Galerius Vel Venetesh

Galerius Vel VeneteshCogent Sheet

> "*In a true democracy, the government does what the people want and defends only one interest: the people's.*"
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> **- 10 Veneteshist Political Principles, 21 NE**
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**Galerius Vel Venetesh** is a Kleitian general, politician, military theorist, and the Polemarch of the Kleitian Strategikon (Army). An energetic, charismatic, and prolific figure hailing from the Methlumite Aoshanti sect, Venetesh's family immigrated to Kleitos only very recently, within the last 200 years. Relative newcomers to the scene, Venetesh's sect carved out a position for themselves in the meritocratic hierarchy of the army, marking themselves as brilliant officers, strategists, generals, and military reformers.

This paved the way for Venetesh's eventual accession to the Strategikon's highest post, where he completed the total desegregation and integration of the armed forces, abolishing the very last vestiges of the Ancient imperial military system. Under Methlumite leadership, the Kleitian Strategikon had become integrated, rationally-organized, meritocratic, patriotic, and decisive. This army exemplified what a new-age ideology could do for Kleitos and the common man.

From the position of Polemarch, Venetesh forcefully articulated this view. He mastered the art of propaganda, published a manifesto, and won a cult following among the population. He aligned himself with and became the political face of a populist party which came to dominate the Great Council. This alliance gave his army political cover, resources, and public legitimacy. In 23 NE, Venetesh and his new model army confronted the rebellious agatropian-controlled province of Anaxos, supported by the Adresaas Empire. This dragged Kleitos into an international confrontation which it won with the backing of the Illarian Empire and Girtabelilu State.

## Characteristics

### Philosophy

Venetesh is a leader characterized by bold stands, strong statements, and decisive but calculated action. He is an innovator, a rationalist with very little patience for tradition. He has a tendency to break all the rules — of war, politics, diplomacy, constitutional government — and still somehow manages to come out on top.

He is a strong believer in the ability of individuals and peoples to forge their own destiny, and as a result his dissertations on politics and war are full of new concepts and ideas, and he boldly envisions that the future can be better than the past. This sets him apart from his contemporaries, who often have circular, static, parochial, or declinist views of history.

In his political treatises, Venetesh envisions a unified Kleitos with a strong executive, rationally-organized institutions, an official language, and a government accountable to the people through direct elections. The political movement which he leads has as a clearly stated objective to bring about this better Kleitos.

### As a military leader

As a military leader, Venetesh is decisive and methodical, stressing in his army a scientific and doctrinal approach to war. Under the Methlumites, and continued under his leadership, the army ended the millennia-old practice of segregating units by race, ethnicity, class, and religion. Instead, the army was forcefully integrated, units were stripped of their names and traditions, and recruitment and equipment were standardized. Traditionalists and dissenters were driven from the army, which also had the effect of placing the Methlumites solely in charge of it.

Over many years, the largely ceremonial Kleitian Strategikon became a professionalized mass army with a significant reservist component, the ability to police wayward provinces, and the capability to field a large force beyond Kleitos' core territory on the galactic stage. The quality of the average soldier's equipment was noticeably downgraded, abandoning ancient imperial methods of production and losing the shiny gold appearance characteristic of post-imperial polities.

This aesthetic was replaced with armor which was beige-painted rough hypersteel with visible bolts — highly practical. Kleitian heavy infantry, which were of all races, became known for the enormous bulk of their powered armor shoulders, a vast difference from the slender Aoshanti warriors of past eras. The new Kleitian army came to favor a doctrine reliant on centralized command, sweeping maneuvers, and a modular force structure prioritizing flexibility over raw power.

### Foreign policy

Venetesh repeatedly warned of the resurgence of agatropian power on the galactic stage, and that this could threaten Kleitos' fragile domestic peace. The threat of revolt from Kleitos' multiple agatropian communities paralyzed the Kleitian elite and prevented Kleitos from taking any steps to defend itself. Agatropian communities on Kleitos, Venetesh warned, were actively arming and preparing the way for the Adresaas Empire to invade the planet.

With the support of the Great Council, Venetesh prepared a preemptive strike against strongholds of agatropian power on the planet. His army attacked in late 23 NE, striking the agatropian quarter of Pyrrhos and the agatropian-controlled provinces of Anaxos. This resulted in a war between Kleitos and Anaxos, one in which Venetesh initially did not have the support of the senate or the rest of the government. As Venetesh racked up victories in the field and succeeded in occupying multiple agatropian communities, the political tide shifted in his favor. He received retroactive senate authorization for his actions and was able to mobilize reservists to the scene of battle.

Venetesh's war stiffened the spine of the Kleitian elite, though it also set them on a collision course with the Adresaas Empire, which threatened to invade if Kleitos and Anaxos did not come to a ceasefire. Despite pressure from many in the Senate to stop, Venetesh continued his advance. This forced the Kleitian elite to align with the Illarian Empire and Girtabelilu State for protection against the larger Adresaan Navy. Venetesh’s immense gamble played off as the Kleitian elite stood their ground, the galaxy came to Kleitos' defense, Adresaas folded, and Anaxos collapsed. Venetesh emerged from the crisis strengthened and a hero.

## Stats

* PROFILE
* RENOWN
* FINANCES

 Leader of the Army

INCOME/EXPENSES

𝔛0 quintillion