House Arkoh

House Arkoh was a house of The Trade Federation dedicated to the revival of the Arkanian culture and species. It was founded by Con Semper, and is currently led by Paul Luz. No longer a Federation-supported House, Arkoh continues as a growing, independent cultural project with settlements around the galaxy.

The Ancestral House Arkoh

House Arkoh was one of many Royal houses founded on Arkania during Sith occupation more than five thousand years ago. Under the Sith Empire, the Sith ruled directly over each planet, refusing to tolerate old regimes or deal with appointed representatives who might try to take power for themselves and secede from Sith rule. Because of this, the highest attainable title of any House leader was that of prince or princess. Each prince(ess) ruled over a city state, or small province. The size of their territory depending entirely on how much they could control and take from any other house. Infighting was strongly encouraged as it weeded out the weaker houses and kept each house in a constant state of border wars and skirmishes which depleted their funds and manpower. This rendered them unable to ever unite or attempt to resist their Sith rulers.

The members of House Arkoh were charged by the Sith Empire with the creation and governorship of Veeshas Tuwan, the greatest Sith library in recorded history. As the library grew exponentially, so did House Arkoh’s power on Arkania. With the destruction of the Sith Empire and subsequently the library by the Republic, House Arkoh found itself members of an old order lacking purpose, identity, and a locus of power or influence. Once they came under attack by other royal houses, those who were not killed defending the library were forced into hiding. After the fall of the Sith Empire, members of the other royal families hunted many surviving members of House Arkoh down and subjected them to grotesque physical experiments, humiliating the proud and once dominant house by turning them all into Offshoots. Throughout the ages decedents of House Arkoh would attempt to rebuild the house but anti-Arkoh sentiments stayed strong throughout the ages as popular images of Arkoh as an oppressive regieme persisted. The last attempt happened nearly two hundred years ago, and ended with the self imposed exile from Arkania by House Arkoh’s last surviving members.

The original crest of House Arkoh was a Arkanian Dragon with wings spread. With many other houses picking native animals, House Arkoh chose the dragon because the creature's sentience lent to the idea of being superior over the other houses. The iconography would serve them well in later years when they created Veeshas Tuwan. The dragon would come to represent Knowledge, and the power House Arkoh possessed over it.

The Reformation

Reviving the House

The catalyst of House Arkoh's revival was the institution of the Trade Federation House System, a carryover from the Avance Coalition's system of government which was integrated in the Federation as a part of the Great Merge. In this system, citizens were permitted to found fraternal and professional associations in order to enrich the culture of the newly enlarged Trade Federation. In return for the cultural contributions and development, the Federation promised financial support and the use of one system per House for development. Con Semper saw the system as providing the perfect infrastructure to revive his ancestral House in safety. He and his wife, Areagla Loomis, soon enlisted noted scholar Paul Luz and applied to revive House Arkoh in the form of a Trade Federation House. Initially the application was resisted as many on the approval committee were nervous to have the Federation sponsor something even loosely-related to the Sith of old. Semper, however, and Luz (a member of the House committee himself) were able to quell their fears by distinguishing the Arkanian culture from the Sith overlords in their specie's past.

Though Arkoh had to return to the committee several times, they were finally able to register the Hassaria System as their adopted home. Semper was impressed by the diversity of its biomes and the likeness of Hassaria IV to the original homeworld Arkania. The rural nature of many of he planets were seen as prime territory for restoring and perfecting the simple Arkanian way of life. Once the system was approved, House Arkoh drew up an ambitious development plan for cities and infrastructure planetwide. While they waited for Federation funding, Semper poured much of his personal fortune into the project's early stages.

