The Kalquorian Empire




Welcome to Kalquor, the world from which the bestselling series Clans of Kalquor comes from.  We hope you enjoy your visit as you learn more about this amazing species.

The Empire


Kalquor is the main planet its people live on.  It also has several colonies on other planets and moons within its borders.  The Empire shares borders with the small territory claimed by the world of Joshada.  A larger border is shared with the kingdom of Bi’is, with which it has had territorial disputes within the last few centuries.  Some of these disputes have resulted in fighting.  The final border of the Empire butts up against the neutral Galactic Council Collective territory.

Kalquor’s main commerce is mining.  The Empire has many planets and moons with rich deposits of ores and precious metals.  Kalquorians are known for extracting their riches in ways that do not harm the environments or landscapes.  At one time they enslaved the Joshadan race to do their mining for them, resulting in a heavy death toll for their neighbors.  As part of reparations, Kalquor now gives Joshada thirty percent of its mining income.  The Empire also maintains security forces within Joshadan space to maintain the peaceful species’ borders. 

Besides mining, colonies of the Empire support farming of popular foods not indigenous to the home planet.  Kalquorians strive to keep their homeworld pristine, though occasionally an alien plant or animal does find its way onto the planet.  The ytaso tree, which aggressively invades native Kalquorian forests, is one type of foreign plant that has proved hard to eradicate.

The Breeds

Kalquorians are divided into four ‘breeds’ or dominant personality types:  the three male categories are Nobek, Dramok, and Imdiko.  There is only one designation for females as their personalities are too complex to successfully delineate.  Women in Kalquorian society are referred to as Mataras.

There are very rare instances of Kalquorian male personalities that are evenly divided between two breeds, and there has never been one thought to be an equal mix of all three of the masculine categories.  The rarest mix of two breeds is the Imdiko/Nobek, as the gentler nature of the Imdiko does not usually meld well with the warrior mentality of the Nobek.  One notable exception to this is the present Nobek Emperor Bevau, who successfully balanced his two disparate proclivities into a harmonious whole.

Nobek (Warrior, Clan Protector)

This is the most numerous of the four breeds.  The ability to physically overcome the Cataclysmic Era meant that the strongest in body and mind were the ones who survived.  It was the ruthless hunter and fighter who would live to struggle through a new day in that harsh landscape.  This is why Nobek genes predominate to this day. 

All Kalquorians are tested in their fifth year to determine where their strengths lie, but parents usually note Nobek characteristics earlier than this.  Children who fit the Nobek spectrum are usually easily frustrated when events are not to their liking.  They deal with disappointment with shows of temper and violence and show great physical prowess early on.  They are usually the more intelligent of the species, though until they have been through behavior modification, anything besides hands-on learning is impossible for them to sit still for.

Soon after a child is classified as a Nobek, he is sent to live with other Nobeks his age in a boarding school environment.  This is because a young Nobek only becomes wilder and harder to manage as he grows older and stronger, eventually becoming a danger to his family and community.  Under the watchful eyes of stern instructors who allow no disrespect or disobedience, young Nobeks are taught fighting skills, survival techniques, and meditative states which will allow for calmer minds with which to harness their intellects and rein in primal instincts. Loyalty to Kalquor and to their eventual clans is also highlighted early on, exposing a Nobek to a near-constant mantra during his entire residence at the training facility.

Catching Nobeks in their formative years and training their minds to not react immediately to stimuli also provides them with a firm base for hormone-charged adolescence, when the ability to recognize long-term consequences for actions is sorely tested.  While Nobeks regularly go home to visit their parents during their childhood, the halcyon years of puberty, which can spur more violence than any other time, cuts those holidays off.  Parents must journey to the boarding facilities to see their sons, with chaperoning school representatives in attendance at all times.  It’s agreed that in the majority of cases, this is overprotective and alarmist.  However, enough tragedies have occurred to keep the law in place.

An adult Nobek, fully trained in controlling his impulses and channeling primitive instincts into productive endeavors, can still face uphill battles.  When one of this breed is focused on being a positive force for his people, no one can match him for good works.  Unfortunately the uncertain Nobek who doesn’t possess a clear path is in danger of finding trouble.  Being more numerous than Dramoks and Imdikos, Nobeks are not guaranteed to find clanmates.  If one of these fierce warriors has no purpose in life and no clan to protect, he is in danger of falling into the worst trap he can imagine:  having no worth.

An overriding percentage of Kalquorian felons are unclanned Nobeks.  These are also the men most likely to fall into drug use or commit suicide.  The psychiatric community is working hard to find a solution to this breed’s problems, especially those who fall into the ‘lone wolf’ category.  Tests are underway to try and catch this subcategory of Nobeks early on so that intensive behavior modification can be employed.


Dramok (Leader)

Dramoks are the hardest breed to categorize initially, because they can be fierce as Nobeks in stressful situations.  It is not unheard of that a Dramok is initially misclassified as a member of that category.

