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The Rotunnkc Compact

The Rotunnkc Compact is a defense/economic alliance established by the three largest political institutions of Hieroaetheria: The Consortium, The Gla’orr Dominate, and the Ekane Mysterium. Its purpose is to advance the interests of its member nations through Interstellar expansionism, as well as to jointly consolidate the Foreign policy and defense of its constituents. This alliance is not an equal relationship. Rather, it is the outcome of the Consortium exerting its supreme influence over the other member states, thanks to their advanced industrial economy and ties to the Nralakk Federation.

Member Nations

The Consortium

The Consortium stands above the other nations as the Architect and Master of the Rotunnkc Compact. Its reasons for forming it are related to its expansionist goals: to establish new colonies and new sources of energy to grow a new, larger population cohort that can sustain their system. The cooperation of the other powers of Hieroaetheria simplifies and expedites this process for them. In return, the consortium offers appropriate compensation for their services, as well as the facilitation of colonization opportunities for worlds deemed “tertiary” options.

The Gla’orr Dominate

Formerly a colonial extension of the Consortium, The Gla’orr Dominate seceded due to mismanagement from the Consortium during the Triumph of Smoke and Steel. The region it occupies is one of the most energy and resource abundant on the planet, but is constantly beset by extreme climate and dangerous fauna. This has led to the formation of a harsh, survival-of-the-fittest driven society. Only the strong, and the proven may lead. No expense is spared for those who fall behind.

Manufacturing and innovation is stifled by these conditions, and despite their independence, they remain shackled to the Consortium as their sole business partner, to whom they can export their energy and raw materials to. Through the Rotunnkc Compact, the Dominate hopes to expand its markets and manufacturing base, and to reduce its dependency on the Consortium.

The Ekane Mysterium

The Ekane Mysterium is a now theocratic society of exiles that left the Consortium early in Hieraetheria’s history. The region they occupy, while verdant, is utterly devoid of substantial energy resources or minerals. Some might consider this idyllic, but by Hieroaetherian standards, it is a barren wasteland.

The Mysterium began to truly develop as a competitive society when Eternal missionaries from the Coalition and wild space secretly touched down on their planet, and offered them salvation from the stars. The Ekane embraced them. Today, they are a theocratic society, dominated by Eternalite mystery cults, and sects within sects. A shifting council of the most influential theocratic scholars manages the secular affairs of their state.

The Ekane has everything to gain from the Rotunnkc Compact, as the second-rate colony options offered by the Consortium are better than what they currently have. In exchange, the Mysterium uses its connections with the Eternal to secure new markets and make deals on the consortium’s behalf. They also spearhead the more daring survey missions, going places that the Consortium and their contractors deem too remote or dangerous to venture into on their own.

Commonwealth Naval Authority

Founded shortly after the establishment of the Commonwealth, the Commonwealth Naval Authority answers to no one but the decisions agreed to on by the Grand Assembly— however, it largely operates with some degree of autonomy in part due to the guidelines set forth by the Grand Assembly. There is not restrictions on who may join, merely that they be citizens of one of the member states of the Commonwealth — resulting in both non-Dionae and Dionae oftentimes seen working together on any objectives for the Authority; despite calls against the allowance of non-Dionae with in the ranks by both the Eternal Republic of the Ekane and the Union of Gla’orr. Predominately, they maintain patrols across the Commonwealth’s territory, stretching roughly between four to five light years in any given direction from Hieroaetheria; with only the Consortium having successfully established any off-world presence so far.

