Vauzem Dominion

Vauzem Dominion
General information
Founder(s):	Vauzem Anasaye
Leader(s):	Unknown
Headquarters:	Sorilis
Historical information
Formed from:	5 BBY
Fragmentation:	5 BBY
Restoration:	36 ABY
Other information
Notable members:	Vauzem Anasaye (Deceased) Beldroth Anasaye (Deceased) Terrin Arcturus
[ Source ]

A splinter faction of the Vatali Empire formed by Prince Vauzem’s supported in 5 BBY, the Vauzem Dominion claims to represent the true and rightful government of the Kiast system.

History

Vauzem Anasaye

"Taselm has denied us our birthright. I will restore what rightfully belongs to us, and return power to the noble houses."

―Vauzem Anasaye

Second in line to the throne, after his brother Essadan, Vauzem believed power needed to be reinstated to the Sephi houses. During his father’s reign, Vauzem garnered the support of one third of the noble houses who wanted their power and privilege returned, seeing them as their birthright unlawfully taken. His plan was in motion years before his father ever died and its fruition came in the form of a coup. In one swift strike, the Voraskel Palace was taken and Essadan murdered in cold blood. Vauzem proclaimed himself Emperor of the Vatali domain, rechristening it into the Vauzem Dominion.

His reign was short lived. The rest of the noble houses, backed by the full might of the Vatali navy and the newly sworn Empress of the Vatali Empire, Kaltani Anasaye, descended upon the Vauzem Dominion. A battle for the Palace broke out as brother fought brother and cousin fought cousin. It was a stalemate until the Quorahi arrived in their industrial cities. Weapons bombarded the Vauzem ships and their floating castle until, at last, they retreated. The day was won and the Empire prevailed, though much of the old Palace was destroyed in the fighting.

The Interregnum

Kaltani Anasaye

Despite fierce resistance, Vauzem’s forces were dislodged from Voraskel Palace and his sister, Kaltani, was installed as Empress. Vauzem’s whereabouts were left a mystery, however; neither the Dominion nor Kaltani’s court were able to locate Vauzem’s body, but given the lack of communication, both sides assumed he had been slain in the fighting. Kaltani and her Conclave simply declared the matter closed, but the houses who were pledged to Vauzem did not have it so easy. Some of the most subtle members of Vauzem’s court, like A’dartia Etlina, managed to reintegrate themselves into Kaltani’s court, but many more feared punishment for treason if they returned to the Palace. They concentrated their properties into a constellation of floating cities now called the Undelm Domain, and kept their distance, both physically and politically, from the new government. As an empire without an emperor, the Dominion’s Conclave naturally transitioned to a form of oligarchy.

Beldroth Anasaye

"I present to you the one true hope for restoring our ancient way of life."

―A’dartia Etlina

Sometime after the Odanites’ arrival in the system, A’dartia Etlina called an emergency session of the Dominion Conclave, her first open association with them in years. To the nobles’ great surprise, she presented a young Sephi, born just around the time of Vauzem’s disappearance. His name was Beldroth Anasaye, and he was, she claimed, Vauzem’s heir and their rightful emperor.

Resurgence

While the Dominion remained an active and likely threat to both the Odanites and the Empire, for a time it was ignored. With far more pressing opposition stemming from both the Collective and the Dark Jedi Brotherhood, the Dominion appeared to be an almost paltry foe by comparison. This soon changed in 36 ABY, when the Dominion made a concerted effort to turn public opinion against the Jedi Clan and drive away any figures loyal to Empress Kaltani's decrees. After Beldroth formed an alliance with Ishanta‎‎, a rogue Inquisitor nursing a personal grudge against the Lotus Resistance, the Dominion acted by first poisoning the Empress and then forging a false decree that Alethia Archenksova, Odan-Urr's High Councillor, would serve as Regent in her place.

While promising, each effort to overcome the ruling government and drive away their allies was quickly met with failure. Rather than being killed, Kaltani was instead placed into a deep coma by the poison, and several high profile assassination efforts were equally foiled. In addition to this, a false flag operation intended to frame Odan-Urr for acts of aggression was foiled by the Clan's own leadership. Although the Dominion would not be driven away as it had been before, the conflict rapidly turned from a swift victory into a bitter stalemate.

Operation: Vanguard

After months of posturing and limited skirmishes, the battle lines between Dominion held territories and those secured by the Vatali Empire had barely moved. However, the Dominion's position was a precarious one. As several major noble families revoked their support for the Dominion's actions in the face of their limited progress or risk of backlash, their powerbase steadily eroded. As both the Vatali and Dominion saw themselves as the rightful rulers, with their opposite as a usurper to be deposed, neither was willing to give ground in negotiations or even a general ceasefire. In response, the Dominion altered its plans to Beldroth Anasaye declared a new Conclave to better cement his power in late 37 ABY and outline new plans for their next efforts to move against the Vatali Empire.

The plan that Beldroth devised was one-half of what had previously been attempted, with an emphasis upon long-term infiltration and gradual insurrection over a single massive strike accompanied by false flag actions. This was seen as a means to better gain the trust of Empress Kaltani, and initiate a long-term plan to take advantage of the Empire's war footing against the Collective. Beldroth did not live long enough to outline this gambit.

