Hmm... This AAR, and the one following the politics in a post-FTL world, are my favorites so far. Keep going! I might do one myself, combining the two... But I'm also lazy... What to do?
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Is this dead? It's been three weeks since the last update, which is a very long time for this thread. It's one of my favorites. Keep up the good work!
Half a Century
When The Avatar – formerly Rald Vik – passed away, Perak Kap made sure everyone knew what he had done. He had never expressed it clearly, but she knew that his reign’s lack of warfare gnawed at him. However, in the 20 years that had passed since his ascension, the Jakharan Empire was better prepared for war than ever.
The empire-wide effort put into scientific progress had made sure their technology stayed competitive. The Tebadoran Particle lances had long since been developed, implemented, and were already in the process of being replaced by the more advanced Tachyon Lance. A new cruiser model- the Lance class - had been hastily designed to accommodate the size of the weapon and its accompanying particle reactors. However, a quantum leap in their understanding of interstellar vessels had allowed them to build even larger ships, called Battleships – the first true interstellar capital ship. They required a massed amount of smaller screen ships to operate effectively, but could field several Lance weapons in addition to array upon array of torpedoes. Their massive generators even supplied enough power to outfit the Battleships with auxiliary modules that had previously only been used in stationary, deep space Fortresses. The Fortresses had been a lesson learned from the destruction of the spaceport above Jakh – replacing it had been costly. Fortresses, bristling with weapons and surrounded by deep space mines, now covered key installations across Jakharan space. Any would-be conquerors would pay in blood for every inch of territory.
More startling had been the discovery of a second Garden world, previously held by the Sebans. Upon realizing that The Garden of The Avatar was not a one-of-a-kind world, the Clergy had worked tirelessly to integrate the Garden worlds into The Faith. In the end, it had worked itself out. A towering Mausoleum to commemorate the Avatar of Fury had been built on The Garden in the Mizar system, and soon enough people had begun referring to the planet as the Garden of Fury. When the second planet was discovered, it was decided that the newer garden would receive its final name as part of the expected succession, based on the assumption that their current Avatar would have received an epithet by then.
Thus, when ascending, Perak Kap’s first decree as Avatar was to name the second garden planet: The Garden of Knowledge.
***
When she made her first inspection of a completed Battleship, Perak Kap – now the Avatar – was asked to name it. Her name would be class designation for all future Battleships of this type. A total of four different models, bearing different auxiliary modules, had been commissioned for the fleets.
“Warblade,” she had said, regarding its striking, lightly curved shape. The ancient, ceremonial weapon, still borne by all Jakhari into battle. “To strike fear into our enemies.” The Warblade-class Battleships were outfitted with on-board Shield Dampeners, effective in a wide radius around the ship itself. The other ships were named, loosely, for what their auxiliary systems were capable of. The earliest model was the Glaive-class, equipped with an FTL snare to keep the enemy from retreating. The Cleric-class released clouds of nanobots that repaired the hulls of the entire fleet, while the most recent design, the Disruptor-class, destabilized enemy weapons systems, rendering them less effective. Each fleet, both the Battlefleets and Strikefleets, would be anchored by four Battleships each.
Work on a second Battlefleet had also begun, and a naming convention of sorts had been adopted. The original Battlefleet was now called Battlefleet Fury, while the Strikefleets were called Strikefleet Vikal and Strikefleet Mikon, after Admiral Vagras’ right-hand man and the first Strikefleet commander.
A new generation of admirals and generals, including Monak Tor, the new commander of Battlefleet Fury, had all been called to an audience with The Avatar. Monak Tor knew there was an element of formality to all this, as the recently ascended Avatar made herself familiar with her heads of staff. But he suspected something more – Perak Kap had not, even before ascending, been known for her complacency and patience.
***
“Welcome,” The Avatar said when they had all assembled. “I’ll try to be brief. The Avatar of Knowledge has done vital work. We are not at risk of becoming a Pandrak Space Empire. We are more than ready for war – people are becoming restless. Our neighbours have gone from fear, through complacency, to infighting. The political situation, as you know, is that the east has separated into two competing alliances.”
