HUKAT, A TRAVELLER'S ACCOUNT

LANGUAGES OF THE DOMINION

HUKAT, A TRAVELLER’S ACCOUNT

“Hukat”, they call it. I was told by Chase (spelt Sha-Se, written as XSE), their medical officer, that it would be better this way, if I learned it and fast. If I ever wanted to complete my mission with Ayrio.

I’m still struggling with old Marsi, so I don’t even fully understand what Chase tells me half of the time, but, whatever this strange human, or Chelok language is, it is close enough to what I know to be useful. From what I understand, it's an old liturgical language of “my people”. He is rather surprised that I don’t know it nor hukat. Apparently a second-language to many of my kind.

I explained to him I am not Chelok. Though he very patiently nods at it, I know he is humoring me. Mind you, for a Specter, he is quite of a strong will and humor.

I’ve been his shadow since I’ve been forcefully “invited” to this settlement by his people. He’s the oldest among them, but repairs and spare parts have kept him good as new for almost a century.

There is something deeper about the language I still can't quite grasp. The spelling rules I can learn. Which syllables take stress, when to write K or Q, those are merely habits. The speech itself is another matter entirely. It seems their faces and nasal structure echo and blow some air in ways my flat, human, face cannot. So I’m left to fare with this strange idiom with whatever mother-nature has bestowed upon me.

Chase told me that I shouldn’t be afraid of not being able to say it. It’s a well known fact that Chelok, I mean, Humans, can’t really do it. So it is okay as long as I get the syllables right, I will be understood.

I at least learned how to read well. Well, spelling out loud I mean.

Just enough that through some educated guesswork, most words reveal themselves before me. The base roots are pretty simple, but the more specific a word gets, the concept behind a word becomes more abstract. The ancients had words for water, rock, and silver - but they couldn’t ever foresee something like gasoline or computer screens. Which they call, if translated literally from the compound words, “fastwater” and “bright canvas”, which sounds crude when worded like that, but I personally find it quite helpful for my hoku education.

It took me embarrassingly long to realize the letters weren't merely letters. Each one used to mean something before it became part of the writing system. Not every word still uses those meanings literally, but enough do that you begin to notice patterns. Two symbols together often suggest a broader idea, four or five may describe something surprisingly specific. Sometimes I can guess an unfamiliar word simply by recognizing two of its older roots.

The letters for “ground” (D, de) plus “measure” (G, gue) together make the word “short” (DG, dege). As if you are physically measuring the distance from the ground up.

Which is deceitfully simple to grasp at first. Until you arrive at something like “nation” (ZAEXOKU, zaaexoku). It is, simultaneously, wonderful for my education and terrible for my sanity, very stackable in the way it produces words from simpler concepts.

I still have some difficulty figuring out what parts of words are the actual roots and which are descriptors or specifiers. I'll word it like that. Though the order of the compoundings seems rather consistent most of the time.

And don’t get me started on valency, placeness, intensity, and verb direction. Heavens, what a nightmare.

The hoku. Perhaps safer to say, these hoku, in my current ignorance. Refer to MOST concepts in what Chase has explained to me as “positive” or “affirmative” direction. Which, as far as I could research from old magazines and books and even an old hard-cover dictionary, means that ABOUT HALF of the words in this god-forsaken tongue don’t formally exist anywhere.

Sure, they ARE USED, in writing, and speech. But they don’t exist the same way it exists in Marsi, Anglis, or Franque, or even Latin for all I know. Every verb seems convinced reality comes in directions.

"Flow" (FXF, fixafi) exists.

"Not flowing" (MVFXF, mevifixafi) exists.

"Reverse flow" (MNFXF, mnefixafi) also exists.

Same word, three completely different verbs. To go, to go nowhere, and to return.

Apparently every action wants to know who's doing it, who's receiving it, and whether either of them ought to exist in the sentence at all. Chase called it Valency. The Hoku seem perfectly comfortable with this arrangement. I am not.

Then comes what Chase calls Placeness. A thing isn't merely a thing. It's also somewhere, becoming somewhere, belonging somewhere, or existing in some state I still haven't figured out. Which I think gives the language some poetic liberty, but also makes me look either uneducated or insane when trying to speak, alongside grammatical genders and imperatives.

I find Intensity, alongside direction, the most important part of the language in the sense that it produces more words with recognizable meanings at a glance. In crude terms, it's how large your subject is.

Think of “animal” (QIUK, qiuko).

A very small animal, such as a vermin or small bug is a qiukegi (KIUKEGI), but a large beast is an aaqiuko (AAQIUK), while a mythical monster is a qiukosage (QIUKSG).

I won’t even delve into derivational morphology and determinant articles because even though my notes are still incomplete, after almost a year among them, it seems pretty standard to them, of course it is. But they often get the memo when I say “drink”, “eat”, “you” or “us” anyway. Some gestures and mime often help bridging the gap, they seem to do the same to me when speaking.

I must admit that, because learning hukat seems more convenient for me at the time, it is beginning to be an intuitive bridge between Titan and whatever is this Chelok language. By simply looking at the way the Hoku translates these strange words.

I can’t wait for you to have a crack at it, Galileo. I’m sure you and Chase would do well with one another, and hopefully, give me some subtitles in my helmet visor soon.

The big day is tomorrow. I’ll see you in the desert, my friend.

Ian, sol 181, whatever year you reckon it to be

 Last updated: July 4th 2026

THE ARRENE CORE

The Arrene Sphere | Formerly known as the Luminary Combine

The signet of the Arrene Combine flies muted over government installations and stamps official documents, but its use has fallen more into tradition than pride

OVERVIEW

The Arrene Core is the informal designation given to the interconnected administrative, commercial and demographic regions surrounding Argost and the historical territories of the former Luminary Combine. Although commonly treated as a contiguous polity by outsiders, neither the Treaty of Forzai nor subsequent Foundation legislation provides a universally accepted legal definition of where the Core begins or ends.

Infrastructure is primarily administered through the Arrene Combine, whose responsibilities overlap with those of several Dominion Foundation offices and associated commercial entities. Jurisdiction frequently depends on whether the matter concerns Dominion law, Arrene law, inter-domain commerce, Foundation precedent, or treaty interpretation.