They regularly conduct training exercises with attaches from the Nralakk Federation, mostly as a result of the agreement between the Consortium and the former. This has somewhat affected relations with the Eternal Republic of the Ekane and the Union of Gla’orr, citing the necessity to train the Commonwealth Naval Authority on their own, and not providing an alien entity with specifications as to its capabilities and strategies — which has resulted in a minor compromise of sorts between the member states. Successful lobbying by the Eternal Republic and the Union had resulted in a somewhat tightly controlled border; spacecraft that enter the Commonwealth’s territory are mandated to report all details of their operations to the Commonwealth Naval Authority Control — a large space station in orbit of Hieroaetheria, but with smaller outposts across any inhabited regions of their territories — and do so until they depart. In addition, majority are required to submit to any further investigation by the Commonwealth provided there exists probably cause, an easily attainable piece of information thanks to the structure of the Commonwealth — most citing “possible foreign contamination” when conducting “random” searches, essentially framing the search as a method to ensure health and sanitation procedures have been adhered, whilst looking for any incriminating material. The majority of the spacecraft that comprise the Commonwealth Naval Authority were constructed by the Consortium, with only recently the introduction of Unitary designs making their way into the fold — with discussions as to the possible development of technological innovation from Skrell, Dionae and Megacorporate minds within the shadows making their way into the rumour mill.

It operates similarly to other naval forces within the Spur; there exist ranks and a hierarchy, both of which must be followed or a person can risk expulsion from their duties. However, the notable caveat is that it is led by a Vice-Admiral, who answers only to the Grand Assembly — a Dionae agreed upon by each member state as proving to be uniquely objective in their reasoning and seeks only to fulfil their benefit to the entirety of the Commonwealth — Where Cataclysmic Energy Transverses into Celestial Life or merely Vice-Admiral Cataclysmic Energy, as referred to respectfully by many. They have been behind many appointments to leadership positions within the Commonwealth Naval Authority, cultivating a space of objective reasoning to ensure that the Authority seeks only to benefit the Commonwealth — neither one individual member state nor outside entity such as the megacorporations that dominate the Orion Spur.

The presence of the now-defunct state of the fascist Solarian Restoration Front pushed for a rapid response from the Commonwealth Naval Authority; despite having middling abilities towards the beginning of 2460 – the collapse of the Solarian Alliance brought about a significantly different political climate; furthermore, entities which were not “warm” with the greater Spur, nevermind the Commonwealth of Hieroaetheria. Though Titan’s Rapture was largely unaffected by these happenings, the frontier of the Commonwealth’s territory frequently experienced skirmishes with the Solarian Restoration Front. Between 2460 CE and 2465 CE, the Commonwealth Naval Authority had increased their numbers by almost triple thanks to the contributions of both the Consortium and the Union; allowing them to somewhat successfully deal with minor conflicts, with tactics used to either deter or avoid greater battles with the Solarian Restoration Front.

The Titan's Progeny, a Cetus Rootsong Relay

A result of several years of deliberation within and action by the Grand Assembly, a project to harvest and conglomerate thousands of nymphs from across Hieroaetheria's major states in order to form a Cetus – known as The Sacred Echoes of a Titan's Bonded Progeny – saw fruition in June 2466. Composed of an equal amount of Consortium, Ekanian, Gla'orr and small member state nymphs, the fourth Cetus to reside within the Spur is wholly loyal to the Grand Assembly and, installed in orbit to act as a giant Rootsong Broadcaster, commits all of its energy towards dispersing news from the Assembly and Hieroaetheria's nations into the Voidic Rootsong Network for receiving by diona throughout the Spur. Reaching far and wide, the Rootsong transmitted by Bonded Progeny reaches Xanu Prime, in the opposite direction encompasses Federation space, and just about glances Moghes, not quite reaching Dominia, Adhomai or any significant region of the Spur's frontier; it is heard as a dim whisper to any dionae in the void that is within it's reach.

To source material to broadcast, Bonded Progeny will regularly have Cyclops gestalts split off and transported around Titan's Rapture and other Commonwealth-controlled systems via ferries so they may conduct journalistic duties, usually on Hieroaetheria or any of the nation's colonies, but occasionally elsewhere in the Spur where dionae – especially Hieroaetherians – are known to reside. Upon collecting enough material, the Cyclops remerges with the Cetus, allowing its stories to be accessed by the Cetus for broadcast. In addition to sourcing broadcast material, it is also the duty of other split-off Cyclopses to transcribe the Rootsong transmissions of the Cetus to make them accessible to dionae – and other's interested – on planets with an atmosphere which the Voidic Rootsong Network does not penetrate, composing the news in more conventional website or holopaper articles in Basic or Nral'Malic.