Everyone gathered nodded in agreement and, presumably, deference. Monak Tor had also kept tabs on intergalactic politics. Relations between the two alliance blocs had gradually soured in the absence of Jakharan aggression, and by most estimates, the two alliances were on the brink of war – with one another. The xenos didn’t seem to care about interior Jakharan politics – or they would have been more worried.
“I have drawn up some plans,” the Avatar simply announced. Everyone present inched closer to the holographic display of the galaxy that dominated the centre of the room. Monak Tor realized, with some amusement, that The Avatar was using her psionic powers to manipulate the holographic interface, rather than the standard controls. It seemed to be second nature to her by now.
She highlighted the Yeon Cartel, sandwiched in the west between Jakharan territory and dark space. However, they barred northward access on the outer arm. “We attack here first, as soon as the two alliances start their war. Their partners will be busy and the Yeon Cartel is weak – a single Strikefleet should do it.”
She panned the display east, past the Hot Gates. “When they’re done, we go east and solidify our hold outside of The Hot Gates, using Battlefleet Fury. We’ll drive a wedge into whatever territory’s there. In order to pass into Tebadoran space, we’ll have to cross territory belonging to the other Alliance – which they probably won’t accept. It’ll be another three-way war.”
Eyes widened around the room. Was she done? As it turned out, no. She moved the display further north, and indicated blobs of a teal colour. “Further expansion on the centre arm is barred by this empire, with which we have had little contact. It’s time to make ourselves known to them. The area we want is lightly populated and poorly fortified. We’ll take that after the new borders in the east have settled.”
She paused for a moment, and added, as an afterthought. "Then, we'll think about what to do next." If someone had hoped to interject with a remark of any kind, they were cut short, as she immediately continued. "There has also been something of a .... Diplomatic development." She switched the display to show what was obviously a Xeno specimen - what could best be described as a bipedal rodent. "They call themselves ..." She snorted, and looked amused. "They call themselves The Republic of Hiff."
Laughter erupted in the room, dispelling some of the tension. Hiff was the name of a nut that grew near the ground in the more temperate regions of Jakh. It was also a mild narcotic.
"Glad I'm not the only one who thought that was funny," The Avatar said, the gruff soldier of old surfacing for a moment. Within a moment, however, she was The Avatar again. "However amusing their moniker, they are currently the only political entity in the Galaxy that can rival our size, wealth and military, despite valuing individual freedom and free trade. They're far away - on the opposite galactic rim, in fact - but we would do well to keep an eye on them. My long-term plan is to extend our northern border far enough that we come into contact with theirs."
When her plans and wishes had all been laid out, the room was exceptionally quiet. Monak Tor was the first one to speak: “This war – or series of wars – could take upwards of fifty years, depending on how optimistic or pessimistic our estimates are,” he remarked.
“Excellent,” chirped The Avatar. “Then, tomorrow, I’ll make an empire-wide broadcast promising our people half a century of war.”
When The Avatar – formerly Rald Vik – passed away, Perak Kap made sure everyone knew what he had done. He had never expressed it clearly, but she knew that his reign’s lack of warfare gnawed at him. However, in the 20 years that had passed since his ascension, the Jakharan Empire was better prepared for war than ever.
The empire-wide effort put into scientific progress had made sure their technology stayed competitive. The Tebadoran Particle lances had long since been developed, implemented, and were already in the process of being replaced by the more advanced Tachyon Lance. A new cruiser model- the Lance class - had been hastily designed to accommodate the size of the weapon and its accompanying particle reactors. However, a quantum leap in their understanding of interstellar vessels had allowed them to build even larger ships, called Battleships – the first true interstellar capital ship. They required a massed amount of smaller screen ships to operate effectively, but could field several Lance weapons in addition to array upon array of torpedoes. Their massive generators even supplied enough power to outfit the Battleships with auxiliary modules that had previously only been used in stationary, deep space Fortresses. The Fortresses had been a lesson learned from the destruction of the spaceport above Jakh – replacing it had been costly. Fortresses, bristling with weapons and surrounded by deep space mines, now covered key installations across Jakharan space. Any would-be conquerors would pay in blood for every inch of territory.