EXTENT

Most contemporary surveys broadly define the Core as the region extending approximately 45 to 75 light-years from Argost, encompassing the oldest Arrene settlements, the principal Dominion institutions, and the greatest concentration of Foundation offices.

Within this volume are found:

• 7 major inhabited worlds, plus Argost.
• hundreds of orbital habitats and industrial stations.
• the largest concentration of interstellar freight traffic in the Dominion.
• the headquarters of the Arrene Combine.
• the principal administrative centers of numerous Dominion institutions.

Despite occupying around 25% of the Dominion's central volume, the Arrene Core remains the economic and bureacratic center of the Foundational Dominion.

Outside this region, Arrene influence becomes increasingly indirect, usually exercised through commercial agreements, legal precedent, Dominion offices, and transportation infrastructure rather than direct political administration.

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

Unlike most interstellar states, the Arrene Core possesses no singular executive authority.

Political administration is instead distributed across an accumulation of commercial entities, civic administrations, treaty obligations, Foundation offices, standing commissions, and historical jurisdictions whose responsibilities frequently overlap and whose legal competencies have gradually expanded through over three millennia of precedent.

The largest and most influential of these remains the Arrene Combine, successor to the former Luminary Combine following the Treaty of Forzai.

The Combine is primarily responsible for maintaining infrastructure, regulating commerce, administering Core logistics, and coordinating many of the administrative functions necessary for the operation of Dominion institutions. Although frequently described by foreign observers as "the Arrene government", this characterization is generally regarded as an oversimplification.

Authority throughout the Core is largely precedent-driven. Determining which institution possesses final authority frequently depends upon the specific matter under consideration rather than upon any universally recognized chain of command.

Consequently, the distinction between government, commerce, and infrastructure is often difficult to define in practice.

Higher Foundation offices rarely intervene directly in routine administration.

When such intervention does occur, it is generally regarded as final, though the legal reasoning behind these decisions is not always made public.

CULTURE & SOCIETY
Among all Dominion civilizations, the Arrene remain perhaps the most difficult to characterize socially. Visitors to the Core frequently remark that ordinary Arrene appear remarkably... unoccupied.

Unlike other members' domains, there is remarkably little visible evidence of a conventional labor force. Outside observers often describe the Core as resembling a civilization permanently enjoying a public holiday. This impression is misleading.
Office districts exist, ports operate continuously, immigration authorities process millions of travelers, public transportation runs with remarkable punctuality, and critical infrastructure remains functional around the clock, but the average Arrene citizen is far more likely to be encountered dining, shopping, studying, traveling, attending cultural events, or simply living an apparently leisurely existence than performing conventional labor.

A longstanding subject of speculation concerns the apparent workforce responsible for maintaining the immense infrastructure of the Core.

Although Arrene are publicly observed serving as immigration officers, emergency responders, military personnel, medical professionals, engineers, and numerous other essential occupations, outsiders have for centuries remarked that these individuals often appear strangely interchangeable. The widespread Arrene acceptance of human cloning technologies, together with historical precedents established before the Prime Foundation, has led to persistent speculation that a significant proportion of these public-facing workers may in fact be cloned individuals specifically cultivated for institutional service.

Neither the Arrene Combine nor any recognized Foundation office has ever formally confirmed or denied these claims.

LANGUAGE & IDENTITY

Regarding language and identity, the Arrene Core has historically used Norrina, commonly known abroad as Standard Arrene, as its principal administrative and literary language. For most of the Dominion's history, it served as the language of legislation, interstellar treaties, higher education, and communication between Dominion institutions.

Since the Prime Foundation however, increasing concerns regarding accessibility, immigration, and interstellar commerce have gradually shifted the Core toward an increasingly multilingual model. Government buildings, transportation hubs, public services, and commercial establishments routinely display information in a dozen or more major languages, while automated translation has become effectively ubiquitous throughout the Core.

• Arrene Standard, the official language of Dominion institutions and legal documentation.
• Nagiv, the principal language of the Ygiv peoples.
• Corespeak, a Chelok-derived creole that emerged among the numerous human communities living throughout the Core.
• Hukat & Sidessian, by far the most spoken idioms among hoku and chelok communities living abroad in the core, particularly Argost.
• Rolian, also known as Guildspeak, maintained by the Voyager's Guild and considered indispensable for commerce beyond the reach of the Arrene-backed Lodestar Accord.
• Numerous local dialects, community languages, and immigrant creoles maintained by the many populations living throughout the Core.

Paradoxically, although Standard Arrene remains the official language of government, relatively few residents require it in their daily lives. The Arrene themselves are believed to constitute only a minority of the population on several of their own developed worlds, including Argost, where immigrant communities from across the Dominion collectively outnumber the native population.

As a result, learning Standard Arrene, or even familiarizing with traditional Arrene customs, is generally regarded as unnecessary for most foreigners. Outside legal, diplomatic, and institutional settings, everyday life in the Core is conducted overwhelmingly in the many common languages shared by its inhabitants.

RELATIONS WITH OTHER POWERS

THE PANCALESTIA

Relations with the Chelok sphere have remained broadly stable since humanity's admission to the Dominion as an extra-signatory civilization. Although cooperation in commerce and scientific exchange is extensive, historical grievances continue to influence public opinion on both sides.

Within the Core, these events are generally regarded as belonging to a fundamentally different political order whose institutions ceased to exist following the Prime Foundation.

THE HOKU & NAN-NAN

Relations with the Hoku are generally pragmatic.

The Hoku remain one of the Dominion's most important commercial and transportation partners outside the Core, particularly through the activities of the Kahiko Moku and the numerous freight organizations operating throughout Hoku space.

Institutionally, relations are cordial despite recurring political disagreements concerning jurisdiction and frontier administration.

THE SAFFI

The unusually favorable relationship between the Core and the Branch Coalition has long attracted speculation, particularly in light of the Qire's historically positive attitude toward the Saffi. No official explanation has ever been published.

Saffi personnel are disproportionately represented within salvage operations, brokerage services, independent commerce, and frontier logistics.

Official Arrene attitudes toward the Coalition are generally favorable, though often tempered by concerns regarding jurisdictional ambiguity and informal clan networks.

THE QIRE

Foundation records recognize the continued participation of Qire offices within the Dominion. Public documentation concerning their responsibilities, internal organization, and decision-making processes remains limited.

