for committing a violent crime, the evidence supporting these claims having been fabricated within the same week. They were all given life imprisonment and were never heard from again. Stetonin vanished the day after the protest, likely the work of the Phantoms of Phaestos.

The Holy Army
With Stetonin disposed of, a new representative joined the anonymous council. This was never documented and there are no records that Stetonin's protest ever occurred, save for the fact that the other protesters were convicted.

The Sanctorus Federal Government set about creating an army for the Sanctar and planned to enlist as many soldiers as possible in case a nation became rogue or there was a mass terrorist attack. They used blueprints of Karrzi and Orathni technology and created various vehicles and weapons. This force became known as the Sanctorus Holy Army.

The leaders of other political parties greatly opposed this new military agenda. It had been kept a secret until fairly late in its development to prevent it being aborted due to its unpopularity. The other political parties used propaganda to expose the High Council as liars, suggesting that they only kept the plans a secret because they did not trust the very people they governed.

This cunning tactic greatly decreased popularity for the High Council and increased the support for other parties. Manufacturing corporations did not want to associate with the High Councils for fear of losing favour with their clients and customers. The Sanctorus Holy Army was no longer feasible as the High Council lacked the funding, resources and support required to finish it.

Triumphant at stopping the plans and increasing their own favour, the other political parties were overjoyed. The largest ones formed coalitions and became even more popular than the current High Council. It became a very real possibility that the group who had brought the race back from the brink would be ousted from their authority for trying to rearm the Sanctar. They could no longer afford to advertise or hold campaigns to regain favour and they seemed doomed to failure- just as Stetonin had warned.

In the very same year, however, the Sanctar received their second attack from an alien race. A race of refugees called the Wust had lost their own homeplanet due to an environmental disaster that had rendered it uninhabitable. Much of their population had been killed in the event and they had no extra-terrestrial colonies that the species could survive on.

Seeing Sanctorus as the only viable planet, they believed they had no choice but to take it by force. Wustian ships descended into the atmosphere and fired upon the civilian populace. The Guardian Defence Force scrambled into action to defend the planet but they were greatly outnumbered and the lack of trust for the High Council meant that they lacked enough funding for equipment or personnel. At this time of crisis, the Sanctorus Federal Government had no choice but to give the High Council emergency powers to protect the planet. Military and security corporations were forced to donate all of their weapons and vehicles tot the Sanctorus Holy Army. The Army rolled out in force; hundreds and thousands of vehicles and soldiers covered every city and fought back the Wust. Wustian infantry were forced to deploy to the surface as the Sanctorus Holy Army had given the Guardian Defence Force enough diversions and time to set up their anti-air turrets and destroy the Wustian ships over the cities.

The month-long war ended in Tarron, as the last few pockets of refugees were killed. The Army burned all of the corpses to destroy them in their entirety and prevent them from contaminating the planet with their heretic religious influence.

The Sanctorus Holy Army had proved itself and the High Council had regained their favour. Sanctorus was at piece once more.

The Age of Cleansing
The emergency powers the High Council had received for defending against the Wust demanded that it remain for five years in order for the group in power to repair any damages as a result of the emergency. Although the damages from the attack were not severe enough to warrant his being essential, the High Council used it to their advantage.

They adjusted existing laws, banning all political parties except for their own. They gave themselves even more power so that they could continue to exercise their authority over Sanctorus. Nevertheless, they still supported the Sanctorus Holy Army and Guardian Defence Force to keep the planet well-defended and made regular donations to the Karrzi Church.

As they believed that Karrzism was the one true faith, all other religions would have to be completely destroyed- not just banned. As they were to be the instruments of the gods, they must make themselves pure too. They agreed to cleanse the Sanctar race of the weak and undesirable to breed a generation of perfect individuals.

They created new laws that would persecute minority groups and undesirable individuals in society; criminals, the work-shy, vagrants, political troublemakers and the disabled. As opposed to the capitalist system that had been adopted before, all companies and corporations across the planet were absorbed into the Sanctorus Federal Government and the undesirable individuals all lost their jobs. With all Sanctar industries at their disposal, the new government restructured employment; they tested Sanctar and allocated jobs, even if they disliked a job or they felt their new job was not as good as their old one. All Sanctar on the planet were registered into a single large database so that they could be identified and analysed. After collective censuses had been completed, anybody who was not on the system must automatically be an outlaw or a rogue and were immediately imprisoned.

This also allowed the Sanctorus Federal Government to harass the undesirable individuals. They gave them poor jobs and gave them smaller wages than the other Sanctar. Pay was often suspended and Guardian Defence Operatives were specifically ordered to irritate or vindictively injure them to destroy morale. The individuals were forbidden from employment in the government or military and were often randomly searched or arrested. They were not treated as second-class citizens; they were treated as animals.

The government, now owning all corporations, controlled all of the media. They censored and banned anything they disliked, often creating entertainment and information programmes specifically to persuade and control the beliefs of the Sanctar. Only works that agreed with the ideals of the government or the Church were published; all else was banned.

As the news industry was managed by the government, they only reported positively on the government and spread subtle messages about how great he government was and portrayed any enemies to it as evil heretics. They used posters and digital advertising to convince people that they were living in the golden age of Sanctorus.

The undesirable individuals were slowly removed from society; sentenced to life imprisonment, exiled or simply executed. None of this was reported or publicised and anybody that attempted to reveal it to the public was removed by the Phantoms of Phaestos.

Finally, the younger generations were taught to love Sanctorus, the Karrzi and everything they stood for. As they were so impressionable at a young age, the government used indoctrination in schools and children's entertainment to encourage their own idealism in children. They were taught to despise the undesirable individuals and to strive for purity and greatness; to achieve a better Sanctorus.

By now, the majority of the undesirable individuals had been removed from society and the masses were none the wiser. People went missing in the night, the Guardians made arrests with apparently flawless evidence every time and children were united under the High Council's idealism. Even the disabled were considered a liability to the government; the emergency ambulance services specifically performed euthanasia on the mentally or physically disabled who fell ill or became injured without any explanation.

In a few short decades, Sanctorus had bred a race of pure, perfect Sanctar, ready to fulfil the will of the Karrzi.

The First Crusade
Using all of the technology and ships they had recovered from the Karrzi, the Orathni and the Wust, the Sanctar built the Sanctorus Holy Flotilla. The Sanctorus Holy Army were enlisted as the specific military force for the Flotilla- now called the 'Sanctorus Holy Flotilla Army'. They declared themselves to be the ‘Sanctar Hegemony’.

Now that the Orathni and the Wust had been destroyed, the High Council discussed the possibility of other non-believer races. They had not discovered any aliens that also believed in the Karrzi religion and the few species that they had discovered centuries ago had unique faiths. They came to the conclusion that the galaxy must be filled with aliens who did not believe in the one true religion. With this epiphany, it became clear that they had no choice but to honour the gods by attempting to convert all aliens in the galaxy, and all who denied the truth must be destroyed.