More startling had been the discovery of a second Garden world, previously held by the Sebans. Upon realizing that The Garden of The Avatar was not a one-of-a-kind world, the Clergy had worked tirelessly to integrate the Garden worlds into The Faith. In the end, it had worked itself out. A towering Mausoleum to commemorate the Avatar of Fury had been built on The Garden in the Mizar system, and soon enough people had begun referring to the planet as the Garden of Fury. When the second planet was discovered, it was decided that the newer garden would receive its final name as part of the expected succession, based on the assumption that their current Avatar would have received an epithet by then.
Thus, when ascending, Perak Kap’s first decree as Avatar was to name the second garden planet: The Garden of Knowledge.
***
When she made her first inspection of a completed Battleship, Perak Kap – now the Avatar – was asked to name it. Her name would be class designation for all future Battleships of this type. A total of four different models, bearing different auxiliary modules, had been commissioned for the fleets.
“Warblade,” she had said, regarding its striking, lightly curved shape. The ancient, ceremonial weapon, still borne by all Jakhari into battle. “To strike fear into our enemies.” The Warblade-class Battleships were outfitted with on-board Shield Dampeners, effective in a wide radius around the ship itself. The other ships were named, loosely, for what their auxiliary systems were capable of. The earliest model was the Glaive-class, equipped with an FTL snare to keep the enemy from retreating. The Cleric-class released clouds of nanobots that repaired the hulls of the entire fleet, while the most recent design, the Disruptor-class, destabilized enemy weapons systems, rendering them less effective. Each fleet, both the Battlefleets and Strikefleets, would be anchored by four Battleships each.
Work on a second Battlefleet had also begun, and a naming convention of sorts had been adopted. The original Battlefleet was now called Battlefleet Fury, while the Strikefleets were called Strikefleet Vikal and Strikefleet Mikon, after Admiral Vagras’ right-hand man and the first Strikefleet commander.
A new generation of admirals and generals, including Monak Tor, the new commander of Battlefleet Fury, had all been called to an audience with The Avatar. Monak Tor knew there was an element of formality to all this, as the recently ascended Avatar made herself familiar with her heads of staff. But he suspected something more – Perak Kap had not, even before ascending, been known for her complacency and patience.
***
“Welcome,” The Avatar said when they had all assembled. “I’ll try to be brief. The Avatar of Knowledge has done vital work. We are not at risk of becoming a Pandrak Space Empire. We are more than ready for war – people are becoming restless. Our neighbours have gone from fear, through complacency, to infighting. The political situation, as you know, is that the east has separated into two competing alliances.”
Everyone gathered nodded in agreement and, presumably, deference. Monak Tor had also kept tabs on intergalactic politics. Relations between the two alliance blocs had gradually soured in the absence of Jakharan aggression, and by most estimates, the two alliances were on the brink of war – with one another. The xenos didn’t seem to care about interior Jakharan politics – or they would have been more worried.
“I have drawn up some plans,” the Avatar simply announced. Everyone present inched closer to the holographic display of the galaxy that dominated the centre of the room. Monak Tor realized, with some amusement, that The Avatar was using her psionic powers to manipulate the holographic interface, rather than the standard controls. It seemed to be second nature to her by now.
She highlighted the Yeon Cartel, sandwiched in the west between Jakharan territory and dark space. However, they barred northward access on the outer arm. “We attack here first, as soon as the two alliances start their war. Their partners will be busy and the Yeon Cartel is weak – a single Strikefleet should do it.”
She panned the display east, past the Hot Gates. “When they’re done, we go east and solidify our hold outside of The Hot Gates, using Battlefleet Fury. We’ll drive a wedge into whatever territory’s there. In order to pass into Tebadoran space, we’ll have to cross territory belonging to the other Alliance – which they probably won’t accept. It’ll be another three-way war.”
Eyes widened around the room. Was she done? As it turned out, no. She moved the display further north, and indicated blobs of a teal colour. “Further expansion on the centre arm is barred by this empire, with which we have had little contact. It’s time to make ourselves known to them. The area we want is lightly populated and poorly fortified. We’ll take that after the new borders in the east have settled.”
