The Hegemony

"The Hegemony claims to be focused on mutual defence through cooperation, but most as intelligence agree, their expanding aggressively, and at a rapid pace. The Hegemony is one to watch out for."

- Vice Admiral Louis De Kappla

The Hegemony is a collection of former members of the Covenant 'Fringe', small member races of the Covenant that did not serve as full signatories to the union. After the events of the schism, and the collapse of the Covenant, many banded together to form the Hegemony, the centre of which is a pact of mutual defence and trade. In the wake of the brutal civil wars that ravaged the territories of the former Covenant, the Hegemony became a bastion, and quickly became an emergent power. By pooling their individual economies, resources and cultural traits, they've been able to establish themselves a powerful economy and military.

Maggonoth
Founders and defacto leaders of the Hegemony, the Maggonoth are large species of hermaphroditic gastropods, similar in appearance to slugs from Earth. When originally inducted into the Covenant, their intelligence and capacity for multi-tasking saw them considered for administrative roles within the Covenant, but their culturally ingrained ambition, and Byzantine minds made them ill suited to important roles, and instead administered much of the Fringe region instead. Now in a position of power, they command the Hegemony as a whole, largely in a political, though occasionally in a military fashion, psoitioned in a power sharing agreement with the Brotherhood. They have elaborate rituals for almost every area of their personal life, and often live secluded, private lives, with few outsiders allowed on their world, and those that live off world after live in small, private enclaves with other Maggonoths. Biologically, they are similar to slugs from earth. Each as a hermaphrodite, possessing both sexual organs, and produces mucus for locomotion and defence. It possesses two nimble tentacles above its mouth with eyes on the end, providing all round vision, then six tentacles around its mouth, each ending in a variety of sense organs and a number of cilia for manipulating objects around them. They have unique brains, with seven lobes, allowing for a supreme level of multitasking not normally seen in other races. Due to their limited mobility, they've become increasingly reliant on slaves and thralls. Previously utilising only Unggoy given to them as part of their signatory pact with the Covenant, their recent expansions, and trade deals with the Kig-Yar, have brought them into contact with Yonhet, Kig-Yar and Human slaves. They are semi-aquatic, being capable of surviving in water for long periods of time, but are ill-suited for dry environments, quickly desiccating, so they require moist or humid environments, and when off world they often need to be quartered in specially equipped suits, being incapable of staying out of them for more than a few hours.

The Brotherhood
For all intents and purposes, the Brotherhood are the military arm of the Hegemony. Originally a race of peaceful aliens called the Yarshet, they worshipped the Forerunners, with similar doctrines to the Sangheili and San'Shyuum. This made their inclusion into the Covenant easy, as very few doctrinal changes had to occur. Given that they were largely a race made up of peaceful monks, they had little significance to the Covenant as a whole, and were left as partial signatories. Sometimes members of their race would join monks, priests and deacons as part of the Ministry of Tranquillity, deciphering the mysteries of the Forerunners. However, the brutal and uncompromising war on humanity, and the revelations brought forth by the Schism shook the Yarshet community, the foundation their religion torn asunder. Protests began around 2537, though local authorities suppressed reports, but this grew into riots in the forties, and 2552 this degenerated into a full blown civil war. After two years of bloody civil war, the Brotherhood came to power, reshaping the religion and culture of the Yarshet into an aggressive instrument. Former monks now became warriors, with the goal of enforcing the Brotherhood's will. Their religion now focused on power and domination, and that the Forerunners abandoned them for their weakness, which could only be cleansed through war, and martial power. The leaders of the Brotherhood came into contact with the Maggonoth, and signed a mutually beneficial alliance, forming the Hegemony. Forming the core of the Hegemony's military, strong parallels can be drawn between the Brotherhood and the Sangheili, especially at the time of the Covenant pact. The Magganoth have not repeated the mistakes of the San'Shyuum, and have created a unified bureaucracy containing ministers of both races, creating a strong sense of unity and balance, as well as strong independence in science, finances, military and governance.

