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[Fire Ze Missiles!]

History
The planet Caenophor is located in the Delta Quadrant, a largely empty area of space. The nearest sun is a whole lightyear away.
As if to make up for the lack of other planets nearby, it is enormous; at least twice the size of Jupiter. As such, it reared a huge number of diverse species. Almost all were highly developed and adapted predators as plant life was scarce on the dim planet. Eventually, the Caenophar emerged as the dominant species due to superior intelligence. However, their ascension over their own planet was not so smooth as that of mankind, and the Ancient Caenophar always maintained a strong respect for the creatures which they had to subjugate. This respect was what eventually lead to the Path of Ordered Change which they now follow.
Speedy transport was a focus of the early Caenophar, as they needed a way to connect the isolated settlements that had been established across their planet to one another without stopping anywhere in the plains, where they would probably get eaten. Thus, they were quickly out and about on Caenophor, speeding from settlement to settlement. Naturally, they soon became interested in exploring what few stars they could see in their quiet skies. And explore they did.

However, the Caenophar maintained their mistrust of stopping anywhere for fear of being attacked by native predators, and never established any new colonies. They needed to be moving, or nervousness would overcome them entirely. And so, the Wayworlds were built - 6 planet sized spacecraft, each containing a large portion of the Caenophar population. They travel through space on their eternal journey, looking for somewhere safe to lay their ship to rest.

When the Domain reached the Galaxy, the High Council called an emergency meeting of all the Wayworlds. They gathered on the fringe of Beta and Gamma quadrants, and the Respresentatives of each Wayworld met to discuss the threat.
The Convenance decided that the Time of Weeping Gods was upon the galaxy, when planets would burn and the Caenophar would become extinct. The decision was reached that the race has no choice but to meet its destiny head on, whatever that may entail.

Edited by Fire Ze Missiles!, 23 October 2007 - 07:14 PM.

[Fire Ze Missiles!]

Culture
The culture of the Caenophar is based heavily upon their religion (which they all follow to various degrees). Like most religions, it expresses a message of nobility and self-sacrifice, but above all, honour. Their holy scripture, the Kereth, states that once, long ago, Gods walked the stars. They were not just the Caenophite gods, but all the gods of all the galaxy's races.
At some unknown point, The Time of Darkness began. This was supposedly when another races' gods came into our galaxy, and fought with our gods. Catastrophic battles ensued, but neither side could break the other. Then, the opposing gods sent forth a race of creatures, who began to take over the planets in the Milky Way. Naturally, Our gods created their own races to counter these creations, and thus, life in the galaxy was born.
However, before the new races could meet, an unexplained event occured, presumably facilitated by our own gods, known only as The Light Within The Darkness. This event, whatever happened, caused the enemy gods to be banished from our galaxy for ever, and without their guidance the race they had created faltered and died. However, this event also banished our gods from the galaxy - they could now only manifest themselves in the form of prophets, or other messengers.
It is said in the Kereth that members of the evil race were created not only in our galaxy but also in the malevolent gods' own. Eventually, this race will return to seek its revenge upon all creation, and this shall be known as The Time of Weeping Gods.

Military
Each Wayworld has its own military forces, each functioning in slightly different ways. However, the Caenophar largely follow The Path of Ordered Change.
This entails that each military unit should be specialised to a particular task, such as close-range tank hunting, or engaging enemy fighter aircraft. Somewhat conversely, it is also decreed that all should be ready for change. The army should be ready to change which units it fields and how as a reaction to a differing combat situation, and the unit should be ready to change it's tactics and specialisation at any time.
As such, all inducted Caenophar are given training in the use of almost all weapons, and instruction on the piloting of almost all craft, which is followed by intensive training in a particular aspect of combat. Every time a unit's specialisation is required to change, they are re-trained.
Because of this, occasionally an absurdly élite unit will emerge, who have been intensively trained in almost every aspect of combat. These formidable warriors are known as Immortals.

Due to the Caenophar's aversion to staying still, their predominance of infantry rely on a huge number of fast transports to take them to the action. They also make frequent use of troops equipped with wings or jump-packs, who can keep up with the fast flowing army.
These troops are supported by a variety of light skimmer vehicles. While these craft are lightly armoured, they make up for it in immense speed, and they tend to pack a powerful punch against the right target.
The Caenophar also make occasional use of titanic walking vehicles, called Collossi. These ancient vehicles wield arm-mounted weapons, generally scaled-up versions of more common firearms. They can traverse large distances with a single stride, and obliterate whole formations with a single shot. Fortunately for the enemies of the Caenophar, the conditions in which machines of such incredible power can be used are few.

Edited by Fire Ze Missiles!, 23 October 2007 - 07:31 PM.

[Fire Ze Missiles!]

The Race
The Caenophar themselves are tall and lithe, almost elven in their appearance. Almost all have long or extremely long hair, which either hangs loose or is tied in a topknot. At first glance, they could just be tall humans.
All Caenophar have a residual psychic talent, and some of those who embark on the path of war are trained to use this as a martial ability. These psykers can become incredibly dangerous, able to kill lesser beings with a flick of the hand when they reach their full potency. However, most Caenophar merely use their abilities to activate their guns.

Technology - Civilian
The most notable technological achievement of the Caenophar, aside from the Wayworlds themselves, is the Eternity Matrix. It allows almost instantaneous transport between any two Matrix Gates, of which there is one on each Wayworld. However, they require such an enormous amount of power to initiate and maintain that only individual personnel and very small vehicles may pass through. Due to this, they are very rarely used except in times of great need. Each Gate looks slightly different, but they are all stylised by the smooth, fluted architecture typical to the Caenophar.

