Fiction:Audal Empire

Overview
"We are eternal. Our forms and minds wither and decay, but our legacy shall live on forever. So long as your life is interesting, is worth examining, is worth caring about, you will be immortalized in art. So those who have done great deeds, accomplished great feats, fear not death, for though it may be the end of your life if, it is also the beginning of your legacy."

-Empress Emberlina Zightclum of the Audal Empire, after the conclusion of the Midsaan Military Crisis

The Audal Empire is the interstellar state formed by the Audal species, a herbivorous race known primarily for being a group of aggressive Bards, who believe that in order for their artworks and tales to be authentic, the events must directly be observed. The Audals have a long and violent history, and an enjoyment of many arts such as poetry, painting and theatre. The Audals are a race of cyan bipeds who are physically weak, but possess great dexterity and agility. The Audal Empire has its capital in the planet Midsaan, located in the Atraclus system, and possesses five other colonies.

Despite lacking particularly advanced or powerful technology, the Audals are eager to explore the Galaxy. However, apart from a general curiosity to discover new cultures and species, this desire also stems from a wish to have great conflicts and tragedies with other inhabitants of the cosmos to create great stories. The Audal Empire is called an empire, but is not hereditary or based on royal bloodlines and as such shares more similar traits to dictatorship or democracy. A ruler is elected, but is given a large amount of power, with an oligarchic democratic body serving to regulate them. Those in power are typically selected based on artistic merit, making the Audal Empire an artistic meritocratic regulated dictatorship.

History
"History contains the legacy of those whom dared to be noticed. The fallen live on in our memories, in our artworks, and in our history."

-Empress Elleca Limoni

The Audal species evolved as an agile herbivorous race, with vibrant colours displayed for mating purposes. Gradually, using flexibility and acrobatics to escape predators, the Audals developed large brains, and began to use primitive tools. Tribes formed across all three of Midsaan's continents, which are known as Soniego, Malzmo and Venata. The Soniego culture group was the least numerous, and relied mainly on gardens of fungi for food. The Malzmo culture group was the largest, and used cereals and fruits which required large amounts of land to grow effectively, leading to fierce competition and war over available territory. On the continent of Venata, a much more peaceful existence was enjoyed by the population, with eggs from animals, nutritious fruits and seaweed forming most of the food supply. This made Venatans much more complacent, and have them a focus on social standing and art over conflict.

As time progressed, these cultures discovered each other. Malzmoans and Venatans had massive wars, with the Malzmoan civilisations colonizing much of the latter continent. Soniegoans, meanwhile, developed powerful warships. It was also the Soneigoans that pioneered rocketry, the basis of many Audal weapons. The discovery of spice refinement was the turning point of Audal history. Refined spice could be added to many materials to enhance them, and became used as fuel for modern vehicles. In this era, a new kind of major cultural power, Skomiarga culture, was formed. Skomiarga culture valued both conflict and art, and saw life as a story, with each individual's goal to live the most interesting life possible. This culture led to innovation for the Skomiargans, and combined with a unity unseen in other cultural groups, caused them to win major victories in battle.

In a time that would become known as 0 AAEF (After Audal Empire Formation), three major nations formed the Audal Empire in an attempt to dominate the world. Zenston Nation, the first Skomiargan major power, was its main political leader, with the rich Republic of Omaniolia being the alliance's economic power and the Edwiner Inter-Continental Government, a powerful dictatorship encompassing territories every continent, being a military powerhouse due to its huge population. After over a century of devastating conflict, the Audal Empire became a true, singular nation, and defeated its foes. The last nation to fall was the Ravondo Remainder, an integrated coalition of allied minor powers united in their struggle against the Audal Empire. The conflict became known as the Midsaan Military Crisis.

