Covenant of Man

Established on Grand Bastion, the Covenant of Man is a split off of the Colonial Earth Empire that occurred in the years of the Silence. The planet was originally a cloning facility (Technology that was lost during the silence), that was kept by a scientists and warriors loyal to the Imperial Emperor Nero Proxius, and incredibly devout Imperialists. When the silence fell, the clones were awakened and the Covenant of Man was born. This galvanized the believers and turned the Covenant of Man into a religiously extreme state. They wage war on those all around them in the Terminus Systems, with the wealthy warrior and religious class intertwined, pushing for the expansion of their own game, all driven by the Emperor, a genetic mastermind with the command of loyal legions of fanatics. Each emperor rules as two in one, a younger version of himself, and older version of himself. Each works with the other to discern the emperor's true meaning, and how the first would've responded. They are guided by a handful of council members, some who have presumably remained the same since the start of the Covenant. Their constant struggle under the weight of their own expansion, it is hard for the Covenant to make many gains, but those worlds loyal to them are nigh unconvertable.

Structure

While to the ignorant onlooker, the Empire might just look like a genetic dynasty, where the emperor rules, has ruled, and will always rule. In reality, the Covenant of Man is a wide and opaque web of entrenched bueracracy and relationships that often comes off as religious and zealous in its nature. There are three primary instutions that drive the direction of the Empire. The first, is of course that of Emperor Nero himself. Known widely as "Empire", his instution commands the Inquisition. The Inquistion serves as the propoganda mouthpiece, the face of, and the force of the masses within the realm of the Covenant of Man. Most average citizens only interact with the Inquisition as a whole. They might hear whispers of the Illuminated, or see the occasional Tech-Magi Engine Priest fixing the infrastructure of a covenant hive city, but will never speak to one. The Illuminated make up a state-sanctioned coven of Psionically gifted individuals. They maintain a strict heirarchy away from the Inquistion, though they realize the importance of their skills to maintain the status quo. They are organized into covens, and act as advisors to Empire himself, as well as the various Tech-Magi and Inquisitors who oversee the bulk of the Covenant of Man. Finally, the Tech-Magi made an agreement with the Inquisition early into the silence, establishing the "Covenant" in the Covenant of Man. They maintain their own industrial world, Kalvus, away from the control of the Inquisition and in return, are allowed to arm and maintain their own expeditionary fleets, so long as they contribute a percentage of these forces to a crusade in the greater aspirations of the Covenant of Man. They also help the Empire maintain the ancient cloning tech on Grand Bastion, as well as maintaing and fixing the ancient tech that the Inquisition cannot fix themselves. The inclusion of the Tech-Magi has allowed the Covenant of Man to continually not slip into industrial darkness, and are key to the Covenant of Man's continued existence. The Illuminated have also proven themself crucial in maintaining the Covenant of Man in recent years, proving key in the ongoing conflict on Nimbam, where Illuminated Agents regularly strike against the Empire.