The Hotanga Alliance

Traditional colors and costuming:

   Purple and any metallic accent. Costuming trends towards short jackets, loose pants, long vests and similar clothes inspired by the Korean Hanbok.

Symbol(s):

   Golden Runic Triskelion

Governmental System:

   Loose Parliamentary Confederation

Founding Species:

   Human/Larelti

Capital World:

   Thulzara

Primary Religion:

   The Church of the Seven

Archetypes:

   Galactic Council (Star Wars), Hanseatic League,  Articles of Confederation

Pinterest

   Hotanga Alliance

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Overview and Government

   The Hotanga Alliance represents a coalition of separate sovereign worlds that believed they would have better luck interacting with other cultures as a single entity, rather than each individual attempting to go on their own. Their coalition is marked by favorable economic exchanges between sibling worlds within the alliance and a strong history of protection and support on loan to one another. Additionally, while the alliance does have a number of rules and strictures that are imposed on the worlds under the alliance, those rules require overwhelming majorities to be put into place and thus much of the governance is left to the worlds to handle on their own.

   The alliance is made up of over forty worlds of varying sizes and cultures. Each world sends their own sovereign or representative to form the Grand Council. Each year, from among the ranks, a speaker is selected by the assembly. The speaker position carries with it a lot of authority and respect. No motion reaches the floor without the speaker bringing it to bear. The speaker is also allowed to set time limits for discussion but must be prepared to allow each party who wishes to talk the same amount of time. Additionally, the speaker appoints assembly members to committees to discuss important topics and return a report to the general assembly. At any given time, many assembly members are a part of three or four committees at the same time. When the report is given to the speaker, the committee is dissolved.

   The Grand Council is tasked with developing and repealing bylaws and standards that must be adhered to for allied worlds to stay part of the organization. For the most part, these are relatively lax, and poorly enforced; though there are some cultural touchstones that define the Alliance to outsiders.

Foremost, the Alliance is incredibly strict on Augury. To them, viewing the future and manipulating events works against the ideals of cooperation. Making Augury illegal allows peoples to be relatively sure that their trade partner isn’t taking advantage of them based on future knowledge. This avoidance of future sight has helped keep the Alliance stable over the years.

The Alliance creates more golems than any other Nation, by far, and it is one of the chief exports. Most of the worlds in the Alliance allow slavery of Golems but there are a few that have outlawed it. While this isn’t against the bylaws of the Alliance, there are stipulations in place that allow visitors to a world who own golems to retain the right to their property even if it is illegal for residents. These “protection” laws are meant to encourage free movement of Alliance citizens among the worlds. A similar law is in place to protect free golems traveling to worlds where slavery is legal thought this one tends to be more difficult to enforce.

   Alliance worlds charge no tariffs when trading with other alliance worlds, one of the chief benefits of being so heavily connected. However, when trading with outsiders, considerable tariffs are levied. This leads to the Alliance appearing more isolationist than they are. The purpose is not to restrict outsiders as much as it is to encourage internal trade, but the perception remains.

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Current Speaker

   Iitill Morea of Gorisk is the current speaker. He is a mediocre leader, in truth, but he is a good administrator and he has proven a competent politician building a decent sized voting block. He  rewarded those loyal to him with positions high up in choice committees. Politics in the alliance is less about “What can you do for me today?” and more about “What can you do for me in the future?” As far as future power is concerned, Iitill seems like a strong player with many years as speaker yet to go, which only brings more people to lend him their strength.

 

Notable worlds

 

Thulzara

   Thulzara is one of the main worlds in the system and the home of the Verithirian, the chamber hall used by the Grand Council. Much of its identity is now tied to the Verithirian, many of the major cities and commerce on the world have been constructed to support the massive structure. Representatives live within the halls of the structure, and there is space for offices, conferences, and the various chamber halls for committees and the Grand Council.

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   Others who live on the world support the Grand Council through things like bureaucracy and commerce. In many ways, Thulzara provides the best cross section of all of the finery of the worlds within the alliance. Representatives arrange for the amenities of home to be brought to them and so shops sell things from worlds all over the Alliance.

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   The rest of the world is mostly covered in ocean and small islands. Many people fish and mine salt from the oceans on the world. Thulzara was picked for the Grand Council chambers because of the relatively low impact it would have on the Alliance to place them there.

