Description
1. Introduction
2. Rules
3. Technologies
4. Factions
5. The Generals
6. Non-Combatants
7. Planets and Regions
8. History
Welcome to the Asherah system. It is a single solar system in which seven planets reside. The locals are a highly advanced people who focused not on space travel, as many other advanced peoples did, but on replication and cloning technologies.
Despite the advances in technology and social sciences, there is and always will be War, fought over such matters as religion, ideaology, and resource rights. Unlike the old days however, while the wars still benefit their governing factions, they are started by the people.
Every year the Clone Games begin. The citizenry votes on which factions should war with another faction. Maybe these people don't like those people; or maybe they do, but they just want to see who's army is better. Or perhaps they want to see the thrill of last year's war continued this year, maybe with a new victor.
Maybe they wish to see several factions ally against a larger one- or maybe see a smaller faction wiped out, or see an astounding underdog climb up and take on several larger powers.
It does not matter so much what goes on ultimately, only that there is and always will be the Clone games.
The 21st season begins soon, and with it come veterans, fresh faces, new strategies and great conflicts.
There are few rules within the Games, but those that exist are held in high regard.
1. Attacking or utilizing civilian resources (bodies, factories, etc.) in the Games is prohibited.
2. In the event an unidentified person(s) or object(s) is discovered during a Game, all sides must enact a Time Out until the person(s) or object(s) can be extracted.
3. One-shot tactics, i.e anti-genetic chemical warfare, high-yield explosive warheads, and other weapons designed for complete battlefield supremacy are prohibited. Remember, the purpose of the Games is to entertain. Victory takes second place.
4. Attacking a General/Army outside of a Match is prohibited. Other interactions, e.g brawling, relationships, non-Clone Game sports, etc, are allowed.
Technology
Technology within the Asherah system is very focused on replication and cloning.
The entire human body can be cloned if necessary, but for every-day problems individual parts can be cloned and replaced much more simply and cheaply than attempting any kind of repairs.
In addition to body cloning, every person, from birth, is linked into the Ashes- a system wide network that makes a copy of each person's mind every day while they sleep. It is both a dreamspace, and also serves as an internet of sorts. If a body dies, or a brain is shut off (by death or destruction) the person will be able to reside in the Ashes network indefinitely if necessary.
A clone body can be made to be younger, but the older the mind the more difficult body cloning becomes. As such, most people stay in the Ashes once they hit the age of eighty or so. Eventually they become part of the network itself, phasing into the coding, or simply existing within games or forums.
In addition to the advances in cloning, almost any resource can be replicated. Animals and plants can be cloned for food, but eventually the cloning process breaks down. In such an instance, they simply replicate the original, breed, splice, or otherwise modify the genes in some way to differentiate it, and continue.
Minerals and non-biological resources can be replicated in a similar fashion. While imperfect, one ingot of iron can be replicated potentially thousands of times over. Formerly precious materials, while still not as common as others, can still be made to last much longer.
To further prolong the resources, individual wealth cannot go so far as to monopolize a resource. Each person is alloted monthly resource tokens based on their contributions to society. Since food and building materials are practically worthless financially, every person has food and shelter readily available. With their resource tokens however, they can purchase luxuries, better lodgings, and other such things.
One of the most common uses of an excess in resource tokens is placing them as 'bids' into the Games. Each token grants resources to the faction it is given to. If a home game is going to happen soon and one faction is preferred, the citizens might pool their tokens to give the faction an edge in resources.
Asheran weapons are mostly focused on laser technology and, more than that, plasma. Solid rounds are possible in a number of manners however.
A popular form is taking a solid alloy as the 'clip' of a weapon, with a miniature replicator that shapes the replications into caseless bullets that can be fired.
Weapons innovation is one of the premier aspects of the Clone Games however, with weapons manufacturers often getting advertising or sponsorship deals.
The one aspect of Asheran technology that is particularly lacking is space travel. Faster than Light travel is currently impossible with Asheran technology. Travel between the various planets is as such done in real time, taking upwards of several months to get from planet to planet.
