Tradition Historical The High Lineages of Tion

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THE HIGH LINEAGES OF TION

SITE LORE

The High Lineages of Tion is the collective name of a subset of the Galaxy's Elder Houses, specifically those local to the Tion Cluster, an ancient region of the Galaxy which has been home to great star empires - and their decaying remnants - since prehistory. Apart from their equivalents in the wider Galaxy, the High Lineages share a common history, tied to the region in which they claim their respective thrones, and the events which placed them in power or - in many cases - cast them from it.

ORIGINS

ORIGINS

"In our line flows the blood of captains. As we led our people across the starry gulf, so too do we lead them into the future!"
_Unknown Tionese King.​

The high lineages of the Tion Cluster are tied in large part to the origins of the Tionese themselves. The Tionese are a sub-group of humans, the descendants of passengers aboard prehistoric carbonite sleeper ships which likely came from one of the Core Worlds, probably Coruscant or Koros Major. The first Tionese settled on the water world of Tion in what is now known as the Outer Rim, and from there rapidly spread out to colonize the systems of what would come to be known as the Tion Cluster. They are believed to be the first humans to arrive in that section of the Galaxy, and had very little competition in the form of indigenous species, their region of space having given rise to relatively few technological civilizations to match their own. Theirs is among the oldest known starfaring civilizations, being predated only by the Core Worlds and the holdings of Agorander. They are believed to have independently developed hyperspace travel, which became a major part of their culture.

The royal houses of the Tion Cluster are believed to be the descendants of officers aboard the colony ships which brought the first Tionese to the region, either aboard the sleeper ships which first struck out from the Core Worlds or aboard the vessels which settled the many habitable worlds of the cluster, radiating out from Tion Proper. Over time, what were probably once military or corporate hierarchies took on the aspects of nobility; it has also been theorized that some aspects of ancient Tionese nobility came from the existing royal houses of the ancient Core Worlds, with modern genetic testing revealing traces of minor Core noble houses.

Regardless of how they arose, by several tens of thousands of years ago the royal houses of the Tion Cluster were well established, with various families ruling on worlds from the Radama Void to Xo's Eye. During the archaic period of Tionese history, the holdings of individual houses were limited; a lineage may have controlled a single system, or at most a handful in close proximity. The borders of the region resembled a patchwork of small states, territories, tributaries, satrapies and petty warlord empires, with a complicated network of alliances and animosities that frequently bubbled over into small wars. Out of this nebula of nobility, larger states eventually began to coalesce, minor noble houses combining or conquering one-another to form more powerful monarchies. Most existed in uneasy alliances of multiple houses ruling single territories, frequently disintegrating into their component parts and either reforming later or being absorbed by their neighbors.

To make a long story short, archaic Tion was a chaotic place. Nearly every habitable planet had its own monarchy or monarch-adjacent system of government, either existing in uneasy alliance with others or trying to make a go of it on their own. This trait would serve none of them well in the crisis to come.

XER & XIM

XER & XIM

"You offer me titles, Ferece, when already I sit upon a throne of stars?"
_Attributed to Xer VIII.​

The downfall of many of the high lineages of Tion came in the form of one of their own. Xer VIII was a minor noble from the planet Argai who turned to piracy in his youth, eventually becoming a feared and powerful outlaw who raided the trade routes that crossed the region then known as the Ihala Spiral, sometimes ranging as far as Caluula and Rudrig. Relishing the freedom of his lifestyle, Xer nevertheless eventually grew unsatisfied with merely being a pirate, and went on to form the Kingdom of Argai, conquering outright the nearby planets of Corlass and Panna.

Although this put him on the map in all senses, Xer's exploits were largely ignored by the Kingdom of Cron, the major regional power. Eventually, king Ferece, the monarch of Cron, was forced to deal with Xer in response to raids which had interfered with the interests of several members of his court; Xer was summoned to Chandaar, the capital of Cron, where Ferece offered him titles in exchange for an oath of fealty. Insulted, Xer told Ferece that he wished to prepare a suitable tribute to accompany his oath, and left Chandaar; he returned at the head of a massive Argaian fleet, which attacked the planet. Upon breaching Ferece's palace, the pirate chieftain found that the monarch had fled. Legend has it that, upon finding the throne empty, Xer sat down in it, put his feet up and ordered wine from the valet robot.

