Revelkan Empire

## General Overview

The Revelkan Empire is a feudal empire. As such, their governmental structure is broken up into a number of clans, each led by a Kon. These Kons answer to only one above them, known as the Odikon.

Revelkan have no true class system outside of their more military roles, as such restraining systems were seen as "muddying the waters". Instead, all members are required to perform some kind of military training and service at a period of time that is determined by their Kon, or the Odikan in times of great strife. Otherwise, a baker has all the same rights as any soldier. However, despite a lack of a class system, rewards are often given to those who tell the best and most outlandish stories around the Hearthfires.

While combat and military has a strong presence in Revelkan society, so too does their art. They prize pieces of art that tell stories, such as tomes or murals. They prize them to such a degree that incorrect interpretations of such have been the cause of many a clan war. Statues are also of great import to the Revelkan, their constructs often being made in the intent of both form and function.

Despite their love of art, however, the Revelkan are highly distrusting of outsiders. This sometimes takes the form of outright hostility when it comes to the younger Revelkan, who have yet to reign their tempers or wish to prove themselves in battle so that they might have their own story to tell and dedicate to art. However, the Revelkan are not an overtly hostile race, and mostly wish to simply be left to their own devices.

## Established History

No Revelkan knows the truth about how their species first came to being. Most follow the old tales of how the god Odin placed them upon Vakt to engage in glorious combat. Others say that they evolved from one of the many great and dangerous beasts that wander the frozen tundra. One thing that is known is that they DID come into being, and that the planet was always trying to kill them.

Life on Vakt has always been a delicate balance of resources versus population, and so the people broke into clans, each claiming any resources they could find as their own. For many of the planet's cycles, they waged war on one another, each wishing to claim what the others had. This went on until the great Kons of the clans agreed that they would all eventually wipe each other out, and placed a great war hero that all of the Kons acknowledged as the Odikon.

With the major clan wars behind them, technology and culture began to develop rapidly under the rule of the Odikon. Great works of art and industry began to form, ushering them into a golden age. However, rise of industry brought with it the renewed ideal of greed over necessity. And so the clan wars were reignited. Vakt was ushered into a feudal war that lasted centuries, comparable to Earth's Sengoku Jidai.

Eventually, a new caste of clans and a new Odikon put a stop to this feud, but even the new system was unable to prevent infighting from occurring.

With some semblance of unity established, the Revelkan began to take to space, colonizing and establishing cities on other planets. This usually involved displacing what native races there were, however. While this did give rise to new art and stories, it also began to bring forth new questions that the Odikon was unable to answer. In light of these new cultural and political discussions, Vakt began to grow more and more insular, pushing into the stars less and less, and becoming much more defensive of what they had claimed. Intrusion was seen as an offence, and attempts at diplomacy were largely ignore... until now.

Roughly on May 2400, the Odikon passed away, and with the only heir to the station being his child, it became clear that the governing body of the Empire was in danger. Infighting escalated to lay claim to the Odikon's ear, or to simply take the position by force. Eventually, Starfleet was pulled into this conflict, when one of their vessels was captured by an ambitious Kon, who used it to raid the Odikon's holdings in an attempt to sow dissent and confusion.

## Notes

* The Revelkan Empire was developed by Freya Bardson.
* The Revelkan Empire were first encountered in the U.S.S. Ekhart episode, "*Where the Bighorn Graze*" (Part 1) on the *29th May 2020*