Higher Foundation intervention is historically infrequent.

Compliance, however, is effectively universal.

The Chelok Empire

Last updated: July 3rd 2026

THE PANCALESTIA

The Human Sphere | The Chelok Empire

When seen from Argost, the Pankal sits right northeast of the Hoku Expanse stars in the sky, forming a bird or bow shape. Known starlanes denoted as dotted lines.

OVERVIEW

The Pancalestia, known commonly as the Chelok Empire or simply "Chelok Domain", is the collective term for the vast, fragmented network of human-inhabited worlds and interstellar nations within the Dominion. It is simultaneously one of the largest demographic blocs in known space and one of the most politically fractured.

Its name, derived from the oldest known records of human writing, translates roughly to "All the Heavens" due the empire's civilizational goal of uniting all Chelok.

The ambition is noble. The execution is... aspirational.

EXTENT

The Pancalestia's sphere of influence can be traced as a spheroid approximately 75 light-years in radius centered around the Udun system. It encompasses:

• 27 worlds with populations exceeding 1 million.
• Countless smaller colonies, outposts and orbital habitats.
• A population estimated between 40 and 60 billion within the proper Pankal, with just as many living across the Dominion.

This territory is roughly equivalent in density to the Arrene Core, but significantly less centralized in its governance.

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

THE VEROH EMPEROR

At the top of the Pancalestia's hierarchy sits the Veroh Emperor, an appointed political and religious figure who serves as:

• The symbolic head of the Pancalestia.
• A mediator between rival human houses and interstellar nations.
• The spiritual figurehead of the Nastiche Orthodox Church.

In practice, the Emperor's power is ceremonial and mediatory. Real authority lies with the regional feudal lords and the great human houses.

The Emperor's mediatory role is enforced through a combination of moral authority, the Imperial Navy (which remains loyal to the throne), and the threat of isolation. Any house that breaks the peace risks being declared a rogue state, opening it to intervention by other houses or the Empire itself.

Historically, the role of 'emperor of mankind' has existed since ancient times before the time of the Chord Rebellion, between 9600 and 6900 BdF - however, it was only largely established as dictatorial role with the succession of the Chord Rebellion, lead by Ader II Kal'rev, self declaring God-Emperor of Mankind in 6870 BdF. The reign of Ader II and his eight successors in many ways established the basis for the politics and war economy model that is followed by the Pancalestia today. For over six centuries from this point, mankind led by the god-emperors reigned over surrounding humanities with terror and brute assimilation.

The title of God-Emperor was abolished in the year 620 of the Ecumenical Era (the imperial calendar), by the first Veroh Emperor, Samir edh-Mamed of House Naminai, who among other reforms, changed the capital of the empire to his homeworld, the planet Khemedra. Though reforms throughout the following 140 reigns would move it back to the Greater Sun Throne in Dheghom, where it all began.

In the current year of 18,254 CE, the Veroh Emperor is Abukkam 'Mameddishal' Naminai VII, of House Naminai (in power since 18,186 CE, year 10,406 of the Ecumenical Calendar).

THE HOUSES

The Pancalestia is fundamentally a feudal coalition of powerful houses, each controlling:

• One or more star systems.
• Private fleets and armies.
• Economic monopolies and trade routes.

These houses are in a state of permanent, low-intensity competition, mediated by a carefully maintained nuclear stalemate - in fact the current astropolitical status quo follows from a series of nuclear blackmail relationships and non-first strike treaties. Although rare, the sparse use of nuclear weapons as an escalation of conflict with multiple sides has been noted many times across history, just not veering towards total annihilation because of the Empire's mediating powers.

The threat of mutually assured destruction keeps full scale warfare at bay, but it also prevents meaningful unification. No house trusts another enough to disarm, and the Emperor's role is largely that of a referee ensuring the standoff does not escalate into catastrophe.

Currently, the Pancalestia is organized into nine great houses across the core, with ten lesser former imperial protectorates and ten minor polities across the human frontier up to a distance of ~75 light-years from Udun.

INTERSTELLAR NATIONS

Not all human worlds acknowledge the Emperor's authority. The distinction between a "house" and an "interstellar nation" is primarily one of recognition:

• Houses are internally recognized entities that accept the Emperor's mediatory role.
• Interstellar nations are human polities that have rejected or been excluded from this framework, existing as outsiders to be convinced, courted, or contained.

The exact number of interstellar nations remains disputed, with estimates ranging from twenty to eighty depending on whether powerful clans and corporate entities are counted alongside proper states. The Pancalestia's official position is deliberately vague; acknowledging too many nations would legitimize their independence, while acknowledging too few would invite questions about the Empire's own legitimacy.

CULTURE & SOCIETY

THE NASTICHE CHURCH

The Nastiche faith is the dominant creed among the Chelok, built around a central exodus narrative.

According to its sacred texts, humanity originated on a distant mythical paradise world, The Cradle, from which they were scattered across the stars for their reign was immersed in sin. The story generally takes many forms and many interpretations of the original sin, but the Orthodox imperial sect of the Nastiche Church emphasizes:

• The sacredness of human unity and personhood.
• The duty to preserve human history and purity.
• The Spark Veto, the principle of researching but not practicing knowledge unless essential for survival.
• The eventual rediscovery and return to The Cradle.

The Church's influence is pervasive, but its political power is indirect. It provides the cultural and religious framework that gives the Pancalestia its shared identity, but it does not directly govern.

On average, Chelok culture with basis on Nastiche beliefs directly leads to a "puritan" stance on body modification, transhumanism, and technological advancements. This is not universal, but a widespread enough quirk to be a defining cultural trait among Chelok cultures.

Consequently, different Chelok societies place very different cultural limits on the pursuit and application of technology. Agriculture, medicine, engineering, chemistry and other sciences are pursued to satisfy immediate social or existential needs.

The Pancalestia was only able to rise as a dominant body over other chelok peoples across space because it is much more liberal about technology, medicine, and spacetravel when compared to the other pre-imperial societies it conquered - often bronze-age agriworlds or planetbound pre-nuclear industrial societies.

