*“Year two of the Regent’s rule. The population’s growth continues apace. Extraordinary means have been deployed to ensure the integration of migrant workers, but this enforced pluralism happens only under the auspices of rigid order, and strict laws designed in board rooms for the benefit of its ruling cabal. Darth Venor’s minions have quickly understood the need for talent and forethought, and they are draining the best and brightest from the sector. But the iron grip never slackens, and there are still those who chafe and squirm, looking outwards for liberators. The most drastic transformation, however, is yet to occur: the building of a national identity and corresponding central bank, key industries and diplomatic presence, all independent from the Sith Empire.”* *Lord Tiresias, confidential memo for Military Intelligence, 27 ATC* Anath is a remote world in the Far Outer Rim, close in relative terms to Tatooine and Hypori, in the Ferra Sector. It is the only largely inhabited world in the Sast system. It connects to two minor hyperlanes, with the main jump point being on system’s far edges. Discovered around the time of the Mandalorian wars, it was recently colonized on a large scale thanks to several Imperial programs, which helped resettle veterans and war refugees. Its growth has been largely fed by violent wars in the Mid-Rim, and after years of troubled leadership, it is now in the firm grasp of the Nightfall Dominion, a rogue Sith cabal pulling the strings of its hereditary monarchy. Its overall population is currently close to 25 million, and steadily climbing due to strong immigration and government-sponsored child support, and its economy is mixed, with a large agricultural sector and expanding network of industries and services centered around urban centers. --- # **History** The exact circumstances surrounding Anath’s discovery are not known, however Hypori’s archives do list its original owner as a wealthy aerospace engineer and voidcraft designer called Anom Anath, after whom the planet gets its name. After moving to the very first of its settlements, Anom begun investigating the records of his company, and discovered suspicious dealings. He grew convinced that someone was tampering, not only with his records, but with galactic politics and finance at an astounding level. Unknowingly, he had discovered traces of Sith infiltration, and this attracted the attention of Cerberus, a sorcerer lord. Anom began having feverish dreams, and his paranoia grew into obsession, until his sanity eroded under the strain of telepathic interference. His ravings were dismissed, and he grew convinced his own family and bodyguards were working against him. In one night of violence, he killed them all, tainting the burgeoning world with its first stain of the Dark Side. For the next three centuries, the world was left alone, due to its cursed reputation, though it was at times settled by small groups from Hypori and Crassus, fleeing endemic poverty or seeking anonymity in farmwork. Shortly after the Treaty of Coruscant, the Sith Empire started discharging many veterans and addressing the problem of war refugees. It disbanded several legions stationed in the Mid-Rim and used Imperial transports to seed Anath with colonists, who were left to develop the agriculture there. Anthium and On’Duru, small and ancient settlements, were greatly expanded at that time, mostly from military-grade prefabs, and in 16 ATC, a promising young officer, Sistrius Dix, was named as governor. He established trade with nearby planets, including the Republic world of Hypori, helping to boost growth and import industrial machines to create permacrete, durasteel and the basis of industrial development. He rebuilt the original settlements with durable, Imperial-style buildings, and organized trade directorates to oversee the main sectors of the economy. In effect, it was an oligarchy that depended on his legitimacy as imperial governor. However, Sistrius Dix, upon reaching the title of moff at a young age, grew disillusioned with the Empire, where his career prospects seemed limited, and he begun negotiating with the Republic for protection. Outraged, Darth Vowrawn tasked the assassin Darth Nadir with toppling the renegade. A former protégé of moff Dix during his years as a cadet, Nadir was eager to oblige to avoid the stain by association. With a single brigade, he stormed New Anthium in 21 ATC, and decapitated moff Dix, reasserting legitimate Imperial rule. *To the left: Darth Nadir, first Sith ruler of Anath.* ![<](file-guid:9618343d-44b4-4bca-8bff-ec1304774b73 "14063d3e9b678f836351e1c60b22793d.jpg" =175x300)Under the Dominion, Anath has gone through the systematic and violent enforcement of Imperial order. Shortly after Darth Nadir's arrival on the planet, rebellion was kindled by the surviving members of the directorate, and soon it became the Republic's tool of disorder and strife, under the leadership of admiral Daven and Jedi master Tahrek Deva. Fierce battles were waged across the wastelands, and purges were led by Dominion Intelligence in the midst of New Anthium, the capital of Anath. Eventually, the rebels received a constant stream of gear and supplies from the Republic, as they reinforced their hidden bases, in the ruins of Republic cities devastated by the first Imperial invasion, about 