Post by ThreeDawg on Jan 26, 2015 18:57:01 GMT -5
The Wraith Empire
{Below, list all the major aspects of your civilisation.}
Civilisation Name: The Wraith Empire.
Civilisation Type: Theocratic Kratocracy. Highly expansionistic and militaristic.
U.G.C Standing: Full Council Status.
Other Civilisation/Group Associations:
- Civilisation/Group Name: N/A
- Standing with this Group/Civilisation: N/A
{Below, list the other aspects of your Civilisation.}
Civilisation Government: The Wraith work upon a system where each Hive Queen (leader of a fleet or series of planets) defers to the superiority of the High Queen, a Wraith Queen that has won her place as most powerful through conquest and political scheming. Each Hive Queen's goal is to gather enough supporters to overthrow the current High Queen, although until they have enough power they are entirely submissive. While each Hive Queen is constantly seeking to usurp power from another Queen, or gain power by conquering "lesser species", they will rarely do so if it would overly damage the Wraith Empire or expose a weakness to ANY other species.
Below Hive Queens are Wraith Viceroys, who rule in the name of their queen over a subjugated planet, Wraith colony or state (on exceptionally large colonies). Viceroys are typically male (very rarely a downcast female, and often only for enough time for her to regain Hive Queen status) and defer completely to their Hive Queen. As with Hive Queens, Viceroyalty is Kratocratic in succession, as the Hive Queen will only accept that the best Wraith win the position.
Below Viceroys (and all other Wraith of any stature) on subjugated/annexed planets are the System Lords. These are not Wraith, but rather hosts of various species that bare the Goa'uld parasites. These beings act as intermediaries between the lesser species and the Wraith, beings of familiar face that shown exceptional loyalty to the Wraith Empire. As a "reward" these Lords are granted expanded lifespans, healing capabilities, strengths and intelligence through the Goa'uld parasite they bare (more on that later). These Lords are the living embodiment that loyalty to the Wraith Empire grants incredible "divine" powers, extended lifespan and the right to rule in their name. Essentially, these Lords are "Demigods" in the theocracy, under the God-like Wraith and their God-Queens.
Civilisation Overview: The Wraith Empire is a broad, sprawling mass of Systems that swear their fealty to the Wraith, either as their gods or understanding the powers the Wraith possess over life and death. It is a simple system, the Wraith will protect planets and gift them with advanced technology. In return, the planets will offer soldiers, raw resources and most important for the Wraith: a steady supply of food - sentient beings.
Part of the Wraith agreement is that criminals will be taken off world to 'serve' the Wraith, what these civilisations don't know is that these criminals wind up devoured by the Wraith. As a result, crime is at an all-time low on most of these planets. Yet this makes food scarce, but the ever cunning Wraith have developed several measures to ensure a steady supply of food.
First, the highly addictive drug Blue Harvest. This drug has been made illegal in all the Wraith systems, but it's ease to manufacture and almost immediate addiction rate has made it a sticking problem and cause of crime. The drug itself will give the user an intense euphoric high and give them a boost to natural strengths and awareness - and dramatically reduce their judgement abilities. It just so happens that the Wraith had a large hand in making this drug, as it is essentially a synthesised version of a chemical used in their feeding process.
Secondly, the worship of the Wraith comes with several promises. The Wraith will often descend upon a world to 'Harvest' the faithful. Those deemed worthy enough to 'ascend' to the next plane of mortality are chosen and taken by the Wraith to their Hive ships. Now not all of them are eaten, some are returned baring the Goa'uld parasite, effectively brain-washed hosts that will swear to the end of their days that the higher state of being exists and their super-normal powers are proof of it.
Civilisation Technologies: The Wraith Empire is not technologically united. Most species retain their own technology, although several will share amongst each other - the Wraith will not. Their technology is their advantage. The armies of the Wraith are often technologically divided in nature, but Goa'uld-style weaponry and technology have became the closest thing to a standard for all non-Wraith species.
A single unifying thread binds together the races of the Wraith Empire: the Stargates. Limited in size and number (due to their immense power consumption requirements) the Stargates are capable of creating wormhole links across vast distances of space, the only requirement is a Stargate on the opposite end and its address. The Stargates break down the organism into its base atoms, sending them to the address gate where they are rebuilt on the other side. Stargate's have several limitations, their size for one: barely capable of fitting a standard Starfighter through a gate. Stargate's are also limited to one gate per planet, as the fields that coordinate addresses overlap: with one overriding the other, only one will work.