Almost a century after their previous encounter, the Sanctar returned to the Plorgo and again established communications. The Plorgo had noticed the destruction of the Orathni and were told that the Sanctar’s success was due to the spiritual guidance of the Karrzi gods. They extended another invitation to submit to their religion, but the Plorgo remained adamant and sent out a destroyer-class ship to attack the fleet.

After witnessing the Sanctar’s defeat to the Plorgo centuries before, the Plorgo believed that a single ship could defeat the Sanctar. They were wrong. The destroyed was fired upon by every ship in the flotilla. In seconds, the destroyed burst into a flaming wreckage and crumbled away. The Sanctar deployed the flotilla’s ground and air military to the planet and engaged the Plorgo. Within a day, the battle was over. The Plorgo suffered over 29,000,000 casualties. The Sanctar suffered 8.

After the conflict, the Sanctar salvaged as much technology from the Plorgo’s planet as possible before assimilating it within the flotilla. They promptly left the planet and have not returned, as they again believed it to be a demonic infestation.

After the extinction of the Plorgo, they scoured numerous other planets, making contact and attempting negotiations only to end up killing them all. They repeated this process, killing numerous alien empires but improving their own technology at the same time. This is one of the reasons why the Sanctar’s modern technologies are so varied and different; they have been collected from many different cultures.

The Sanctar continued their crusade on the galaxy, raiding enemy planets and destroying all that was unholy. They began to locate more Karrzi technology on planets were the native races did not even realise it was there. They deployed small teams of Sanctar to retrieve religious artefacts and relics from these sites. These specialist soldiers are referred to as 'Reclaimers'.

By 338AU, the Sanctar Hegemony and the Sanctorus Holy Flotilla were a formidable, hated force in the outer rims of the galaxy. Empires feared it as they knew the hegemony systematically harvested each planet in turn, and every day that passed was another day that they would be closer to harvesting their planet.

The Great War
In the present day, 474AU, the flotilla continues to scour the galaxy for artefacts and to destroy all that is unholy. They regularly return to their home planets to collect more citizens and military recruits, but they still pursue their nomadic approach to life. Unbeknownst to them, however, they are soon to stumble on the largest war they have ever encountered.

Social Structure
The Hegemony suffers from a social schism that is blatantly obvious to them but is almost entirely ignored.

There is a great difference between the upper and lower classes in Sanctar society, as is seen in quality of living, wealth, life expectancy and the discontent of the less privileged.

There are five distinct tiers that Sanctar fit into. The uppermost tier are the religious figureheads, politicians, the High Council and, above all, the Pope. These people earn vast amounts of wealth as they control the way the economy across the colonies work. They hold power over the rest of the Hegemony.

The second tier are the ministers of colonies and the admirals and generals of the flotilla. They hold influence over specific parts of the Hegemony but still pale in comparison to the top tier. They are incredibly wealthy- far from the exceptionally large riches the top tier possess- but still much more than the third tier.

Below them are the priests and soldiers of the Flotilla. As these people are responsible for the majority of tangible effect in terms of the Hegemony's goal to cleanse the galaxy, they receive fairly respectable pay, yet nowhere near that of the tier above them. If the first two tiers are the mind and will of the Sanctar, then the third tier are the heart.

The fourth tier are the workers, neglected, poor and discontent. As their jobs are considered unimportant compared to that of soldiers or priests for the great cause, they receive little respect or money. Much of their work is manual labour, keeping the Hegemony- especially the Flotilla- functioning as they should. As unions are banned, the workers often riot and retaliate. These attempts are fruitless however, as the first and second tiers control their wealth, healthcare and work, effectively blackmailing them into their jobs as they would starve otherwise.

The politicians would never admit it but the workers are essential for the survival of the Hegemony and therefore their mission to purge the galaxy.

At the top-end of the fourth tier are the Guardian Defence Force- by no means the finest soldiers in the Hegemony, but rather starving workers who have sacrificed their pride and expertise in their jobs for a marginally higher pay grade and the smallest scraps of authority they could ever attain.

Many fourth-tier Sanctar live on crowded Flotilla accommodation ships, poor mining or farming installations on colonies or in ghettos on Sanctorus. Fifth-tier Sanctar, on the other hand, rarely have homes at all.

The fifth and lowest tier are considered liabilities and filth. In the fascist, purity-obsessed society the Sanctar live in, the lowest rank are hardly considered Sanctar at all. The disabled, the weak, the criminals, the work-shy and the old are perceived as dead weights in the Hegemony. Unable to contribute to their society, they are without food, money, homes or mercy. Even the workers, often viewed as scum by the upper classes, consider the fifth tier to be worthless.

Those who do not or cannot aid the one true goal of the Hegemony are not worth the resources required to sustain them and are therefore dealt with similarly as alien heretics, political opponents and religious deviants are- they are worked to death or killed on the spot. Hard manual labour is not so much a useful process for gaining resources as it is for disposing of the unwanted. The live incineration process as used in purges is often employed and it is rumoured that the admirals have ejected large numbers of fifth-tier Sanctar from airlocks on Flotilla ships multiple times at the request of the highest tier.

Members of the Guardian Defence Force are paid bonuses for finding homeless fifth-tier individuals, arresting them and bringing them to their stations for 'processing'. In truth, they are exterminated like pests. This is incredibly common, not because the Guardians are unaware of the individuals' fates, but because they are so desperate to survive that they would do anything to earn extra cash.

Culture
"The heretics' worlds are nought but clusters of mud and faeces... they are uncivilised demons."

The Sanctar are a proud, warlike race. With such a large portion of their population joining the military, their culture has become less tangible. Nevertheless, the Sanctar still have a vivid and interesting culture.

Most Sanctar have a strong sense of community, but their ambition is great as well. Although all of them seek to benefit the Alliance as a whole, they are very self-conscious, especially in how they are perceived by others. Sanctar always work to the best of their potential to show the rest of society that they are capable and dedicated. Sanctar show great disgust in somebody with no ambition, as they believe that they are not embracing the gift of life they have received from the Karrzi.

Despite their brute strength in combat, the Sanctar are still a well-mannered, civilised people. Their speech is grand and somewhat poetic. They show respect to all other Sanctar and expect it in turn. This trait has been turned on its head since they have met alien races, however; Sanctar will appreciate and respect alien races that share traits with them, but they make no effort to hide their dislike for the less civilised.

Although they have respect for some other races, they could still be considered elitist. They find all other races inferior to their own in intelligence, combat and culturally. Even from a young age, Sanctar are educated to be ruthlessly efficient in everything they do, especially if they come from a military family.

Sanctar have a clear and deterministic psychology. They are honourable and respectful to their elders and other Sanctar and pledge themselves fully to the Hegemony. They follow unspoken ‘codes of honour’. Performing any action for personal gain that has a negative effect on their society as a whole is considered treason. This makes the Sanctar loyal to their justice system not because they are scared of consequence but because they are too principled to do otherwise.

The Sanctar are strong-willed and courageous. If one is captured, they are likely to commit suicide and sacrifice themselves to protect the empire they serve. They are noticeably brave in combat, as they believe that they will be rewarded in death for following the true faith. It matters not to them if they die, provided they get the job done.