30 years prior to the Dominion's founding. It was an opportunity that Intelligence had long coveted, and infiltrators were sent to investigate the base, making sure that all officers were duly executed when troops from the 4545th legion stormed it. The only surviving rebel officer was Gerald Spalding, a former member of Anathi Intelligence, who had defected in the early days of the rebellion and held considerable knowledge of the planet's defenses. Intelligent, cunning, devious in his own right, he was the natural leader for the surviving rebels, whom he gathered for a final battle, hoping to storm the capital with the aid of Republic ships. Unbeknownst to him, however, was that Darth Nadir had orchestrated his survival, to goad the rebellion into finally facing him on the battlefield. Anath's Last Stand was a disaster for the rebellion. Admiral Daven was killed by a well-timed shot from the Dawnbreaker, the rogue Jedi Jaraah Qehi was forced to flee after an ordeal suffered at Darth Nadir's hand, and the remains of the Republic 15th Fleet, which had aided the rebels, were obliterated. Scores of rebels and republic officers were massacred. Major Kristelle Carrigan and Gerald Spalding fled, only to be killed shortly thereafter, along with the last tattered remains of the insurrection. Jedi Master Tahrek Deva was located thanks to the ruined memories of his former padawan, and narrowly escaped the Dominion, losing a hand after a heated duel on the spires of New Anthium. Shortly after reasserting Imperial rule on Anath, and securing hypermatter and blaster gas supplies for the fledgling colony by taking control of the nearby moon of Crassus, Darth Nadir returned to the Throne Worlds, his assignment complete, and his reputation for efficiency well-established. After his departure, several Imperial governors tried to assert the same level of authority, with uneven success, as rebellions cascaded in the area, and government officials were frequently purged or compromised. After half a decade, Darth Venor seized the mantle of governor from Darth Morgal, ending a bloody cycle of power struggles through a power-sharing agreement with the leader of the military, Darth Ensis, the Warmarshal. As head of state and government, Darth Venor transformed Anath into the laboratory for his police state, enforcing systematic surveillance of citizens, incarceration of all dissidents and renewed moral and cultural conservatism. Following several crises that allowed Venor to silence dissent, executing the leaders of the nascent Insurgency, purging the remaining Republic sympathizers of the Pelagia Crusade and launching brutal inquests to track down the Cult of the One, he ruthlessly exploited a key crisis. Following a large-scale terror and provocation campaign by the followers of Amerys Devraki, he was politically challenged by an ambitious Sith backed by the Dark Council, Lord Viroledan. But Viroledan’s fleet was ambushed, in a massacre that bore the hallmarks of the Cult of the One, and its leader was mutated by dark sorcery, before being executed by Dominion boarding teams. Using this to show the Empire’s weakness in the Outer Rim, Venor declared the Dominion’s independence from its homeworld of Anath, with the full backing of its new governor, a long-time DIS faithful. In the protracted crisis that followed the Dominion’s secession, the Sith Empire allied with Amerys Devraki’s last followers, who engineered Venor’s assassination on the ice world of Secar. In the bloody war that followed, the Dominion eked out a victory against Darth Judicael’s expedition on the shrine world of Govanni, aided by their treacherous founder, Darth Nadir. Bereft of Venor’s leadership, the Sith chose to step away from the model of an obvious Sith ruler, instead placing Venor’s infant son Scipio on the throne. Now led by Darth Ensis, the Sith cabal receded into the shadows, intent on consolidating its power through more subtle means. --- # **Geography** Anath is a medium-sized planet with a diverse ecosystem and an oxygen-rich atmosphere. Its gravity is slightly stronger than on planets like Alderaan, and its environmental balance is considered positive. It has three major continents: Antioch, Damassea, and Hiborea. **Antioch**, the largest continent, is heavily populated, currently harbouring around 21.6 million inhabitants. Its population is rapidly growing with the influx of economic refugees recruited to work in burgeoning factories and megafarms. Its mild climate has proven favourable to the culture of the star-grape, a robust plant whose high-nourishment fruits are used to make nutrient paste sold to the Imperial Army. It is mostly populated in the south, where oceanic climate is dominant. The plains around the Inner Sea, a large cluster of freshwater lakes, form the heart of the agricultural sector, dominated by New Anthium, and the smaller factory cities of Lysias and Kal'Maritza. The far south is part-desert and houses several luxury resorts spared by the humid weather of the central farmlands. ![>](file-guid:9c28b587-8d3b-4be1-a00e-c5f2c2e6034c "ab2c4a8d8d8c8d3db675e76d52f407b8.jpg" =200x310)New Anthium is a marvel of neo-Imperial style, with sleek, dark grey durasteel and permacrete buildings whose angular design breaks off from traditional Imperial city design by incorporating more modern prefabricated