Praesia

"They were bigger than us. Stronger. Smarter. And angrier. They hated us. I don't know why, but they did."

- SPARTAN-D318 on the Praesians

Praesia
Praesia is a very large, rocky planet approximately 12 times larger than Earth. The location of the planet and even its whole system is unknown, but it easily stands outside the boundaries of the UNSC or Covenant Empire. It is inhabited by extremely diverse wildlife, some of which include animals similar to those found on Earth (most notably cattle-like, reptilian and some avian organisms. Interestingly enough, the two planets hardly share any similarities in flora). Many details are left unknown to the UNSC, however, other than approximate size, geography, and climate. The only things that are known about it are the result of contact with the Praesians and their homeworld during 2555-2559, mostly within the Praesian Wars. It has several satellites in its orbit, though most are considered insignificant in comparison to its largest Moon. The only known access we have to this planet is by way of a Forerunner portal discovered on the UNSC outer colony Nexus XXIV. Considering the planet's very isolated position, its state of being out of range of the Halo Array, and the fact that there is a portal leading specifically to it suggests that this may have been designated as a Shield World, though there isn't much concrete evidence to support this theory.

Geography
Most of the planet's surface is very rugged, and differences in regional climates have seemingly bipolar tendencies. When viewing the planet from orbit, one would see a pattern of mountain ranges in parallel alignment all around the planet's surface, each range extending towards the North and South poles, and come together at each polar region as one large plateau. The pattern would mostly remain intact with the exception of seas and oceans on the surface. The landscape follows a general tendency to go from Windward, Mountainous, and Leeward, due to the continuously adjacent mountain ranges. The windward areas are where most settlements were built by the planet's inhabitants. Praesia's landscape features an innumerable amount of forests, rainforests, grasslands, rivers, and lakes in these regions. The leeward areas sport vast deserts, commonly found to have gargantuan dunes that expand over the landscape. The deserts are mostly empty, leaving only the weather to kill anyone who would dare to walk through one. On the rare occasion, underground water sources may be found, usually landmarked by relatively isolated groups of desert-dwelling organisms. The tops of the mountains are somewhat labyrinthine, where crevices and indentations scatter around the peaks of the mountains, but usually form a path of some sort. These zones are known to rarely contain stations or outposts located within these. Standing on the very peak of a mountain is nigh impossible, for two reasons: One would most likely freeze to death before getting halfway up, and you would freeze to death near-instantaneously if you did reach the summit. On a mountain of medial elevation, exposed skin tends to become frostbitten in under just a few minutes. As such, the average mountain on Praesia is of comparable height to the Himalayas on Earth. The lack of oxygen atop these mountains makes it practically impossible to survive without equipment strictly suited to these conditions. In the more habited regions, the climate is much more moderate, but still usually maintains an average temperature of around 100-110 degrees fahrenheit. In this case, it's most likely that the people either grow accustomed to, or are naturally tolerant of high temperatures.

The Moon


The giant world is accompanied by a much smaller satellite, which is still substantially larger than Earth (approximately 4x larger). The surface of this moon is much more even, and sports a much closer resemblance to Earth's geographical properties. While the larger planet, Praesia, remains somewhat barren, and contains no exceptional amount of valuable resources, the moon is practically a goldmine of all the resources Praesia lacks, including enormous, rich deposits of precious metals, stones, fuel sources, and other resources contained underneath the surface. The Praesians colonized the moon almost solely for this reason. Whereas only about 35% of Praesia's surface is water, its moon is somewhere around 65-70%. There are thousands upon thousands of huge, sprawling cities across its surface. Many ancient ruins and artifacts have been found.

Other Satellites
There are at least 7 known bodies that orbit Praesia. Most of them, however, are very barren and generic, usually being little more than gigantic balls of rock, sand, or ice. Said satellites also bear conditions that render them practically unable to sustain life. Typical characteristics of these bodies include vast deserts, ice caps, volcanic conditions, or surfaces with very little or no water available. Most of them, however, contain great mineral wealth, and are mined by Praesians to create military vehicles, armor, and equipment.