Within any Sanctar community, they strongly respect some characteristics and traits more than others. Whilst they are impressed by skill in combat, they do not commend strength, but honour in battle. It is far more commendable to free the innocent, even if they are on the enemy side. Particularly dishonourable actions can result in the individual being taken to court and, in the most extreme cases, execution.

Sanctar treat honour like a physical energy. They can earn it and possess it inside them, but they can lose it by performing an unjust action. It is all Sanctar’s ultimate aim to die with honour so that they might be rewarded in the afterlife, even if this means sacrificing themselves when they have lost honour previously. Dying in battle is considered the most honourable death for a soldier.

Sanctar have immense loyalty toward their leaders and to comrades in battle. They will follow their leaders’ instructions to the letter and show great discomfort if an ally dies. If a Sanctar is killed in battle, chaplains are permitted to pray for their honour, even if the battle is still in progress.

Sanctar government is clear and well-structured. The High Council holds the majority of influence over the Hegemony, closely followed by the Karrzi Church. Nevertheless, they largely agree on most topics so there is little conflict between them. Whilst the overall government functions as a democracy, smaller communities of Sanctar, such as colonies or even battalions of soldiers, prefer to support a single individual. High-ranking soldiers are chosen to lead battalions. Their soldiers are extremely loyal and would sacrifice themselves to save their leader.

Karrzism
"Follow the path of light and accept your glorious salvation!"

The only legally practiced religion of the Sanctar is Karrzism. Karrzism is a polytheistic faith with an undetermined number of deities. The Sanctar worship the souls of the Karrzi collectively- they consider them to have a physical presence and move in the world but cannot be touched or seen. Although it is never properly expressed how many Karrzi there are, they believe that there is a soul for every Karrzi that existed, so there must be billions.

The Karrzi are not considered as beings with a form, but rather as independent 'spirits'. The souls can observe the events in the Sanctar's existence and judge them throughout their lives. Sanctar consider their conscience to be the advice of the souls around them. The Karrzi can also inspire an emotion or grant skill in an action by investing themselves in the physical form of the believer.

Scriptures and History
All history of Karrzism is recorded in scriptures pieced together from the memories of ancient technology that the Sanctar have salvaged. As the data is so old, the translations are poor and the true meaning of much of the text is debated.

As well as detailing the history of the universe, the scriptures also describe the importance of various values deemed integral to every individual's existence. The most commonly mentioned is purity; the concept that the universe must be cleansed of the injustice, destruction of the universe the Karrzi created and, most importantly, heresy. Sanctar follow these scriptures with fanatical devotion. Many soldiers quote the scriptures in battle.

In official Karrzism scriptures, it is recorded that the Karrzi were the first life to ever exist in the galaxy. Their physical form is unknown as no organic samples have survived the infinite millennia they have been extinct since. The scriptures claim that the Karrzi were immortal and that the created technology so advanced that no races in the modern universe have surpassed them. Much of it is made from materials that have never been found anywhere else in the universe. Much of the technology has been destroyed or lost but enough of it still exists for the Sanctar to survive on conquer other races with.

The Karrzi used their ancient technology to produce more life, creating the galaxies, the planets in them and the organisms to thrive on each one. It is told that they observed these worlds and their inhabitants individually for billions of years from the Plane of Purity before judging them on their values; did they uphold the same beliefs about purity, conservation and creation? If the creatures were not perfect, they were removed from existence and the cycle repeated.

Finally, the Karrzi realised that they could not create a pure universe without directly intervening. They formed a new species- the evolutionary ancestors of the Sanctar- and placed them on a planet on the edge of the galaxy in the centre of the universe. They then sacrificed themselves by destroying their physical forms to release their souls and guide the Sanctar via conscience.

They crafted the Sanctar to be the saviours of the universe- to purge it of evil and make it as divine as the Plane of Purity. To aid them in their struggle, the ancient technology was gifted to them, hidden beneath the surfaces of planets for them to retrieve and use for the sacred cause.

Unfortunately, the heretics in the central galaxy stole the Karrzi technology for their own selfish desires. It is the duty of all Sanctar to recover and protect all Karrzi artefacts and to purge the galaxy of all evil, then the rest of the universe.

Death and the Planes of Existence
The Sanctar believe that the Karrzi created three 'planes of existence'. The planes are considered to be isolated dimensions that exist parallel with each other and all progress in time at the exact same rate. Souls in the Plane of Purity can observe and 'speak' to beings in the Plane of judgement but cannot move between the planes. The Karrzi were originally living beings in the Plane of Purity but were forced to stay within the Plane of Judgement for all eternity when they sacrificed themselves to guide the Sanctar. Souls cannot enter the Plane of Damnation unless they are sent there by the Karrzi upon death in the Plane of Judgement. No souls can ever leave the Plane of Damnation.

The Plane of Judgement is the dimension in which the living and the 'real universe' reside. The souls of new being are formed, inhabit bodies, eventually die and cross to one of the other two planes. The being is sent to a different plane depending on how they have acted in life- the Karrzi souls judge them and transport them accordingly, to either eternally reward them or eternally condemn them.

It is the goal of the Karrzi and, by extension, the Sanctar, to destroy all evil in the Plane of Judgement. Beings cannot interact between these planes so the Karrzi could never interfere with this plane in a physical form. Instead, the Sanctar are their instrument and they exist only as souls. When all evil has been removed from the Plane of Judgement, all heretic souls that ever have or ever will exist will be trapped in the Plane of Damnation for all eternity and the 'real universe' will be completely pure.

The Plane of Damnation exists as a place where the souls of heretics are sent for their sins. The Karrzi could never destroy them in soul form or from the Plane of Purity, so the Sanctar are used to destroy the physical form and sentence the heretic's soul to be sent to the Plane of Damnation.

In the Plane of Damnation, there is nothing but infinite void. No matter exists within it as the Karrzi deemed it pointless. Instead, the condemned souls are eternally tormented by the 'messages' of the Karrzi which manifest themselves as artificial pain in the dead heretics' consciousness. The pain does not physically exist- it is only in the thoughts of the souls who have been condemned.

The Plane of Purity was the first plane to exist and was where the Karrzi's physical forms once resided. Now, it is home to the souls of every being who has ever followed the one true faith and stayed true to the Karrzi's cause. Of course, the Sanctar believe that only the Sanctar souls currently exist there as no aliens have ever accepted the religion.

In the Plane of Purity, the souls of the passed-away believers can contact the living in the Plane of Judgement in the same way as the Karrzi. Alternatively, the souls may choose the Eternal Slumber- the effective destruction of their soul itself, removing their consciousness from the universe. This is not considered a violent act; it is much like the typical preconception of death in which the soul is eternally at peace, never to do anything but never to sense anything ever again.

Worship
All Sanctar are legally expected to pray twice a day for at least fifteen minutes, four hours apart. Prayer can be best described as a form of meditation and can be performed in groups or alone. The Sanctar do have designated locations for worship, both on planets and aboard ships. It is not mandatory that the prayer be performed in these places, however, as long as they have a Channel Rug.