The period conquest, infighting, assimilation, and expansion of the empire's borders between 4500 and 3000 BdF has seen the rise of the factions such as the Voyager's Guild (ARI) as a mediator in trade and traffic of personnel across warring houses and systems. We also see dissidents of the Goll doctrine becoming more and more isolated and rich due their influence within the ARI. The Goll Unity, embraced transhumanism as a path to enlightenment, but they have long deferred the Pankal since 3000 BdF. Many former territories of the Pankal and current interstellar nations trace their origins and break off to this period in history.

Among the great houses, pragmatic necessity often overrides doctrinal purity - a house with access to superior medical or weapons technology is a house that survives. The tension between doctrine and pragmatism is a recurring theme in Pancalestia politics.

LANGUAGE & IDENTITY

There is no single "Chelok" language. Common tongues include:

• Imperial Standard, the lingua franca of the Pancalestia, a distant descendant of pre-fall Marsi language.
• Wartongue, whatever the particular mother-tongue of each imperial house. Often spoke by the nobility and upper class.
• Commonspeak, a trader's language among the lower classes of the Pankal core and some interstellar nations.
• Goll, spoken in the Goll Unity.
• Rolian, often called Guildspeak, is the lingua franca of the Voyager's Guild.
• Hukat, Sidessian, and Entselari, constant trade and co-living with Hoku has raised many chelok communities with hoku idioms as their mother-tongue or second language
• Various regional dialects and creoles.

The term "Chelok" itself is a political and cultural identity, not a racial one. It denotes membership in the broader human sphere, regardless of planetary origin.

RELATIONS WITH OTHER POWERS

THE DOMINION & ARRENE

The Pancalestia is an extra-signatary to the Treaty of Forzai, a status that positions them as:

• Peaceful neighbors
• Suppliers of goods and personnel
• A potential ally in times of crisis

Their relationship with the Arrene Core is historically tense. Historically, the Pancalestia has been of a very hostile and negative nature towards the Arrene Combine, for they used to enslave and raise humans as cattle in the core during the Combine Era. A stigma regarding the Arrene in chelok culture that hasn't fully faded yet, seen with either profound fear or enraging disgust.

THE HOKU & NAN-NAN

The Chelok share a deep and enduring friendship with the Hoku. The two species have:

• A long history of trade and cultural exchange
• Mutual respect and admiration
• A shared position as "outsiders" within the Dominion's power structure

The Hoku's adoption of Chelok technology and their historically positive relations have made them the Pancalestia's closest allies. By association, the Chelok are often very friendly to Nan-Nan, albeit, no greater relationships are noted between the two races.

THE RAYDEE

Although most closely related to the affairs of the Goll Unity, the Raydee weren't for a long time, able to discern between the Goll and any other human factions, often deciding on a friendly or neutral stance about them. Though, the influence of the Arrene and their policies, plus a historical stigma shift about extraterrestial contact has long pushed the Raydee outside of the Pankal's roster of allies or even enemies.

KNOWN SPHERES OF INFLUENCE

Dominion worlds known to belong to the Pancalestia, its former Chelok Empire, or its associated factions at one point or another and their highest level of development prior to first contact with the Arrene or the Dominion.

Arrene Core --

• New Horizon (Endreka), closest human settlement to Argost, Pre-industrial
• Hardpoint (Nizel), Pre-industrial
• Far Haven (Forzai), Industrial
• Stormport (Kaegaels), Spacefaring

Qire Space --

• The Vault (Surtirte), Pre-industrial

Hoku Space --

• Voliloshoku (Kotalizapa), Spacefaring, (abandoned)
• Niniveh (Qekohoshoku), Spacefaring (?), (disowned since at least ~2000 AdF)
• Sur (Melqart), Pre-industrial (abandoned)

Chelok Space -- (notable places)

• Dhéģhōm (Udun), oldest known human settlement, homeworld of house Kal'rev, Spacefaring
• Menfis (Khemedra), tradition-heavy world, homeworld of house Naminai, Industrial
• Irolis (Irolis Major), major starship harbor, homeworld of house Irolin, spacefaring
• Yamma (Irolis Minor), merchantile hub,  homeworld of the Voyager's Guild (ARI), Spacefaring
• Ormakai, military hub, homeworld of house Haskari
• Ishkara, agriworld and exporter of luxury goods, homeworld of house Qoramash
• Arnyath, mining colony and stronghold world, homeworld of house Arnix
• Rylli, research and development hub, homeworld of house Kal'dryn
• Ankaris, minor starship harbor and agriworld, homeworld of house Lintao
• Noivee (No. IV, spelt No-ee-vee), industrial colony, homeworld of house Varn

+20 former imperial protectorates and minor polities as member states of the Pancalestia.

SAFFI

Saffi (neutral vulgar misnomer, nonfaction specific)

Na-Shiyaa'fir (Person, native ethonym)

Um-Shubar'fir (Big Person, native ethonym)

U-Scha'hi Urs-katal (The Branch Coalition, by themselves as collective)

Last updated: July 3rd 2026

COLLECTIVE SUMMARY

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According to Saffi records, their species were already a blooming starfaring civilization for 2,000 years when the Unrelenting Force struck their homeworld (circa 1452 AdF). The invasion resulted in the effective collapse of the Saffi interstellar sphere, forcing the evacuation of billions and the abandonment of numerous settled worlds.

Dominion Saffi are almost exclusively affiliated to a faction known as the Branch Coalition, originally intended as a temporary evacuation government, it gradually evolved into the dominant political body among surviving Saffi populations. It is a loose federation of clan fleets with no central authority.

The Branch Coalition was responsible for taking evacuated populations far from Saffi space in search of potentially habitable worlds to reestablish and regroup their civilization - it took them almost two centuries to make first-contact with the Dominion, a stationed Qire vessel in the Riterkor system, in 1660 AdF.

The encounter rapidly escalated to Saffi-led aggression towards the stationed Qire crew, who worked patiently to appease and calm the interlopers. A series of diplomatic encounters led to the Qire welcoming the Saffi into the Foundational Dominion. Joined the Dominion in 1781 AdF (aligned neutral power).

Origin

The star Ou'Papa (-130, -5, -50), about 140ly from Argost - just 33ly from Riterkor, deep within Qire space.

Originally from the small planet Ma-Okar, a moon of the gas giant Ma-Humpar. The Saffi home is a lush forested rainworld, thanks to the intense weather systems created by tidal interactions with Ma-Humpar and the planet's sibling moons.

