Rixari

Originating from the planet Avareau, the Rixari are an enigmatic race which have forged a small Empire on the fringes of the Astromician's range. They are relatively advanced technologically, making use of a variety of new devices and revolutionary creations. They are a highly suspicious and xenophobic species as a result of their ill fated encounter with the Imperium. As a result the Rixari have a very efficient military. The species was apparently wracked by conflict before their unification and expansion into the stars. This led to the rise of many horrific and devastating weapons, as well as several highly trained armies. The Rixari are a well disciplined, inquisitive species stuck in an incredibly hostile galaxy and they will do what ever it takes to survive...

Biology
The Rixari (Rixari Rixarun) are an aquatic piscine race which are largely reliant on the use of pressurised suits in order for them to walk on land (although some of their sub-species do not require such devices). All members of their species are colossal beasts, with a typical Rixari measuring 7 metres in height and being a little over 1.5 metres wide. Each Rixari has 4 limbs, as well as two fins which extend from their arms like scythes and a large tail which greatly improves their movement in water. It has been found that as a Rixari ages it's tail grows in length, making it very easy to distinguish younger inexperienced Rixari from the older an often wiser members of their species. Two of the Rixari's appendages have developed into legs which are capable of propelling the Rixar on land almost efficiently as they can move in water. From these legs two pseudo-feet have grown allowing them relatively good balance while on land. The other set of limbs have developed into arms which have pseudo-hands from which 4 webbed extremities protrude. Rixari use these "fingers" to grip tools or weapons as well as to manipulate the pressure suits that most species must wear while on land.

Rixari have very distinct facial features which make it easy to distinguish one from another. Their head is attached to their body by a small restrictive neck, akin to that of a shark, and they possess four inquisitive eyes. Tests on Rixari subjects have shown that two of the eyes are capable of seeing the visible spectrum while the other two can detect and fully interpret infrared light. They have two slits which appear to be primitive noses, although they do seem to have a good sense of smell. Oddly the species appears to completely lack any visible ears, although experiments have shown that they do respond to sonic waves. The most intriguing feature about the face of a Rixari is it's mouth. A Rixari is capable of moving both it's lower jaw and upper part of it's mouth independently, making it an extremely proficient killer while in an aquatic environment.

Sub-Species
The differences between the Rixari are still very clear cut even in the 41st Millennium where they appear to be a united species. Before their unification two separate sub-species of Rixari had developed on their homeworld, due to their drive to survive.

Rixari Rixarun
The dominant species of Avareau are the Rixari Rixarun, they are constrained to living in the oxygen rich lakes and seas of their home planet. In order to walk on land they must wear a full body immersion suit which allows them to breathe through a contained water environment with their gills. This species are the typical Rixari which most races encounter first as they are very distinctive, particularly with their flooded Obsidian class cruisers and Agate Class Dreadnoughts.

Rixari Rixarun are the species which fits the previous description in the biology section the most. They are only capable of breeding while immersed in H20 and they do so with a female laying a batch of eggs which a male can fertilise. Newly hatched Rixari Rixarun must spend the first 25 cycles of their life in water before they fully develop. At the age of 26 a Rixari will be permitted to wear a coveted pressure suit in order to allow them to explore the terrestrial environment of their homeworld.

Yalon Rixarun
The Yalon Rixarun are the most common land based Rixari sub-species. This race left the waters several thousands of years before the Unification with the aid of "Breather Packs" which scientists of the East Ocean Alliance had developed. These "Breather Packs" wear large Rixar portable devices that could be slung over the back of a member of their species that feeds water to the gills of the Rixari wearing it. These devices allowed some of their species to explore the surface before the invention of the pressurised immersion suits. The only drawback was that a Rixari could risk their skin fully drying out if they spent to long out of the water.

However, the Rixari, which used these device's more frequently, gradually began to develop tougher and more water tight skin. After a couple of hundred years the first Rixari was born that no longer required to be immersed in water at any point during it's life. Eventually the Yalon, as they became known, slowly developed the ability to breed whilst on land, as long as it was in a humid environment. After this point the jealous water based Rixari Rixarun decreed that they were no longer part of the same race but some form of heretical sub-species, dubbed the Yalon Rixarun by their geneticists.