The overriding characteristic of Dramoks is their ability to lead. With powerful personalities, they are quick to make decisions once they have all the details of whatever enterprise is before them.  One can usually find a young Dramok spearheading community events, organizing other youths in his sphere of influence, or establishing his own small business.  A self-starter, the Dramok is more about paving his own way rather than following set paths.

That’s not to say the Dramok doesn’t listen to others.  He looks to leaders of his chosen field for guidance and is not afraid to emulate his heroes up to a point.  Eventually, the Dramok will put his spin and personality on whatever profession he chooses to make his own.  In clan situations, the successful Dramok makes no major decisions for the clan until he gets each member’s input.  Ultimately the final verdict belongs to the clan leader, but if he’s truly responsible he weighs his clanmates’ opinions with great seriousness.

During a young Dramok’s schooling, he is tested extensively to pinpoint his aptitudes and hone his abilities.  A misdirected Dramok will only find frustration otherwise, leading to missed opportunities on both a personal level and for the good of Kalquor.  There are cases of low-achieving Dramoks, men who do not amount to even a fraction of their potential despite efforts of mentors, teachers, parents, and clanmates. 

Most insidious is the Dramok whose ambitions become so extreme that he becomes a ruthless tyrant.  Some prove to be dangerous as they pursue their aspirations, as was the now deceased Pwaldur, former Head Councilman.  His determination to seize the power of the Imperial Throne led to the deaths of his entire clan as well as Empress Irdis of Kalquor, mother of current Dramok Emperor Clajak.  Fortunately the system usually keeps close tabs on such ruthless men, and compared to Nobeks, few Dramoks fall between the cracks.


Imdiko (Nurturer, Caregiver)

Until the advent of the virus that killed the majority of Mataras, Imdikos were the rarest Kalquorian breed, numbering slightly less than half of Nobeks.  These men are likely to put the wellbeing of others far ahead of their own.  They have a great deal of empathy and predominate in the medical, service, and spiritual professions.

Imdikos tend to display great affection for their parents early on, though a clinging child can as easily be an overwhelmed Nobek or Dramok.  Imdikos often act older than their years because they’re driven to take care of those surrounding them.  Parents of this breed are often counseled to remind them they are only children and not responsible for the wellbeing of elders.  If a parent, sibling, or friend of a young Imdiko comes to harm in his presence, he may take on unwarranted guilt because he feels he should have done something to safeguard them.  For this reason, adolescent Imdikos, who tend to suffer depression during this tumultuous time of their growth, must be carefully watched if someone close to them comes to harm.

Imdikos are often regarded by unclanned Dramoks and Nobeks as the ‘weak’ breed because they are seen as the most easygoing personality.  However, many an Imdiko has surprised his new clanmates by becoming forceful when it comes to their welfare.  More than one Nobek has been shocked to have his supposedly helpless Imdiko in his face, verbally dressing him down like an irate parent when the Nobek has done something the Imdiko deems as potentially harmful.  In their traditional professions Imdikos are also fiercely competitive for supervisory roles.  It is not unusual for an Imdiko to vie for a leadership role he feels qualified for, going head-to-head with Dramok doctors, priests, and the like.  An example of this is the current psychiatric team for traumatized Earther Mataras, which is led by the Imdiko doctor Govi, who outranks Dramok doctor Kivokan.

In many cases, Imdikos are not trained in anything more violent than self-defense.  However if they encounter a threatening situation, especially one in which they feel they need to shield others (such as an injured clanmate, a Matara, or a child), they are ferocious and will use any means at their disposal to counteract the threat.  They can also turn primal in sexual situations, especially if they sense their partner is weaker or possesses a submissive mindset.  It is a bad idea to dismiss any Imdiko, no matter his size or gentle demeanor, as a non-threat.


Matara (Childbearer)

All Kalquorian women, as well as Earther women nowadays, are referred to as Mataras.  To Kalquorians, nothing is more important than the fertile female.  It is said the source of all life created woman first so that men may be born to honor her perfection.

 It is deemed insulting to women to lessen their importance by dividing them into specific personality types as the men are.  As the Kalquorian philosopher Lozatu wrote when he began the Book of Life, “Every woman caring for her children, lovers, and community is the nurturing Imdiko.  Every woman with her clear eye for the future is the take-charge Dramok.  Every woman with her readiness to defend those she loves to the death is the protective Nobek.  She is all these and so much more.”

Mataras have long been held in high esteem as the life bringers from which every Kalquorian springs.  The virus that devastated their numbers and left many of the survivors infertile only made them more precious to their male counterparts, though many of these strong-willed women chafe under the resulting overprotectiveness. 

Mataras are allowed more freedom to explore their professional options than the men.  While they may take tests to determine what paths lend themselves best to their potential, Mataras in the end make their own determination as to what they wish to do with their studies and interests. 