Due to the size of the Cetus and the sheer amount of news it transmits, Rootsong broadcasts often occur every ten minutes and containing multiple stories at once. Quantity over quality takes reign, with only several transmissions in a day recounting significant events on Hieroaetheria or Assembly decisions, the remainder being inconsequential news such as small-town gossip overheard by a Cyclops journalist, fauna migration patterns in an uninhabited part of Hieroaetheria or single-event occurences of crime. However, hidden beneath the mundane are transmissions unrelated to the news: quiet calls to dionae across the Spur to flock to Hieroaetheria, obsessive utterances related to the Eternal's Trifecta, and conflicting messages to either accept or reject the influence of the Spur's other alien species.

Cyclops split-off for the purpose of gathering material only to later remerge with the Cetus are known as the Eyes of the Cetus, or just Eyes, and often have a multitude of eye structures as part of their form. Those split-off for the purpose of documenting the Cetus' broadcasts into articles for terrestrial dionae and those too distant to are known as Scribes of the Cetus, or just Scribes, and often have multiple arm-like structures with well-manipulatable finger-like tendrils for maximum words-per-minute counts when simultaneously writing multiple articles. Gestalts split-off from Bonded Progeny are often composed of an even split of nymphs from each member state, endeavouring to be unbiased to events that occur on Hieroaetheria and any of the Commonwealth's colonies, however with increasing age, it is not unusual for internal debates among nymphs to see a gestalt begin to express slight bias towards the winning nymph's home nation. Such Cyclopses that lose their objectivity are often recalled to the Cetus early for reabsorption if identified by the Commonwealth. These Cyclops have a deeply engrained sense of subservience towards other Hieroaetherian dionae, both due to their often very young ages and their lifesake being to document and serve the Commonwealth and it's citzenry.

The largest and most reputable web-based media outlet for Bonded Progeny's transmissions is The Hieroaetherian Herald, known for it's rigid journalistic integrity. Sponsored by the Commonwealth and active since the launch of the Cetus' broadcasting operations, thousands of web articles are transcribed and uploaded a day by split-off journalists, with points and seniority ascribed to journalists by the number of transmissions they have transcribed and their overall objectivity rating. Entirely playful, split-off journalists compete to see whom can net the most article scores in a month of working.

Interstellar Relations

Nralakk Federation

Overall, it can be said that the Commonwealth of Hieroaetheria and the Nralakk Federation have an amicable relationship, most of which is derived from its friendship with the Consortium. Prior to the introduction of the Eternal Republic of the Ekane and the Union of Gla’orr to the Commonwealth, the Consortium had negotiated what is now known as Rapture’s Treaty – an important agreement which sought to be binding on future member states and includes a defensive pact between the Commonwealth and the Federation, and several other provisions which allow for the Federation and Commonwealth to engage in training practices concerning the Commonwealth Naval Authority, and ultimately freedom of migration across the Commonwealth without the necessity for a tourist visa; however, this largely has been rejected by the Eternal Republic of the Ekane, and the Union of Gla’orr, which has had a minor impact on the greater relationship between the Commonwealth and the Federation. However, the Consortium maintains this agreement, allowing those from the Nralakk Federation to enjoy its cities and territories; notably the only faction to do so on Hieroaetheria. There is a Commonwealth Embassy located on Qerrbalak, and a Federation Embassy in Nral’daaq or Epigenia.

Solarian Alliance

Prior to the Solarian Collapse, the relationship between the Solarian Alliance and the Commonwealth was largely just diplomatic. There had been no agreements between one another, and their relationship mostly derived from the shared friendship both entities had with the Nralakk Federation. The Solarian Collapse brought a significant change to the political climate of the Spur, and with it a radical change to the relationship between the Solarian Alliance and the Commonwealth. Though neutral to the Second Solarian Invasion of the Republic of Biesel, the Commonwealth ultimately chose to distance itself from the Solarian Alliance – a decision exacerbated by the skirmishes occuring on its borders from the Solarian Restoration Front. On the cusp of a re-united Solarian Alliance, the Grand Assembly has a decision to make in regards to whether they maintain the current direction of diplomacy, or seek a new path.

