Aspiera

**Aspiera**, known formally as the **Commonwealth of Aspiera** (**Aspiera Samvieldri**), is a planet located at the northern part of the Galaxy.

## History

Millions of years ago, the Freyrgardian kingdom of Lysandre ruled much of the Galaxy as the Seventh Galactic Empire. To expand across the Galaxy, the Lysandrean fleets either recruited from impoverished star systems, convinced richer worlds to join them and supply their crusade, or waged war against peoples considered to be a threat.

One of those polities that was conquered by Lysandre was the clan of Galdefron, whose pirate fleets ran a slave empire; Galdefron or Galdefros was the original name for Aspiera when it was colonised a thousand years before the Lysandrean conquest. The Lysandrean Emperors forcibly assimilated the Galdefronians, and within thirty years the Galdefronians revolted to rebuild their pirate empire. Among the ranks of the Galdefronians were rogues, criminals, people who were simply disgusted by the Lysandreans' chivalry and lack of warlike attitudes, and Valgetan outlaws and cannibals seeking violence and enemies to eat.

A hundred and twenty years after the independence of Galdefron, Asgeir Vadrosson the blacksmith fought against two alien invasions: one was led by a Valgetan princess, and the other was led by Tyrant Teklox, who challenged him to a duel. Asgeir defeated Teklox and slew his army to avenge the destruction of the village of Hamarborn. He later ruled the planet of Plarnot.

Flosi Flasolsson explored seven hundred nebulae.

Gardi Headtaker slew many aliens in a rampage.

Skandar, Velaug, Bryfond, Helais, and the Five Knights;

Aspiera was later conquered by the Malendor Supercorporation, who raised them out of poverty. However, the Aspierans disliked their Malendor rulers, because their governors taxed them heavily, left them in squalor, forbade them from joining the military, and forced them to abandon their traditional culture. After several rebellions ended in failure, the Aspierans decided to make their rebellion more informal by behaving rudely and coarsely in not-so-quiet defiance of their Malendor rulers until their demands are met.

There were four *kleppitře*, or military occupations, that were imposed on the planet to suppress revolts or (in two cases) depose governors who went bankrupt after wasting funds. Two of them managed to rebuild the economy, while two more just left because the people were considered too unruly, and ended with surrender after a blockade.

Previously, four aspirant bands visited Grosilvaur's Flosi Fassolson Stadium as part of their assignments: Kalûndos, Michaven, Labaidra, and Mäiradoro. Three of them were brought to Aspiera in a tour to perform consecutively, while the last of these arrived later. Kalûndos and Michaven were very rude to their Grosilvauri fans, while Mäiradoro was very friendly to their fans. Labaidra was also accepted by the fans because its members were not as harsh as the other two.

At around the reign of Emperor Ratirminoz, the drummer Himbolen visited the planet to perform in the settlements of Kvodallir (the capital), Thrakeld, Mikaros, Grosilvaur, and Lonkrir.

In Thrakeld, Himbolen was invited by the Four Kings to perform at the Naglafari Longship Garage. He is joined by five youngsters: Kömbiker the Igarin, Dorwachol the Resparin, Kolaren the Ulgurnaid, and Maenarr and Vidarr the Aspieran humans. Kömbiker became a guitarist, Dorwachol became a bassist, Kolaren was the pianist, Maenarr was the assistant drummer (using a Norse drum), and Vidarr was the violist. Himbolen also used his wealth to order more supplies to help the Thrakeldians rebuild, bypassing the Governor's ban.

In Mikaros, Himbolen performed for the locals and the nearby hovidre trees. The trees screamed with their humanoid heads, and their enraged howls were used as background music.

In Grosilvaur, Maenarr (who worked as a bus driver there) brought him to his apartment and his places in a brief tour across the city, before moving on to perform at the Valkoll Stadium where he met his friends, Pataika, Droneras, Oril, and Milvaidra. After the performance, Himbolen was challenged by the warlord Grandar to duel with him with axes. He was told to refuse him and shoot Grandar, but after the murderer kept rejecting his offers, he accepted the duel. Himbolen's regeneration and shapeshifting helped him survive the murderer's blows, shocking his enemy as the alien hid his wounded arm to imitate the god Tyr. Grandar tried to kill Himbolen, but the alien cut off his head, shaming him for his brutality showing the cowardice within himself.

