Dyss Warlord Crisis

Not all great empires are destroyed by external threats. Some may stumble upon ruin from within, may that be a natural catastrophe or a societal one. What are often described as the determining factors for being the end for the Dyss, however, may be the union of all threats at once, bolstered by brewing conflicts and disputes throughout the nation's power centres and military institutions. This being a struggle that lasted for the better part of all recorded Dyss history, the **Warlord Crisis** can only be described as the final time period - Rather than any singular unconnected event - of overwhelming internal violence within the nation. In reality, corruption, backstabbing and opportunism were traits fostered by the manner in which the Dyss culture operated ever since its emergence from Syr, and those were the factors which engrained values of competition responsible for the complete collapse of the nation once the Unbidden threat resurged in 2311.

Although extreme competition and violence were never strangers to the Dyss way of life, those characteristics only grew, as the Dyss ascended into spaceflight. What followed was a series of disputes never seen on such a scale, as the rulers of each planet began to warmonger within themselves, yet were inevitably cut down by the authority of the **Supreme Purification Council**, ruling with full legitimacy in Syr. These initial tensions in the early 2100s set a dangerous precedent for the growing nation - The seeds that eventually grew into rifts and rotted the Dyss sense of hierarchy down to its very core. On the 23rd. Century, when not engaged in planetary conquests or defending against foreign invasions, the Dyss were at odds with each other, resulting in brutal clashes, assassinations and, sometimes, what could be branded as civil wars within their very own borders.

By the next century, however, the warlord crisis had taken its toll on society. Corruption had grown to such a point where government institutions became bloated, struggling to maintain even basic functions active, as well as project the required legitimacy to keep the most opportunistic warlords at bay and therefore prevent chaos from within. This tug of war came to rip off the theoretical arms of the Supreme Purification Council, rendering it useless at enacting decrees, laws or even basic management of its closest planets. To finally cut off the head of this sickening empire, came the Unbidden invasion, which struck deepest at the Dyss territory. Where was once a terrifying Empire exterminating peoples in the Northwest quadrant of the Cluster, now lies the quickly disintegrating husk of Pav-las, Veg-las and Vaalhas who fought over the scraps of what remained; The end of the Dyss Ravagers.

## **Hierarchy**

To better clarify the frequent power struggles and eventual scrambles for prestige, a pyramid containing the chain of authority within Dyss society will be displayed below, as to indicate what entities would theoretically uphold the control upon taking matters of rule into consideration. Although Dyss hierarchy is quite stratified, that does not spare the higher echelons of society to engage in rivalries and power struggles, meaning that sometimes, even the highest forms of authority can be defiled depending on a warlord’s own power.

**THE DYSS HIERARCHICAL LADDER:**

 **Gudareins** | The minor ‘nobility’ usually coming into power in the absence of a Vaalha. Alone, their power is minor at best, hence their servitude to the Vaalhas. Being commonly appointed to the role solely on military prowess, these Gudareins are ambitious and dangerous in the political game, as their rashness often leads to first cases of internal conflicts and attempts of power-grabbing. Such rashness has led to assassinations of rival Vaalhas or even their own, for the climb of the hierarchical ladder has just begun for these subordinates.

Despite the seemingly total control upheld by the Central Purification Council, in practice, the way of rule in the Dyss nation is decentralised and unregulated. The council retains most of its control over the core systems and the capital world of Syr, and while the closer the Vaalhas are from these core worlds, the more lenient they are to the council’s wishes, the fringes of Dyss rule often become occupied with the most opportunistic and unruly of the warlords, a matter which incited the first sparks to many crisis upon the Berserkers.

## Timeline of Events

Although warlordism and corruption have been constant factors within the Dyss way of life, the period containing their ascendance to space is where such characteristics were not only the most evident, but also contributing factors to their downfall. As such, the period displayed will look over their initial steps as a galactic power, in 22nd. Century, and a series of important events that slowly yet steadily destabilised the Dyss social structure as a whole, ending with their shrinking domains seen today, in the 24th. Century.