Azlanti Star Empire

Thousands of years before The Gap, explorers from Azlant, humanity’s first great empire on Golarion, ventured beyond their home world to other planets. A few ambitious (some said foolhardy) adventurers proposed colonizing some of these worlds, but after several such undertakings ended in disaster, the idea was abandoned. One expedition, however, succeeded far beyond its backers’ dreams, though no one in Azlant was aware of the achievement.
Thousands of zealous Azlanti pioneers followed a visionary named Eronestria through a series of magical portals to a distant world they named New Thespera, which orbited a distant star dubbed Aristia. New Thespera was not unlike Golarion, but the settlers relied on the portals to support their colony. Whether through a flawed understanding of the vast forces involved, magical mishap, or deliberate sabotage, the portals failed just a few months after the colonists arrived, winking out of existence and stranding the Azlanti on New Thespera. As far as the colonists were concerned, they were cut off from Golarion forever.
As the expedition’s leader and governor of the colony, Eronestria was determined to see New Thespera not only survive but thrive in this far region of the galaxy. She proposed the founding of a new Azlanti empire, whose citizens would be endowed with a Great Purpose. It was their duty to carry on the traditions of Azlanti culture and learning on this distant world, and, eventually, to bring humanity to the stars. Eronestria’s vision for the future gained wide acclaim, and she was crowned the first imperator of the Azlanti Star Empire. Equipped with the advanced magic and technology of Azlant, which far surpassed that of any other human culture on Golarion at the time, the colonists successfully explored and settled their new planet, establishing a thriving outpost of Azlanti culture, learning, and philosophy on New Thespera.
Although Eronestria extended her life and reign well beyond the life span of a normal human, the first imperator died before her empire could expand from New Thespera. Eronestria’s descendants and successors continued her work, guiding and expanding the colony into a true Azlanti civilization and striving to fulfill her Great Purpose of bringing humanity to the stars. Without the malignant influence of the mysterious alghollthus, who genetically and culturally engineered Golarion’s Azlanti (and eventually destroyed them in a world-shaking cataclysm) the Azlanti of New Thespera were able to create their own destiny.
Over thousands of years, the Azlanti built an interplanetary empire, slowly but inexorably spreading outward from New Thespera until all the worlds orbiting Aristia were conquered and colonized. Stars farther away remained beyond the reach of the Azlanti. Scientists labored for centuries to develop new ships and new engines that could traverse the immense distances between Aristia’s gravity well and other star systems, but none of these experiments succeeded. Therefore, the Azlanti Star Empire remained confined to its single solar system, its Great Purpose unrealized.
Much of the Star Empire’s history following this time was lost to the Gap, which affected the empire just as it did The Pact Worlds and the rest of the universe. The Star Imperator’s Aeon Throne, a powerful artifact utilizing the magic of aeon stones, was created during this time, since no pre-Gap records of it exist. According to modern histories, the founder of the current imperial dynasty, Ixomander I, created the Aeon Throne when he was crowned Star Imperator 1,777 years ago, and his line has ruled the Star Empire ever since. No other corroborating records from that time exist, so this account is questionable, but it is considered to be the official history of the empire.
A scion of the Ixomander dynasty did sit upon the Aeon Throne when Triune's Signal reached the Star Empire 3 centuries ago. Without warning or fanfare, a strange aeon stone appeared among the other gems adorning the Aeon Throne. Stored in a digital lattice within this aeon stone was information on a previously unknown plane called The Drift along with blueprints for a Drift engine. The industrial and military might of the empire was turned to creating this technology, and, finally, the Azlanti could fulfill their Great Purpose.
Within a decade, the Imperial Vanguard Scout Corps had explored nearby star systems, followed closely by warships of the Imperial Fleet and the faceless legions of the Aeon Guard. The Azlanti conquered every habitable or resource-rich world they found and subjugated or enslaved every sentient species they encountered, ruthlessly exterminating any that refused to submit. Today, the Azlanti Star Empire claims 12 star systems in the Vast as its territory. A wide variety of subject species pay homage or tribute to the Aeon Throne, feeding the empire’s war machine and relentless expansion.
Citizens of the Pact Worlds made contact with the Azlanti Star Empire almost 50 years ago, an encounter that ended with the destruction of a Starfinder Society ship and no further communications. Since that first meeting, all subsequent encounters between the Star Empire and the Pact Worlds (as well as The Veskarium) have been hostile. The Pact Worlds and the Veskarium now keep their distance from the Star Empire. For their part, the Azlanti have learned that their ancient home world, Golarion, has vanished and that their ancestors died out millennia ago. To the Azlanti, the Humans of the Pact Worlds are so far removed from their origins—which to the Azlanti means Ancient Azlant—that they aren’t really human at all compared to pure-blooded Azlanti. For the moment, the Azlanti Star Empire has decided to ignore the Pact Worlds unless they become a competitor or a military threat.