Praesians
The dominant residents of Praesia are known as the Praesians. They are super-intelligent organisms, and are almost identical to humans anatomically. Some evidence even suggests that they fall within the same genus as humans. One could interpret them as a highly evolved human, that exceeds us in both physical strength and mental capabilities. They also have the ability to commune amongst themselves by a means of extrasensory perception (most likely communication by neuro-chemical signals), though they are only capable of doing so with themselves (It has been theorized, however, that if a Praesian's mental capabilities are strong enough then they can convey thoughts to ordinary humans with success, though this has never been demonstrated or proven in any way). Their technology is highly advanced, thousands of years beyond humanity's, and even greatly surpassing the Covenant's. On the Technological Achievement Tiers, they are classified as Tier 1. The first known records of their society begin around 120,000 B.C.E., which seem to suggest that they have had an advanced civilization even many years before that. In general there are two main dispositions shown by the people there. All of them are proud of themselves and their society, but the two sides disagree in certain key aspects. One side, which seems to encompass the majority of the planet, regards themselves as highly superior and views all others in a scant regard, and are very profound in their distaste towards anything related to the Forerunners (and most other species). The other side, however, demonstrates a more open-minded temperament; while they still have pride in themselves, they don't consider others to be below them, tend to have a much more hospitable disposition, and are often more intrigued by alien societies and culture. The Praesians claim that the ancestry of their race derives directly from the Precursors, though the validity of this claim is uncertain. Recent evidence has shown that Praesia is not their native world, and entered the system with a huge fleet of colony-ships (only one of which survives to this day).

Zogburrat
The Zogburrat (Zogburre, singular) were a bipedal, sentient race of creatures with distinct humanoid-avian features, standing at approximately 86 inches (218 cm). They possess a very resilient hide, which is partially covered by quills (mostly forming around the cranium, forearms, pelvis, and lower legs). They have rather large wings spanning off of the lower back area (estimated wingspan of 17-18 feet), and are capable of flight with the assistance of smaller, supplementary wings spanning from their forearms, a tail, and sometimes plumage forming on the lower legs. They are very physically strong, and their skin is resistant enough to provide limited protection to ballistic firearms. They are, however, rather primitive and operate in tribal societies led by a Kryetar, or chieftain. Before the Praesians' rise to power on the planet, this species dominated the planet. By the year 2000 C.E., they had become dangerously close to extinction, with only several hundred left populating isolated forests, plains, and valleys on the largest moon. By late 2563, the endangered survivors of the species were exterminated, resulting in the species' extinction.



Early History
The earliest known records of Praesian history date back to c. 120,000 B.C.E. It is speculated their existence may have traveled much farther back than that, however, considering their present state of evolution. While it had been identified by the Forerunners, it does not seem to be within range of any Halo installations, which may explain the uninterrupted lifespan of their race. They were first overtaken by the Forerunners around 115,000 B.C.E. The Praesians launched the first attack against the neighboring Forerunners, anticipating an invasion, but were badly beaten nonetheless; their world was quarantined by the Forerunners. They claim the damage done to their world and people to be irreparable. This event has been passed down and written in their history until this day, and they still have managed to keep their hatred alive. As we learned in the Praesian Wars, they seem to harbor hatred for the humans as well, because they see us as the Forerunners' successors. Since their defeat, they allegedly swore to never surrender to another race ever again.

The Forerunner-Flood War
While the Forerunners went into a state of disarmament, and were weakened when it came to fighting the Flood, the Praesian world remained mostly uncontacted by the infestation. On the occasion it was, however, the Praesians were able to contain and destroy the infestation because they held on to their weaponry, and were constantly advancing and producing military technology for when they may need it the most. Luckily, the Flood only contacted the planet once, and were entirely contained and destroyed. Should another attack have happened, Praesia would most likely have been overrun as over 80% of their planet's population was taken during the conflict. Being out of range of the Halo array, they continued to live undisturbed past the Forerunner-Flood War for the next 100,000 years or so.

The Silent Era
The approximate 100,000 year period in which the Praesians were isolated from external conflicts is known to them as the Silent Era. Throughout this time, the Praesians slowly began to lose their possessions and knowledge of Forerunner technology, instead going back to their own personal forms of arms and armor. During this era, the Praesians became highly isolationist. About halfway through this period, Praesia went through extensive internal conflict between the Praesians and the Zogburrat, another species of sentience bearing avian/humanoid features. After thirty-thousand years of skirmishes the Zogburrat were defeated by the Praesians, ending in the near-extinction of their species. 90% of all the Zogburrat had become deceased and the remaining 10% were either deported to containment zones on the Moon or stripped of all dignity and forced into the Praesian army as the lowest of the low, serving as pure cannon fodder with no real training. The Praesians do not consider this event to be of much importance to them, despite the impact it had on both societies.



