Zam'Ari Empire

''This article concerns the Zam'Ari civilization. If you seek information about the species itself, go to Zam'Ari.''

The Zam'Ari Empire is the interstellar, spacefaring civilization of the Zam'Ari species.

Age of dark and the world war
The Zam'Ari developed from a species of amphibians native to planet Iscaraan. Their history is ridden with much division, as each state on the planet had different ideas and goals. This resulted in a "world war" that found most nations of the globe fighting each other, until eventually, in 346 Before Common Era, a powerful faction emerged that managed to sway or conquer the other states. This faction, called "Shezakari", had strong religious and theocratic foundations, almost like a cult, placing their faith into a divine belling called Shezak. Shezak was indeed a real being, a megalomaniacal spirit, that empowered the cult to win the war, so he could claim dominion over the species.

Age of Shezak
Shezak, through the means of his faithful, became the divine ruler of the Zam'Ari race, as well as their "living god", with the Shezakari, the priests who worshipped him and the warriors who fought in his name, becoming the high elites of the empire's society. But they were by no means benevolent. Those of not Shezakari descent, called the "Parlaki", were treated very poorly and harshly by the Shezaraki, toiling day and night in their name.

Until eventually in 21 CE, a Shezaraki called Aylidor became very disillusioned by the state of his nation. With the knowledge available to him as a priest, he seeked out Shezak's sister, Shiro, and told her of the suffering her brother brought upon his people. Shiro was more sympathetic than Shezak and couldn't tolerate the misdeeds of her brother, so she gave Aylidor some of her spirit power as well as the Spear of Fate, a powerful weapon that had Shiro's tears and could therefore sever his immortality and kill Shezak permanently. Aylidor killed Shezak in combat, dissolved the Shezaraki and liberated the Parlaki. Hailed as a hero, Aylidor Eveningstar became the first King of all of Iscaraan and the first leader of a united Zam'Ari Empire.

Age of the Triumvirate
Aylidor Eveningstar was a far less strict of a leader than Shezak and his loyalists. With his healthy amounts of idealism, he led the Zam'Ari towards prosperity and growth.

However, some wanted the old regime back. They were mainly former Shezaraki, who were robbed of much of their influence, power and wealth, creating a movement called "The Anticipation". Three of them took the initiative: Kalsay, the head hierophant of the former cult of Shezak, Eylodia, the chieftain of the Shezaraki warriors, and Wanus Wayla, another priest, who notably suffered from a split personality disorder. These three ambushed Aylidor with the intent of killing him. After a harsh battle, Aylidor was eventually slain by the three traitors, his skin burned by Eylodia's flames, his body battered by Wanus Wayla's monsoons and his heart pierced by Kalsay's lances of light. The three victors then consumed his flesh, gaining a part of his power. Perhaps inspired by their previous overlord, they too named themselves living gods of the Zam'Ari, collectively called "the Triumvirate", that took power over Iscaraan.

At first, their rule was just as strict as those of Shezak, but eventually, they eased their grip. The society was not divided as strictly as it once was and it truly seemed that despite clearly having self-serving intentions, the Triumvirate did, to a degree, care about their race. Ironically, the Anticipation movement got nowhere. As soon as the Triumvirate achieved their goal, they abandoned the faction, which eventually crumbled.

In 982 CE, first routine flights to space and colonizations of other planets started. The Triumvirate proclaimed space to be their "Sacred Realm" and a crusade was held against their neighbours, Secare Perdere, the mineral people of Fera Petram.

Breakdown of the Triumvirate and establishment of the Elder Council
As time went on, people became dissatisfied with the Triumvirate. They wanted a better government, more in line of what Aylidor had in mind and one where so much power isn't pooled onto one person or one tiny group. The living gods' influence was already growing weaker and the betrayal of Wayla, one of Wanus Wayla's personalities, was the catalyst for infighting and eventual revolution. The living gods may be free from the shackles of age, but they could still die by the sword. In 1124 CE, The Zam'Ari assaulted the temples of their rambling deities. Eylodia was killed first in battle, Wanus Wayla fled after suffering grievous injuries and was never seen again and Kalsay was sealed in his own temple-palace.

