Imperial Collage of Heralds, Information Division
Document XCJ-1009/2
001-2370T

The Efrip and Akhrini
The Efrip and their offshoot, the Akhrini, are a Major Human race native to
the Greater Magellanic Cloud. It is theorised that they were transported to
the Greater Magellanic Cloud by the Sidhe approximately 300,000 years ago.
Though of the same racial stock (Homo Efripzondans), the two groups have
radically differing cultures. The Efrip evolved on Efripzond {Rictolsf 0912};
an ice covered medium sized world in the Cloud. They developed jump drives
about 4,000 years ago and formed a large interstellar state which lasted
around 800 years. The Akhrini culture developed on Akhrikora {Ewytctip 1709};
a desert world colonised during the Efrip period.

Physiology
The Efrip are unmistakable Human. However there are a number of noticeable
difference from Humans of Terran stock. The average Efrip is shorter and
stockier than the average Terran; and they posses a layer of fat which acts
as effective insulation from extreme cold. They have a faster metabolism
than Terrans, with an average heartbeat of about 83 per minute against the
Terran average of 75. They have a higher occurrence of left handedness.
Around one third of all Efrip are left handed, with a significant proportion
(around 8%) being ambidextrous. The Efrip eye is superior to that of Terrans
in bright light but inferior in subdued lighting conditions. The Efrip are
able to metabolise certain proteins indigestible by other Humans. The average
Efrip gestation period is 43 weeks as compared with the average Terran of 40
weeks. Most of these are undoubtedly adaptations due to the alien nature of
their homeworld.

The Efrip Homeworld
     Efripzond A867988-A
Efripzond orbits Olsfewt, a 50,000 km diameter gas giant at a distance of
4,728,000 km. Olsfewt in turn orbits Ewndakh, an A4 V star at a distance of
800,000,000 km. Ewndakh is itself the distant companion of Efakhndo, a B3 V
star. Ewndakh orbits Efakhndo at a distance of 1,350,000,000,000 km.
Efripzond has an orbital period of 292 standard days and rotates on its axis
once every 24 standard hours. Olsfewt has an orbital period around Ewndakh of
2,920 standard days and Ewndakh has an orbital period around Efakhndo of
59,906,720 standard days (164,128 standard years). Efripzond has an axial
tilt of 21 and an orbital eccentricity of 0.05. Efripzond is orbited by a
single satellite, Iraakhri.

Efripzond has an average surface temperature of 5.8C. About 35% of its
surface is land, in two large and one small continents and one island
archipelago. About 45% of the worlds surface is covered by oceans and the
remaining 20% is ocean icecap. The surface is heavily glaciated, giving the
world its high albedo factor of 0.42.

Efripzond's current population is 7 billion, of whom 90% are racial Efrip and
is governed by a civil service bureaucracy. Efripzond is the capital of the
Fourth Efrip Council, an interstellar state consisting of 8 worlds.

The Akhrini Homeworld
     Akhrikora A8618C7-B
Akhrikora orbits Iraewp, a solitary F5 V star at a distance of about
315,000,000 km. Akhrikora has an orbital period of 973.34 standard days and
rotates on its axis once every 36 standard hours. It has an axial tilt of 3
and an orbital eccentricity of 0.001. Akhrikora has no satellites.

Akhrikora has an albedo factor of 0.16 and an average surface temperature of
30.6C. About 15% of its surface is water in the form of three small seas,
25% is arable land and the remaining 60% is desert.

Akhrikora has a population of 600 million (rather low for the capital of a
large interstellar state), of whom 80% are Akhrini, 15% are Efrip and the
remaining 5% other races and cultures. Akhrikora is governed by a Council of
Elders (not to be confused with the Great Council of Elders which governs the
Akhrini Commonality), a form of charismatic oligarchy. Akhrikora is the
capital of the Akhrini Commonality.

