Anithraldur

Anithraldur the Even-Handed was the first Emperor of the Arizon Novanian Empire. He was one of the greatest resistance leaders during the War of Resistance against the invading slavers, and in the process of uniting the homeworld against them became the charismatic dictator of it. He is remembered as the first great ruler of the Empire, for the even-handedness of his reign, and his accomplishments in expanding the Imperial territories (the current Core Systems).

Pre-Imperial Era

Born a number of years before the Arizonan Common Era, Anithraldur began life humbly enough. Part of the obsequious House Riti, Anithraldur grew up during the tumult of the Late Modern Era, after the discovery of extra-terrestrial transmissions. Converting to Christianity at an early age, he was baptized into the Church of Saint Peter shortly before the slaver invasion.

The War of Resistance

When the slavers appeared over the skies of the homeworld with the intent of subjugating the entire planet and selling the populace, immediately the various powers united to form a resistance. When the slavers descended to begin digging in, they encountered very stiff resistance, to the point that their beach-heads soon were threatened with being overrun; but this was not without great price to the defenders. Millions died in the process, and Anithraldur soon found himself catapulted into a command position. At the decisive battle of Toll Eramau, his forces dealt the final crushing blow to the slavers' ground forces, who were forced to retreat back to their vessels. However, it soon became apparent that if they could not take the planet, they would destroy it. In a last desperate move, Anithraldur ordered all resisting forces with any sort of missile stockpile to target the orbiting slaver vessels. The slavers, at low strength and moving hastily, were not expecting this move and their vessels were crippled, plunging through the atmosphere and onto the surface. The victorious Arizonan forces flooded the vessels, mercilessly executing the slavers and plundering the vessels of their advanced technology.

Ascent to Empire

After the defeat of the slavers, the world was divided as to which direction they would now go. Many advocated a return to "business as usual," and perhaps the establishment of an organization to watch and wait for any more incursions, but Anithraldur along with many others knew that such a return was no longer possible. They began advocating for a full planetary unification - for the homeworld to unite under one flag and government, for the purpose of protecting everyone from further threats. As well, during this time, various corporations had taken great pains to acquire and use the pillaged technology from the slaver vessels. This resulted in a series of technological leaps and bounds forward as the technology was studied and carefully reproduced. Industries would literally rise and fall overnight as it was integrated. Many, however, were disturbed by these events and soon two movements emerged - the Seperatists and the Unionists.

Compromise and Unification

As tensions between the Seperatist and Unionist camps intensified, it seemed the whole planet would be engulfed by civil war. A compromise would have to be struck, and soon Anithraldur struck upon an idea. Astronomic surveys had observed that, in fact, the nearby world of Nominor harbored life - to the point of being covered in forests! A deal was struck with the Seperatists - all who wanted to go to Nominor would be transported there, and the planet would be granted total autonomy in perpetuity. Soon transport vessels, utilizing the new propulsion technologies taken from the slavers, helped ferry them to Nominor. Now, the homeworld was unified, and Anithraldur was elevated in status to a Washingtonian figure - leader, liberator, and compromiser - and became the Emperor.

Early Rule

Anithraldur's early rule was marked by the incredible economic boom fueled by the dissemination of various technologies across the planet. One of Anithraldur's first efforts was to reign in the grosser abuses of the industries and check future ones while maintaining the booming economy. His other aim was to establish a planetary naval force to combat any further invasions. His third, and what he considered to be the most important goal, was to reach out into the void and establish contact. The transmissions which brought what is now known as Terran ideals and the slaver attack proved, for good and ill, that Arizona Nova did not sit alone in the void.

The First Expansions

As the eyes of the homeworld turned outward, systems that were once isolated and remote suddenly became part of the near neighborhood. A slow idea of the shape and disposition of the galaxy revealed Arizona Nova was in the Perseus Arm of the galaxy, specifically in star cluster M101. The Barclay and Chyrsham systems were scouted out and found to be devoid of other sentient life (althougth Ondataru in the Barclay System was green and life-bearing) and planted the flag there. The nation had taken the first step into Empire. The combination of technological advancement and territorial expansion fueled a centuries-long boom of unprecedented growth within the nation. Soon Arizona Nova became a player on the international stage, joining the Extra Solar Union of Systems and even sending a detachment of its early navy to assist the beleaugered Arenumbergians against assault by a Shivan remnant - what later became known as the Groombridge war. However, this growth was not without its price as living conditions, especially for the working classes, on the homeworld began to deteriorate. Strain was put on industrial resources as building projects for the navy drew up plans for massive new battleships at the same time. Desiring more prestige as well as resources, the High Council exhorted Anithraldur to engage in a bout of aggressive military expansion in the Perseus Arm, which resulted in the First War of Expansion. The nations of Trekys, Otagia, and Lessir Tsurani were encountered during the war, and while peaceful relations were established with the former two, a failure in communication between the Tsurani and the Novanians resulted in a long and tiresome war of attrition between the two powers as the Arizonan Third Fleet pushed through into their territory. Due to the nature of the enemy's defenses (particularly their FTLi) the war quickly bogged down. Eventually one of their outward systems was taken at great cost and a peace was established, with Admiral Ultan claiming the victory.

The Sentient Civil Rights Act

However, one of Anithraldur's most important contributions was his support of the writing and the adoption of the Sentient Civil Rights Act. With his assistance and support of Councilman Tellenius Ryltar, the passing of the act was eased considerably; had he not thrown in his support it might have taken longer or the act might have been altered or weakened in some way. The original intent of the act was actually more to "throw down the gauntlet" at nations which routinely violated sentient rights as much as guarantee them within Arizona Nova, and there were many within the council who were not ready to "rock the boat" internationally.