Clans hoping to gain a fertile Matara go to great lengths to attract the few women available, whether they are Kalquorian or Earther.  Due to the Imperial Clan’s orders, Earther women are no longer to be coerced or forcibly clanned.  A lottery has been put in place, allowing randomly chosen clans to approach up to five Mataras in the hopes of attracting one to join them.  Not surprisingly, the higher ranking clans have had the greatest successes in this endeavor.  A notable exception has been Empress Jessica’s sister Lindsey, who entered into clanship with a very young clan with low rank.


History

An Exploding Star


Little is known about the race that settled on Kalquor approximately 200,000 years ago.  Archeological digs into the pre-Cataclysmic Period show that this was an advanced race, perhaps with technology that rivals present-day Kalquor.

What recovered relics do show is that a race of inhabitants fled their home planet when it became apparent their star was about to explode.  Records indicate several star systems were considered for colonization and two potential planets in separate galaxies were decided upon.  One planet was Kalquor, and another planet, known then as Ramaso, were selected.  The problem of distance between the two was rendered a nonissue by the Rouklar Wormhole, which would make travel between the two worlds a matter of two months. The objective of the fleeing race was to attempt colonization of both planets.  Messages would be exchanged as to which, if either, was the better planet to occupy permanently.

That Kalquor proved to be hospitable to the arriving aliens, at least in the first few centuries, is apparent from the signs of vast settlements in the archeological record.   What isn’t apparent is the fate of the so called ‘Lost Colonists’ that were supposed to set up a home on Ramaso.   There is evidence that the Kalquorian colonists attempted to reach their fellow refugees on that world, but when they arrived, there was no sign of that colony ever having been there.  They were never heard from again after the two parties separated to go to their respective worlds.


Early Settlement

The colonists chose to settle near the oceans for the most part.  There is evidence that suggests they relied on a type of hydro-electric power system.  Strange machinery has been unearthed that indicates it was intended to run underwater or in very wet conditions. 

The settlements also seem to show that the first Kalquorians lived in high concentrations within cities, which would prove their undoing a mere five hundred years after settling on Kalquor.  Day-to-day life has been difficult to discover otherwise due to the wholesale destruction that occurred during the Cataclysmic Period.


The Settlers

From the few records found, we know the colonists were quite similar to present-day Kalquorians.  They were bipedal, with two arms, heads that sat erect upon their torsos, and four-fingered with opposable thumbs.

The greatest differences are rather superficial.  The colonists’ skulls were more elongated, ovoid shaped.  Their foreheads sloped back sharply from their brows.  They were much taller, averaging about nine feet tall.

The Cataclysmic Era

Two things happened almost simultaneously that spelled the doom of the early colonies.  The first of these was a meteor about seven miles in circumference collided with Kalquor, sending debris into the atmosphere and triggering major climate change.  The first Kalquorians may have been aware of the danger beforehand and were prepared for it.  Soil samples show the Cataclysmic Era lasted only seven hundred years, a very short time for the atmosphere to recover from such an event.  It is thought some kind of machinery was in place to clear the debris from the air.

What the Kalquorians were not prepared for was the eruption of a super volcano in the western hemisphere that sent more ash into the air and triggered earthquakes and tsunamis.  At least two of the great cities were lost underwater when massive tidal waves hit the coastlines.

The new colony was utterly destroyed.  It is estimated that over 95 percent of Kalquorian life was lost as a combined direct result of the asteroid impact and volcanic eruption. 


The Lost Colonists  -  Did They Somehow End up on Earth?

The fate of the Lost Colonists that were to colonize Ramaso has been the subject of theories for centuries.  With the emergence of Earth and its inhabitants’ remarkable physical similarities to Kalquorians, that topic has grown more hotly debated than ever.

Critics point out the incredible isolation of Earth as it relates to the rest of the known intelligently-inhabited worlds.  This lonely little planet is not only far removed from populated planets, but it lies in the opposite direction the fleeing colonists would have taken to reach Ramaso.  Another argument against Earthers being descended from the Lost Tribe is their backwardness in regards to technological and sociological maturity.   While they exhibited marvelous leaps in the 20th and early 21st centuries of their calendars, a series of global wars and a society based on superstitious and fanatical religious beliefs halted most advances in medicine and consumer technologies.  The main exception to the lack of scientific endeavors was military applications and space exploration, the latter necessitated by a burgeoning population that was outgrowing sustainability on Earth.

Proponents of the Earth colony point to the fact that when the humans truly began to advance; i.e., the use of tools and building of monuments, the timeline roughly coincides to when the Lost Colonists would have arrived had they for whatever reason elected to travel space rather than settle on Ramaso.  It is at this point that science fact begins to resemble science fiction with the kinds of questions posed.  Are present Earthers the direct descendants of the Lost Colonists, having evolved to their present appearance much as the Kalquorians did?  Are they a hybrid creation melding primates known to have existed on Earth and members of the Lost Colonists?  Or are they creations of genetic engineering by the missing colonists?