Praesian-Covenant War
In 1503 C.E., their planet was discovered by the Covenant. The Covenant noticed the substantial collection of Forerunner artifacts left behind on the planet and the Moon, and at the same time took note of the Praesians' military potential and invited them into the Covenant. Due to historical events (and a full understanding of the Halo Array's purpose), however, the offer was spurned by the Praesians, who then proceeded to cut off contact with the Covenant fleet. Following this, the Covenant launched an assault on the planet with a very large fleet at their disposal. Dozens (possibly hundreds) of thousands of troops were landed on the surface, and razed a number of cities, including one major one, to the ground. Angered, the Praesians declared war, and mobilized their full military might. Most of the Covenant ships had deployed their troops to the surface by this point, while the Praesians organized and deployed their navy. During this time, a collective artificial intelligence based off of the minds of 12 of the most brilliant Praesian generals was created and ordered to defeat the Covenant by whatever means necessary. While both sides' land armies were near-equals against each other, the Praesian navy was much stronger than the Covenant's, and dominated most of their ships with little effort, especially with the tactical ability of the Praesians' AI, who was nicknamed "Monarch". The Praesians' ships had a much longer targeting range, stronger weapons, a stronger hull, and stronger shielding. As it turns out, the Covenant fleet was destroyed long before the ground conflict ended, and any reinforcements that may have arrived continued to be repelled by the Praesians as the Covenant's invasion force gradually wore away. The most notable individual of this conflict is known as Praecus, who is celebrated by the Praesians as their Hero above all others to this day. He died at the very end of the war, due to heavy injuries and exhaustion as a result of constant fighting. After the Covenant were driven away, his body and armor were buried in a crypt hidden underneath a monument standing at the Moon's northern polar region. In the times before, Praesia and the Praesians referred to it and themselves as "the world" and "the people," respectively. In honor of their celebrated hero, they named the planet Praesia and themselves the Praesians from that point onward.

Praecus
One commander during the Praesian-Covenant war was known as Vastikus Praecus. He is recognized in Praesia's history as their greatest hero, and modeled their present-day Code of Conduct after his philosophies and teachings. He was an ordinary citizen and soldier during and before the Praesian-Covenant War, though he quickly rose through the ranks in his displays of courage and skill on the battlefield, as well as an exceptional knowledge of strategy and battlefield tactics. Since his death, all soldiers and officers have aspired to come as close to him as they can (and they still do), and all trainers work with the intent of helping their soldiers do just that. During the mid and late war periods, the simple knowledge of him being on the battlefield gave troops a very significant boost in morale. Though his last name, Praecus, was a simple family name -- and not even one of an exceptionally wealthy family -- his name became an official part of the language as commemoration for his actions. His name is now typically regarded as a title, and in modern usage his name means "The Chosen Commander", and has its own glyph in the written language. It would be a title for anyone to use, with Praecus ending after their own name to form "(Name), The Chosen Commander." Nobody has reached this status however, except the original, because the extent to which Praesians idolize him sets an extremely high standard for anyone who tries to become his equal. If anyone does hold this position, however, their level of influence would be enough to surpass even the rulers of Praesia, and even have some effect on the decisions they make. The original armor set that was worn by him is buried in the heart of the moon's northern polar region, and counts by far as the most important "test" to proving yourself to be equal with him. Due to the absence of success in the trials, it is believed only one person will ever be able to pass in a given era, who is prophesied to be the reincarnation of Praecus himself. Even if the person was influential and popular enough, any attempt to claim the armor is practically suicidal as the ice caps are composed of nitrogen ice, and are by far the coldest regions on Praesia.