Structure

In addition to Azlanti humans, various species inhabit the numerous worlds of the Star Empire, but not all of them are citizens of that empire. A few species have gained official recognition and citizenship, but many more have been ignored, enslaved, or exterminated.
In the Star Empire, only humans of pure Azlanti blood, the descendants of those original Azlanti pioneers who colonized New Thespera, can enjoy the rank and privileges of nobility. Foremost is the Star Imperator, who sits upon the Aeon Throne and is the supreme ruler of the entire empire. Currently, Iorian (NE male Azlanti envoy) and Yridela (NE female Azlanti mystic) share the title as twin siblings of the Ixomander dynasty, which claims to have ruled the empire for nearly 2,000 years. All other members of the imperial family, especially the direct descendants of a Star Imperator, hold the title of parept and are distinguished from one another by lesser, mostly ceremonial, regional titles. The Ixomanders are the wealthiest family in the empire and hold the Aristia system as their personal fiefdom.
Outside the imperial family, the highest Azlanti title is that of arcidux, the hereditary ruler of an entire star system. In addition to small ancestral lands on New Thespera, most arciduxes claim a planet or two as their personal estates. A military governor—usually a high-ranking admiral of the Imperial Fleet—called an exarch oversees any system that is newly conquered or of great strategic importance. Exarchs enjoy equivalent rank and social status to arciduxes, but unlike true nobility, this military title cannot be inherited. Currently, nine arciduxes and two exarchs rule the star systems of the Star Empire.
A duxillar is the hereditary ruler of a planet or, occasionally, multiple planets. Because some worlds are richer than others, some duxillars wield more power and influence than their peers.
The empire has only a couple of lower-ranking but truly noble titles, including sardat and dominus. A sardat is the hereditary ruler of a moon, major space station, or large territorial province on one planet’s surface. Smaller provinces, minor space stations, asteroids, and similarly sized moonlets are the hereditary estates of dominuses. Dominus is the lowest-ranking and most common among titles in the Azlanti nobility. With a large number of small planetoids and space habitats present in most star systems, the empire has no shortage of titles of this rank to hand out.
Below the nobles are the illustri, descended from Azlanti farmers and laborers. Illustar is more a label of class distinction than a noble title, but illustri are sometimes considered to be the lowest rank of the aristocracy. It’s also possible for an illustar to be granted a title and join the ranks of the dominuses. Untitled or not, an illustar is still in a social position to which even the richest and most powerful non-human citizens of the Star Empire can only hope to aspire.
Although the Azlanti founded the Star Empire and are its ruling class, they are a minority within the empire. Most of the empire’s subjects are non-human, and only some officially designated sentient alien species have even a second-class citizen status. These include gathols, gosclaws, neskintis, screedreeps, shatoris, slivaras, and vilderaros. These officially sanctioned species are far from the empire’s only inhabitants, however. Some species, including brakims, dessamars, elanayas, filsoks, mercoys, stelliferas, and volotins, are tolerated or ignored by the Azlanti. They are subjects of the Star Empire, but they have no citizenship and few legal rights. Other species, such as androids, hortuses, iztheptars, and tromlins, are enslaved, and still others are not recognized as sentient at all.

