Fiction:Sorcerers of Rathan

"All that is material is power, and the only true power is to destroy. Flesh and existence is fleeting, death and destruction is eternal."

- Rathan Teachings

The Sorcerers of Rathan was a large Empire native to the Mirror Universe version of the, and were the last members of the before it's destruction at the hands of the Black Cancer. Their membership was not one of mutual respect, but rather, part of the ever-evolving plan of the Rathan Mystics. They believe destruction and annihilation the purist of goals, and pursue these zealously. Recognizing, however, the superior power of the Gigaquadrantic Hegemony, the Sorcerers swore their allegiance to it and its Emperor, and deployed their legions and Court-Vassal slaves to his battles and wars. Though a number of Supreme Warlock-Kings and Witch-Queens sought to undermine his rule, and put themselves ontop, the closest who came to this was Warlock-King Baharkur the Unseen. His plans included the securing of various technologies the Hegemony's Cyrannian central leadership hogged for themselves, while leading a small number of expeditions into the Prime Universe.

The arrival of the Xeranbha put an end to these plans. A schism came within the Sorcerers' ranks, most wanting to flee, but the rest wishing to stay and either fight, or even embrace the Xeranbha, as the apotheosis of their creed of destruction. Baharkur lead most of his people to flee, and tore their way into the Prime Universe, as his rivals, lead by Prophet Xoltep, attempted to fight the Xeranbha, and were assimilated or captured for horrific treatment. Baharkur would later be killed and turned to stone by his daughter, Kirata, who would become the Witch-Queen of the Sorcerers, as they sought to conquer their old galaxy, and, potentially, help the Gigaquadrantic Hegemony's remnants retake this Gigaquadrant.

Early History
The Sorcerers of Rathan began shortly after the unification of the Ugandalorians, overseen by the Koatria Knights of old. These Elemental powered warriors sought to protect the people from all darkness and evil, and came into conflict with the Sisterhood of Shadow, a priestly sect of female Mendel who sought to command the Mendel people with their powers of "Dark Alchemy". The two groups clashed in a titanic struggle for years, an unseen war waged by those who commanded nature, and those that commanded the void and annihilation. The Koatria, under the command of Adaer, and sought to defeat the Sisterhood, but his men and women were defeated, and he lead one final attack, fighting the Sorceresses leader, facing her in one on one combat, but was defeated, losing his left hand, and tortured at their hands for weeks before dying, refusing to submit once.

With their main rivals defeated, the Sorcerers took command, and rewrote and bent society to their will, the War-like Mendel twisted and turned by the powers of Dark Alchemy into something not like any other before them. The Sorcerer leaders hunted down every Koatria or child who could have such power, and purged them, removing the power from their genome forever. Driven by hatred and spite, they forged many weapons, many hellish devices, and many devilish ships, to carry them to the void, and into the stars for further conquest and power.

As they conquered, they encountered two other races. One, the Krallir Exiles, were a powerful race of reptilian conquerors who dappled with mental enslavement of their lesser, and the Knell of Madilipi, who believed they could summon death-gods from beyond the void to destroy their enemies. These three races came together, and, after a brief battle, united their ideals and religious practices into a singular group, called the Sorcerers of Rathan, under the command of the Mendel Warlock-King Brethax.

From here, they would go onto the conquer much of the galaxy, leaving only parts of it untouched, and withdrawing from the eye of other races in time.

Joining the Hegemony
The Sorcerers of Rathan would be contact by the, by now ruled by Warlock-King Ibrethal the Mad, who would not submit until defeated in combat. The Hegemony's small fleet made war upon the Sorcerers and their Warriors and Slave-Troops, and, although difficult, subjugated them, but not before killing Ibrethal in battle. To prove their loyalty to their new masters, the Sorcerers offered their warriors to fight any foe the Hegemony pointed them towards. The first test, was in Cyrannus itself. A reclusive race of beings, called the Khanornusi, had risen up to attack the Hegemony for their enslavement of others, and destruction of countless worlds.