A Cultural Revival

Arkoh differed from the many other Federation Houses in that it was culturally-based instead of fraternal or professional. This meant that the earliest members of the House had to spread the ancient Arkanian culture across their new home system in addition to simply building up infrastructure or funding their various genetic research projects. According to research and cultural memory, at its peak the nobility of House Arkoh people enforced a very simple way of life for its citizens. This allowed all of the energy, focus, and funding to be directed to their cloning and research facilities. Starting in the more agrarian parts of the Hassaria system, House leaders began to fund the breeding of beasts of burden, and encouraged citizens to rely on these animals for transportation and labor instead of speeders or droids, when able. The Arkoh principle of simplicity also dictated the fashion of the House. Plain white robes accented by sashes of purple or scarlet became increasingly popular as many began to see participation in the House' culture as a means of social mobility in the system. The House also bolstered the education system of Hassaria. Even before the completion of the Veeshas Tuwan Library, smaller schools were established throughout the system to teach Arkanian language, culture, and especially science to as many citizens as were interested.

Much of the Arkaninan religion has been either lost to time or handed down through millennia of development and tradition. Much of what has survived was obviously impacted by the Sith occupation. As a result, House Arkoh recognizes and supports several different traditions as well as the research of other sacred ways of the Arkanians. Many of the various strands share a common thread, however, in that they attempt to harness, connect, or utilize dark energy or the so-called "dark side" of the Force. Many of Arkoh's religious people, however, try to put distance between the "Dark Side" and popular concepts of "Evil." While there is no "official" House religion, House leaders have been patrons of two major expressions of faith. Well-known explorer and relic hunter Ethan Travis has helped recover the worship of the Aedra pantheon, an ancient indigenous religion from the Sith homeworld of Korriban that appeared to have found a following in Arkania's past. Paul Luz oversaw the construction of many places of worship across the galaxy where worshipers might seek the presence of Force and the wisdom and power that it may offer. The House also has established several contemplative communities named after the House's founder Con Semper where those who seek healing from the genetic procedures in the presence of the dark energy may seek shelter. In addition to these supported religions, many in the Hassaria system have taken to worshiping Con Semper as a divinity himself. A full layout of the different religious expressions found within the House can be found at Religions of House Arkoh.

During the House's development its integration into the Hassari System was not without unintended consequences. Because many of the House officials were Arkaninan or Offshoots, a belief emerged that if one wanted to get ahead in this new society and regional government that they also needed to become Arkaninan. This lead to a massive wave of applications for the genetic alteration procedures particularly among the poor and the politically ambitious. House leaders are wary of this movement allowing for the emerging of a racially divided population, and are determined not to perpetuate racial discrimination on the part of the newly altered or cloned Arkaninan Offshoots.

Arkoh's Relationship to the Federation

Like all Trade Federation Houses, House Arkoh governs their appointed system, Hasaria, under the laws and auspices of the Federation. This includes contributing to the defense of their system with the permitted creation of a House Militia and Fleet. In addition to the basic governance and defense, however, House Arkoh contributes to the academic and scholastic fabric of the Federation. It sponsors regular academic competitions, funds research excursions, and collects works from all over the Federation and Galaxy in the Veeshas Tuwan Library as well as promote the awareness and collection of ancient relics in the Federation's marketplace. Arkoh scientists also contribute to the Federation's technological advancement as well from the house-funded Eren Research Installation. House members and leaders worked in all Federation ministries, dedicated to the creation and expansion of the Empire of Trade. On a more basic level, the planets Hassaria I and II are agricultural worlds that provide a large percentage of fresh food for the Federation's southern territories. Arkoh is dedicated to keeping these planets undeveloped and supporting the food industry on those worlds.

When the Trade Federation decided to end the state-sponsored House program, Arkoh was permitted to continue as an independently funded project. The former Arkoh citizens retained their Federation citizenship and were allowed to continue governing their settlements, but would need to be self-sustaining and be willing to come under more direct supervision of the Federation's regional leadership. Paul Luz, leader of the project, turned administration of the Arkoh settlements within Federation space to local Offshoot leadership, and turned most of his attention to developing the Arkoh project beyond the Federation's borders.

