Tudari

A species native to the planet of Tudaria, and primary members of the Tudari Coalition.

Early Days
The Tudari first achieved societal enlightenment some 22,000 years ago, moving on from disparate tribes to legitimate city-based governments. Most of the cities obeyed the word of one royal family, the Emperors and Empresses of such being believed to have descended from Magnificentus themselves. The first few generations of royal leadership were autocratic but competent, with good planning and management of resources leading to consistent growth.

Tudari, much like their later allies in the Imperian Confederacy, were masterfully talented with technology and science, and with most work and resources being funnelled into research and development, weaponry was seldom developed to any significant extent. However, independent cities who did not obey the rule of the monarchy spent significant amounts of resources on defending their borders from the other independent states on the planet. Although the royal family was intent of ruling with strength in their own territories, they expressed no interest in expanding outwards.

Emperor Ewarda was the prominent ruling monarch for much of the beginning of this period, being followed by his daughter, Jaineus, and she in turn was followed by her son, Strewin. Ewarda is recounted favourably by many exterior historians, although, prior to Skarthion's liberation from the matriarchy, his name (and that of every male Emperor) was slandered due to their gender. Jaineus, whilst not as strong as her father, was a much gentler ruler and set the groundwork for the transformation from a village-based society into one of sprawling medieval-era towns. Strewin is less favoured, of the three, as he was neither strong nor particularly revolutionary, and did little but add to what his mother did before him.

The period historians term the "Early Days" lasts from 17,500 BIC (Before Imperian Confederacy) to around 12,500 BIC.

Growth of the Coalition
With the quality of cities and quantity of the populace increasing, it was necessary for the dominant force, led by the monarchy, to reunite the disparate states around the planet. More reliable technology and trading routes were established, such that towns previously going virtually untouched by the royal family's influence were now entirely in the fold. Many cities, seeing the advanced technology possessed by the monarchy, joined willingly. Others were less diplomatic.

The monarchy had particular problems with a different union of cities, who called themselves the Tudari Directorate. Some six or seven towns were all interconnected via a strong railway system and, coupled with the fertility of their lands, they had little reason to join the monarchy's encompassing influence. The Empress who led much of the reunification, Clevilin, had little interest in a war over a small faction of towns, and let them be. The next monarch (her son, Jamak) was not so tolerant.

Determined to keep up industrial growth and better the entire planet, Jamak led a huge spearhead for armament and, after gruelling war, took the remaining city states forcibly into the fold. Many throughout the newly-christened Tudari Coalition were outraged by these actions, but the squalor farmers in the fields were revealed to have lived in, compared to nobles in the independent cities, motivated a greater push for a combination of towns.

By 10,500 BIC, the Tudari Coalition had been fully formed and was now a global force. However, there was a growing discontent in cities regarding the issue of religion, and this issue would prevail to the start of the next period.

Religious Turmoil
Many individuals throughout the Coalition, having witnessed the reckless abandon of Jamak's conquest to reunite the disparate factions, were disillusioned with the monarchy. Several incompetent monarchs in a row had given light to the idea that the royal family was not, perhaps, blessed by the Magnificentus as previously thought. However, much of the populace were still loyal to their royalty and the words of a few dissenters would not dissuade that.

The monarch following Jamak, Ewarda II, was a viciously spiteful man as a result of abuse on the part of his father. Although he was less warlike and did not wish to continue his father's excessive efforts to force dissenters into the Coalition, he was much less tolerant of criticisms to his reign, and in his time he executed some 1,500 people for speaking out against the monarchy. By far the cruellest ruler so far, he pushed the Tudari people to breaking point when he began using slave labour to build his palace. It is at this time that some of the early anti-men sentiment began to arise.

Underground rebellions began in 8,750 BIC, with surgical strikes being initiated against the Emperor's army. A plot to replace Ewarda II with the preferable leader, Heneri, took hold in the capital. Heneri was a young boy at this time and his real intent was unknown, but it was thought that a young boy could be controlled whilst on the throne to prevent the abuse seen by the likes of his uncle. In 8,675 BIC, Ewarda was murdered and, with no children, Heneri was to be the one who took the throne.