She paused for a moment, and added, as an afterthought. "Then, we'll think about what to do next." If someone had hoped to interject with a remark of any kind, they were cut short, as she immediately continued. "There has also been something of a .... Diplomatic development." She switched the display to show what was obviously a Xeno specimen - what could best be described as a bipedal rodent. "They call themselves ..." She snorted, and looked amused. "They call themselves The Republic of Hiff."
Laughter erupted in the room, dispelling some of the tension. Hiff was the name of a nut that grew near the ground in the more temperate regions of Jakh. It was also a mild narcotic.
"Glad I'm not the only one who thought that was funny," The Avatar said, the gruff soldier of old surfacing for a moment. Within a moment, however, she was The Avatar again. "However amusing their moniker, they are currently the only political entity in the Galaxy that can rival our size, wealth and military, despite valuing individual freedom and free trade. They're far away - on the opposite galactic rim, in fact - but we would do well to keep an eye on them. My long-term plan is to extend our northern border far enough that we come into contact with theirs."
When her plans and wishes had all been laid out, the room was exceptionally quiet. Monak Tor was the first one to speak: “This war – or series of wars – could take upwards of fifty years, depending on how optimistic or pessimistic our estimates are,” he remarked.
“Excellent,” chirped The Avatar. “Then, tomorrow, I’ll make an empire-wide broadcast promising our people half a century of war.”
Perak Kap is surprisingly kind to her predecessor, assuring he's remembered fondly by his war-hungry people. Those technological advancements will be very helpful in future wars.
Speaking of future wars, the new Avatar has some ambitious plans. Can't wait to see how those plans fair.
Speaking of future wars, the new Avatar has some ambitious plans. Can't wait to see how those plans fair.
For the sake of the other empires, I hope they spend the last years well, beause its clear the Jakhari are on the warpath once again.
I'm so glad this is back, and I feel so bad for all those poor other empires who think they can withstand the might of the Jakh hordes with Tachyon lances. Question: do you have Crystal Forged Plating yet? Or are you still using scrub lord shields and armor?
Is this dead? I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and it is inspiring me to buy the game when I have the money.
Still keeping track. I hope the game still functions with the mess that is slavery in sectors in Asimov.
I haven't actually loaded the game up in Aaimov yet, because of I'm a little afraid of what will happen. I've got everything plotted out until well beyond 2400 though, so no worries.
There's nothing that can't be fixed with a backup save. Except maybe game file corruption. Or a cat sitting on your keyboard. Or computer failure. Well, alright. There are plenty of things that can't be fixed with a backup save, but updating your game to Asimov isn't one of them. In a pinch, you could just keep playing on 1.1.
The author said this AAR is being played without sectors (+core planet cap instead) because sectors cannot manage slaves efficiently.
I've sort of considered this dead, especially now that the save can't be loaded anymore, but for the sake of closure I thought I'd hammer out the last few chapters in a pretty condensed form.
***
Excerpt from “On the Divine Jakharan Empire, Prologue”
The Jakhari began life as our favoured children. We looked at them with all the pride and joy a parent feels when looking on their newborn. When they grew, we were impressed with their ferocity and tenacity - like when a child refuses to play with anything other than a wooden sword. They quickly dominated their own world.
The seeds of faith we had sown also came into their own - perhaps not in the way we had originally intended, but we were endlessly fascinated.
Should we have seen the signs already then? Perhaps. When they ascended to the stars, we were elated - they were not the first of our children to do so, but they were perhaps the ones we were most excited to see unfurl their wings and leave their celestial nest.
When your children turn out to be playground bullies, what do you do? As a doting parent, you make up explanations. They’re just willfull. They’re brash little tykes. And so on. You ignore the voice telling you that even your children may have flaws. By then, we should definitely have known.
Excerpt from “On the Divine Jakharan Empire, Chaper 3: The Age of Expansion, 2200-2300”
Perak Kap - best known by her later epithet, The Avatar of War - practically turned the wheel of history on her own, maybe through sheer indomitable will. We - as everyone else - thought perhaps the Jakhari were satisfied with their conquests. We were wrong. After a period of relative peace in the western reach of the galaxy, they emerged from the Hot Gates like a whirlwind of fire and steel just as former allies turned from bickering to infighting. The war - or series of wars - raged for half a century, but was decided largely by the Battle of Fangcor, when Warfleet Fury clashed with a combined force in a system bordering the Hot Gates.