An Asheran Sleeper ship was dispatched about fifty years ago, but there has been no word of its fate.
Factions
There are a variety of factions, both major and minor, that vie for control and popularity over the several planets in the Asherah system. Here are a few of the larger factions and their holdings.
Council of Asherah
The Council of Asherah, while not exactly a faction in and of itself, holds the most influence over all goings on in Asherah simply because it represents all of the various governments. Each faction has a Councillor, who handles the political aspect of the Games, as well as any other inter-faction politics that may need to be handled.
The Council's only base is on Asherah Prime. While they normally do not participate in the games- since each faction member already is- on the rare occasion there will be a Council sponsored General that acts as a wild card.
Lessus Syndicate
One of the oldest factions, the Lessus Syndicate was initially formed from some of the wealthier families before the Resource Token Act. While they have managed to maintain most of their business ventures, they have had to resort to a great deal of politicing to do so.
Ultimately the Lessus Syndicate is not particularly popular, simply because they have a very dry culture. Despite this they control a large amount of territories in the Asherah system.
Dynastic Naph Territories
The Dynastic Naph Territories is a faction that dates back to before the advent of cloning technology. As such they still tend more towards natural progression, and have a large backing from their local populace. Some might consider their tactics and equipment to be dated, but this actually the result of a clever ploy to improve public approval.
Most of the Naph territories are located on Asherah Prime, but there are some smaller colonies on other planets that the games have taken them to.
United Calthog Oligarchies
Calthog is the local given name of Asherah II. In the early days in Asherah II's colonization, the planet was controlled by several different factions based territorially. Over time, when the Games began to pick up steam, the factions decided to unite under one banner.
Being based on Asherah II means that it is where most of their bases and support is at, but despite their being 'united' there is still the occasional call for internal conflict within the Games.
Materon Confederacy
A relatively new faction that has risen to popularity due almost exclusively to the Games. Having claimed large quantities of support, territories, and resources, with the seeming goal of only being a huge contender within the Games, the faction has become both a dangerous adversary and a popular opponent- everyone is looking to take them down.
Materon territories exist on every colonized planet in Asherah currently.
Antigen Merchantile Coalition
Formerly the Antigen Corporation, the Merchantile Coalition, similar to the Lessus Syndicate, has a large background in resource gathering schemes and business ventures. After the Resource Token Act the various corporations that eventually made up the corporation began weapons manufacturing.
When most of the other factions stopped accepting their designs, Antigen formed the Merchantile Coalition. Now they contend with high-end technology in the Games, proving themselves impressive contenders as well as shrewd politicians.
Isoliga Technocracy
One of the first factions to call for a seperation of the governments from certain aspects of society, such as war, the Isoliga Technocracy was also one of the first to propose the Clone Games as a means of deciding who controls what. They have also been one of the most active in proposing such concepts as the Resource Token act.
Due to their ideaologies and public responses they are fairly popular, but in the Games their strategies leave much to be desired.
Oligan Collective
Following a doctrine of efficiency since its inception, the Oligan Collective has a very strict view of resource use and Game resource allocation. With that said it is this same strict efficiency that makes them an appealing faction for many of the less well off, because there is always something they can find to improve.
They have been a popular winner on the frontier worlds being terraformed.
Bychron Theocracy
An exceedingly rare sort of faction these days, the Bychron Theocracy is, as its name implies, focused on winning their battles for the Great Bychron, the name of both their God and their faction. One of the few sources of religion left in the Asherah system, their political tactics revolve around gaining support by offering an alternative to the Ashes network; a biological heaven rather than a technological one. One where the risk of brain loss to data loss is impossible, and where you can explore the true stars rather than digital ones.
It has been a growing movement that has gained some support, and unlike some of the other religious factions, is actually not deemed fanatical.
Indethron Regency
The Indethron Regency has been relatively unpopular in recent times due to some rather questionable tactics and game misconducts. Outside of the Games however, they tend to be very apologetic and progressive. It has projected a somewhat powerless and reckless image for the faction.
They have a few holdings on populated worlds, but most of their Games have not gone beyond them.