Ma-Okar sports a very large 100km-wide crater in the planet's northern hemisphere, a remnant of a theorized asteroid impact that would have occurred about 4.5~4.7 million years ago. The resulting ecological collapse opened numerous vacant niches, allowing the ancestors of the Saffi and Shubafi to rapidly diversify into roles previously occupied by the planet's megafauna. A fine layer of radioactive atomic tungsten, cobalt and iron found all over the globe might challenge the origins and nature of the impactor.

Abroad, they're known to claim very few worlds, but operate numerous space habitats and crews throughout the Dominion.

Saffi cultural traditions generally reject concepts analogous to "honorable combat". Victory and survival are commonly viewed as the only meaningful measures of success in conflict.

Description

The Saffi as a collective aren't one single species, more like a 'civilizational label'. They are a joint of two main subspecies that according historical records, have had a strong mixed-relationship prior to the collapse of their interstellar sphere. They are the Saffi and the Shubafi (common terms).

Historical records suggest both species have existed in a shared civilizational framework for thousands of years, to the point that outsiders frequently mistake them for dimorphic variants of the same species. Neither species is generally regarded as subordinate to the other, with most Saffi social structures historically incorporating both populations in complementary roles.

They are both dromaeosaurid-adjacent bipeds, with a forward-leaning posture and stiff tail for balance. The arms of appreciable length end in two four-fingered hands for climbing and fine manipulation. Heads blend sharp saurian features with a short hooked beak. Large forward-facing eyes which appear bloodshot due their hot-colored sclera. Their bodies are covered in a mix of tough scales and vulture-like down, with a mane of brightly colored parrot-like feathers along the spine, head, and tail for social signaling. Like the Hoku, the Saffi males are the most 'visually interesting' individuals of the species, while females lean towards muted plumage.

Their four-toed feet sport a vestigial scythe-like claw in the innermost toe, called a spur - believed to have aided their ancestor in killing and catching prey, as the Saffi are primarily carnivores and pack hunters, with a secondary diet of fruits and fungi.

Foreigners need not bother learning the raspy and call-based speech of the Saffi, as these are near-impossible to reproduce with non-Saffi vocal anatomy. Instead, the Saffi have made a cultural practice of collecting languages and idioms as a sign of status. A typical urban Saffi adult knows several languages fluently, and a well-traveled Saffi may speak a dozen or more. This linguistic versatility makes them exceptional diplomats, spies, and traders - but also occasionally unsettling, as they can switch between accents and voices with unsettling ease.

The Saffi voice-mimicking custom is an extension of this linguistic culture. It is a mark of respect to mirror the voice of whomever they speak to - at times even 'collecting' said voice, though Dominion laws heavily control that cultural quirk - most experienced Saffi develop a "persona voice" as their external voice to avoid alarming foreigners.

The small Saffi are generally uncanny imitators while the Shubafi are silent stalkers.

Both are deemed by the Hoku and Chelok as too dangerous to deal with carelessly, due their innate lethality and strength.

SAFFI - the small ones

Compact, avian-like biped, 2'1 to 3'7" tall, ~2 meters long, 10 to 22kg, proportionally longer face/snout. Usually display feathers in black, white, and earthly tones with orange markings.

Faster, regarded as opportunistic, risk-prone, greedier, and more socially volatile than their sister-species. Usually employed in delicate or fine work, diplomacy, and spying.

SHUBAFI - the big ones

Robust, theropod-like biped, 4'0" to 6'0" tall, 4~5 meters long, 150~280 kg, proportionally shorter face/snout. Usually display feathers in light-colored earthly tones with yellow, orange or red markings.

Stronger, generally regarded as cautious, patient, and inclined toward long-term planning. Usually employed in administration, logistics, coordination, heavy industry, and other occupations requiring long-term planning and physical labor.

Spacetravel

Commonly use ionic rockets and torchships, developing proprietary interstellar propulsion is no longer considered a strategic priority. Some larger factions still use proprietary A-M/AM drivers able to pull into γ~6, but most current Saffi tech is reverse-engineered. They are by many standards, considered a reluctant client species.

Relations

Officially a neutral power. Highly opportunistic, seemingly non-territorial, clan-based, deeply social amongst themselves, deeply pragmatic. Untrustworthy but useful spies, salvagers and brokers.

Unknown fleet size.

Official census figures place the Saffi population at approximately 3 billion, though independent estimates range from 10-20 billion due to extensive clan migration, unregistered habitats, and disputed frontier settlements.

Civilizational goals seem to be the sole prosperity of their civilization.

Hard to trace relationships with everyone else. Primarily mercantile. Most dislike humans in general. Small Saffi are surprisingly fond of the Nan-Nan in the absence of Shubafi.

OTHER LINKS

No known links at this time

Relativistic Travel

Last updated: June 24th 2026

RELATIVISTIC TRAVEL IN BtFF

In this house we don't do faster-than-light travel. Relativity is sacred in this universe - though it can be bent and twisted in interesting ways.

The rating of relativistic speed of starships in this universe is given as integers of the Lorentz factor (γ) instead of decimal fractions of the speed of light - that is, how many times the subjetive ship time appears to compress due time dilation in comparison with restframe time.

For example, a relatively fast starship with a rating of γ ~ 6 experiences a subjective time that is 1/6th of the restframe - for a 10 light-year trip, thats about 1yr8m trip experienced by the crew. So keep that in mind whenever that gamma or rating gets thrown around.

It is also commonplace to use stasis chambers for the slowing down of biological clocks for really long trips or at lower cruise ratings, pre-fall humans managed to make it work for an additional 40 years of subjective time while in their prime.

Last updated: June 24th 2026

NON-ALIGNED POWERS

The entities and collectives listed here are not known or understood by the vast majority of the Beyond the Final Frontier's characters.

They do not constitute members of the Foundational Dominion.

Raydee

Swarm

Canutans

Oraygonians

Starlane Network

Last updated: June 24th 2026

STARLANES

Starlanes are the backbone and (weirdly) pride of the Dominion's economy. Magnetic and radiation probes routinely clean up vast 'tubes' through the interstellar medium, allowing for fast, reliable, and safe hyper-relativistic travel between designated waypoints.

