Vemia

Conquered, converted, then abandoned by the Hydell Order, the impoverished planet of Vemia dreams of a better future than its current existence eking out survival from beneath the Militant Order of Descendants' boots.

History

Vemian history speaks in hushed whispers of a time when the planet was free, an era of bounty and promise, when its citizens were able to choose their own fate and governance. In this idealized memory of the past, everyone had what they needed, no one had to work more than they wanted, and the future was bright with promise. And in these tales, that is why the Order came.

Early Order Rule

In the beginning, the Order was kind. Or at least, kind for a conqueror focused on subjugation through theocracy and forced conversion. There was an expectation to follow the tenets of the Natural Order, but Vemia had no methods for developing reconstruction clones on a scalable (and therefore affordable) level, and so this was little more than a minor inconvenience to most. The taxes were surprisingly reasonable, as well. Slightly higher than those paid to the former planetary government, but the conquerors freely invested these funds back into the economy with their fancy infrastructure and temple projects, so this, too, was readily accepted. The Order brought with them all variety of communal programs for the betterment of Vemian citizenry, ranging from the Descendant Youth for children and young adults seeking to become more active in their local communities, to flexible education programs for working professionals hoping to further their knowledge on a variety of subjects ranging from the magical to the mundane. To all intents and purposes, it appeared their Ascended Conclave overlords truly did have their best interests at heart, and the Vemians slowly began to settle into the new roles cast upon them. But then the rules changed.

Beneath the Shadow of the Conclave

As Vemia adjusted to a new normal, safely cradled beneath the Order's watchful gaze, the rules began to change. Slowly at first, such that few people noticed and those who did were often ridiculed by their friends and neighbors for worrying too much. The Order cared. The Order wanted what was best for them. Surely there must be another explanation. By the time the majority of the populace was ready to recognize the deception, it was too late. Their taxes had more than doubled, while the projects utilizing the funds involved ornate governmental churches and large warship components constructed by offworld labor, if the projects even touched the planet at all. The community organizations much lauded upon their initial appearance had morphed into indoctrination training grounds. Vemians and their businesses were expected to live for the wealth of the Conclave first, and themselves last, to please the ever stricter expectations of a string of government officials imported from the Order's capital. News from off-planet grew scarce, aside from those filtered through the official, propagandist channels. It was almost a relief when the Sparnell Confederation arrived.

Confederation Assault

The Confederation ships were swift, overwhelming, and brutal. Originally it appeared the Sparnell Armed Forces wished to claim the planet for itself, a situation actively embraced by a small portion of the populace who even went so far as to sabotage critical Order infrastructure when the Militants' attention was elsewhere. Others rightfully cautioned against the enthusiasm, pointing out they'd merely be trading one form of subjugation for another. As usual, the Vemians' personal opinions didn't matter in the end, as the attacking fleet's tactics shifted to instead bombard the planet with a rain of destruction the moment its Shielding failed. Apparently satisfied with the brutality of the attack, the Sparnelli ships left, leaving Vemia to lick its wounds.

The Aftermath

After the Confederation attack, the Conclave seemed to lose interest in helping Vemia. Their ships still made frequent trips to orbit, sometimes to watch, sometimes to switch out the local government or military power with someone even less interested in working with Vemia to rebuild the planet, but gone were the government programs or the construction projects, aside from those required to return their gaudy church buildings to their formerly pristine state. Only the military spaceports were retained, although in a more insular capacity, focusing most employment on those willing to join the Militant Order of Descendants for the privilege of guaranteed meals. Vemia sank into ruin and poverty, left to fend for itself. A ripe breeding ground for dissent, heresy, and rebellion.

Kai rubbed his cheek against Scout's chest. <What's a dreadnought?> <It's a really big ship. Unique to the Order.> Jake shared his memory of the ship from the Relentless' scanners. <Order calls them... A 'Sanctorum'?> The Vemian word still felt strange. Kai nodded at that. <Sanctorum.> He shared a memory of a Sanctorum flying in front of the sun, high in the sky, casting an artificial night over the entire city. Felix frowned. <Sanctorum are rare. Only used by the Conclave... How often have you seen one?> Kai looked up at him, blinking slowly. <Lots. It comes and the city goes dark for hours.>
— Hands of Destinee, Book 2: Destinee's Call