Yultarian Federation
Possibly the current largest faction in existence, thanks in part to the massive amount of support they have had since the first Season, and their innovative tactics. They are usually the team to beat when trying to claim any one planet in its entirety, or even any one region.
Brotherhood of Constellations
While not technically a major faction, the Brotherhood of Constellations is a scientific community that has put more and more pressure into focusing on space travel. They are also one of the main forces that handles planet-to-planet transit, and monitors the stars and surroundings in general.
Similar to the Council of Asherah they do not usually partake of the games, but on the rare occasion they will- being thus far the only faction with sanctioned use of large scale airborne activities.
The Generals
Each faction has at least one General to represent them, from which all of their armies are cloned from. At that point the armies and the factions become separate entities. The Factions themselves, while they are directly affected by the games- and can sponsor their General if they are pleased with their performance- focus on governing the people.
The Generals focus purely on the Game. To them, it is more than just battles however. Either bred into them from birth or from a sense of duty or bloodlust, the Generals will always fight when the season begins. They are still human however; they desire social interaction and all the basic human needs. As such, the culture around the Games has spread into the social lives of the Generals, following them in their out-of-combat lives just as much as their Game careers.
Some Generals despise this, wanting nothing more than to have privacy. Others accept it as part of their jobs. Many, however, utilize this interest in their lives as another tool in the Game.
Each Faction's General will be listed here.
Non-Combatants
In addition to the Generals and the important function they serve are the few people who manage things behind the scenes. Logistics, resource acquisition, public opinion surveys, etc; the Generals either don't care to or don't have time to perform any of those functions, and so they fall to their representatives within each faction.
These people also make sure that the General is serving the faction's wishes best. A General becomes a pointless rogue if they aren't serving their purpose, and so the non combatants can alert them to what goals they need to achieve on and off the battlefield.
Planets and Regions
There are seven planets in the Asherah system, four asteroid belts, and several space stations and moons in orbit around most of the planets.
Any and all of these have been and can be potential fields for the Game, and most of them have mustering points and bases for the various factions.
Asherah I
Asherah I is a molten world located close to the yellow-white Asherah Star. While completely inhospitable to colonization, there are a few mining operations that have managed to survive and be incredibly profitable. While rare, occasionally a Season will feature a sub-season for domination of Asherah I.
It has no moons, but there is a Brotherhood station in a locked orbit on the opposite side of the planet to the sun, meaning that unless a ship takes an extreme angle to land on Asherah I, it will have to (and likely want to) land at the Brotherhood station.
Asherah Belts I & II
Both of the Asherah system's asteroid belts are located around Asherah I. The smaller, located nearer the star, has been slowly being eaten away by the gravitational pull of the star itself.
The larger one, located between Asherah I and II, has mining operations that are carried out most times of the year.
Asherah II, AKA Calthog
Asherah II, or Calthog as it has been dubbed by the locals, is a more recently colonized planet. Being closer to the star than the other colonized worlds, it is mostly barren of plant-life. There are a few bodies of water and very small polar caps, but it is mineral rich and a possible location for expansion.
It has two moons, and contains bases from most of the factions, since it is a popular training ground and off-season battleground for the armies to practice in.
Asherah III, AKA Asherah Prime (Seed: 671411117 - 63/14)
Asherah Prime, being the third astral body in the Asherah system and the home planet of the Asheran people, is almost completely covered in various cities. There is one super-continent that ultimately connects to every other large land-mass by way of archipelagos of various sizes, located primarily on the southern hemisphere.
One of the largest archipelagos binds the southern supercontinent to the largest and only subcontinent in the northern hemisphere. It is on this archipelago that the Asherah Council has constructed the Capitol city.
Most of the landmass east of the supercontinent is utilized as farmlands and mines, largely placed around the old settlements. Most of the islands, few though they are, are usually set up as bases for the various factions' Generals.
Asherah Prime has two moons and a plethora of stations.