### Mennland

* Kvodallir - Capital
	+ Hvitlandir Castle - a popular site for climbers who scale its white walls.
	+ Cathedral of the Æsir - has stained glass windows depicted the heroic deeds of Thor and other Norse heroes.
		- Also notorious for a single *hovidre* tree that screamed for eight years before it was replanted in front of the Cathedral as a tourist attraction. It was known as Hugarloss, or "Mindless".
* Thrakeld - City of the Four Kings. Southwest of the capital. The lack of fighting and the cooperation between the four kings' subjects made it more stable than other towns, resulting in the construction of two spaceports.
	+ Naglafari Longship Garage - builds longships from local timber that are delivered and sold to other planets.
* Mikaros - Home of the Trees that Grow Heads, the Hövidre trees. One particular forest was used for target practice, and its screams gave it the name "Vadhiskor" (Forest of Noise).
* Króndatlor - a small town to the west or northwest of Grosilvaur. Kombiker planned to form a rock band with his friends there.
* Grosilvaur - City of Gold. It was raided by nearby locals that were envious of the city's wealth, and who were angry over the city people's poor treatment of their people. It has four wards: the east and north wards are the most dangerous wards.
	+ Holmgangs, deadly duels used to resolve even little quarrels, are legal in this city.
	+ The Silent Owl - a black-themed cafe at the southern part of the town.
	+ Dreskari District - a sparsely-populated, abandoned district inhabited by poorer people and outlaws. Notorious for wandering murderers and duellists.
	+ Croquet Field
	+ Ferronoa Bus Station - where Maenarr used to work
	+ Flosi Fassolson Stadium - a football stadium where musical bands performed on certain days.
* Lonkrir - random village.
* Ladarra - a town to the northwest of Króndatlor. It has a piano store where Kolaren used to work in.
* Krindaron - a province along the equator, to the east of Grosilvaur and to the south of Eldemund.
* Eldemund - an easterly region along the equator.
* Hamarborn - a village burned by the army of Tyrant Teklox. During Malendor rule, it was rebuilt as a spaceport.

### Other locations

* Jedalgar - a nearby planet dedicated to Heimdall. Unlike the Aspierans, Jedalgar is orderly and disciplined.

## Politics

The highest authority in Aspiera is the Malendor governor of the planet. Below him, dozens of kings and jarls ruled over their specific towns, and they elected a *stiord* to represent their issues before the governor.

### High Kings of Galdefron, later Aspeira

* Laudara Galdefroni - first emperor of Galdefron and Aspiera. Venerated as a god after his death.
* Asebrand - during his reign, the Valgetans and Teklox invaded his planet.
* Norusar - unified the planet.
* Flosi Flasolsson - explored the Galaxy and marked seven hundred nebulae in his star chart.
* Veltar - kept a slave empire.

### Lesser rulers of Aspiera

The four kings of Thrakeld were the descendants of a minor alliance. They are:

* Arik ‘Yellowbeard’ Zoldarson, Hunter-King of the Northwest
* Olrik ‘Redbeard’ Lafarrnor, Harbour-master of the Southwest
* Herleif ‘Bluebeard’ Olöndrax, Hoard-lord of the Southeast. The Olöndrax Clan keeps a collection of gold, and funded many projects to improve the Thrakeldians' living conditions
* Fenris ‘Blackbeard’ Olarzond, Wolf-lord of the Northeast. He keeps a collection of dogs.

* Odaltar - the mayor of Grosilvaur.

In Aspiera, "drönti" (feminine: dröntira) means "sir", used to address superiors and leaders. A king is known as a rikor.

## Society

### Violence

The Aspierans were known for their vulgarity and rudeness: much of it was done as a rebellion against the Malendor authorities and out of grief for their pirate empire. The Malendor governors tolerated their poor attitude and displayed it to the whole Supercorporation as a tourist attraction and a laughingstock.

Many Aspieran men and teenage boys loved to brawl, as long as it only led to injury and not death so that they can continue fighting. This led to a widespread form of militarism where many Aspierans sought to join the Malendor corporate military for people to kill and fight with, but they often get refused due to the overwhelming number of applications or to laugh at their anger at being rejected. However, some men (and women) wander around towns, issuing challenges to other men to fight in deadly duels known as *holmgangs*, and murdering them on the spot if they were refused. This has become a public hazard in some towns that led to the arrest or death of the dueller, while other towns tolerated them as targets of public mockery or simply to kill anyone targeted by bullies.