As laughable as these queries might seem on the surface, proponents of the Last Colonists’ colonization of Earth point to ancient texts and art found there.  Many of the oldest writings speak of a race of ‘giants’ coming to Earth and breeding with the inhabitants.  There are numerous mentions of such creatures in older religious texts, including Hebrew and Christian writings.  And there are many examples of artwork depicting humanoids that resemble descriptions of the original settlers of Kalquor.

It is also fair to note that the likelihood of finding two separate species that are capable of breeding children, separated by galaxies so many light years apart, is almost impossible without extreme genetic manipulation.  Yet fertile Kalquorians and Earthers easily produce children with no intervention needed.  Their DNA is also virtually identical, making it almost a certainty in many minds that Earthers are indeed descendants of the Lost Tribe.

Post-Cataclysmic Era:  Survival of the Fittest

After the double devastation of almost simultaneous planet-changing events; the crash of a meteor and eruption of a super volcano; the Kalquorians were nearly wiped out.  It took over seven hundred years for the atmosphere to clear and another five hundred for the remnants of the race to thrive once more.

The Kalquorians that emerged from the threat of near extinction were markedly different from their ancestors.  Physically, they had lost some of their stature, as the first Kalquorians had been about nine feet in height.  According to the records that began to be kept around that time, the average height for a Kalquorian male was about eight and a half feet, the females eight feet, two inches.  The downward trend continued for the next 50,000 years, bottoming out at around five feet, eight inches for men and five feet three inches for women.  After that time, body size began to grow again, increasing greatly through the generations.  The current average height for the Kalquorian male is now six and a half feet and females around six feet, three inches.  The tallest Kalquorian on record in the post-Cataclysmic Era was measured at eight feet, eleven inches.  The genetic predisposition for heightened muscularity also became the norm following the Cataclysmic Era.

In the millennia following Kalquorian re-emergence as a civilization, another evolutionary difference has been the re-shaping of the skull.  Once elongated and ovoid shaped, current Kalquorians have much more rounded craniums, much like Earthers.   Artwork through the ages shows a fascinating timeline for these gradual changes. 

The reason for these changes is thought to stem from the stresses of the Cataclysmic Era.  Forced to live in a hostile atmosphere, cut off from the technology they had grown reliant on, Kalquorian brains changed to accommodate a more physical versus an intellectual existence.  Their cerebrums have shrunk, giving way to the more primitive survival mechanisms of the cerebellum and limbic system.  The ability to hunt and forage helped the more physically robust survive, but intelligence was needed in those harsh centuries as well.  This is why present-day Kalquorians possess such an interesting dichotomy of overachieving brilliance in technology while demonstrating primitive instincts when it comes to intimate relationships and tasks like hunting and tracking.  As Alsoos, the premiere poet of Plasius, referred to the archetypical Kalquorian, he is “a beast of hungry mind, soul, and libido/The most remarkably astute of savage intellects”.

By the time the Kalquorians began keeping records again, they had already established the separation of four breeds:  Dramok, Nobek, Imdiko, and Matara.  Kalquorians found it necessary to categorize their people because they found different personalities demanded specialized schooling and discipline, especially among the naturally ferocious Nobeks, who without proper conditioning and training tend towards violence.

Beginning of an Empire

Following the Cataclysmic Era, Kalquorians gathered in small groups under territorial chieftains.  These groups often clashed over resources such as water, food, and technology.  Because such a small amount of time had elapsed between the fall of the great cities and the Kalquorians’ re-emergence, there were still records and stories of the engineering feats of the first Kalquorians.  Claiming control over the machines that made survival and even flourishing easier was uppermost in the chieftains’ plots to retain control and gain more power.  Most of these machines were underwater or destroyed, but a few remnants were discovered here and there.  Water purification systems, sewers, farming equipment, and manufacturing devices were either put back to work or their remains studied and re-fabricated.  

Weaponry of the ancestors was also coveted.  Better arms meant more resources and more power for the leaders of the various groups.  It started small with the chieftains setting on their neighbors.  The losers of these struggles would be absorbed into the populations of the victors.  Larger and larger areas became the fiefdoms of kings.  Intermittent wars were fought over thousands of years, as happens on so many planets as their populations experience the growing pangs of civilization.  Thousands of kingdoms became hundreds, hundreds became dozens, until at last Kalquor was split between two opposing countries.

There were long stretches of uneasy peace between the two, interrupted by devastating conflicts from time to time.  At last the final great war was fought until the whole of the planet was placed under one ruler.  Insurgencies would rise for the next two centuries as the conquered lands tried to regain their independence, but rebellions were put down.  At long last the planet’s population settled into one government ruled by a single emperor and the advisory council elected by the people of Kalquor.  The empire was born.

The War of the Breeds

Because Dramoks were recognized leaders, it was always a member of this breed that sat on Kalquor’s throne unless a crown princess was born before a Dramok heir.  That meant that even if the emperor had several Nobek and Imdiko sons, none would inherit the throne.  Upon the emperor’s death or inability to rule, the eldest Dramok or Matara relation deemed capable by the council would assume the crown.  