Asherah IV
Asherah IV was the first planet that the Asherans travelled to when basic space travel became a possibility. Initially it was found to be incredibly lush with an expansive ecosystem, and it was eventually deemed human habitable. Since then it has, through its rich soil, served as one of the primary food sources for the Asherah System.
While also being a center of civilization, the planet did not gain much popularity until the Games ran three consecutive seasons in the jungles of Asherah IV. Since then the population centers have grown, but in the means of protecting its use to the games, most of the jungles, marshes and swamps are left untouched.
Some factions have also begun capturing local predatory fauna for use in their armies.
The planet has one moon.
Asherah V
Asherah V is a more recently colonized world that is undergoing minor terraforming. It is a massive, barren ball of ice and snow that does not have a hospitable atmosphere. Despite this it has proven to have large quantities of valuable gems and other minerals that assisted greatly in the initial research into cloning and replicating technologies.
Due to the necessity for atmospheric equipment Asherah V is not a popular locale for smaller factions in the Games, but it is a high value target for any faction with the capability.
One of the more interesting features of Asherah V is its seventy moons. Sixteen are large enough to support bases or mining operations, with the rest of the satellites mostly only being obstacles for flight paths.
Asherah VI
Asherah VI was formerly similar to Asherah V in that it is speculated to have been at one point an ice world. In recent times however the planet has warmed considerably despite its distance from the sun. Due to this curious anomoly the oceanic world is the focus of a great deal of scientific interest.
It has also become a favorite battleground for the Games, as naval warfare is something of a fresh experience. Asherah VI has three moons.
Asherah VII
Asherah VII is a gas giant with over one hundred satellites. It is the major fuel source for space travel in the system, but due to its location the fuel mining is not a particularly common venture. Even the Games, which is in almost every other aspect of Asheran culture, does not usually extend to Asherah VII.
History
Recorded history in Asherah dates back several thousand years. The oldest written records from Asherah Prime detail massive empires, crusades, falls, and long cycles of destruction. The people of Asherah have always been bloody-minded, and the advent of each advance of weaponry did not change that.
The Asheran civilization as it is now started to come about in their Fifth Age. Several nations had, anticipating nuclear war, joined forced to perfect replication technologies. In that way even if the surface was destroyed, a few plants and resources could be infinitely replicated so that the survivors could rebuild.
The nuclear war never happened, and the research was put on hold. In the brief peace time the first few spacecraft were developed and sent to the surrounding astral bodies. Most of them were initially inhospitable to human life however, and with drone casualty rates high and transit times long, sending human astronauts and scientists became a less appealing option.
It was around this time that the replication and cloning technologies came back into the field. Being able to send a clone of oneself was much more appealing, and replicating the entire ship made it much less resource intensive. The popularity in the scientific community eventually began to spread to the populace as a whole. Rebellions occurred where a nation's army would not fight; why fight an army made up of clones and slowly be destroyed themselves?
The governing bodies lost their ability to make war. No one saw the point of it any more. If there was a possibility for true death against an opponent who could not truly die, even protecting your own ideologies seemed less important. And what else was there? Food shortages, resource needs, all of that was taken care of. It was around this time that the first research into the Ashes began.
Years after the Ashes was completed was when the first true foray into the unknown began. A sleeper ship, dubbed the Glory of Asherah, was sent to their closest star, an estimated seventeen Lightyears away. With no FTL source of travel, the ship was equipped with its own Ashes network in which the inhabitants could reside until the ship recognized an astral body that might prove colonizable.
Twenty nine years later, several of the older Generals had an idea. They had grown bored of simulators and the lack of true warfare. Having existed in relative peace for so long, with no real power to make a war, they decided to make a game of it.
Utilizing their personal funds to clone large armies of themselves, tweaking the genetics into subservience or relative mindlessness, they began having small wars on Asherah II. The people of Asherah II found this blood sport entertaining, and urged the Generals to bring the fighting to a full swing, treat it like one of the real wars of old.
Several years, or seasons as they became known later, the phenomenon was deemed the Clone Games. It has since weaved its way into almost every aspect of Asheran society. Even the governments, even with little to no power directing the Generals and their conflicts, have managed to get their fingers back into the pie.