Over the course of the war, countless lives were lost, both in the vast emptiness and on the ground. The refitted Jakhari Warfleets seemed to bat aside all opposition, and in the end nobody was left to thwart the Jakhari advance in any direction but to the south. Our ancient enemy, the Fex’Klanga, prided themselves on “keeping The Avatar in check”. Perhaps if they had taken a more proactive approach, we would be inclined to agree.
However, during the twilight years of the Century War, the Jakhari Warfleet prepared to land its troops on Tebador, the last bastion of freedom, we were forced to intervene. If nothing, else the Avatar needed to know the truth: If the Jakhari are our children, then so are the Tebadorans. Surely not even the Avatar of War would condemn their celestial siblings to enslavement and purges?
So we made contact.
We were surprised to learn that the Fex’Klanga had taken credit for the continued existence of the Jakhari. “It was not their mercy,” our representative at the time divulged, “but our continued threat of all-out war that convinced them to stay their hand, and let the fledgling species live.” It was not surprising that the deceptive but proud Fex’Klanga had interpreted events differently from us. Perhaps this was even what their official records said. We knew better. The Avatar retained her poise, as was her way, but analysis of the conversation tends to remark that even a casual observer would have noted her barely contained fury.
We informed the Avatar of War of the mutual heritage they shared with the Tebadorans - they were born from the same bundle of genes, but seeded on different planets. Later, we also seeded their primitive cultures with an identical system and beliefs and faiths. We left out our strictly scientific motivations for doing so from this early conversation - that we wished to study and observe, in long-form, how the same genetic makeup evolving on different worlds would affect the evolution of religion over time.
This revelation had several immediate consequences, and many more implications that we will perhaps never know the full extent of. The bombardment of Tebador was halted immediately. Perak Kap retreated to a secluded location for some time, ordering her advisors to negotiate peace with the remaining Tebadorans. When she emerged from her seclusion, The Avatar of War made an announcement that resulted in three separate Directives. First, that we, ourselves, were to be considered honored elders in the eyes of all Jakhari, and our territorial sovereignty should be respected. Our role in preserving the pristine worlds - Garden Worlds, as the Jakhari call them - had enormous implications for their belief system. They have been true to her word since.
This meant that our study of developing religion became inherently compromised, as the creators of the experiment inserted themselves into the test group.
The second decree concerned the Tebadorans: They were to be considered kinfolk, and retain rights similar to that of the worker caste. Considerable war reparations were paid, slaves were released, and several planets under Jakhari control were returned to Tebadoran rule. In the coming ages, the Tebadorans would remain subservient to the Jakhari - but they were never enslaved, killed or indeed ruled over directly.
The third decree concerned the Fex’klanga, and it is here, I believe we will find the answer to whether or not our revelation about the shared Jakhar-Tebadoran origin had the power to fundamentally change the philosophy of the Jakhari. The answer is no. In her most famous declaration, The Avatar of War declared the Fex’Klanga an Enemy of the Blood. This kind of announcement, we discovered, had not been made since the unificiation wars on Jakh. It is not so much a declaration of war, as a declaration of the intent to utterly decimate someone. This announcement effectively swore future generations of Jakhari to work tirelessly towards a singular goal: The destruction of the Fex’Klanga. The ancients knew, of course. They didn’t care. “Empty posturing,” was the message we received. “Let them come.”
Given our history with the Fex’klanga, one might think this was well received by us. It was not. The last time the Fex’Klanga went to war, the galaxy was engulfed in flame. Eventually, a coalition lead by us fought them to a standstill, leading to the uneasy truce and eons of ennui we have undergone while watching the object of our war - the younger species - nurture and grow their civilizations. But even at the height of our power, we could never have forced the Fex’Klanga to unconditionally surrender - our capabilities, military and economical, were strained to their limits. And so, we were naturally, reluctant to draw the Fex’Klanga out of their isolation. It is believed, however, that a great many amongst our number secretly hoped that by the Divine Jakharan Empire, the Fex’Klanga would finally meet their match.