The original purpose of which, was to clear interstellar distances through volumes of space seeded with collections penetrator mines - sharp metal monoliths designed to vaporize relativistic objects on contact deployed during the Qiro-Arrene wars. Flying through uncharted space can be certainly done but the risks are real.

Dominion History

Last updated: June 26th 2026

DATING REFERENCES

From the Year of Prime Foundation we count backwards (BdF) and forwards (AdF) in time, each year being equivalent to 366.18779 Earth-days - which means that dates in 'present time' are given ~9.32 years in advance when compared to our standard calendar.

SUMMARIZED TIMELINE

THE COMBINE ERA, (aprox.) 5000 BdF - 0 AdF

The Luminary Combine reigns the current Dominion core until its collapse during the Qiro-Arrene wars.

Before 5000 BdF, the establishment of the Luminary Combine

Little is known of Dominion history prior to this era, historians point out that after a major unification period, the Luminary Combine rose up as a major organizational body within Arrene society, eventually growing up to be the ONLY body besides the Lodestar Accord, which traces its origins to approximately this same era. It must be noted that the Arrene were already a blooming interstellar civilization at this point in history (?).

The civilizational goals for the Luminary Combine were to spread across over 800 star systems before its decamillenium, a position they calculated statistically stable for its long-term survival into deep time.

~4600 BdF, the annexation of the Chelok peoples

When the LC first found the hunter-gatherer Chelok peoples across Endreka, they were rather surprised. Not because they had found some moderately sophisticated life form, but because genetic analysis of these beings revealed they weren’t native to that planet - likely brought to or travelled there themselves. Regardless of the truth, it meant the Arrene weren’t necessarily alone in their local bubble of space.

From this epoch onwards, we see the complete change in culture and doctrine to a fulltime war-economy, with complete industrialization of every aspect of society focused on the sole expansion and fortification of its territory. And also, the start of their signature “bait and counterstrike” doctrine regarding extraterrestrial contact.

3560 - 3490 BdF, the annexation of the Ygiv peoples

When the Ygiv first broadcasted their first deep space radio signals, circa 3560 BdF, it deeply unsettled the Arrene sphere. Up until this point in history, the Arrene had only beamed radio and laser pulses into deep space, occasionally firing salvos of relativistic missiles at the few stars that ever replied back - but these targets were usually located tens to hundreds of light-years away. Triangulation and strength of the Ygiv signal indicated they were just under 54 light-years from the Arrene capital, Argost. Somehow slipping right under their radar. The Ygiv Question represented an unacceptable uncertainty. Strategic assessments concluded that immediate intervention represented the lowest-risk outcome. If it were the case the Ygiv were still a planetbound civilization as the Arrene estimated it to be, then perhaps total annihilation wasn’t the optimal choice, perhaps they could be a useful client state.

Arriving from the nearest waypoint, Thosuo, just 25 light-years from Osuna, the Ygiv homesystem - the Arrene armada carried sufficient personnel, industrial equipment and logistical reserves to establish approximately twenty independent colony worlds. Following the first contact phase, in 3495 BdF, the Luminary Combine ultimately seized all administrative and military powers over the Ygiv peoples. The terms of surrender largely focused on the guaranteed continuation of their basic survival and cultural needs.

3500 - 650 BdF, the attrition era

As Combine exploration expanded beyond the Core, repeated encounters with independently developed Chelok societies became increasingly common. Although separated by centuries and often unaware of one another's existence, their recurrence fundamentally altered Arrene strategic planning. Encountering the less technologically advanced Chelok? Fine, they’ll even offer some of theirs for your purposes. But any culture past the nuclear-stage they encountered has posed a sizable threat to their occupation. The Luminary Combine was strong, but not strong everywhere all at once. Chelok resistance to the LC’s presence varied from a few dozens to hundreds of megatons, at times even gamma ray bombs and antimatter missiles. All of which the Arrene had already long passed by, but still represented a logistical and strategic nuisance to the collective.

The general knowledge of Arrene activity or at least notion of it was suspected by the Pankal, which largely fomented supply lines to distant frontier worlds, selling weapons and ships to frontier interstellar states to be used against the Arrene. An effort which subsequently backfired on internal politics as feeding into rebellious interstellar states. The official stance of the Pankal chelok was that the Arrene posed too far of an unknowable threat to directly face them, even if overall human survival was but a guaranteed result.

FOUNDATION CONFLICTS, 650 - 1 BdF

From the perspective of non-Arrene historians, this series if events were the result of a catastrophic First Contact case between a blooming interstellar empire and an extragalactic civilization.

[see the conflict timeline here]

THE DOMINION ERA, 0 AdF CE - PRESENT

1059 AdF, first contact between the Hoku and the Chelok at Dhéģhōm

The Hoku were already in the process of trying to not join whatever the Dominion is, because they are afraid of whatever the elder races are doing. Nonetheless, they become great traders with the Chelok

The Hoku are briefly introduced to the idea of the Dominion, but opt not to interfer.

1660 - 1781 AdF, the Saffi sign up

The Saffi, seeking survival from an unknown aggressor, encounters and attacks a stationed Elder Starship and its crew over a mining outpost. This short encounter was followed by multiple expeditionary and diplomatic ones, which led to their eventual admission as an aligned neutral power.

2064 - 2094 AdF, first contact between the Hoku and the Nan-Nan

The Nan-Nan are visited by the Hoku, and integrated to its interstellar nation.

A planet-bound advanced society akin to 22nd century humanity when the Hoku reached up for first contact. Some wished to join the hoku out of their own volition.

2548 - 2553 AdF, the Hoku sign up

A century prior, hoku asteroid miners in the Muhori system had accidentally pinged a derelict Qire warship in its flyby through the system's outskirts. This ping prompted a first-contact response from the Dominion authorities, and a century of preparation for an annhilation conflict from the hoku side.

The hoku joined in 2553 AdF, albeit reluctantly. After being visited by diplomatic fleet lead by the Elder Starship, Kappa, in the Muhori system.

2642 AdF, the Nan-Nan sign up

It took them a while to decide, but are convinced the net benefit is worth it, inspite of the Hoku's waryness.

3350 - 3550 AdF, the fall of Hokushoku

An unknown extraterrestrial force invades the Hoku space, the Dominion is unable to send enough reinforcements in time to fend off the invaders, Hokushoku and its colonies fall within days of consecutive first contacts. The Fall of Hokushoku represents the start of a period of political unrest since the Arrene have' showed themselves unnable to care for their allies against outsiders.