The Yalon are still capable of thriving in the waters of their world, as they retained their gills, although they became unwelcome in the Rixari controlled seas. Instead they took refuge in the many freshwater lakes which dotted the lands of Avareau. Yalon Rixarun does not differ at all aesthetically from their pure breed water borne cousins as they only difference between the two species is that the Yalon have toughened, water tight, skin.

Amphanox Rixarun
The last of the Rixari sub-species are definitely the most striking of their kind. They differ greatly from their other two cousins as they lack the ability to return to the oceans they once called home. Several members of the Eastern Sea Union began work on genetically modifying their species to allow them to breathe the air of their homeworld during the time of the most heated conflicts on Avareau. The Yalon had already began colonisation of the terrestrial part of their planet and therefore escaped the worst of the conflicts. The ESU were looking for a way to exit the growing war and decided to emulate what the Yalon had done.

Their scientists worked on making the gills of the Rixari capable of filtering oxygen in a gaseous form. After several rotational cycles of work on changing the structure of the Rixari's respiratory system, down at a genetic level, they eventually succeeded in developing what they hoped to be an amphibious member of their species. They dubbed their modified species the Amphanox as they were capable of breathing both liquid and gaseous oxygen. The ESU decreed to convert their entire population to the now superior Amphanox Rixarun.

They moved to the sparsely populated terrestrial surface of the planet and established several colonies. However, the first generation of Amphanox Rixarun to be born on land lacked the ability breathe in the water and many of them died when they attempted to enter the former domain of their parents. This was in part due to the fact that the gene structure of the Amphanox had underwent a radical mutation which the ESU hadn't foreseen. As the young first generation Amphanox Rixarun had never been forced to breathe through a liquid medium their respiratory system had developed to take the path of least resistance, which was to breathe the more easily accessible gaseous oxygen.

As a result the modern Amphanox are entirely a land based species and they are responsible for protecting terrestrial areas of planets which the Rixari have conquered. They look similar to their ancient cousins save for a darker skin and wider gills. They also have an improved metabolism and sense of smell over their primitive water borne cousins. However, the formidable tails which both other sub-species have are much shorter on the Amphanox Rixarun and the fins on their arms are much smaller than those of their relatives as they have become obsolete.

Unification
The events which happened before the unification of the Rixari are shrouded in mystery and it is taboo for the race to even mention it. All that is known is that the race committed several horrific genocide's on their own people as they developed unholy weapons of war in this period of their history. The little that has been garnered by Imperial researchers is that a team of visionaries from one of the major Rixari nation states devised a plan to unite their disillusioned people. Chief amongst them was Yul'drak Idarus who masterminded the union of the other Rixari nations.

Yul'drak originated from the north seas of Avareau and had risen to a high position North Avareau Military. He had ties with the Science Divisions and had gained several allies which he would use to further his future cause. The ambitious Rixari, along with his allies, worked on modifying several of the native land based species into vicious and intelligent beings. They altered the appearance of these beasts significantly, so not to arouse suspicion, and armed them to the teeth with a variety of experimental weapons. Yul'drak fabricated a name and a language for this "new" species before letting them loose on the general populous of Avareau.

Him and his team also made sure to create a fake crash site for these "aliens" and set out to convince the other Rixari nations that they were under an attack from an unknown species that was extraterrestrial in origin. Yul'drak announced that he would personally lead his forces to stop these marauding killers and that he would accept support from any other nation in his quest.

He managed to keep the farce up for more than 5 rotational cycles, gaining the trust of all of the Rixari Nation States in the process, before he personally killed the "leader" of the apparent invading Xenos. Every Rixari nation was grateful for the role he played in the eradication of the "invaders" and he was given the position of First Leader of the Rixarun Coalition. The loose alliance was held together almost entirely by their united fear of another alien attack and their dependance on Yul'drak leadership.

Under Yul'drak's guidance, as well as with the help of his trusted allies, the Rixari began to focus on the development of new technologies instead of weaponry. This led to the development of more advanced pressure suits, allowing the rest of the Rixari to fully explore their terrestrial environments. With a new found interest in the world beyond the oceans the Rixari ventured to discover the cosmos. As they were no longer focused on slaughtering one and other, all of the greatest Rixari scientists from across Avareau were able to pull all of their resources on developing space travel for their race.