2. Rules
3. Technologies
4. Factions
5. The Generals
6. Non-Combatants
7. Planets and Regions
8. History
Welcome to the Asherah system. It is a single solar system in which seven planets reside. The locals are a highly advanced people who focused not on space travel, as many other advanced peoples did, but on replication and cloning technologies.
Despite the advances in technology and social sciences, there is and always will be War, fought over such matters as religion, ideaology, and resource rights. Unlike the old days however, while the wars still benefit their governing factions, they are started by the people.
Every year the Clone Games begin. The citizenry votes on which factions should war with another faction. Maybe these people don't like those people; or maybe they do, but they just want to see who's army is better. Or perhaps they want to see the thrill of last year's war continued this year, maybe with a new victor.
Maybe they wish to see several factions ally against a larger one- or maybe see a smaller faction wiped out, or see an astounding underdog climb up and take on several larger powers.
It does not matter so much what goes on ultimately, only that there is and always will be the Clone games.
The 21st season begins soon, and with it come veterans, fresh faces, new strategies and great conflicts.
There are few rules within the Games, but those that exist are held in high regard.
1. Attacking or utilizing civilian resources (bodies, factories, etc.) in the Games is prohibited.
2. In the event an unidentified person(s) or object(s) is discovered during a Game, all sides must enact a Time Out until the person(s) or object(s) can be extracted.
3. One-shot tactics, i.e anti-genetic chemical warfare, high-yield explosive warheads, and other weapons designed for complete battlefield supremacy are prohibited. Remember, the purpose of the Games is to entertain. Victory takes second place.
4. Attacking a General/Army outside of a Match is prohibited. Other interactions, e.g brawling, relationships, non-Clone Game sports, etc, are allowed.
Technology
Technology within the Asherah system is very focused on replication and cloning.
The entire human body can be cloned if necessary, but for every-day problems individual parts can be cloned and replaced much more simply and cheaply than attempting any kind of repairs.
In addition to body cloning, every person, from birth, is linked into the Ashes- a system wide network that makes a copy of each person's mind every day while they sleep. It is both a dreamspace, and also serves as an internet of sorts. If a body dies, or a brain is shut off (by death or destruction) the person will be able to reside in the Ashes network indefinitely if necessary.
A clone body can be made to be younger, but the older the mind the more difficult body cloning becomes. As such, most people stay in the Ashes once they hit the age of eighty or so. Eventually they become part of the network itself, phasing into the coding, or simply existing within games or forums.
In addition to the advances in cloning, almost any resource can be replicated. Animals and plants can be cloned for food, but eventually the cloning process breaks down. In such an instance, they simply replicate the original, breed, splice, or otherwise modify the genes in some way to differentiate it, and continue.
Minerals and non-biological resources can be replicated in a similar fashion. While imperfect, one ingot of iron can be replicated potentially thousands of times over. Formerly precious materials, while still not as common as others, can still be made to last much longer.
To further prolong the resources, individual wealth cannot go so far as to monopolize a resource. Each person is alloted monthly resource tokens based on their contributions to society. Since food and building materials are practically worthless financially, every person has food and shelter readily available. With their resource tokens however, they can purchase luxuries, better lodgings, and other such things.
One of the most common uses of an excess in resource tokens is placing them as 'bids' into the Games. Each token grants resources to the faction it is given to. If a home game is going to happen soon and one faction is preferred, the citizens might pool their tokens to give the faction an edge in resources.
Asheran weapons are mostly focused on laser technology and, more than that, plasma. Solid rounds are possible in a number of manners however.
A popular form is taking a solid alloy as the 'clip' of a weapon, with a miniature replicator that shapes the replications into caseless bullets that can be fired.
Weapons innovation is one of the premier aspects of the Clone Games however, with weapons manufacturers often getting advertising or sponsorship deals.
The one aspect of Asheran technology that is particularly lacking is space travel. Faster than Light travel is currently impossible with Asheran technology. Travel between the various planets is as such done in real time, taking upwards of several months to get from planet to planet.