Eight thousand years ago, Emperor Odmal died.  His elder son Nobek Chigrit was passed over in favor of younger sibling Dramok Nakew for rulership despite Chigrit’s amazing defense of Kalquorian space against a much larger force of invading Bi’isils.  Nakew becoming emperor was not unexpected, but the new ruler added insult to injury when he made his personal bodyguard and lover Nobek Fepnin the high commander of Kalquor’s military, stripping the decorated Chigrit of his rank.  The soldiers who saw Chigrit almost as a god were incensed by this.  Many openly vowed that if the prince rebelled against his brother, they would take up arms in support of his cause.  The council begged Nakew to reconsider the appointment, but the new emperor, known for a large dose of his own megalomania, refused to be swayed.

Nakew had made a terrible mistake against a man who was already teetering on the verge of violence. History tells us that Chigrit had chafed most of his life under the belief that Nobeks were being marginalized by the Dramok breed.  He had publicly railed against the unfairness of Nobek youngsters ripped from their families and treated like animals in the training camps.  It should be noted that Chigrit had attended a training camp that was later closed down for excessive brutality against its students.  Many of its administrators and instructors were convicted of abuse, but in the Nobek prince’s case, the damage had been done.  He remained convinced that the Nobeks were victims of prejudice and tyranny, even though many of those who had harmed him and others were Nobeks themselves.

After his demotion, Chigrit fell ominously quiet.  What young Emperor Nakew didn't realize was that his older brother was gathering his loyal Nobek troops to his side and plotting the overthrow of the crown.  He was a charismatic speaker, able to make similarly disenfranchised Nobeks accept his arguments that their breed was regarded as no more than watchdogs by the Dramoks.  Young Nobeks in particular fell prey to his rhetoric, looking to ensure themselves status and accolades.

Two years after Nakew's coronation, Chigrit struck.  The Nobek-dominated military turned on the emperor and the council, which was made up of Dramoks.  Nakew barely escaped with his life, due mostly by the quick actions of his lover Fepnin.  He was forced to go into hiding.

Chigrit might have received some measure of sympathy had his atrocities against those he captured not been so heinous.  Once he claimed the throne for himself and declared the council disbanded, he declared war on all Dramoks.   The gutted bodies of Dramoks, particularly those who had occupied high office, decorated the outer walls of the Royal House.

Seeing the bloody carnage, the Imdikos declared themselves aligned with the Dramoks.  The two breeds gathered not under the banner of the deposed Nakew, but that of his uncle Prince Rogiz, a respected elder Dramok of the Imperial Family.  Rogiz called the two breeds to fight against Chigrit, and the War of the Breeds commenced.

What followed were three terrible years of death and brutality.  For the first two and a half years, the Nobek army scored victory after victory, savaging not just unknown opponents, but also Dramok and Imdiko fathers, brothers, and sons.  Some Mataras joined in the fight, their loyalty often determined by the most important men in their lives.  Chigrit’s daughter Hamu was often found on the front lines, cutting down her father’s enemies with the same bloodlust of any enraged Nobek until she was killed during battle.

Chigrit himself was not content to hide behind his lines.  He was often the first on the battlefield and the last off.  His huge size and propensity for stomping on the dead and dying bodies of his enemies, grinding their flesh and bones under his feet, earned him the moniker The Big Boot.

A Surprising End

The tide began to turn against Chigrit when an Imdiko medical technician, working on a way to non-invasively immobilize critically wounded patients for transport to surgeries, stumbled on the shockwave device.  Those in the shockwave’s path were instantly knocked unconscious.  Upon regaining their senses, the victims’ overwhelmed nervous systems suffered hours of incredible pain, during which time they found it difficult to attack others or defend themselves.

Prince Rogiz recognized the importance of this device almost immediately and ordered it weaponized. During a ground battle near the Imperial capital city, two dozen shuttles overflew the fight and aimed their shockwaves at the opposing army.  The Nobeks went down, almost to a man.
Chigrit was on another continent, fighting at the front there when word reached him of the Dramok and Imdikos’ new weapon.  He immediately sent a team of infiltrators and spies to capture one of the shockwave devices, but Rogiz kept his new toys well hidden.

Rogiz's forces, their numbers cut by the many months of fighting a superior enemy, were now winning all ground battles.  Shockwave attacks left Nobek airbases with no one to guard their fighters and destroyers, setting up complete destruction of Chigrit’s air and space power.  Three weeks after the first combat use of the shockwave, Rogiz called for the Nobeks to surrender.

Chigrit refused.  "We will fight until every last Nobek lies dead, with as many Dramoks and Imdikos as we can take with us,” he vowed.  

Rogiz's response was no less vicious.  He ordered that all Nobek soldiers felled by the shockwave be killed rather than taken prisoner.   “If the entire breed is destroyed, so be it,” he said.