History - Efrip
It would appear that around 3,000 to 10,000 individuals of the genus Homo
Erectus were transported to Efripzond by the Sidhe around 300,000 years ago;
these individuals evolved to become the Efrip. Along with the Efrip many
other Terran lifeforms also appear to have been transported at the same time.
Efripzond is home not only to Humans but also other primates, cetaceans,
cattle, bears, many other species of animals, birds, fish, plants and other
lifeforms of Terran origin. It would appear that the Sidhe transported a
complete Terran ecosystem to Efripzond. This undoubtedly made survival for
the prehistoric Efrip much easier.

The available evidence indicates that the initial Efrip were transplanted to
the heavily glaciated smaller northern continent (Akhoslfewn) of Efripzond.
The environment here is harsh and unforgiving; and without question the Efrip
would have found survival difficult here. However by -200,000T the Efrip had
evolved a stable nomadic hunter gather type culture and had spread to cover
most of Akhoslfewn. Numerous 'Shangri-la' type valleys are dotted around
Akhoslfewn and these played a prominent role in the development of the Efrip.
Initially the Efrip only used these valleys as temporary stopping places,
wintering in them and hunting the considerable herds of game which
congregated there during the winter.

However by -50,000T several of these valleys had become semi-permanently
settled (this appears to have corresponded with a period with a warmer than
normal climate). The more hospitable environment of these valleys allowed the
development of more advance Efrip cultures. For a long period the Efrip in
the valleys remained simple hunter gathers, hunting the great herds of
Ewsakhng (a descendent of transplanted Terran cattle) who roamed from valley
to valley and gathering the plants which grew there. However, in around
-30,000T the great breakthrough came; the Efrip domesticated the Ewsakhng.
Other animals followed and by -25,000T the Efrip had also developed primitive
agriculture. By about -20,000T numerous pastoral cultures had been
established in different valleys.

It was in one of these valleys that the first Efrip civilisation arose in
around -11,500T. The first civilisation was based on a priesthood worshiping
Olsfewt. The priesthood developed mathematics to predict seasons. The complex
orbital dynamics of the Efrip home system lead mathematics to be developed
rapidly to a high degree and from this came the development of surpluses and
civil engineering to enable cities to grow. The orbital dynamics of their
system is also believed to have heavily influenced the basic Efrip belief in
the cyclical nature of the universe and lead to their long term view of the
world.

The benefits of civilisation spread to several neighbouring valleys and by
-11,000T trade between the civilised valleys was flourishing. The Olsfewt
Empire reached its height around -10,300T but with the growth in contact
between the valleys came a growth in conflict over resources and around
-10,000T the Olsfewt Empire collapsed due to warfare between the various
valleys.

The Efrip languished in a dark age for around 1,000 years. Civilisations
rose in various valleys, but none seemed able to achieve the necessary level
of development to expand beyond the limits of their restricted worlds.
However in around -9,000T the semi-mythical ruler Irisakhlsf had united one
valley and formed the Irisakhlsf Empire. It would appear that the invention
of the plough played a crucial role in allowing the Empire to solidify and
remain after Irisakhlsf's death. By -8,800T population pressure forced the
Irisakhlsf Empire to start to expand beyond its valley; and by -8,500T the
Irisakhlsf Empire ruled an area of perhaps 800,000 km2. The Empire appears to
have undergone a civil war at this point and broken into various individual
valley nation states. The next 2,500 years were marked by constant intercine
warfare and the development of a feudal culture of many independent nations.

Around -6,000 the great Efrip philosopher Ictakhri developed her teachings.
These teachings spread rapidly and gained wide acceptance. Indeed, present
day Efrip culture is still based on the precepts she put forth over 8,000
years ago. Put simply, her ideas are that humans are a communal animal and
that government should be based on enabling the greatest harmony and well
being for the members of the community; and that such government can only be
achieved with the freely given consent of those being governed. These ideas
proved to be a challenge to the established feudal elites and attempts to
suppress her teachings were widespread, the traditional date for her
martyrdom is -5,932T. However these attempts failed and her teachings were
gradually adopted by more and more Efrip. By -5,700T the first states based
on her teachings came into being. Her teachings, combined with the
traditional Efrip belief in the cyclic nature of the world and long term view
lead to the rise of the civil service bureaucracy as the common form of
government.

