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Aeyrius Prime

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Aeyrius Prime is the only world in the Aeyrius system with a permanently residing population, and is infamous for its long and violent history. Aeyrius is notable among the Dominion Systems of Avelov for being both one of the oldest and also one of the most troublesome. The population of Aeyrius has proven exceptionally difficult to subdue and although Avelovan rule has seldom been seriously threatened, the many rebellions and terrorist campaigns have proven to be a serious drain on resources.

The Aeyrius system was first discovered by the Galactic Republic, which took little interest in it. Aeyrius Prime was the only planet considered suitable for terraforming and a small colony was subsequently created. Aeyrius was considered a backwater for most of the Republic era. Even after terraforming, the environment of Aeyrius would remain harsh. The small colony would grow only very gradually and much of the planet was still uninhabited by humans

This would change with the coming of the First Empire. The ideas of Duzhonev the Wise would grow to become extremely popular among the hardscrabble colonists, who related to the idea of constant conflict. Aeyrius was therefore one of the first systems to support Duzhonev's forces. After the First Empire was established, Aeyrius was rewarded for it's loyalty with a massive increase in extrasolar investment. The economy began to boom and the population skyrocketed. The First Empire would even attempt to improve their environment through the use of bio-terraforming. Although this would allow Aeyrius to sustain a higher population in the long term, the short term effects largely involved the destruction of several staple crops, causing starvation and rebellion in some rural areas, although the latter was easily suppressed by the planetary government.

Nevertheless the close relationship between Aeyrius and the central government would lead to the Aeyrians becoming one of the most fanatical Architectist populations in the galaxy. Ironically, given their later history, the Aeyrians also had exceptionally friendly relations with the inhabitants of the neighbouring Avelov system with whom they shared many cultural similarities.

The good times for Aeyrius Prime would end with the coming of the Swarm War. Although it was never directly invaded, Aeyrius lost many soldiers to the jaws of the Ticks. The end of the war would only worsen their position. The Destroyer Plague ravaged Aeyrius, destroying the ecosystem that the First Empire had built. Aeyrius would also become a battleground during the Tribulation, leading to still further devastation. Despite this, Aeyrius was able to gain it's independence following the Tribulation and during the Confederation era it would become an associated state to the Architectist Kingdom of Avelov.

Unlike Avelov, Aeyrius was unable to initially fend off assault from the Second Empire and was conquered during the first Imperial attempt to invade Avelov. The staunch Architectism of Aeyrius was anathema to the Second Empire and traditional Aeyrian culture was all but destroyed by Imperial anti-Architectist and cultural homogenization policies. Rationalism came to replace Architectism as the premier religion of Aeyrius. During the period of the Second Empire, Aeyrius held much less influence and prestige than it had during the reign of the First Empire. While not quite the backwater that it was during the Republic era, it was nevertheless far more limited in power, especially since the destruction of the new ecosystem had reduced the population that the planet could support.

This minor status would save Aeyrius from the worst of the War of the Cog Lords, although it was nevertheless reduced to barbarism following the collapse of the Second Empire's computer systems. For the next several thousand years, Aeyrius was divided between numerous savage tribes and petty states. Despite this, a process of consolidation began among the small States. Mirroring the process that was happening throughout the entire galaxy, particularly talented warlords or petty kings would conquer or absorb their neighbors, making themselves bigger and bigger.

By the time of the Avelovan rediscovery, the process of unification was advanced. The Empire of Munsteyn under the leadership of the military genius Broyn III had largely succeeded in absorbing or vassalising the other states of the planet and was opposed only by the Triple Alliance in Aeyrius' southern continent, who were fighting a losing war against Munsteyn. With the expectation of total victory, Broyn had crowned himself as the High King of all Aeyrius and there seemed little that could prevent him from achieving his ambition. Technology too had rebounded and Munsteyn had successfully sent several expeditions to the other planets in the Aeyrius system.

The arrival of an Avelovan expedition fleet would change the history of Aeyrius forever. Having vague records of the formerly close relationship between Avelov and Aeyrius, they had hoped to find a fellow kingdom of Titanists. Instead they found a series of states which they considered savage, who subscribed to several mutated versions of Rationalism. The Avelovans shock and disgust would quickly turn to hostility and fighting began within a week of the fleet's arrival. Despite the Avelovans technological superiority, the alliance between Munsteyn and it's former enemies triumphed, thanks to a combination of superior numbers, Broyn's brilliant strategies and stunning incompetence on the behalf of the Avelovan leadership.