The war might have dragged on but for the shocking actions of Chigrit's two wives, Budelon and Pevir. Unbeknownst to their mate, they had plotted behind his back, sickened by the war and his madness.  They had both lost all the males of their immediate blood families to the war, with the exception of their two youngest sons.  The eldest of the Mataras, Budelon, had set up a secret network to important female leaders of the major cities.  One of her contacts was Prince Rogiz’s wife Princess Gamrec.  Hours after Rogiz’s pronouncement of death for all Nobeks captured, a frantic Gamrec called Budelon, insisting they had to act immediately.  Gamrec’s father and two of her brothers were Nobeks, men she loved despite being on opposing sides of the fight.

Chigrit's wives had their own reasons to panic.  Pevir's son had just been categorized as a Dramok, and Budelon's showed all the characteristics of being an Imdiko. They feared in his madness, Chigrit would kill the boys.  

Pevir is credited as being the main architect of what came to be known as the Matara Ruse.  The plan had been known to those in charge of implementing it for months.   Two days after Rogiz’s death sentence on the Nobeks, Pevir gave the signal to enact it.

As most the men waged war against each other, the women climbed aboard space cruisers, taking their children and elders with them.  They left Kalquor in a mass exodus, taking a six-day journey to a small outpost moon where Pevir had quietly overseen the building of a refugee camp.  Budelon had also arranged for a communications satellite that scrambled the location of its transmissions.  

Approximately three-quarters of Kalquor's Mataras had left.  The sight of so many transports departing the planet had gotten the immediate attention of the warmongers.  Fighting ceased as the men scrambled to discover what had happened.   Even Chigrit was distracted by the unforeseen abandonment.  He failed to mount any attacks on Rogiz’s confused forces as he searched for clues as to where his wives and children had gone.

Nine days after their disappearance, Budelon and Gamrec sent communications to their husbands, demanding a truce be declared between the breeds.  “Enough blood has been spilled.  Enough of our people have died.  This ends now,” Budelon told her mate.  “If it does not, we refuse to return.”
Chigrit screamed his denial, declaring he would destroy his enemies or be destroyed.  One of his generals, said by many to be the father of Princess Gamrec, cut his throat on the spot.  “It is ended,” he told Budelon.  “Let the lifebringers come home.”

As simply as that, the War of the Breeds was over.  The Mataras did not return to Kalquor right away, insisting both sides come together to reform a new government.  It is apparent Budelon and Pevir had apparently not just put their minds to ending the war; they had also expended a great deal of thought on post-war Kalquor.  It was their recommendations that led to the re-installation of not only the Dramok emperor and his council, but also the advisory positions of the Imperial Family’s highest ranking Imdiko, Nobek, and Matara.  In the case of an Empress taking the throne, a Dramok advisor would be included in the Imperial Trust, as it came to be called.  While the Emperor or Empress would lead, the opinions and recommendations of the entire Trust would be on public record.  Should all the members of the Trust along with the majority of the council disagree with the ruler on a law or policy, his or her decision would be overturned.

Another condition of the Mataras' return was crowning Rogiz as emperor instead of the irresponsible Nakew. Though it was agreed Chigrit might have fallen into madness without his brother’s insult, it was undoubtedly Nakew’s actions that set the war in motion.  In retaliation for losing the crown, he and his Nobek lover, who had remained at his side during the war, tried to assassinate Rogiz.  They were publicly executed for treason.

There has not been civil war among the Kalquorians since the War of the Breeds.

The Virus

A few centuries ago, a virus spread through Kalquor’s population like wildfire, devastating the people of that planet.
               
Patient Zero, the first victim that originated the outbreak, was a young Matara mountain climber named Togrynt.  Along with friends, she’d visited a small moon within the Empire, known for its challenging peaks.  While there, she was bitten by a small mammalian creature called a lubury.  As this was not an animal known for aggression, it was agreed it must have been sick with some disease.  Togrynt was brought home to Kalquor and quarantined, along with her fellow climbers and the carcass of the lubury, which a member of the climbing party had killed.
               
The infection carried by the lubury was not one Kalquorian doctors had ever seen before.  In Togrynt’s system, it mutated.  All of the young woman’s organs, including those of her reproductive system, hemorrhaged.   She was dead a week after contracting the virus.  The last of her companions on that ill-fated trip died five days later.
                
Despite all precautions, the virus escaped the confines of the hospital and laboratories.  By the time it ran its full course, nearly forty percent of all men and over sixty-seven percent of the female population were dead from it.  Every single Kalquorian on the home planet and many of the colonies was infected, though not all victims suffered the deadly hemorrhaging.  However, everyone showed some sort of damage from their exposure, especially the women. 
                
