Rasalhague Dominion

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Crest of Rasalhague Dominion
Rasalhague Dominion
State Profile
Founding Year 3060[1]
Capital world: Asgard, Rasalhague (Executive);
Silverdale, Alshain (Clan and Governmental Council)
Controlled system(s): 71 (3130)
110 (3151)
Official Currency Bear-Krona
Official Language(s) English and Swedish (official), Swedenese, Japanese, German
Government
Head of State Prince
Military
Military Commander Khan
Army Clan Ghost Bear touman
Military Intelligence Clan Ghost Bear Watch, Mimir

An amalgamation of the Free Rasalhague Republic and Clan Ghost Bear, the Rasalhague Dominion is a blend of the political, military and cultural styles of Inner Sphere and Clan societies. Founded in 3060 as the Ghost Bear Dominion the new state was isolationist by inclination, only waging war against the Draconis Combine and Word of Blake due to external factors. Following the final victory over the Blakists, the Bears spent the next two decades attending to the integration of their Clan and Spheroid populations, and in 3103 the state was renamed the Rasalhague Dominion to reflect this.

The Dominion maintained its isolationist stance throughout the turbulent years of the mid-32nd century, though external circumstances — notably the Republic of the Sphere's implosion and Clan Wolf's migration deeper into the Inner Sphere — led to the Dominion significantly expanding its borders.

Fact Sheet (3130)

  • Estimated Population (as of 3130): 280 billion
  • Government: Republic (with Clan warrior-caste trappings)
  • Dominant Religion(s): Christian (Lutheran, semi-official), Shinto, Atheism, Neo-Norse

History

Ghost Bear Dominion

The immigration of Clan Ghost Bear to the Inner Sphere resulted in the founding of the Ghost Bear Dominion in 3060, in a region of space formerly possessed by the Free Rasalhague Republic and the Draconis Combine. During the Word of Blake Jihad, relations between the Ghost Bear Dominion and the remaining Free Rasalhague Republic worlds became increasingly cordial, and in 3103, the two realms officially united as the Rasalhague Dominion.

The key negotiations between the Ghost Bear Dominion and the Free Rasalhague Republic began on 21 August 3070, when Ragnar Magnusson spoke to the Free Republic's government on Orestes, beginning negotiations on an accord it was hoped would cover "all Rasalhagian peoples."[2]

In March 3076 the Ghost Bear Dominion suffered four raids on worlds close to or bordering the Periphery from Clan Ice Hellion left straggling after the failed Ice Hellion invasion of the Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone earlier in the Jihad. The Hellion units successfully raided Holmsbu, Constance, and Pinnacle before being pinned down on Damian by KungsArmé forces.[3][4]

The Dominion suffered from a degree of internal turmoil in October 3076 when resentment over the Clan protocols and Trials process implemented as a part of integrating the Rasalhague and Ghost Bear militaries into a Dominion defense force resulted in two Clusters, the 2nd Freemen and 1st Kavalleri Clusters refusing to join in the Trials of Position and instead mutinying.[5][6] The Ghost Bears responded by stalling their combat actions against the Word of Blake Protectorate to allow them to return all of the deployed units that were ethnically Rasalhagian commands back to Dominion space to deal with the mutiny. The various units departed for Dominion space on 5 November, and by the end of December the revolt had failed, with the various Free Rasalhague resistance groups in Dominion space going dormant.[6][7]

The Dominion world of Alshain was rocked by a terrorist bombing on 31 December 3078, for which the Motstånd terrorist group claimed responsibility. The explosion killed several hundred Rasalhagian and Ghost Bear civilians, several members of the Unity Council, and the former First Prince, Christian Månsdottir.[8]

At the end of the Jihad, the Ghost Bear Dominion represented the strongest of the Clan militaries within the Inner Sphere, although this was due in large part to the Ghost Bears having absorbed the Rasalhagian KungsArmé—the actual Ghost Bear element of the touman were considerably depleted—and the Ghost Bears were able to demonstrate the strength of the Dominion by loaning four Galaxies of troops to the newly formed Republic of the Sphere as garrison troops.[9]

While the Ghost Bear forces had seen a lot of heavy fighting during the Jihad itself, in 3080 and 3081 the Watch actually saw more combat than the regular forces did. This was driven by a combination of activities within the Dominion and outside; while the Watch were actively engaged putting down Blakist cells and Motstånd activities within the Dominion. Mimir was engaged across the area which had formerly been the Free Rasalhague Republic, particularly the region now occupied by Clan Hell's Horses. While the Watch denied that Mimir were engaged in any such activities, nationalist sentiment within the ethnic Rasalhagian population called increasingly strongly for an aggressive foreign policy, which resulted in probing raids from the Dominion into the Irece Prefecture in response to Draconis Combine raids.[9]

During the final years of the 31st century cross-border raids between the Dominion and Clan Nova Cat became increasingly common, culminating in the Second Combine-Dominion War of 3098 - 3101.[10] That conflict resulted in a favorable outcome for the Dominion, with three Combine worlds annexed and the Ghost Bear warrior caste agreeing to reforms to the Dominion's government. Two years after the war's end, these changes had led to the nation being renamed the Rasalhague Dominion and civilian representatives governing the Dominion on an equal footing with their warrior counterparts.[11][12]

Rasalhague Dominion

Over the next three decades the Dominion focused inward as the Clan warriors and civilian leaders adjusted to sharing power over their nation. Its main conflicts during that time were internal as two dissident groups challenged the government in separate ways. The Motstånd resistance organization's anti-Clan activities peaked with a brief and failed uprising in 3125; following the crushing of the rebels by both Clan and native troops, Motstånd sank into irrelevance as a fringe group. The pacifist Freeminders, on the other hand, did not fade away despite being forcibly rebuffed by the Dominion government, and grew in influence over time.[13]