Culture

The crux of Azlanti culture is the firm belief that the Azlanti are the only true humans in the galaxy, and as such, they deserve to rule over every star, planet, moon, and that which lies in between. Happy to conquer anyone who disagrees, the Azlanti are just as pleased with those who willingly bend the knee and serve dutifully under the Aeon Throne. Only a fraction of the Azlanti live pampered lives among the rich or noble, but this notion of racial superiority allows even the poorest Azlanti, who must still work from day to day, to believe and act as if they are better than any so-called alien and thus endure the mundanity of their lives.

History

Almost 50 years ago, a Starfinder scout ship ventured beyond the Hydra Nebula, deep into the unexplored reaches of the Vast. Upon arrival, the Starfinders announced the discovery of a star system with planets inhabited not just by unfamiliar aliens, but also by humans—a society apparently not of Pact Worlds origin. It also reported the existence of multiple large starships of unknown design, and the scout’s intention to establish communication. The Starfinder ship made no further transmissions.
This was the Pact Worlds’ first contact with the Azlanti Star Empire, a vast union of diverse races, worlds, and star systems under the dominion of humans who left Golarion millennia before the Gap. The Azlanti Star Empire seeks to bring all inhabited worlds under its hegemony, exploiting their knowledge, labor, and resources for the good of the empire. Its driving philosophy asserts that humans—specifically pure-blooded Azlanti—are the most perfect species and that their destiny is to conquer the galaxy and rule over all lesser species. The Star Empire’s fleet of starships is believed to rival the navies of the Pact Worlds and Veskarium combined, and its legions of gem-augmented aeon troopers ruthlessly conquer new territories and quell dissent.
Since that meeting, encounters between the Pact Worlds and the Star Empire have been few, but always hostile. No vessel reporting direct contact with Star Empire forces has survived the encounter, at least in officially recorded sources, and so far only the barest outlines of their society have been gleaned by spying on transmissions. Two diplomatic delegations sent by the Pact Worlds government were firmly rebuffed: the first vanished without a trace, its members assumed to have been captured or killed; the second destroyed outright as soon as it came out of the Drift in Azlanti territory. The Veskarium colony world of Najin-Korozayas, established only a decade before first contact with the Star Empire, was obliterated in an Azlanti attack soon after, its entire populace slaughtered or enslaved and its resources plundered. Since then, both the Pact Worlds and the Veskarium have kept their distance from systems believed to be in Azlanti territory, forbidding explorers or colonists from entering, and The Stewards keep a close eye on the region, lest the Azlanti decide to move in force toward the Pact Worlds.