Heneri made it clear from the start he had no intention of letting older bureaucrats control him and used his royal power to select five brides. Deciding he wanted the best possible chances of creating suitable heirs, he expressed his desire to marry all five, but the codex of Tudari morality strictly prohibited multiple marriages or adultery. He wrote his own codex, the Genecinta, which he stated gave him the right to act out his intent. The royal court was in outrage, but Heneri's considerable support in the military meant he was able to force his new codex on the Tudari people. Pockets of resistance, obeying the old tome, existed in secret, and it is thus why the multi-religious society of the Tudari in Skarthion's time was able to establish itself.

Heneri was despised by much of the common people, and so a coup was staged with sympathetic members of the military. They overthrew the Emperor in 7,850 BIC and, due to their bad experiences up until this time with many monarchs in a row, abolished the royal family altogether. The Tudari Coalition was now a republic, with democratically held elections for leaders of the government. The first leader of the Coalition was a female by the name of Bolynnus, and she was a strong leader who pushed society to the breaking point with scientific and technological enhancements. By 7,500 BIC, the Tudari Coalition had established satellites in orbit and was preparing for their first manned exploration to one of the three moons.

Space-Faring
In 7,325 BIC, the Coalition launched their first manned mission to the moon of Dolos around Tudaria, and landed successfully along with colony-building equipment. There were accusations by some sceptics that the broadcast of the landing was faked, but additional missions in 7,245 BIC showed the landing to have been completely real. With global transport now efficient to the extent that one could travel from pole to pole in mere hours, the Coalition turned more of its resources to space exploration.

In 7,005 BIC, Bolynnus was getting older and her daughter, Clevelia, aspired to take up the political office her mother held. She took part in several elections to government, all of which she met only minor success in as a small minister in government. Disappointed in her daughter, Bolynnus disowned her and encouraged her other, younger daughter, Jaineus II, to try for political office. This younger daughter was more cunning and her ambitions more extensive, but she could not put them into action until her mother and sister were dead.

Bolynnus died of old age in 5,565 BIC, and Clevelia was found dead in 5,400 BIC. By this time, Tudari expeditions had colonised two of the three moons of Tudaria and they now held populations of some ten thousand individuals each. Their space efforts were turning towards extra-planetary pursuits and they successfully colonised the next nearest planet in 4,600 BIC, under the leadership of Jaineus II, who had been elected to office following her family's deaths. She was a ruthless misandrist, appointing only females to her government and making life exceptionally difficult for any male ministers who managed to get elected. However, her strides in leading her people on to exploration prompted most of the population to continue supporting her.

In 3,950 BIC, Jaineus II was middle-aged and much of the Tudari solar system had been colonised. Intent on achieving the start of her end goal by the end of her lifetime, she pushed for FTL travel and the first Shift Drive was developed in 3,540 BIC. This drive allowed ships to travel approximately three times the speed of light, and it was at this time that the Coalition met the Imperian Confederacy (although they did not have this name at that time). Communications were established and the advanced technological capability of the Coalition, as well as their ability to harness innate elemental energies (although not to the extent of the Imperians) meant that the two factions took great interest in each other.

They met in person for the first time in 3,265 BIC. Ongoing diplomatic efforts took place, along with technology trades, and the Charter of the Shared Coalition of Systems was signed in 3,005 BIC. The federation formed between the two was shortened to the CSCS and the first jointly-constructed spacecraft, designed for exploration and colonisation, was developed in 2,465 BIC. Jaineus II knew she was too old to achieve her secret plans and entrusted her daughter, Seymoria, with her intent to overthrow the democracy and create a matriarchy. Having been brought up with her mother's ideology, Seymoria was eager to fulfil her mother's wishes. She made herself highly electable, and in 1,245 BIC, when Jaineus II died, Seymoria was elected to replace her. In 850 BIC, Seymoria started cutting down on the diplomatic contact and trading between her people and the Imperians. The CSCS was enhanced in 240 BIC, when the Odinian people signed into the charter.

In 40 BIC, plans were made to ratify the charter in order to make it more accessible. In 0 BIC, the Confederacy of Imperian Alliances was formed (later referred to as the Imperian Confederacy). Seymoria, young and brash, found it insulting that the special relationship the Imperians afforded the Tudari people was being rescinded (despite the fact she had already started the process) and began the process of dissolving the Tudari parliament earlier than her co-conspirators had expected. As a consequence, the political and social uproar was much more intense. This only magnified in intensity as she began replacing male politicians with females and began using emergency powers to pass laws which were wholly undemocratic.

