Roania

Roania

Flag of Roania
Motto: "Post Lux Tenebras" (After the Light Comes the Darkness)
[1]
Region	Fatal Terrain
Capital	The Imperial City (Tarnaqin)
Official Language(s)	Aguan/English
Leader	HDIM Lord-Emperor Cassander Drakharn of Rudan Prime
Population	5.789 billion
Currency	Imperial Mark
NS Sunset XML

The Divine Imperium of Roania (More properly, the Divine Imperium of Rudan) was one of the earliest 'human' colonies founded, being in existence for nearly 4000 years by a large number of humans and elves. The home system is Rudan, which is a class-M star on the norma-arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, and a moderate empire extends away from Rudan towards the galactic north-west, away from Sol. The initial reason for colonisation, as well as the immediate aftermath, are shrouded in mystery.

The capital world of The Divine Imperium, Rudan Prime Proper, has four major continents (Roan, Terre Del Agua, Derricks and Altara), one artificially created large island (Alaitoc), and a large archipelago leading from Altara towards Agua, the Sunset Islands. The planet has two moons, named Perun and Veles. The planet is slightly smaller than Sol III (Earth), a difference that accounts in part for the evolution of the local variant of humans/half-elves (Homo Sapiens Atrum).

People of the Divine Imperium

Over the long term of inhabitation, the Roanians have ceased to be standard Humans or elves, and can more properly be termed a race of half-elves, though even this is a distant stretch of the term. The majority of Roanians are members of the subspecies Homo Sapiens Atrum. One cause of this is the difference between the environment of Rudan, and that of Earth. Another would be early attempts at genetic modification in Rudan Prime's distant past, and interbreeding between the human and elven inhabitants. Therefore, whether one is a 'human' or an 'elf' depends on what one identifies as. Pureblooded elves are now exceedingly rare on Rudan Prime, and in the Imperium at large, after the destruction of Alaitoc I (see the Alaitoc Article for more information).

On average, the lifespan of those who identify themselves as human ranges from 200 to 250. While lifespans of 300+ are not unknown, quality of life tends to drop severely after 225. For those who identify themselves as elven, lifespans are in theory immortal, though such a statement is almost impossible to objectively prove. And considering the 'impurity' of the elven 'bloodline' in the Imperium, it is unlikely that full immortality has carried through.

Physical Aversion to Magic

Roanians are an inherently magical race. This might seem unusual to people who think of them solely as the nation that sends out Inquisitors to slaughter other magical races, and whose intention to wipe out magic is the talk of many wizarding colleges. However, there is more to it than simple religious loathing, though that plays a part.

From birth, Roanians are conditioned by their society to force their magic down and hide it from everyone, including themselves. However, magic can not be extirpated in such a way and always remains. Therefore, each Roanian on some level loathes himself.

Their magic manifests itself, however, through this hatred. A Roanian around a magician is a Roanian with a migraine. Not because of the person himself, but because of the magical aura that surrounds him when he works magic. Therefore, when visiting Roania signs in the airport repeatedly remind mages and wizards that the practice of magic carries a severe fine.

A far more serious problem, however, is when a Roanian is near someone to whom magic is second nature, such as the Elentari Sirithril of Menelmacar. The aura around a sorceress/sorcerer causes most Roanians very excruciating physical pain, to the point that while for other nations a visit from the Elentari is an honour, to the Divine Imperium it's something to be dreaded, though they feel honoured to have her.

For Roanians, there are three ways of dealing with the discomfort. Firstly, by removing the stimuli. Generally by slaying the mage. Second, through severe concentration they can cause the pain to go away, though this will occasionally lead to random acts of magic in the immediate vicinity, or to those unusual attributes which many foreigners consider 'generally' Roanian, such as occasionally glowing eyes or a tendency to shout.

Imperial Culture

The Divine Imperium is a very urbane and sophisticated society. Its population lives a very long time, and thus consider it ideal to know and experience as much of the universe as possible. Roanians, then, have been described as one of the most decadent races in the galaxy. Most Roanians constantly seek and desire comfort, at all times and in every place. Despite being highly trained and well-armed, Roanian Legionnaires are primarily a garrison force across the empire, as it's difficult to inspire them to fight well away from home save when they're most desperately required to.

Certainly, this desire for comfort affects their opinion of magic, though it's hard to quantify to what extent. There's more to it than the simple desire for the pain to stop, as any Roanian with a sufficiently strong ability to concentrate can channel his own latent magic into other avenues.