An Asheran Sleeper ship was dispatched about fifty years ago, but there has been no word of its fate.
Factions
There are a variety of factions, both major and minor, that vie for control and popularity over the several planets in the Asherah system. Here are a few of the larger factions and their holdings.
Council of Asherah
The Council of Asherah, while not exactly a faction in and of itself, holds the most influence over all goings on in Asherah simply because it represents all of the various governments. Each faction has a Councillor, who handles the political aspect of the Games, as well as any other inter-faction politics that may need to be handled.
The Council's only base is on Asherah Prime. While they normally do not participate in the games- since each faction member already is- on the rare occasion there will be a Council sponsored General that acts as a wild card.
Lessus Syndicate
One of the oldest factions, the Lessus Syndicate was initially formed from some of the wealthier families before the Resource Token Act. While they have managed to maintain most of their business ventures, they have had to resort to a great deal of politicing to do so.
Ultimately the Lessus Syndicate is not particularly popular, simply because they have a very dry culture. Despite this they control a large amount of territories in the Asherah system.
Dynastic Naph Territories
The Dynastic Naph Territories is a faction that dates back to before the advent of cloning technology. As such they still tend more towards natural progression, and have a large backing from their local populace. Some might consider their tactics and equipment to be dated, but this actually the result of a clever ploy to improve public approval.
Most of the Naph territories are located on Asherah Prime, but there are some smaller colonies on other planets that the games have taken them to.
United Calthog Oligarchies
Calthog is the local given name of Asherah II. In the early days in Asherah II's colonization, the planet was controlled by several different factions based territorially. Over time, when the Games began to pick up steam, the factions decided to unite under one banner.
Being based on Asherah II means that it is where most of their bases and support is at, but despite their being 'united' there is still the occasional call for internal conflict within the Games.
Materon Confederacy
A relatively new faction that has risen to popularity due almost exclusively to the Games. Having claimed large quantities of support, territories, and resources, with the seeming goal of only being a huge contender within the Games, the faction has become both a dangerous adversary and a popular opponent- everyone is looking to take them down.
Materon territories exist on every colonized planet in Asherah currently.
Antigen Merchantile Coalition
Formerly the Antigen Corporation, the Merchantile Coalition, similar to the Lessus Syndicate, has a large background in resource gathering schemes and business ventures. After the Resource Token Act the various corporations that eventually made up the corporation began weapons manufacturing.
When most of the other factions stopped accepting their designs, Antigen formed the Merchantile Coalition. Now they contend with high-end technology in the Games, proving themselves impressive contenders as well as shrewd politicians.
Isoliga Technocracy
One of the first factions to call for a seperation of the governments from certain aspects of society, such as war, the Isoliga Technocracy was also one of the first to propose the Clone Games as a means of deciding who controls what. They have also been one of the most active in proposing such concepts as the Resource Token act.
Due to their ideaologies and public responses they are fairly popular, but in the Games their strategies leave much to be desired.
Oligan Collective
Following a doctrine of efficiency since its inception, the Oligan Collective has a very strict view of resource use and Game resource allocation. With that said it is this same strict efficiency that makes them an appealing faction for many of the less well off, because there is always something they can find to improve.
They have been a popular winner on the frontier worlds being terraformed.
Bychron Theocracy
An exceedingly rare sort of faction these days, the Bychron Theocracy is, as its name implies, focused on winning their battles for the Great Bychron, the name of both their God and their faction. One of the few sources of religion left in the Asherah system, their political tactics revolve around gaining support by offering an alternative to the Ashes network; a biological heaven rather than a technological one. One where the risk of brain loss to data loss is impossible, and where you can explore the true stars rather than digital ones.
It has been a growing movement that has gained some support, and unlike some of the other religious factions, is actually not deemed fanatical.
Indethron Regency
The Indethron Regency has been relatively unpopular in recent times due to some rather questionable tactics and game misconducts. Outside of the Games however, they tend to be very apologetic and progressive. It has projected a somewhat powerless and reckless image for the faction.
They have a few holdings on populated worlds, but most of their Games have not gone beyond them.