Channel Rugs are small, and rectangular and can be a variety of colours and patterns. They must be made from the fibres of a Yulani tree, plants whom many Sanctar believe amplify the conscience so they can better communicate with the gods. This is how the rugs earn their name- they 'channel' the gods' messages so that the Sanctar can hear them in their minds more easily.

The Sanctar place the rug on the ground, facing a symbol of Karrzism. They then stand or sit on the rug, close their eyes and enter a state of meditation. Some Sanctar choose to quietly hum or sing during the meditation. They then 'think' their messages to the gods in their minds and await responses from the Karrzi souls around them.

Sanctar often confess and repent their sins, praise the gods and ask for guidance on matters. Soldiers will often pray that the souls aid them in battle so that they might survive a purge and further help the Karrzi's cause. Although all faithful Sanctar believe in the prayer, other aliens are sceptical.

If a Sanctar fails to pray at the necessary times, they will often ask for forgiveness from the gods. It is acceptable for a Sanctar to miss prayer if it is because of a reason positive to the Karrzi's cause- for example, if they were attacked by heretics and they fought.

Karrzi Artefacts
The Sanctar believe that Karrzi technology they find in the galaxy are gifts from the gods. When the Karrzi were crafting the universe, their illustrious technology was incredibly advanced. When they entered soul form to guide the Sanctar, however, they no longer needed the tools so they buried them under the surfaces of planets for the Sanctar to find and use in their purges.

Artefacts can be anything from weapons, parts of vehicles, tools for various operations or energy resources. Symbols of the Karrzi, often depicting letters that were icons for different values or concepts, are often used in prayer. Some of them are believed to contain traces of Yulani trees, channelling the voices of the souls.

Artefacts are extremely precious to the Sanctar and they will stop at nothing to retrieve and protect them. It is believed that, the most important and valuable technology is kept in secret locations where other races will never be able to steal or destroy them. Individual pieces can be purchased for high prices by individuals, often as lucky charms or for prayers. Many are kept by the Sanctorus Holy Flotilla army, as they require one for every large travel ship they have.

Small teams of highly trained operatives are often deployed to planets to recover artefacts undetected, preventing them from being destroyed.

It is also believed that surviving Orathni still possess artefacts stolen and kept on Corellius until they were all evacuated during the uprising. Their current whereabouts are unknown.

Purges
"The evil in the galaxy is an infection that feeds on the world the Karrzi created. We must clean it, make it pure."

Purges are attacks on planets or large satellites performed by the Sanctorus Holy Flotilla army. As it is the overall goal of the Sanctar to destroy all heretics in the galaxy and then the rest of the universe, purges are intended to destroy all who do not accept the one true faith, all non-Karrzism religious symbols and anyone or anything that attempts to destroy or hinder the Hegemony.

Every purge begins with the Sanctar opening communications with the locals on the planet, either digitally or, if the race is not as technologically advanced, by lading directly onto the planet. Initial talks are peaceful as the Sanctar inquire about the race, discussing their religious beliefs. If the race does not follow Karrzism, as none whom the Hegemony have contacted ever have, the Sanctar will attempt to explain their religion and offer the aliens a chance to repent their sins, accept the one true faith and save themselves from eternal damnation. If the aliens refuse, as they always have, then the Sanctar will begin the combat phase of the purge.

Drop-Pods are deployed from cruisers and frigates while Dropships send infantry to key locations. Gunships and fighters destroy enemy vehicles and neutralise any stationary defences. Once the initial defence forces have been defeated, the Sanctar establish camps and temporary strongholds. They set up communications arrays to stay in contact with each other and dropships begin to deploy vehicles for the personnel already planetside. The invasion forces set up perimeters around cities and other places of interest. Anti-air weapons are set up on the ground in case enemy spacecraft return to the planet.

Then, the forces push forward to the centre of each city. As they are surrounded on all sides, enemy forces are spread thin and are easily ambushed. Infantry and vehicles systematically clear each street. Combat continues until every enemy soldier has been slain. When all opposition has been destroyed, civilians are rounded up and 'processed'. Soldiers direct them in groups onto Processing Ships which are disguised as evacuation craft for the civilians who have surrendered. In truth, the vehicles are designed to execute the heretics. When they step in, the doors are sealed behind them and they are incinerated, still alive, until no traces remain. This continues until every civilian has been processed.

Once the aliens have been completely eradicated from the planet, troops are sent out to destroy all religious symbols of the aliens. The ships then search for Karrzi artefacts or Koranite reserves on the planet. Finally, all vehicles and infantry get aboard their dropships and return to the flotilla. Only a small garrison of troops and anti-air devices remain in case enemy reinforcements arrive. They are permitted to wait one month before they can leave and return to the flotilla.

The time taken for purges varies greatly. Pacifistic or unadvanced races can take mere hours whereas the more powerful opponents can take weeks or even a month or two. No purge has ever failed in the history of the Hegemony.

The Phantoms of Phaestos
"Occasionally, the lies of the heretics will infect the holy warriors... like an infected limb, they must be removed."

The Phantoms of Phaestos are a secret organization believed to answer to the Church of Karrizm's highest order. Their identities are unknown but it is rumoured that they are anonymous assassins tasked to identify non-believers in Sanctar society and remove them without anybody noticing. Speak out of line and you might mysteriously disappear, never to be seen again.

It is unknown how many Phantoms there are. It is generally believed that they are integrated into all levels of society with even the most important members of the Church and the flotilla military being secret operatives. It is unknown how much of this is fact and how much is fantasy, but researching the Phantoms of Phaestos on the extranet will not provide any results. On the other hand, it will signal them to your position and you are unlikely to do anything again.

The Church have many secrets that they do not want exposed and it is the Phantoms' responsibility to keep it that way. Even the mention of the Phantoms can lead to your disappearance. When an independent extranet news reporter interviewed a leading Church official, they replied blankly, apparently knowing nothing of their existence. It is unclear if the official was lying but the reporter vanished that night and never gave a verdict.

Security feeds of the Phantoms strangely blur out or randomly fail. The only witnesses there are claim that the Phantoms sedate civilians who notice their operations but this is unverified. Still, nobody would be willing to make a point about them as they would face the consequences. Minor evidence suggests that the Phantoms have cloaking and digital disguise technology and primarily use melee weapons to dispatch heretics. It is rumoured that they also carry firearms but they have never had to use them.

The name 'Phantoms of Phaestos' derives from Karrzism. Phaestos is the location in the void directly correlating to the galactic core. It is believed that this is where new souls emanate from and try to kill living beings in the Plane of Judgement in their anger.

Education
"Weakness must be removed, slowly hammered away until only a pure Sanctar remains. A Sanctar who is fearless, domineering and brutal, but honourable, brave and wise. A Sanctar who will cause the fiends before them to tremble in worry. A Sanctar who can bear pain; nothing weak, nothing gentle. A strong, independent warrior who fights for their beliefs in every sense. We live in a dark, unforgiving universe. There is no time for us to be children."

Sanctar are officially considered adults from the age of four, as soon as they have completed their metamorphosis. For approximately ten years, the brain continues to develop. Nevertheless, after learning basic language and understanding, a Sanctar is capable of typical adult intelligence from as young as twelve years old.

