Ele Dominion

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The Ele Dominion is a mysterious but powerful galactic civilisation which claims to rule over vast expanses of the galaxy, including most of the far side of the galaxy from the Coreworlds Conglomerate. In reality, the Dominion is the astrographical and political manifestation of the Ele Metanation, a symbiotic collective whose population comprises all sentient beings within the area spanned by its furthest members. This close connection leads many of the Ele to consider the Dominion's territories to be sacred. Any being who physically enters the area encompassed by the Metanation becomes part of the collective, automatically and involuntarily, which may account for both the vast size and the relative reclusiveness of the Dominion as a political entity on the galactic stage.

The nominal capital world of the Ele Dominion is the planet El-Kera. However, the decentralised and diffuse nature of the Ele Metanation means that this designation is somewhat arbitrary, and purely for astrographical and political purposes. The Dominion and the Metanation are both understood to have been founded by the insect-like Ele species, who likely originated on El-Kera. However, due to the ever-growing and all-encompassing nature of the Metanation, the proportion of "true" Ele populating the Dominion is likely very small.

Very little is known about the Ele by the other civilisations of the galaxy. Under Aler Genn’s treatise on “Galactic North”, the Ele Dominion would cover functionally the entire ‘eastern’ half of the map, alongside the Empire of the Queil in much of the ‘northwest’ segment of the galaxy and the Coreworlds Conglomerate and its Exploration Zone in the ‘west’ and ‘south’. An relatively sparsely populated area of the galaxy known as 'Uncharted Space' lies between th borders of the Coreworlds and the Dominion, providing a somewhat useful shortcut between the two. One feature run in the AlTime News Channel's science supplement in 2270 theorised that the Ele actually controlled the entire galaxy, but this was believed by most to be pure conjecture.

Beyond El-Kera, a number of astronomical landmarks are included within the borders of the Ele Dominion. These include the Rhyzomic Expanse, a parsecs-wide network of ever-growing roots and branches which complicates navigation between El-Kera and the border with 'Uncharted Space'.

The wearing of masks is central to the culture of the Ele Dominion, and no Ele has been seen unmasked outside of the Dominion. These masks are typically made from an opaque black glass material and are a symbolic representation of the wearer's role in Ele society. According to ambassador El-Deen, newcomers to the Dominion are expected to behave as the Ele behave, which includes the selection and wearing of a mask. The collective nature of the Dominion's inhabitants means that it is considered rude to ask about an Ele's true identity underneath their mask.

Smoked Ive-Tave is a culinary dish common to Ele cuisine, as are refel biscuits, beanbread, haal juice and vielwine.

The Ele Dominion appears to maintain a small military force drawn from wearers of the Warrior mask, who each receive mandatory combat training upon joining the Metanation. The Ele military is organised into platoons, led by sergeants such as El-Q'rokar. However, the nature of the Metanation is such that military action is rarely required within the territory of the Dominion, and as such these practices are generally considered a form of training one's own mind and body rather than preparation for war.

The Metanation's spread and integration of newcomers means that open war within the Dominion's borders is infrequent, despite the existence of a Warrior role within Ele society. Most conflicts that do arise typically stem from beings' strong convictions leading to misinterpretation, abuse or objection to the Metanation. In these instances, Ele Excision Teams use antipsychic cages to contain miscreants, severing their connection to the Metanation, and then extradite these captives to a safe distance outside the Dominion, from which they will be unable to reconnect with the Metanation.

The everyday government of the Ele Dominion, including municipal action and decision-making, is carried out through telepathic consensus and delegation rather than centralised edict. However, the Dominion does maintain a centralised government of sorts, the Ele Congregate, which represents the interests of the Ele in matters involving the Dominion as a whole and its interactions with other civilisations. Five Ele make up the Congregate, each wearing and representing one of the traditional Ele masks. They convene at bespoke Halls in the city of Korus, on El-Kera.

Though the Ele originally depended on traditional farming methods on a number of agricultural worlds to provide for their citizens, food production was ultimately relocated to orbital hydroponics stations. Following this change, former agrarian planets such as El-Saire were given over to the conservation of rare specimens of flora and fauna. Since that time, any being wishing to set foot on such planet must obtain a dispensation from the Ele Congregate itself.

A delegation from the Ele arrived relatively late to a diplomatic conference at the Threshold of the Ninth Plane on Andar Prime, at which they would later sign the Trifold Union. The Ele said very little upon their arrival and remained robed and masked, making it impossible for Ambassador Rayan Tiller to read their body language or facial expressions. Some critics were wary about the influence of such an unknown party on the negotiations, while others beleived them to be frauds in cheap constumes. The Ele travelled to the summit and subsequent meetings via the starship 'Arrowhead', a vessel of unknown design. The starship appears to be the flagship of every diplomatic sortie from the Ele Dominion.

