Rudan Prime
Rudan Prime is a world slightly smaller than Earth with four continents and several large islands. The atmosphere is suitable for advanced life. Two large battlestations orbit the planet (Pinnacles 1 and 2).
Rudan Prime is slightly warmer and moister than Earth on average, with a larger tropical belt and only one major desert. Primary centers of population are in the South. Tidal forces are roughly equal to Earth, because each of Rudan Prime's moons is only slightly more than half the size of Luna. Both moons have major automated heavy industry, staffed by robots, with organic controllers on monthly shifts and visiting teams of repairmen.
Contents
Continents
A map of Rudan Prime, showing states, provincial boundaries, major cities and towns and important sea-routes
Rudan Prime has 7 continents. Two make up the large landmass that spans the northern oceans, divided by the Orotellian Range and the Icy Sea. In general largely mountainous and forested, parts of Altara (on the equator) make up the sole large tract of desert on Rudan Prime.
A further two small landmasses (Borealis and Australis) are at both poles. Only the northern pole has a permanent habitation, White Eagle. Strong electrical discharges become common the closer you get to the magnetic poles, making transpolar flights and exploration dangerous. Natural explanations are at present unknown, though native technology has been forwarded as an explanation, as has an unusually strong aurora phenomenon. Expeditions are planned and abandoned with monotonous regularity.
Another, almost certainly artificial continent is Alaitoc, in the midst of the Northern Ocean. A forested circular island, at some time in the distant past someone or something caused the central section to seperate, surrounded by a ring of water. Elves settled here quite early, finding something in its location strangely drawing.
The south-eastern continent, Roan, is primarily grassland and rolling hills, with a few lakes and one long river almost splitting the continent in half. Roan was the first continent settled, and remains the most heavily populated. The southwestern continent, Terre del Agua, is a land divided by rivers and forest, with several lakes and vast fields of farmland. The northern half of the continent, Lorodecrast, is wastelands and blasted swamps.
The Nations
The Divine Imperium is divided into 5 states, which roughly align with the old national divisions. Each of these nations played a major role in the past, though in recent years their importance has declined to be primarily ceremonial. Traditionally, each of these states had its own leader.
- The King of Agua (Tied to the Imperial Diadem)
- The Prince of Roania
- The Master of Altara
- The ArchDuke of Derricks
- The HeruAmandil of Alaitoc. (In Abeyance)
Currently, only three of these titles are still extant. Prince of Roan was the title of the Black Family prior to the ascent to the Imperial Diadem of Joseph Black. It became bound to the Imperial Diadem, though lately there has been debate in parliament about restoring it to the Blacks with the accession of Cassander Drakharn, who has never accepted the title, and therefore it could be reactivated before the end of the century. The title of Kings of Agua was arrogated to the Lord-Emperor upon the destruction of the De Silva family in Imperial 300, though there are rumours it might be split off to further ennoble Great House Drakharn's
Master of Altara is the title of the provincial governor of the Altaran Southern provinces, based around Fort Altara, though Lord-Empress Drakharn has recently spoken of granting it to Great House Ai. The ArchDukes of Derricks, the d'Arquises, have been the second family of the Imperium for generations, with many members holding important positions across the nation.
There have only ever been two HeruAmandil's of Alaitoc. The first was put to death by Shadowlord Merrech for attempting to forestall the Shadowlord's coup. The second died in the horrors of the Second Purge of Magic just hours before Menelmacari troops broke through the planetary shield and forced Lord-Emperor Damien the Terrible to submit. Currently the title is held to be an abeyance, with executive authority in New Alaitoc resting in the hands of the Mayoral Council.
Roan
Roan is the southeastern continent and one of the first to be settled by the colonists. It is named after the river that flows through it, which to human and elven ears sounded like 'Roh-en', a surprisingly similar word to the word the Roanians use for themselves. Currently the majority of the continent is covered by the various city-states. It is the state that has the most parliamentary seats, leading to occasional requests from the other states to redraw the provincial boundaries of Roan.
Major divisions of the cityscape include Imperial City, Blackport, New Alt and Derford. There are numerous noble families in Roan, though the most prominent are the Blacks and Darsalins.
Great House Black
One of the most prominent of the Great Houses, the Black Family held the Imperial diadem until very recent years. This is the junior branch, however, which has always been in the shadow of its relatives. Currently, by order of precedence, Great House Black stands third in line for the Diadem, meaning that for it to be restored to the Black Family legally the Drakharn Dynasty and the senior lines of the Darquis family would need to die out.
ArchDuke Damien Charleston Black
A distant cousin of the former Emperor, His Grace The Divine Imperial Martian Viceroy Damien Charleston Black, (OoF, MGT, MB, etc) is roughly 20 years Cassander's junior. Claiming that he desires to free his family name of the odium associated with it by the actions of Alexander, he has instead succeeded in meshing with his undoubted administrative acumen the role of con-artist and 'entrepeneur'.