After these events, the Audal Empire placed less of an emphasis on its military. Instead, it placed its resources into the exploration of space. After 32 years of stellar exploration, the first Audal interstellar vessel, the Frontier, was deployed. Many more ships followed rapidly after. The first Audal colony was established in the Josyris system on the planet of Lacaly, in 165 AAEF. However, back on Midsaan, an uprising began. Named after the man who caused it, the Kardenti Revolution involved an attempted coup by a portion of the Regulatory Commission. Emperor Deraycen Xhondreas swiftly but brutally put an end to the violent rebellion, and began to re-emphasize the importance of security. The Audal Empire has only recently begun discovering and interacting with intelligent alien life.

More expansion coming soon

Astrography
"With the establishment of the Audal Empire's colonial territories across the stars, our great empire will continue to increase in power. As we uncover the mysteries of the stars, the legacy we leave will be one of glory and exceptional splendor."

-Emperor Deraycen Xhondreas

The Audal Empire is located in the mid-arm region of the Milky Way galaxy. The homeworld of the Audal race, and thus the capital of the Audal Empire, is the planet of Midsaan. A total of six planets are currently under Audal control.

A blue world with a purple sky and a sea of violet, Midsaan is the most important world of the Audal Empire. The capital city of Midsaan is Zenston, a large city notable for being the first major city to adopt Skomiargan culture as its primary cultural group. Midsaan is the centre of trade in the Audal Empire. Located in the Artraclus system, it is a hub for freighters to refuel and drop off supplies and materials. Midsaan has a single moon, the orange rock-covered mountainous world of Darla, as well as a planetary ring system. Midsaan is where the vast majority of Audals live, and is where most vessel production occurs.

The first true Audal colony on another world was founded on the yellow-orange world of Lacaly, in the Josyris system. Orbiting ablue star, Lacaly is a yellow-orange world with a large number of peculiar circular mesas, a significant majority of which are surrounded by moats of water. This is believed to be a result of previous meteoric impacts. The Lacaly colony is the most populous colonial territory of the Audals, and is notable for producing large quanities of minerals such as iron, tungsten and titanium, as well as valuable gemstones and blue spice, which is used by the Audals as a more efficient impulse fuel.

Lizbel, a world orbiting the star Callian, is host to a notable Audal colony. A pale green world with many mountain ranges and small rivers running through them, Lizbel is currently the only Audal colony capable of producing green spice, which is used not only in crystallised form as the most potent Audal laser focusing crystal, but which is also a main component of the Audal Empire's best FTL fuel. Without access to this resource, the AUdals woud be forced to pay large sums to gain a new supply through trade, or resort to using outdated and inefficient fuel. The colony is often used to test weaponry and mining equipment in addition to mining purposes.

The most far-flung Audal colony is located on the planet of Soronis. Present in the Andrah-2 star system, Soronis has a vibrant red surface. Small hill ranges and valleys are common, as are plains. Most water here is concentrated in large lakes. The main Audal presence on Soronis is at the world's flat and arid north pole, where the majority of its mineral wealth is located. As well as valuable precious minerals such as platinum and silver, as well as high amounts of alkaline metals and lead, Soronis has a large quanitity of pink spice below its surface. The Audals use this supply not just to create FTL fuel, but also as a trade commodity and to create a highly vibrant and expensive form of paint. The colony on Soronis is also known to be a testing ground for several experimental devices, such as additional uses for field generators.

Government
"Our Emperor has great power. That is a blessing, for it reflects the greatness of our nation. It is also a curse, for tyranny may run rampant across the globe. It is my duty to hold our esteemed Emperor to the ideals of this nation, and to prevent the evils of totalitarianism from destroying our civilization."

-Head of the Regulatory Commission Breanaly Volistian

The Audal Empire is governed by a body known as the Midsaan Imperial Interstellar Administration, the headquarters of which is located on the Audal homeworld of Midsaan, in the city of Zenston. The head of state is known as the Emperor/Empress, and is granted a large amount of authority. A democratic council comprised of artisans, artists and skilled political leaders known as the Regulatory Commission regulates decisions to prevent overly tyrannical or idiotic policies, laws, and actions. In addition, every colony has its own Colonial Governor, who is granted considerable power over their but who is restricted by both the Emperor/Empress and the Regulatory Commission. New members can be appointed directly by imperial authority, or elected through the Commission. When an Emperor/Empress is removed from power, the Regulatory Commission selects the next ruler.

