Julian Protectorate

A response to Imperial aggressions during the Julian War (175 to 191), this interstellar polity neighbors the Imperium. In its loosest definition, the Julian Protectorate is a trade confederation and defense alliance of worlds within the 'four corners' region of Mendan, Amdukan, Empty Quarter and Antares sectors. This is the Julian core, but some isolated "associate member" worlds exist as far away as Windhorn Sector. The borders of the Julian Protectorate are not easy to define, since membership in the protectorate varies by degrees.

All member worlds (and in some cases individual member nations on balkanized worlds) conduct their own diplomacy and maintain their own armed forces, giving little power to the central authority of the Julian Protectorate on Asimikigir (Amdukan 0233). The Protectorate, however, does give structure to the community of states. It mediates disputes, provides a set of interstellar laws, and promotes communication and cooperation. It also has a standing armed service, the Star Legion, used for patrols and in crisis situations.

While Vargr and humans populate the Julian sectors in almost equal proportion, the distribution is not homogeneous. Individual world populations vary widely in their human/Vargr ratios. As a rule, though, Vargr are less common closer to Gashikan sector. Other races also exist in the protectorate, but humans and Vargr clearly predominate. Most others tend to remain on their respective homeworlds. Two additional races also play an interstellar role: a large, somewhat aggressive saurian race called the Hhkar and, to a lesser degree, the Bwaps.

The primary languages of the Julian Protectorate are Galanglic (a dialect of that spoken in the Third Imperium) and Irilitok (a language spoken by most Vargr within the Domain of Antares.)

The spinward half of the Julian Protectorate is by far more active commercially. Here lies the Mendan Main used by Vilani traders for millennia. More importantly, this is where the protectorate interfaces with the Imperium, Gashikan, and Vargr trade routes leading all the way to Lair (Provence 2402).

The protectorate’s trailing half overlaps much of the region known as the Vargr Enclaves, a less dynamic region of Vargr space. Worlds here tend to remain independent of an interstellar community except for direct membership in the Julian bloc. The inhabitants here lack significant neighbors other than the K’kree, who regard Julians coldly, at best.