After crowning himself as the new king of Cron, Xer demanded oaths of fealty from all of Cron's noble houses, which he mostly got. Those who rebelled faced the consequences during the Cronese Sweeps, a military campaign in which Xer mopped up all resistance to his rule. Xer used the campaign as a way to test his new subordinates, and to thin out the ranks of Cronese nobility; nobles who had sworn fealty were given front-line commands, their families and retainers held hostage to ensure obedience. Those who failed in battle were eliminated, along with the associated hostages; those who succeeded were rewarded, often with the lands and titles of those who had been disposed of. Those in open rebellion against Xer were given no quarter; those few who survived the Sweeps harbored lasting animosities against those who had joined Xer, blood feuds which have sometimes endured into the present day.

Xer had many children, but was ultimately succeeded by Xim, by virtue of the fact that Xim killed his father and siblings upon learning that Xer had been unfaithful to Xim's mother. Xim, who had proven himself even more ruthless and bloodthirsty than his father as a fleet officer during the Sweeps, is a major figure in Tionese history whose exploits are well documented elsewhere. More important for our subject, Xim greatly expanded his father's empire after taking the throne, conquering nearly the whole of the Tion Cluster, and putting many more noble families under his sway. If anything, he was even less permissive than Xer had been when it came to threats to his power; nobles who showed even a hint of disloyalty were executed, often accompanied by as much of their lineage as could be rounded up. Even those who were allowed to live were often stripped of their heraldry, their crown jewels and other artifacts of succession kept in a massive collection which Xim kept hidden from all but his closest followers.

And then, Xim died.

The collapse of Xim's empire following his apparent death in battle against the Hutts at Vontor was gradual, but complete. Due to the well-designed institutions put in place by Xim and Xer during their respective reigns, the empire's core took more than a century to collapse, but breakaway states began to form almost immediately. Due to the gutting of old Tionese nobility by Xer's short-lived dynasty, however, few of the old houses held on to power; even if they were organized on monarchical lines, the kings and emperors of the Tion Cluster's post-Xim states were of "new" blood, often the descendants of governors, admirals and generals who rose to power under Xer and Xim, elevated to their new status by a process very similar to the colonial officers who had preceded them.

DIVISION

DIVISION

"Upstart! My blood ruled systems while yours was scrabbling in the dirt!"
_Unknown Tionese Noble.​

In the present day, Tionese nobility can more or less be divided into two camps: those who derive their titles and status from Xer and Xim's empire, and those whose titles and status predate it. Of the two, the former is far more broadly represented in the Tion Cluster's halls of power in the present day; families who descend from an admiral that served Xer in the Cronese Sweeps, or whose common-born ancestor was granted lands and titles for heroism in service to Xim against the dreaded Hutts. The latter, those with even older claims which have survived into the present day, mostly exist outside the normal power structure; though they may have some land and local respect, their claims to their respective thrones are largely not recognized, owing in large part to missing documents or heraldry which would theoretically legitimize their claims. Should any of these items ever surface, it is theorized that it could cause succession crises or even outright civil war on planets across the region.

Over time, the discredited houses have formed their own unofficial networks and alliances; some even have access to substantial wealth and resources, and even privately held military assets. This last is mostly kept secret, as it could be construed as a threat to those currently in power; even so, especially as the Galaxy continues to reel from one crisis after another, some of these discredited lineages have begun to discuss taking back what was once theirs...

INTENT​

Essentially, I wish to provide an accompanying piece of lore to tie into the Lost Crowns of Tion, explaining the power structure of the ancient Tion Cluster, how it was disrupted by Xim and his father, and how this disruption could effect the present day. It also serves as a guide for any who might wish to make factions based on Tionese history.

 

[Logan]

Approved.