Dhau Empire
The Dhau Empire was a major power in the quadrant.
Overview
The expansionist and belligerent Dhau are a race from outside the quadrant, who have gradually expanded over the centuries to dominate a very large amount of known space.Physiology
The average Dhau is a humanoid of Canine or Wolf-like descent. With an average height of around 6 foot and a muscular build, the Dhau are powerful and resilient. According to Terran biologists, a Dhau could conceivably live ninety to one hundred and ten standard years, life expectancy is much lower than that due to the violence in Dhau society. Some "Alpha" Dhau stand closer to seven feet tall and are very strong. Female Dhau are indistuignishable to Terrans from male Dhau. Dhau females can give birth to up to two litters of up to eight cubs per year, though one full sized litter is average. Dhau reach physical maturity by the age of around ten or eleven. Consequently Dhau breed quickly and exist in large numbers. The Dhau genetic code is very durable and they have an enhanced resistance to radiation and disease. It is speculated by some Terrans that the Dhau's incredibly strong make up shows signs of genetic tampering.Culture
The Dhau live in a tribal culture. Dhau families are generally born into a "clan" which can be half a dozen families or all ther way up to hundreds of thousands of families. Many clans have hundreds of millions members. Membership is generally genetic but some Dhau can end up being driven out of their clan, becoming "Tah-Mett" or Clan-Less. The Dhau prize strength, toughness and are generally a very pious race. Their religion is a pantheonistic warrior religion that prizes honour. For a Dhau warrior, there is nothing more important than to die in battle, in service of the Empire.The Priesthood - Mitara-Varr
The Dhau Priesthood are a highly secretive and respected group. Very little is known to outsiders beyond their status as being essentially sacrosant. The priesthood are often seen as advisers to the Dhau Council and sometimes to sector governors. However, the priesthood do not take up leadership functions themselves. According to IIS, the Dhau Priesthood are recruited young and recieve complex training and indocrination on a remote moon in the heart of Dhau space but this has never been confirmed. There is no reliable data, as of 2610, to the numbers of the Dhau priesthood.Marriage and Family
Despite their reputation for brutality and ferocity, the Dhau are very family orientated. Dhau are encouraged to marry and there are a number of societal benefits to doing so, with married Dhau treated with more respect than Kishee (bachelor) Dhau. Dhau are monogmous as a rule and the marriage ceremony sees the Dhau clan pay for a small gathering and party to celebrate the new union. Depending on where the marriage ceremony takes place, it is customary to allow any local Dhau to attend the celebration without an invite, though it is the height of bad manners to arrive as "Stucha" (uninvited guest) without an extravagent guest. Male Dhau are immune to any sort of peer challenge on the day and the day after their wedding but female Dhau can be challenged for their new groom up to the point of the exchange of oaths. Marriage between Dhau from different clans will see one of the Dhau renounce all clan identification after that point. Dhau culture does not really have divorce, with relationship difficulties either resolved through counselling by a clan elder or, in extreme cases, a peer fight between the couple. Young Dhau "pups" are raised by the family, often with help from the extended clan. Pups are hugely prized within Dhau culture and they are considered to be "sacred" in Dhau culture, with harm caused to a pup often punished by maiming or even death.Kepan-Kol
The rite of Kepan-Kol is a sacred moment when the Dhau "pup" reaches maturity within Dhau clan society. This can take place anytime from nine to eleven standard years depending on the development and maturity of the particular Dhau. The ceremony is very private and only members of the pup's clan can usually take part. It involves the pup's parents each setting a test, one of which should be "Mekam" or spiritual and the other being "Domach" or physical. Once these tests are passed, the pup is brought before a senior clan leader and instructed in the ways of their clan and the wider Empire. These oaths are variable based on the clan but always see the pup being asked to "protect the Empire" and "Stand against the dark". Once the oaths are complete, the pup is given a ceremonial weapon, with the weapon varying depending on the clan and the gender of the pup. After this is complete, the young Dhau is now considered a Kishee and a full part of Dhau society. There is always a party, with the local clan and friends gathering to fete the new kishee (there are often many who have made the step up on the same day). This is a joyful occasion and much food and drink is consumed, as well as rough-housing and organized fights. A pup that fails in their tests is allowed to attempt to pass the Kepan-Kol again in one standard years time. If they fail three times, then they have dishonoured their clan and are referred to the Clan chief or some other senior Dhau leader who will set them a final test. If they fail this, then they can be rendered clan-less, though this is extremely uncommon. Most Dhau look back very fondly on their Kepan-Kol and treasure the gift-weapon they were given for the rest of their lives.Imperial Dhau
