InterLeft

The discovery of Firstborn ruins on the moon by the Vardhesi, and their subsequent discovery of faster than light travel, allowed them to subjugate (either diplomatically or violently) the other Khordehli worlds, and with the ‘rediscovery’ of the homeworld, establish the Conclave of Khordehlia, uniting their species for the first time in millennia.

Though all cultures are officially recognised as co-equal members of the Conclave, it is an accepted fact that Vardhesi still make up the vast majority of the nation’s political and administrative leadership.

With FTL drive manufacturing remaining the sole 'responsibility' of their homemoon, it seems this situation of Vardhesi cultural dominance is unlikely to change any time soon.

Valuing scientific knowledge and progress, the Vardhesi clan leaders tend to be scientists, philosophers or a mix of the two. Orbiting a yellow star, their foliage tends to be green in hue.

Hearth Worlder: The Hearth worlds, refers to Khordehli hailing from the worlds of Coranis or Mue. These worlds were the first to be colonised by Khordehli seed ships and were the only ones to have had any communications from Khordana prior to the catastrophe.

The relatively short distance between the two worlds allowed for frequent communications to be maintained and later, the infrequent exchange of Khordeli and goods between the two worlds.

Before the ascent of the Vardhesi, the Hearth Worlds were the most successful and advanced of the Khordehli colonies scattered across the region, forming their own space fleet centuries before the discovery of the firstborn ruins on Vardhes- albeit it a slower-than-light one. Nevertheless the Hearth Worlds established a presence throughout the star systems of their two worlds and even scouting and settling mining colonies in the nearby, metal-rich Dhenen system.

The Vardhesi first fleet encountered the Hearth Worlds whilst attempting to rediscover Khordana, and despite being by far the most advanced culture they had thus encountered, nevertheless demanded their integration as they had with all previously 'rediscovered' colonies.

The conflict that became known as the 'Hearth War' was a two year long conflict that saw the FTL capable Vardhesi fleet outmanoeuvre and slowly whittle down the much slower, yet much more technically advanced Hearth fleet.

Though they would be conquered, the war is still remembered bitterly by many Hearthworlders. In spite of the orbital bombardment they endured in the closing weeks of the war, only the Hearth Worlds and their impressive industrial and technical capacity stand as the only culture that could one day challenge Vardhesi dominance.

Hearth world clans usually directly elect their leaders through democratic means in a manner they claim was prevalent on pre-catastrophe Khordana. Khordehli from Coranis, (orbiting a blue star) tend to have purple foliage like those on the homeworld, whilst those from Mue (orbiting a yellow star) tend to have green foliage.

Ariphorans: Ariphora is a verdant forested world, a would be gaia for the Khordehli species. Unfortunately the red light of its sun proves difficult for Khordehlian biology to effectively utilize in photosynthesis.

The result was that the colonists who landed there found themselves orbiting a star unsuitable for them, but nevertheless on a world teeming with life. With photosynthesis difficult, Ariphorans would slowly lean into, and eventually fully embrace, their heritage as carnivorous predators. The hunting and consumption of prey across Ariphora plays a central and spiritual role in their culture – a fact that often sees them labelled as ‘barbarians’ by other Khordehli, for straying so far from Aeo's anointed path.

Ariphorans closely value loyalty to their clans, to an extend that is considered extreme even amongst Khordehli. Valuing strength in combat and tactical cunning, Ariphoran clans tend to be lead by great warriors and hunt leaders.

The first culture encountered by the Vardhesi, hostilities broke out soon after first contact. Though armed with primitive pre-industrial weapons, Ariphoran clans were able to defeat the Vardhesi scouting mission, but were quickly subjugated upon the arrival of reinforcements.

Both admired and feared for their supposed military prowess many have risen high in the ranks of the military, making up a considerable portion of high command. Ariphorans are notable for their dark red foliage.