Yultarian Federation
Possibly the current largest faction in existence, thanks in part to the massive amount of support they have had since the first Season, and their innovative tactics. They are usually the team to beat when trying to claim any one planet in its entirety, or even any one region.
Brotherhood of Constellations
While not technically a major faction, the Brotherhood of Constellations is a scientific community that has put more and more pressure into focusing on space travel. They are also one of the main forces that handles planet-to-planet transit, and monitors the stars and surroundings in general.
Similar to the Council of Asherah they do not usually partake of the games, but on the rare occasion they will- being thus far the only faction with sanctioned use of large scale airborne activities.
The Generals
Each faction has at least one General to represent them, from which all of their armies are cloned from. At that point the armies and the factions become separate entities. The Factions themselves, while they are directly affected by the games- and can sponsor their General if they are pleased with their performance- focus on governing the people.
The Generals focus purely on the Game. To them, it is more than just battles however. Either bred into them from birth or from a sense of duty or bloodlust, the Generals will always fight when the season begins. They are still human however; they desire social interaction and all the basic human needs. As such, the culture around the Games has spread into the social lives of the Generals, following them in their out-of-combat lives just as much as their Game careers.
Some Generals despise this, wanting nothing more than to have privacy. Others accept it as part of their jobs. Many, however, utilize this interest in their lives as another tool in the Game.
Each Faction's General will be listed here.
Non-Combatants
In addition to the Generals and the important function they serve are the few people who manage things behind the scenes. Logistics, resource acquisition, public opinion surveys, etc; the Generals either don't care to or don't have time to perform any of those functions, and so they fall to their representatives within each faction.
These people also make sure that the General is serving the faction's wishes best. A General becomes a pointless rogue if they aren't serving their purpose, and so the non combatants can alert them to what goals they need to achieve on and off the battlefield.
Planets and Regions
There are seven planets in the Asherah system, four asteroid belts, and several space stations and moons in orbit around most of the planets.
Any and all of these have been and can be potential fields for the Game, and most of them have mustering points and bases for the various factions.
Asherah I
Asherah I is a molten world located close to the yellow-white Asherah Star. While completely inhospitable to colonization, there are a few mining operations that have managed to survive and be incredibly profitable. While rare, occasionally a Season will feature a sub-season for domination of Asherah I.
It has no moons, but there is a Brotherhood station in a locked orbit on the opposite side of the planet to the sun, meaning that unless a ship takes an extreme angle to land on Asherah I, it will have to (and likely want to) land at the Brotherhood station.
Asherah Belts I & II
Both of the Asherah system's asteroid belts are located around Asherah I. The smaller, located nearer the star, has been slowly being eaten away by the gravitational pull of the star itself.
The larger one, located between Asherah I and II, has mining operations that are carried out most times of the year.
Asherah II, AKA Calthog
Asherah II, or Calthog as it has been dubbed by the locals, is a more recently colonized planet. Being closer to the star than the other colonized worlds, it is mostly barren of plant-life. There are a few bodies of water and very small polar caps, but it is mineral rich and a possible location for expansion.
It has two moons, and contains bases from most of the factions, since it is a popular training ground and off-season battleground for the armies to practice in.
Asherah III, AKA Asherah Prime (Seed: 671411117 - 63/14)
Asherah Prime, being the third astral body in the Asherah system and the home planet of the Asheran people, is almost completely covered in various cities. There is one super-continent that ultimately connects to every other large land-mass by way of archipelagos of various sizes, located primarily on the southern hemisphere.
One of the largest archipelagos binds the southern supercontinent to the largest and only subcontinent in the northern hemisphere. It is on this archipelago that the Asherah Council has constructed the Capitol city.
Most of the landmass east of the supercontinent is utilized as farmlands and mines, largely placed around the old settlements. Most of the islands, few though they are, are usually set up as bases for the various factions' Generals.
Asherah Prime has two moons and a plethora of stations.
Asherah IV
Asherah IV was the first planet that the Asherans travelled to when basic space travel became a possibility. Initially it was found to be incredibly lush with an expansive ecosystem, and it was eventually deemed human habitable. Since then it has, through its rich soil, served as one of the primary food sources for the Asherah System.