Education is mandatory for all Sanctar between ages four and twelve. They are educated on the subjects of mathematics, literacy, literature, science, eugenics, history, xenoarchaeology and, most importantly, religion. After their eight years of education, Sanctar undergo a set of examinations for an entire year. This can be very stressful and is integral to their future success; those who are in the top 10% of candidates continue education till the age of twenty. Those who do not are thrust into the adult world, usually at the fourth tier of society. If they are physically fit, they will often join the Sanctorus Holy Flotilla Army.

Those who succeed in the exams continue to study in specialist subjects and earn highly prestigious qualifications. They often become politicians, doctors, lawyers, colonial ministers or Officers and Commanders in the Flotilla Army.

Art
Le whip

Language
The only language spoken by the Sanctar is Sanctese. Sanctar speech sounds much like human voices but with more roaring and screeching. Male voices are very deep and involve lots of howling noises, whereas females have screechy voices. Sanctese has existed and developed for hundreds of years, largely due to the fact that almost the entire planet spoke it from hundreds of years ago. It also uses some Karrzi words which have been adopted into Sanctese as there were no existing equivalents or they exclusively related to subjects of Karrzi culture.

The Sanctar use electronic translation systems to contact other races. Although it has never happened as no race has ever accepted Karrzism, the Sanctar expect other races to adopt Sanctese as it is the first language of the Karrzi's believers.

Sport
Sport is fairly popular on Sanctorus but to a lesser degree on colonies. The most common sport is glunderal; an obscure, complex sport that many Sanctar watch but do not know the rules of. The game involves a ball, several clubs, a bat, a hat with a basket strapped on top and a live Skuddle Pig that is released mid-way through the game to lick and irritate the players. The sport can be played by two or more players with large groups of over a hundred playing it at times.

Many colonies hold marathons annually, as well as the Delgaron marathon which is exceptionally popular. Sanctorus also holds the annual Sanctorus Sport Championship, in which athletes from almost every colony compete in various sports, including long jump, high jump, sprints, swimming, shot put, glunderal and 'GLUNDERAL X-TREME', which is identical to glunderal but all of the competitors are blindfolded. As it takes a long time for all of the athletes from other colonies to travel to Sanctorus and they are used to other gravity levels on their homeplanets, the Sanctorus team have a large advantage and win the vast majority of the events.

Hover Races are also popular on many colonies, in which competitors must build hovering race vehicles out of typical land vehicles and parts from space vehicles. They then compete on race tracks in all kinds of landscapes, from deserts to winter tundras and caves to jungles. As the vehicles travel at such high speeds, use space vehicle parts and the sport has almost no safety regulations, it is extremely dangerous. Hundreds of competitors are killed every year in high-speed collisions and crashes. The sport is still surprisingly popular due to the massive cash prizes, but is illegal on Sanctorus due to how dangerous it is and how it "wastes lives that could aid the great cause".

Void Warps
The only way in which Sanctar ships achieve faster-than-light travel is by using a void warp. Based on technology salvaged from a Karrzi vessel, the technology allows the ship to move in a direction by dimensions that cannot be perceived visually- it appears that the ship travels into an infinitely thin 'seam'. The ship passes through into a seam of identical proportions in the Plane of Damnation. Once it has fully passed through, the seam 'closes' and is no longer visible.

Within the Plane of Damnation, there is nothing but void. As there is no light except that which is produced by the ships themselves, the ships are invisible unless two travel side-by-side and illuminate each other. As there is no gravity or matter in the plane, the ships move much faster and continue to be in motion indefinitely without expending resources to travel.

As the Plane of Damnation exists parallel to the Plane of Judgement, any coordinate in the void corresponds proportionally to a coordinate in the 'real universe'. The ships simply move at incredibly fast speeds to their destination, use the void warp to pass through a seam again and materialise wherever they choose to be.

There have been reported attacks of condemned souls attacking ships in the void. The souls typically cause electronics to malfunction or cause engine failures but cannot harm the crews directly. As they have no physical form, they can only be perceived as 'clouds' that refract and reflect light cast by the ships as they move. The void is believed to be filled with every heretic that has ever died, so the void is surprisingly densely populated considering it is infinitely large.

The souls cannot harm the crews directly- they can only disrupt the ship and strand it in the void. If a crew are stuck in the void, they are doomed as they will inevitably run out of resources, they cannot signal for help and the void is so large that the probability of another warping ship spotting them is so tiny that it is irrelevant.

Koranite Power Cores
The mineral Koranite is the primary power source for almost all Sanctar technology. As much of the Sanctar's technology is designed around salvaged Karrzi technology, they all effectively work in the same way. When a small electrical charge is applied to a sample of the mineral, it glows brightly and amplifies the voltage, allowing the Sanctar to use capacitors wired up to the Koranite and achieve huge energy supplies for relatively small masses of the resource.

Despite the high output of Koranite, exceptionally large installations such as the Hellfire require enormous quantities of Koranite to operate. This factor combined with the generally high usefulness of Koranite makes it very valuable and expensive to purchase. Sanctar almost exclusively mine the mineral directly from planets' cores as opposed to buying it on the galactic market. They even have technology used to detect Koranite in star systems which, ironically, is also powered by Koranite.

As well as being incredibly expensive, Koranite is incredibly volatile. If ignited, the mineral will be engulfed in a violent explosion, making it extremely dangerous to handle. Small ships such as fighters use a tiny amount of the mineral as, even though it causes an explosion large enough to consume the ship in a fireball if hit in space combat, it is less likely to combust in an accident.

Besides the Hellfire, Koranite has limited application in the military. As Koranite is so expensive, it is not used for individual units. On rare occasions, larger ships fire missiles with samples of Koranite inside. These offer much larger explosions and cause a searing heat that can ignite infantry who survive the initial blast. It also has a limited ability to disable enemy electronics by overloading them and causing them to rapidly heat up and then burst or melt.

Paralysis Weapons
It is a widely-held belief that killing or harming other Sanctar is detrimental to the overall cause of Karrzism as the fewer Sanctar there are, the less easily they can cleanse planets. For law enforcement, members of the Guardian Defence Force of security officers of the Sanctar Emergency Aid Group often use non-lethal tools to subdue troublemakers without killing them so they can be arrested and rehabilitated or sedated, preventing further panic. Stunsticks are simple melee tools which 'electrocute' the target, causing pain and muscle spasms. This can prevent them from escaping or attacking personnel but does no physical damage to them. With instant treatment at no cost to either party, the pain can be removed without any lasting injuries. Paralysis Cannons are also fitted on buggies to stop larger groups, similar to how high-pressure hoses are attached to vehicles to prevent riots in other cultures.

Sanctorus
The Sanctar’s home planet, Sanctorus, is a lush rainforest world covered in vegetation. It is host to thousands of species of both predators and prey, and has a warm, humid climate. The plant life grows so quickly that it can spread over buildings in a matter of hours. For this reason, Sanctar prefer to build settlements on beaches or mountains where there is more space. The Sanctar government buildings, the embassies of other Alliance races and the High Council’s temple all belong on Sanctorus, in the capital city of Delgaron.



