[hider=SURTR]
[b]Name of Nation: The Sacred Union of the Royal Theocracies of Röðull (S.U.R.T.R.)[/b]

[b]Banner/Flag:[/b]
[img]http://imgur.com/NWUY4xq.jpg[/img]
The flag represents the star at the centre of the galaxy, and the four capital worlds of the SURTR: Musdl, Halmr, Kegh, and Njor.

[b]Type of Government: Theocratic Regency[/b]

[b]Leader(s):[/b]
	Officially: High Lord Rhöðull (deceased, incumbent)
	Functionally: The Royal Regency Council

[b]Persons of Importance:[/b]
-High Lord Rhöðull

-Prime Councillor Rhodullveita (capital world 1)

-Deputy Prime Councillor Rhodullvard (capital world 1)

-High Rage-Channeler Fen (capital world 3)

-Archpriest Rhomaera (capital world 2)

-President Dyrrboen (capital world 4)

-Secretary of the People's Faith Rhodull-Umbud (world 1)

[b]Species(s) and Demographics:[/b]

There are four main races in the SURTR, who rule over all of the under-races of the lesser worlds:
	-The True: bipedal creatures with thick exoskeletons, and no visual perception
		
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[img]https://anibundel.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/neville-bishopface.jpg[/img]
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-The Humans: bipedal creatures with fragile, squishy outer layers, highly perceptive
	
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[img]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/200px-EgonStetmann_SC2_Head1_7851.jpg[/img]

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	-The False: lanky quadrupeds, with overactive salivary glands and limited communication ability
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[img]http://zestedesavoir.com/media/galleries/521/d5a83083-fb3f-4f8e-a98f-07af1cc76a79.jpg[/img]
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	-The Herfiligr: Small aquatic bipeds, with no sense of smell. Their small, hyperactive lungs make speaking difficult.
	
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[img]http://orig13.deviantart.net/1623/f/2013/240/2/f/aventurischer_bote__axolotl_ziliten_by_ranarh-d6k21rt.jpg[/img]
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[b]Religion Description and Demographics:[/b]
35% True
19% False
13% Human
8% Herfiligr
25% [i]Other[/i]
100% Rhodull worshiping

	The official faith of the Union is called "Rhöðulldyarkan", the worship of Rhöðull.
	Rhöðull was a sun-worshiping cult leader, who died around the year 200 IC. Followers of Rhöðull claim him to be their only true ruler, with all others being "false kings". As such, rise of this cult created a great deal of turmoil and rebellion in the later days of the Empire. Over the last couple centuries of the Empire's reign, the faith was greatly subjugated, and was eventually pushed back to a select number of planets near the center of the galaxy.

	The main tenents of Rhodulldyarkan are based around the admonishment of authority and pride. Followers are to remind themselves at all times that their life comes from the radiation of the stars, and that they are forever indebted to the stars for this. Worship is a daily practice, involving many verbal chants, as well as various fire rituals. 

	All members of the Union are required to profess a faith in Rhodull, but it can take a number of forms. As the faith has developed on each planet in the SURTR, it has branched off into a number of sects. 
	The True of Musdl and Halmr, the first two worlds, uphold the oldest, truest, and most demanding variation of the faith. Worship is an almost constant process, and it is socially encouraged to work praises of Rhodull into day-to-day conversation. This results in long-winded greetings like "[i]In Rhodull's glorious name, it is good to see you again, thanks be to Rhodull, peace be upon him[/i]", and "[i]By Rhodull's grace, you look well, praise to the High Lord[/i]".
	The Humans of the SURTR are very devout, and adhere to the commandments without difficulty, although they rarely feel compelled to work Rhodull into regular conversation. They generally uphold the principle that religion is a personal thing, not to be flaunted in public.
	The Herfiligr of Njor, the fourth world, are a moderate people, very similar to the Humans. Of all the racial leaders of the SURTR, they are the most casual with their faith. Worldly concerns take the forefront, and the faith is ignored culturally, although still enforced by the government. When legally able to do so, the Herfiliger instead celebrate their own traditions, as their culture is rich with various expressions of art. Of all the races, they are also the most soft-spoken.
	The False of Kegh, the third world, are an impulsive, aggressive people. They are highly religious, but their variation of Rhodulldyarkan is the most deviant. The reverence of humility and solar energy are mixed up with traditional war rites and mating rituals. The False were dubbed "false" because of their inability to speak, preventing them from taking part in proper Rhodulldyarkan worship. The False communicate among each other exclusively through body-language, and with other planets through a crude writing system.

[b]Culture:[/b]

	The culture of the Union varies by planet, with the only shared customs being worship of Rhodull, and the proliferation of the languages of both the Humans and the True. 
	The True essentially have no culture, outside of that which reflects, represents, or serves their religion. What they call "music", are rhythmic religious chants. What they call "art", are countless cathedrals dedicated to Rhodull. What they call "community" is communal prayer.
	The Humans observe a mashup of traditional Earth holidays and customs. Of all the races, they are the most culturally diverse.
	The False base their customs around food, war, and reproduction. Cultural events feature wrestling tournaments, feasts, and public orgies. Their version of singers are those among them with the most impressive battle-cries.
	The Herfiligr have a rich, colourful culture. The giant tile murals of the Herfiligr are famous throughout the galaxy, and are sold for unfathomable prices. Their music is based around filling the air and water with euphonic reverberations, surrounding the listener with pleasant sounds. To this end, they have complex systems of drums, flutes, and acoustic sound amplifiers. The Herfiligr have an old saying, that "A note that doesn't echo five times, is a note wasted".

