Glorious Proclamation

Glorious Proclamation is a Covenant-colonized moon within the Chikri-Merkaa Strand. Established and inhabited by a predominantly Sangheili population, it is best known for its industry and traditional culture. Since the Great Schism, Glorious Proclamation has been one of the most prominent member worlds of the Chikri-Merkaa Conflux.

History
The moon was once known to the Forerunners; this is no surprise due to its relative proximity to the Orion Complex. There are various lesser ruin-sites on the world, though they are very old and mundane by Forerunner standards, and despite sporadic excavations over the ages, no functional paleotechnology has been uncovered. The best-preserved ruins — the remains of what appear to be modest settlements, shrines and arenas of predominantly stone construction — are common pilgrimage sites for locals, though they rarely attract the attentions of offworlders. The moon's ecology shows tell-tales of the Lifeworkers' "blessings", with several staple ecosystem-filler creatures calling it home. However, Glorious Proclamation still has what appears to be a naturally evolved biosphere, though the local fossil record indicates its current complexity is a relatively recent phenomenon in evolutionary timescales and may have been artificially induced.

Founding
Glorious Proclamation is the oldest colony in the Chikri-Merkaa Strand, dating back to the first half of the Feudal Period, a time when most of the Siakar Expanse had not yet been settled. The specifics of Glorious Proclamation's founding are not fully certain, and partly obscured by myth. It is known, based on a relatively curt note in Covenant annals, that the colony was founded as a remote bastion-world by the house Jaren during the 14th Age of Doubt, circa the 13th century. Most of the founders originated as a refugee population from Vaal Kettar, a major reliquary-world rendered uninhabitable by a disastrous interaction with a Forerunner artifact. The Tale of the Ruin of Vaal Kettar and the Glorious Proclamation of the First Kaidon Ottal 'Jaren (as documented in the House-Chronicle of Jaren) documents the event as follows:


 * ''These were the days of the reign of Kaidon Ottal 'Jaren, who ruled over the High Citadel of Kartai at the shores of the Twilight-Sea of Qashan, and all his vassals and lesser lords upon Vaal Kettar, the Cherished Abode of old, with wisdom in his hearts, and the world of Vaal Kettar prospered and won renown among all worlds, and all was well. And most sacred of all on that world was the Shrine of Kartai-Qua, the holy relic beneath the great city of Kartai; and old tales spoke of its great and terrible power. Yet the shrine was the source of Jaren's prosperity, and that of Vaal Kettar, and all those who dwelt there knew its power must not be stirred, for its quickening would bring about ruin and woe. Only the holy order of the shrine-monks of Kartai-Qua knew the sacred rites to beseech the Shrine for its mysteries.


 * ''Now Kaidon Ottal had a cousin-brother by the name of Zaral 'Jaren, and he was turbulent of hearts, and foolish at times, though the bond of their friendship was great. Yet Zaral thought the Journey would not come swiftly enough, and he was overcome by zeal and a shadow fell upon him, as it often does fall upon restless hearts who seek truth without wisdom. He studied the forbidden scriptures and the belief entered his hearts that the sacred shrine of Kartai-Qua would unlock the Mysteries of the Journey and bring about the Great Unworlding with haste, even as the time of the coming of the Journey is a secret known only to the Gods themselves and so it must remain.


 * ''Yet all reason left Zaral, and he gathered his followers and made way to the sacred shrine, where the shrine-monks of Kartai-Qua told them to turn away, for the holy relic was their domain only. But Zaral would not heed the monks' wisdom, and he and his fell warriors brandished their blades, and the Shrine-Monks did likewise in turn. The monks fought fiercely to stop Zaral, but a great fervor was upon him and his band, and none could withstand them and the holy men were slain. Then Zaral 'Jaren went to the sacred machine and no tale speaks of what happened in that place, but soon there was great noise like thunder and a great pillar of white fire shot up to the sky and the clouds were parted around it like a great maelstorm; and there were great floods across the world of Vaal Kettar, and the ground shook all over, and the people were fearful for they knew the wrath of heaven had been roused.