In the coming decades, the continued rule of the Avatar of War is often considered to be "unremarkable", but perhaps only by Jakharan standards. It would be foolish not to at least briefly detail her continued work in expanding the Jakharan borders. As the century turned, however, the Avatar of War was approaching quite an advanced age - even sustained beyond normal Jakhari lifespans by advances in medicine, a fortuitous discovery of a health-bringing space artefact, and the power of her own psionic ability.
For simplicity's sake, standard periodization dictates that the Age of Expansion ends in 2300. However, the Avatar died peacefully only in 2302, passing on the mantle of Avatar to Monak Vagras, a descendant of the famed admiral Vikal Vagras. His work is briefly detailed at the start of the next chapter, which will nonetheless focus primarily on the galaxy-wide Age of Strife, and the Divine Jakharan Empire's part in the events that transpired.
[A manual note is added to the last paragraph: "It is said that The Avatar of War complained more frequently of of dreams involving doors the last few decades before passing on. Significance?"]
All texts retrieved from The Otaga Prime Repository of Sciences
***
Excerpt from “On the Divine Jakharan Empire, Prologue”
The Jakhari began life as our favoured children. We looked at them with all the pride and joy a parent feels when looking on their newborn. When they grew, we were impressed with their ferocity and tenacity - like when a child refuses to play with anything other than a wooden sword. They quickly dominated their own world.
The seeds of faith we had sown also came into their own - perhaps not in the way we had originally intended, but we were endlessly fascinated.
Should we have seen the signs already then? Perhaps. When they ascended to the stars, we were elated - they were not the first of our children to do so, but they were perhaps the ones we were most excited to see unfurl their wings and leave their celestial nest.
When your children turn out to be playground bullies, what do you do? As a doting parent, you make up explanations. They’re just willfull. They’re brash little tykes. And so on. You ignore the voice telling you that even your children may have flaws. By then, we should definitely have known.
Excerpt from “On the Divine Jakharan Empire, Chaper 3: The Age of Expansion, 2200-2300”
Perak Kap - best known by her later epithet, The Avatar of War - practically turned the wheel of history on her own, maybe through sheer indomitable will. We - as everyone else - thought perhaps the Jakhari were satisfied with their conquests. We were wrong. After a period of relative peace in the western reach of the galaxy, they emerged from the Hot Gates like a whirlwind of fire and steel just as former allies turned from bickering to infighting. The war - or series of wars - raged for half a century, but was decided largely by the Battle of Fangcor, when Warfleet Fury clashed with a combined force in a system bordering the Hot Gates.
Over the course of the war, countless lives were lost, both in the vast emptiness and on the ground. The refitted Jakhari Warfleets seemed to bat aside all opposition, and in the end nobody was left to thwart the Jakhari advance in any direction but to the south. Our ancient enemy, the Fex’Klanga, prided themselves on “keeping The Avatar in check”. Perhaps if they had taken a more proactive approach, we would be inclined to agree.
However, during the twilight years of the Century War, the Jakhari Warfleet prepared to land its troops on Tebador, the last bastion of freedom, we were forced to intervene. If nothing, else the Avatar needed to know the truth: If the Jakhari are our children, then so are the Tebadorans. Surely not even the Avatar of War would condemn their celestial siblings to enslavement and purges?
So we made contact.
We were surprised to learn that the Fex’Klanga had taken credit for the continued existence of the Jakhari. “It was not their mercy,” our representative at the time divulged, “but our continued threat of all-out war that convinced them to stay their hand, and let the fledgling species live.” It was not surprising that the deceptive but proud Fex’Klanga had interpreted events differently from us. Perhaps this was even what their official records said. We knew better. The Avatar retained her poise, as was her way, but analysis of the conversation tends to remark that even a casual observer would have noted her barely contained fury.
We informed the Avatar of War of the mutual heritage they shared with the Tebadorans - they were born from the same bundle of genes, but seeded on different planets. Later, we also seeded their primitive cultures with an identical system and beliefs and faiths. We left out our strictly scientific motivations for doing so from this early conversation - that we wished to study and observe, in long-form, how the same genetic makeup evolving on different worlds would affect the evolution of religion over time.