Expansion
From the dawn of their Space Age the Rixari looked to settle on other planets as their own world had almost been completely ruined by war. The Rixarun Coalition sent out several exploration teams to all of the worlds in their native solar system. They found only two other celestial body capable of sustaining life, the large twin moons which orbited Avareau. The Amphanox colonised the barren moon of Aridal and set about the construction of more advanced spacecraft.

Meanwhile the pure breed Rixari and their slightly mutated cousins, the Yalon, established a colony on the second moon Hydral. Unlike it's twin, Hydral had several pockets of water which the Rixari races could thrive in. Like their fellow Rixarun sub-species, the Yalon and the Rixari began work on developing a more efficient means of cosmic transport with the aid of their increasing number of Psykers. With the help of these Rixari who had developed Psychic abilities, their scientists were able to fabricate the first functioning Warp Drive.

After the collaboration between the Amphanox who had designed newer, more efficient, sub-light spaceships and the Yalon scientists, which had developed a space drive capable of propelling them away from their local system, the Rixari were finally able to begin colonising the stars. They launched ten newly constructed, aquatic environment, Obsidian Class Cruisers into the void in search of habitable worlds.

Over the period of five decades a total of seven of these colony ships reported back to Avareau, stating that that they had found several worlds fit for settlement. Of course that still meant that the other three Obsidian Cruisers were still out in the void, their fates unknown. The Rixarun Coalition decided to be patient so they focused their attention towards the seven new colonies that had been founded. Each of these conquered worlds were a relatively short distance from one and other (only 10-20 light years away from Avareau) so they were well supplied by the twin Rixarun colony moons of Aridal and Hydral.

Confident with the success of their previous colonisation, the Rixari began a second expansion. This time they launched two Obsidian Cruisers, each protected by two Lazuli Destroyers, from each of their new colonies in search of more habitable worlds. It took a long time for each of these second generation exploration delegations to report back, with the 13th, presumed last, ship sending back a signal a whole 150 cycles after they had set off.

However, during this time several Rixari Psykers picked up a multitude of disturbing distress calls from one of the ships sent out in the first Rixarun Expansion. It warned of a highly aggressive and organised force that vastly outnumbered the Rixari forces. With their ill defended fledgling Planetary Collective of a mere 20 worlds, the Rixarun Coalition were worried of what this new threat may bring.

First Contact
The zealous forces, of the now identified "Imperium of Man", struck deep into Rixari territory. In the time taken for the Rixarun Coalition to organise a counter strike against the invaders they had already lost nine of their colonies to the Imperial forces. The Rixari were in complete disarray as they had suffered defeat after defeat against these relentless attackers. What had been organised into a "formidable counter attack" was effectively all of the spacecraft that the Imperial Navy had been unable to destroy. A paltry eleven Obsidian Cruisers, thirteen Lazuli Destroyers and a handful of the newly built Agate Dreadnoughts were what remained of the Unified Rixarun Navy.

However, the Imperial Forces were starting to tire and they were beginning to run low on resources, as they had ventured far beyond the borders of Imperial Space, quickly approaching the boundary of the Astronomicion's range. The Lord Commander of the Fleet, Lance Harlan, elected to halt their conquest at the world VN-153, (named Aquaron by the Rixari). By some strange coincidence, the Rixarun Coalition had chosen Aquaron as the planet from which they would launch a huge counter attack. They had already spent months fortifying the world and they had strategically positioned their fleet to be hidden behind the glare of the Aquaron System's star.

The Imperial Forces entered the system in a brazen manner, moving at full sub-light speed towards the planet. When they entered orbit Harlan became suspicious due to the lack of activity around a planet that was deep on Rixari territory. He ordered his ships to stay on heightened alert despite the apparent lack of danger. The Imperial forces were deployed to the planet below, in order to eliminate any Rixari they found. To their astonishment they encountered no immediate resistance. The Imperial Forces began settling on the planet in order prepare it for colonisation.