While also being a center of civilization, the planet did not gain much popularity until the Games ran three consecutive seasons in the jungles of Asherah IV. Since then the population centers have grown, but in the means of protecting its use to the games, most of the jungles, marshes and swamps are left untouched.
Some factions have also begun capturing local predatory fauna for use in their armies.
The planet has one moon.
Asherah V
Asherah V is a more recently colonized world that is undergoing minor terraforming. It is a massive, barren ball of ice and snow that does not have a hospitable atmosphere. Despite this it has proven to have large quantities of valuable gems and other minerals that assisted greatly in the initial research into cloning and replicating technologies.
Due to the necessity for atmospheric equipment Asherah V is not a popular locale for smaller factions in the Games, but it is a high value target for any faction with the capability.
One of the more interesting features of Asherah V is its seventy moons. Sixteen are large enough to support bases or mining operations, with the rest of the satellites mostly only being obstacles for flight paths.
Asherah VI
Asherah VI was formerly similar to Asherah V in that it is speculated to have been at one point an ice world. In recent times however the planet has warmed considerably despite its distance from the sun. Due to this curious anomoly the oceanic world is the focus of a great deal of scientific interest.
It has also become a favorite battleground for the Games, as naval warfare is something of a fresh experience. Asherah VI has three moons.
Asherah VII
Asherah VII is a gas giant with over one hundred satellites. It is the major fuel source for space travel in the system, but due to its location the fuel mining is not a particularly common venture. Even the Games, which is in almost every other aspect of Asheran culture, does not usually extend to Asherah VII.
History
Recorded history in Asherah dates back several thousand years. The oldest written records from Asherah Prime detail massive empires, crusades, falls, and long cycles of destruction. The people of Asherah have always been bloody-minded, and the advent of each advance of weaponry did not change that.
The Asheran civilization as it is now started to come about in their Fifth Age. Several nations had, anticipating nuclear war, joined forced to perfect replication technologies. In that way even if the surface was destroyed, a few plants and resources could be infinitely replicated so that the survivors could rebuild.
The nuclear war never happened, and the research was put on hold. In the brief peace time the first few spacecraft were developed and sent to the surrounding astral bodies. Most of them were initially inhospitable to human life however, and with drone casualty rates high and transit times long, sending human astronauts and scientists became a less appealing option.
It was around this time that the replication and cloning technologies came back into the field. Being able to send a clone of oneself was much more appealing, and replicating the entire ship made it much less resource intensive. The popularity in the scientific community eventually began to spread to the populace as a whole. Rebellions occurred where a nation's army would not fight; why fight an army made up of clones and slowly be destroyed themselves?
The governing bodies lost their ability to make war. No one saw the point of it any more. If there was a possibility for true death against an opponent who could not truly die, even protecting your own ideologies seemed less important. And what else was there? Food shortages, resource needs, all of that was taken care of. It was around this time that the first research into the Ashes began.
Years after the Ashes was completed was when the first true foray into the unknown began. A sleeper ship, dubbed the Glory of Asherah, was sent to their closest star, an estimated seventeen Lightyears away. With no FTL source of travel, the ship was equipped with its own Ashes network in which the inhabitants could reside until the ship recognized an astral body that might prove colonizable.
Twenty nine years later, several of the older Generals had an idea. They had grown bored of simulators and the lack of true warfare. Having existed in relative peace for so long, with no real power to make a war, they decided to make a game of it.
Utilizing their personal funds to clone large armies of themselves, tweaking the genetics into subservience or relative mindlessness, they began having small wars on Asherah II. The people of Asherah II found this blood sport entertaining, and urged the Generals to bring the fighting to a full swing, treat it like one of the real wars of old.
Several years, or seasons as they became known later, the phenomenon was deemed the Clone Games. It has since weaved its way into almost every aspect of Asheran society. Even the governments, even with little to no power directing the Generals and their conflicts, have managed to get their fingers back into the pie.