Civilisation Military: The Wraith will rarely engage in combat alongside their lesser species, rather they expect the lesser ones to deal with smaller problems on their own and the Wraith to deal with the galactic battleground. While Wraith have been known to use armies of their subservient civilisations as frontline troops, most Wraith engagements are won predominantly by the Jaffa (various races with Goa'uld parasites) and Mindless subclasses. Heavily trained, often bred for war and equipped with the best Wraith or Goa'uld-esque weaponry.
Civilisation History: The Dawn of the Wraith Empire began with the absorption of the Goa'uld parasites and the 'liberation' of Chulak. The Wraith had been forcibly thrown onto the Galactic Stage and they did as they had been taught by their first contact: spread, colonise and conquer before the Universe conquers you. But conquerors the Wraith decided not to be, instead they would appear as liberators as they did to the people of Chulak. A benevolent force that afford safety and allegiance to those lesser beings that had no guiding hand in the darkness.
They specifically targeted low-technology civilizations, offering them the hands of help in exchange for their subservience. The first was Abydos, an important provider of the rare substance Naquidah and home to a species built for war yet strangely peaceful in the wake of their near-suicide. They spread their own brand of faith, a belief in the High Queen that bordered on zealotry. They brought with them technology that would make them appear to be gods: gauntlets that manipulated gravity to recreate telekinesis, technology that could restore life the bodies of those deemed worthy by the Wraith. They were benevolent, to an extent, but they needed food.
Criminals were first, then the Cult of Aratis began to supply offerings: converts that were to be taken to the next plain of existence. Prisoners of war were fair game, as were lesser species that refused the Wraith's offer: their worlds left void of intelligent life in the shadow of the Wraith's culling.
The Wraith began a millennia of conquests throughout the Galaxy, eventually drawing closer to the fledgling U.G.C and its collection of allies. War was inevitable, but the outcomes were not worth the fight. So the Wraith chose to bow their heads to the U.G.C - better to be the Sleezak in the flock than a headless one in the field. They claimed it was a mutual agreement, the Wraith Empire would comply by U.G.C rules as they somewhat embodied the Wraith's goal. For a time the Wraith would just appear at the council meetings, standing over but with no say in matters.
Then they grabbed for centre stage. A full membership would come with certain... Benefits... To the Wraith. Endless wars, for one, as the U.G.C was always huffing down someone's neck. The Wraith would send their fleets out across the galaxy to hunt theU.G.C's enemies, and Wraith vessels over a planet became notoriously foreboding sight... Wraith were known for brutal efficiency, and their lack of live prisoners once the war had ended.
{Below, list the species in your Civilization}
From the Chronicles of Ersitodd, exiled to (GGs world) for attempting to publish Wraith history.
Species: Wraith
Species Appearance: The Wraith are seemingly near-Human in biology, although they have greenish-blue skin, sharp pointed teeth and posses multiple airway entrances across their cheeks.
Species Biology: The Wraith are parasitic in nature, they notably distinguish between 'Eating' and 'Feeding'. A Wraith can eat common food substances, but only for survival and taste. A Wraith that fed would do so by absorbing the very life force from another being, typically sentient. In doing so they gain strength, endurance, remarkable regenerative abilities and a near-immortal lifespan. A Wraith who only ate and did not feed would live a far shorter life, grow weak and gaunt - ultimately either facing exile to an uninhabited rock or be fed upon themselves: a weak Wraith is worth nothing to anybody.
They also share a blood-kin mind link, which is further enforced by most Wraith being related in some way to their Hive Queen or cloned with Hive Queen DNA. This Mind Link can, in some individuals, be used to manipulate other beings. This is a universal feature for Hive Queens, although some males have the mastered the ability to create hallucinations of themselves in the minds of their enemies, shades that flit back and forth to disorientate foes.
The Wraith breath a standard mix of gases that includes Oxygen, their primary component in Respiration. The composition of the other gasses has no effect on Wraith physiology - so long as Oxygen is present to some degree. Their blood is a deep purple, baring a slight glow to it that makes it easily identifiable amongst other samples.
For those who dare to have tried, this blood apparently has hallucinogenic yet regenerative properties and an addictive nature.
