New Vandalia
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| Flag of New Vandalia | |
| Motto: "Haat, Ijaa, Haa'it." | |
| No Map Currently Available | |
| Region | Conservative Paradise |
|---|---|
| Capital | Vandalore |
| Official Language(s) | Vando'a |
| Leader | Vandalore Boba Fett |
| Population | Over 450 million |
| Currency | credit |
| NS Sunset XML | |
New Vandalia is the latest incarnation of an ancient interstellar empire that is currently undergoing a renaissance following millennia of war and devastation. The people of New Vandalia, known as Vandalorians (called Vando'ade in their native Vando'a, meaning "Sons and Daughters of Vandalore"), are a warlike, nomadic, clan-based people made up of members of numerous species. Vandalorian culture revolves around battle and war as a source of honor and pride, and their warriors wear suits of armor that include very distinctive battle helmets with T-shaped visors that completely cover their faces. Indeed, these helmets have become strongly associated with and are, to some, the very symbol of the Vandalorian people.
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People and Culture
For five millennia, Vandalorians fought on over a thousand worlds, both alongside and against as many species. They learned to speak many languages and assimilated weapons technology and tactics from every war. However, despite the overwhelming influence of alien cultures -- and the absence of a true home world or even a distinct species -- their own language and culture has not only survived but has changed very little. The Vandalorian way of life and philosophy has remained basically untouched, and their ideals and sense of family and national identity have only been bolstered.
Vandalorian culture is primarily that of a highly nomadic society, influenced by the many other cultures throughout the galaxy with which they’ve come into contact. As a whole, Vandalorians are not prejudiced against any species but are willing to tolerate most anyone, regardless of species or race, as long as they follow basic Vandalorian principles. Indeed, many war-orphaned children – for example, Jango Fett (see below) -- have been, and continue to be, adopted into Vandalorian society and brought up as Vandalorian children.
The Vandalorians are nomadic warriors, despite the fact that they have their home planet of Vandalore. The Vandalorians have maintained their nomadic ways so that, in the event of attack, there would be no easy way to exterminate them. This attributed to the Vandalorians' survival over thousands of years. This also meant that many Vandalorians had never visited Vandalore.
Individual Vandalorians are independent warriors, bound by a common culture. As a mark of this heir individuality, each piece of Vandalorian steel used in a warrior’s armor is created, chosen, and customized by a Vandalorian to his level of skill. The armor has great cultural significance for the Vandalorians, and each set tells a great deal about the Vandalorian underneath. However, there is a saying in Vando'a: "verd ori'shya beskar'gam," meaning "a warrior is more than his armor."
Not all Vandalorians constantly fight on the front lines, though. There are, of course, farmers, regular factory workers, engineers, doctors, and all manner of other occupations, too. However, all Vandalorians are warriors at heart, and all know how to fight.
There are six acts one needs to follow to be a Vandalorian, known as the Six Actions (Resol'Nare): wearing Vandalorian armor; speaking Vando'a; defending themselves and their families; raising children as Vandalorians; helping one’s clan succeed and sustain itself; and, when called to arms by the Vandalore, rallying to his cause.
Despite their rather threatening appearance and prediliction for combat, the typical Vandalorian is more sociable and kind than one would expect. As long as individuals speak their mind, accept a meal when offered, look Vandalorians straight in the eyes (or, at least, the horizontal section of their visors), take off their boots when guests in a Vandalorian home, pay their debts, care dearly for their children, never make a pass at a Vandalorian of the opposite sex (unless the individual plans to become part of the Vandalorian culture), and respect the elderly, those who encounter a Vandalorian aren’t likely to be killed -- at least not right away.
Vandalorian children are usually raised by their mothers until they reach the age of three, then by their fathers, who train them in the art of war until they become adults. Vandalorians are considered adults at the age of 13, at which time sons undergo a coming-of-age trial known as the verd'goten, turning them into warriors and men. This contributes to the fact that Vandalorians marry and settle down earlier than most cultures. Family bonds are a large part of the Vandalorian culture, so they feel more comfortable around each other than they do around strangers.
Religion
Like the Vandalorian culture itself, the Vandalorian religion has changed over time, but it still maintains its fundamental tenets. In ancient times, Vandalorians were intensely religious, worshipping war and taking their myths literally, but disillusionment with the many devastating wars of conquest eventually led to a reinterpretation of the tales as parables, to confer philosophical meanings rather than facts.