Dhau are generally divided into several groupings. Imperial Dhau are considered to be the elite of their culture, able to track their descent back to the "Old Empire" and its home quadrant. Imperial Dhau are generally taller and stronger than other Dhau and occupy much of the top leadership of the Dhau.Tribal Dhau
Local Dhau born in our quadrant are considered "tribal Dhau" and live in service to their tribe and then the Empire. There is a huge level of variety in size, colouring and even facial make up. Tribal Dhau's loyalty to the Empire is generally very high but there is a fair degree of variance. There are also many rivalries between the clans.Tah-Mett
Clan-less Dhau are those either born without a clan lineage or those whose status as a clan-member has been revoked. Whilst there are few legal restrictions, being Tah-Mett is seen as deeply shameful and most Tah-Mett either go into hiding, exile on the frontier or serve in the military, hoping to regain their honour and gain a clan name.The Dhau Empire
According to Dhau sources, the Dhau Empire is a multi-quadrant Empire that extends over two thousand star-systems. The Dhau Empire in the Terran "home quadrant" is just a fraction of their overall Empire. The Dhau are considered to be imperialistic and expansionistic, though they tend to be quite open to absorbing the culture of their subjects.Government
The Dhau Empire's government is somewhat opaque to other races. Almost nothing is known of how the wider "extra-quadratic" Empire is governed. All information that has been gleaned over the centuries about the "local" Dhau Empire suggests that it is a military dictatorship, with a council of senior Dhau officers serving as its executive branch. Interestingly, whilst one member of the council is "first among equals", there truly is no one leader among the Dhau. A member of the secretive Dhau priest-class is always present at meetings of the council and the Dhau are known to consult "religous texts" before making major decisions. The Dhau "civil service" is actually quite small, with most planetary level civil service done at a purely local level with a huge level of variance. Worlds that have fallen to the Dhau via conquest initially keep their old civil service though over time there tends to be some evolution. However, some former Tranoan worlds still retain the same structure. Most senior government roles, equivalent to the cabinet in the Terran Republic, are made up of military officers. There is no legislative branch but all major clans are members of the "Than-Char", an informal council where they discuss wider Dhau affairs. The Dhau government takes concerns of the Than-Char seriously but it has no formal leglsiative powers. There is no official judicial branch within Dhau space and almost all law is either purely local, conducted by local police by the standard of that planet or referred to the Dhau Empire, in which case it is conducted under a version of "marshall law", with short trials and often summary judgements.History
The first Dhau began to show up in the home quadrant in the mid to late 21st century. Appearing in their hundreds, they served as mercenaries and bandits and were highly regarded. Known for their toughness and bravery, they fought in many wars. No one knew that the Dhau were merely the scouts for a huge Empire. In 2145, a great "Dhau Migration" began as six hundred million Dhau appeared in the quadrant, having arrived "from their home-quadrant". Many of these newly arrived Dhau attempted to settle in Tazzyn space but were moved on, aggressively. They settled in the end on two Federation colony worlds, along with worlds in Tranoan, Karkouri, Mor-Du, Bl'Hud and Vatu space There was another major migration in 2175 with billions more Dhau arriving in the quadrant. This lead on to the 1st Dhau War in 2198 as the Dhau conquered a huge swathe of Tranoan space in a very bloody war. In 2205, the war ended with a Tazzyn peace treaty brokered and a full Dhaugosk Empire had been carved out of Tranoan space. A 2nd war broke out in the 2280s with the Dhau, once again, taking a number of Tranoan worlds and then being pinned back by an alliance of other races. A 3rd Dhau War broke out in the 26th century as the Dhau fought, with their Karkouri allies, against the Tranoans and most of the other races in the quadrant. The Dhau came into conflict with the Tazzyn for the first time during this war.Structure