The Hegemony did not wish to waste resources on such a foe, but, realizing the importance of defeating them, they sent the vast legions of the Rathan to defeat the Khanornusi. The brutal war that followed saw few prisoners taken, thousands of Rathan warriors sacrificed to the Khanornusi's Moth, Phoenix and Dragon Gods, while the Rathan took away the Khanornusi they captured for their own devilish reasons. Finally, the Khanornusi were defeated, and their worlds glassed. Before glassing such worlds, the Rathan took away the Khanornusi, and began experimenting on them.

Their flesh and muscle was removed, their brains and central nervous system stored away, before adding them back in, as the muscle and body was replaced and covered in advanced alloys and armors. The Khanornusi were reduced to robotic infantry servants of the Sorcerers of Rhand, their souls bound to their metallic bodies by the sorcery of its leaders. Warlock-King Vredrunhal presented these servants to the Emperor himself. The Emperor, however, saw the creatures as filthy, and ordered their liquidation, believing such machines would be used against his people.

Vredrunhal, disgusted that his loyalty and attempts to honor the Hegemony Emperor were insulted, instead hide the Khanornusi Golems away within their Palace and temples, for emergency use, and to deploy against the Hegemony in case the Sorcerers needed to win their independence.

The Cretaca Dynasty
What followed, where a variety of Warlock-Kings and Witch-Queens that ruled much of Mirus in the Gigaquadrantic Emperor's name, all of them plotting to unset the Emperors and become the rulers themselves, believing their superior strength and physical power, and knowledge of Dark Alchemy, their essence, superior to the weak, soft-skinned Libertus. The next Warlock-King, was Baharkur, who defeated his rivals with the help of his human servant, named Venator. His rule would be rather prosperous, and his loyalty to Empress Minerva IV second to none, with many mocking him in private that he wished to become her little consort and lover, despite his lower position to her. Such, however, would lead to a painful execution, such as Valihe the Silver-Tongued, a Prophet-Sorcerer who was turned into a silver statue in Baharkur's gardens, fully aware, but unable to do anything. Eventually, Valihe stopped thinking as the horror fully enveloped him of his situation.

Baharkur would remain the Supreme ruler of Mirus in the Hegemony's name for some time, unaware of the civil war in Cyrannus, though welcomed the unification of the Cyrannus, and birth of her son Aedianus, by sending 5 silver and gold statues of his rivals to her as a birthday gift to the young Monarch-Heir to the throne, one of which included Valihe. It was after the death of Minerva IV at the hands of her son, that Baharkur began to plot his revolution and to slit the throat of the "Young Demon-Spawn", prepared to make himself Emperor instead. He felt a child's destiny was always to obey their parent, but ironically, he would be betrayed by his own daughter and son, his daughter, Kirata, becoming the New Witch-Queen upon turning him into a statue. Her brother, Takumin the Lesser, would become one of her chief Prophet supporters, and Venator became her loyal enforcer, loyal to no one but her.

Although loyal to Aedianus, much more then any previous Witch-Queen or Warlock-King, Kirata knew her people could not lay forever in one place, her Prophets speaking of a great Blackened Cancer spreading one day. As such, as news spread of the Hegemony's incursion into the Prime Universe, Kirata began to steal away certain technologies from the Hegemony that would allow her forces to do the same. One of her supporters, Prophet Xoltep, would lead some incursions there, using the advanced technology to devastate outer rim worlds, and bring back slaves to act as Battle-Thralls and sacrifices. Although loyal, she began to question Xoltep's sanity, as he began toying with their bodies, and seemed to take great pleasure in inflicting all sorts of deranged practices and carnal pleasures upon the unfortunates he captured.

Refugees
The Sorcerers of Rathan faced a new grand threat, with arrival of the. The first few battles between the Hegemony and Xeranbha did not reach Rathan ears until much later, but what they learned terrified them. The description of Black liquid oozing into the bodies of victims, and either tearing their way out as new, disgusting life forms, or mutating them into worse things. Mendel warriors who fought the first few Xeranbha on the ground faced a horrifying fate. Due to their genetically engineered racial background, and continued experimentation, the black oil that entered their bodies had a strange effect on them. Instead of gestating, it fused with their bodies, and created a mutated form of Mendel that had the savagery of the Xeranbha's warrior form, and the armor, weapons and discipline of their Mendel hosts. Realizing this is what the Prophecies had warned of, Kirata began an evacuation of her people into the Prime universe, under the guise of launching invasions there under the command Superintendant Willemus.