Celebrities are often "welcomed" with curses, yelling rude words, and tossing cans at them. In fact, some people intentionally go there to collect cans from the infuriated locals.

### Social ills

Alcoholism is a widespread social ill in Aspiera, as many locals were influenced by stereotypes of their own people as a "glamourous way of life". They also allowed others to make fun of them as long as it led to a good brawl. To combat this and avoid unnecessary deaths and suffering, some towns built schools, gyms, and community centres to divert people away from alcohol and the military to take up better hobbies.

Driven by anger from mistreatment under the Malendor authorities, and shame from the loss of their pirate empire, people in many villages and cities became "*keldalar*", raiders that attack other settlements, especially richer settlements. In some cities, like Grosilvaur, *keldalar* were allowed to work, but due to their origins from the raider settlements, they tend to be abused by the locals, or even murdered. Other cities attempted reconciliation with the *keldalar*, seeking to rebuild the planet in a more peaceful path.

"Viking" (vikigor) is a slur used against rural Aspierans, especially *keldalar* men and women. Originally referring to a sort of pirate raider, now it simply means "murderer".

### Polygamy

Polygamy is considered normal in Aspieran culture, as long as it's several partners of the opposite gender sharing one partner. In order for such multiple marriages to be recognised in Aspieran law, the multiple partners must initiate the relationship, not the one partner. This was part of an older norm when large households were encouraged to populate the planet. A man with several wives, or even a woman with several husbands, is considered lucky in Aspieran culture, especially because such relationships managed to stay together for decades. However, the Malendor and Lysandrean authorities considered this to be uncivilised, and attempted to remove the practice.

## Religion

See also: Freyrgardian mythology

Aspiera's patron god is Tyr, known locally as Tizor or Tioz.

Nastór is Aspiera's equivalent of "Nastrond", the hell that awaits the worst people.

### Norse gods

* Tizor - Tyr, lord of war
	+ Although Tyr is the god of war, he is also worshipped by the Aspierans and related peoples as a god of honour and chivalry. This aspect is also used by more-diplomatic groups to turn their people away from violence, towards improving other people and themselves.
	+ A popular folk dance in Aspiera is about Tyr teaching Forseti, Baldr's son and the god of justice, nineteen important lessons to encourage people to be fair. They called it the Nineteen Bows.
* Zorin - Odin, the King of the Gods
	+ Skalpey - The Reaper; lord of oblivion
	+ Thusil - The Great Teacher
	+ Jolkarul - Lord of Gifts
	+ Vantarul - Lord of Mysteries
	+ Runavakar - Prime Mover of the Cosmos, Centrepiece of the Stars; lord of the constellations and beauty.
* Variez, Vesar - Freyr, the lord of wealth
* Loskar - Loki, the Devil
	+ A common curse-word in Aspieran speech to denounce and doom the target.
* Duror - Thor, lord of just causes and thunder
	+ The red-bearded patron of technology, engineers, and machines. Sons (and daughters in some towns) are consecrated to him so they grow up to be engineers.
* Jedalloz - Heimdall, the Burning Herald
	+ Jedalloz is always depicted as a pillar of fire, or a man on fire. Every year, a man wears a suit and harmlessly covers it in flames, dancing in a ceremony to worship Heimdall as the god of light.
* Kvosir - Kvasir, the sacrificed inspiration
* Sali - Hel, guardian of the peaceful dead

### Local gods

The Aspierans venerated several deities from the syncretic Lysandrean pantheon.

* Munnar - god of learning
* Tyrsar - lord of fire
* Saril - lord of wealth
* Dravond - god of fighting
* Vielda - goddess of the forge, guardian of warrior women
* Erei - god of alien races, and by extension, other human peoples

## Notable Aspierans

* Kömbiker
* Dorwachol
* Kolaren
* Maenarr
* Vidarr Haraentir

## Trivia

* The author thought of Aspiera during 2020. His originally depiction was a world of drunken brawlers, but in 2021 he changed it to a resentful nation of pirates.
	+ Aspiera was also influenced by Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
* The planet's name was derived from the Latin phrase "Per aspera ad astra", which means "From hardship to the stars".
	+ In Aspieran, it would be "Frön jörleigan tri sjérnar".