Demography and Population

The Azlanti Star Empire is a vast, rigid monoculture exalting absolutism. Successful imperial expansion relies on disparate species, yet the Azlanti relegate non-humans to second-class status at best. Despite this misuse of power in the empire, the following aliens endure within it.
Android: Within the Azlanti Star Empire, androids serve as slaves and slave soldiers in the Alien Cohort.
Brakim: Azlanti ignore the inhabitants of Bortan II, the brakims, while the Aeon Guard scours the war-torn planet for salvageable tech.
Dessamars: The insectile dessamars come from Koshoria, a planet bathed in perpetual purple twilight. After a larval stage, dessamars wrap themselves in magical cocoons and emerge as butterfly-like beings with colorful wings, a humanoid exoskeleton, four arms, two legs, and compound eyes. Their civilization is built around the worship of Desna and the study of their planet’s magical auras. Azlanti view dessamars as curiosities while simultaneously harvesting Koshoria’s resources.
Elanayas: Shorixx, home world of the humanoid elanayas, has numerous portals connected to Elemental Planes that only the elanayas can use, much to the Azlanti’s frustration. Most elanayas bond with an elemental during adolescence. The Star Empire has been unable to subjugate the elanayas, who slip through their portals in times of crisis. However, elanayas haven’t driven the Azlanti off Shorixx, resulting in a stalemate.
Filsoks: When the Azlanti invaded Iuclairus, they mistook the native filsoks for enormous boulders. Filsoks are sentient creatures that dutifully serve as hosts for nonsapient species living in the tunnels that honeycomb the filsoks’ gargantuan bodies. Filsoks communicate very slowly in grinding tones that travel in all directions for hundreds of miles through stone and earth. Azlanti treat filsoks more like scenery than creatures. It’s uncertain whether the filsoks have even noticed the Azlanti incursion.
Gathols: A hulking, bipedal mammalian species that evolved on the mountainous planet of Ghaggath, gathols have a bellicose nature. The furry creatures grow rocky plates that serve as armor, which occasionally molts. The Azlanti fought a long war against the gathols until a clever general offered them the chance to test their mettle against opponents across the galaxy. Gathols are now citizens within the empire, serving in the Alien Cohort or as gladiators.
Gosclaw: The Star Empire has put gosclaws to work as engineers and special operations forces in exchange for citizenship rights.
Hortuses: Lethargic and peaceful, the fungal hortuses of Croban V can alter the chemical composition of an atmosphere by emitting the right spores and chemicals. The Azlanti enslaved them to take advantage of this ability. Similar in appearance to mushrooms, hortuses have distinct caps in countless hues and shapes. These fungal creatures live in collective groups, and it’s rare to find a hortus acting alone.
Human: Humans are a minority, and most are of the Azlanti blood required to hold power within the Star Empire. Iztheptars: From Brigin, a desert world of scarce resources, iztheptars are adaptable and exhibit the ability to employ biotechnology on an instinctive level. The Azlanti enslaved the physically and mentally malleable iztheptars and put them to use in many ways, including in high-risk vocations.
Mercoys: In the Quinander system, home to the mercoys, the barriers between the Material Plane and the First World are thin. Mercoys are humanoids. Each has a narrow body and tufts of feather, fur, or hair growing from the head and shoulders. However, exposure to fey energies has made mercoys masters of illusory disguises. After conquering the system, the Azlanti established an agency that tracks mercoy identities so these non-citizens can’t flout imperial laws.
Neskintis: The Azlanti consider the arboreal neskintis of Gjor III to be primitive. Since the species acquiesced to rule, the Azlanti have given them positions as gardeners and botanists.
Screedreep: The obsequious screedreeps exhibit a fierce loyalty to the Star Empire and have been rewarded with administrative posts throughout imperial space.
Shatoris: Shatoris, a tall race of magic-users, once ruled the Disaj system, but nearly went extinct when a daemonic army attacked them. Desperate to live, the most powerful among them sought refuge in a demiplane, but they returned irrevocably changed. Planar energies caused their bones to be visible through their skin and made them immortal but unable to reproduce. Shatoris joined the empire and work to make themselves essential as a matter of survival.
Slivaras: Although they have crab-like exteriors, the slivaras are intelligent slimes that use the shells of giant crustaceans as a form of powered armor. From the swamps of Gjor III, the slivaras negotiated favorable working terms as productive citizens of the Star Empire, often as masters of applied biotechnology like that found in their armor.
Stelliferas: The Star Empire’s pollution of the oceans on the planet Parin nearly wiped out the native stelliferas, tiny aquatic creatures.
Tromlins: The reptilian tromlins of Gjor III consist of two subspecies, the bloodseekers and hardshells. A bloodseeker tromlin is bipedal with a long tail, sharp fangs, and clawed hands, while a hardshell tromlin is quadrupedal with thick, powerful legs and a horned head. The Azlanti settled the feud between the two subspecies by enslaving both.
Vilderaro: Natives of Oyojii, the vilderaros are obsessed with geometry. They work as designers, navigators, and pilots in the Star Empire.
Volotins: Ethereal and telepathic, all the volotins are trapped within exquisite crystalline towers on the three planets of the Nadeghey system. The Azlanti acknowledge that these aliens are sentient, but the Star Empire has yet to funnel any resources into aiding the volotins or discovering the reasons behind their imprisonment.