[b]History:[/b]

	Musdl, the homeworld of the True is a small, super-heated planet. Hydration is virtually nonexistent, and the atmosphere is filled with a thick carbon-based particulate, blocking almost all light. The True evolved in a state of perpetual blackness, and as such lack any form of vision. Instead, they became extremely adept at detecting warmth and movement. The holes in their outer shells are able to detect the slightest variations in pressure and temperature in the air.
	Musdl's solar system features twin stars, that revolve around each other, and the orbit of Musdl dances between them. The True initially harnessed the immense geothermal energy of their largely volcanic planet, but always held the goal of harnessing the power of the stars. Eventually, they developed space-travel, and broke through the thick carbonic sea that composed their atmosphere. Exposed to the emptiness of space, the first astronauts of the True went insane. The emptiness of space was so foreign to them, and they had no way to actually see it. All they knew was that the stars were more powerful than they could have ever imagined, as the true might of their rays were blocked by the global particulate.
	This began a ferocious race, to channel solar energy in all forms, and to fill outer-space with colonies of True. It was at this time, that all previous religions, of earth-worship, sky worship, spirit worship, were merged together into one faith. All True agreed that the might of the stars were unquestionable. Their heat was too great, and their reach was too vast, to doubt their supremacy. Unified under the banner of the True Faith, the entirety of Musdl worked to further their space-expansion efforts. They built great colony ships, and terraformed the next planet over, then named "Halmr".
	From there, they spread to Kegh, home of the False. This was the first war of the True, and they overwhelmed the primitive False with their mighty solar ships and thermal rays. Enslaved, the False became the new front-line of the True Military, for they were a physically superior race, with a natural resiliency to damage and intimidation. Over the centuries, they became domesticated and civilized. Eventually, they were integrated as citizens of the True, although they still maintained a lower position in society.
	It was at this time that Rhodull rose to prominence, so the historical records say. He was a young True, uncommonly skilled in perceiving the warmth of the sun. It was said that he could predict solar flares weeks before they occurred, and that he could sense warmth of his enemies from miles away. He founded the first Cathedral of the Twin Stars, on Halmr, and quickly converted the majority to his sect. He told his followers that the stars were living beings, who shared their warmth with the True willingly, so that they may live, and spread the faith. Rhodull personally descended to the planet Kegh, and taught the False how to write, so that they had a standard form of communication with the True. Once he was satisfied, that the three worlds were united under him, Rhodull led a convoy of missionaries out of the solar system, searching for additional life among the stars. He was never heard from again, but his legacy lived on, and the True continued development of their navy, until they were confident that they could conquer the rest of space.
	It was then, that the Humans came. Their numbers were endless, and their technology was incredible. Many True and False joined the Empire willingly, believing the Humans to be blessed by the stars. These hopes were soon dashed, when the Empire took no interest in the stories of Rhodull, and the faith of the True. Enraged, the True began an epic campaign of conversion across the Empire. Over the centuries, entire systems began singing the praises of Rhodull, a distant legend by then. It was then that the Herfiligr joined the faith, not out of devout belief in Rhodull, but in defiance to the Empire, who had likewise disrespected their traditions. Seeing the expansion of this cult, and the threat it posed to the authority of the Empire, the Emperor ordered the immediate extermination of the Rhodulldyarkan faith. This was met with open rebellion from the faithful, and a great civil war began. What the True had no way of knowing, was that they were dooming themselves by making themselves a threat to the Empire. The might of the entire military, and the imperial police-state fell upon on True, and landed like a boot upon an insect. The rebellion was crushed in an instant, and the True's mini-empire crumbled.
	Then the fall began. Uprisings starting forming all across the Empire. Word of famine, disease, and madness from across the entire galaxy, reached the faithful. The second rebellion began, but this time in secret. Slowly, old alliances were formed again, and armies were built-up. When the Empire finally collapsed, throwing the galaxy into chaos, the True were ready. The great Union of Rhodulldyarkan began. The missionaries, armies, and charities of the True expanded across countless systems, offering the abandoned systems an alternative to chaos. It was the greatest growth the faith had ever seen, greater than could have ever been imagined. The church offered its members stability, in a time of endless war. As the various claimants to the crumbled throne emerged, and the dominions and collectives made themselves known to the galaxy, the Sacred Union of the Royal Theocracies of Rhodull was formed.


[b]Military:[/b]

[b]The Fleet[/b]
[img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f9/1b/57/f91b57b90e34af3f35a25d70a53ab509.jpg[/img]
SURTR ships are solidly built, and heavily resesistant to impact and temperature. Their weapons are exclusively based around thermal energy. Their thermal rays are the pride of the SURTR navy, but they utilize traditional balistic missiles as well.

[b]The Human Automaton Division[/b]
[img]http://66.media.tumblr.com/5472400cf412e554c00832461132d4b2/tumblr_n2kywnp3491s489wio1_1280.jpg[/img]
Being considerably weaker than the True and False, the Humans are relied upon for their technological expertise. Rather than sacrifice their own lives on the battlefield, the vast majority of Human military personnel are employed as engineers and roboticists.

[b]The Armored True Division[/b]
[img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/fe/f7/37/fef7373f65baca9b2ac7ebd5843b86b3.jpg[/img]
The Armored True compose the majority of the SURTR military. They are equipped with heavily resilient, self-regenerating bio-suits. For a long time, it was believed throughout the galaxy that True fought naked, simply due to how much their armour resembles their naked form. 

[b]The Priest Division[/b]
[img]http://www.brieanahobert.com/assets/images/port6_Sketches1.jpg[/img]
The Elite True are equipped with a heavier variant of the standard bio-armour. It is far more resilient than the standard variation, and greatly increases the strength of its user as well. 

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