Civilization Standing: Primary Species of the Wraith Empire, "Gods" of the Arathis religion.
Homeworld: Arathis (Mythical and Literal)
Inhabiting Planet(s): Arathis, Jheo'dore, Abydos, Nee'an, Myleeos, Jeeloa, Chulak (Hundreds more with smaller populations).
Species History: The Wraith were not always Wraith. Once they are Aratee, a near-Human species that lived peacefully in their ignorance of the Universe. They were simple, their civilisation barely having breached the atmosphere of Arathis. They were a fragmented people, living in their countries uncaring for each other, warring over resources or insults. Their only significant achievements were evolutionary, having evolved a rudimentary mind-link between related individuals in their distant past. They were unsuited for Universe, so they died.
Perhaps it was because the Aratee didn't observe their night sky enough that they were destroyed. For as the Aratee looked to each other for war, the Universe made itself known. Great ships, roughly square-pyramidical in shape, descended upon the unsuspecting world. The Genesis began in fire and brimstone, proton beams and mass explosives. Followed by boots of strange yet familiar beasts (how unusual that evolution would create something so similar, yet not from the same origin?). The Aratee fought back, futilely, and the First Culling occurred. These invaders called themselves the Goa'uld, Gods they said. Gods that the Aratee would worship or perish fighting.
The Aratee had not believed in Gods for millennia. So they fought from the bowels of their world, from great bunker complexes hastily constructed in the war with the Goa'uld. Most fell, but one of great importance remained hidden. The Ark, the home of the Genesis Project. The last of the Aratee military watched guard as scientists worked tirelessly to bring an end to the Goa'uld, who they discovered to be mere parasites. They experimented with rare Elements, like EEZO, to create super soldiers: their physiology would not match. They tried to create super weapons capable of disabling the symbiotes within the Goa'uld hosts: but it was only marginally successful in crippling one host at a time.
So they tried genetics. That, it seemed, was their forte. Long ago they had mastered their own genome, mapping it completely and even tweaking it slightly to rid it of several terrible defects. They tried to create soldiers by manipulating their own DNA, but the only suitable DNA that would create strong enough soldiers belonged to the Goa'uld - a species with remarkable genetic elasticity. Live hosts weren't impossible to manipulate, but every man altered would create a mindless monster. They would use their new parasitic nature to feed upon the very life force of the Aratee, consuming their bodies and prematurely ageing them. They were caged, occasionally used as suicide attacks on Goa'uld - but caged.
Then was born the First Queen, her name was Wrearth and she was the first female to be tested. The Goa'uld DNA had dramatically affected her mind-link, to the point that he could exert control over the Mindless Ones. She could order them into an army, she was a light in the darkness. Numbers were limited, so cloning was perfected as the only option: using Wreath's DNA to create the first generation to further strengthen her neural bond.
The Aratee began to push back, utilising the Wraith (as they called them after the First) as expendable soldiers. They collected Goa'uld technology, manipulating it to their advantage in their war. Then Wreath was found to be pregnant. Two boys were born, both harbouring the Wraith DNA, yet both fully in control of their own mind. The Twin Lords, as they are known now. In time they exhibited the same control over the Mindless as their mother, but the Mindless seemed to defer to the First Queen over them.
The First had another child, this time a female who exhibited full Wraith traits much like her elder brothers - but it was clear females had a stronger link to the Mindless. The Mindless who had grew too large for the First to control smoothly, so several more Queens were created - eventually they would go on to found the Queen lineages we know today. With their new commanders, their never ending supply of soldiers and control over Aratee-Goa'uld technology... The Wraith won the war for their people. The Goa'uld occupation was crushed, but their planet was empty, most Aratee life forms extinguished in the centuries long war. The few that survived remained in the Ark and neighbouring stations. The Wraith had succeeded where the Aratee had failed - so it was decided, the Aratee would die. The Wraith would be the future. We know not how this decision came to be, if it was democratic or if the First used her armies to force the change upon the surviving Aratee - but no Aratee survive to this day.