Having learned of the new Conclave and seeing a means to quickly end the war with relatively little bloodshed, Clan Odan-Urr's Sentinel Network initiated Operation: Vanguard. With so many vital minds behind the Dominion in one place, the SeNet initiated a decapitation strike against the hostile power. With Celevon Edraven Erinos making the opening attack with claimed the life of Beldroth along with several of his bodyguards, Archenkova, Revak Kur and a combined force of Peacekeepers, several Vatali Royal Guardsmen and members of the Knights of Urr stormed the facility where the Conclave was being held. The Dominion leaders who attempted to flee found their routes cut off by Tython Squadron, who destroyed multiple transports before they could lift off.

Simultaneous efforts were repeated across the Kiast system, rapidly ending the Dominion's capacity to coordinate its efforts and maintain any coherent leadership. Within 48 hours of the operation, the Dominion was quickly forced into retreat and its remaining command hierarchy were driven into hiding.

Arcturus' Raiders

Seeking to capitalize on the abrupt end to the war, the Vatali Empire initiated a series of hunting efforts and mass purges. With their command structure destroyed, this proved to be an easy effort, and the bulk of the Empire's activities were soon shifted toward rebuilding following the war. The following two years went without any sign of Dominion activity, and the group was thought to have been entirely destroyed. This changed during the formation of the Quorahi Nation and its associated uprisings. A Dominion Commodore, Terrin Arcturus, approached the leaders of the movement and offered his forces in support of their operations. Along with officers to train their militias and the strength of the armies he had gathered, Arcturus also supplied them with a spy network to keep watch on the Empress. This revealed that one of their number, Mayor Jalan, had entered private talks with the Empress and emboldened them to formally declare the founding of the Quorahi Nation.

While the Vatali were swift to acknowledge the threat posed by Arcturus' support and of his ship, the Storm, they were nevertheless ill-prepared for the attack. Directly targeting the Palace with waves of fighters, the Dominion troops were able to support the uprising through a bloody series of indiscriminate bombings before landing troops. Personally leading one of the assaults, Arcturus revealed that he not only had access to a lightsaber, but had a strong connection with the Force. Killing the Empress' husband, Argen Anasaye, in a brief contest of abilities, he ended the life of her advisor Teron Dest before taking another member of the royal family hostage. With Vosen Anasaye as his prisoner, he began hunting for the Empress' hiding place.

In spite of this initial success, Arcturus soon met his death during a counter-offensive by Odanite forces. Arcturus was slain in single combat with Raziel, while his ship was soon captured by a Jedi strike team spearheaded by Zanothi Nightblade and Elyon de Neverse. Following these two losses, all momentum behind his assault swiftly crumbled and the scattered remnants of his uprising were soon hunted down.

The Dominion Conclave

In exchange for restoring their nearly unlimited rights to rule over the Quorahi, Vauzem expected and received near-unquestioning loyalty from the noble houses pledged to his service. The Conclave continued to exist, but only as an advisory body and a way for the nobles to communicate with their emperor. However, with Vauzem’s apparent death, the nobles found themselves with unlimited authority to act within their domains. Unwilling to waste resources fighting each other, the Dominion’s nobility turned to the Conclave to settle disputes and present a united front against the threat of aggression from Kaltani’s loyalists.

House Etlina

Adhering to a generations-old rivalry with House Ghalor, House Etlina was once the most prominent of the noble houses in Vatal's reign, having been instrumental in the plot to overthrow the overlords holding the system under control of the greater Sephi empire. House Etlina fell from grace in a trail of bad dealings with Barad Ghalor, leading it into debt with a number of deeds needing to be sold on the markets—several of them either being stolen in the process, or taken as collateral. During the dual claiming between Vauzem and Taselm, however, A'dartia Etlina as the head of the noble house took advantage of the Vauzem Dominion's offer to restore House Etlina's birthright. As deeds and riches were passed onto House Etlina, A'dartia plotted a return to the Vatali Empire just moments before the throne was passed to another monarch. House Etlina has since been on the rise to reclaim its former prominence in the heart of the Vatalii Empire.

A'dartia Etlina

A'dartia Etlina is a cunning woman, who is well-known for being ruthless in her pursuit to reclaim House Etlina's former riches. Seeing the greater houses as her enemies, A'dartia is driven to create elaborate illusions and misdirection in the political game to further her own cause. Most are wary of dealing with her, as doing so most often leads to being pitted against another in her grand scheme.

Appearance

A'dartia is a classical beauty, if such can be attributed to her high cheekbones, statuesque figure and dark makeup. Preferring dark shades of gold-trimmed red in her outfits, she is able to blend in seamlessly among others in a banquet or elegant gathering when needed to listen in for gossip. Long, gray hair with hints of her original black hair remaining in the streaks frames her darker purple features and black eyes. Her face does show signs of her age but as Sephi are a long-lived species she appears to be middle-aged, when compared to members of the Human species.

Military

The Dominion’s military is a mixture of defectors from the Vatali Royal Guard and Royal Navy, mercenaries, and battle droids. Much like the Vatali Empire proper, the Dominion’s core focus is on highly-manoeuvrable fighters and freighters, including many of the classic airships of Kiast. Although only a minority of soldiers have defected from Kaltani’s service, the Dominion nevertheless maintains a larger ground force.

In the wake of Operation: Vanguard, the bulk of these forces have either disappeared or have been hunted down following successive purges. The group is thought to only be a fraction of its original strength, with much of them having gone into hiding.