"There are few places in Verpletter where so many cultures can unite under one banner." -Guide to the Universe, chapter 103, pg. 47
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Nations of Etpri
The Eprium Triple Alliance is a major kingdom in the Verpletter galaxy. It is comprised of three main alien kingdoms, Etpri, Co'tal, and Barizou, which joined together in a large alliance, with Etpri taking the lead, as well as a collection of smaller vassal states.
Etpri
Etpri is the name of both the Alliance's capital and of the founding nation. this will be only about the nation of Etpri, not the planet.
Etpri was founded by the Etprians, a race of aliens almost resembling humans, although with minor differences, such as differences in skin, eye, and hair colors. it was speculated that the Etprians is the result of the slow evolution of the humans trapped in Verpletter when the Great Seal-Off happened, but numerous genetic studies have confirmed that this is actually not true.
Originally highly xenopbobic, the Etpri attacked the Co-tal and Barizou kingdoms almost as soon as they figured out space travel. however, a large cultural movement known as the "Etprian Enlightenment" saw the Etprians become more Xenophilic, and after decades of negotiation, eventually became allies with the Co-tal and Barizou, even going as far to share their capital world with the two other powers.
They also have the strongest navy out of the three main nations, contributing the most to defending the Alliance against any enemies.
Co'tal
The Co'tal are a semi-aquatic species, with dark grey skin and flippers on their hands and feet, as well as deep, black eyes and no nose. They were primitive when the Etprians first met met them, but when an Etprian civilian shuttle crashed on their homeworld a single tribe advanced rapidly, eventually taking over an entire continent. When the Etprian Enlightenment occurred, this Co'tal nation aligned itself with Etpri, eventually unifying their homeworld.
Today, the Co'tal people had advanced to the same level of technology as their neighbors. they find themselves the "Explorers" of the Alliance, scouting out and expanding into new territories, some of which are purchased by the other nations. this also leads to them finding many pieces of abandoned technology from empires-gone-by, helping the Alliance gain new technologies.
Barizou
The Barizou are a winged reptilian race, somewhat comparable to a humanoid dinosaur or, in some interpretations, a dragon. despite this rather fearsome appearance suggesting they may be warriors, they serve as the economic backbone to the Alliance, managing much of the Infrastructure and trade within the Alliance, as well as the trade from outside the Alliance.
The Barizou had briefly formed their own Empire when Etpri attacked them, destroying their navy and bombarding their capital. in order to survive, the warrior-culture nations of Barizou decided to instead trade for resources to survive the Etprian bombardments, as fighting simply led to even worse devastation.
After the Etprian Enlightenment, the Barizou were the one of the slowest nations to join the Alliance, as many were still angry about the Etprians killing their people. they eventually joined the alliance, though, and relations have cooled down significantly since.
A few warrior-nations still exist, however. originally seen as a threat that must be destroyed, they have since become a "training ground" for the Barizou warriors the Alliance does employ. as the Barizou can fly naturally, allowing better mobility and sometimes even stealth then other races, these warriors often become the "special forces" of the Alliance.
Minor Nations
While the Epri, Co'tal, and Barizou are the largest and most impactful nations within the Alliance, a handful of smaller states also exist, usually vassals from a war or small nations that swore loyalty to the Alliance.
Barizou Warrior Nations
This group encompasses all of the surviving warrior-culture nations mentioned in the text about the Barizou. As the text says, the warriors trained by these nations often go on to become members of the Alliances' Special Forces teams. they exist only on the Barizou homeworld and therefore has no territories in space.
Halcomian Regime
The Halcomian Regime is to the south of the Alliance's core territories, and is a small authoritarian nation that fought against the Alliance in a small war, which it had lost. It's government was allowed to stay in power, but under close watch by the Alliance. recently, the ties between the two are growing stronger as the population begins to accept Alliance rule.
Halcomian Coat-of-arms
Kingdom Of Relfia
The Kingdom of Relfia is a minor nation to the West of the Alliance's core territories which swore fealty to the Alliance for protection. It has become a vital nation in many of the Alliance's wars, serving as a gateway between the Alliance and the rest of the galaxy. In peace time, the Kingdom of Relfia manages a few vassal states of it's own, which are too insignicant to cover here. The fact that Relfia has it's own vassal states often means the Relfian citizens consider themselves an independent nation, much to the ire of the Alliance. tensions are slowly rising, possibly causing a civil war.