Phadaki: In contrast to their siblings on Ariphora, the colonists who disembarked on Phadak found themselves walking amongst a vast desert, largely void of complex life and beneath the burning brightness of twin stars. If the Ariphorans are seen as barbarians for indulging in their carnivorous nature, the Phadaki are seen as savages for indulging in the stillness of photosynthesis.

Most colonists that arrived on that world would wither and die in the first few years, though eventually a hardy and deeply spiritual civilization would emerge, surviving through long periods of stillness and intense and focused photosynthesis.

The Meditation, as the Phadaki call it, has deep cultural and spiritual significance for their clans, even whilst it is seen as abhorrent by outsiders who cultures who draw comparisons to the still-stalks of antiquity, who still infest most culture's myths as reviled monsters.

Despite the attempts of the surviving civilization on Phadaki, no reply was ever received from the radio transmissions towards their home star some 50 lightyears away. Slowly the colonists forgot their origins and regress to a low technology society, the first of many to do so.

Largely pacifist in nature, the Phadaki did not oppose integration by the Vardhesi shortly after contact was made. Phadaki are known for their orange and brown foliage, their clans tend to be led by spiritual and religious leaders.

Khordanans: At its height, the homeworld represented the peak of Khordehli achievement. The world launched several dozen SLT colonial ventures towards neighbouring stars, most ultimately failing but nevertheless seeding the stellar region with Khordehli life, and they possessed technological wonders that have still not being fully understood to this day.

This high technology was also their undoing however. The Catastrophe threw large amounts of ash and dust into the atmosphere of the homeworld and ushered in a nuclear winter known as the ‘age of silence’. Advanced society collapsed, and within a few centuries the remaining Khordehli had regressed to a pre-industrial existence of feudal realms, nomadic clans and city states living amongst the decaying ruins of their ancestors, the ‘old times’ becoming myth and legend.

This state of affairs would only change when the Vardhesi rediscovered Khordana, shortly after the conclusion of the Hearth War. With the mythological homeworld now secured, the Conclave of Khordehli was finally declared on the planet and the seat of government moved from Vardhes.

A process to ‘uplift’ the fallen Khordanans as had been done with the Shendi, and to restore the homeworld to its former glory, was met with open hostility by some clans triggering a short lived war. Though organised resistance was quickly crushed, and the vast majority of Khordanan clans would agree to join the newly declared conclave, several rogue clans and groups still wage a low-level insurgency in the jungles of the northern hemisphere to this day - the most notable of which is the First roots movement which routinely carries out attacks on the Conclave's planet side military infrastructure - a state of affairs that has plagued the homeworld for decades now.

Khordanans possess foliage that ranges from blue to purple in hue, they tend to have the most variation in how clan leadership is decided ranging from hereditary, to varying degrees of democratic leadership.

Shendi: The great seedship that stumbled upon the cold tundra world of Shendi, soon found itself disassembled by its former crew who utilised its reactor cores to create cradles of warmth and energy around which civilization could survive.

Despite their best efforts, the harsh climate of Shendi would see only a handful survive the first decade there however. The inhabitants of Shendi would regress to a simple pre-iron age existence, though remarkably in many cases the reactors and other technological wonders of their ancestors (including robotic assistants) would continue to be used. Though the true nature and inner workings of this advanced technology was lost to time, they would be maintenance and utilized through religious ritual and rite, as clans on Shendi developed a spiritual view of the leftover technology.

Centuries of inevitable erosion would see these technological marvels inevitably begin to fade however, and more and more clans would depart for lives as wandering nomads in the harsh wilderness of the planet. By the time the Vardhesi made contact, only a few scattered settlements remained huddled around the last remnants of a past age, long fallen from their former glory with most of the population now living in the planet's wilderness.

The Vardhesi would 'uplift' the Shendi, with many going on to be inducted into the engineer corps, where their reverence of, and ritualistic approach to, technology led to them being used on projects whom the Vardhesi largely wished to remain secret.

Noticeably, they are the only group outside the Vardhesi that has regular access to FTL technology, attending to the drives aboard ships through similar 'rituals' that their ancestors once practiced in the tundra.