The HPG Blackout affected the Dominion less than most other states, due to its isolationism and relatively large JumpShip fleet.[14] While the Dominion refrained from attacking the disintegrating Republic of the Sphere as others did, its Omega Galaxy and accompanying Freeminder dissidents established the Vega Protectorate in 3136, bringing order to Prefecture I worlds cut off from the Republic government by the Wall. The Dominion's post-Blackout territorial gains derived instead from Clan Wolf's abandonment of its Occupation Zone in 3137, as the Bears secured fifteen systems while clashing with the Hell's Horses and Jade Falcons.[13]

The Dominion continued to expand its borders in 3144, first absorbing eleven Lyran Commonwealth worlds left isolated by the Jade Falcons' advance into the Commonwealth and then, albeit reluctantly, incorporating the Vega Protectorate as an autonomous region.[13][15] During the tumultuous latter half of the 3140s the Dominion remained quiescent, save for two minor conflicts. In 3147 it was the first target of Clan Hell's Horses' Operation NOYAN, losing three worlds to the Horses, while later claiming two from the Combine in 3150.[16][17]

The Dominion and the IlClan

Nonetheless, the Dominion's leadership did not remain idle while the Wolves and Jade Falcons contested Terra and the ilClanship. Units were transferred to stations nearer to Terra, sibkos were graduated a year early, and Yorii and Imbros III, the last two worlds standing between the Dominion and Terra, were annexed.[18] Ultimately, despite covertly receiving the means to travel through the Wall, Khan Dalia Bekker chose not to commit her Clan's touman to the battle raging on Terra.[19]

In the end, Clan Wolf emerged the victor and its Khan Alaric Ward declared himself the new ilKhan of the Clans. The Ghost Bear Khans met with Alaric on Terra and, after satisfying themselves that the ilClan Trial had been conducted honorably, did not openly contest Ward's claims, though they did not actually acknowledge him as their overlord either.[20] To outside observers, the Dominion's leadership appeared to have allowed somebody else the 'honor' of becoming ilClan so as not to take on the downsides of that position themselves, and with its large Clan-based military the Dominion was poised to play a key role in determining whether the ilClan would become a conquering force or ended as a threat to the Inner Sphere.[21][22]

Politics

The executive capitals of the Dominion are located in Asgard on Rasalhague, while the Clan and Governmental Council capitals are located in Silverdale on Alshain.

The national symbol of the Rasalhague Dominion is a white roaring bear head, set against a dark blue triangle. The government is a republic, with Clan warrior-caste styling. The legislative body of the government, Dominion Council, is composed of equal portions of freeborn, trueborn, and civilian caste representatives to maintain a balance of power. With civilian oversight cemented via ability to invoke Trials of Refusal against controversial policies (via direct combat or proxy champions) as well as the ability to dismiss the executives if they are deemed incompetent, it works with the executives, the Prince (who directs civilian affairs but comes from a military background), and the Khan of Clan Ghost Bear (who remains in charge of the Dominion's touman while answering to the Prince and Council). As of 3150, Prince Hjalmer Miraborg and Khan Dalia Bekker are the current executives of the Rasalhague Dominion.

Manufacturing Center

A detailed list of some Dominion manufacturing and company centers.

Heavy Aerospace Industry

3067

Major Defense Industries

3067

Culture

The official languages of the Rasalhague Dominion are English and Swedish, with Scandinavian, Japanese, and German influences. Lutheran Christian, Shinto, and Neo-Norse are the major religions practiced in the Dominion, though atheism is also influential. The Dominion currently uses the Bear-Krona as its unit of currency.

Sometime after the Jihad, Clan Ghost Bear's Khans and touman had integrated itself into Dominion deeply after relinquishing control of its civilian castes (with the exception of the Technician and Scientist Castes, which were embedded into the Warrior Caste as Warrior-Technician and Warrior-Scientist subcastes in the Clan touman) and handing civilian affairs over to the First Prince and the Dominion Council. By 3145, although groups such as Motstånd and the Freeminders maintained some resistance to the Clan overlords, the Dominion had otherwise successfully integrated the two societies.[13]

References

  1. Touring the Stars, p. 47
  2. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 48: "The Jihad in Review"
  3. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 21: "Timeline of the Jihad"
  4. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 55: "The Jihad in Review"
  5. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 22: "Timeline of the Jihad"
  6. 6.0 6.1 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 56: "The Jihad in Review"
  7. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 23: "Timeline of the Jihad"
  8. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 60: "The Jihad in Review"
  9. 9.0 9.1 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 112: "Ghost Bear Dominion"
  10. Historical: Wars of the Republic Era, pp. 18–20
  11. Historical: Wars of the Republic Era, p. 15
  12. Historical: Wars of the Republic Era, p. 39
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Era Report: 3145, p. 72
  14. Field Manual: 3145, p. 152
  15. Field Manual: 3145, p. 25
  16. Shattered Fortress, p. 47
  17. Shattered Fortress, p. 83
  18. IlClan, pp. 125–126
  19. Hour of the Wolf, Interlude (PDF pp. 378–381)
  20. IlClan, p. 107
  21. IlClan, p. 126: "Incredible Restraint"
  22. IlClan, p. 126: "The Key to the Future"
  23. Strategic Operations, p. 15
  24. Tactical Operations, p. 15

Bibliography