Human-Praesian War
By 2555, the humans made first contact with the Praesians through a Forerunner artifact -- a portal -- on Nexus XXIV. At first, reconnaissance missions and expeditions were assigned to scouting parties, until they made contact with the locals. Somehow, the Praesians connected us to the Forerunners, and remembered their old hatred for them. Civilians and local militia assaulted the Spartan-III Scharfrichters that came to the planet, who in turn assumed general hostility, and attacked or defended when they found it necessary. The actual Praesian military soon followed suit. After escaping the mess, the Scharfrichter squad reported this to the Office of Naval Intelligence. In the meantime, they would be sent back to continue their expedition, as well as a more thorough investigation of political/social structure and military technology, being forced to fight multiple skirmishes with the Praesians along the way. In due time, around 2557, a force of 10,000 Scharfrichters was assembled and deployed to Praesia to launch an assault. They performed decently, inflicting moderate casualties on the Praesians once they took hold of their weaponry. The symbol of Praesia's military strength, the Praesian Dreadnought (similar to and clearly influenced by the Forerunner Keyship, but actually possessing weaponry), rested over the planet, gathering an invasion force and was poised to launch an assault on Earth. Once arriving directly underneath the ship, the Scharfrichters proceeded to initiate a boarding attempt on the ship to destroy it from the inside. However, Praesian ground forces held them off long enough to allow the Dreadnought to launch an orbital strike on the surface, ultimately incinerating a 2 km-wide crater into the face of the planet, along with all but ten scharfrichters who were still out of range of the blast. The mission still remained however, and in a second attempt, the remaining Scharfrichters had managed to infiltrate the ship and destroy it from the inside, greatly postponing the possibility of an invasion. Reserved recruits began to slowly refill the ranks of the Scharfrichters, as the fighting continued until a ceasefire in 2559, ending in a tactical victory for the UNSC.



Technology
The Praesian military continually made advancements until 1500 C.E., where it assumed a "pause" of technological advancement throughout the Praesian-Covenant War. From 1515, the end of the war, to 2559, their military technology remained the same, with the exception of improving armor systems for their troops (they had exceptional offensive capabilities, but were not very well protected). Following the end of the war with humanity in 2559, they proceeded to advance their technology further. They actually had been conducting more advanced research for the last thousand years, but never implemented the technology; they simply developed the research and construction plans, with the knowledge of how to create it when the time came to do so. This helped to save resources while still maintaining advances in technology. This is also an effective wartime tactic, as they are capable of suddenly changing their technology by the time the enemy can adapt to their current technology. Their armor had become much stronger, and combat shielding systems rendered ballistic weaponry 90% ineffective (the exceptions being shots from higher-calibre weapons to weaker portions of the user's armor), and the energy output of their weaponry was increased significantly. The properties of most of their firearms could be compared to the Covenant Carbine: the rounds were effective against combat shields, but still retained penetrative properties and an unshielded opponent would easily be dispatched with a single round to a vital area. These rounds also have somewhat of a "bursting" effect in which the energy field surrounding the shot disperses and spreads along the surface it strikes, capable of burning open very large holes in flesh or shattering armor. They also possess a large arsenal of infrasonic weaponry, most notably grenades, easily capable of instantly killing a human. Light, non-military grade sonic rifles are often used to hunt wildlife. Armor systems implemented for the military also proved to have a high level of resilience towards energy weapons. In addition to developing and keeping highly advanced ranged weapons and armor, they also choose to keep older designs as well, mostly for melee weapons (swords, pikes, daggers (energy-based)), which gives most soldiers an effective ranged option in addition to extremely dangerous close-quarters weaponry.

Army


Most of the Praesian army is composed of standard infantry, equipped with light shielding and standard issue armor, which protects against ballistic weapons and provides moderate protection against energy-based weapons. The remainder is composed of: Scout troopers, Commandos, and Assassins. The Scouts are the most lightly armored, providing moderate protection against ballistic weaponry and little-to-no protection against energy weapons. They are equipped with enhanced vision modules, able to see objects as far as 2km away in clear detail, and are fully capable of spotting through dark areas. They keep no weapons (aside from personal energy blades), and possess stealth modules in order to help them infiltrate/escape areas.

Shadow Warriors
The most capable of all Praesian troops fall into their own category. This category includes the Praesian Army Commandos and Praesian Assassins.

A Commando is the most recognized and feared portion of their army, whose armor renders all current UNSC weaponry (excluding heavy weapons) useless, is able to lock itself up to protect from explosions, and is very resilient towards energy weapons and extremely high temperatures. They are also given biological enhancements that are superior to those utilized by humanity in practically all aspects, but with a much higher success rate. The Assassins are, to the few who know of their existence, the most feared of all potential enemies. They are the most expensive soldiers trained by the Praesians, and very few can be deployed at one time. They possess all of the capabilities the Commandos do, and their biological enhancements are even more potent. Their armor is light and in no way hinders movement, but is nearly as strong as the armor used by Commandos. They also possess all of the stealth and visual assets that a Scout trooper has.