Resistance reached its peak in 35 AIC (After Imperian Confederacy), at which point Seymoria resorted to chemical weaponry on the dissenters. Many of her co-conspirators had already begun to indoctrinate families and so the vast majority of the female population were not a part of those rebelling against Seymoria's changes. When she finally announced a return to the monarchy, except that only women could lead, and began rewriting history books and records to ensure the names of all successful or favoured male monarchs throughout history were, instead, slandered, her reign became absolute, and a dark new era emerged for the Tudari people.

"Conflict of Lavender"
In 150 AIC, after many decades of oppressive rule, exterior observers finally cracked the shell of Seymoria's well-hidden governing body and reported back to Magnus Imperus, the capital of the Imperian Confederacy. Much deliberation took place and, after lengthy debate, it was concluded that the only option to try and defeat the regime was to go to war. In 155 AIC, the Imperian Confederacy issued a stern warning to the Tudari Coalition, but, as the Confederacy expected, their former allies were stubborn and Seymoria refused to halt her regime.

In 175 AIC, the 1st Imperian Battle Fleet met the 3rd Tudari Recon Force over the planet of Jekien, which was a Tudari colony. A huge battle ensued which let to the destruction of the majority of the Tudari fleet and the Imperian fleet suffering heavy losses. The Confederacy then landed on Jekien and quarantined the colony, halting all supplies inbound or outbound to the planet. From there, the Tudari fought a bitter conflict to hold on to the rest of their space, and in 235 AIC, decades of war had taken its toll on both factions, and they negotiated a bitter peace.

The Tudari and Imperians, being the most advanced and architecturally admired throughout the civilisations of the known universe, were known as Lavender in Imperian, bound together in the same bud, and the war was thus named the "Conflict of Lavender". From then on, the Imperian Confederacy and Tudari Coalition maintained a neutral zone, wherein any breaches would lead to all-out conflicts. Neither faction ever fully recovered from the split, both losing valuable trade and technology in the process.

Independence
Following the Conflict of Lavender, from 240 AIC onwards, the Tudari Coalition consolidated the losses sustained by the war. They expanded outwards to many uninhabited worlds and formed a large multi-system spanning empire, upon which the mantra of Seymoria's matriarchy was spread. Without the need to appease galactic neighbours, Seymoria turned her efforts to establish a total women-led society up, with vile machines and horrifying practices created to make men subservient with only three main roles in life: breeding, manual labour, and forward armed forces.

Small, underground groups had existed ever since Seymoria first began her extensive measures, but they met little success and were often rooted out as quickly as they arose. One exception which was allowed to continue, largely due to it making life easier for Seymoria's enforcement agencies, was a group which took abandoned male babies and children off of the slum streets and gave them a basic education and enough care to survive in life. Those few men who were rescued by this group often attained slightly better fates than their slum-based counterparts. Some became leaders of small groups of men in the forward armed forces. Others served as foremen and even leaders of gangs in slums. The most established and worthy were selected by Seymoria to be her annual breeding partner, whereby they would be in lavish comfort for around a decade before being executed after their usefulness was spent.

In 855 AIC, Seymoria had a daughter, Sybilia, and, now middle-aged herself, began the steps to transfer power to her daughter. From a young age, Sybilia was troublesome and spoke out against her mother (although this was a clever ploy to gain the support of the people). Eventually, in 1040 AIC, Sybilia murdered her mother and took the throne, letting loose her plans to exterminate men throughout the Coalition until they made up only 10% of all people within its borders. A huge uprising took place, with Skarthion at the head, but he and his resistance were decimated by Sybilia's forces and her reign remained absolute once more.

During Tyranis' war against the Confederacy, in 1675 to 2175 AIC, he offered the Tudari the chance for revenge. However, Sybilia had no interest in straining her resources and declined the offer, although she did permit Bartherious to arrive on the planet and raise several hundred thousand Tudari (Skarthion being among them) to wage war against the Confederacy. During the war and for some time afterwards, the Coalition was mostly involved in acting out Sybilia's doctrine.

Skarthion's Rule
In 2340 AIC, Skarthion returned to Tudaria and began his uprising to take over the planet from Sybilia. With his immense magical powers, coupled with nigh invulnerability as a result of being undead, Skarthion easily overwhelmed Sybilia's forces and executed her in 2345 AIC, taking the throne as the new Skeleton King. He decreed that for one generation, all women (who had not previously come forward in his initial conquest) would be subject to the conditions men had suffered for many more generations. Then, all people in the Tudari Coalition would be made equal.