By -5,200T most of the old feudal states had been replaced by states based on
Ictakhri's teachings. With this came a more stable civilisation and the
development of true science. In -5,000T sailing vessels were developed. The
advanced nature of Efrip mathematics lent itself well to navigation; and
ocean going voyages were common within 100 years. By -4,800T the Efrip were
colonising the rest of their world. The more hospitable climate of the
equatorial regions further spired their development. By -2,700T Ewfwind, a
colonial state in the equatorial belt underwent an industrial revolution.
Ewfwind came to be the dominant power by -2,500T. Ewfwind's influence and
control grew rapidly; and in response other states industrialised and
developed. By -2,200T Efripzond had developed to tech level 5 and was
dominated by just four major powers: Ewfwind, Iriefictiri, Akhoew and
Eflsfakhn. Other minor states still remained, but only as clients to the
great powers. They achieved tech level 7 in -2,150T, but in -2,121T tensions
between these powers boiled over and a nuclear war ensued. During the next
10 years over 75% of the Efrip population died as a result of war, famine and
pestilence. The Efrip plunged back to pre-industrial levels and did not
recover for over 500 years.

In -1,607T the leader Akhwoend came to power in Eflsfakhn. He embarked on a
campaign to unite Efripzond and prevent another nuclear holocaust. In -1,584T
he succeeded in getting the remaining Efrip states to agree to the Charter of
Ictakhri and form the Efrip Akhndefwo (Great Council of Efrip). This
effectively united Efripzond under one government based on the teachings of
Ictakhri.

In -1,400T the Efrip had recovered to tech level 7 and started to reach out
into space with missions throughout their home system. In -1,242T the Efrip
discovered jump drive and started to explore the stars around them. The first
Efrip council was a centralised interstellar state, administered by a civil
service bureaucracy  with its capital on Efripzond. This is considered to be
the golden age of the Efrip. During this period they controlled 6 sectors and
colonised worlds in at least another 6, achieving an ultimate tech level of
13. However by -400T the First Efrip Council had collapsed. The reasons for
this collapse are still poorly understood. The most commonly accepted theory
is that the centralised nature of the administration was simply unable to
effectively control such a large interstellar state. The ultimate push which
ended the First Efrip Council would appear to have been an internal civil war,
caused by the revolt of the Akhrini. The Council splintered, warfare and
piracy became widespread and interstellar communications simply ground to a
halt.

After the fall of the First Efrip Council, most of the Efrip worlds gradually
slipped back to pre-spaceflight levels and the First Dark Age descended on
the Cloud. The Efrip never regained their former glory. In 501T the Terran
Empire discovered the wormhole at Breakout and Terran colonisation of the
Cloud commenced. Many former Efrip worlds were absorbed into the Terran
Empire. In 624T the Second Akhrini Commonality was formed; and this
aggressive state also absorbed many former Efrip worlds. Efripzond itself
suffered badly during the First Dark Age. It lost the technology to construct
starships and did not return to the stars for at least 800 years. Eventually
they did return to space in 432T and in 529T the Second Efrip Council was
formed. However this was only ever a minor state and was conquered by the
Second Commonality in 857T. With the collapse of the Second Akhrini
Commonality in 1198T the Efrip again briefly regained their independence
under the Third Efrip Council in 1220T. But this lasted only until 1304T
before the Second Dark Age claimed this state too.

The current Efrip state (the Fourth Efrip Council) came into being in 2340T.
It is again a minor interstellar state, consisting of only the core 8 Efrip
worlds. Threatened by the Third Akhrini Commonality, it is generally
considered to be a client state of the Magellanic Empire. Despite this, many
people of Efrip decent and culture continue to exist outside of the Efrip
Council; and their culture is still widespread, especially with in the
Akhrini Commonality.