Vehicles
There is also a wide array of specialized vehicles, encompassing all necessary areas of operation. One of the most well-known vehicles is the Type-3 Heavy Assault Tank, which is capable of traveling very quickly in linear paths (though it requires an extensive buildup of momentum) and is able to fire 4 consecutive medium-strength energy mortars before having to recharge; its front end and underside seems to be specifically designed to plow over enemy infantry, barricades/fortifications, and small vehicles. It gained its recognition and reputation from the devestation it caused during the Praesian-Covenant War. Light reconnaissance vehicles are typically uninvolved in supporting infantry (tanks usually fulfill that position); they do support/are used by scouts, however. Medium vehicles generally serve the Shadow Warriors, as they are relatively light and speedy but well-armored and protective of their operators, giving them a way to traverse large expanses quickly with reduced risk. Heavy armor and other more powerful assets typically stay alongside infantry and are used on the front lines.

Air Force
"First thing I see in front of me is my buddy going down in a hail of bullets, and a glimpse of a wide, aerodynamic aircraft shooting straight past me. Before I can even turn my head to see what the hell just hit us, it flies back over me and nearly shoots my damn head off."

- UNSC Marine describing an encounter with a Praesian Interceptor

The Praesian air force is known by all who have been present on a Praesian battlefield to be a terrifying thing, and arguably the strongest part of their military aside from their naval assets. The two most commonly found types of aircraft found are Gunships and Bomber-class craft. Another somewhat common sight is a type of light fighter craft, and (rarely) a heavier variant of them.

Gunships
The Type-18 Heavy Assault Craft is the core of the Praesian Air Force, and is loaded with a vast arsenal of dangerous weaponry. The heavy variant possesses very heavy armor and sulks around from above, using its capabilities to tear apart heavy armor, structures, or even entire bases (usually multiple craft are put up to the task). Utilization of explosives and other heavy weapons against their propulsion systems and cockpit have proven to be the most effective means of countering them. The lighter variant moves much more quickly, usually supports the heavier form, and swarms the field in large numbers. While they possess no large armor-piercing rounds or cannons, or explosives like their much stronger cousins, they are fitted with an array of multiple automated turrets on the side and belly, and a single, larger chain gun on the front and tail ends that are manually operated by gunners. They usually carry a single squad of Praesian Commandos, and drop them out of a hatch on the ship's underside. The lighter variants are usually tasked with disposing of medium and light vehicles, as well as directly attacking enemy infantry. Continued heavy weapons fire will bring down its shields, and rather easily pierce through its light armor. Weapons that can emit EMP bursts will instantly disable the shielding upon impact, allowing for a much easier job of destroying the gunship.

Bombers
The general intent of these particular bombers was not only to destroy everything it flew past, but to compel its enemies to turn and flee at its very sight. For the most part, this has worked very often. They are most often used to attack smaller naval units (for example, a Covenant corvette or a UNSC frigate) or to quickly clear entire outposts or smaller cities. The only weapons included other than their main payload are an assortment of many auto-turrets on top of and below it that will unleash a tempest of projectiles when a large enough group of enemy aircraft get close. The main downside is that its defenses activate based upon its ability to detect larger squadrons, and rarely bombers have been destroyed by even a single skilled fighter pilot simply due to the fact that they couldn't detect a single, smaller fighter. This usually will not happen due to the common presence of an escorting group of gunships or fighters. They are also heavily shielded, thickly armored, and able to move at ultra-high speeds once it gains enough momentum. If not moving quickly enough at the present moment, however, it would be near impossible to escape an oncoming attacker. The main weapon these craft utilize is a massive ball of plasma generated just below their central undersides that builds up within a magnetic bubble before being released. They have a several second "fuse" before the field collapses and unleashes the plasma contained within. As such, dropping one of these from a high enough altitude would yield the result of it detonating mid-drop, which denies the weapon's full potential but can still "rain" plasma on the target if it detonates close enough to it. Likewise, dropping it from a very low altitude would mean that the field would still keep it together for several seconds, resulting in a large ball of energy landing on its target (instantly vaporizing anything that comes into contact with it) which would continue to sink through the ground until a few seconds later where it would detonate and erupt across its target zone. Low-altitude bombing and modified timer settings are often used to break through to underground bases or bunkers. The magnetic fields surrounding the projectiles seems to generally stay intact regardless of what passes into it until the timer goes off, the exceptions being the interference of another magnetic field or an EMP burst. The main bomber-class aircraft of the Praesian Air Force is the Type-41 Heavy Bomber.