There was, for some time, continued prejudice against men by women, and vice versa. However, Skarthion's indomitable efforts to promote unity for his people did much to dissuade this gender divide from widening any further and much of the initial societal splits were solved by 2500 AIC. With his own people now united and the living standards vastly improved by hyper-advanced technology Skarthion had stolen from the Confederacy and been given by Tyranis, he turned his gaze inwards to safeguarding his people.

In 2615 AIC, however, the Imperian Confederacy once again declared war on the Tudari Coalition, largely due to their belief that the Coalition would be easier to conquer and also that having a Diabolith leading the Tudari people was not a wise idea. Skarthion retaliated in full force, but was defeated in 2705 AIC. At this point, he became a member of the Apex Dozen and Tyranis used his immense power to 'shield' Tudari space, making it so that no vessel not authorised by Skarthion could pass the energy barrier. The Tudari people remain fairly advanced, although the decades of strife imposed by Seymoria's and Sybilia's rule meant they did not reach the stage of the Imperian Confederacy.

General
The average Tudari has a height of 6"7', with long, slender limbs but a strong upper body. By and large, the Tudari are considered attractive by bipedal races in the universe. The most beautiful in Tudari society tended to be the most successful, and all of the monarchs were virtually devoid of imperfections. Depending on their location, Tudari skin colour varied between light blue to dark grey, although racial divisions were practically non-existent, even in Sybilia's time, due to many powerful women being of many different races. Tudari possessed long, flowing hair, although some women (notably Seymoria) chose to do away with their hair and wear extravagant headdresses instead as a symbol of their domination over their appearance. Tudari are bipedal, although exact body features differ between genders and races. They are mammalian, and thus both men and women possess typical biology (although both genders possess a third mammalian gland and both genders are also capable of producing milk).

Race
There were four main ethnic groups on Tudaria:
 * Light blue/Nudara: These Tudari lived in the colder regions and thus did not require melanin-like compounds in their skin. They were typically thinner and gentler in appearance, although they were the least physically capable. As a result of their lack of physical ability, they tended to focus on more intellectual pursuits. Men of this race were almost exclusively targeted during the matriarchal reign as they possessed the most intellectual threat and their lack of physical capability made them nearly useless for breeding, labour, or warfare. Their name stems from the Tudari word for "pale".
 * Dark blue/Tudar: These Tudari lived in warmer regions. The majority of all Tudari were dark blue in pigmentation and were a sort of biological jack-of-all-trades, possessing decent learning capability and physical strength but excelling in neither. There were exceptions to this rule, with Seymoria being this colour and possessing great intellectual capacity and physical ability, although both were largely due to her advanced education. Men of this race were favoured for their wide range of biological advantages for breeding, but were not proficient enough in either military or physical pursuits to make them sought after here. The name stems from what was assumed by the first main government to be the race of all Tudari, and stems from the term for "skin".
 * Light grey/Nudera: This race arose after cross-breeding with members of the Imperian Confederacy between Nudara-race individuals and the predominantly dark-grey skinned Imperians. They were stronger and more durable than the majority of Tudari as a result of inheriting Imperian toughness, although they were also shorter and more muscular as a result. Tuderi-race individuals were adored for their especially beautiful appearances, although the difficulties of interspecies breeding meant that genetic defects were common in individuals not given sufficient care. When communication was cut off with the Imperian Confederacy, those Tuderi males left behind were prized and cherished by women who found them to be ideal breeding partners. The name for this race stems from the Tudari word for "new".
 * Dark grey/Tuder: This race was a result of either two Nuderi breeding and producing a child whose recessive gene for skin colour activated, or when Nuderi bred with Tudar individuals. They were the most physically capable as a result of inheriting the most biology from their interspecies cousins, and had the deepest rooted elemental powers. Sybilia was notably of this race. The Tuderi males were prized as fierce lovers by powerful women, although their more complex biology rarely produced suitable heirs and so they were mostly used for entertainment, and then discarded. The name for their race stems from the Tudari word for "mixed".