History - Akhrini
The Akhrini are an offshoot of the Efrip. While Efripzond marched towards
civilisation, some Efrip remained outside the mainstream of Efrip culture.
These were the nomadic hunters who followed the great herds of Ewsakhng in
the northern wastes. Even in modern times they still remain on Efripzond,
living much as their forebears did. It is from these nomadic hunters that the
Akhrini are descended.

These nomadic hunters maintained a fiercely independent culture, highly
valuing individuality and freedom. They proved to be a constant source of
problems for the Efrip, frequently revolting against the centralised
authority of the Efrip Council. The First Council's response to these revolts
was to deport trouble making tribes to their colonies. Initially on Efripzond
itself, later after the discovery of jump drive, to other worlds.

The Akhrini revolted in -1,143T and were deported to a distant harsh desert
world then known as Igrewln. The world was already colonised by the Efrip,
with their colonies clustered in the fertile lands around the small seas. The
Akhrini were deported to the less hospitable deserts.

Over the next 600 years, the Akhrini came to dominate their harsh desert
environment and gradually grew in numbers. However the basic nature of their
culture lead to many independent tribes and frequent tribal wars. The basic
Akhrini culture that developed was highly militaristic and individualistic.
As the Efrip colonies on Igrewln grew to be a major industrial centre, they
suffered frequent raids from the Akhrini, however the inherently disorganised
nature of the Akhrini at this time prevented them from becoming a threat.

During this time the Akhrini developed the Rewlsf Akhrini (Akhrini Code)
which is still the basis of their culture. The basic premise of this code is
that warfare is a matter between tribes (or nations in later times) not
individuals. The Rewlsf Akhrini sets out elaborate rules of conduct and
hospitality. While two tribes may be at war, the individual members of that
tribe are not viewed as the 'enemy'. It is a requirement of the Rewlsf
Akhrini to grant hospitality and succour to any person needing it. Captives
and conquered peoples must be treated fairly and humanely. It was only
natural that the Akhrini became disproportionately represented in the Efrip
military; a factor that was to ultimately prove to be the undoing of the
First Efrip Council.

In -523T the various Akhrini tribes were united under the leadership of the
legendary figure of Pindeflsf. He united the tribes in a common goal and
quickly conquered the Efrip colonies on the fertile lands around the small
seas. This is taken as the founding of the First Akhrini Commonality
(Iwolsfakhy Akhrini) and Igrewln was renamed Akhrikora. The Akhrini
Commonality refused to recognise the Efrip Council and a war ensued.
Fortunately for the Akhrini, Igrewln was a major industrial centre and the
site of an Efrip naval depot; the Akhrini captured many warships and large
numbers of Akhrini serving with the Efrip deserted to the Commonality. The
Akhrini launched an immediate offensive and captured a number of major Efrip
worlds. The Industrial base of these captured Efrip worlds proved vital in
this war; and in -515T the Efrip Council was forced to acknowledge the
independence of the Akhrini Commonality and its control of at least 32 other
worlds.

The militant expansionist tendencies of the Commonality led to another war in
-467T as the Akhrini spread to the stars. The Akhrini victory in -449T is
generally held to be the most direct cause of the fall of the First Efrip
Council. However the Akhrini were incapable of governing an interstellar
state and the First Akhrini Commonality did not survive the death of
Pindeflsf's great-grandson in -369T. Lacking a charismatic leader the
Commonality simply disintegrated into competing tribes. Many of these tribes
raided throughout the former Efrip Council, contributing greatly to the onset
of the First Dark Age.

The Akhrini languished in the First Dark Age along with all the Efrip worlds.
Much knowledge was lost as the Akhrini had not formed a true technological
society during their brief reign. However over the next 800 years the Akhrini
absorbed the Efrip on the 200 or so worlds that had been a part of the
Akhrini Commonality. By 450T they had regained the stars and fairly extensive
traffic existed between their worlds. However no interstellar states existed,
each world was controlled by an independent tribe (frequently more than one)
much which vied with one another much as the Akhrini had always done. All
this changed in 501T with the coming of the Terrans to the Cloud. Terran
explorers contacted the Akhrini in 593T, but extensive contact did not come
until at least 20 years later. It would appear that knowledge of the
expanding Terran Empire was the impetus for the formation of the Second
Akhrini Commonality in 624T. The Second Commonality proved to be far more
durable than the first. It was not dependent on a single individual to hold
the various tribes together, rather it depended on the Great Council of
Elders made up of representatives of all the major tribes in the Commonality.

