Maiko's Note
“They don’t look back with longing — they stare ahead with law.”
The Hanjelani are not a nostalgic people. They don’t sing of Earth with poetry or remember the stars with ache. They recall it through order — through ranks, codes, and the etched doctrines that have survived when power grids failed and speakers went silent.
Their capital is clean. Their archives are cold. Their loyalty, unwavering.
But behind the stone and structure, I sometimes wonder what they lost to maintain that clarity. What gentler stories were silenced when their ancestors chose legacy over love?
Still... they are formidable. And dangerous not because they hate, but because they believe.
The Empire of the True Descendants
Shindjal: Imperi kou Hanjelani
Faction:
Imperi kòu Hanjelani
“Order is not oppression - it is our inheritance. The stars chose us to rule.”
— Inscription on the Grand Arch of Capital
1. Overview
The Hanjelani are the dominant imperial power of Shawadjàn, claiming to be the rightful inheritors of Earth’s legacy and technology. With rigid hierarchies, grand stone temples of knowledge, and legions clad in gold-red armor, they impose order through discipline and cultural superiority. While feared by many and respected by some, they see themselves not as conquerors - but as caretakers of civilization.
2. Origins & Background
The Hanjelani trace their lineage directly to the core leadership of the Theseus generation ship. After the planetfall on Madun, they gradually reorganized under a doctrine of preservation and control, convinced that humanity would descend into chaos without a unifying authority. Over generations, their doctrine hardened into imperial ideology, and the Council of Subrims crowned the first Subrim Komándan - Supreme Commander of the Earthborn.
Their name "Hanjelani" means “descendants”, reflecting their belief that they alone have stayed true to Earth's purpose.
3. Cultural / Environmental Context
The Hanjelani live in structured cities of stone and clay along the western coast, with the imperial capital - named "Danlina" after Robert B. Dunlin the founder of the Rothbard Foundation - serving as the heart of the Empire. Their temples are massive data-vaults, carved with the salvaged knowledge from pre-landing archives.
Education, obedience, and martial discipline are prized above all. Children are raised in service to the state from a young age, assigned to castes based on aptitude and birth. Religious ceremonies honor Mama Gadun - the universe itself - as the eternal structure that contains all life.
They are not creative, but they are curators of Earth’s fragments: ancient protocols, preserved scripts, military drills - all repurposed into doctrine.
4. Role in the World
To the Empire, the world must be ordered - and that order must flow from them. They see tribal cultures as fractured relics of a lost age and believe unification is not just a right, but a duty.
To the Endulani and others, they are invaders, slavers, and destroyers of sacred lands. To the Awashalani, they are trade partners and stabilizers. To the Pashevalani, they are targets.
They are both feared and admired - and their ambition to reclaim the lost ship Theseus remains their holy grail.
5. Language & Terminology
Imperi - Empire
Hanjel - Descendant
Komándan - Commander
Subrim - Supreme / Elevated
Mama Gadun - The Universe Goddess
Kèlborojul - The Great House (their term for the Capital’s Hall of Records)
6. Notable Locations / Figures
Danlina - The Empire’s metropolis and seat of the Subrim
Subrim Komándan - The absolute ruler, whose title is inherited through selection by council and military merit
Hall of Records - A towering megalith where Earth’s surviving knowledge is carved into stone
The Crimson Legion - The elite, gold-and-red armored guard of the Empire
7. Lore Snippets or Anecdotes
Some say the Hall of Records once housed working computers - now replaced by chisels and stone tablets.
A Hanjelani proverb: “The stone does not forget.”
Rebels once claimed the Empire would collapse without electricity. Instead, it carved its memory into the bones of the world.
The Empire has offered “integration” to every tribe - but only after their leaders kneel.
Maiko's Note
“They don’t look back with longing — they stare ahead with law.”
The Hanjelani are not a nostalgic people. They don’t sing of Earth with poetry or remember the stars with ache. They recall it through order — through ranks, codes, and the etched doctrines that have survived when power grids failed and speakers went silent.
Their capital is clean. Their archives are cold. Their loyalty, unwavering.
But behind the stone and structure, I sometimes wonder what they lost to maintain that clarity. What gentler stories were silenced when their ancestors chose legacy over love?
Still... they are formidable. And dangerous not because they hate, but because they believe.