Territories

STAR EMPIRE TERRITORY The Azlanti Star Empire occupies an expansive territory in the Vast, in a region beyond the Hydra Nebula largely unexplored by anyone in the Pact Worlds. It encompasses 12 star systems and their planets within its borders, and billions of those worlds’ inhabitants are claimed as its subjects. The following are the major star systems in the empire.
ARISTIA The Aristia system was the first place the Azlanti settled and is now the heart of the Star Empire. Aristia’s third planet, New Thespera, is the empire’s throne world and the site of the original Azlanti colony, now the capital city, Eronesse. The Azlanti renamed the other seven planets of the system when the empire conquered them. Notable are temperate and mountainous Iuclairus, home to the massive and slow-moving filsoks, and Eostrillon, whose white sands are the origins of the unctuous screedreeps, one of the first civilizations to submit to Azlanti rule. The Star Imperators and their underlings directly rule this system.
CROBAN The massive Croban system boasts 10 planets, many of which are covered with various forms of vegetation. Croban III through Croban VI are considered to be the Star Empire’s breadbasket, providing much of the sustenance shipped to the other systems. The only sentients in the Croban system are the fungoid hortuses of Croban V, whom the Azlanti enslaved. Arcidux Holtinus Vedivon (NE male Azlanti mystic) treats the system as his personal genetic laboratory, where he attempts to engineer the perfect foodstuff.
DANSKON The star Danskon has seven planets in orbit, including the volcanic world of Duren, home planet of the gosclaws. This system is rich in hydrocarbons and industrial metals. Therefore, a number of the Star Empire’s shipyards and fleet repair facilities are located here alongside Azlanti colonies. The presence of these shipyards makes Danskon a strategic site, so it is one of two star systems in the empire to be ruled by a military governor, called an exarch, rather than a hereditary arcidux. The current exarch is Gorokoya the Hammer (LE female vesk soldier), an orphaned and enslaved vesk who worked her way up through the ranks of the Alien Cohort to become a highly decorated general and the highest-ranking non-human in the Azlanti Star Empire.
DISAJ Once a thriving coalition of planets before the Gap, the Disaj system was devastated when the magic-hungry shatoris unleashed a daemonic invasion upon themselves, destroying most of their people and several worlds. Some survived by retreating into a demiplane for protection, but when they emerged, they discovered the planar energies had made them immortal but infertile. When the Azlanti discovered the Disaj system, the shatoris offered their mystical services to avoid conflict. The two remaining planets—Perdure and Prevail—now serve as sites for technomagical laboratories under the watchful eye of the system’s arcidux Elavir Numoni (LE female Azlanti technomancer).
EUSILID Arcidux Caeiphus Myrrevenar (NE male Azlanti envoy) controls Eusilid, one of the largest systems in the Star Empire. With 11 planets, Eusilid features worlds of numerous types and multitudes of people. These include the adaptable iztheptars of Brigin, who readily fell in line with Azlanti subjugation, and the mysterious elanayas of Shorixx, who are little more than curiosities to the Azlanti. Caeiphus gained his position thanks to his silver tongue, but rumors persist that he holds damaging information on the Ixomander family. The arcidux is on the verge of gaining the secrets of elemental power from the elanayas, and even though treating with these mere subjects of the Star Empire has caused him to lose face, he believes the rewards will be well worth any political consequences.
GJOR The Gjor system has eight planets, but most are inhospitable to life due to mysterious radiation or constant, violent storms. The exception is Gjor III, which is similar to New Thespera and lost Golarion in many ways. Gjor III is the home world of the arboreal neskintis, the crustacean slivaras, and the reptilian tromlins. While the neskintis and slivaras have been granted second-class citizenship in the Star Empire, many tromlins have submitted to being slave soldiers in the Alien Cohort. Tasked with keeping the remaining tromlins docile and finding uses for Gjor’s other worlds, Arcidux Lonerai Rigallius (LN female Azlanti operative) spends much of her time in the field.