The Second Commonality was the Terran Empires major opponent in the Cloud;
and fought six inconclusive wars with the Terrans. However it also expanded
into the former Efrip Council, spreading Akhrini culture to many of these
worlds. In 857T the Second Commonality absorbed the Second Efrip Council.
Eventually the Second Commonality ruled over most of 4 sectors, but its
culture spread far wider. With the fall of the Terran Empire the Second
Commonality started to expand into the former Terran territories. However in
1168T the Second Commonality was rent by a massive upheaval which was to lead
to its collapse. Several key tribes refused to acknowledge the sovereignty of
the Commonality and civil war ensued. The Commonality effectively
disintegrated into competing tribes in a remarkably short time, but the
concept of the Commonality was by now very strong in the Akhrini. The various
tribes were to wage war for over 200 years for dominance, but in 1402T the
final government claiming to be the Second Commonality ceased to exist. By
this stage, 200 years of constant warfare had taken its toll on the Akhrini
worlds and they had lapsed into the Second Dark Age.

Many Sociologists point to the rise and fall of the First and Second
Commonalities as proof of the widely accepted theory that the Akhrini can
only remain united in the face of an overwhelming external threat. This
theory is held to be strengthened by the formation of the Third Commonality.

The Third Commonality was initially formed in 2169T and consisted of 10
worlds near the Magellanic Empire. It did not include Akhrikora or the great
bulk of the Second Commonality worlds. However the Third Commonality did not
undergo expansion or even hold much authority over its member worlds until
the end of the Second Mwoah War. It would appear that the Magellanic Empire's
triumph in this war identified the Empire as a clear threat to the Akhrini.
After the war's end in 2304T with a clear victory for the Empire, the Third
Commonality underwent explosive growth. Most worlds joined voluntarily,
Akhrikora joined in 2311T and the capital was relocated there in 2319T. By
2327T the Third Commonality covered most of the Ewytctip sector. Its rapid
growth continued until the mid 2330's by which time it appears to have reach
a natural limit.

The Third Commonality differs from the First and Second in that it has a true
central government bureaucracy. The Third Commonality maintains a number of
governmental organisations which answer only to the Commonality. Included in
these are an Army and Navy. However it still remains to be seen whether or
not the Third Commonality can overcome the divisive tribal nature of the
Akhrini culture.

Language
Whilst Maganglic is widely spoken as a second language within Efrip and
Akhrini space, it and related languages are only spoken as a first tongue on
a few Terran colonised worlds. The most commonly spoken Efrip language is
Iryakhtip (the official language of the First to Fourth Efrip Councils),
whilst most Akhrini speak the related tongue, Takhil (the official language
of the Akhrini Commonality). Several other related languages (Risoct,
Ewifakhil, Oliso, and Ireslfi) are also not uncommonly encountered within
Efrip and Akhrini space. These together with a few rarer languages make up
the Efrip family of languages, which are spoken as the first language by
perhaps 90% of the inhabitants of Efrip and Akhrini space.

Iryakhtip originally used an ideographic script, the Otakhra. However, this
was gradually superseded over a 500 year period by the current phonetic
script, the Opiyakhra. The Opiyakhra is first recorded in -2,217T and
started to achieve prominence around -1,700T (greatly assisted by the
general decline in literacy occasioned by the nuclear holocaust). By about
-1,450T the Otakhra had fallen out of general use. The last recorded use of
the Otakhra were in the collected works of the poet Akhytoct, published in
the Otakhra script shortly after her death in -1,203T. The Opiyakhra script
is now used by all the languages of the Efrip family, with the exception of
Reakhera (only spoken on a few worlds, all within the Magellanic Empire),
which uses the Anglic script.