Interceptors
Interceptors are less common as the gunships tend to destroy all their intended targets without being overly susceptible to counterattacks. However, the margin for error and the obvious need for lighter support craft is acknowledged by the Praesian military. These fighters mostly escort bombers and sometimes heavy gunships, and frequently provide air support against enemy infantry. Their most common role is to attack other enemy fighters other heavier craft. Their armor is relatively weak and a single rocket or perhaps a grenade or two would effectively disable it. This is actually very uncommon, as Interceptors are able to consistently travel and rapidly accelerate to hyper-sonic velocities, and are extremely maneuverable. But in simple patrol flights or bomber escorts, they move at a much slower speed and can easily be taken down when off guard. The most commonly witnessed class is the Type-44 Light Interceptor. Space-class interceptors are quite capable of operating in atmosphere, but would be very difficult to use as their extreme speeds carry a high risk of crashing into other objects, unless used at a high altitude. Interceptor pilots are an elite unit on their own as they have more augmentations and enhancements than any other soldier in the Praesian military, though most of them are dedicated to decreasing reaction time. Combining these pilots with the fastest craft made by Praesians creates a nearly unstoppable asset.

Royal Guard


The Royal Guard, also known as the Royal Legion, is considered an official military branch to the Praesians which is separate from the regular army. These soldiers serve the planet's leaders, and a few wealthy individuals who have access to such expensive assets. They are drawn from a select group of army Commandos who have proven themselves extensively, outfitted with the strongest weapons and armor ever developed by the Praesians, and are practically walking tanks outfitted with hyper-lethal energy weapons and pikes. Their physical strength is trained to practically the natural limit, and then buffered by augmentations that boost the ones Commandos typically receive. Their reflexes are assumed to be very close to instantaneous based on descriptions by those who have survived an encounter; one soldier remarked: "By the time you can think of your next move, they've already avoided it." They are physically the second largest type of Praesian soldier, at an average height of about 9 feet.

Royal Marksmen
A subgroup of superbly-trained specialists within the Royal Guard, Royal Marksmen are selected from snipers and riflemen who possess extraordinary skill in teamwork, coordination, stealth, and accuracy with their weapons. Their reflexes and physical movement are toned to be as swift as possible, which are further enhanced by augmentation and armor functions. Their helmets are known to have some sort of function which exponentially increases their effectiveness with a weapon. Usage of the helmet requires genetic modification to the eyes and optic nerve; otherwise, there is a certainty of extreme sensory overload and the possibility of acquiring brain damage. Even with the enhancements, the equipment will cause a mild degree of neurodegeneration and permanent blindness; the users can still see by some means, however, but only when wearing their helmets. More often than not, Royal Marksmen perform in pairs supported by a small detachment of Royal Guards or Army Commandos. Marksmen using an arsenal of more powerful rifles tend to wear extremely cumbersome weights on their legs (which would completely immobilize the legs of any human) to resist some of the recoil produced by their weapons. Royal Marksmen are seldom sent on missions, however, and primarily serve to eliminate enemies from a distance should a critical location (such as the Palace) be under attack. When they are deployed, they can turn the tide of a battle with ease as the more lightly-armed snipers are capable of firing rapidly and with deadly accuracy to eliminate infantry, while heavily-armed marksmen will easily destroy aircraft and ground vehicles. In any scenario, they are not to be taken lightly.

Navy
Praesian ships are more technologically influenced by the Forerunners than any other asset they currently possess. They have longer targeting ranges than even Covenant ships, have faster and more efficient slip-space drives, and have a much stronger hull, weapons, and shielding system. The strongest symbolically and in battle was the Praesian Dreadnought, which acted as the capital ship for the entire navy, but was destroyed in early 2558 by the Scharfrichters. The navy is divided into two sections: Domestic and Aggressive. The Domestic fleet stays back at home to safeguard the planet, while the Aggressive loads up soldiers and moves out for an invasion. Throughout history, however, the Aggressive fleet has found very little use, other than intercepting incoming enemy fleets.

Society
"You will be the best that you can be. You will show your fortitude and audacity to all the world, and you shall not be afraid to use your acumen and subtleness to counter the lowly and deceitful. Be brave. Be strong. Be true. Uphold your dignity. Uphold your family, and uphold the safety of your homes. But above all, uphold the proud origins of the blood of our people, and those of our One and Only mother [Praesia]!"