A schism broke out, however, between the Prophets that embraced the idea of assimilate and annihilation by the Xeranbha, viewing it as the ultimate apotheosis of their ideals of destruction and death, and those that viewed it as an unnatural fate to die by the Black Cancer's hand. Xoteb lead the Sons of Xerita-hanha, their word for Xeranbha, and lead his followers straight to the Xeranbha. It is unknown what happened, but is believed most were captured that day, dragged away by the Manipulators and Overseers for some new, terrible fate, Xoteb suffering a horrendous fate at their hands. It was said, that, one the day the Xeranbha got their claws on him, all of his victims laughed within his ears from their graves.

Kirata, meanwhile, had no intention of dying. She planned to get her people of the dying universe, and, hopefully, could convince her Emperor to join her. She would conquer the Prime Universe, and pave the way for conquest of other areas, and, once the rest of the Hegemony arrived, would be joined by a mass of new forces ready to assist in the conquest. However, the Emperor disappeared, and the Xeranbha conquered most of Cyrannus in the following days. Realizing there was no hope left, the Witch-Queen and her followers journeyed into the Prime universe, and began the process of claiming it for themselves.

As she studied the galactic politics of this new universe, Kirata's scions and prophets gathered together, and after experimenting with Dark Alchemy and their powers, before finding that Emperor Aedainus was still alive, and as were a number of his supplicants. Resolving to capture him, knowing that freeing him would come with numerous awards, began training her Warriors, Infernal Guard and Janissaries to prepare for his "rescue" operation.

Culture
The Sorcerers differ much from their cousins and counterparts in Mirus-Prime. They are a savage, brutal, self-obsessed people, lead by Prophets and Wizards rather then Chieftains and Elected Clan Lords. Rather then the people gathering, and, in rowdy, shout-filled, ale-slugging debates, their leaders instead rise through intrigue, policing and back-stabbing. Life is struggle, in their eyes, and only the most worthy may claw their way up. As such, in a twisted way, they do carry on Mendel traditions of meritocracy, with the strongest rising, as the weak fall into oblivion. In this way, every Sorcerer, every warlock, every warrior and commander, has been raised since an early age to not trust in their peers, least their rise to power be stopped by a knife or blade in the back.

The Sorcerers of Rathan do not hate others on a xenophobic level, but they hold a grim, dark, spiteful attitude towards those that view themselves so high. Where's the Mendel will hold vast grudges that can last for centuries, until avenged or paid back, the Rathan will hold onto hatreds that burn in their hearts like a hellish forge fire for thousands of years, plotting and executing vast plans and conspiracies to pay back those that oppose them. The Rathan enjoy especially the fate of trapping their foes in inescapable prisons, or, their other favorite, selling would-be Emperors and monarchs into prostitution and into their pleasure palaces, the joy coming from a monarch being turned into nothing more then a pleasure-slave.

Their grim hatred for others has lead them to, for many centuries, plot the eventual destruction of the Hegemony's ruling families and see themselves placed on top, though they hold reverence and respect for Emperor Aedianus, due to his ruthless, warrior nature. Indeed, the use of "Dark Alchemy", has twisted their ideals into a new, twisted form. Long memories and grudges towards those that spite their ancestors, turns into grim hatred and malice towards all. Industry and hard-work has turned into a need to grow their industrial power through slave and machine alike. Close Clan and kin has turned into familial alliances made to keep control and command. They feel no pleasure, no satisfaction, even when victory is at hand. All that lives is a dark, grim hatred for everything that burns and keeps them alive. Every victory is merely a prelude to the suffering of another foe.

Government
The Rathan are ruled by a series of Sorcerers and Prophets that guide their actions and command their forces, as well as sections of their great empire, forges and towers. They have no High King, but rather a Warlock-King/Witch-Queen who commands the power of the other Prophets and Sorcerers, and leads their people in war. The Rathan answer to this being with iron-resolve and determination, and their rule is law. Though any can rise to become say, a Castellan of the Forges, or Commander of the Legions, only those truly blessed with power may become a Warlock or Witch-Ruler. Their power and position is reflect in their command of what they call "Dark Alchemy", a strange type of essence that they developed through their ancestor's continued use of a special narcotics, technological experimentation, and selective breeding.