Because the virus caused anomalies to the X-chromosomes, the most devastating effects showed up in the female population.  Of the survivors of the virus, over seventy percent of the women were rendered infertile.  In succeeding generations, daughters born to those who could still conceive were not guaranteed fertility; indeed, the majority were not.  It didn’t help that Kalquorian women ovulated only once a year.

Even those few who had remained away during the virus' outbreak could not counteract the effects once it was safe for them to return home.  There were simply too few unaffected Kalquorians left.  The small infusion of still-intact original DNA only delayed the inevitable end.  Between the virus’ initial destruction and the following decline in births, Kalquor’s population dropped precipitously.  As fewer and fewer viable childbearers were available, the men began to compete more and more aggressively for mates.

The Clan System

As noted previously, polyamorous unions were not uncommon on Kalquor.  So long as all participants were accepting, a single household could consist of any number of men and women.  Most such family groupings were quite small however.  Rarely would one find a mating group of more than three members, though it was not unheard of for there to be groupings of four or even five.
But as the number of women declined, many men became possessive.  Public fights, duels, and killings were on the increase as each man attempted to keep a fertile mate all to himself.

After a riot ended with a quarter of the capital city's underground market area on fire, then-Emperor Relor and the Imperial Council issued a decree:  family groupings would now consist of a male from each breed.  These clans of three men would establish themselves as responsible and capable of offering comfortable, stable households for potential Mataras and the children they would bear.  
Relor was elderly and near the end of his reign, so it was left to his son Crown Prince Shev to show the way.  He clanned with two longtime friends Nobek Mekyi and Imdiko Hartob.  The group then chose Matara Dalic for their female mate, and she accepted their proposal.  

Upon Relor's death, the first Imperial Clan ascended to the collective throne.  While Relor had intended Shev’s clanmates to be only advisors to him as had been the tradition for the best suited members of the Imperial Family, Shev felt it best for the entire clan to share in the prestige (and many headaches) of rulership.  The Council agreed, as did the battered and weary populace of Kalquor.  With four monarchs ruling, the sudden death of one would not throw the Empire into confusion, as had happened in the past.

But even with the establishment of the clan family, Kalquor's population continued to decrease until extinction loomed on the horizon.  All scientific efforts to reverse the effects of the virus failed.  The very DNA of Kalquorians had been altered.  It seemed the mighty Kalquorian Empire would be felled; not from war or an enemy takeover, but by a small, unseen foe.  A mere virus.

In the final decade of the rule of Emperor Zarl's clan, less than one hundred births occurred on all of Kalquor.  Of the forty-three female infants born, only twelve lived past their first week.  The rest died of the severe chromosomal deformities that continued to plague that gender.  

Kalquor might have given up all hope of its survival but for the miracle of a second chance that suddenly presented itself.

The indigenous people would still soon be extinct, but a previously unknown race had wandered into the boundaries of the Galactic Council of Planets.  They were in search of a planet to colonize, one that would lessen the burden of a huge population on their homeworld.  They were a suspicious lot and known for an almost fanatical adherence to a strict religion.  Still, most member planets welcomed these explorers from a tiny world in a distant galaxy.  Because these newcomers so closely resembled the doomed Kalquorians, all the Empire’s allies hoped the culture, if not the race itself, could be saved.  That perhaps the two species would be compatible enough to breed a hybrid race that would continue the wonderfully intelligent and yet still primal Kalquorian code that had benefitted so many others.

That other world which offered Kalquor a new beginning was none other than Earth.



27 comments:

  1. Wow.....you have really created a special world and people. And you have done a lot of research which as made this world very real. I just love it!

    And I think you are a very special author...to have taken the time to plane, research, and create your own special people. All I can say is WOW!

    I really admire you as a writer Tracy...and I love your stories and I hope that you keep thinking up these wonderful love stories filled with equally wonderful peoples and mysterious places....

    Thank you so much for sharing this amazing talent that you have been blessed with.

    Tricia

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  2. Thank you so much, Tricia. I had to think about this message for a day before I could reply because I am utterly humbled that you think so much of my work. I write what I love and I'm just so thrilled that others want to escape to my world with me. Thanks for a very uplifting comment!

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  3. Yes, Tricia I am agree with Tracy you have really created a special world and people. And you have done a lot of research which as made this world very real. I just love it and enjoy it
    When is your next book on The Kalquorian Empire is coming out
    I wish you a nice and sunny Thursday, Friday and Week-end
    Cheers

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    1. Mannouchka, Alien Redemption will be out in November. Thanks so much for the kind comments!

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  4. I happened upon your books and I am SO glad I did!
    I have read all of the Kalqour series that are out and have just purchased the Netherworld series.

    I just found your website and after reading the Kalqour back story I now have to go back and read them again with all this new knowledge...I am so EXCITED!!!!! (eeeeeeeeee...please excuse my girlie squeal!)

    Thank you so much for all that you do!!! Your writing helped me through a crazy time...I could just sit and read and go to Kalquor. (Many miles away with very sexy men..woohoo!!!!)

    Thank you again!! YOU ROCK!!!!!