defense positions. Several buildings have a more Republican inspiration, like the great dome of the Opera Hall, a construction financed by moff Sistrius Dix, and completed per Darth Nadir's specifications. The city center is made of heavily protected towers where the main executives for the industry and planetary administration work. Most prominent are the Impera Spire, a massive jet-black high-rise building housing most of imperial administration and constructed under Darth Neceena, and the Gotha Spire, a slate-grey helix where most of the budding financial and service sector is headquartered. The outskirts are heavily industrialized and centralize food production from the entire continent. *A view of the Impera Spire, and in the background, the Ministry of Justice building (left) and the Ministry of Production and Agriculture (right).* The north is mostly deserted due to harsher conditions and polar winds, save for the nuclear-powered domed farms around On'duru, the Sunless City. A former hive of crime and corruption, built upon mine shafts for radioactive ores, it has long been the main recruitment center for Anathi-born soldiers, the fearsome Talons, often youths marked by gang violence. The strong military presence is reinforced by the nearby Bastion, the Warmarshal’s headquarters.  *On’duru, the Sunless City. During the artificial daytime, the roof panels mimic natural lighting, to conceal the toxic air pollution caused by nearby industries.* Further afield are a slew of minor cities, most of them centers of agricultural industry, or clusters that generate power and mine essential ores for the burgeoning industry, linked by high-speed rail and aerial bridges of heavy freighters. Far from these country towns is a sprawling estate known as Kiepacz, a rapidly developing prison complex that houses one of Anath’s main gulags, destined primarily for political inmates, under heavy surveillance.  *The Kiepacz gulag. No inmate has ever escaped it, and those who die are recycled as food. The loudspeakers loop propaganda announcements and discordant hymns designed to psychologically break prisoners overtime.* The Dominion Citadel, heart of the Sith power, is rumored to be somewhere in the northern mountains, nestled between several military airfields and DIS listening posts in the Sea of Song, most notably the Dusk-classified Whispering Atolls, which are off-limits even to high-ranking members of the military. **Damassea** is a continent situated on the far south-east and has mostly a continental/tropical weather. Situated above several fault lines in the planet’s crust, it still has over a hundred active volcanoes that prevent the mainland from being colonized, though several facilities have been implemented to use geothermic plants to extract energies, and filter minerals, helping provide electricity and basic technology to the mainland. Floating bases in the Phocea Bay house some of the Dominion’s most advanced biotech facilities, as the site provides access to considerable biodiversity and rare earth materials, mitigating the risk of tsunami with advanced engineering and clever use of extinct volcanoes as tide-breakers. **Hiborea** is a mostly untouched landmass to the north-west, with a far harsher weather, long winters and insufficient sunlight, that prevent proper crop growth. However, colonies are currently being built there to take advantage of the mineral deposits, and the Dominion expects it to welcome over two million inhabitants, minors and workers within the next three years, should immigration hold steady. --- # **Society** *“Year one of Scipio I’s rule. Population growth has brutally accelerated due to the war on Manda. Crime and unrest are becoming rampant. In truth, no government could hope to fully contain the tide of refugees caused by our clash with the Empire. Still, our forces are moving to screen, settle and employ the errant millions flooding into the throneworld and its vassal states. Darth Venor’s legacy has gone beyond the cold apparatus of State, it now morphs into myth and superstition, sowing the seeds of a warped religion whose shadow troubles even my keenest visions. The Sith Order tightly clutches the strings of this great puppet, even as it chafes and bleeds us dry of wit and strength. I fear that, in this dauntless nation, we have created something that strives for nothing more than war, conquest and grandeur.”* *Lord Tiresias, confidential memo for Military Intelligence, 29 ATC* Because its oldest active settlements are about fourty to fifty years old, and most of its current population was born on other worlds, Anath lacks a properly defined culture and social hierarchies. However, two elements have had an outsized influence on the nascent Anathi culture. The first is referred to “hab-culture”, which is tied to the existence of agricultural and urban communes, with high levels of solidarity and political unity. This fueled the emergence of powerful unions in the pre-Dominion era, leading to cartel-like criminal activity and strong local identities, which were mercilessly crushed by the Dominion when they gave way to active participation in rebel movements. However, hab-culture has endured in other ways, with various cultural productions like music, holoseries and lingo, particularly in urban areas like New Anthium and On’duru, where