- Vastikus Praecus, the Praesian Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct
All Praesians are led to believe in a Code of Conduct, civilians and military personnel alike. It calls for dignity, honor, and boldness at all times. It tells that one must be as brave as possible, even when faced with a superior enemy. It tells that one must always be as honorable and honest as possible, but when facing an enemy who is deceitful and despicable, then you are allowed to go back on this oath (mostly in the military), since they fully recognize that an underhanded leader clearly has the advantage in battle. As such, when a leader fights in accordance with the code of honor and defeats another skilled commander who uses underhanded tactics, he or she is highly celebrated.

Roles
All people are recognized as equals in this society, men and women alike. They celebrate men for their "fortitude and audacity," and women for their "acumen and subtleness." It is very common to find women serving in the military in Praesia, especially as mid-ranking officers, intelligence, and special forces units. In fact, the vast majority of Assassins, and approximately half of all Commandos, are female. It is considered favorable for the children to be raised by their same-sex parent. A boy is expected to be with his father and to be raised by his father, as is with mother and daughter. They typically alternate on at-home roles, where one pair will stay at the homestead to take care of it and raise their child, while the other usually goes off around town to satisfy themselves by some means of entertainment. In accordance with this practice, it is considered most favorable to have at least one male and one female child. If there is an "odd" or single child, the parents will alternate between who raises that child. Military service is not forced, although it is highly encouraged. Almost all militants are volunteers from society. The Praesians are still fully capable of fielding a very large force, however, as they use very effective forms of propaganda to convince all members of society to serve in the military. To test how strongly they've been convinced to become a soldier, the volunteers are even given descriptions of war horrors, and those that hold steadfast are recruited. This is for the purpose of minimizing the amount of weak-willed soldiers in their military. Due to the way this society operates, one would very commonly encounter civilians who have a decent level of combat training. As standard procedure, each citizen is taken by age 20 to serve for at least 2 years of rigorous training in any branch of the military. Since nearly everyone (that is capable of doing so) winds up as a military recruit one way or another, constant physical activity and well-being is encouraged.

Relationships
In Praesian society, one is expected to have three significant relationships: One romantic, and two platonic relationships (One associated with a woman, the other a man).

Politics


The Praesian society is ruled over by an Empress who resides in the Royal Palace on the globe's capital city. The Emperor actually does not partake in many of these affairs unless the Empress is unable to rule for some period of time. Likewise, the Empress will take over the Emperor's duties if he is unable to rule at the time. The Emperor usually resides in the Grand Citadel, which is the headquarters for all things war, and the main garrison of the Praesian Royal Guard and Assassins. The son and daughter of the Royal family take after their corresponding parent, and are raised to rule in such a position. The prince would receive the highest level of combat training available until he becomes Emperor, and the princess is extensively versed in law, economics and other politically-related affairs until she becomes Empress. The Emperor's court has four ministers and 50 councilors. The four ministers are second only to the Emperor in status, and to one another according to which position they hold. Their status, in order from least to greatest, follows as such: Minister of Civility, Protectorate, Belligerent, and Austere One. The Minister of Civility handles foreign affairs and diplomatic missions. The Protectorate is, simply, the head of the Royal Guard. The Belligerent is also a military rank, the second highest next to the Emperor. This minister would manage all military forces, ground, aerial, and naval. The Austere One is the most respected and looked up to in the court, and serves as a very strict personal adviser to the Emperor. The Government is also organized with a plentiful supply of appointed regents, who are not only used as temporary replacements for when the ruler cannot rule, but also as decoys to prevent harm from befalling the Emperor/ess in certain public sessions. Each of the Ministers in the Emperor's court also has at least one regent to ensure that their duties may be carried out in his or her absence. In fact, each Minister also fills in a position as a regent for the one who is immediately superior in status. For example, the Austere One may be the regent for the Emperor if there is either no Empress to take his place, or if the Empress is already too preoccupied and unable to take on the additional tasks of the Emperor. There are thousands of individual territories on Praesia, all united under the central Vardareit territory as a federation.