The Dhau Empire is something of a misnomer as the Dhau are ruled informally by a complex alliance of Dhau clans, which have a huge amount of autonomy on their own world as long as they contribute to “The Empire” with money, resources and troops. A world must supply, when asked, taxes paid in money or materials. Heavy metals for manufacturing warships are especially prized. Worlds are also required to supply troops unless the planet's population is too small to support the requirement. Clan Dhau are often more loyal to their own clan and world than they are to the overall Empire. Those Dhau that serve at the higher levels are often referred to as the “Imperial Dhau”. They are often descending from Dhau immigrant Dhau from their home-quadrant and are often taller than “clan” Dhau. Whilst the Dhau are generally laisse faire about the organisation and governance of worlds within their Empire, they are merciless when it comes to dissent and any sort of major civil disturbance tends to be crushed without mercy.Subject Races
The Dhau Empire has a large number of subject races within its borders. In the home quadrant these are largely Terran and Indirians although there are also enclaves of Gannid, Tranoans and other races. As a "citizen" of the Dhau Empire, there is no barrier to social mobility for those subject races, once they have earned their full citizenship. This requires either military service, government service or special dispensation by a planetary governor. Even without this grant of full citizenship, referred to as "Qetta", a citizen of the Dhau Empire is generally left to their own devices and their personal freedoms very rarely impugned. The Dhau tend to leave worlds to run themselves as long as they meet their Imperial requirements.Dhau Military -Kavn-Hessk
The Dhau Military, referred to in their language as "Kavn-Hessk", is a huge, complex and prestigous organisation. Whilst military service is not compulsory in the Dhua Empire, it is strongly encouraged and the naturally warlike Dhau tend to volunteer in droves. Further to this, service in the military is one of the best routes to social mobility, especially for those citizens who are not Imperial Dhau.Kavn-Atarr
The Dhau Navy, Kavn-Atarr, is generally the most powerful branch of service. Comprising a huge military fleet which is anchored around the "Three Sisters"; huge Dreadnought class ships that serve as the backbone of the Dhau military, as well as mobile command and control centers. Dhau officers are recruited from the cream of the crop and standards are exacting. Dhau officers are granted long periods of training before military service and thanks to the huge pool of talent, most Dhau Navy officers are highly motivated and skilled. The enlisted crews are not quite of the same high standard but are still highly trained and motivated. Service in the Dhau Navy is open to "non-Dhau" and it is unusual but not out of the question to see a Terran or Indirian serving on a Dhau warship, even as a senior officer.Kavn-Keshmar
The Dhau Army, Kavn-Keshmar, is the largest branch of service and due to the militarized nature of Dhau society, it has a rather outsized level of influence. Dhau are natural foot-soldiers, with some theories that they were a genetically altered subject race of some other race. Becoming an officer requires high standards, as well as demonstratable loyalty to the Empire. Junior officers can also be "Peer-Challenged" to a duel by other junior officers or even senior non-coms outside of battle, sometimes fighting to the death. The winner is almost always advanced in rank. Enlisted personnel run the gamut in various types of unit. It is far more common to see non-Dhau serve in the Kavn-Keshmar with Indirians especially prized as scouts and sharpshooters. Peer-challenges are technically illegal within enlisted ranks but a fair amount of brawling and horseplay goes on.The Iron-Hammer
The primary fire-arm of the Dhau armed forces is the Iron-Hammer, Kotu-Ma. This highly advanced rifle fires a metal slug at very high speeds, approaching those of a rail-gun. The weapon appears to have a variable range and can penetrate armour with ease. The Iron-Hammer is a prized item within Dhau culture and whilst not all Dhau troops have them, they are never sold to other races. During the days of the Terran Empire, there was an attempt to try and reverse engineer the Iron-Hammer which proved to be a failure. The IIS believed that the Iron-Hammer showed that Dhau technology is often deceptively complex.Kavn-Chro-Chass