Religion
The Sorcerers follow a doctrine known as the Creed of the Dark, a belief centered around the idea that existence is fleeting, and destruction is the only true power in the universe. Even a mindless microbe can create, but destruction, to fully remove something from existence, is true power. To achieve this, many use narcotics and special technology to bring out their essence abilities. Although many die, those that survive can master the Art of Dark Alchemy. Dark Alchemy allows them various combat techniques related to fire and metal, hence it being an important, central facet in their culture, as well as even being able to perceive future events when enough drugs are imbibed.

Species
Although the Sorcerers are dominated by the three main species that founded it in ancient times, this is not to say they are the only beings that inhabit their small intergalactic kingdom. Numerous races have come to call this horrid realm their home, including a large population of humans, both mirror counterparts to the, and various humans from the Plazith Rim and elsewhere that have come to be slaves and slave-soldiers for their Rathan masters. The Rathan care little for race or species, simply taking those that they view as "Martially fit", and conscripting them, even Hegemony citizens often ending up as targets.

Land Forces
The land forces of the Sorcerers of Rathan are as varied as they are dangerous. The main forces are drawn from the Warriors of the Clans that fight for the Sorcerers and Prophet-Lords. They are all bound to the will of their Sorcerer or Warlock, their oaths of blood and clan forcing them to fight for the Sorcerer until the very end, and never back down, grinding down their foes with their determination, ruthless discipline, and sheer, black-hard malice. The Warriors of Rathan will fight onwards, never giving up, always doing everything they can to win. Fighting is the only thing these warriors know, their loyalty to the Sorcerers making them iron-willed and hate-filled. These Warriors, while craftsmen and landowners, also act as the main source of fighters for the Sorcerers. From an early age, they will train and fight until they reach adulthood, brought into squads and deployed to grind down their foes.
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The legions of Rathan are further assisted by various slaves taken from their conquests of other worlds. These young men and women, rather then be sent to the pleasure palaces or slave markets of their lords and masters, are brought to their Commanders, and will be inducted into the ranks of the Court-Vassals. They come from various other sources, from rebels of the Hegemony that were captured, Prisoners of war who betrayed their people, or even citizens of the Hegemony from other galaxies captured during raids for future Court Vassals. These troops range in purpose and utility based on their physical and mental traits and training. The most common are the Shock Troops of the Court Jalquwwat, armed with short-ranged weapons and halberds. The next rank are the Fhasia, who act as heavy cavalry riding upon dragon-like beasts in battle. The next are the Court-guards called the Hurras, who see to the protection of the Sorcerers, Lords and Commanders, as they cannot trust their own to do so.

All of these troops are meant to guard and support the heavy vehicles and artillery the Rathan lords deploy, massive amounts of missiles, artillery shots and other heavy weapons deployed to break down their enemies in battle at long range. As they are not bound by honor like their Mendel peers, they are willing and able to use any sort of weapon, be it burning alchemy artillery weapons, burning incendiary grenades, and other horrifying weapons to defeat their foes. Destruction, in the end, is their only goal, and it is all that matters.

Fleets
The fleets of the Rathanii are powerful, compared to even their kin in the Prime Universe. The Rathanii use their fleets to annihilate most foes, while launching slave raids and lightning attacks on border worlds for slaves and spoils to power their weapons and armies. Be they future Janissaries and Pawns, forge-workers or fodder, all slaves are needed for the war machine of the Rathanii, and the Rathanii are constantly hungry for more of the slaves, no matter race, species or empire-loyalty.

Fleets in battle are mostly powerful and juggernauts deployed to overwhelm and overpower their foes. Their main ships are massive and slow, carrying numerous fighters and even corvettes to launch out of their ships to provide support for the dreadnoughts they deploy. These small corvettes are only deployed for defensive maneuvers against bombers and such, but they care more for massive dreadnoughts and frigates to overpower and destroy everything in their sight.

The larger, massive ships are used to devastate their foes, annihilating anything they see in a slow but methodical wave of dangerous firepower and overwhelming size and strength. Space stations, orbital docks, enemy ships, nothing will survive their attacks in war. Meanwhile, their smaller, quicker ships are used to zip in stealthily, and past defenses, and carry off as many of a native planet as possible for their slave-holds.