What the desire for comfort does lead to is a desire for quick solutions. Roanians embrace technology whole-heartedly, and Roanian technology is simple, elegant, and ubiqitous. For the most part, things such as consoles have been built into desks, and a simple touch of a hand could, for instance, open the door. Quite often, the console or control is built into a work of art. On a smaller scale, many nobles and rich merchants wear or carry items, such as rings or canes, that serve various purposes, such as a quick drink of water or firing a poisonous dart. Almost like magic... though the Roanians would not appreciate any such comparison.

In what could be considered a less eccentric way, the Roanian desire for rapid solutions can also lead to overkill in a war. Roanian defences are designed to destroy anything that enters within their range without permission, including refugee ships. Rudan Prime is surrounded by a thick planetary shield, powered by two orbital bases at the north and south poles (Pinnacle Base(s)). These two orbital platforms, in addition to acting as customs depots and providing transport to the surface, also hold two powerful and very accurate superlasers, for the sole purpose of destroying any large ships that might enter the system unannounced. On the offensive, the Roanians are equally destructive. Not having an interest in the further acquisition of territory, though they will strive vigorously to retake any lost ground from their own empire, Imperial Naval Officers will quite happily order the utter destruction of a target, whether civilian or military, simply to eliminate the possibility of further resistance in future. The deployment of biological and chemical weapons is always a possibility, though it has grown exceedingly rare in recent times. The Holy Legions themselves seem to view any resisting enemies as a problem to be solved, and will thus attempt to solve that problem in the most simple way possible. Generally with the use of their particle-beam weaponry or a large tank, whether the resistance is a bunch of 'insurgents' throwing rocks, or an enemy army.

On the defensive, the Roanians will try to negotiate when they can to make the attacks stop, preferring not to risk their lives unless they have to. If a world is captured, there's a possibility the Roanians will obliterate it (and the enemy army). So far, only two invading forces have ever successfully defeated the Imperium and forced them to surrender, and with the creation of the Pinnacle Bases it's unlikely the feat will be repeated again, a fact which makes the Roanians consider the expense to be more than worthwhile.

At peace, Roanian life is very similar to life in other societies. People work, play and live much like people do in nations such as Pantocratoria. Stereotypically, the jobs they take depend a great deal on which 'nation' they consider themselves; Aguans will be more likely to work in retail or marketing, Roanians will cling like barnacles to public service positions, etc. In reality nations are no longer as important as they were in the past, and it's no longer considered 'unusual' for the President of the Omega Corporation to be a Derricker, just as an example.

Xenos

The Imperium spans 12 systems, and has within its boundaries 6 other intelligent lifeforms. For the most part these are primitives, at black powder level or below, and not considered part of the Imperium excepting that they live on planets the Imperium has claimed. However, for approximately 2000 years the Roanians have been selecting and capturing members of the various races and taking them home to Rudan Prime to work as slaves.

Recently, under Cassander Drakharn, the slaves have been emancipated. The second largest racial group in the Imperium became overnight the Salamandros --a race of reptilian sapiens who resemble snakes that slither upright and have arms-- who have a population in the Imperium of nearly two million on Rudan Prime itself.

Native Rudanii

The extinct native sentients of Rudan Prime were an insectoid race that had a cult of death. It is believed that the majority of the race was wiped out 50 years prior to first contact.

Religion and Spirituality

Roanians are an intensely spiritualistic people in general, though not in the specific. The 'God', for lack of a better term, that they worship appears to be a cold and calculating force that created the universe out of some grand plan. Everything that happens happens according to that grand plan, and free will is just a perception.

Needless to say, the average Roanian doesn't hold much love for such a cold religion, though in their heart of hearts they're all believers. The Church (and that's all it's called, just 'The Church') is one of the most powerful institutions on the planet, and has its own 'Security Force', in the form of the Order of the Archangel's Sword (also known as the Imperial Inquisition).

Order of the ArchAngel's Sword

The Order of the Archangel's Sword is an elite force of soldiers, equipped with powerful armour and weapons. Close-combat specialists, they are one of the most powerful military groups in the universe, though only rarely are units larger than ten put in use.

And they are controlled by The Church of Roania, which oversees the construction of equipment, recruitment, and training. Currently the supreme officer (Grand Inquisitor) is

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