A decision was made to establish a council of 46 wise men that would lead the Empire, along with a King, similar to Aylidor's title, but with his power more spread out amongst the council members. Thus the modern incarnation of the Empire was created.

Great Endeavour
The battles of the Great Endeavour came to the Zam'Ari in 1532 CE. Their people, with their warrior culture set in stone and steeled by the past years,proved to be the first true enemy the Gieegs would face. They were able to hold back Ionakai's forces until 1537 CE, but then relented as the Gieeg banner waved over the spires of Narthaloya. Although once they were integrated into the Galactic Empire, they were given a large amount of autonomy and the Gieegs often made use of their skilled fighters.

When the Galactic Empire collapsed in 1946 CE, the Zam'Ari were indepedent once again, taking the initiative and claiming several systems worth of territory.

Government
The Zam'Ari is led by the Elder Council, elected by the common populace. Every 20 years, citizens vote to elect up to 46 candidates into the Council. As a society that values both strength and intellect, candidates are often judged by their past notable actions and the knowledge they amounted - the most popular choices are usually the ones that have plenty of both. Once the Elder Council is assembled, they elect their King. The King is merely a formal and representative role - the Council does most of the decisions, the King merely mediates the discussions and has the final say.

Smaller, local self-governing entities (sectors, systems, planets) are led by Knights, appointed by the Council themselves. Despite the Council being based on elections, once a Knight has been appointed, their title, and rule over their territory, is hereditary.

Culture
The Zam'Ari could be summarized as a society of Warrior-Intellectuals. As such, strenght, sense of honour, but knowledge and intelligence are both important values in their culture. The ability to fight and service in the armed forces is seen as honourable, and although not mandatory, it is highly encouraged. This means that almost all Zam'Ari, from bureacrats to labourers and craftsmen, can fight on par with trained soldiers.

Religion
The Zam'Ari do not have a religion per se, but it can be said that their warrior culture probably stems from worships of old war gods from before they reached the stars. The Zam'Ari are a very competitive species, and as such, before their society reached adequate development, conflict was common, causing the many fractured nations to have their own gods of war, violence, death, arms and all things related to them. Outright worship or faith in a god or some supernatural power has long since vanished, but sparring and battle are still treated and seen with a bit of spirituality, as if they were a form of ritual or prayer.

As with any interstellar civilization nowadays, there is a slight presence of the Church of the Golden Light, which is supported by about 8.3% of the total Zam'Ari populace.

Regarding the often asked "Origin of Life" question, most Zam'Ari agree that life is a product of the Wellspring of Everlife, although they do not directly worship it, unlike some other societies.

Technology and science
The technological level is rather standard compared to most galactic empires. They use fission reactors as their primary power source, along with having an affinity for natural renewable sources. Ion engines are used for most flying and space-sailing craft.

Despite clearly having advanced weapon technologies like lasers, plasma, missiles or smokeless powder, some of them being the primary weapons of their warships, the Zam'Ari themselves prefer to fight with primitive meelee weapons or throwing weapons, like swords, spears or knives.

An interesting technological feat is how they solved the wasted excess psionic energy released when casting spells. Psionic energy harvesters were manufactured en masse and spread around the Zam'Ari society, from building interiors to streets and spaceships. These devices harvest the excess psionic energies, turning them into electric power. Since psionics are a natural part a Zam'Ari's daily routine, and since these devices are so widespread, they offer a good source of power, perhaps sometimes even more effective than the mainline fission reactors. This technology cannot be replicated with other psionic species, since the excess psionic energy release is a trait that is so far unique to the Zam'Ari.

The Zam'Ari planet Ursion is famous for its bio-laboratories which often get visited by scientists from all over the galaxy.