The Korsen Iavantar
The Diara Arenikkae
, a popular religious icon for the Iakorsen, engaged in combat.
Government: Literal Theocracy. The three remaining (known) Sen Iavantar lead the polity as gods.
(A.N.: for clarity and the sake of shortened names, "Sen" and its permutations as a proper noun refer to the precursor race, "Korsen" to the people of the modern polity and "Vantar" to the three survivors of said race who now lead them. This trend is reflected in all of the nation's documents and will be used for my posts.)
Advantages
Ancient Technology: Once, the Sen Iavantar, the precursor race whom the Iakorsen worship, brushed against the bounds of natural law. While this golden age is long past, and the surviving Iasen's memories of it are not precise enough to replicate its works themselves, they nonetheless can take unique advantage of the Iasen relics scattered across the galaxy. Most of these relics are products of technological advances years or even centuries ahead of modern science, and so can advance research with some study, and a few can even be replicated with the right prerequisite technology and industrial capacity.
The Arks: The pinnacle of Iasen knowledge, that apex at which they were as actual gods, is exemplified in these three irreplaceable starships; the
Diara Arenikkae (Glory of Aren), the
Raves Anarakkae (Vision of Anara) and the
Ras Varsikkae (Silence of Vars). Each of these vessels, although only the size of a cruiser, are each the equivalent of a small fleet, with incredibly potent weapons, sophisticated shields and the ability to self-repair damage from virtually anything short of a high-power WMD, albeit slowly, and as sacred relics, their effect on Iakorsen morale, even off the battlefield, is remarkable. However, they have their downsides; there are only three, and are impossible to replicate for millennia at least. They carry only one exact occupant, their respective Iavantar, and operating them for anything more intensive than simple flight is an enormous strain on them, so they will only deploy them to battle in times of grave peril, and even then for no more than a few engagements in an entire year. They have no FTL, force projection or communications facilities and cannot be modified at all, as the regenerative process will destroy and replace any deviations from their initial designs, but they remain potent weapons nonetheless.
Immortal Rulers: The ageless Iavantar ruled for centuries before the collapse of their race, giving them a wealth of experience in statecraft. Nevermind the book, the Iavantar wrote the clay tablets that taught the man that inspired whoever wrote the book on administration, politicking and manipulation, giving them an edge in leadership and negotiation simply unavailable to their transient contemporaries.
Fanaticism: Faith is universal among the Iakorsen. Their gods are real beyond doubt, directly guiding and governing their lives, and even appearing in the flesh before millions of followers at a time in vast, hajj-like pilgrimages, making them exceptionally loyal to their divine leaders and their proclamations and raising their morale in battle, planetside or in space. As a side note, the Iakorseni status as a religious entity means that they are not bound to one particular race, and may be made up of converts from al varieties of races. Whatever race they start out with, though, is up to you, alex.
Disadvantages
Overcentralization: The Iavantar rule absolutely and as close to alone as possible in a multi-planet empire. No matter how much they delegate, they still have their fingers in everything; next to nothing in the polity happens without at least their approval at some stage. No matter how skilled they are at management, such an arrangement is inherently inefficient and restrictive.
Fractious Leadership: No group of people in such a position of absolute power as the Iavantar can agree or cooperate for long. Though it isn't obvious to their followers, their tendency to do what they think is right and forego co-operation leads to a very disorganized government structure and slower responses to otherwise pressing issues, though it never lends itself to civil war. All three know their race is diminished enough without it.
Closed-minded: As a religious group at heart, and one in which the gods themselves rule over the people, the Iakorsen place special emphasis on religious canon and the infallibility of their superiors. This dedication to scripture and tradition makes for slower adoption of new, foreign ideas and relatively inflexible approaches to most situations.
Extravagant: The Iavantar are used to working with the assumption of practically unlimited resources, as are most of their more advanced technologies. While they may vary from only equal to far superior than their counterparts in other nations, they are universally slower and more costly to produce than any reasonable equivalent.
History/fluff:
"Then the Sage in the Stars, as he had become known in his hermitage, said "For I have looked out from our world as any who shepherd it would look in, and I see that he is absent, or a fable from the start." And at this Silence and her brother Despair fell upon their meeting, until Aren rose and spoke solemnly, "Then we must take up that duty." -Extract from the Book of the Ages
[WIP]
Just going to crunch out the important stuff in time for the game start, if that's fine by you guys. Really hope this is mostly balanced (especially worried about the Arks; they're a pretty central concept to the nation, but I had to think rather carefully about how not to make them an "I win" button). Also woo, constructed languages. Or whatever mangled collection of ad-hoc terms and rules I try to pass off as one, at least.