Men
Male Tudari were the tallest and generally least muscular (although they possessed natural bulk due to their larger bone structure). They grew short hair or none at all, and their mammalians rarely grew to a noticeable size. Some exceptions to this rule existed-this individuals were known as 'dual-kin' and possessed the biological capacity for provide milk for children. This particular sub-sect of men were sought after by women who wanted what was considered a mundane and monotonous task to be passed on to someone else. They possess a natural lifespan of around 300 ICs (Imperian Cycles), although this fluctuated throughout history. In the Early Days period, all lifespans were reduced due to lesser technology and they tended to live for around 200 ICs. In the Space-Faring period, before the Independence Period, they lived for 350 ICs. In the matriarchal period, the lifespan varied significantly between races. Nudara lived for as little as 50 ICs due to a lack of usefulness, whereas the highly-sought after Nudera and Tuder could, in some cases, live as long as 500 ICs, if well maintained. Under Skarthion's rule, most males reach their 450th IC with little problems, due to the technology his society possesses.

Women
Women Tudari were shorter, but more muscular (although their thinness often failed to give off this appearance to other individuals). They generally possessed smaller mammalians than other bipedal races as there was less of a biological divide between men and women. They were not able to become 'dual-kin', although some women did fail to produce any milk, with fewer still being born without their third mammalian. They tended to live for 350 ICs naturally, and, as with men, this fluctuated throughout the periods. At their lowest, they tended to survive for 250 ICs. At their highest, some could transcend their 900th IC. Under Skarthion's rule, due to the equal distribution of healthcare and less prioritisation, they tend to live until their 500th or 550th IC.

Monarchs
The royal family (which Jaineus II, Seymoria, and Sybilia all had biological relation to) possessed far superior biology to the average Tudari as a result of the first Monarch having been bred from a Tudari and a devolved Magnificentus. They tended to live for thousands of ICs as a result, although their haphazard biology meant that there was no defined amount of time a Monarch could live for. In children, the Monarch gene was always dominant. With the death of Sybilia, there are no longer any Monarchs or those with Monarch genetics.

General
Tudari technological advancement is second only to the Imperian Confederacy. As one of the first races to arise as a capable society, they began their first forays into technology very early on. They originally equalled the Confederacy in progress, both with spacecraft and quality-of-life improvements, but the Matriarchal period slowed their progress as a result of the ensuing turmoil and the Conflict of Lavender destroyed a significant amount of the Tudari's progress. Tudari were typically quite well-off and this meant that the majority of households possessed devices which gave the a good quality of life.

Medicine
Medical technology was sufficiently advanced by Seymoria's time that expensive techniques, at the significant disadvantage of men, could be used to sustain women for up to nine hundred ICs. Disease was almost non-existent from 6,000 BIC onwards due to the Tudari's naturally very resistant biology, so the few diseases that did evolve often had to rely on the weaker organisms (as the majority of species on Tudaria also had strong immune systems). By Skarthion's rule, an equal spread of medical aid towards both genders meant that most Tudari were able to live to their 500th IC.

Military
Tudari military technology was not advanced as quickly as the Imperian Confederacy's, with the Tudari instead focusing on science and more common technology. They had little need for weapons of mass destruction early on, but by Seymoria's time on the throne they had a formidable military primarily made up of legions of poorly armed males, with women serving in more well-equipped battalions and as officers. Nuclear (and beyond) weaponry was founded in the Conflict of Lavender and used to great effect from then on.

Early Days
Early on, Tudari society was primarily focused on unifying disparate groups and tribes and expanding their influence and technology. Early society was fragmented and there were numerous independent states all vying for control of other parts of land, primarily belonging to the largest faction led by the Monarch. The people under the Monarch were, generally, in a better position than those under independent rule-although the royal family was generally autocratic, they were not particularly cruel until the later monarchs.

Matriarchy
When Seymoria came to power, she established the matriarchal state that came to be a proponent in Tudari society for many thousands of cycles after. The Imperian Confederacy made it clear such action could not be tolerated, and the ensuing war brought ruin to many locations in the Tudari Coalition. There were frequent rebellions under the matriarchy but they were often put down and the rebels rooted out.

Skarthion's Rule
For a period of one generation after Skarthion overthrew Sybilia and took the throne as the Skeleton King, women who had not made their loyalties clear to Skarthion were forced into the same conditions as the men of the matriarchy had been. When this generational period ended, every woman and man after that was given equal treatment and opportunities. The Tudari people (especially the men) adored Skarthion as he was a wise, intelligent, and efficient leader who brought numerous technological improvements to the Coalition. They also despised the Confederacy for threatening their king's rule.