Using the Goa'uld technology, the Wraith would continue to chase the Goa'uld back to their home planet. They appeared to the Goa'uld's slaves as benevolent Gods, liberators from Heaven. They would crush the Goa'uld, wipe them out and using their own technology against them, enslave the remainder of the species by brainwashing them. An act made all the easier by the genetic memory that all Goa'uld pass to their children. The Wraith continued to use their gift to feed upon other, lesser, species in an act they called 'Nature's Will' (much like Natural Selection). Although they did so in secret, plucking from their new Worshipers just enough to keep themselves strong.
They would also further develop their genetic manipulation sciences to the point that they no longer built ships, they grew them. Using a small sample of Wraith DNA and genetic material from dozens of other species, they have managed to construct larval forms that can be 'programmed' using the Wraith Neural Network into almost any shape and use, then controlled by use of the Neural Network too.
The Wraith Empire was born.
Other Notable Comments: Wraith technology largely consists of a highly durable light weight chitinous substance produced as a resin by bioengineered organisms. These organisms can feed off practically anything and use Wraith supplied energy to convert the substances into resin that when put into a mould and exposed to extremely cold temperatures (like the vacuum of space, or the 'Cold factories' Wraith are known for) hardens into the chitinous substance. As such, most Wraith buildings are constructed using sheets of the light weight materiel which has a dull Green/Grey structure, but can be coloured before hardening. Wraith vehicles and weaponry too are constructed in this manner, but their internal electrical systems are crystaline in nature and are grown as the byproduct of yet another of these bio-factories.
Ships capable of space flight are another thing entirely. The Ships themselves are organic, having been grown much like any other organism. They share a mind-link with the Wraith, so although the ships have controls: only a Wraith can truly master one. The outer shell is dense chitin, while the internal compartments are "breathed" using organic carbon filters. Interior floors, walls and even doors are all part of these immense organic vessels. As such, all damage to the vessel can be repaired 'on the fly' as the vessel mends its own wounds slowly.
While several things are touch-controlled (like doors): Weapons, propulsion and most other sub-systems are controlled through the mind link. Wraith ships use a high-output Naquidah Reactor to ionise gasses as propulsion, with smaller reactors used to provide power to support systems, weapons and feed the organism that the ship is.
Wraith weapons are subsequently energy-based in their output, either in the form of magnetically bound plasma missiles or directed energy lasers/pulses. Wraith have not entirely abandoned ballistics, as Naquidah enhanced warheads are exceptionally devastating when used to bombard a planet's surface.
The bioengineering approach Wraith have is also represented in their computer systems and data banks. Whereas regular computer systems are based upon the technologies put into them, Wraith computer systems can match (or in some cases excel) the complexity and storage of biological brains - as that is essentially what they are. This has made it notoriously difficult to either reverse-engineer or hack into their devices.
{Below, list the planets under your Civilisations direct or affiliated planets.}
Planet Name: Aratis
System name; Star Cluster; Star Map Coordinates:
Civilisation Standing: Capital.
Planet Type: "Rocky", "Garden", "Eden". All would describe Aratis.
Orbital Cycle:
Planet Rotation Period: Day Length.
Planet Size: Large.
Local Gravity:
Atmospheric Conditions: Breathable air, composition of 20% oxygen, 67% Nitrogen. Temperature range from -54 to 65C, climates stable and varied.
Notable Planetary Conditions: Aratis is unusual in its density, having a very heavy load of metals in its surface.
Furthermore, at one stage in its early life Aratis was bombarded by one of its own moons. The resultant crater can be seen clearly from orbit despite extensive weathering and half of it being submerged in one of the world's many oceans.
Major Satellites: Teeulk (the largest, a dull brown colour), Cromak (the middling, bright yellow in the sunlight), Denrys (the smallest, furthest away and most spectacular as the majority of its surface is covered in sparkling crystalline sheets).
Indigenous Species: Aratis (extinct), Wraith.
Inhabiting Species: Wraith, Goa'uld.
Planet Overview/History: The history of Aratis is the history of the Wraith and the people named after the planet. Inhabited continuously for over 22,000 years of civilisations. Most of this history is either forgotten or forcibly hidden from all but Wraith scholars, as Gods do not evolve.
The recent history of Aratis has seen it become a green paradise of a world, where the High Queen resides in a palace the size of a city - most of which dates back before the Wraith. The planet is only occupied by powerful Wraith and what Goa'uld servants they have. It is a neutral world, where Wraith may not openly fight each other without displeasing their queen. Outsiders are strictly forbidden upon its surface.