The Sanctorus Holy Flotilla
The Flotilla is a group of fleets and independent ships that travel as one throughout the galaxy. The population aboard the flotilla rivals Sanctorus' in terms of numbers and has far more military personnel and firepower. It survives by reaping resources from purged worlds and by sustaining itself with farms, gardens and factories aboard the ships themselves. The flotilla features both military and civilian ships with some ships specifically for accommodation.
 * Military Fleets and Groups of Ships
 * The First Fleet
 * The Second Fleet
 * The Flotilla Defence Fleet
 * Government Civilian Fleets and Groups of Ships
 * The Public Sector Trading Federation
 * The Sanctar Emergency Aid Group
 * The First Accommodation Homeship
 * The Second Accommodation Homeship
 * Privately Opened Groups of Ships
 * The Altox Trade Group

Pellix
The world the Sanctar population were once tortured on, Pellix is a place of requiem for pilgrims. Many stay there for a few months before returning to the Flotilla or Sanctorus as part of their pilgrimage. The natural life on Pellix has been destroyed by the conflicts of the past and is almost barren. Regions with no historical importance are used for automated factories and storage areas by the government. It is rumoured that there is also a hidden installation that houses collected religious artefacts.

Aktos-5
A colony on the fringes of Sanctar territory.

Frontier
A colony on the fringes of Sanctar territory.

The Hellfire
A giant space station presumed to have been constructed from the now-extinct Karrzi, the Hellfire is a weapon of mass destruction. Although it requires immense quantities of natural resources to function, it is capable of destroying entire planets. It is not clear how the weapon works, but scientists believe that it creates a controlled singularity in the planet core. The planet bursts into flames before being compressed into a single point in a matter of seconds. All traces of the planet are destroyed.

Named by the Orathni, the Hellfire is also capable of limited movement through space. It is far too slow to keep up with the Flotilla and is controlled separately and protected by a defence fleet. Although some races have attempted to attack the station and take control to resist against a purge, none have been successful.

The Sanctorus Holy Flotilla Army
"All who give themselves to the sacred army are rewarded for their faith."

The army of the Sanctorus Holy Flotilla is the primary military force of the Sanctar. Although many bases and troops are stationed on Sanctorus, the military is based in the flotilla itself. Troops, vehicles and equipment occupy both fleets. The fleets are rarely deployed together, as one is usually sufficient for a purge. Surprisingly, the majority of resources aboard the flotilla are used to improve and sustain the army, rather than the ships or civilian populace.

The flotilla have a notoriously selective recruitment system. Many applicants are denied for even the slightest reasons. This means that all of the soldiers are highly loyal to the army and there is almost no corruption. Every soldier who is accepted receives individual blessing from a priest before they are designated the fleet they join.

Sanctar have been known to throw down their weapons and engage the enemy in an unarmed duel. To use a weapon on a duelist is considered a great insult.

Units: Infantry
Infantry are the backbone of the flotilla military. There is an abundance of troops and no shortage of new recruits as Sanctar are so absolute in their beliefs of fighting for the gods that they readily accept duty. Military service is not mandatory but so many Sanctar become soldiers that there is no need.



Sanctar Minor
"All who tread the path of light shall find salvation... even in death."

The lowest ranking unit of the flotilla military, the Minor is an expendable, low-cost troop. Although they are the grunts of the army, they are still a force to be reckoned with.

Minors have relatively weak armour and carry pulse pistols. Minors are most effective in large groups led by a Major.



Sanctar Major
"Honour is my sword, glory is my shield."

Majors are highly trained operatives that lead squads of Minors into battle. They have excellent leadership skills and are highly capable in combat.

Majors wield pulse rifles that are far more powerful than the Minors' pistols. Their armour is also more resistant but Majors do not wear helmets. Although other races have remarked on this as a foolish decision as they are vulnerable to snipers and explosions, it is considered deeply courageous for a Major to have no headgear. This does have some combat benefits; they have a greater field of view and, in the words of a Sanctar Major, ' it makes biting people easier '.



Sanctar Communications Specialist
"Hear our roars and say your prayers."

Communications Specialists are equivalent to Majors in terms of ranks, but many are directed by Majors within a squad. Responsible for maintaining communications between squads and with ships, the Comms Specialists wear headsets which relay to the transmitters on their backs.

Like Majors, Communications Specialists also use pulse rifles. Although their helmets are reinforced, giving them more protection than lower-rank units, they are a prime target for hostiles and usually stay in cover. They are an asset too valuable to be wasted in combat.

Sanctar Dragoon
Lightly-armoured and highly manoeuverable on the battlefield, Dragoons use their fast sprint boosters and jet packs to cover large areas of ground quickly and spot enemy assault teams. This allows them to negate the enemy's advantage in surprise attacks, identify key targets and predict the movement of hostile groups.

As they are typically lighter and faster than their male counterparts, all Dragoons are female. On the other hand, the Angels are far more melee-combat-based units and are all male. They carry pulse rifles identical to Majors.



Sanctar Vanguard
"Extreme heresy demands extreme prejudice!"

Vanguards carry rocket launchers designed to destroy enemy ground vehicles and to thin out groups of infantry. It is very powerful but can take a long time to reload, leaving the user vulnerable. Vanguards are often escorted by Minors and Majors to prevent them from being killed and never using their rockets.

Although some consider Vanguards to be tactless and reckless, many are impressed by the sheer strength of their rocket launchers. They are a valuable asset to the flotilla's infantry and they would undoubtedly suffer without them.



Sanctar Pilot
With the responsibility of controlling and maintaining vehicles both planetside and in space, there are a large variety of specialisations that pilots fit into. Although they regularly drive ground vehicles such as the Sacrament, they rarely drive Buggies as the driver position is reserved for a soldier who can also join the fray.

The majority of pilots fly Dropships. Repeatedly picking up and deploying combat squads, they provide an essential ferrying service to transport large numbers of infantry during purges and to rescue them from dangerous areas.

Sanctar Combat Technician
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Sanctar Combat Medic
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Collopy
Tiny, nimble and fierce, the collopies are the only non-Sanctar unit in the Hegemony. As non-sentient reptiles, they are intelligent enough to be trained and used in combat but not enough to escape or fight back against the Sanctar.

Used as a fast and effective tool by the Sanctar, the collopies can be directed in packs to perform surprise attacks on enemy infantry or can be used individually as saboteurs.

Harnesses are strapped around the collopy with attachments for carrying explosives. Unbeknownst to the creature, they are set up with bombs that can explode on a timer or be rigged to detonate whenever the handler chooses, allowing the Flotilla Army to cause large amounts of damage to the enemy without costing any Sanctar lives.

Huge numbers of collopies are bred for combat as they are used up so quickly. Frontline soldiers often joke that, as so many Collopies are martyrs for the great cause, the Plain of Purity must be overflowing with the little creatures.