Justice
The judicial system of Praesian society is highly based upon the concept of "an eye for an eye," and criminals are often punished according to the crime they committed. For example, a thief would usually come home to find his house ransacked of all his or her valuables, including any they may have stolen. Ideally, the owners of stolen items are sought out and returned their possessions, if possible. Another example would be a murderer. If he or she has any friends or family, then a number of those associates will be killed in accordance with how many people they killed before being apprehended (If it was determined that the person killed another in an act of vengeance, such as for the death of a family member, he will simply be imprisoned). If he does not have any friends or family, the murderer is sentenced to a crippling torture procedure, denying them of the release of death, but stripping them of most of their phalanges, patches of skin, and other body parts such as the eyes, tongue, or non-vital organs of some sort. Needless to say, they are very brutal towards killers in society. Of course, this is done with the most accuracy possible, using their unique ability to telepathically communicate with one another, and the most extensive investigation possible, to determine who did it. As justice is highly brutal and virtually impossible to avoid, the crime rate is consistently very low. As far as has been recorded, there have not been any mistakes in issuing sentences.

Language
The Praesian language exists in both a very complex verbal and written form. Many symbols and single words are included in the language that can easily express a wide range of concepts that human languages cannot. Some words encompass several ideas or meanings within themselves. It is also biologically impossible for a human to "properly" speak the language, as it is spoken using a distinct anatomical component. This component allows for a double-tone within the voice or the ability to pronounce two different syllables at the same time. It has still not been determined exactly what allows this but theoretically it may be a system of bisected vocal cords or another set of them entirely, working in cooperation with the primary set. In multi-syllable words, syllables are pronounced in pairs. For example, if you listened to their pronounciation of "Praesia", you would hear the pronounciations of "Prae-" and "-sia" at the same time, overlapping each other. Due to this, even one who is well-versed and has much knowledge of the language will most likely find the majority of native speech to be un-intelligible. This is a major factor that prevents the implementation of human spies in Praesian society, the others being the very noticeable difference in body mass, and their unresponsiveness to any Praesian who may attempt to telepathically commune with them. Their written language is expressed by a very large collection of glyphs. There are typically single glyphs to represent individual ideas or concepts, while still having other less significant glyphs that simply represent sound. In words that have only one syllable or an odd number of them, the syllables that cannot be paired are pronounced singularly (by itself, using only one vocal tone out of the two available to Praesians, the same way humans would speak). Speech is also harmonized into a single tone and syllables are pronounced individually when it is applied to poetic or musical lyrics.

Legitimists
Morals are most significantly determined by the legal aspects of society. People look to the laws which they assume to show what is acceptable and what is not. For example, murder is not considered acceptable. On the other hand, a sanctioned duel between two individuals is, because it allegedly displays courage and a sense of honor (depending on the challenger's reasons for doing so), and mostly because it would be legal in that situation. Many things are entirely situational. Theft is illegal and therefore immoral, yet if a widely known figure or group is highly unpopular with the people, then stealing something from them is seen as a sign of defiance and independence from those that are unwanted by society; in that case, it would be widely supported. A sense of "lawful" and "chaotic" (comparable to the concepts of good and evil) is defined by the person's level of morality, which comes from their overall behavior. The people who follow this general philosophy are called Legitimists. Most of the wealthy and ruling class assumes this belief to secure a better reputation with the people (and so they can dispose of high-ranking rivals they see as "unfavorable"), as it is the most followed set of ethics.

Neutralists
Aside from the very popular Legitimist philosophy, there exists a much more aloof perspective known as Neutralism. The general idea behind Neutralism is that morals and ethics do not exist, and are merely illusional concepts created by society (Lawful/Chaotic, Good/Evil). These people generally treat laws as social guidelines. As a typical person would, they generally respect the laws and rules, but they don't revere them or use them as moral guidelines in any way. Neutralists typically understand the concept of morality, Lawful and Chaotic, as a point of view. Based on how a person is raised, how they behave, and their overall preferences in life, these things can only be determined within a very narrow scope based on an individual's own perspective. Since each individual has a different outlook on life, morality is therefore relatively indeterminable. There are two distinct sects of Neutralists, known as Pure Neutralists and Corrupt Neutralists. The "Pure" sect follows the philosophy exactly as explained earlier. The "Corrupted" sect has a tendency to twist the ideas of this philosophy as an excuse to cause havoc. These believers are labeled by Legitimists as Chaotic, while the Pure sect is labeled as Amoral since they typically don't possess either disposition. Because of the bad reputation created by Corrupt Neutralists, many people tend to generalize all Neutralists as chaotic.