The Dhau Army has a secondary branch for organisation and "peace-keeping". These garrison forces, Kavn-Chro-Chass (KCC) are deployed to guard worlds within the Dhau Empire but they also serve in administrative roles, overseeing planetary civil service and bureaucracy. Serving the KCC is often seen as a much less glamourus form of service and many Dhau resent their time spent in the KCC. However, senior officers in the KCC often end up as planetary or even sector governors. It is highly unusual but not out of the question to see non-Dhau in the senior ranks of the KCC.Qor-Chawan
The Qor-Chawan (literal translation is Shining blades) are an elite formation within the Dhau armed forces. Thought to exist in around corps strength (about 60,000), this unit is seldom deployed unless there is a major conflict going on. According to RepInt the Qor-Chawan are recruited as children and trained for more than ten years before they are allowed to serve. Fanatically loyal, expertly trained and equipped with state of the art weapons and armour, this formation is generally used for shock assaults but regiment sized forces have often been deployed to support more complex operations. They are thought of by the Republic Military as the equivalent of Dhau Special Forces.Kar-Shad
The Kar-Shad are the Dhau Counter-Intelligence force. A sub-branch of their military who are “Imperial Dhau”, rather than clan Dhau, the Kar Shad are greatly feared throughout Dhau space and by foreign agents. They are famously ruthless and being captured by them is often a fate worse than death. According to sources within RepInt, the Kar Shad recruits exclusively from Imperial Dhau who have served in the Dhau military. Intelligence, resourcefulness and loyalty to the Empire are particularly prized traits. Whilst the Kar-Shad have a distinctive logo, Kar-Shad officers tend to travel incognito.Devastators Weapons -Tethan -Tarus
In the early 26th century, the Dhau revealed that they had established weapons capable of destroying an entire planet. These "devastator" missiles could be launched by a large ship and once they hit a planet, they superheat the planet's crust and drill through the molten layers detonating within the planet's core and shattering the planet, either rendering it a molten rock in space or, in the case of smaller targets, utterly destroying it. The Dhau have never officially commented on the existence of such weapons but their use shocked the entire quadrant, with planet destroying technology generally viewed as a WMD by all races. The Dhau have threatened the use of such weapons against the Tazzyn Empire in the past, leading to an escalating cold-war between the two powers during the 26th and 27th centuries.Foreign Relations
The Tazzyn Empire
The Dhau Empire and the Tazzyn Empire were in competition for dominance over the quadrant. The Tazzyn, who were hostile towards the Dhau from the moment of their first migrations, appear to have a deep seated hatred for the Dhau.The Tranoan Empire
As direct neighbours, the Tranoan-Dhau relations were frosty at best. The Dhau engaged in several wars of conquest against the Tranoans.The Karkouri Regime
For a long time, the Karkouri Regime was the only really friendly power to the Dhau Empire, with the two pushed into an alliance of convenience due to their status as "bette noire" within the quadrant. However, the collapse of Karkouri power in the 26th century saw the alliance lapse.The Terran Republic
The Dhau Empire and the Terran Republic were consistently adversarial, frequently engaging in territorial wars. However, during the 23rd and 25th centuries, the Terrans managed to form profitable trading relations with the Dhau Empire, with many Terran corporations granted license to conduct trade on the Dhau side of the border.The Gannid Commonwealth
The Dhau Empire has had a generally adversarial relationship with the Gannid, though they have at times managed to normalize relations. For a brief period in the early 26th century, the two powers were allied in their awkward relationship with the Karkouri RegimeThe Vatu Empire
The Dhau have an abiding respect for the quadrant's "finest warriors". The only race that can physically overwhelm a Dhau is a Vatu and the Dhau have fought them in several wars.The Straetek Empire
The engimatic Straetek Empire have had a major conflict with the Dhau over their use of devastator technology, which the Straetek regard as "unacceptable".Indirians and the Indirian Home-Quadrant
According to Indirian cultural stories, the old Indirian Empire was in the same home-quadrant as the Dhau and was shattered and their people enslaved by the Dhau. There is a deep bitterness between Indirians in the local quadrant and the Dhau as a result, though many Indirians have ended up subjects of the Dhau through conquest. There are also a number of Indirians descended from those born in the Dhau home-quadrant.
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Power Structure
Feudal state
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