Time for another Galaxy Ascendant lore post! More ships/ship classes will be following, but I wanted to do something a bit different. Also, I am looking int options for concept art for ships, so I think that’s an alright reason to wait a bit longer for that. I’ve also just realized that it’d probably be fun to also commission emblems for the different factions/organizations, etc that I’ll be talking about as well. Something else to look forward to, down the line!

That taken care of, on to the lore.

 

The Talvostan Union

 

Organization Type: Republic
Head of State: Premier (Currently: Volistar Nevias a’Vohkivar)
Legislative Branch: Citizen Council
Military Branch: Talvostan Navy
Capital: Ranivantum
Currency: Galactic Alliance Durrams
Date Established: 937 BTA (Before Tyrannodon Awakening)

The Talvostan Union is the largest and most powerful single faction within the Galactic Alliance, comprising of the Vakarin, Praesidium, and Gretham Systems. Additionally, the Union, while allowing its members to serve in the Alliance’s Legion Navy, maintains its own large military, and openly and strongly encourages service in its own military rather than in the Alliance’s joint force. All of the Union’s warships are their own developed designs, while much of the military’s other equipment is purchased from the Alliance itself or other militaries.

While it fought strongly against the Tyrannodons during their own invasion of the Galactic Alliance, the Talvostans have, at least in an official capacity, embraced the no-longer-belligerent Tyrannodons, putting somewhat of a strain on their relations with much of the Alliance.

History: The Talvostan Union is, if its age it based on when it was first created as a planetary alliance before the species developed hyperspace travel, the oldest governmental organization in Alliance space. Additionally, it would make the Talvostans one of the first species to completely unify, though that did not fully happen until nearly 100 years after the Union’s founding. By the time the Union developed hyperspace capability and fully unified, it had colonized the entire Vakarin system, and, in its highly militarized and orderly state, it began rapidly expanding, settling the Gretham and Praesidium Systems—and possibly wiping out indigenous species on several worlds, though any concrete evidence of this reminds securely locked away—before setting its sights on the Galactic Alliance, which, while large and powerful, was completely unaware of the Union’s existence just outside its territory. A surprise attack was soon launched by the Talvostans, seeking to eliminate what outer monitoring and defensive positions the Alliance did have, but the attack was not entirely successful, with warning reaching the Alliance in time for the Legion Navy to scramble itself. A lengthy and bloody war followed, with the Union eventually admitting defeat. However, as the Alliance lacked the forces necessary to completely subdue the Union and conquer its systems, a peace agreement was reached, which included the Union being incorporated into the Alliance. Some decades later, after proving to be capable and loyal members of the Alliance, they were allowed to freely rebuild and maintain their own military. To this day, the Talvostans remain very loyal members of the Alliance, and committed to its security as its single most powerful faction, though there are still some who quietly fantasize of true Talvostan dominance in the sector.

Organization: The Talvostan Union is a heavily militarized republic, with an elected premier serving as head of state, and the similarly elected Citizen Council serving as the Union’s legislative branch, while the navy’s High Command is the unofficial third branch of the government.

Talvostan society is heavily predicated on civil service, with several years of service being required for any Union resident who wants full Citizen status, which bequeaths voting rights, as well as a handful of other perks not available to residents.

The premier, as head of state, holds a great deal of power, while being checked by both the Citizen Council and the High Command, and serves as the Union’s representative to the rest of the Alliance. A premier’s term is five years in length, and an individual premier may serve a maximum two consecutive terms, but may run again after stepping aside for one term.

The Citizen Council, a body made up of 475 citizens who serve six year terms, elected by the rest of the citizenry, is responsible for legislative activities, though all laws must be run by the premier for approval (and, the Council has the capability to override the premier’s objections if a large enough percentage of the body choose to do so.

Beyond the premier, the Union is represented abroad by ambassadors on a number of Alliance worlds, and in the Assembly on Dorandor.

Society: Talvostan society is very centered around civil service, and while it is not required, as residents are treated equally under the law like citizens, the importance is so ingrained that more than ninety percent of the population do choose to do some form of national service for three years once they come of age, whether in the military or elsewhere, and many of those who don’t fall into exception categories where they receive citizenship for actions not technically civil service, but that still forward Talvostan strength and society (such as sporting stars, or entertainers.)

 

While most Talvostans only do the amount of civil service required for earning citizenship, military service in general is extremely highly regarded, and it is very common for those who choose military service to remain for longer than the required three years. No matter what sort of service they do, however, most Talvostans share a very strong sense of and desire for order, as well as a very strict sense of justice.

Talvostan society is more divided along gender lines than most in the Alliance, with few females in the government and none at all in the military, with females making up almost the entirety of other professions, such as teaching, and a significant amount elect to not work at all, and focus on families—taking advantage of Union benefits that citizen families can earn for bearing children.

While they are very much focused on their own kind and society, Talvostans are by no means isolationist, and aside from those serving in the Alliance’s Legion Navy, Talvostans of various professions can be found throughout Alliance space, and members of other species are permitted to live within Union space—but only as residents, not citizens. However, there have been a rare handful of exceptions over the centuries, in which aliens who did a great service for the Talvostan people were granted the status.

Also of note, Talvostans take great pride in and generally retain close ties with their place of birth, whether of not the remain their as they get older, so much so that the third portion of an individuals name state from which city they hail. For instance, the current premier, Volistar Nevias a’Vohkivar, was born and raised in the city of Vohkivar, on Ranivantum. In daily life, however, this third portion of one’s name is only used in formal scenarios, and one is almost always referred to simply by their first name, even when being addressed by rank. Thus, it is considered completely normal and respectful for Premier Volistar Nevias a’Vohkivar to simply be addressed as Premier Volistar.

 

The role the Talvostan Union plays in the story of the Galaxy Ascendant increases in book 3, A Shifting Alliance, and will continue to do so in book 4, which is now being written.

If this interested you, please consider helping out the Galaxy Ascendant series by sharing this, leaving any comments or questions down below, and, of course, by supporting the ongoing Indiegogo campaign for Galaxy Ascendant 3: A Shifting Alliance. Every reward tier includes the first two books of the series in ebook format, and we have several Galactic Level tiers that can let you become a part of the most exciting new space opera series around–and yes, should you request it, the Talvostan species (which this post didn’t discuss too deeply; a species-centric lore post will come soon enough) is certainly an option!