The current head of state of the Audal Empire is Emperor Deraycen Xhondreas, who believes that additional measures should be taken to interact with alien races and defend against them if necessary. Policies of the current Audal government include continued expansion, examination of alien cultures, further military production, and improving current technology.

Society
"Art is the immortalization of the feats of our kind."

-Empress Elleca Limoni

Audal society is known for its great appreciation of art, especially of writing, poetry, music, theatre, and illustration. Construction is treated more as form of art rather than labour, and as such Audal equipment and vehicles tend to be unique and high quality, but expensive and slow to produce. Those who sell items others made are typically seen as inferior as those that gather materials, who are in turn seen as inferior to those who use materials to create objects, items, and artworks. The military is seen as a necessity for security, and those that do join it typically see it as an avenue for having experience which they can immortalize in art. Audal's value their legacy after life more than most species, seeing it as more important than their living existence.

Audals value authenticity greatly, believing that to write about an experience, one should first go through the experience. They believe that one's goal in life is to have an interesting, exciting, memorable life, so that others may continue their legacy by immortalising their accomplishments via art. Being remembered after death, regardless of whether it is due to respect or derision, is considered the ultimate goal one should strive for. Death is seen as the point at which one's ability to perform feats ends, and at which one's legacy begins.

Military
"Our military is the spear which we thrust as our foes. Our military is the sword that clashes with the blades of evil. Our military is the shield that protects us from malevolence. Our military is the armour worn by our empire, to make us unbreakable."

-Captain Elkne Golow

The Audal Empire's military is divided into to main branches. The Audal Empire Planetary Operations Division, and the Audal Imperial Interstellar Security Division, less officially known as the Audal Army and Audal Navy. The Planetary Operations Division is responsible for all surface forces, including aircraft, boats, infantry and armoured vehicles. It is responsible for defending colonies, launching ground invasions, suppressing rebellions, and developing new vehicles and small arms. The Interstellar Security Division, on the other hand, controls all Audal military space forces, and has authority over all Audal Empire spacecraft. It's duties include securing the orbits of planets, commencing orbital bombardment, developing new FTL, shielding and space weaponry, and attacking hostile fleets.

Audal ships can be divided into three categories. Strike ships are small, agile, fast vessels, filling the roles of fighters, bombers, interceptors and gunships. They are common in Audal fleets. Support ships are much larger, and possess field generators- devices that can generate shields and FTL bubbles. Support vessels can often carry strike ships, and are responsible for allowing them to travel at FTL speeds. Finally, Assault ships are massive vessels with heavy defences. They are designed to carry ground forces for planetary invasions. In addition, they perform orbital bombardment if necessary.

Maver class Defender=

"Good for defending colonies. Fast, but can't even exit the atmosphere for long. They serve their purpose well enough for now."

A craft designed for primarily atmospheric use, the Maver class Defender is a simplistic Audal defence craft. Armed with anti-fighter missiles and light laser cannons, the Maver is designed to aid in defending planets when hostile assault craft descend. Vessels of this design are seen patrolling Audal colonies regularly.

Jeton class Interceptor=

"Speedy, agile, powerful against strikecraft and inexpensive to produce. Even if they are fragile, our ace pilots will do their best to dodge incoming fire. Our enemies will know the terror of facing a swarm of these untouchable strike ships."

The Jeton class Interceptor is an Audal strike ship, designed to face off against enemy fighters and bombers. Although armed with missiles, this Audal craft also possesses a powerful halogen beam that can devastate to lightly armoured ships and burn through weak shielding, but is prone to overheating and exploding if used for more than a few seconds at a time. The most agile Audal strike ship available, Jeton class Interceptors are controlled by proven pilots who can put the vessel's speed to good use.