    Julia

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    1. Thanks, Julia! I'm so happy you've enjoyed the books and that they gave you an escape from the real world when it treated you less than kindly. I hope things are getting better for you. Take care!

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  5. You have combined my two favorite genres (syfy & menage) and you have done it exceedingly well. The Alien series has become by far my absolute favorite series.

    The worlds you have created from dystopian Earth to Plasia to Kalquor, have been absolutely brilliant. The heroines are some of my favorite. The stories are superbly done and don't even get me started on the Kalquorian men!

    Big, dark and sexy? YES! Caring and dominant? YES! Two appendages each that are all cinnamon, spice and everything nice? Oh my, YES!!! I think I fainted a little from joy and wonder the first time I read that in AE. I definitely drooled. A lot.

    I don't usually do fan mail but your books make me want to gush like a giddy excited fifteen year old girl. I love them and I am now a super fan!! I look forward to all the future Kalquor works you have underway!

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    1. Thank you! I am so happy you like the books, and I really appreciate you letting me know. You made my day!

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  6. Scientists Find DNA Sequence Associated With dramok Qualities on our homo sapiens species!

    http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/01/15/health-leadership-gene-dna-sequence_n_2479658.html

    and i found a gigolo that look like the sexy dramok raijir:

    http://www.examiner.com/article/meet-the-new-gigolo-ash-armand-adds-a-touch-of-exotic-to-the-cast

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    1. WOW!! Ash Armand looks exactly what I pictured Dramok Rajhir looks like in my imagination! Now I have a real picture to look at now! Woohoo! :)

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  7. What a wonderful backstory you've created! It's not just a general history, but but it's a beautifully detailed detailed history. What an imagination! I'd love to hear about your dreams!

    At some point, this should become a book, or series of books...hint, hint...



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    1. I might do a 'First Clans' series someday as well as a book about the War of the Breeds.

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  8. I love your books. The back story is just wonderful and gave me a lot of insight. I really hope you continue to write books abut the Kalquor clans. I really do hope you write a story about the first clans and their challenges.

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    1. Thanks! I hope to eventually write that story as well. My plate is pretty full at this moment, but I have it in my 'To Be Written' file. :D

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  9. I just love men with long, dark hair, and if they are buff too...BONUS!! I love the sci-fi fantasy, romance genre, so your Kalquor books are the perfect combo! Tracy your story telling of the Kalquors really grabs the reader from the very beginning, and keeps them enthralled until the end of the story, and keeps them wanting more stories of the Kalquors. I can't wait until Alien Indiscretions comes out! I would really love to see a book of Clan Beginnings of Clan Ospar! Any chance of that happening? That would be a fantastic story to read!

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    1. Clan Ospar is definitely getting a Clan Beginnings book. It's quite a ways into the future, but the plan for it is there. :D

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  10. Thanks for explaining patient zero, all along I had thought the Bi'is were responsible (little bastards)but it sounds exactly like the type of cross vector problems we are experiencing here with viruses like AIDS and Zika. Keep typing Tracy - and I'll keep reading. You are my fav.

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  11. Im completely in love with your books about Kalquor. When I go to amazon looking for books, I check to make sure there are no new books. I remember the first time I read your first book. I read it almost in a day. When I finished I went back a bought all the books that was available. Now I can't wait for more. Every book is like a portal to the planet and I can live there as the woman in your book. I truly look forward for number eleven,or maybe some more beginning of clans book.

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    1. Thank you! I have just started plotting the next Clan Beginnings book. I hope I can have that to you in the fall.

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  12. Im completely in love with your books about Kalquor. When I go to amazon looking for books, I check to make sure there are no new books. I remember the first time I read your first book. I read it almost in a day. When I finished I went back a bought all the books that was available. Now I can't wait for more. Every book is like a portal to the planet and I can live there as the woman in your book. I truly look forward for number eleven,or maybe some more beginning of clans book.

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    1. Thanks Jessica! I'm so happy to hear you enjoy the books. I'm plotting the next Clan Beginnings book now.

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  13. Hi I love all your books and was wondering if you are going to write a clan beginning book for Dramok Ospar , Nobek Jol and Imdiko Rivek? I was amazed by by this men and wanted to learn more about the incident that almost killed Imdiko Rivek thank you for all the amazing books
    Dawn

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    1. Hi Dawn. I'm so glad you enjoy the books. Clan Ospar's Beginnings is slated to be released later this year. :D

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  14. Hi
    I was wondering if there would be a clan beings novel this year?

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    1. Hi! No, instead of writing a Clan Beginnings book this year, I'm going to work on a Clan Companion book--Captain Joseph Walker from Alien Caged and Nobek Almon. It will be the first of a new series I hope to work on every other year (alternating with more Clan Beginnings).

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  15. I absolutely looovvveee the World of Kalquor series. Will there be any new Clan Beginnings or Clans of Kalquor books releasing this year?

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