His lands are being watched by a relation while he acts as Imperial Regent on Mars. His deputy is Commissioner Lilian Darsalin, whose family the colony is named for.
Great House Darsalin
The Darsalins are one of the ancient houses, though now sadly decayed. In the years following the War of Light And Darkness the Darsalins were one of the rivals for Imperial Power, though like the Darquisi they stepped aside for Lord-General Joseph Black. Then, in the first civil war, the Darsalin family was almost completely wiped out during the first uprisings. The family still hasn't recovered, and is in a precarious position even now, with pretty much lineal descent from the survivors to the present. The Darsalin family is fifth in succession to the Imperial Diadem.
Agua
Agua is a major merchantile settlement and the secondmost populated nation. A highly cosmopolitan state, people from all over feel at home here, especially in the major cities on the coast. Many Aguans work in the Divine Navy and attached services, but many more act as merchants and traders across the planet and imperium, taking advantage of the training their homeland's rivers offer.
Major provinces/cities include Seraph, WhiteHarbour, Angeles and North Harbour. Prominent Aguan families include the Drakharnns and the Chervim.
= Lesser House Chervim
Lesser House Chervim has recently sprung to prominence following the ascension of Great House Drakharn, and may well join the Private Council and the Imperial Registry within the century. Archlord Raphael Chervim is a prominent member of the Aguan State Assembly and the High Council, as well as one of the wealthiest landowners and investers in the Divine Imperium.
Chervim retainers headed the recent resettlement of the ancient colonies of Ailisara, and it's known the Chervim have close ties with Patriarch Gabriel VII
Derricks
Derricks is to the north of Agua, and makes up roughly one half of the great northern landmass. A heavily forested and mountainous region, its people are generally stalwart conservatives and as stubborn as their homeland. Major communities include Ros-Ailin and Far North Seraph. It is now unknown who or what Derrick was, but it is assumed he was fairly important. The Darquisi are a major, in fact the major, family.
His Illuminated Highness the Grand Duke of Derricks Simon Aelius Darquis
His Illuminated Highness the Grand Duke of Derricks, Lord of the Red Waters, Most Blessed of the Light, Simon Lucius Calvin d'Arquis (OOF, MTG, KoTR, MB), the 200th ArchDuke of Derricks, is a member of a long line of prominent conservative public figures in the Imperium. A former Inquisitor and an outspoken advocate for many conservative causes, he has repeatedly clashed in public with the Lord-Emperor on subjects such as slavery and control of the Inquisition. He ascended to the Duchy when his father Leopold died shortly before Alexander. A pleasant young man, he's been happily married for 20 years and has 3 children. Other important d'Arquises include ArchChancellor Nicholas, the Prelate of Eldath-Dor, and the current Chairman of the Derricks Mining Corporation.
Altara
The last continent to be settled, Altara is known more from orbital pictures than from any on the ground exploration. Most settlements are in the south or along the narrow plains between the forest and the great desert. The majority of communities on the continent are harmonist tribes living in the desert or the forest. Major cities include Fort Al-Tai (From which the colony derives its name) and Tel Ai. There are no overly prominent families within the state, though the Ai Family (the least ranking Great House) holds minor precedence in some cities of the south and.
Harmonists
The harmonists are seperate from the Roanians (though they are racially the same stock) who live in the wilds of Altara, and also in the great forest of Agua. They are neo-primitives, who have abandoned technology to live in harmony with the wild. Currently the Divine Imperium's policy is to leave them alone, as they live where no one else wants to. Occasional plans have arisen to catch the lot of them and ship them to another world within the Divine Imperium, but none have ever gotten past the drawing board.
Great House Ai
Granted Great House Status following their support for Lord-Emperor Daniel the Gentle. Not a particularly prominent family in the Imperium, instead focussing primarily on their state and its needs. Altruistic, by Roanian standards. It is rumoured that the childless Lady Ai has made arrangements for the successor to her position to be her felinoid chief of staff, a move that would almost certainly shake the Divine Imperium to its core.
Alaitoc
Alaitoc is the last of the great states, and is more properly an Imperial Province. The island appears to have been artificially shaped in the distant past by the natives. From colonisation, elves have always lived there, and now it is the only place in the Divine Imperium where you can find pure elves living. The only city is on the center island, the city of New Alaitoc itself.
Around the ring, there are four other communities/guardposts, with heavily armed 'ceremonial' soldiers keeping away anyone without explicit imperial permission or proof of residency to enter. Of late a number of immigrants from Gorgamin have begun to settle in this old elven stronghold, reversing the trend of centuries to take advantage of a calmer political situation.
Mass-transportation
Travel between continents is a simple matter. Fast ferries ply the waters between the continents, leaving from major ports and skimming along the coastlines or up the rivers as their route takes them. Transcontinental flights are primarily supersonic, meaning that a citizen can travel between La Ville de Roses and Durham-On-The-Roan in an hour.