IRDINANG A young star, Irdinang has no planets, only a few lifeless planetoids and vast swaths of asteroid debris in orbit around it. However, the abundant resources of Irdinang are vital to the empire’s war efforts, and several military bases are located in the system. Admiral Erioch Ourevest (LN male Azlanti soldier) is exarch of Irdinang, and the entire star system is considered a military installation with restricted entry. Reports speak of a cell of android revolutionaries fomenting rebellion among the slaves in Irdinang, but the exarch has been unable to ferret out the culprits.
NADEGHEY Azlanti scientists believe the dimming star of Nadeghey might grow cold within the next few centuries. However, the rich mineral resources found on the system’s three planets of Dimmet, Eventide, and Gloaming have kept the Star Empire from abandoning it altogether. Arcidux Sidonia Icillius (LE female Azlanti mechanic) oversees the various mining operations and closely watches the ethereal natives known as volotins for any sign of trouble.
NYS The Nys system is the periphery of the Azlanti Star Empire, and as such, it holds a maximum-security prison on the moon of Gulta and a few secret research bases. Outpost Zed, a space station outside the Star Empire’s control, and Koshoria, the home world of the insectile dessamars (whom the Azlanti mostly ignore), are also found in the system. Arcidux Xibia Ulklasstin (LN female Azlanti) considers her appointment to this system to be an insult and rarely spends much time here.
OYOYA The vilderaros of the Oyoya system are one of the more useful civilizations the Star Empire has absorbed. From the ocean world Oyojii, one of Oyoya’s three planets, the vilderaros are capable navigators and pilots, and many Azlanti nobles consider it a luxury to have one as a personal chauffeur. From his sprawling yacht-mansion on Oyojii, Arcidux Tethin Placaria (NE male Azlanti envoy) hosts regattas for amusement and grants favors to the winners.
QUINANDER The five planets of the Quinander system are oddities. All have minor connections to the First World, making them bright and colorful, with vibrant flora and larger-than-life fauna. Given free rein to maintain these worlds as stable, law-abiding colonies of the Star Empire however she can, Arcidux Allame Liviniu (LE female Azlanti technomancer) has her hands full with geographical shifts, as well as the impulsive mercoys, who are scattered throughout the system.
THENEKRAL The first solar system the Azlanti explored and colonized after the discovery of Drift travel, Thenekral is the most populated system in the Star Empire after Aristia. Arcidux Besserill Ixomander (LE female Azlanti mystic) rules Thenekral, and her status as cousin of the Star Imperators offers her considerable power and influence in imperial politics. Four lush planets orbit Thenekral, all habitable by humans. Dezenev is rich in resources, magical and mountainous Ghaggath is the home world of the gathols, and watery Parin was the stelliferas’ home before the Azlanti claimed it. Beautiful Clasoon, however, is most famous throughout the Star Empire. A verdant, pristine jewel, Clasoon is also Besserill’s personal property.
She strictly controls access to the world, allowing only the wealthiest Azlanti to settle there. The fees for a short visit or vacation to Clasoon’s famed resorts are beyond the means of all but the richest nobility. Many Aeon Guards have retired to Clasoon, leading to some rumors that Besserill might be building a private army on her personal estate.
OTHER TERRITORIES The Azlanti Star Empire has established colonies and outposts on over 20 planets outside the empire’s official borders, including a station on Bortan II that watches over the war-torn planet, occasionally dispatching teams to search for remnants of military technology the Star Empire can reverse-engineer. The Azlanti ignore the native brakims, except when they cause trouble for the troops.

