Ayr Empire

*"We stand at the dawn of a new era, at the very precipice of destiny. Behind us rises a glorious sun that will bathe the ignorant in its divine flames."*

The Divine Ayr Empire is one of the oldest and one of the more influential governments in the galaxy. Located in the eastern quadrant, the Empire has slowly expanded outwards from their origin on the planet Ayr. Whilst being known as a mercantile and academic empire, it is also disliked for it's xenophobic policies and disdain for other races.

## History

The empire has it's origins sometime in the year 323 when a priest by the name of Hindei Tokuji had an epiphany after gaining deep knowledge from Soisha, a mysterious force that could be communed with using an advanced technique of the Ayr's natural telepathy. Hindei Tokuji then began a pilgrimage around Ayr to convince the noble High houses which controlled the confederacies to rally behind him and bring about a new age of stability and prosperity for all Ayr. It is not known exactly how Hindei convinced the lords and ladies of the high houses but by the year 329 , all the high houses and most of their servant houses are rallied behind him.

#### The Unification

On the 25th of February 330, Hindei Tokuji is crowned Emperor of the now established Ayr Empire with the full title; *His Divine Majesty the Holy Emperor of the Ayr, He who converses with the Maker*. This date is celebrated as Unification day and is considered the birth of the Ayr empire.

The newly established regime did not start of without troubles however as there were certain groups who were opposed to it. Most notably successful Low houses who's status were threatened by the Emperors new policies. The opposition plotted and planned discreetly but did not manage to attract any notable support. The newly founded secretive Imperial Intelligence Faculty had by 337 rooted out most of the opposition, and the remaining part were forced to surrender. Some consider the year 337 as the unification year due these events.

#### The Ascension

In the years 337 to 622, The empire spent it's time on restructuring itself to suit the Emperors vision. in 368 the 12 guilds were created, giving the High houses control over private and public sectors that was deemed fit and requested. Advancement programs were also introduced to further the empire's growth and prosperity, such as the compulsory 16 year education and the increased focus on the development of spacefaring technology and armaments. It was during this time that doubts against Emperor Tokuji almost completely vanished, partly due to the subtle indoctrination in the compulsory education, but mostly for the fact that emperor seemed to have discovered the secret to immortality. A cult of personality arose and devotion to His Divine Majesty and the Empire united the Ayr even further.

By the year 802, spacefaring technology was suited for expansion outside of the Empires home system of Kosai. The empire has since then slowly expanded outwards.

## Culture

Ayr culture is centered around ones own house (family) and its honor and well-being are important. Intelligence is the most desired personal trait, although bravery and loyalty are also sought after. Devotion as a citizen and respect as a foreigner towards the Emperor is also very important.

#### Government

The Emperor enjoys supreme rule but also employs a Royal Committee, which includes a appointed Daijin (Minister) from every high house. It is the Minister's job to explore options and then present them to the emperor, who then makes the final decisions. The Ministers usually cooperated well with the Lords of their house, who then uses the guilds to enforce the emperors will down to the low houses through the guilds. In return, the low houses who serve a high house can be politically represented through this relationship.

#### Guilds and the High houses

The Ayr Guilds, are institutions that are ruled over by a single high house. Every guild has monopoly over their own sectors:

* **House Shayus**: Head of the Explorers Guild. The Explorers Guild is said to be the Emperor's favorite among all the guilds for reasons only known to him. They have close cooperation with the Starfleet Guild.
* **House Ishin**: Head of the Starfleet Guild that train mechanics, construct ships for and manages the Imperial Interstellar Fleet. Most guilds cooperated with Ishin to acquire ships for transport, exploration and other business.
* **House Mura**: Head of the Aviation Guild, which trains navigators, pilots for the IIF and to be leased off-world for hefty prices. Mura Navigators enjoy a good reputation throughout the galaxy for their skills.
* **House Tojo**: Head of the Imperial Defenders Guild and all its branches. Tojo trains soldiers for the IIF, special forces, the royal guard and mercenaries for off-world contracts.
* **House Akiya**: Ayr's biggest High House and head of the Banking Guild. Akiya manages the Imperial treasury and controls the funding to all the other guilds. Akiya's biggest partners are Ishin, Tojo and Tsukuda.
* **House Tsukuda**: Head of the Trading Guild and the Imperial Trade Consortium. Tsukuda manages planetary and interplanetary trade. It owns the second biggest Ishin fleet after the IDG.
* **House Saichu**: Head of the Research Guild. It develops technology and conducts research for the other houses, most notably Ishin and Tojo. Non-Ayr entities can also commission their services, for a price of course.
* **House Nakani**: Head of the Ambassador Guild. It provides diplomats, ambassadors and advisers for the guilds who have off-world activities.
* **House Dowa**: Head of the Material Extraction Guild. It produces and employs workers in the mining and resource gathering industry. It runs most of the Empire's planetary and interplanetary mining and resource operations. It is also a big Ishin and Saichu cooperator.
* **House Shiniya**: The smallest high house of Ayr and head of the Imperial Faith Guild. They school priests and overseers to watch over the Imperial faith, both on Ayr and during interplanetary ventures.
* **House Taito**: Head of the Entertainment Guild. They manage mostly Ayr-based holo-frame entertainment. Their bigger, more known ventures are management of the intergalactic pod-race championship. They are also the founders and partial owners of the news agency Intergalactica.

* **House Chuukai**: Head of the Agriculture Guild. They own and manage most agricultural activities on Ayr. Most notably being Seka (a sort of liquor) brewing and food production.

#### Low Houses

Whilst the High Houses are few in numbers compared to the Low Houses, they retain power through political and economical means. The Low Houses can rarely impact anything by themselves, hence they often serve under a so- called "Master House". By serving a "Master House", one of the High Houses, they are politically represented and are able to engage in political debates through their "Master House". The Low Houses specialize in a gigantic spectrum of activities and the High Houses employ and support the Low Houses which can contribute to their guild. The hierarchy among the Low Houses is complicated, to which the High Houses often contribute by favouring certain Low Houses of their choice. This leads to some Low Houses enjoying privileges that other do not, such as more easily being accepted into guild programs or higher pays and opportunities to higher positions within the guild.

#### Foreign Policies

The empire has slowly expanded outwards since the year 802, but surprisingly enough for being one of the first interstellar empires they are the smallest in case of area. However, they empires defense is almost impenetrable.

When the empire expanded they encountered new alien species. These races were mostly not as advanced as the Ayr, so they were absorbed into the Ayr Empire Protectorate. These new races would receive assistance and protection in exchange for their allegiance and devotion to the empire and his divine majesty. Alien races on Ayr colonies can, however, only access the most basic jobs and can only receive a temporary pass to Ayr.

The empire views itself as the pinnacle of galactic civilization, and usually look down on other races as inferior. But contrasting with the Collective's aggressive expansion and domination, the Empire relies on neutrality, flexibility and accountability. The empire does not usually make lasting alliances with outside powers, but rely on meticulous contracts which offers their assistance in exchange for something. The empire strives mostly for personal gain, and acts of kindness towards exterior elements are usually just one side of a tactical move.