Few in the universe know of its location, even less have visited this jewel.
{Below, list all the major aspects of your civilisation.}
Civilisation Name: The Wraith Empire.
Civilisation Type: Theocratic Kratocracy. Highly expansionistic and militaristic.
U.G.C Standing: Full Council Status.
Other Civilisation/Group Associations:
- Civilisation/Group Name: N/A
- Standing with this Group/Civilisation: N/A
{Below, list the other aspects of your Civilisation.}
Civilisation Government: The Wraith work upon a system where each Hive Queen (leader of a fleet or series of planets) defers to the superiority of the High Queen, a Wraith Queen that has won her place as most powerful through conquest and political scheming. Each Hive Queen's goal is to gather enough supporters to overthrow the current High Queen, although until they have enough power they are entirely submissive. While each Hive Queen is constantly seeking to usurp power from another Queen, or gain power by conquering "lesser species", they will rarely do so if it would overly damage the Wraith Empire or expose a weakness to ANY other species.
Below Hive Queens are Wraith Viceroys, who rule in the name of their queen over a subjugated planet, Wraith colony or state (on exceptionally large colonies). Viceroys are typically male (very rarely a downcast female, and often only for enough time for her to regain Hive Queen status) and defer completely to their Hive Queen. As with Hive Queens, Viceroyalty is Kratocratic in succession, as the Hive Queen will only accept that the best Wraith win the position.
Below Viceroys (and all other Wraith of any stature) on subjugated/annexed planets are the System Lords. These are not Wraith, but rather hosts of various species that bare the Goa'uld parasites. These beings act as intermediaries between the lesser species and the Wraith, beings of familiar face that shown exceptional loyalty to the Wraith Empire. As a "reward" these Lords are granted expanded lifespans, healing capabilities, strengths and intelligence through the Goa'uld parasite they bare (more on that later). These Lords are the living embodiment that loyalty to the Wraith Empire grants incredible "divine" powers, extended lifespan and the right to rule in their name. Essentially, these Lords are "Demigods" in the theocracy, under the God-like Wraith and their God-Queens.
Civilisation Overview: The Wraith Empire is a broad, sprawling mass of Systems that swear their fealty to the Wraith, either as their gods or understanding the powers the Wraith possess over life and death. It is a simple system, the Wraith will protect planets and gift them with advanced technology. In return, the planets will offer soldiers, raw resources and most important for the Wraith: a steady supply of food - sentient beings.
Part of the Wraith agreement is that criminals will be taken off world to 'serve' the Wraith, what these civilisations don't know is that these criminals wind up devoured by the Wraith. As a result, crime is at an all-time low on most of these planets. Yet this makes food scarce, but the ever cunning Wraith have developed several measures to ensure a steady supply of food.
First, the highly addictive drug Blue Harvest. This drug has been made illegal in all the Wraith systems, but it's ease to manufacture and almost immediate addiction rate has made it a sticking problem and cause of crime. The drug itself will give the user an intense euphoric high and give them a boost to natural strengths and awareness - and dramatically reduce their judgement abilities. It just so happens that the Wraith had a large hand in making this drug, as it is essentially a synthesised version of a chemical used in their feeding process.
Secondly, the worship of the Wraith comes with several promises. The Wraith will often descend upon a world to 'Harvest' the faithful. Those deemed worthy enough to 'ascend' to the next plane of mortality are chosen and taken by the Wraith to their Hive ships. Now not all of them are eaten, some are returned baring the Goa'uld parasite, effectively brain-washed hosts that will swear to the end of their days that the higher state of being exists and their super-normal powers are proof of it.
Civilisation Technologies: The Wraith Empire is not technologically united. Most species retain their own technology, although several will share amongst each other - the Wraith will not. Their technology is their advantage. The armies of the Wraith are often technologically divided in nature, but Goa'uld-style weaponry and technology have became the closest thing to a standard for all non-Wraith species.
A single unifying thread binds together the races of the Wraith Empire: the Stargates. Limited in size and number (due to their immense power consumption requirements) the Stargates are capable of creating wormhole links across vast distances of space, the only requirement is a Stargate on the opposite end and its address. The Stargates break down the organism into its base atoms, sending them to the address gate where they are rebuilt on the other side. Stargate's have several limitations, their size for one: barely capable of fitting a standard Starfighter through a gate. Stargate's are also limited to one gate per planet, as the fields that coordinate addresses overlap: with one overriding the other, only one will work.