Shendi possess light cyan to white foliage, and their handful of representatives on the conclave tend to be techno-priests who have risen to the highest ranks of the nation's engineering corps.

5,000 years ago – It is believed that Khordehli hunter gatherer clans on Khordana started to adopt agriculture and domestication of other plant species around this time, marking the beginning of Khordehli civilization. The first city states and later nations develop over the coming centuries.

3,500 years ago – A series of large scale religious wars establish Aeothism as the dominant spiritual authority on Khordana. Though most records of the rival religious movements was destroyed some groups like the Still-Stalks remain as reviled legends to this day.

2,000 years ago – Around this time is considered to be the ‘Golden Age’ of Khordehli civilization on Khordana. The Khordehli population is believed to have peaked at around 13 billion and had unlocked the secrets of atomic power and space travel.

It is during this period that the homeworld begins launching ‘seedships’ (slower than light vessels containing a cryogenically frozen skeleton crew and thousands of pollinated seeds) towards star systems believed to contain habitable worlds. These voyages often take several centuries to complete.

1,750 years ago – The Hearth Worlds are colonised by seedships, becoming the first Khordehli colonies on alien worlds.

1,600 years ago – The Hearth Worlds lose all contact with the home world.

The ‘catastrophe’ - believed to potentially be the accidental detonation of an experimental nuclear fusion drive- throws a large amount of dust and ash into the atmosphere of Khordana, blocking out the sun and resulting in a nuclear winter which becomes known as the 'great silence'

It is believed that upwards of 95% of all Khordehli on Khordana perish, with the survivors returning to a pre-industrial and nomadic existence.

1,500 years ago – A seedship colonises the world of Phadaki.

1,300 years ago – A seedship colonises the world of Ariphora.

1,000 years ago – A seedship colonises the World of Shendi.

850 years ago – A seedship colonises the moon of Vardhes.

500 years ago – The Hearth Worlds has grown into an interstellar civilization, developing space travel of their own, connecting their two worlds, and even colonising the nearby system of Dhenen.

250 years ago – The Vardhesi discover the ruins of the Firstborn civilization on the moon of Vardhes.

150 years ago – After a century of studying the Firstborn ruins, the Vardhesi are able to develop FTL capable drives of their own.

130 years ago – The Vardhesi make first contact with the Ariphorans. The Vardhesi are horrified by their cultural practices and violence breaks out beginning the short lived First contact war. The more technologically advanced Vardhesi quickly conquer and integrate the Ariphorans.

110 years ago – Determined to discover other lost colonies, and eventually the legendary homeworld, the Vardhesi settle the Padu system using it as a base for future expeditions.

100 years ago – First contact is made with the Shendi, who are uplifted by the Vardhesi.

90 years ago – First contact is made with Phadaki, whom voluntarily integrate themselves into the growing Vardhesi star nation.

52 years ago – First contact with the Hearth Worlds descends into the Hearth War following their refusal to unify with the Vardhesi. The war rages for two years before the Vardhesi bombardment of Coranis and Mue forces the surrender of the worlds.

50 years ago – The Vardhesi fleet lands on Khordana and declares the formation of the Conclave of Khordehlia, with all major clans receiving a co-equal voice in the newly formed conclave.

The Vardhesi commander of the first fleet, Khordaxhis, who conquered the Hearth worlds and rediscovered Khordana is elected First Speaker of the Conclave. They go on to rule as executive until their death 3 decades later.

The first root insurgency begins on Khordana against what they describe as an 'alien invasion' of the planet.

46 years ago – Serenis is settled in the frontiers of space, the system is to be used by the Conclave's scientific elite to test the next generation of FTL drives and other cutting edge technological pursuits far from prying eyes.

30 years ago – The Asar system, the closest to Atheo, is charted by the Conclave who rediscover several derelict research outposts dating back to the golden age of Khordana. Efforts to research, restore and eventually permanently settle the outposts begin.

2 years ago – Relay 17 is destroyed by the First Root Movement on Khordana in a co-ordinated bombing.