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Feleen

   Fellen is one of the most recent worlds to join the alliance but is pivotal to the production of the alliance’s chief export, golems. The world is one of the few in the last few centuries brought into the alliance that was not already colonized. When discovered the world was empty and essentially barren, which made it the prime choice for a new colony devoted completely to building the magical sanctums and alchemical laboratories necessary for enchanting golems. Even now, the outside landscape is harsh and impossible to survive without magical assistance. It’s rocky exterior is ravaged by electrical storms. Channeling this power through elemental rituals has, however, proven to be a valuable resource in the creation of golems.

 

Moraine

   Moraine serves as the location of the Draconic Basilica; the high cathedral of The Children of Dragons. Many worshippers from the Alliance and beyond make pilgrimages to the ground that is said to have been visited by each of the dragons at some point. Those within the Alliance who make the journey do so freely, but those from outside the alliance face fees and taxes. This is what Moraine contributes to the Alliance, aside from prestige. The money collected from the followers of the church helps with the liquidity of the Alliance, and in turn the adherents and followers are taken care of within the Alliance.

 

    Moraine is an unforgiving land otherwise. It has some natural resources and is capable of cultivation but the effort is barely worth the work. Most choose to trade on the value of the holy site rather than work it’s dry earth.

 

Shiel

   It was on the surface of Shiel that Hotanga was formed. Merill Te Aronui, the leader of an invading force of human colonists, shook hands with Gorisk Tellivane of the 8th Daah of the Larelti. This resulted in the first two worlds coming together and the Alliance snowballed from there. As such, much of Hotanga history is tied up on the world. Even Merill Te Aronui lived on Shiel for decades before the alliance was formed while his armies fought for control meaning both sides have left a lasting mark on the land.

 

   While the Hotanga Alliance is mostly made up of Humans, all species can be found in the various colonized worlds. Shiel is the homeworld of the Larelti and the only species homeworld within the Alliance. For many Larelti, looking out to the way other species in the galaxy have formed their bastions of power, it is a source of bitterness or sadness to see their own people relegated to a lesser place in the informal hierarchy that is Hotanga.

 

   Shiel is a warm world covered in dense jungle with major cities sprouting out of the canopy. It is a hub of agriculture and natural resources and supports much of the empire.

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Economy

   The goal of the Hotanga Alliance is to be as self-sufficient as possible. With over forty worlds affiliated there is plenty of room for resource gathering and specialization. One of the major rules of being a member of the Alliance is that you must give preferential trade treatment to other alliance members and you need not pay taxes and tariffs for inter-Alliance trade.

 

Chief Exports

   Golems. Truly one of the few things the Alliance exports is golems, but approximately 45% of the golems in Six Nations are created in the Alliance. The Alliance has become known for its highly productive enchanting processes for crafting them on dedicated worlds.

 

Chief Imports

Golem Creation Supplies and Food. While many of the supplies needed for creating golems can be found in the alliance, they are not always found in the quantity needed, and some of the extremely specialized supplies, such as crystals for arcane foci, are extremely rare.

 

Because worlds in the Alliance are incentivized to hyper-specialize, many are not capable of growing nearly enough food. The worlds of the Alliance are only able to cover about 85% of the food needs of their people and have turned to other nations with trade deals to fill in the rest.

 

Prominent Families

 

Te Aronui

   The Te Aronui family of Humans is the closest thing the Hotanga Alliance has to royalty. It was a Te Aronui that helped create the Alliance in the first place, and a Te Aronui has overseen the adoption of all of the worlds that are now part of the organization. There is nothing formal about the noble status of the family but there is a credibility granted to them, however deservedly or consciously, that other families do not experience. The Te Aronui family is still heavily active in the politics of the Alliance.

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Morea

    When your house has a member who is the Speaker of the Grand Council, many people come seeking favors. The Morea    family of Larelti is not new to being a powerful political shaker, but they are new to being this big in the Alliance’s structure. Most of the family has no real power of any kind, but that hasn’t stopped them from enjoying the perception of power. Iitill has had to put a considerable amount of effort into keeping his family out of trouble since he has taken his position.

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Avelis

 Most of the Avelis clan of Humans make their home on Feleen. The matriarch of the family, Theandaal Avelis, is in charge of the golem enchanting facilities there. She has streamlined not only the golem creation process but even the methods of laying out the various demesnes, laboratories, and sanctums to be most efficient without causing spells to interfere with each other. As the business continues to expand she has her eyes on new colonies for the Alliance to spread to to further her family’s prominence.

 

History

The founding of the Hotange Alliance is shrouded in the mists of pre-Fracture legends, but the story of Merill Te Aronui continues to be told even today.