Camart class Fighter=

"Common fighters, the first thing that comes to mind when the phrase "space fighter" is mentioned. Simple, but effective."

The most common Audal strike ship, the Camart class Fighter is relatively cheap vessel to produce and is armed with a variety of weapons. As well as missile pods, the Camart is equipped with spice-crystal lasers of both beam amd burst varieties. This firepower is backed up by notable speed and agility. However, Camarts are fighter craft, and so do not have shielding or heavy armour. This makes them vulnerable to attack by larger vessels.

Atlawk class Bomber=

"Heavily armed, albeit rather ponderous for such a small vessel. If any of our strike ships can handle eemy support ships and capital vessels, it's the Atlawk."

The Atlawk class Bomber is an Audal strike ship designed mainly to combat larger enemy vessels. Ponderous despite small size, the Atlawk is heavily armed for a strike ship. Large missile pods are designed to unleash explosive salvoes upon foes of the Audal Empire, with a basic spice-crystal laser burst cannon equipped to handle fighters if needed. The most dangerous weapon of the Atlawk is however its heavy halogen beam, a laser capable of burning its way through shields and armour. The Atlawk has a large amount of space dedicated to cooling the weapon to allow its continuous use over considerable lengths of time. Despite its power, the Atlawk is expensive to produce for a strike ship, and it lacks in speed and agility.

Cormon class Frigate=

"Perhaps the smallest support ship available currently, and also the most common. Capable, a mainstay of the Interstellar Security Division."

The least massive and most common Audal support ship, the Cormon class Frigate is the smallest Audal vessel currently equipped with a field generator. This device, housed within the central bulge, allows the ship to project a defensive energy shield around it, and to travel at FTL speeds taking nearby strike ships with it. The Cormon class Frigate has many weapons, however they are all fixed in place. It has a potent dual halogen laser with a cooling system, a pair of large missile pods, and several spice-crystal laser weapons. Cormon class Frigates are fast for support ships, but lack in armour and can only project small fields due to their size.

Daupiono class Destroyer=

"Massive firepower. The radioactive laser medium is concerning, but it is secure. Our enemies will learn to fear this annihilator of armadas."

A medium sized Audal support ship, the Daupiono class Destroyer is heavily armed. Equipped with rotating spice-crystal laser turrets and large missile pods, it is designed to obliterate hostile vessels. However, the Daupiono class Destroyer's most deadly weapon is without a doubt its massive astatine annihilator. A powerful variation of a halogen beam, the astatine annihilator is capable of long periods of continuous use, and is the most powerful beam weapon the Audals possess. However, the gas medium used in the gigantic laser is astatine, a material notable for its radioactivity. It is also difficult to collect. As such, the Dauponio usually serves as a rather regular support vessel, using its field generator to shield ships and move faster than light.

Veyrossat class Invader=

"When these behemoths descend upon the worlds of our enemies, they can rest assured that a blaze of death with envelop them, and that by the end they shall become naught but ash."

An Audal assault ship, the Veyrossat class Invader is designed to carry ground forces through space to enemy planets, or to help dispatch reinforcements to friendly colonies. One of the most massive Audal vessels available, the Veyrossat class Invader has heavy armour and a giant field generator, giving it excellent shielding for an Audal ship. However, it lacks any kind of anti-ship weaponry, relying on other vessels to wipe out potential space threats. As well as ground troops and vehicles, the Veyrossat class Invader can also carry strike ships within its hangars.

Technology
The Audal empire has relatively primitive technology compared to many interstellar empires. Power generation on a large scale is primarily performed using nuclear fusion. However, individual vehicles and vessels rely on refined spice to power them. Much of Audal technology depends heavily on the application of the substance, and research is ongoing as to which varieties are the most effective at various purposes. A specialised combination of pink and green spice, along with plant-based fuels created by the Audals, is refined to be used as FTL fuel. Field generators are Audal devices used to create energy fields, which can carry vessels inside the field at FTL speeds with the ship equipped with the generator. They can also produce defensive energy shields, and it is theorized that cloaking fields and interdiction fields can be produced as well.