For a full week the Rixari stayed in hiding, allowing the Imperials to fall into a false sense of security, before finally revealing themselves. A large army of one thousand Yalon leapt from the oceans they were waiting in and ambushed a whole armed regiment, destroying every vehicle they encountered while slaughtering the crews. The rest of the the Imperial Guard didn't fair much better. A well organised force of Amphanox had begun slowly butchering their way through enemy lines. Meanwhile, all of the Imperium's aquatic troop carriers were sabotaged by Rixari stealth teams, with none of the boats escaping intact. The Rixarun forces were clever, making sure to divide all of the Imperial Forces before wiping them out with their combined might.

Lord Commander Harlan realised within 24 hours of the Rixari attacks that the battle was lost. After seeing the ferocity of the Rixarun counter strike against his forces Harlan deduced that this world was most likely their homeworld, given the oceanic conditions of the planet and the aquatic nature of the Rixari. Harlan ordered an immediate withdrawal of all surviving Imperial Forces, highlighting that all those who were left behind would be killed in Exterminatus. It was at this moment that the Rixarun fleet chose to attack, seeing that their enemy was attempting to retreat.

The battle in space was as fierce as the one on the ground. The Agate Dreadnoughts tore into the support ships and the newly launched Lazuli Destroyers focused their fire power on the Imperial Command ship. Harlan realised that he was in an unwinnable situation and elected to abandon his plan on Exterminatus. Choosing to initiate a dangerous and risky manoeuvre instead. The Lord Commander chose to activate his flag ship's Warp drive, despite it's treacherous proximity to a celestial body.

To the dismay of the Rixari, the Lord Commander's ship escaped, and a resulting Warp Rift caused severe damage to both the surviving Imperial ships and to those of the Unified Rixarun Navy. The fluctuation in the Warp had also had an extremely detrimental effect on the Rixari Psykers that were still on the planet below. Many went insane and other were seduced into the service of the Ruinous Powers. After eliminating what remained of the Imperial Fleet, the Rixari chose to abandon the planet they had fought so valiantly to save, as it became engulfed by the fledgling Warp Rift.

Collapse of a Civilisation
The Rixari had suffered greatly at the hands of the Imperium. What remained of the Coalition Forces rushed back towards their homeworld in preparation for an invasion that never came, while the remaining 8 Rixarun colonies became cut off from their home system. Even after there had been no indication of a second Imperial invasion, the Rixari still had no desire to even risk entering the Aquaron System, deeming it a lost cause. The Rixari had used up vast amount of resources in order to sustain their war effort and their society had suffered as a result. Simple necessities such as food and shelter were in short supply due to the over abundance of refugees from the war as well as the fact that many key supply worlds had fallen to the Imperium.

Rixari from the isolated colonies became disillusioned after they lost contact with their homeworld. As a result many of these colonised worlds collapsed into civil war as resources became sparse. The populous of two of the colonised worlds reverted to savagery in order to survive, as the settlers becoming divided on race lines with the Rixari, Yalon and Amphanox taking control of their native environments.

The situations on Aridal and Hydral were not much better as the Rixari became divided in their loyalties. Two distinct factions formed, one which supported a policy of reuniting the lost colonies as well as taking revenge on the Imperium which had wronged them (Expansionists) and another group which was focused on fixing the troubles of their homeworld (Unionists).

The Rixari Expansionists unanimously chose commandeer all of the remaining Unified Rixarun Navy ships and left their homeworld, in an attempt to avoid war with the Unionists. The Rixari Unionists were pleased that the agitators had left. They set out to rebuild their homeworld and it's twin moons on their own with a limited number of space craft and resources. However, the Unionists also realised they were now both vulnerable to extraterrestrial attack and that they were completely system bound. It took more than twenty-five cycles for them to salvage their Avareau civilisation, before re-establishing it as the Rixari Empire. Of course, while issues in their home system were settled, the fates of the Expansionists was still a mystery.

Forging of an Empire
Almost forty Rotational Cycles after their departure, the Unified Rixarun Navy returned to Avareau Space, with their full compliment of Expansionist crews. They brought back interesting news of their venture to the Rixari that remained in their home system, as well as the reason for the increase in the size of their fleet. In their absence they had reclaimed six of their lost worlds, as well as establishing a new spaceport on their most resource rich colony, Vodran (which had coincidentally much faired better than the other Rixari worlds). However, the two colony worlds which had fallen into a feudal state had been unwilling to rejoin the Rixari and they had met serious opposition from the former settlers.