~3575 AdF, the events of Beyond the Final Frontier (book I) take place

[missing link]

Dominion Organization

Last updated: June 24th 2026

GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION

No official Dominion flag exists, the Treaty of Forzai explicitly forbids symbols that might imply a unified state. The Arrene Combine's signet is used by convention for Dominion-wide communications, though its use remains a point of contention among member civilizations.

The Foundational Dominion possesses no universally accepted central government. Rather, it exists as a mesh of interdependent political, economic, and legal institutions operating under the interpretations of the Treaty of Forzai - a 5200-page document about the complete reestructing of Arrene power - serving as a model for its member civilizations. Which expanded on the terms, interpretations and readings of the Qire's Ultimatum upon the capitulation of the Luminary Combine:

"Halt claw.

Halt Foot.

Failure, undone."

The Dominion is enforced through starlane routes, clone armies and unmanned fleets, mostly of Arrene nature - though, it is mostly uncertain how the Qire half of the Dominion operates, as it is deemed a 'ghost space'.

Most inhabitants interact with Dominion institutions through local authorities, commercial organizations, and member governments rather than through any singular Dominion body.

Institutions are generally considered "Dominion institutions" when they possess standing under Foundation law and participate in the legal framework derived from the Treaty of Forzai.

Political Administration

Dominated by the Arrene Combine, successor to the Luminary Combine and administrator of the Dominion capital at Argost. The Arrene Combine is the closest entity to a central government within the Dominion. It maintains administrative authority over the Arrene Core and operates much of the infrastructure connecting the inner Dominion.

Its influence is strongest within approximately fifty light-years of Argost and becomes progressively weaker toward the frontier domains.

Despite widespread perceptions that the Combine "is" the Dominion, its authority remains legally constrained by Foundation precedents and treaty obligations.

Commerce and Infrastructure

Historically dominated by the Arrene-backed Lodestar Accord, whose freight and passenger services connect the majority of major Dominion population centers through the starlane network. As a consequence, the organization exerts political influence disproportionate to its nominal commercial role, much like a private government system.

Long-Range Trade and Mediation

Traditionally associated with the Ar-Rahhalam Ithnajmyu (Voyager's Guild, or ARI), whose member organizations maintain commercial routes throughout the Pancalestia and neighboring regions. Unlike most freight organizations, navigators maintain the (near supernatural?) capability to travel beyond established starlane corridors, granting access to remote systems and regions beyond normal commercial routes.

Expeditionary and Contract Service

Historically fulfilled by the Kahiko Moku and associated Trader's Guilds of the Hoku diaspora.

Originally founded as a warrior-monastic order among the Hoku, the Kahiko Moku gradually transitioned into a network specializing in escort, courier, security, and contract operations.

Although diminished following the Fall of Hokushoku, the organization remains active throughout the Dominion.

Government Offices and Titles

Unlike most interstellar states, Dominion offices do not form a universally recognized chain of command. Lower offices are generally territorial in nature, while higher Foundation offices derive their authority from ancient legal traditions, treaty obligations, and institutional precedent.

OBSERVABLE OFFICES

MUNICIPAL

Mayor

Administrative authority over individual cities and settlements.

Governor

Regional authority over precincts, provinces, and other subplanetary jurisdictions.

PLANETARY

President

Executive authority over major territorial divisions of inhabited worlds.

Earl

Administrative authority over minor colonies and frontier settlements.

Count

Combined civic and military authority over entire inhabited planetary bodies.

STELLAR

Duke

Administrative authority over a stellar system and its associated colonies, habitats, stations, and settlements. Qire are known to occasionally serve as provisional Dukes until a permanent officeholder is recognized.

FOUNDATION

Arbiter (777 recognized offices)

Predominantly held by Arrene, domain-dependent. Responsible for the mediation and interpretation of disputes occurring between Dominion institutions and signatory bodies.

Principality (155 recognized offices)

Presumed to be exclusively held by Qire. Their exact function remains disputed by legal scholars and historians.

Witness (44 recognized offices)

Generally regarded as the highest observable Foundation office. Presumed to be exclusively Qire. The extent of their authority and responsibilities remains poorly documented outside specialist legal circles.

Determining whether a Arbiter outranks a Principality, or a Principality outranks an Arbiter, often depends entirely on the matter being discussed. The practical authority of an office may vary significantly between civilizations, regions, and legal interpretations. It is generally agreed that Witnesses constitute the highest publicly observable rank among Qire participating in Dominion affairs.

It is unknown whether additional Foundation offices exist beyond those listed above. No universally accepted records concerning higher offices are publicly available.

Dominion Population and Demographics

Last updated: June 24th 2026

POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHICS

The census work done by Dominion authorities is messy at best and sloppy at worst. Hundreds of bodies over dozens of planets and colonies, responsible for keeping count of billions of individuals, some of which actively hide from said authorities and some of which are constantly moving about.

Here's a 3,350 AdF (~18,000 CE) rundown of the latest counts ranked by species:

1. Ygiv, about 120 billion - too many to count.
2. Chelok, 90 ± 20 billion - might be closer to 100bi with agriworlds.
3. Hoku, 65 ± 10 billion - might be closer to 80bi with agriworlds.
4. Nan-Nan, 18 billion - ~70% planetbound to their homesystem.
5. Arrene, 7.8 ± 0.01 billion - all accounted for.
6. Saffi, officially around 3 billion - many unaccounted for living abroad.
7. Qire, no census given.

Total population: ~330 billion sophons.

Despite its vast stellar volume, most of the Dominion's population is concentrated around a handful of heavily developed worlds and agricultural colonies - 49 developed planetary population centers, from which 29 can be found under control of the Pancalestia, the Chelok domain.

This means that on average, there are ~1,200 "unclaimed" star systems for every inhabited world within reach.

Dominion Astrometry

Last updated: June 24th 2026

GENERAL GEOGRAPHY

The Dominion is a region of space located behind the Coalsack Nebula as seen from Earth's perspective, between 700 and 900 light-years from Earth. Its center is roughly 830 light-years from Earth.

As a stellar region within the Milky Way, it might be loosely associated to the lower Sco-Cen OB Association, as the region includes several bright young blue stars, such as CH Crucis and 251 G. Cen which are under 150 million years old.