Relfian coat-of-arms, designed by human travelers and later adopted as the official Relfian flag
Geography
The geography of the Alliance can be summed up in this image
Map of the Eprium Alliance
The nations:
Purple: Etpri
Blue: Barizou
Green: Co'tal
Yellow: Relfia
Red: Halcomia
The large Red dot in the center is the planet Epri, capital of the empire.
the small red dots in each nation are the capitals of those nations.
the small dots are inhabited star systems
The lines between each star are hyperlanes, or paths that ships follow. the darker lanes are used more and have better infrastructure built around them, while the lighter ones are used less often.
The Alliance is bordered in the North and the East by a large void, too large for most ships to cross. in the South, there are a collection of small space kingdoms constantly warring with each other. The Alliance often spreads it's influence into these kingdoms, hoping to acquire new vassal states.
To the West, past Relfia, is the Stiveerian Empire, the Alliance's main rival.
Calendar
With only recent contact from the galaxy, The Eprium Triple Alliance uses it's own calendar. while the days within a year have been made 365 and hours within a day = 24, in order to simplify contact with the rest of the galaxy, the year they are on remains different.
The current year in the Eprium calendar is 3194. this will be used as a reference frame for historic events as I'm too lazy to figure out what year it is everywhere else, then work through that.
Wars And Expansion
Epri-Barizou war
The Epri-Barizou war took place in the year 58, a few decades before the Etpri Enlightenment and the earliest well-recorded war known. In the war, Barizou decided to strike back against the Etpri, using a fleet hidden underground to end the bombardment of their homeworld. They resisted counterattacks long enough to be granted freedom.
Co'tal Rebellion
In the year 124, Co'tal officially joined Etpri, forming Eprium. a large group of nations on the Co'tal homeworld decided to rise up, wanting independence rather then being part of the Alliance. the war raged on for six years, before the Alliance conquered the Co'tal nations in a massive land campaign, giving the destroyed countries to the main Co'tal nation.
Second Epri-Barizou war
In 305, Barizou had funded rebels to attempt to ruin the alliance between Etpri and Co'tal, hoping to weaken their enemy. This plot was discovered, though, and the Alliance declared war on Barizou. The war lasted for over a century, with the now less militaristic Barizou focusing on defense to counter massive Alliance offensives turning it into a stalemate. When the war finally ended, Barizou was granted large swathes of space in exchange for signing a pledge to not interfere or declare war on the Alliance.
War Of The Mad Dictator
In 539, The Halcomian regime, led by a possibly insane Emperor, declared war on the Alliance. the Alliance overwhemed the Halcomian forces, ending the war in less then a year. This war resulted in Halcomia becoming a vassal state to the Alliance
Barizou Uprisings
In the year 1053, Barizou had finally agreed to join the Alliance. this decision was quite controversial, leading to multiple small uprisings that almost tore Barizou apart. Experienced Etprian tacticians proved vital in these wars, eventually eradicating the revolts, therefore securing Barizou loyalty
Stiveerian Crisis
The Stiveerian Crisis began when a massive Communist Republic, the Stiveerian Empire, declared war on the Alliance in 1531. The war was massive, destroying various Western vassals of the Alliance. The war reached a turning point in 1544, when a massive space battle over Relvia, The Relfian capital, saw the Stiveerian fleet defeated. the war ended in a draw in 1548, when both sides decided to call a truce. several smaller wars were started and ended between 1593 and 1678, but none as impactful.
Stiveerian Eprium
The Second Stiveerian war began in 1859, in which a massive Stiveerian fleet invaded the Alliance, which was in a massive economic depression. The war was over in less then two years, resulting in the whole alliance under Stiveerian rule. in 1911, A secret government led by the last surviving leaders of the Alliance recruited Barizou warriors, who then captured many Stiveerian ships. in the Battle Of Etpri in 1918, A ragtag Alliance fleet of stolen ships defeated the mighty Stiveerian fleet. shortly after, the Stiveerian Empire granted the Alliance independence, as the miraculous victory prompted several Alliance uprisings all throughout the Alliance nations. the Barizou Special Forces was founded shortly after, training Barizou warriors to become the Alliance's Special-forces.
Thrid Stiveerian War
In 2190, the Stiveerian Empire attacked the Alliance yet again, with the largest fleet the empire had ever fielded. Guerilla-style attacks on the fleet as they flew towards Etpri slowly whittled down the fleet, until they were able to be easily defeated by an Alliance fleet just outside Etpri.
Since this war, no significant conflict has happened. however, Relfian rebels combined with a resurgent Stiveerian Empire may threaten the Alliance in the near future.