Helios is a major human interstellar civilization occupying the Cygnus Spur of the Sagittarius Arm. Its capital is the Asterium System. It emerged from the destruction of Neipas and developed separately from Arcendas through thousands of Cycles without contact. Distinct languages, institutions and traditions grew during that separation. Izhketh territory and other unfriendly states lie across the great distance between the two powers.
Helios and Arcendas maintain a neutral relationship. Neither presently sees a material advantage in political unification. Their shared human origins coexist with separate histories, strategic interests and centres of power.
Helios commands mature interstellar fleets and access to an extensive paired-gate network. That reach sustains both its own territory and strategic relationships with dependent states.
The Mahruni homeland, the Kelmar System, lies in the Cygnus Spur within the Helios sphere. Its people had developed industry, settlements throughout their system and a practical interstellar-capable jump drive before Helios defeated them. They were already Tier 2 despite holding no territory beyond Seyrik.
The resulting Protectorate of Kelmar preserves Mahruni domestic government, courts, citizenship, property and fiscal autonomy. Helios supplies strategic defence, access to its gate network and transport aboard its jump ships. A diplomatic and military liaison office connects the two governments.
Every Mahrun serves from twenty to twenty-five Cycles, regardless of caste or clan affiliation. Approximately fifteen per cent of conscripts perform duties within Seyrik and eighty-five per cent deploy elsewhere with Helios forces. Mothers with dependent young receive local duties compatible with raising their offspring and are counted within the home-service allocation. Many personnel reenlist after the compulsory term. Completion of the levy does not automatically confer Warrior caste membership.
Kelmar pays Helios no fiscal tax, mining royalty or commodity tribute. Its industries, mines, farms and domestic workforce remain under local institutions. Commercial exchange and the military compact give Helios access to a capable industrial partner.
Mahruni clans recruit members of all five castes through competitive selection and are governed by their Warriors. Distinguished service with Helios can improve a member's standing within a clan or support an application to a more prestigious institution. Mahruni authorities retain domestic government through the Conclave of Standards and First Standard, while deployed formations follow the military chain of command.
Their agility, low-light senses and physical force make them valuable personnel, while modern training, logistics and fitted equipment remain essential. Mahruni are universally Void-numb and cannot become practitioners of High Magic. They resist harmful Void exposure and ionizing radiation unusually well, through distinct biological properties that still leave them vulnerable to severe harm.
The protectorate began before the Giza Conventions. Its place under ICSS law rests on the Mahruni's pre-conquest Tier 2 capability: the conventions' protected-world rules concern Tier 0 and Tier 1 societies. Kelmar remains a self-governing client state within Helios's strategic order.