The Aeyrian victory would prove to be short lived, however. The leadership of Avelov would not allow such a humiliation to stand and declared a crusade against Aeyrius. A much larger fleet and army would be sent, under the command of general Ollyus Cramvier, who remains to this day the most reviled figure in history among the Aeyrian population. Cramvier was ordered to force Aeyrius to submit by any means possible, orders that he followed to the letter. Upon arriving in the orbit of Aeyrius Prime, Cramvier sent a transmission to the leaders of every state on the planet, demanding their immediate, total and unconditional surrender. When he was answered by refusals, Cramvier began the invasion of Aeyrius by destroying the capital city of Munsteyn with an aetheric warhead fired from an enormous cannon.

Two of the members of the Triple Alliance and several of Munsteyn's vassals surrendered almost immediately afterwards, but the surviving leadership of Munsteyn vowed to fight on, forcing the Avelovan invasion fleet to commit to planetary conflict. Throughout the invasion Cramvier followed a simple doctrine- all those who surrendered immediately would be spared, provided that they would submit to the light of the Titans, but those who fought would be utterly annihilated. This policy would lead several enemy cities to surrender immediately upon encountering Avelovan forces, but also resulted in many troops being prepared to fight to the death believing that they were sure to be killed regardless. Towards the later stages of the invasion, it became Avelovan policy to bombard all enemy communities that refused to surrender with black smoke.

Within two years of the invasion, Avelov had theoretical control over the whole of Aeyrius, but guerrilla resistance continued, fueled by both nationalist outrage at the invasion and by religious outrage at Avelovan attempts to impose Titanism. Cramvier's response was unsurprisingly brutal, attempting to destroy resistance through a combination of starvation and terror. Food supplies were deliberately cut off from settlement suspected of housing rebels and captured rebels were publicly subjected to the Titan's Fire. Ten years after the invasion began, Avelov declared the end of resistance on Aeyrius, although isolated acts of rebellion continued. By this stage Aeyrius had lost nearly a quarter of its population.

For the next century, Avelov worked both to rebuild Aeyrius into a functional economy again and to impose their culture and religion. The latter effort was greatly resented by the local population which still harbored a great deal of hatred for Avelovan forces. However the conquest had largely destroyed their ability to resist and so Aeyrius was largely quiet for the next couple of centuries.

This changed as Aeyrius recovered from the conquest and Avelov began to turn its attention elsewhere. Resentment towards Avelovan exploitation and autocracy remained high and despite efforts to impose Titanism upon the planet, many Aeyrians, especially in more isolated areas remained devotees of their particular brand of Rationalism. The Great Rebellion, started by the United Society of Aeyrians succeeded in taking Avelov largely off guard. As there had been no serious trouble for centuries, the garrison was small and unprepared. The USA succeeded in liberating large areas of Aeyrius' surface but ultimately failed due to being unable to acquire any space assets. The Avelovan relief force was able to regain control over the planet through orbital bombardment.

In the aftermath of the Great Rebellion, it was decided on Avelov III that more action would be needed in order to permanently secure Aeyrius. As Aeyrius was positioned close to Avelov and had become a source of aether, allowing it to become independent was unthinkable. It was therefore decided that Aeyrius would be made loyal by importing loyal populations from elsewhere. Populations of baseline humans from Avelov III and callfolk from Avelov IV were settled throughout Aeyrius, replacing the local population in many areas. These settlers have dominated Aeyrian politics ever since.

The history of Aeyrius Prime since the Great Rebellion has largely been the history of the efforts of native Aeyrians to overthrow their masters, with a major rebellion or terrorist campaign occurring at least every couple of centuries. The majority of these efforts have been thwarted by local militias and law enforcement, with the Avelovan army needing to intervene only for the most serious acts of rebellion. The Avelovan settlers continue to dominate the planet, with the native population being shut out of almost any position of power. The settlers hold the native Aeyrians in contempt and have been rewarded for their loyalty by being granted autonomy. Resistance to Avelovan rule continues, largely under the auspices of the Aeyrian Liberation Army. The ALA has been running a large scale terrorist campaign for several decades now, kept afloat by connections to organised crime and arms from the Alliance and Federation. Following their role in the assassination of Prince Montbar, the ALA has been subjected to increased scrutiny by the Avelovan authorities and the current ruler of Aeyrius, the hardliner Iayn Pessler has vowed to wipe them out once and for all.

Aeyrius Prime has an economy largely based upon the production of luxury goods, especially alcohol. Some revenue has also come from the aether mines, although the amount of aether found is miniscule compared to what can be found in the Avelov system.
A guest update from Masteroftheuniverse, for a dominion within the United Dominions of Avelov
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Aeyrius Go Brách.