As members of the Gigaquadrantic Hegemony, they have access to a number of ships from the rest of the empire, but prefer their own designs.

The Sorcerer-Lords
The rulers of the Sorcerers, are indeed the Sorcerer Lords that command the Clans and Royal Houses of Rathan. Every member is bound to a Clan Leader, who is a Prophet-Lord or Sorcerer King in his own right, commanding and binding thousands of warriors and millions of slaves to his command and will, overseeing the vast factories, forges and foundries at the heart of their blackened empire. Few move or breath without them knowing it, and every warrior is loyal, for the fear of dying at the claws of their sorcerers leaves them terrified, much more then any foe could hope to invoke. The Sorcerer-Lords do not rule alone, and are assisted by numerous minor Prophets who are bound to their will, and apprentices, hoping to become mighty lords themselves one day, even if they must murder their master at some point to do it. Many are also slaves that have some power in their hearts, and are taken by the Sorcerer-Lords to learn and develop their skills, they not being tied to any family making them loyal, and all the more dangerous to their rivals.
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Sorcerers learn many aspects, manipulating space and time, fire and brimstone, and the earth under their feet in order to crush their rivals. Their ruler is always the strongest, for they follow no weakling, no matter how intelligent. They are merciless in the pursuit of power, and any that rises against them most win, for a Sorcerer that reigns victorious will make his victim suffer a thousand times over, for a Sorcerer will partake in their torture for years out of spite for one duel or challenge to their authority.

Individuals
Kirata The Fate-weaver=

Wilson= "I see it in your eyes. You are sacred, terrified. Please, lower your arms, embrace me. Feel your fears melt away, and let me cool your heart in peace."

The human creature known as Wilson has been a part of the Cethannia Family for centuries, an immortal creature without restraint and without self-control for his more indulgent appetites. The being is said to have lived for thousands of years, wanted by every human being from planet Earth for his many crimes, including the murder of several high profile leaders, disfiguration of several women that resisted his advances, and multiple other crimes that are too morbid and too many to count. He feel in with some unknown group after laying low, and by sacrificing the only being he actually cherished, his wife, achieved immortality and power beyond his dreams.

He would travel for years, challenging warlords and nation leaders to battle, before murdering them and empowering himself. His conquest would be stopped by Bahadur, who defeated Wilson, and subdued him, bringing him under his will, and turning him into a loyal comrade, both driven by ambition and hatred in equal measure to ascend ever further in the name of their own power. So long as Bahadur remained focused on conquest and glory, Wilson would remain his loyal comrade, but he warned his partner, that if Bahadur ever let himself be blinded by any other emotions, Wilson would betray him and drain his life form his veins.

So, when Bahadur planned his betrayal of the Hegemony Emperor, Wilson sided with Bahadur's daughter and son, Kirata and Takamien, assisting them in turning on their father and casting him from the Throne of Hellfire. In reality, he had no doubt that Bahadur was still driven by ambition, but more concerned with his own life, Wilson betrayed his friend for his descendants, who Wilson regarded as stronger then their father. He swore himself to Kirata, mostly to keep himself alive.

What powers Wilson has are unknown, but he grows powerful at night time, can disappear into shadows, and freeze others with a touch of his hand, as well as having the strength to shatter someone's body completely simply by throwing another person into them. Any injuries, even decapitation, can be healed without difficulty, and even being burned as little effect on him.

Whatever insidious deal he made, has truly Wilson immortal.

Khahoten the Black-Hearted= Khahoten the Black-Hearted is the Supreme Commander of the Khrath-Konar Forges, a series of spires and temples commanded by the Sorcerer Ghrothei the Cruel, and whose forges belch out numerous weapons and armaments for the armies of the Sorcerers, and the warrior who rises above all of these, is Khahoten the Black-Hearted, a master strategist and famed warrior in the legions of the Sorcerers, and the highest ranking non-Sorcerer in the hierarchy of the political arena of the Sorcerers. Khahoten's past is largely unknown to many, as, with all Warriors, it is barely record. He hails from the area on the out-skirts of Khrath-Konar, and found that no job could suit his ambitions. Slave-Master, Forge-Smith, none could quite satisfy him, until he was called for war, an art he took to with reckless abandon.