This revelation had several immediate consequences, and many more implications that we will perhaps never know the full extent of. The bombardment of Tebador was halted immediately. Perak Kap retreated to a secluded location for some time, ordering her advisors to negotiate peace with the remaining Tebadorans. When she emerged from her seclusion, The Avatar of War made an announcement that resulted in three separate Directives. First, that we, ourselves, were to be considered honored elders in the eyes of all Jakhari, and our territorial sovereignty should be respected. Our role in preserving the pristine worlds - Garden Worlds, as the Jakhari call them - had enormous implications for their belief system. They have been true to her word since.
This meant that our study of developing religion became inherently compromised, as the creators of the experiment inserted themselves into the test group.
The second decree concerned the Tebadorans: They were to be considered kinfolk, and retain rights similar to that of the worker caste. Considerable war reparations were paid, slaves were released, and several planets under Jakhari control were returned to Tebadoran rule. In the coming ages, the Tebadorans would remain subservient to the Jakhari - but they were never enslaved, killed or indeed ruled over directly.
The third decree concerned the Fex’klanga, and it is here, I believe we will find the answer to whether or not our revelation about the shared Jakhar-Tebadoran origin had the power to fundamentally change the philosophy of the Jakhari. The answer is no. In her most famous declaration, The Avatar of War declared the Fex’Klanga an Enemy of the Blood. This kind of announcement, we discovered, had not been made since the unificiation wars on Jakh. It is not so much a declaration of war, as a declaration of the intent to utterly decimate someone. This announcement effectively swore future generations of Jakhari to work tirelessly towards a singular goal: The destruction of the Fex’Klanga. The ancients knew, of course. They didn’t care. “Empty posturing,” was the message we received. “Let them come.”
Given our history with the Fex’klanga, one might think this was well received by us. It was not. The last time the Fex’Klanga went to war, the galaxy was engulfed in flame. Eventually, a coalition lead by us fought them to a standstill, leading to the uneasy truce and eons of ennui we have undergone while watching the object of our war - the younger species - nurture and grow their civilizations. But even at the height of our power, we could never have forced the Fex’Klanga to unconditionally surrender - our capabilities, military and economical, were strained to their limits. And so, we were naturally, reluctant to draw the Fex’Klanga out of their isolation. It is believed, however, that a great many amongst our number secretly hoped that by the Divine Jakharan Empire, the Fex’Klanga would finally meet their match.
In the coming decades, the continued rule of the Avatar of War is often considered to be "unremarkable", but perhaps only by Jakharan standards. It would be foolish not to at least briefly detail her continued work in expanding the Jakharan borders. As the century turned, however, the Avatar of War was approaching quite an advanced age - even sustained beyond normal Jakhari lifespans by advances in medicine, a fortuitous discovery of a health-bringing space artefact, and the power of her own psionic ability.
For simplicity's sake, standard periodization dictates that the Age of Expansion ends in 2300. However, the Avatar died peacefully only in 2302, passing on the mantle of Avatar to Monak Vagras, a descendant of the famed admiral Vikal Vagras. His work is briefly detailed at the start of the next chapter, which will nonetheless focus primarily on the galaxy-wide Age of Strife, and the Divine Jakharan Empire's part in the events that transpired.
[A manual note is added to the last paragraph: "It is said that The Avatar of War complained more frequently of of dreams involving doors the last few decades before passing on. Significance?"]
All texts retrieved from The Otaga Prime Repository of Sciences
Glad to see you back to at least wrap this up! Looking forward to it.
Well, those children clearly got out of control and the galaxy paid the price. But it seems some people still underestimate the Jakharan, a foolish choice if there ever was one.
Well, those children clearly got out of control and the galaxy paid the price. But it seems some people still underestimate the Jakharan, a foolish choice if there ever was one.
Wow, I nearly forgot I ever subscribed to this...
Well it was an interesting end...
Well it was an interesting end...
This isn't the end, there's still the Age of Strife chapter hinted at here, and a poetic epilogue. 