The Iurrketh-Vraslir Covenant
The Covenant is, properly speaking, not a nation itself, but rather a commercial union between two distinct states which has long since outgrown its original purpose and spread to incorporate both of the original governments. While the latter are certainly not vestigial and still do effectively manage their respective countries, the Covenant's Administrative Council, aside from completely regulating interactions between them, holds significant authority, being able to propose motions and policies to either of them, as well as exert a hefty veto on their own. Furthermore, the Council is merely the core of what is fundamentally a diplomatic agreement given a political body. Bridging the metaphorical gap between the two nations, the Covenant is a vast bureaucratic structure, housed in citadels which can effectively be considered its own domain, having access to uniquely hybridised research facilities and commanding a security force, comprising experimental designs and units not found elsewhere, to rival the armies of regular states.
The partially constituent states themselves follow certain peculiar political designs. The Iurrketh Combine functions as a form of merit-based technocratic oligarchy, with distinguished scientific personalities rising through the social ladder in proportion to their professional accomplishments. It is to note, however, that the highest positions are usually only attained by those who have displayed, along with the aforementioned traits, a measure of administrative skill; those without such a distinction are typically awarded with exclusively honorific titles. The government is altogether highly centralised, with a committee overseeing nationwide activity and exerting a firm control over it by the means of a rigid power structure. Sacrificing the personal for the common good is broadly encouraged among the lower classes, and numerous avenues of putting individual ambitions to the service of the collective cause are presented wherever possible.
In stark contrast to it, the Global Vraslir Union highly prizes individual initiative, although its methods of governance are not exactly democratic. Its overall population is divided, by geographical criteria, into several Swarms, each of which has a distinct internal hierarchy. A rather loose core government exists in the form of an assembly of prominent members of each Swarm, but its effective authority, though not quite limited, is rarely fully exerted. The principles of social advancement within the Swarms are baffling to human minds, relying on a complex and seemingly contradictory set of values and evaluation parameters; the only general constant to be observed is that older individuals often, though not invariably, occupy higher positions.
Leadership:The current composition of the Administrative Council includes about a dozen eminent personalities from both constituent states, comprising both High Administrators, wielding actual political power, and scientifically-minded Proto-Engineers from the Combine, as well as illustrious Swarm-Speakers and Cycle-Weavers from the Union. It appears that the Covenant has succeeded in assembling the most remarkable exponents of both societies under its aegis, as neither official government boasts members of such renown.
Offworld Holdings:Although there are a number of mining modules and even some orbital laboratories, mostly Covenant-owned, spread in the environs of their home-world, the inhabitants of Erelvath (such the name of the Garden in question) have not attempted any dedicated colonisation efforts to this day, and thus do not truly have a relevant off-world presence.
Persons of Importance:Decorated High Administrator Eullvallt: One of the major personalities within the Administrative Council, Eullvallt is something of an innovator, believing the Covenant and its associates would greatly benefit from more daring industrial and research practices. This has earned him considerable support within the Union, even though his own compatriots regard his ideas with wariness.
Cycle-Weaver Threzzir: A leading mind in the fields of biology and artificial genetic modifications, Threzzir adheres to the somewhat archaic philosophical creed of the Sanctity of the Cycle, and believes that all organic life should be “corrected” to attain a hypothetical sacred ideal.
The Vraslil with the asymmetrical proboscis: ???
Species and Demographics:Demographics:
Iurrkhal - 37%
Vraslil - 63%
Iurrkhal: These fungal creatures, hailing from the largely barren and inhospitable, but mineral-rich super-tropical continent Iurrthellir, have a long history of struggling with hostile environments, which, combined with their lengthy gestation period, frequently threatened to thin their numbers almost to the point of extinction. Consequently, there remains in them an atavistic aversion to being exposed to physical danger, and a proportional willingness to decrease the chance of such an occurrence as far as possible. As their soft, malleable pseudopods, which can, in various circumstances, exert a firm grip or perform fine manipulations, render them naturally suited for occupations wherein such flexibility can be vital, Iurrkhal industry is Erelvath’s finest in terms of mechanical implements and technological advancement.