It has no physical borders, but it currently encompasses spheroidal volume ~240 light-years across, centered around the world of Argost, the Arrene homeworld.

ASTROMETRICS (and other statistics for nerds)
KEY SYSTEMS & WORLDS
Standard Dominion Astrographic math bases itself on Ykaga's ecliptic plane around Aa Rithel, the sun of the Arrene's homesystem. All coordinates and stellar positions in official astrometrics are given in Arrene Standard, here translated to standard light-Earth-years for viewer comfort.

|      X,    Y,    Z | STAR ID     | PLANET    | NOTES

|      0,    0,     0 | Aa Rithel    | Argost         | Capital of the Dominion

|   -14, -17,   49 | Osuna       | Serenity      | Homeworld of the Ygiv

|    85,  36,   75 | Paza          | Hokushoku | Homeworld of the Hoku

| -130,   -5, -50 | Ou'Papa    | Ma'Okar      | Homeworld of the Saffi

|    98,  67,   28 | Udun         | Dheghom    | Capital of the Pancalestia

THE ARRENE CORE

|      0,    0,     0 | Aa Rithel    | Argost        | Capital of the Dominion

|   -15,   -3,   -3 | Endreka     | New Horizon | --

|     -1,  13, -12 | Nizel           | Hardpoint      | major hoku population in the core

|      2, -15,  13 | Festar         | Radiant         | --

|   -22, -18,  25 | Thosuo       | Tributary        | --

|    28, -15,  28 | Forzai         | Far Haven     | --

|   -14, -17,   49 | Osuna       | Rihuta          | Homeworld of the Ygiv

|   -11,   -7,   70 | Kaegaels   | Stormport      | Former Ygiv extractivist colony

THE HOKU EXPANSE

|    85,  36,   75 | Paza         | Hokushoku     | Homeworld of the Hoku

|    98,  52,   75 | Ninetali     | Sideshoku        | a stormy world

|    91, 117,  91 | Kotalizapa | Voliloshoku      | major moon of a trojan brown dwarf

|    93, 94,  100 | Anaya      | Anaya              | Homeworld of the Nan-Nan

|    73,  21,   76 | Muhori      | Muhori              | oldest Hoku colony, quadruple system

|  134,  62,   59 | Dekutali    | Dekushashoku | an icy world

|  139,  19,   98 | Kakaili      | Qekohoshoku   | Former Chelok colony, oceanic tropical

THE QIRE SPACE

|   -66,   -8, -66 | Qirurtar     | Wayfarer's Orb | A hydrogen mining station around a gas giant

| -105, -19, -34 | Riterkor     | The Nightforge | Qire mining station?

|   -94,    9,  18 | Olgur         | The Hothouse  | Qire colony?

|   -94,    9,  18 | Surtirte      | The Dustworld  | Qire starport?

| -130,   -5, -50 | Ou'Papa   | Ma'Okar            | Homeworld of the Saffi

THE PANCALESTIA

[click here for the comprehensive list (29)]

OTHER LOCATIONS FOR SPATIAL REFERENCE

|   80, -155, 160 | Coalsack N. | --                | Major cold molecular cloud ~60ly wide

| 229, -521, 467 | HD 117207   | Iir'rinr'ta   | Homeworld of the Raydee

| 284, -546, 556 | The Cradle  | Nam Arde | Forgotten homeworld of the Chelok

| 283, -544, 533 | Alpha Cen.   | --                | Closest star to the Sun

| 290, -540, 563 | Eps. Eridani | --                | --

| 290, -539, 563 | Tau Ceti        | --                | --

STELLAR POPULATION
While largely obscured by the Coalsack Nebula when seen from the Earth, it is possible to spot about ~270 of the 450 giant stars that populate the region (no seriously, it's cataloged.)
Extrapolated data from local surveys suggests the Dominion contains 69 ±4 thousand stars within its 240-light-year-wide volume. By type they are:

53,000 red dwarfs

9,000 orange dwarfs

5,000 late Sun-like stars

2,000 early Sun-like stars

400 bright stars

5 blue giants

+ 8,000 rogue brown dwarfs 

+ 890 white dwarfs

+ 450 bright evolved stars

When compared to the solar vicinity, the average Dominion sector contains about 10x more bright stars, namely evolved stars such as blue subgiants and red giants, due it being contained within the meeting point of star-forming regions.

Needless to say, traveling across this space is like going through a crystal chandelier. The brighter population of which serves rightfully so, as reference 'lighthouse stars' for astronavigation by its inhabitants.

This angle clearly frames all four domains of the Dominion's civilized systems, here UP is north from the capital Argost.

REGION HABITABILITY

The Dominion stellar catalogs register about 58,000 star systems contained within the spheroid. From which 5,700 systems may contain at least one Earth-sized planet in its habitable zone - its estimated that from those planets 600 of them exist around Sun-like stars (high-mass K to low-mass F) and could be considered Earth-analogues. If distributed at random, they could be separated by upwards of 25 light-years from each other.

Only FOUR planets across the Dominion are known to have independently produced technological civilizations. These are Argost, Ou'Papa, Hokushoku, and Rihuta.

Although, simple and 'inferior' forms of life aren't necessarily that rare either. A very common type of ecosphere that can be found in the Dominion is the 'Proterozoic Earth-Analogue'. A recurring frustration among xenobiologists is the tendency for unrelated ecosystems to repeatedly evolve crustacean-like body plans. This has proven beneficial to travelers, who consider "find the local crab" a remarkably reliable survival strategy.

Statistically speaking, it would be expected to exist about 40 exoplanets with an ESI of 0.90 or higher, and at least another ~150 worlds scoring 0.80-0.90 - which is very relevant given all four local species originate from Earth-analogues (technically speaking). Less than a quarter of these theoretical paradise worlds have been identified, however. Most colonial populations live in the few rocks scoring 0.70-0.95 right next to their homeworlds, depending on specific infrastructure tolerances, that means traveling 20-100 light-years in between colonies.

The densest pocket of civilization remains the Chelok-controlled Pancalestia, which have thoroughly scouted this region for the thirty-ish most-habitable planets in the region. A fair demonstration that perhaps, the Dominion might be more comfortable than one might initially deem, or did they just got lucky?