In Vandalorian myth, the sloth-god Arasuum eternally fought the destroyer-god Kad Ha'rangir: a representation of the constant struggle between stagnation and the opportunity for change that stemmed from destruction. Every Vandalorian warrior who died supposedly joined an army in the afterlife, where they defended their wives and children, who lived on in an enduring, peaceful homestead. This was viewed as the only place where Vandalorians could finally settle down permanently.
Later generations have moved away from a belief in a literal heaven to emphasize the idea of the vanda, a combination of the collective state of being, the very essence of being Vandalorian, and an oversoul. To be part of it, a Vandalorian must understand his culture and truly live out its ideals. Otherwise, he will be a dar'vanda -- someone ignorant of his heritage, who will have no soul and no afterlife. This is regarded as a fate worse than death. This emphasis on culture has helped preserve the identity of the Vandalorians even when scattered across the galaxy.
Language
Vandalorians have their own distinct and complex language known as Vando'a. Although this is their main language, most Vandalorians know several others, having fought in battles on many planets and learned the languages of the inhabitants of those planets.
(Note: A dictionary of common Vando'a terms should be available soon.)
History
Originally, the Vandalorian clans were members of a race called the Taung from a planet in the center of the galaxy, and they were led by a warlord known as Vandalore the First. Eventually, they left their planet of origin and conquered a planet on the outer rim of the galaxy, which they named Vandalore, after their leader. The Taung then took the name Vandalorians and were viewed by many as the most skilled warriors in the galaxy, renowned for their use of state-of-the-art weaponry and their strict code of honor.
For thousands of years after Vandalore's conquest, the Vandalorians didn’t venture far from the system they inhabited. It was not until about 3,000 years later that the Vandalorians began to wander the galaxy, sometimes very far from their home system, in the hopes finding worthy foes and to expand their conquests. It was during this period that the Vandlalorians became famous -- and infamous -- to the galaxy at large.
However, their first encounter with a large and powerful opponent saw the Vandalorians defeated, and they entered a long period of decline. Their stockpiles of weapons and battle druids were destroyed, and the Vandalorians themselves were forced back to the outer rim of the galaxy, beginning a long period of decline. During this period, some Vandalorians, unable to accept the terms of their defeat, turned to piracy, mercenary work, and bounty hunting.
Nearly a thousand years passed before the Vandalorians once again united for conquest, this time to participating in a great war that encompassed the entire galaxy and spanned an entire millennium. This time, though, the Vandalorians were on the winning side. The end of this great war marked the beginning of a thousand years of (relative) peace, and during this period, the Vandalorians began to forget their warrior past. Over the next few centuries, the Vandalorians gradually developed into a less clan-based, more mercenary-oriented culture.
After a millennium of relative peace, in the Earth year 1917 A.D., then-Vandalore Jaster Mereel decided it was time to reintroduce honor to the Vandalorian people. To this end, he introduced the Supercommando Codex, essentially a guide to proper Vandalorian behavior, in an attempt to rid society of the dishonorable mercenary culture that had become so prevalent. However, this sparked a division in the Vandalorian ranks and the formation of a violent opposition group called the Vandalorian Death Watch, which revolted against Jaster Mereel’s leadership.
During this civil war, Jaster Mereel was killed, and the leadership of his faction, known as the True Vandalorians passed to his protégé, a young orphan named Jango Fett. It was Jango Fett who led the True Vandalorians into the final battle with the Death Watch, which resulted in the death of nearly every Vandalorian. Some, including Jango Fett, managed to survive on Vandalore and in isolated pockets throughout the galaxy, but the Vandalorians were effectively ended as a force to be reckoned with in the galaxy.
Some three decades later, a clone of Jango Fett, named Alpha-02 (nicknamed "Spar"), who was serving in the army of the republic that spanned much of the galaxy at the time, went rogue. He headed to Vandalore and started rebuilding the Vandalorian supercommandos into the Vandalorian Protectors from soldiers and local police forces – and even former members of the Death Watch. Alpha-02 became known as Vandalore the Resurrector, leading his troops alongside the droid armies that threatened the republic. Spar and his men fought bravely, inflicting devastating losses against their opponents. However, their own losses were devastating as well. The droid forces were defeated, and the republic fell, to be replaced by a vicious, totalitarian empire which then enslaved the greatly weakened Vandalore, launching a dark period in Vandalorian history that lasted about a quarter of a century and which ended only with the fall of the empire in the Earth year 1972 A.D.