It became apparent that the reason the Expansionist's had chosen to return to their homeworld was in order to receive aid from the entire Rixarun Coalition in order to bolster the small compliments of these forces which had decided to join the mission to reunite the Rixari. The Rixari Unionists agreed to support their brothers as they had witnessed their effectiveness at expanding and fortifying Rixarun Space. The only condition was that the Expansionist's, and the planet's they conquered, would fall under the command of the new Rixari Empire. Surprisingly the Rixari Expansionists, who had braved the hazards of space to bring their planets back to their control, were fine with this as they realised they would probably be rewarded handsomely for their efforts (as well as recognising the need for an effective form of control over the recaptured worlds). Regular trade routes were immediately established between the Avareau System and the co-operative six Rixari Colonies while preparations were made for a second conquest of the two worlds that were yet to fall back under Rixarun control.

Exactly one rotational cycle after their arrival in the Avareau System, the full might of the Unified Rixarun Navy left their orbit over Aridal in order to initiate their conquest of the fallen worlds of Uisgav and Aguaj, the two planets that had resisted a return to Rixarun control. Along with them were the entire combined forces of the Yalon Armed Legion and the Amphanox Strike Forces, as well as an elite contingent of Rixari Defence Initiative soldiers. Interestingly, one section of the fleet was also tasked with a secondary objective of colonising new worlds after Uisgav and Aguaj had been pacified.

The Warp jump to Uisgav was short, lasting only half a rotational cycle. The forces of the Rixarun Coalition and their leaders had been planning (as well as testing) their course of action for the entire duration of the voyage. It had been checked with the intelligence which the previous expedition had garnered and any potential hazards were inserted into the plan to make sure it was fool proof. The moment the ships entered Uisgav's orbit, the Coalition ground forces launched their attack, striking at all of the key strategic locations simultaneously.

The main resistance leaders, which were little more than savage tribal chieftains, were quickly disposed with the last being killed two Aridan Cycles (months) after the initial invasion force. Most of the tribal Rixari were easily re-educated, particularly the Amphanox who were the first to willingly join the Rixarun Empire. The Yalon followed suit soon after their land dwelling relatives. However, the pure bred Rixari (Rixari Rixarun) had reverted to a far more primal state than their mutant cousins and proved difficult to shift from the seas of Uisgav. While the other two sub-species had been integrated only a few weeks after the invasion, the feral Rixari had to be slowly driven from their aquatic dens.

It took close to half a rotation cycle for Uisgav to be fully brought under the control of the Rixari Empire after a brutal conflict against the rogue members of their species. As they had reverted to a feudal state the captured Rixari had to be 're-educated' before being allowed a place in the Empire as anything other than the subjects of the loyal Amphanox and Yalon who were placed in charge of the planet. After a successful campaign which had strengthened the Empire, the Rixari split their fleet. Half of the fleet set a course for Aguaj while the rest began a search for more inhabitable worlds.

The primary Unified Rixarun Navy fleet entered the orbit of Aguaj a whole Rotational Cycle after they left the relative safety of Uisgav. However, what met the Rixarun Coalition at their former colony world was something entirely unexpected. A fleet of ships of unknown origin hung in the planet's orbit and Aquaj's appeared to have been scarred by warfare. The Rixari did not hesitate to attack these usurpers as they knew they had a huge advantage over the foreign threat. A complement of twenty Agate Dreadnoughts sprung from the darkness of space and tore into the unidentified ships. None of the enemy ships escaped, but it was clear that the battle was far from over.

Preliminary scout teams, sent to the planets surface, identified these invaders as a race of 6 foot tall humanoid beings which lacked any distinctive features, save for two violet eyes. With the no means of escape the mysterious foe was eliminated over the period of a week with relative ease. The Aguajans were much easier to pacify, after it was made clear that they were saved by their space faring brethren. Aguaj was brought under the full control of the Rixari Empire and a small contingent of Rixarun Coalition forces were left behind to defend the planet from a probable return by the invaders.

After their full reunification the Rixari were stronger than they had ever been before. All eleven of their settled celestial bodies were thriving as they were able to trade amongst themselves and the exploration ships reported back discoveries of more than twenty potential worlds for settling, with small colonies being set up on each one. Their Second Golden Age was in full swing but their research teams were still putting a lot of resources into developing new weapons as the extraterrestrial threat began to become more apparent.