Sanctar Fume Specialist
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Sanctar Heavy Gunner
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Sanctar Angel
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Sanctar Acolyte
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Sanctar Redeemer
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Sanctar Reclaimer
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Sanctar Confessor
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Sanctar Postulant
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Sanctar Agent
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Sanctar Chaplain
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Sanctar Commander
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Sanctar Field Marshal
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Sanctar Officer
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Sanctar Shipmaster
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Sanctar Admiral
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Sanctar Champion
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Sanctar Assault Buggy
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Sanctar Carnifex
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Sanctar Lictor
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Sanctar Tempest
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Sanctar Thundercaster
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Sanctar Sacrament Walker
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Sanctar Dropship
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Sanctar Disciple
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Sanctar Crusader
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Sanctar Wrath Gunship
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Sanctar Paladin
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Sanctar Taskship
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Sanctar Acroplis
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The Guardian Defence Force
Although collectively referred to as the ‘Guardian Defence Force’, the GDF are individual military groups that protect planets owned by the Sanctar. They are part of the Sanctorus Federal Government and do not operate alongside the Holy Flotilla. Although each force manages itself, they all adhere to the regulations imposed by the government.

Guardian Defence Forces primarily rely on infantry and anti-air turrets to protect against invasion from an enemy fleet. Nevertheless, they act as part as each colony’s law enforcement too. Colonial law enforcement groups do not have armed units and instead use the GDF as a tool in extreme crime situations. Because of this, the GDF are often employed to end riots and crack down on criminal groups. GDF infantry primarily exists of full-time soldiers although many are volunteers who have civilian jobs. In this sense, they act as a militia. On the other hand, the fact that anyone without a criminal record can apply means that there is much gang infiltration and corruption. The civilian populace on colonies can be untrusting of the GDF as corrupt operatives are infamous for their brutality and their hastiness to use violence. Even if civilians protest against GDF corruption, they always fail as the operatives use weapons on them.

Unlike the Sanctorus Holy Flotilla, the Guardian Defence Force has far less selective system of recruitment. The majority of Sanctar who are denied acceptance into the SHF army enlist with the GDF and are accepted. This means that the average member of the GDF is less reliable, combat-effective or loyal than a flotilla soldier. This has earned them the unfortunate nickname of ‘the army’s rejects’.

Sanctar Guardian
"To protect and to preserve."

The majority of the GDF consists of Guardians. They are the final line of defence for a colony and are fairly well-equipped for it. They are not as well-trained as a SHF Minor but are still effective in combat. Unlike SHF troops, Guardians do not receive any form of blessing from the Church.

Guardians carry plasma pistols and shields to protect them. Their helmets have equipment built in to help them identify targets during combat and also have night vision and thermal imaging.

Sanctar Guardian Captain
"We will not fail. We will not falter."

Captains lead groups of other Guardians into combat. They have the same training and are simply promoted from being Guardians if they show effectiveness in the line of duty.

Captains wear armour that is similar to that of the Guardians but carry pulse rifles rather than pistols and shields.

Sanctar Guardian Technician
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Sanctar Guardian Officer
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GDF Anti-Air Turret
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The Sanctar Emergency Aid Group
"Saving Lives, saving Faith."

The Sanctar Emergency Aid Group is a civilian relief organisation funded by the Sanctorus Federal Government.

The group have several unarmed ships that travel with the Sanctorus Holy Flotilla and send agents and supplies to planets that have recently suffered tragedies. They have responded to a variety of catastrophes, including natural disasters, terrorist attacks and outbreaks of diseases.

The agents act within predefined protocols. They provide shelter, food, medicine and vaccinations for the survivors of these events. The group also deploy evacuation vehicles to extract civilians from danger zones. Emergency aid agents are highly trained and can respond to problems quickly and efficiently. None of their personnel carry weapons, with the possible exception of Security Officers who wield non-lethal melee tools.

Sanctar SEAG Agent
SEAG Agents are the first individuals on the scene for any disaster. They are responsible for delegating emergency supplies and managing vehicles on which personnel and equipment can be transported.

Sanctar SEAG HazMat Agent
In some situations, it is necessary for agents to wear hazardous material suits. These suits protect them from unsafe environments and prevent them from being exposed to viral diseases.

Sanctar SEAG Security Officer
Emergencies can cause unrest in local populations. To prevent rioting, SEAG purchased a private security corporation with funds from the Sanctorus Federal Government. Security Officers wear armour to protect them from rioters but do not use lethal weapons. Many carry non-lethal stunsticks to subdue troublemakers. Security Officers are also responsible for constructing barricades and ensuring all civilians follow predetermined paths so they can be searched and screened.

SEAG Rescue Buggy
A small, fast ground vehicle, the rescue vehicle is almost identical to the SHF and GDF buggies, excluding the fact that it is unarmed. Two agents can fit inside as well as two civilians. The buggy is designed for quickly evacuating injured citizens to hospitals and safe zones before their situation worsens. The vehicle is also equipped with basic medical supplies.

SEAG Armoured Car
ACs perform a similar role as buggies but can accommodate much larger numbers of agents or evacuees. They are also used to safely deploy Security Officers at checkpoints. Unlike the buggy, the AC has strong metal plating to protect it from natural dangers and munitions. Again, it is unarmed.

SEAG Trailer
Trailers are mobile buildings that can be carried around my buggies and ACs. They are used to store extra supplies, screen and search evacuees and act as a temporary shelter.

The trailers are incredibly resilient and have been known to keep the individuals inside safe in the most extreme circumstances. It is often told that a group of agents survived for a month when their trailer was buried in an avalanche and they all survived.

SEAG Rescue Spaceship
Rescue spaceships land on the planet's surface and can transport individuals and supplies to different parts of the planet or back to the flotilla. The spaceships are renowned for their impressive speed and manoeuverability to efficiently extract survivors. Unfortunately, they have very limited fuel supplies and can only travel short distances. Again, they are unarmed.

Diplomacy
Diplomatic relations with other groups are constantly changing. As follows are the Sanctar Hegemony's current alliances and enemies.

Peacekeepers
The Sanctar Hegemony have yet to encounter any Peacekeeper races.

Warlords
The Sanctar Hegemony have yet to encounter any Warlord races.

Neutral
No-siree baab

The Orathni Survivors
Current Status: Population was destroyed on Orath and Pellix, but some individuals still survive. Not in combat at this time.

A race of violent, merciless warriors, the Orathni were once a great empire that spanned many systems. With a strong military, the Orathni exploited weaker races for their own personal gain. Numerous races had been made extinct due to the Orathni’s tradition of capturing huge populations and forcing them into slavery. The products of the manual labour the aliens were forced into resulted in huge gains for the Orathni who continued to sustain their civilian population and constantly develop their weaponry to enslave more races. Much of their technology was stolen from other races, including the Hellfire which they repossessed after enslaving a now-extinct alien species.

The Orathni infamously abducted the population of Sanctorus and set them to work on the planet Pellix. The Karrzi religious artefacts from the system were gathered up and stockpiled in discrete locations and much of it was publicly destroyed to weaken the morale of the Sanctar slaves. After a violent battle in one of the work camps in the year 290AU, the slaves defeated the military garrison on Pellix and used the Orathni vehicles to destroy the Orathni population there. They then launched an attack on Orath, the Orathni homeworld, and purged it of the species. Unfortunately, Orathni military operatives managed to escape with the stolen Karrzi artefacts and left the system.

