Qh'naazi Dynasty

> *"The heart of darkness, the source of the galaxy's greatest danger... this is the Starkiller's realm."*
> ~ Grand Curatrix Elena Trotskaya.
>
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## Overview

The **Qh'naazi Dynasty** (Khazard'Vaari: *Malaat Qh'naaz*, ) exists as an intergalactic polity within the Home Dimension/A-1, named for and ruled by its phaeroness Qh'naaz. It controls territories primarily in the Cthanaak Nagul Expanse at the edge of the Milky Way, as well as the Canes Venatici I Dwarf Galaxy - where its capital, the titanic World Ship Thaanramas (known to Mechanocratic intelligence as *Tindalos*), is situated.

Much unlike the other Khazard'Vaari dynasties, which are largely peaceful and isolationist, the Qh'naazi are fiercely nationalist, militaristic and expansionist – a crystal-clear reflection of its leader's ambitious and ruthless personality. What it does share in common with the other dynasties is its reverence of science and reason, but its primary applications of the knowledge that it acquires are for weapons, war machines and tactics. Every Nem'zohr of the dynasty is a brilliant general as well as a scientist, and its Warmasters were widely respected as some of the most talented commanders that the Khazard'Vaari people have ever spawned. Qh'naaz herself was often consulted by the other phaerons, including Machine King Vaar'madr himself, on matters of strategy and military science, and for a while it was thought that she was the logical choice to succeed the aging Khazard'Vaari sovereign.

This overwhelming bent towards militarism compared to other dynasties saw to it that the Qh'naazi armies were to be the ones who would lead their race's expansion efforts. For other sentient races, the Qh'naazi would be their first experience of Khazard'Vaari might. Their green and black banner, their soldiers' terrifying guttural chant of *"All worlds afire for the Starkiller!"*, the shadows of their army-destroying Deathwing heavy bombers, the thunderous roar of their Beholder tanks in flight, and the dreadful, agonising touch of their masterwork arc weapons – all were engineered to leave such a lasting impression that nobody dared rise against this titanic engine of destruction and doom. They would succeed at this so much that they became synonymous with the wider empire (even though the Qh'naazi at most composed just 6% of it).

## Government system

The dynasty is divided into constellation-based territories (*naguli*) ruled over by a single commander known as a Nagul'kul. These territories vary wildly in size, but generally the number of soldiers occupying it is the same – one billion. This absolutely huge number of non-sentient drone soldiers is controlled with the assistance of a pseudo-archaelect, a non-psionic superintelligence that the Nagul'kul assumes direct command of. A Nagul'kul normally holds the rank of Ma'nem'zohr, a rank that is frequently translated into English as *Archnemesor* or *Cyberlich*.

The highest authority in the dynasty is (apart from Qh'naaz herself) an appointed grand council of the realm's greatest generals. It is chaired by one of the Ma'nem'zohri, elected to the position of Taak'makhaz (a position comparable to that of Grand Curator/Curatrix in Mechanocratic Russia) by the other members. The Council meets on as regular a basis as possible, often by hologram as most generals are absent from Thaanramas. In the absence of the phaeroness, the Taak'makhaz has the authority to take overall command of the dynasty, while the Kaal'makhaz (the dynastic warmaster) controls its armies.

As of 2152, the present Taak'makhaz of the Qh'naazi Grand Council is Ma'nem'zohr Jardaax.

## Notable appearances

* The dynasty is first mentioned in *A Blood Debt*, though only a small holding makes an appearance towards the end (with a slightly different banner).
* It receives a much more prominent appearance in *Flight of the Polunochnaya*, and goes on to adopt the role of primary antagonist in its sequels.

## Trivia

Like most Khazard'Vaari assets, the Qh'naazi Dynasty borrows inspiration from the Necrons in *Warhammer 40,000* – specifically the Sautekh Dynasty – and the Reapers in *Mass Effect*. They also take elements from Nazi Germany and, to a lesser extent, the Sith Empire in the *Star Wars* expanded universe.