Vraslil: The inquisitive Vraslil developed in a rich and complex ecosystem on the equatorial continent of Verrselith, the entirety of which they still suspect they have not yet quite understood. Such a wealth of life never ceased to fascinate a great many of them, and, ever since the dawn of their civilisation, lead them to wonder how marvellous the world of organic forms might be if it were guided by a wise, calculating intellect - such as their own. Since the Vraslil seldom hesitate before passing from words to action, there scarce can be found a life-form on Erelvath which they have not experimented upon, and the products of their biological engineering are slowly yet steadily making their way toward wholesale employment in Iurrkhal as well as Covenant-controlled areas.
History:The Garden-world known as Erelvath to its inhabitants was, to all memory, always inhabited by two sapient species, the Iurrkhal and the Vraslil, which developed in distant and widely differing environments and for long were unaware of each other’s existence. The growth of their civilisations seems to have begun at rather different points in time, with Iurrkhal society being more ancient by some centuries – which may explain its greater complexity – though their later development was largely parallel. Interestingly, the more intuitive nature of the Vraslil’s bio-manipulative scientific disciplines apparently enabled their technology to develop at a somewhat faster rate, causing the two species to be almost evenly matched in that regard.
Almost a millennium from the present time, Iurrkhal explorers reached Verrselith and established a first contact with the Vraslil. Initially, relations were understandably rather tense, as both required abundant resources to bolster their nascent industries, and both were largely unwilling to share with the other. A few minor conflicts took place, with varying outcomes and neither side seizing a definite advantage. It is as yet unclear how things would have progressed had these disputes not been eclipsed by a vast increase in private trade, which had been gradually consolidating all the while. Although such a method of resource (and knowledge) transfer was not quite optimal, it served well enough in maintaining the respective economies, until at length increased state interference brought about a series of major accords regulating the flow of commerce, as well as such aspects as taxation and border tolls.
To enforce these regulations, the Covenant was founded as an independent, non-state-controlled entity, with a number of sweeping and, truth be told, ambiguously-worded (presumably due to the then-imperfect translation conventions) treaties granting it ample powers to fulfil that purpose. Ever since its institution, however, the Covenant has done far more than supervise inter-national trade: by subtly influencing the economic, and eventually political, power balance, it prompted the two states to grow more closely dependent on each other and exploit their relationship for an increased mutual gain, allowing for significant advances in various fields and a distinct improvement in diplomatic relations.
Nowadays, the Combine and the Union consider themselves staunch allies, their activity being tightly interwoven in numerous sectors. All the while, the Covenant’s influence over both has been increasing, and, though even most of its members may not be ready to admit it, the organisation constitutes Erelvath’s shadow leadership in all but name.
Military:In war, the two nations of Erelvath adopt distinctly different approaches. The Iurrkhal, placing utmost emphasis on personal safety, only ever enter battle in heavily armoured vehicles, supported by legions of cheap, disposable semi-autonomous drones. Their tactics consequently tend towards favouring ponderous, straightforward frontal assaults, overwhelming foes with sheer numbers and particle-beam firepower. The Vraslil, on the other hand, rely on highly mobile detachments of physically enhanced combatants, armed almost exclusively with biological and chemical weaponry and accompanied by specially bred monstrous creatures. Under the Covenant’s command, the two doctrines complement each other, with typical strategies including Vraslil shock units pinning down and harrying the enemy’s flanks while the Iurrkhal main force delivers a crushing direct attack.
Fleet-wise, Covenant ships tend to be rapid, agile and numerous, if rather individually weak, with combat manoeuvers relying heavily on boarding operations to disable major enemy vessels while lesser ones are systematically hunted down and destroyed by dedicated wings and specialised craft.
Other:Unbeknownst to the Combine, the Union or even the Covenant itself, below the surface of Erelvath lies a vast complex of vaults and tomb-like chambers of unknown origin, manifestly very ancient and guarded by nigh-incomprehensible devices. So deeply buried are they that, to this day, no traces of them have been discovered; however, with mining projects growing more and more ambitious, it is but a matter of time until someone stumbles upon them and unleashes the dark secrets that have slumbered in them for uncountable epochs…