House Projects and Goals

The goal of House Arkoh is to revive the Arkanian people and their culture by growing the number of new Arkanians in the galaxy and promoting their ancestral values and way of life among the newly bred Offshoots. To accomplish this goal, the House funds several ongoing projects:

Arkanian-Offshoot program- The Arkanian-Offshoot Project (AOP) is the first and largest project the House has commissioned. It pioneers genetic manipulation and cloning technology and transforms willing subjects into Arkanian Offshoots, transforms donated fetuses, and cloning new Arkanians and Offshoots using newly synthesized Arkanian DNA. As such, a major part of the project involves the collection, preservation, and synthesizing Arkaninan DNA from the many Offshoots and Offshoot descendants living on Arkania and throughout the Galaxy. Arkoh's researchers hope to construct a complete database of the extant Arkanian genome in the near future.

The Legacy Colony- Legacy is a settlement of House Arkoh-produced Arkanian Offshoots on the planet Arkania in Year 18. Legacy was founded so that the newly produced Offshoots could have cultural contact with the native Arkanians, and their bloodlines might eventually mingle. This ensures both genetic diversity in the species, and promotes the position of House Arkoh outside of Trade Federation territory. While permitted by the planetary government of Mandalore, the Colony is governed under House Arkoh and the colonists retain their Federation citizenship, unless they forfeit it themselves. Eventual plans allow for independent governance once the Colony has proved sustainable. The first phase of the colony was limited to temporary shelter, including tents and converted cargo containers. While conditions have markedly improved since then, the diplomatic work continues to obtain the necessary permits for further expansion.

Eren Research Installation- Eren Research Installation is the current headquarters of all genetic research and experimentation for Arkoh. Located just outside of charted Federation territory, Arkoh officials are building up additional residential and industrial stations to form a self-sustaining complex operated and inhabited exclusively by Arkanian Offshoots. Luz worked closely with Kaminoan scientists to design the facility and its specialized equipment.

Zaklada Complex- Zaklada complex is the latest in Paul Luz's efforts to advance the Arkanian project throughout the galaxy. Currently it is comprised of a residential space station and a shipyard in the unknown regions near the border of the Western Reaches and Bamula sectors. Operated exclusively by Arkoh-produced Arkanians, it generates income for the House through the construction and repair of ships, and helps expose more galactic travelers to Arkanians, as well as offering free assistance to any Arkanian-descended individuals who stop through.

Arkoh's Cloning Legacy

House Arkoh is one of the most experienced, oldest, and most prolific cloning operations in the galaxy. Long before the Great Merge that incorporated the Avance Coalition into the Trade Federation, Arkoh founder Con Semper had been putting traditional Arkanian cloning practices to use with a cloning program intended to bolster the armed and civic services in the waning Coalition. Through much trial and error, Semper quickly honed his skill and perfected the process. After founding House Arkoh, Semper and Luz adapted the process to be used in genetic therapies, and cloned individuals using the augmented genetic material. Permanent cloning facilities were built on Hassaria and aboard Eren station as Arkoh's researchers learned how to mass-produce the spaarti cloning cylinders. From these two facilities entire cities were populated.

In Year 18, the cloning program took a dramatic shift. The Arkanian-Offshoot Project shifted to rely more on smaller, dispersed facilities and natural procreation to spread their genes. As part of the negotiations on Arkania with the Legacy Colony, Arkoh had been gifted a copy of the only known remaining Clone Template from the Clone Wars. Being a Clone Wars veteran and wanting to preserve this treasure of galactic history, Semper convinced the House to use their two largest cloning facilities to begin production of new clones using the Clone Wars specifications and genetics. Later that year, the first batch of those clones since the Republic fell began their training. Just before the Federation discontinued the House program, Semper left Arkoh in the hands of Paul Luz, and departed to continue his research and connect with other veterans of the Clone Wars, including a good number of the original clones. Con joined the Ternion Corps soon after, and offered Arkoh's technology and genetic database to begin large-scale revitalization of the Grand Army of the Republic and the bloodlines of the original clone soldiers. Beyond access to ready-made cloning centers and the genetic code for the soldiers, Arkoh facilitated cooperation between Ternion and Kaminoan scientists who helped fine tune the process and craft the flash-training programs.