the worker-habs have retained a strong sense of solidarity. The second element is Imperial influence. Education, medicine and security have always been handled by the State, which has fostered a strong attachment to meritocracy. Academic success and service to the State are highly valued, and individuals of great merit are elevated with their families, leading to a quasi-aristocracy of civil servants, military officers and academics. This has tended to stifle free enterprise, and the need for elites to constantly prove themselves to retain their status has created a fertile breeding ground for Dominion loyalists, one the DIS has thrived on. As a result, *merit*, no matter how skewed it is towards already successful dynasties, is seen as the paramount virtue, and political or military rank open more doors in high society than cash. As a result of constant, vicious competition to access elite academies and junior civil service programs, the Anathi youth is mercilessly drilled by their families and tutors, and expected to excel. Physical and military education are considerably more developed than in other nations, and the rate of burnout in adolescents is notably high. Groups of disenfranchised youth often become active in hab-culture, forming small isles of non-conformity. Venor’s own values, inspired by moral puritanism, find little purchase in these counter-cultural groups, where HoloNet use is higher, and the Insurgency’s legacy is still strong. However, while a small minority of habs in New Anthium tend to develop cosmopolitan thought and even harbor Republic sympathies, most habs are extremely insular and xenophobic, making them hostile to outside influences, a boon for the DIS and Dominion recruiters at times. Venor’s personality cult has seeped into them in strange ways, far from the orthodoxy of thought found in the rest of Anath; indeed, there are many strange cults there, who proselytize about the Dragon King’s survival and eventual return.  *The Talon Academy, on the outskirts of New Anthium, forming Anathi-born officers through Darth Nadir’s Dominion Initiative. Graduating from one of the capital’s academies marks a young citizen as part of the meritocratic elite.* --- # **Dominion governance** After the Dominion took over the system, Imperial government was purged, rebuilt, and strengthened around the designs laid down by Darth Nadir. Key to his policy, however, was the idea of integrating Anath to Imperial society. Conquered worlds are heavily policed by the Empire, and some planets have taken centuries to be recognized as Imperial, with their population then being granted Imperial citizenship. For Nadir, the Anathi needed to feel they could contribute to the Empire. Thus, he ordered the creation of the Dominion Initiative, a way for talented and loyal individuals to acquire citizenship through shows of loyalty. However, the Initiative largely fell into disrepair after his departure, as the Dominion regressed to a solely militaristic regime. Prior to seizing power, then-lord Venor had reverted this tendency, through reforms to the judiciary, security services and political governance, under the auspices of a single-party system, recreating the conditions for a totalitarian regime. After he ascended to Lord Regent, now a Darth, he encouraged a cult of personality and culture of surveillance, enforced by the Dominion Intelligence Service (DIS), the lynchpin of his powerbase. ![<](file-guid:dff396e9-31e6-4904-be37-5aa06a87b0f4 "b393393e1078caaa990603bb5c785ade.jpg" =200x300)Starting with Anath, and then extending into the rest of the Dominion, Darth Venor dotted the land with surveillance post, black sites and prison camps known as “gulags”. His inhumane rule is largely secretive, with an extensive propaganda apparatus constantly redefining the public narrative. HoloNet providers are kept under a tight watch, the cultural sector is encouraged to create “compatible” pieces of art and entertainment, and DIS executives occupy key posts in various ministries or private industries, their personal loyalty to the Regent keeping even the most mundane matters riveted to the political scene. Even internally, security services are known to share very little of the extent of their repression, or the breath of their off-the-books infrastructure, causing a considerable amount of dread amongst imperial officials. The keystone to this transformation was the nomination of a governor, Marcus Renton-Knowles, a media figurehead and political spokesperson who had for years served as Venor’s primary political operative. Having a member of the DIS executive board oversee every aspect of the homeworld’s politics, social fabric and economy is a strong statement of the Regent’s intention to not relinquish an ounce of his control over the jewel in the State crown. *On the left: Marcus Renton-Knowles, governor of Anath, director of the DIS executive board and Darth Venor’s right hand in political matters.* However, Darth Venor’s ultimate legacy was the creation of the Veridius dynasty, a hereditary monarchy that now openly helms the Kingdom of Anath and its vassal states, the Senate Moon of Crassus and the Asyvanor Autocracy. Too young to rule, King Scipio is surrounded by advisers who wield real power, and none more so than his Regent, Sith Lord Exoria, herself an agent of the Sith cabal.