Following months of negotiations, the Ele ultimately signed the Trifold Union along with the Conglomerate and the Empire of the Queil, which was represented by Prince Aster. The Union solidified the borders of the three governments’ territories, while still allowing for expansion towards the outer galaxy. However, any demands or offers made by the Ele were not publicly known, and documents relating to this were quickly redacted.

The only statement given by election ambassador El-Deen at the signing of the Trifold Union was made in Andarran Standard. It was a message of invitation, announcing that the Ele domain was open to all and that they expected to see visitors soon.

When the Centurions of Project Centennial began appearing within the territory of the Empire of the Queil, Queil envoy Prince Aster voiced concern that the probes would constitute a security risk for both the Empire and the Ele Dominion. However, the Ele made no comment on the matter at the time. When the Centurions finally exited the Empire of the Queil the eyes of the galaxy, and the attentions of media publications such as the AlTime News Channel, turned to the Ele Dominion, which would soon see the Centurions' arrival within its borders. The probes were later sighted entering Dominion space, but there were no reports of any conflicts at the time.

Ultimately, the first reports from the Centurions soon began to reach the Coreworlds and fascinate the public there, leading to a phase which the sensationalist AlTime News Channel dubbed "Ele fever". The channel ran a substantial feature presenting some (mildly inaccurate) information about the Dominion and the Metanation, and partnered with Bright Aura Gem Therapy to offer "crystals that ward off the Ele Metanation". These items were likely not medically sound or effective.

At a meeting of the key ambassadors to the Trifold Union and Aglostarros University Museum Curator Endelle Stroth, once more at the Threshold of the Ninth Plane, the Ele ambassador reassured their cohorts that the Dominion had had no issues relating to Project Centennial. They reiterated that the others in the Union should visit the dominion more, an assertion which made Ambassador Tiller squirm a little.

After the Trifold Union issued a warrant for her arrest in 2270, Stroth fled the Coreworlds, intending to seek asylum within the Ele Dominion. In her journal, Stroth expressed her hope that the Ele would be as welcoming as they claimed to be in public. After approximately one month of continuous travel aboard the *Looking Glass*, Stroth estimated that she had crossed the border into the Dominion, but without any sign of a perimeter shield, fighter patrols or watch stations. She resolved to continue flying until the nearest planet.

Stroth was pursued into the Dominion's territory by bounty hunter Tren Krellos, piloting the *Gunmetal Gyre*, whose contacts had known very little about what awaited within the Ele Dominion or what to expect from the Ele people. Krellos determined that the profit he would make on Stroth's bounty would outweigh any consequences he would face for trespassing in the Dominion. When Krellos ultimately engaged Stroth in ship-to-ship combat, the fight was forestalled by the arrival of the Ele diplomatic starship 'Arrowhead'.

The two combatants were taken aboard the 'Arrowhead' as informal captives, which scared Stroth and angered Krellos. Aboard the Ele vessel, the two travellers met with ambassador El-Deen, who explained that they had nothing to fear and were already becoming part of the Ele Metanation. As the 'Arrowhead' carried its new passengers to El-Kera, Stroth marvelled at the beauty of the Dominion's territories, which include rainbow nebulae and half-formed celestial bodies. She considered herself privileged to have seen beyond the Dominion's borders.

Later in 2270, the Trifold Union grew concerned that the Ele Metanation posed a political threat, and summoned ambassador El-Deen to explain why the Dominion had failed to mention the existence of what some characterised as a "zombifying hive mind", suggesting that this may have been a deliberate lie of omission. At the same time, Coreworlds citizens began to emigrate to the Ele Dominion in their hundreds, believing that membership of the Metanation would give them a better quality of life than, as one source said, "shovelling Astrum for ViCorp". The AlTime News Channel observed that, while the Dominion was not making any aggressive moves relating to this development, it also wasn't turning away the new migrants and had yet to make any official statements.

The Coreworlds Conglomerate and the Queil Empire attempted to stem this exodus by setting up checkpoints along the border with the Dominion. The Ele, in turn, saw this as a concerning escalation, with ambassador El-Deen noting that, while they had set few terms when joining the Trifold Union, free movement across borders was one of their main demands.

At Veldt Star Industries' 2270 keynote event on Ourinia, in which it unveiled the new Eidolon Collection of more heavily armed and armoured starships, CEO Ardus Lyn cited the Ele Dominion as a potential threat from which customers wanted to feel protected, along with the Queil Empire and the Galactic Liberation of Wonder movement.