Civilisation Military: The Wraith will rarely engage in combat alongside their lesser species, rather they expect the lesser ones to deal with smaller problems on their own and the Wraith to deal with the galactic battleground. While Wraith have been known to use armies of their subservient civilisations as frontline troops, most Wraith engagements are won predominantly by the Jaffa (various races with Goa'uld parasites) and Mindless subclasses. Heavily trained, often bred for war and equipped with the best Wraith or Goa'uld-esque weaponry.
Civilisation History: The Dawn of the Wraith Empire began with the absorption of the Goa'uld parasites and the 'liberation' of Chulak. The Wraith had been forcibly thrown onto the Galactic Stage and they did as they had been taught by their first contact: spread, colonise and conquer before the Universe conquers you. But conquerors the Wraith decided not to be, instead they would appear as liberators as they did to the people of Chulak. A benevolent force that afford safety and allegiance to those lesser beings that had no guiding hand in the darkness.
They specifically targeted low-technology civilizations, offering them the hands of help in exchange for their subservience. The first was Abydos, an important provider of the rare substance Naquidah and home to a species built for war yet strangely peaceful in the wake of their near-suicide. They spread their own brand of faith, a belief in the High Queen that bordered on zealotry. They brought with them technology that would make them appear to be gods: gauntlets that manipulated gravity to recreate telekinesis, technology that could restore life the bodies of those deemed worthy by the Wraith. They were benevolent, to an extent, but they needed food.
Criminals were first, then the Cult of Aratis began to supply offerings: converts that were to be taken to the next plain of existence. Prisoners of war were fair game, as were lesser species that refused the Wraith's offer: their worlds left void of intelligent life in the shadow of the Wraith's culling.
The Wraith began a millennia of conquests throughout the Galaxy, eventually drawing closer to the fledgling U.G.C and its collection of allies. War was inevitable, but the outcomes were not worth the fight. So the Wraith chose to bow their heads to the U.G.C - better to be the Sleezak in the flock than a headless one in the field. They claimed it was a mutual agreement, the Wraith Empire would comply by U.G.C rules as they somewhat embodied the Wraith's goal. For a time the Wraith would just appear at the council meetings, standing over but with no say in matters.
Then they grabbed for centre stage. A full membership would come with certain... Benefits... To the Wraith. Endless wars, for one, as the U.G.C was always huffing down someone's neck. The Wraith would send their fleets out across the galaxy to hunt theU.G.C's enemies, and Wraith vessels over a planet became notoriously foreboding sight... Wraith were known for brutal efficiency, and their lack of live prisoners once the war had ended.
{Below, list the species in your Civilization}
From the Chronicles of Ersitodd, exiled to (GGs world) for attempting to publish Wraith history.
Species: Wraith
Species Appearance: The Wraith are seemingly near-Human in biology, although they have greenish-blue skin, sharp pointed teeth and posses multiple airway entrances across their cheeks.
Species Biology: The Wraith are parasitic in nature, they notably distinguish between 'Eating' and 'Feeding'. A Wraith can eat common food substances, but only for survival and taste. A Wraith that fed would do so by absorbing the very life force from another being, typically sentient. In doing so they gain strength, endurance, remarkable regenerative abilities and a near-immortal lifespan. A Wraith who only ate and did not feed would live a far shorter life, grow weak and gaunt - ultimately either facing exile to an uninhabited rock or be fed upon themselves: a weak Wraith is worth nothing to anybody.
They also share a blood-kin mind link, which is further enforced by most Wraith being related in some way to their Hive Queen or cloned with Hive Queen DNA. This Mind Link can, in some individuals, be used to manipulate other beings. This is a universal feature for Hive Queens, although some males have the mastered the ability to create hallucinations of themselves in the minds of their enemies, shades that flit back and forth to disorientate foes.
The Wraith breath a standard mix of gases that includes Oxygen, their primary component in Respiration. The composition of the other gasses has no effect on Wraith physiology - so long as Oxygen is present to some degree. Their blood is a deep purple, baring a slight glow to it that makes it easily identifiable amongst other samples.
For those who dare to have tried, this blood apparently has hallucinogenic yet regenerative properties and an addictive nature.