Technology - Military
The Caenophar make use of a wide variety of weaponry, from laser lances to fusion bombs. They do hold an arrogant disdain for conventional 'solid slug' projectile weapons, but other than this tend to use whichever weapon will get the job done.
One of the more common weapons is the Avenger, an infantry wielded automatic weapon which uses a form of gravitic manipulation to propel a tiny pod into the enemy. The pod widens as it enters the taget, thus dragging in enough gas to form as lethal an exit wound as a bullet, whilst being much more space efficent in terms of ammo. It is used to mow down lightly or unarmoured infantry.
This weapon is often scaled up into the Avenger Cannon, which has a considerably higher rate of fire. Certain Colossi wield a variant known as the Avenging Angel, which sports 12 simultaneously firing barrels.
Another widespread armament is the Laser Lance. It is mounted on a mobile tripod (miniature gravitic engines keep it a few inches off the floor) for use by infantry squadrons as an anti-armour weapon, but it is more commonly seen on vehicles and turrets. It has a long range, reasonable rate of fire and excellent armour penetration capabilities, and is a weapon to be feared.
Its larger cousin, the Inferno Lance, can be seen on many spacecraft and Colossi.

OOC: I'd quite like to do some pictures for some of this stuff... could someone tell me how to do thumbnails please?

Edited by Fire Ze Missiles!, 11 January 2008 - 05:27 PM.

[Elerium]

Use [img*] (link here) [/img*] while using stuff like imageshack to host images.

(remove *'s from tags)

[Fire Ze Missiles!]

Ah, so I do have to host them then. Cheers Elerium.

Command Heirachy
The highest authority of the Caenophar are the High Lords. They are five of the wisest, most experienced (vis. oldest) subjects the Caenophar have to offer. The High Lords make any decisions concerning the entire race, or a large portion thereof.
The Caenophar tend to hold a deep respect for the High Lords, as they have earned their positions through ability rather than birth.

Below them, there are the leaders of each Wayworld. During peace-time, each of the six Wayworlds is lead by an elected Waylord. He or she is elected by a committee of representatives, each of which is elected by their constituents. All of the Waylords major decisions must pass through and be verified by this committee.

During times of war, the highest power in each Wayworld is the Warmaster. He is the supreme commander of all a Wayworld's military forces, and attains this rank by being the best there is. A Wayworld's Warmaster is selected from either Generalship or the Admiralty. His decisions tend to be arbitrary as war is no time for discussion, but major initiatives must be verified by eight of his ten Generals and Admirals. The Warmaster also has personal command of the Immortals, who act as his bodyguards and an élite strike force.
The five Generals act as the Warmaster's adjutants, each in command of approximately one fifth (or all of one particular aspect) of the Wayworld's armed forces. This is split into four detachments - 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th - which give a rough indication of how élite the unit is. The Generals often preside over the battlefield itself, while the Warmaster co-ordinates his master stroke from a higher vantage point.
They are equal in rank to, but seperate from, the Admirals. These five command the fleets in a similar fashion to how the Generals command the armies. Whilst the Generals and the Admirals are not answerable to one another, they are all answerable to the Warmaster, and unless his decision is vetoed by the Military Council, they obey his will.

The Wayworlds
Wayworld --> Warmaster --> Other significant characters

1. Lo'rassia --> Illyriel --> General Kaelis, Warrior Kalmor
2. Kor'Atia --> Lanthor -->
3. Cass'elia --> Essiel --> Captain Lantis
4. E'Calar --> Xenthis -->
5. Ne'theresia --> Tarradeth --> Admiral Cral'zath, Immortal Cherubael
6. Mal'erichor --> Khala -->

OOC: I'll add any other guys as they come up

Edited by Fire Ze Missiles!, 12 January 2008 - 07:45 PM.

[Fire Ze Missiles!]

Starships
The space-faring vessels of the Caenophar are typical of all things the race produces - smooth, sleek and very good at their job. Excluding the Wayworlds, which were constructed with a totally different idea in mind, even the largest of Caenophite ships follow this general design. All ships are armed, in case of attack by those who would prey on the bounties of the Caenophar. Hidden or disguised gun turrets in sunken grooves are common, so a vessel's strength often cannot be truly gauged until it opens fire.
Most military ships sport protruding blades, usually on wing-like extensions. The primary purpose of these is to stop enemy ships latching on with a boarding action in mind, although they can be used as offensive weapons in the right circumstances.
Certain types of ship are capable of atmospheric as well as interplanetary flight, and as such tend to be used as dropships or close air support units. The common tactic employed is to rocket to near ground level before using powerful reverse thrusters to bring the craft to an abrupt, but steady halt. The intention is to avoid any long range anti-aircraft fire and deposit ground assault troops as quickly as possible.

[Fire Ze Missiles!]

The Athenaeum
One of the great, yet lesser known prides of the Caenophar is The Athenaeum; a vast repository in which all the accumulated knowledge of millenia of careful study is stored. The Caenophar believe themselves to be the guardian race of the galaxy, and feel they should know as much as possible about their protéges. Thus, throughout their illustrious history, the Caenophar have observed the other races of the galaxy in their progress, remaining hidden all the while. Because of this, the Caenophar know of the existence of every major faction and race in the galaxy (though most of those bound to a single planet elude their attentions).

The Athenaeum is located in a far-flung backwater of the galaxy, and from the outside is a near-impregnable fortress. It can only truly be accessed via a separate branch of the Eternity Matrix, which has highly guarded gates in each Wayworld.

Edited by Fire Ze Missiles!, 16 December 2007 - 02:52 PM.