Galactic Affairs
With nine core worlds and more than twenty colonies the Rixari were developing a fairly considerable Empire. Their well disciplined forces had also marked them out to be a significant force to be reckoned with and many Xenos species which they had encountered had agreed to serve the Rixari as allies purely out of fear of being slaughtered if they did not. Confident with their current position, it was not long before the Rixari began to venture further beyond their borders, keen to gather knowledge on the other native species of the Galaxy as well as examining their greatest threat, the Imperium of Man, in greater detail. This would prove to be the beginning of the Rixari's presence on the Galactic stage.

Since their heightened presence within the Galaxy, the Rixari have successfully carved a comfortable niche for themselves. As a race of colossal monsters, it has been relatively easy for them to bully (what they consider to be) Lesser Races into their servitude. With more than twelve small Xenos empires completely subdued to their will, as well as several allied species (who signed treaties solely out of fear), by the close of the 41st Millennium the Rixari had formed themselves a large collective of more than seventy worlds.

Society
Before their unification at the hands of Yul'drak the Rixari were a very fractured species. Most of the hostile Rixari had remained in the oxygen rich seas of their planer. Others had worked forwards to inventing devices that would allow them to walk on land and a few of their number even resorted to genetic engineering to allow them to breathe the Avareaun air. Even during the 41st millennium these differences run deep and their are distinct differences in their roles in both society and in the military.

Psykers
Any Rixari which develops psychic talents is treated with great respect by it's fellows. This is due to the fact that, since their reformation, the Rixari have been heavily dependant on their Psykers performing several different tasks for the benefit of advancing the Rixari cause. During the early years of the Rixarun Collective, Psykers were vital in the development of Warp Drive technology. Since their early use in aiding scientific endeavours, Rixari Psykers have been trained to fill a variety of roles.

The most common role which Psykers fill in the modern Rixari Empire is that of an Overseer. The purpose of this position is that of controlling the Lesser Races which have been conquered by the Rixari. They use their abilities to suppress the will of the subjugated Xenos in order to make them comply with their masters.

Technology
Old Rixari technology was primarily focused on weaponry and war machines, as they were beset by war until their Unification. Latterly the Rixari have focused more on furthering their space capabilities and other forms of transport.

Weaponry
The Rixari developed a multitude of weapons before their Unification when they were still hell bent on massacring their own. Chief amongst these devices of war were Resonant Amplification Weapons, which were designed to overwhelm the sensitive hearing of the Rixari, and Arc Tesla Projectors, which were deadly against water based Rixari. Other weapons such as Accelerated Ionisation Weapons and Reverse Gravity Weapons were developed when the Yalon brought the fight to the terrestrial areas of Avareau as they were more affective in a gaseous environment than in the water.

The Rixarun Coalition
The name given to the collective of independent forces which serve to further the Rixari cause is the Rixarun Coalition. None of the forces are obliged to serve under this umbrella organisation instead choosing to do so willingly. This is not because all of the forces get along well but due to the fact that they all share two common goals: expansion and survival.

Rixarun Collective
The Pure Rixarun Empire spans a mere thirty planets, of which twenty-two are colony worlds. However, the Greater Rixarun Empire covers more than twelve other miniscule Xenos interstellar Empires which number a total of forty-one planets. As well as this, there are several races which have chosen to aline themselves with the Rixari, which are considered Protectorates of the Rixarun Empire. The name for all of these linked worlds id is the Rixarun Collective, which is split along three lines.

Greater Races
The Greater Races either equal or are one of the Rixari and their allied Xenos species. These are the species which the Rixari view as being fit to rule and conquest others.
 * Rixari (Includes All Subspecies)
 * Eldar
 * Slann
 * Ularati
 * Ixanda
 * Avrana
 * Vralgazi

Middle Races
Those races which, according to the Rixari should be allowed to manage their own affairs, but are unworthy of ruling any other races.
 * Mutacrat

Lesser Races
The races which have either been subjugated by the Rixari or are only fit to be conquered in their eyes.
 * Humanity
 * Walaxan
 * Telmeras
 * Orlago
 * Plexun
 * Celanza