Republic of Biesel

The Commonweallth and the Republic of Biesel can be regarded as having a rather warm relationship with one another, mostly thanks to the presence of Megacorporations within the Commonwealth – in particular the Consortium, similarly to the Nralakk Federation, has fostered a sense of trust and co-operation between the respective factions. Though the Union of Gla’orr largely ignores the Republic of Biesel’s diplomatic attempts at an attempt to remain impartial and neutral within the Orion Spur, the Commonwealth has slowly been confirming their allegiance to the Republic of Biesel through minor engagements such as trade discussions and laxing of migration controls; though most attribute it to the doings of the Megacorporations, others view the Omnivirate’s presence in the faction as a significant contributor as to the silence of the Eternal Republic of the Ekane – largely voting to abstrain from any action for or against the Republic of Biesel. Both the Commonwealth and the Republic of Biesel have agreed to host embassies within their nations, with the Commonwealth Embassy located in District One of Mendell City, and a Biesellite Embassy located in Nral’daaq or Epigenia.

Covenant of Xrim

Being the only other nation of Dionae in the Orion Spur, the relationship between the Covenant of Xrim and the Commonwealth of Hieroaetheria is essentially an alliance, though one unique to the two. Despite the Covenant largely being considered a vassal of the Nralakk Federation, with the latter representing them in interstellar affairs, both the Commonwealth and the Covenant have agreed to an unofficial pact of friendship – remarkably agreed upon by every member state within the Commonwealth. It is not unheard of for the Triumvirate to travel to Titan’s Rapture and engage in diplomatic discussions with the entirety of the Commonwealth, and even holding individual talks with the member states. Though the Consortium and the Union of Gla’orr are considered friendly entities to the Covenant, the Eternal Republic of the Ekane and the Covenant have the strongest relationship – most owing it to the religious ideology of the two. Though the Covenant of Xrim does not technically have the authority to operate an embassy, the Nralakk Federation has agreed to allow for a portion of its embass in Nral’daaq or Epigenia to be used by the Covenant to continue relations with Hieroaetheria. There are discussions between the Covenant, Federation and Commonwealth to establish a secondary embassy on Xrim.

The Omnivirate

The Omnivirate, though not exactly an entity with any discernable borders in which it governs, has a unique relationship with the Commonwealth of Hieroaetheria. Owing to their status as the religious authority of the Eternal, they have been granted wide-ranging benefits within the Commonwealth and its territories; in particular, they are among the only individuals who need not adhere to certain restrictions, they may freely travel across the member states and the greater Commonwealth – and have done so frequently, oftentimes engaging with the political authorities of the Consortium, Eternal Republic and the Union. However the recent announcement of their intention to expand their authority outside of the Eternal Gardens may create a sense of tension amongst the Commonwealth’s member states, especially in regard to their recent intervention within the Covenant of Xrim. Time will only tell whether their decision shall have either a significant or insignificant impact on the Commonwealth and their current direction within the Orion Spur.

Megacorporations

While specifics differ between each nation-state of the Commonwealth, most of the Spur’s megacorporations have managed to hold some presence within the Commonwealth’s borders, namely within the Consortium’s sphere of influence, as both the Union of Gla’or and the Eternal Republic of the Ekane disallow corporations from operating within their controlled territories. The Commonwealth as a whole allows the megacorporations to operate within its borders, though under strict oversight and with notable taxes levied against them.

Both Einstein Engines, Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals, and Orion Express hold the most influence within the Commonwealth, and receive additional benefits and lower taxes, including the ability to own land and facilities directly within the Commonwealth rather than having to lease them, a benefit extended to their subsidiaries as well.

Neutron Synergistics

Neutron Synergistics is a major extraction and refinement company operating as a subsidiary of Einstein Engines. Neutron Synergistics was formed following the formation of the SCC as a means to ensure a steady supply of materials independent of Hephaestus Industries. More information can be found on it here