Audal military technology is varied. Centuries of reliance on rocket-based weaponry have made it the most common kind of weapon, with minuscule variations used in small arms and larger versions found in heavy weapons. Lasers are also common weapons, with the Audals relying on crystalized spice to focus the beams, or using powerful halogen beams, which are much more dangerous to both target and user. Halogen beams require cooling equipped to be used to prevent explosive overheating, making even short durations of activity dangerous.

Notable Individuals
Emperor Deraycen Xhondreas=

"In this bold era of exploration and discovery, we will find new alien cultures, new exotic experiences. We shall bare witness to what will become the greatest tales of tragedy, sagas of adventure and epics of conflict in the history of our kind. Let us leave behind an exceptional legacy."

Name - Deraycen Xhondreas

Position - Emperor

Status - Active

Emperor Deraycen Xhondreas is the current Emperor of the Audal Empire. Ruling from his platinum throne on Midsaan, he is notable for his expansionist, interventionist and xenophilic policies. Emperor Xhondreas was first appointed to power in 164 AAEF. After his brutal but creative suppression of the Kardenti Revolution, the Emperor has begun improving Audal influence and military technology.

Captain Elkne Golow=

"Death is not the end / For beyond the searing pain / Legacies are born"

Name - Elkne Golow

Position - Captain

Status - Active

Captain Elkne Golow is one of the most celebrated captains of the Audal Empire. Responsible for protecting the inner colonies of the Audal Empire, she was most notably involved in the Kardenti Revolution, swiftly dispatching traitors on the essential Audal world of Lacaly. Elkne is also known for her title, the "Warrior Poet", as she has used her experiences in combat to create epic poems. She is a fierce warrior, willing to take on threats herself rather than allowing her troops to do all the work. Captain Elkne Golow has recently been appointed the Audal Empire's main interstellar diplomat by imperial decree, as it is hoped her poetry skills and excellence at tactics will aid the Audals in their diplomacy.

Captain Antoissir Salmany=

"Oh, the exhilaration of flight! To take wing, and speed across the stars! Glorious!"

Name - Antoissir Salmany

Position - Captain

Status - Active Captain Antoissir Salmany is a somewhat unusual Audal captain. Initially becoming part of an interstellar exploration force, Captain Salmany decided to join the military after the creation of the Jeton class Interceptor. Initially he was rejected, however after showcasing his incredible piloting skills he was given permission to join a fighter squadron. Soon, he rose through the ranks to become a captain. Antoissir commands his fleets not from a large support ship, but from a heavily customized Jeton class Interceptor, the Speed Demon, which has more powerful weaponry than the standard design and twin engines. Captain Antoissir Salmany is widely considered to be the best pilot of the Audal military.

Allies
"We are proud to call these people our allies. May our friendship continue for a hundred years, friends!"


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Friendly
"Most intriguing! Fascinating culture, it'd be wonderful to know you even better!"


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Neutral
"Curious indeed! We are unsure of you. I hope we can get along well. Surely we can, right?"


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Hostile
"You are unwelcome here, we don't like you! Maybe soon we will have tales of war as we fight one another. Be warned unless you wish to suffer destruction!"


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Enemies
"You! We'll make you feel the pain of a thousand suns burning away your worlds! Your only legacy will be the ashes of your species, and the hatred you have wrought!"


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Quotes
None currently

Trivia

 * The Audal Empire is Dillonator407's first SporeWiki fiction.
 * The Audals were originally based off of an idea to create an evil version of a peaceful archetype. Gradually this evolved into a race who are not evil, but have certain unusual beliefs in their society that affect their morality.
 * Most Audal names, including the term Audal itself, were randomly generated by Spore, sometimes slightly modified. Notably, many of these were generated by repeatedly generating random names until one Dillonator407 thought sounded good was created.