The Sanctar then used the Orathni’s superweapon, the Hellfire, and destroyed Orath. The Orathni are believed by some to now be extinct but reports across the galaxy suggest that some individuals still survive. The most commonly mentioned is an Orathni space captain who took the Karrzi artefacts aboard his ship after direct instructions from the Orathni Emperor. It is assumed that he still travels the galaxy, sworn to never let the Sanctar regain their treasured relics.

The Plorgo Empire
Current Status: Believed to be extinct.

The Plorgo were a quiet, self-contained military empire who resided on the planet Plorgon, not far from Sanctorus. When the Sanctar first attempted to convert them for their heresy in the year 0, but the Plorgo were so insulted by the Sanctar’s proposals that they fire on the civilian ships, costing the Hegemony many lives.

After the Orathni reign, the Sanctar returned to Plorgon in 291AU with their advanced technology from the Karrzi and the Orathni. The Plorgon purge was a complete massacre. The Plorgo suffered over 29,000,000 while the Sanctar suffered 8. The Plorgo and now believed to be extinct and their destruction is a testament to the power of the Hegemony.

The Darnian
Current Status: In combat on the planet Darnia.

A race of unintelligent sentient plants who control the planet Darnia. They 'control' the trees on the planet's surface to knock landing space craft off-course and kill the crews. They then salvage technology from the wreckages to build shanty homes and improvised weapons.

From analysing data on the crashed ships, the Darnians know of the Sanctar Hegemony and have prepared a contingency plan to defend against them. They are currently in combat.

The Vaydel League
Current Status: Enemies, but not in combat.

When the Sanctar united under the Karrzi religion and the new government was formed, some protested. Individuals of varying political and religious beliefs joined riots against the authorities in Delgaron. Without proper structure, however, the riots were subdued. Escaping from the massacre, various protesters banded together and planned tactical attacks on the authorities.

The Vaydel Trade Group had existed for decades before the Great Unification. Because of the government's rehaul of the empire's economical system, the trade group were to lose exceptionally large quantities of money.

The Vaydel Trade Group employed the rebels as freedom fighters and used their huge stockpiles of credits to mass-purchase munitions before they lost their value. Within weeks, terrorist attacks occurred all over the planet. Rebels used improvised explosives and the recently purchased firearms to disrupt government operations.

In response, the Guardian Defence Force was hastily assembled. Troops with very little training but highly advanced weapons were sent into the streets to combat the Vaydel rebels. After suffering massive losses, the surviving rebels retreated to their head-quarters and the threat was presumed dealt with.

When space travel became publicly available, the Vaydel used their remaining rebels to steal space craft from the Altox Trade Group and escaped from the system.

The Vaydel League continue to attack Flotilla patrols regularly but their effectiveness is debatable. They have suffered immense damages and huge populations of rebels have died for the cause.

The Yitt Anarchists
Current Status: Enemies, but not in combat.

The planet Yitt was colonised by the Sanctar in 361AU. Isolated from many other colonies, there was little contact from the Sanctorus Government. Exploiting the broken authority system and low garrison of Guardian Defence Force operatives, groups of young revolutionaries established gangs in the few cities.

Stealing weapons and vehicles, the gangs expressed their distrust for the government due to the poverty they lived in and the unfair treatment from the 'prejudiced' law enforcement. The anarchists assaulted police patrols and perform cyber attacks on GDF bases. Many of the gang fighters wore masks over their faces and built improvised explosives from the obsolete technology dumped in the streets.

The Yitt Anarchists fought their way into the capital building and took the ministers hostage. They set up explosive devices that could be detonated to kill all of the government officials in the building. GDF counter-terrorism operatives scrambled to the scene and used the buildings ventilation system to infiltrate the anarchists' area and catch them unaware.

Fighting broke out in the tower with numerous anarchist, GDF agent and civilian casualties. Realising that their act would be in vain if the GDF rescued the hostages, the anarchist leader prematurely detonated the explosives.

Every individual who had been in the building was killed. Representatives from Sanctorus visited the planet and tried to calm the population. The Sanctar Emergency Aid Group provided food and shelter for the residents living near the building and offered emotional counselling to the families of those involved.

Politicians and GDF agents from other colonies permanently migrated to Yitt to reform the government there.

Although evidence of the Yitt Anarchists suggests they have spread to other colonies, there have been no terrorist attacks on Yitt since.

Notable Sanctar
WIP

Thett Basta
Status: Deceased

Born on the poor, frontier colony of Yekkel, Basta dreamed that he would one day become a hover racer pilot and earn his fortune. As he could not afford to leave the planet, Basta spent over seven years working in Koranite mines to earn his pay. After all this, he bought the parts for a hover racer and constructed it himself. Using the last money he had, he entered the race. Within a minute of the race beginning, Basta's hover racer malfunctioned, no doubt due to his shoddy mechanical skills. The controls sparked and died while the racer was moving at full speed. Unable to turn, Basta collided with a stalagmite and was consumed in a fiery explosion. After all of his effort, he achieved nothing but becoming a laughing stock of the Hegemony. Sanctar pilots often joke about Basta's terrible piloting and machinery skills and often compare others to him for comedic effect.

High Admiral Mon Ack
Status: Alive

One of the most senior admirals, High Admiral Mon Ack commands the scout ships of the First Fleet who detect alien planets and prepare purges by destroying immediate defences. Ack is infamous for his bad temper and his lack of emotional control during missions, swearing and insulting his troops if they perform any less than perfect. He is constantly being reprimanded by Chaplains serving on his ships for blaspheming over holographic communications.

Ack was also the son of a highly reputable general in the Flotilla Army, earning him the credentials despite the fact that he has never physically fought in his life. His men have little respect for him as they consider him to lack the true will of a warrior. Coupling this with his anger issues makes Ack a less than respectable figure aboard the flotilla. Nevertheless, he consistently succeeds at his missions and remains in favour with the High Council.

High Admiral Felev Jekk
Status: Alive

High Admiral Jekk commands the space-combat infantry in the Second Fleet. He is normally successful in his missions, but any pilot or technician under his command will tell you that he is undeserving of the praise. Originally a low-ranking Admiral, Jekk got his lucky break when his superiors travelled via void warp to initiate a surprise attack on an alien empire's brigade of ships. Due to power failures, however, the High Admiral and his entourage were trapped in the void and never seen again. Immediately promoted to High Admiral to defeat the aliens before they escaped, Jekk ordered all of the ships under his command to attack at once. Despite this simple tactic, the fact that he also possessed the late High Admiral's ships as well as his own meant that he had such an overwhelming force at his disposal that he could not have lost anyway. Although the High Council sees him as a war hero, the other admirals and the pilots of his fleet know of his incompetence. Every one of Jekk's victories have been due to his men's determination or pure luck. Sooner or later, however, his fate will catch up with him.

Adventures
WIP

Trivia

 * The word 'Sanctar' derives from 'Sanctum'

Created by Brickinator