In the Earth year 1980 A.D., the mantle of Vandalore was taken up by Jango Fett’s "son" (actually, an exact clone of Jango) Boba Fett, who has held the title to this day. He trained new supercommandos and decided to ally with a warlike race that had invaded the galaxy. However, by the final year of the war, Boba Fett came to the conclusion that serving the invaders was not in the Vandalorians’ best interests, so they switched sides and were instrumental in the eventual defeat of the invaders.
After the war, Boba Fett decided that New Vandalia, as he now dubbed the former Vandalorian Empire, would adopt a policy of neutrality. He also moved to consolidate all Vandalorian holdings and called upon the millions of Vandalorians who had been scattered throughout the galaxy to return home to boost the population to pre-war levels in an attempt to expedite rebuilding efforts. He also pushed for an vastly increased economy, with Boba Fett himself and VandalMotors, New Vandalia’s largest corporation, subsidizing some of the initial costs, but this soon proved unnecessary when a rich vein of the extremely valuable Vandalorian iron was discovered in a crater created during the recent war, thus securing the promise of a rich economic future for New Vandalia.
Government
The only leader of the Vandalorians is the Vandalore himself, and he holds his rank as long as he commands the respect of his fellow warriors. Beneath the Vandalore, Vandalorian society is made up of clans, each with its own leader. As necessary, the leaders of these clans will meet under the direction of the Vandalore to guide the nation. Only in times of war and dire emergencies does the Vandalore exert direct control over the entirety of New Vandalia, the only exceptions to this being the military and foreign policy, both of which are always under direct control of the Vandalore.
Notable Government Officials
- Boba Fett, Vandalore
"I've killed virtually everything that moves, one time or another, a hundred different species, sentient and dumb; if it breathes I've probably killed it or something like it."
Birthplace: Kamino
Family: Only known living relative is his daughter, Ailyn Vel (see below).
Education: No formal education
Employment: Bounty hunter (still accepting bounties while serving as Vandalore)
- Ailyn Vel, Ambassador to the UN
Birthplace: Concord Dawn
Family: Only known living relative is her father, Vandalore Boba Fett
Education: No formal education
Employment: Former bounty hunter
Background: When she was just a baby, her father, Boba Fett, abandoned her and her mother. Then when she was 16, her mother disappeared, presumed killed while in pursuit of a bounty. Left to her own devices, she became a successful bounty hunter herself, even masquerading at times as her legendary father. After several years of posing as Boba Fett, he found her, and she tried to kill him. Of course, she failed, and instead of killing her, although she is technically not a Vandalorian, he installed her as New Vandalia's ambassador to the UN, which some might consider a fate worse than death.
Politics: Fiercely independent
Titles: New Vandalian Ambassador to the UN, Voice of the Vandalorian People
Responsibilities Within the UN Office: Responsible for all advocacy of New Vandalia's positions on UN matters
- Zuka, Intelligence Director
Birthplace: Unknown
Family: Unknown
Education: Unknown
Employment: Former soldier
Responsibilities: Classified
- Novoc Vevut, Special Advisor
Birthplace: Unknown, though likely Vandalore
Family: Unknown
Education: Unknown
Employment: Former soldier (served under Boba Fett)
Responsibilities: Vevut serves as special advisor to Vandalore Boba Fett, who occasionally sends him to counsel Ailyn Vel, the current New Vandalian UN ambassador.
Key Vandalorian Holdings
- Althir
- Basilisk
- Concord Dawn
- Dxun (moon of the planet Onderon)
- Earth Outpost (RL Iceland) in the region Conservative Paradise
- Gargon
- Kerest
- Kuar
- Malachor V (destroyed)
- Mimas Outpost (moon of Saturn)
- Ordo
- Shogun
- Togoria
- Vandalore (“home” world and capital)
Other Interesting Facts
- New Vandalia's Earth Outpost hosts the Akimonad UN Mission.
- New Vandalia serves the Conservative Paradise Alliance as Cnicht of Watchfulness (i.e., intelligence director) and the region of Conservative Paradise as deputy delegate to the UN.
- New Vandalia is a member of UN DEFCON.