Civilization Standing: Primary Species of the Wraith Empire, "Gods" of the Arathis religion.
Homeworld: Arathis (Mythical and Literal)
Inhabiting Planet(s): Arathis, Jheo'dore, Abydos, Nee'an, Myleeos, Jeeloa, Chulak (Hundreds more with smaller populations).
Species History: The Wraith were not always Wraith. Once they are Aratee, a near-Human species that lived peacefully in their ignorance of the Universe. They were simple, their civilisation barely having breached the atmosphere of Arathis. They were a fragmented people, living in their countries uncaring for each other, warring over resources or insults. Their only significant achievements were evolutionary, having evolved a rudimentary mind-link between related individuals in their distant past. They were unsuited for Universe, so they died.
Perhaps it was because the Aratee didn't observe their night sky enough that they were destroyed. For as the Aratee looked to each other for war, the Universe made itself known. Great ships, roughly square-pyramidical in shape, descended upon the unsuspecting world. The Genesis began in fire and brimstone, proton beams and mass explosives. Followed by boots of strange yet familiar beasts (how unusual that evolution would create something so similar, yet not from the same origin?). The Aratee fought back, futilely, and the First Culling occurred. These invaders called themselves the Goa'uld, Gods they said. Gods that the Aratee would worship or perish fighting.
The Aratee had not believed in Gods for millennia. So they fought from the bowels of their world, from great bunker complexes hastily constructed in the war with the Goa'uld. Most fell, but one of great importance remained hidden. The Ark, the home of the Genesis Project. The last of the Aratee military watched guard as scientists worked tirelessly to bring an end to the Goa'uld, who they discovered to be mere parasites. They experimented with rare Elements, like EEZO, to create super soldiers: their physiology would not match. They tried to create super weapons capable of disabling the symbiotes within the Goa'uld hosts: but it was only marginally successful in crippling one host at a time.
So they tried genetics. That, it seemed, was their forte. Long ago they had mastered their own genome, mapping it completely and even tweaking it slightly to rid it of several terrible defects. They tried to create soldiers by manipulating their own DNA, but the only suitable DNA that would create strong enough soldiers belonged to the Goa'uld - a species with remarkable genetic elasticity. Live hosts weren't impossible to manipulate, but every man altered would create a mindless monster. They would use their new parasitic nature to feed upon the very life force of the Aratee, consuming their bodies and prematurely ageing them. They were caged, occasionally used as suicide attacks on Goa'uld - but caged.
Then was born the First Queen, her name was Wrearth and she was the first female to be tested. The Goa'uld DNA had dramatically affected her mind-link, to the point that he could exert control over the Mindless Ones. She could order them into an army, she was a light in the darkness. Numbers were limited, so cloning was perfected as the only option: using Wreath's DNA to create the first generation to further strengthen her neural bond.
The Aratee began to push back, utilising the Wraith (as they called them after the First) as expendable soldiers. They collected Goa'uld technology, manipulating it to their advantage in their war. Then Wreath was found to be pregnant. Two boys were born, both harbouring the Wraith DNA, yet both fully in control of their own mind. The Twin Lords, as they are known now. In time they exhibited the same control over the Mindless as their mother, but the Mindless seemed to defer to the First Queen over them.
The First had another child, this time a female who exhibited full Wraith traits much like her elder brothers - but it was clear females had a stronger link to the Mindless. The Mindless who had grew too large for the First to control smoothly, so several more Queens were created - eventually they would go on to found the Queen lineages we know today. With their new commanders, their never ending supply of soldiers and control over Aratee-Goa'uld technology... The Wraith won the war for their people. The Goa'uld occupation was crushed, but their planet was empty, most Aratee life forms extinguished in the centuries long war. The few that survived remained in the Ark and neighbouring stations. The Wraith had succeeded where the Aratee had failed - so it was decided, the Aratee would die. The Wraith would be the future. We know not how this decision came to be, if it was democratic or if the First used her armies to force the change upon the surviving Aratee - but no Aratee survive to this day.
Using the Goa'uld technology, the Wraith would continue to chase the Goa'uld back to their home planet. They appeared to the Goa'uld's slaves as benevolent Gods, liberators from Heaven. They would crush the Goa'uld, wipe them out and using their own technology against them, enslave the remainder of the species by brainwashing them. An act made all the easier by the genetic memory that all Goa'uld pass to their children. The Wraith continued to use their gift to feed upon other, lesser, species in an act they called 'Nature's Will' (much like Natural Selection). Although they did so in secret, plucking from their new Worshipers just enough to keep themselves strong.