Of all the Warriors that marched for Khrath-Konar's masters, none could quite match Khahoten in battle or strategy, his mind bending and twisting all around the concept of war, and completely consumed by it's ideals. His lust for war knows few equals, and his success as the Commander of the Khrath-Konar Forges has seen him be risen by Kirata's hand personally as her Supreme Commander, a service he has gladly provided, for her enemies are many, and that this simply means all the more challenge for Khahoten and his axe.

Khahoten is brutal and powerful, but despite his name, he is not cruel by any means compared to his lords or Sorcerer-Masters. He seeks foes out to challenge him and push him to become all the stronger, but cares not for ambition, greed or rising in position. Despite his lofty position of power, in fact, Khahoten seeks no further gains or position in life. Though his will and voice within the Circles and Covens of the Sorcerers could carry much weight, he choses only to speak in the matters of war and battle, viewing any other as a waste of breath and merely out-air. Though bored with most foes that challenge him, growing bored, apathetic and lethargic, energy quickly returns to him when he finds a foe that can stand before him in battle, shouting and roaring at the top of his lungs for them to try and kill him, and prove their worth. Though in his thousands of years of service, only 17 have risen to this lofty position, he treasures each of their memories, respecting them and memorizing their names and attributes.

Crothal the Shadownspawn= Crothal the Shadowspawn is a Rathan Sorcerer of great power and prestige, one of the Kirata's advisors, and a powerful user of Dark Alchemy. His mastery is such, he can ultimately stop, reverse and skip segments of time at a whim, though he usually avoids over-using said powers, as it has left Crothal weakened and his heart damaged from the effort. While he has extended his life through cybernetics, Dark Alchemy, and experimentation into removing decayed tissue, Crothal is well aware of his weakness and, although he still has thousands of years left to live, he ultimately seeks to avoid such a fate.

Crothal was taken from an unknown species when he was but a child, and taken by the Sorcerer-Prophet Vrimkul the Blessed, as a student in his dark alchemy. Crothal master everything Vrimkul could teach, including time powers and life extension abilities, and, when he felt his master had served his purpose, began contemplating killing the old fool. Crothal first mastered the power of prophecy, and set about waiting for his visions of the future to reveal to him the opportune time to strike. When the time came at least, Crothal killed the one man in his sleep, and took over his dominions within the Sorcerers territory.

With his power of Distant-Sight, and ability to manipulate natural phenomena and the flow of time to accomplish his goals, Crothal became a trusted servant of Kirata, especially after his predictions that prevented numerous disastrous raids, overcame many difficult foes, and foresaw the coming of the Black Cancer. His ability to manipulate time and future has, unfortunately, weakened him, and in his advanced age, he can no longer freely use his Distant-Sight as much as he would like.

He would father a daughter from a slave taken in a raid to Cyrannus, though viewed her with disdain, while continuing to study the art of life extension and immortality, ironically, despite his cult's creed, fearing and loathing death in all it's forms. He wished to outlast all his rivals and every life form in existence, and laugh as the puppets melt with the last stars, and all life ends with the universe. If he is to die, then he would never get the chance to experience such exquisite beauty and destruction.

In his service, Crothal has knowledge of time manipulation, but also of mutation and genetic engineering, using these to create various sick and twisted life forms for usage as war-beasts, slaves and other uses for rival Sorcerers that can afford his gifts.

[[File:Blue face.png]] Masters
''We serve. For now.''


 * - Our masters fall to ash. We are now free to continue the conquest of this universe as we wish.
 * - Find what remains. Take back our Emperor. Destroy all who oppose.

[[File:Yellow face.png]] Allies
Don't stand in the way.

[[File:Orange face.png]] Neutral
Our patience is not infinite.

[[File:Orange face.png]] Disliked
Stand down or face our wrath.


 * - ...Brothers.

[[File:Red face.png]] Enemies
Let the ashes and cinders of your families that you breath in, be a remainder of our power over the flesh and blood of your worlds!


 * - Take back our emperor! Let all who oppose us suffer!

Quotes from others

 * add your own!