Raith
Originally part of the Covenant Fringe, the Raith were relegated to a string of planetoids in their home system, even after the arrival of the Covenant. While the Covenant's religion found purchase with them, the Raith were uninterested with greater service to the Covenant, and their small numbers of distance meant they had little impact. With the fall of the Covenant, they were left exposed to Kig-Yar raids, and eagerly signed a pact of mutual assistance with the Hegemony. This pact saw that they would serve the Hegemony as a whole, though only in suitable roles. They would serve the military as scouts, using their natural abilities to evade the enemy and report back to their commanders. Becoming spies, assassins and scouts, they are greatly valued by their brotherhood commanders. Naturally stealthy, their bodies produce little external heat thanks to their efficient biology, they possess natural weaponry in the form of razor sharp claws, teeth and tail spikes, and have chameleonic capabilities, capable of blending into the background almost as well as an active camouflage system. They are unusual in that they have evolved with a number of unusual sensory apparatus. Not possessing eyes, they instead have extremely heightened sense of smell, acute hearing with great directional abilities and mid ranged electroreception sense, allowing them to sense the minute electric pulses generated by living entities, and a variety of technology. They have a strong passive sense, but can focus in an active version, detecting fluctuations in a generated electromagnetic field. Raith are unusual in that they are all born male, and remain male gendered up until adulthood. Living in small clans, the leader of the clan becomes female, and has rights over reproduction within the group.

Calvaris
Not originally a member of the Covenant Fringe, they were in talks to become part of the Covenant during the Great War, and the negotiations were interrupted by the fall of the Covenant. Instead, they entered talks with the Hegemony in the years after. A race of mostly artisans and merchants, they possess strong intuition, especially in interpersonal relationships, and make good diplomats and envoys. Calvaris are unique within the known galaxy because they are actually two races, the Calv and the Aris. The Calv are a human like alien, though physically similar they have a wide range of biological differences. The Aris are a symbiotic creature, with relatively little in terms of physical capabilities, but have acute senses. Co-evolving in a dangerous environment, the two races have survived by a process of bonding. The Aris attaches itself to the back of the Calv and sinks its nervous system into theirs. In a process that can take days, if not weeks, it gradually forms a intertwined nervous system, allowing them to share thoughts and information, as well as control of one another's bodies. The Aris generates changes in the Calv, sharing their information, increasing their intelligence, and allowing them access to their wide range of acute senses, and eventually growing an protective carapace and even some natural defences such as claws and spines. Calv are usually adults when they undergo bonding, while Aris are usually slightly older when they undergo bonding, having already reproduced to spread on their seed. Calvaris refer to themselves by a shared name and 'we' rather than 'I'.

5
nomads?

Curi-To-Tek
The Curi-To-Tek are an unusual race of colonial organisms, with several closely related aquatic organisms joining together to form a single entity. On their own they are of little interest, though they have the unusual ability to change the dimensions of their body to resemble something else. Each is a polyp like organism, with a soft, plaint body, and the ability to eject a number of tentacles to filter the water around them. These tentacles serve as both sensory organs and stinging tentacles, with a concious decision to sting, and is strong enough to paralyse a human-sized creature for several hours. What makes them intriguing is when several combine, sharing their nervous system and thoughts, they form what's called a Zoa. Each Zoa becomes a single, full functioning organism, where the minds of a couple to a few dozen Curi-To-Tek are linked to form a single gestalt entity, far greater and stronger than its original parts. Unlike similar gestalt creatures, like the Lekgolo, which form a singular personality, each Zoa maintains the individuality of each constituents, but this commune of minds usually appoints one to be the controlling entity for any gestalt form, for the purpose of locomotion and interaction. Minds commune with each other throguh their extended nervous system, and form a commune of minds to discuss their next action or goal. These zoas are malleable, as they may grow or fall in number, as individuals decide to leave or join. Their combined forms allow them to form extensive colonials, usually taking the form of coral-like growths, but can use their limited shape shifting abilities to form more complex creatures, such as aquatic animals, or bipeds. Some have even been employed as infiltrators, utilising this ability to mimic the appearance of the enemy. They reproduce through asexual budding, and form communities made up of loose and malleable groups, usually with similar aims and thoughts. Curi-To-Tek were found at the edge of Fringe space, and after communications were established, they entered trade negotiations with the Hegemony. The Curi-To-Tek are rarely seen off their homeworld, and when they are it usually isn't far from a source of water. They can only survive a few hours out of water, but their intelligence and problem solving capabilities are widely utilised.

Yonhet
The Yonhet were originally a member of the Covenant Fringe,