Siccertus

Siccertus is a desert planet under the control of the Holy Rocannic Empire. It has been ruled by the Plautii (Platte) dynasty for over 20,000 years, since its inital habitation, but has only been a part of the Holy Rocannic Empire for approximately 300, being one of its newest acquistions. Its relatively close proximity to its local star has scorched the planet of a majority of its surface water, but it is still habitable and is populated by humans.

## Description

Siccertus is a planet located at the far end of the Milky Way Galaxy, far removed from Rocan itself. Its near proximity to its local star has resulted in it being an overwhelmingly hot planet, with only the northern hemisphere of the planet being inhabited. The average temperature on the planet is 117 degrees Farenheit(47 Celsius). The southern hemisphere of the planet is marked with high mountains and canyons, with red sand dunes everywhere and not a single oasis or source of water. The northern, more mild hemisphere is known for its picturesque white deserts and oases, with tall palm trees jutting out of the sand. Siccertus has two moons, named by the population 'Ahn' and 'Famme', literally, 'Man' and 'Woman', beacause of their dual orbit in close proximity to eachother. The planet has one main river, the Sanvitta, which begins in the mountainous southern hemisphere and ends in the north in a river delta where the capital city, Tutesole is located and its mouth fills the planet's largest body of standing water. Siccertus' only native species are a series of small fauna, the largest being the Gabestas, which are a camel-like species, that were eventually domesticated by the human settlers.

## Early History

Siccertus remained uncolonized by any intelligent species until religious refugees from Rocan fled from their home planet for a safe haven from the dangerous persecution by the inquisition of the Holy Rocannic Empire. These orignal settlers denounced the Emperor as a celestial entity or deity, and retained a staunch sense of atheism.

These colonists numbered around twenty thousand when they originally left Rocan, led by a man who styled himself simply as, 'Aeneas' on their ship, '*Freedom'*. They travelled for years through the galaxy until their ship encountered severe structural damage, and they were forced to land on the nearest planet, which was Siccertus.

Unable to repair their ship and unwilling to make contact with anyone, the people of *'Freedom'* established a settlement on the Sanvitta River Delta, this settlement would grow into what is known today as Tutezol, the capital of Siccertus. Thousands of years would pass, and the decendants of *'Freedom'* would grow more and more distant from their Imperial home of Rocan, around twenty thousand years into the colonization of the planet, even the people of the planet were beginning to experiance a schism in culture and appearance. The largest population of people is on along the Sangvita, which provides fertile farmland and plenty of freshwater, on its banks numerous cities would be established. These people are called the 'Water Siccerti' or 'Watermen' for short.

The second largest population of people is a mainly nomadic folk, most identifiable by their darker skin than their river-dwelling counterparts. This is due to their remaining farther south in the world and nomadic nature. There are cities established in the area in which they inhabit, near some larger of the many oases on the planet. Their culture, is more seperated from their Rocannic roots, from accent to architecture, even more so than the Water Siccerti.

The third ethnic group on the planet, the 'Stone Siccerti,' dwell in the hot southern hemisphere, but live far up in the high, frigid heights of the mountain ranges that provide the coldest enviornment. They are the smallest of the three groups, and most independent by nature, and most nuanced in culture, interacting little with their northern Siccerti. For survival, these people live by moisture farming, extracting moisture from the air and grow food in indoor hydroponic farms.

## Recent History

The Siccerti lived in peace and independence for over 70,000 years, living under the rule of the revered decendants of the legendary 'Aeneas', who are known as the Plautii, who styled themselves as 'Kings of Siccertus'. Remaining on their own planet mostly, the Siccerti maintained their sense of fierce independence and while the Water Siccerti maintained the Rocannic custom of slavery, they embraced the idea of alien equality, thus making Siccerti a popular haven for alien races, and the capital itself has large quarters for numerous alien races. The planet did trade frequently through its numerous ports, and invited merchants openly, for the land lacks the broad abundances of other planets, but the Siccerti made little contact with the Empire.

It was during the reign of King Anchises se Celsus LXXXIII, in the year 228,342 A.J., while the Holy Rocannic Empire was commiting a number of systems to its vast empire, it came upon Siccertus, and immediately went to subjugate the rouge planet, the Empire quickly destroyed the Siccerti System's meager defences, along with its defence forces on its two moons and orbiting the planet itself. A siege of the planet itself began, cutting Siccertus off of all trade or assistance from any other power. In a last ditch attempt to break the siege of the planet, King Anchises sent his navy on a fierce strike at the orbiting Imperial Fleet, and for all its fervor, it could not match the Imperial fleet's superior numbers or technology, and nearly the entire fleet was decimated, killing numerous sons of Anchises in the fighting. When the Imperial forces made their assault on the planet, targeting the lands along the fertile Sanvitta, rather than face the Imperials in combat, Anchises fled the capital with his army, starting what would become a very long guerilla war.

The desicion to flee the capital by Anchises, left the city at the mercy of the Imperial forces, who took to a harsh occupation, making great purges of the large alien districts in the city, killing many and taking innumerable slaves, and while Anchises fought his war in the deserts, the capital felt suffered a brutal military government.

Anchises' army, joined by the many irregular forces of the nomadic Sand Siccerti, found great success in their guerilla war against imperial forces, winning battle after battle against token forces that found the terrain of Siccertus very difficult, the King traversed it with ease and when the Imperial Navy would search for them from the air, his force dispersed with great speed, only to return their shadow campaign. This continued for many years, and even achieved the support of the Stone Siccerti, who sent expeditionary forces to assist in the war in the north.

All of this would come to a bitter end when one of the sons of Anchises, Lucius ci Octavius, with a small force of men loyal to him, executed a coup d'etat, killing his father in the process, and many of those loyal to him, which was most of his high command, including many of his lfather's living sons. This move secured Lucius' position as King of Siccertus, but the majority of his father's army abandoned him, even openly attacked him. Along with that, he lost the support of the Sand Siccerti and Stone Siccerti. Lucius then sued for peace with the Imperials, as was his original plan, for he despised the everlasting conflict which plauged his planet. He agreed to the Imperial's terms of subjugation, losing his title of 'King of Siccertus', and taking the lesser title of 'Duke'. He also agreed to adopt the state religion and enforce it as law on his planet, along with restricting numerous other personal freedoms from his citizens, making them full subjects of the Empire. The Empire also set into place a vast slave trade on Siccertus, exploiting its alien population, which was wildly unpopular with the fiercely independent Siccerti, who had no love for the Empire, nor its policies.

The planet would enjoy peace under Imperial control, although wildly discontent. the assimilation of the planet was an abysmal failure, even though the Inquisition established on the planet converted the Water Sicertii to their faith, many mocked it. It was even less successful among the nomads in the deserts, and nearly unheard of in the mountains of the Stone Sicertii. Eventually, the '*Cenn u lenet*' or, 'The King who Knelt' , as Lucius was known as, was killed in a shipwreck while returning from court at Rocan, which many believe to be a murder, blaming an array of suspects. Lucius' rule accomplished little besides losing the hearts of his people, his family and only gained an unsteady and meager relationship with the Empire. His oldest son, Lucius ci Caesius de Plautii, inherited his title and now rules over Siccertus. Lucius' rule is far mor popular than his fathers', for he restored many of the rights the Sicertii enjoyed when they were independent, at the frustration of his Imperial overlords.