Military

The Azlanti Star Empire maintains control of its territories and billions of subjects through the might and liberal use of its military, which is at the forefront of the Azlanti’s expansionist endeavors and also extends the empire’s power into distant star systems. The Star Empire’s military is divided into two major branches, the Imperial Fleet and the Aeon Guard. A third paramilitary force called the Alien Cohort, made up of noncitizen, non-human troopers with Azlanti officers, supports the other two branches.
The Imperial Fleet is the space navy of the Star Empire. This armada has ships and crews stationed in every system in the empire and is able to respond to almost any threat with astounding speed and overwhelming force. The fleet has several specialized wings within it, such as the Imperial Vanguard Scout Corps, which carries out exploration, reconnaissance, and forward military operations, often outside the Star Empire’s borders. Azlanti and non-humans serve aboard starships of the Imperial Fleet, but the officer corps is predominantly human. The exact size and capability of the Imperial Fleet are unknown outside the highest echelons of the empire, but it is believed to rival the size and strength of the combined navies of the Pact Worlds and Veskarium. Some of its largest vessels outclass any standard craft in those navies.
An elite infantry force, the Aeon Guard forms the backbone of the Star Empire’s army within the empire and without. These troops guard every imperial holding and military installation, and they suppress any insurrections before they can spread. Carried by the Imperial Fleet, Aeon Guards land on alien worlds and stations to conquer and occupy enemy territory. All Aeon Guards wear unique green armor with faceless helmets, often augmented with magical aeon stones. Membership in the Aeon Guard is restricted to pure-blooded Azlanti humans of exceptional physical and mental ability, and all Aeon Guards must swear a personal oath of loyalty to the Star Imperator and the Aeon Throne. This pledge lasts until an Aeon Guard’s death, most likely in service of the Star Empire. Some members of the Aeon Guard do retire, but this leave from the service is granted only by the grace of those higher in the government. A retired Aeon Guard member can be reactivated at any time if their skills are needed.
The smallest arm of the imperial military is the Alien Cohort, an auxiliary force made up of non-humans, many of whom are conscripts or slaves of the empire. Any non-human has the right to enlist in the Alien Cohort, which also accepts recruits from species not officially recognized as sentient alien species or citizens of the empire. Soldiers of the Alien Cohort serve as shock troops and expendable assets in the empire’s wars of expansion. Nevertheless, the Alien Cohort has no shortage of recruits, since military service is one of the few ways a non-human can gain status, renown, and respect in imperial society, such as officer status in the Imperial Fleet.

Religion

Although the ancient Azlanti people were devoted to a pantheon of deities, the people of the Azlanti Star Empire now worship one above all others. The faith of Lissala, the Scion of Seven, survived the millennia, and she is the patron goddess of the Star Empire. As a lawful evil deity, Lissala prizes duty and obedience and teaches that those who follow the empire’s strict codes of behavior can be richly rewarded. Her symbol is a seven-pointed star, reflecting the seven tenets of her religion, which stress such concepts as respect for one’s superiors and pride in pure Azlanti blood. Lissala is depicted as a stern Azlanti woman dressed in the trappings of aristocracy. The widespread worship of Lissala helps to explain why most Azlanti citizens accept the authoritarian rule of the Star Imperator and other nobles.

Foreign Relations

The Azlanti Star Empire aims to be the only power in the galaxy, so its dealings with other sentient species are unilateral. So far, the forces of the Star Empire have been able to conquer or destroy every civilization they have encountered, but the Azlanti know they must adapt their techniques before they spread their resources too thin. Azlanti troops have clashed with Pact Worlds and Veskarium forces in the past, and their scouts know of the distant systems of the draeliks and wrikreechees. None have been deemed a threat to the empire, so none are potential targets for war—yet. High-ranking members of the Aeon Guard and the Imperial Fleet are aware of the Swarm, and it is only a matter of time before these two implacable powers meet.

Type

Geopolitical, Empire