They would also further develop their genetic manipulation sciences to the point that they no longer built ships, they grew them. Using a small sample of Wraith DNA and genetic material from dozens of other species, they have managed to construct larval forms that can be 'programmed' using the Wraith Neural Network into almost any shape and use, then controlled by use of the Neural Network too.
The Wraith Empire was born.
Other Notable Comments: Wraith technology largely consists of a highly durable light weight chitinous substance produced as a resin by bioengineered organisms. These organisms can feed off practically anything and use Wraith supplied energy to convert the substances into resin that when put into a mould and exposed to extremely cold temperatures (like the vacuum of space, or the 'Cold factories' Wraith are known for) hardens into the chitinous substance. As such, most Wraith buildings are constructed using sheets of the light weight materiel which has a dull Green/Grey structure, but can be coloured before hardening. Wraith vehicles and weaponry too are constructed in this manner, but their internal electrical systems are crystaline in nature and are grown as the byproduct of yet another of these bio-factories.
Ships capable of space flight are another thing entirely. The Ships themselves are organic, having been grown much like any other organism. They share a mind-link with the Wraith, so although the ships have controls: only a Wraith can truly master one. The outer shell is dense chitin, while the internal compartments are "breathed" using organic carbon filters. Interior floors, walls and even doors are all part of these immense organic vessels. As such, all damage to the vessel can be repaired 'on the fly' as the vessel mends its own wounds slowly.
While several things are touch-controlled (like doors): Weapons, propulsion and most other sub-systems are controlled through the mind link. Wraith ships use a high-output Naquidah Reactor to ionise gasses as propulsion, with smaller reactors used to provide power to support systems, weapons and feed the organism that the ship is.
Wraith weapons are subsequently energy-based in their output, either in the form of magnetically bound plasma missiles or directed energy lasers/pulses. Wraith have not entirely abandoned ballistics, as Naquidah enhanced warheads are exceptionally devastating when used to bombard a planet's surface.
The bioengineering approach Wraith have is also represented in their computer systems and data banks. Whereas regular computer systems are based upon the technologies put into them, Wraith computer systems can match (or in some cases excel) the complexity and storage of biological brains - as that is essentially what they are. This has made it notoriously difficult to either reverse-engineer or hack into their devices.
{Below, list the planets under your Civilisations direct or affiliated planets.}
Planet Name: Aratis
System name; Star Cluster; Star Map Coordinates:
Civilisation Standing: Capital.
Planet Type: "Rocky", "Garden", "Eden". All would describe Aratis.
Orbital Cycle:
Planet Rotation Period: Day Length.
Planet Size: Large.
Local Gravity:
Atmospheric Conditions: Breathable air, composition of 20% oxygen, 67% Nitrogen. Temperature range from -54 to 65C, climates stable and varied.
Notable Planetary Conditions: Aratis is unusual in its density, having a very heavy load of metals in its surface.
Furthermore, at one stage in its early life Aratis was bombarded by one of its own moons. The resultant crater can be seen clearly from orbit despite extensive weathering and half of it being submerged in one of the world's many oceans.
Major Satellites: Teeulk (the largest, a dull brown colour), Cromak (the middling, bright yellow in the sunlight), Denrys (the smallest, furthest away and most spectacular as the majority of its surface is covered in sparkling crystalline sheets).
Indigenous Species: Aratis (extinct), Wraith.
Inhabiting Species: Wraith, Goa'uld.
Planet Overview/History: The history of Aratis is the history of the Wraith and the people named after the planet. Inhabited continuously for over 22,000 years of civilisations. Most of this history is either forgotten or forcibly hidden from all but Wraith scholars, as Gods do not evolve.
The recent history of Aratis has seen it become a green paradise of a world, where the High Queen resides in a palace the size of a city - most of which dates back before the Wraith. The planet is only occupied by powerful Wraith and what Goa'uld servants they have. It is a neutral world, where Wraith may not openly fight each other without displeasing their queen. Outsiders are strictly forbidden upon its surface.
Few in the universe know of its location, even less have visited this jewel.