 

It is said that Merill Te Aronui led a band of human colonists onto the world Shiel for one thing; resources. On Shiel, there were plenty. The world is covered in dense jungle that allows for unchecked growth of edible crops and wildlife. Just below the surface, precious metals rest to be plucked from the ground. In many ways Shiel seemed inexhaustible in its abundance and Merill wanted that for the humans. Invasion seemed the only choice.

 

The Larelti were not prepared for a war on their home turf. They had lived happy lives cultivating the land and while they had warriors to protect them, they did not have an infrastructure conducive to defending themselves. Once the Humans arrived and started destroying cities and towns of Larelti, taking the resources of the world for themselves, an alarm was sounded.

 

At first, the Larelti fought the colonists. The fighting was fierce and brutal and many from both sides lost their lives. But the Larelti were not a match for the humans. Destruction seemed inevitable, but not without significant cost to both sides. The Larelti knew the world better than the humans did and were able to use that to their advantage. Additionally, Te Arouni’s people were having a hard time harvesting the same amount of useful material from the resources they took as the Larelti could.

 

Before long, Merill was sitting down across from Gorisk Tellivane of the 8th Daah. Negotiations went poorly at first. Fighting broke out again and more people on both sides died. Before long though, they had returned to the table to discuss terms. From their discussion the Alliance was born. Each had different strengths to offer and they would be stronger against external threats because of it. Early on, the Larelti gathered food and resources for the Alliance and the humans defended it. Over time, more societies on small worlds unaffiliated with other nations began to join. It was not long before the Alliance had cemented itself as a major player in the galaxy.

 

Typical Characteristics

The people of the Hotanga Alliance are a hodgepodge. They are made up of citizens of many different worlds with many different laws and culture. Their defining feature is that they don’t fit in well with other cultures and the Alliance has accepted them with open arms. As a result, Alliance citizens are adaptable to new situations, friendly to strangers and strange customs, and fiercely protective of their personal independence. Lastly, the people of the Hotanga Alliance are unified in their hatred for augury, a deep seated loathing that crosses all cultural lines.

 

Relations with Other Nations

The Hotanga Alliance as a whole does not have many firm allies, with the exception of the Calid Circle,  and relations with several others are extremely contentious.

 

The Khezeratt

The Alliance sees the Khezeratt as zealots and, in truth, fears them to some degree. Many of the military plans that the Alliance makes are defending themselves against the Khezeratt. They still engage in a lot of trade with them, however, as their stance on golems makes them a particularly valuable customer.

 

Calid Circle

The Alliance sees the Calid Circle as one of their closest allies. After the debacle with the Tristar Hegemony the Alliance began making deals with the Circle to conduct targeted raids for information in a way they had not done previously. It was a beneficial arrangement for the Alliance who gained a lot of insight into their trade partners without resorting to augury, and a lucrative one for the Circle.

 

Sovereignty of Riavan

The Alliance has a fairly good relationship with the Sovereignty. The Alliance finds the structure of the nation easy to interact and trade with. They do not fully agree on the ethics and religion of the people, but that hasn’t stopped the money from exchanging hands. The Sovereignty is one of the major exporters to the Alliance.

 

Republic of Illara

There has always been a tension between the Republic and the Alliance. To the Republic of Illara, the Imperial Cult carries a lot of weight and importance. While there are those of the faithful among the worlds of the Hotanga Alliance, the Alliance itself does not recognize an official religion. Additionally, the high cathedral of the Church of the Seven resides within Alliance territory. This led to a tenuous-at-best relationship between the two nations that has deteriorated sharply in the past year.

 

Recently Moraine has passed a law banning the worship of the Imperial Cult. After fruitless diplomacy between the Illaran Senate and the Alliance’s Grand Council, hostilities have escalated dramatically to include a botched assassination attempt by the Republic of illara that resulted in the deaths of palace guards on Moraine.

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Tristar Hegemony

The Alliance does not deal with the Hegemony anymore. Once one of the most prolific trade partners, the Alliance cut them off when it was discovered they were using augury to influence trade between the two nations. The Alliance was appalled and claimed all contracts null and void. The Hegemony has responded by condemning these violations as immature and despicable.

 

Other Species in the Nation

The Hotanga Alliance is very diverse. While it is primarily Human and Larelti, members of all the Species can be found among their number and several worlds within the alliance have colonies focused on just one Species. There are many members of the Grand Council that are non-Human and non-Larelti.