The most striking difference between Iryakhtip and Takhil is that; in
Iryakhtip all words must begin with a vowel, whilst this is not true of
Takhil (though the majority of its words do also begin with vowels). Another
distinguishing feature of Iryakhtip is its lack of single syllable words.
There being only eight in the entire language; all of which are words of
considerable antiquity (for interest, these words are: Ef - Myself,
akhwo - to commit suicide due to insanity, ri - a deity, Efyt - a plant
native to Efripzond, olsf - Home, Eflsf - a large flying predator native to
Efripzond, end - meat cooked inadequately, and ong - the sound of an
avalanche). Takhil has rather more such single syllable words, but they are
still a comparative rarity.

Calender
Both the Efrip and Akhrini use very similar temporal systems. Both are based
on the complex temporal system which developed on Efripzond before space
flight was developed. The basic division of time in both systems is the Iyata
(day) of 24 Terran hours. The Iyata is divided into 3 Erilsf (watch; this
division is omitted from the Akhrini system), each Erilsf is divided into 4
Onopakh (session), each Onopakh is divided into 10 Ixreni (period: this
division is omitted from the Akhrini system), each Ixreni is divided into 10
Iwind (cycle) and each Iwind is divided into 100 Riniot (heartbeat) which
corresponds to 0.72 Terran seconds. Many larger divisions also exist: 8 Iyata
make up a Efkzo (week; this division is omitted from the Akhrini system), 9
Efkzo plus 1 Iyata (73 Iyata in all) make up a Ectgri (season), 4 Ectgri make
up a Olsfgrew (year of 292 Terran days), 5 Olsfgrew make up a Itbiop (pentad).
The Itbiop is the largest division of time in the Akhrini calender and
corresponds to 4 Terran years. However the Efrip calender has four even
larger divisions; 2 Itbiop make up a Ewrarix (decade), 4 Ewrarix make up a
Risjril (era), 23 Risjril make up a Akhylfowo (epoch) and 223 Akhylfowo make
up a Engbirif (eon of 164,128 Terran years). The Engbirif corresponds to the
orbital period of Ewndakh around Efakhndo. It goes without saying that
traditional Efrip timepieces are rather complex devices (more than one
humorist has commented on the coming of the digital watch to the Efrip). It
should be noted that in all Efrip languages all words for temporal divisions
are both singular and plural as well as being proper names.

Both the Efrip and Akhrini calenders have different start dates. The Efrip
calender dates from -5,932T (the traditional date for the martyrdom of
Ictakhri), while the Akhrini calender starts its dating from -780T (the
traditional date for the Rewlsf Akhrini); neither calenders have a zero year.
Since the First Dark Age, the vast majority of Efrip worlds have modified
their calenders to use the simplified Akhrini temporal system. The arrival of
the Terrans in the Cloud has seen the development of a third temporal system,
known as the Ereyt system. The Ereyt divides the Iyata into Terran seconds,
minutes and hours (known as Endon, Initewt and Orae respectively) and retains
only the Olsfgrew and Itbiop above it. This system is used by virtually all
Efrip and Akhrini worlds within the Magellanic Empire and has gained wide
acceptance outside it. There does exist an Ereyt calender, which has its
start date at 692T (the date it and the Ereyt system were first proposed) and
has a zero year (more precisely a zero Itbiop). This calender is used by many
Efrip and Akhrini worlds within the Magellanic Empire, but is rarely
encountered outside of it. 

Psionics
The Efrip appear to have standard human capacities for psionics, however they
appear not to have developed them to any major extent. Some quasi-religious
movements exploiting these techniques did develop during the First and Second
Dark Ages but they are not widespread. Generally speaking these movements are
less uncommon amongst the Efrip, though still rare. The Akhrini tend to
regard the use of psionics as indicative of a weakness of character. However,
perhaps due to the fact the a widespread psionic movement has never developed
in their cultures, neither the Efrip or Akhrini share the Terran distaste for
psionics. The Efrip and Akhrini within the Magellanic Empire tend much more
strongly towards Terran attitudes and suppress psionics.