 * ''But Ottal 'Jaren faced the storm, and he flew into the great maelstorm where the great city Kartai once lay, where the sea now broiled and fell into the depths in great cataracts and the burning pillar pierced the sky like a spear cast down from the Divine Beyond itself. Yet Ottal would not falter and he spurred his ship through the twisting clouds and the thunder and the rain, until he arrived at the eye of the storm the cliffs of the shore-line and the once great city had nigh all collapsed to the depths, where the mountains had been cloven asunder and the foundations of the earth laid bare, and he plunged his ship downward, where the roused God-Machine burrowed ever deeper into the foundations of the world.


 * ''At last the relic came to view through the smoke and ash and water and crumbling stone, and Ottal set his sky-chariot down upon a platform, and made haste inside. Ottal then met his cousin-brother at the heart of the divine machine, where Zaral stood in rapture, his form shrouded by the smoke and fire-light, fell and terrible to behold. Even still Ottal called out to him: "Cease thy madness, brother, or perish by my blade!" But Zaral would not heed the words of his cousin-brother and he laughed, for the power of the relic was upon him, and madness was in his eyes. Ottal then leapt at his cousin-brother, and they drew blades; thus was the duel of Ottal and Zaral joined. With terrible speed and ferocity they clashed, yet were evenly matched; for each warrior knew the maneuvers and minds of the other as if they were his own.


 * ''Yet the treacherous Zaral forced Ottal to the edges of the fire-pit, amid pillars of steam and ash. When it seemed Ottal would soon be plunged to the depths, the Kaidon moved like the wind and he gained the high ground; the Ottal Maneuver, this was later called; and without falter he plunged his cousin-brother into the fiery heart of the great God-Engine. Yet Ottal could not stop the great machine and it was then that he knew the end had come. He called out to his people to flee as the ground cracked all around them and fire from the depths shot up to the sky, and those who could fled in great ships as the mighty cities and keeps fell to ruin and the whole world was torn asunder. Such was the end of the splendor of Vaal Kettar.


 * Now Ottal's people were lost in the void, punished by the Gods and their name disgraced by Zaral's sin. It is said that Ottal wept for seven days for his cousin-brother, for despite Zaral's great wickedness, Ottal had once loved him greatly. And their fleet journeyed restlessly for many cycles across many stars, and other tales speak of that great voyage. Yet when all hope seemed lost they came to the shores of a world far distant from home, and it was there that the First Kaidon Ottal 'Jaren made landfall, and he grasped the soil in his hand and spoke thusly: "Behold! Into this new world I have led you, and it shall be here that my clan and kin will settle and grow and flourish unto the Awaited Ascension, when all become as one, or the Void that Ends All." And it was in that place that he set the keystone of his keep and ruled until the end of his days, which were not many for he had grown old and weary during the voyage, and it is where the Jaren Keep stands to this day. Thus the abode-world of Clan Jaren came to be named Glorious Proclamation.

At the time of Glorious Proclamation's founding, what would later be known as the Chikri-Merkaa Strand was the backwoods of the Holy Ecumene. Indeed, the world was established as an ignominious remote outpost by a disgraced people, who only over time have regained some of their honor - though even now the shame of their past lingers in the eyes of some.

Society and governance
Glorious Proclamation has no strictly defined single government, instead having a patchwork of feudal clan holdings and fiefs akin to many of the Sunlit Worlds. However, for historical reasons most of the states acknowledge Clan Jaren and their kaidon as their head and representative; the House of Jaren is a ruling dynasty in all but name. Glorious Proclamation's capital city is known as Dohun Haur, the City Above the Mist. Governed by Kaichen Uri 'Jaren as of the 2570s, the Sangheili of Clan Jaren are now renowned for their armorers and weaponsmiths; indeed, the Jaren Manufactories are the most well-known clan-armorers in the region and have historically supplied armor for the house Jaren and some of the region's lesser families as well as many lesser groups based in the region. While the world is best known for its industry, large portions of Glorious Proclamation's population lead traditionalist rural and pastoral lifestyles in the moon's vast wilderness, mostly as protected subjects of the ruling clans.

Glorious Proclamation is notable for its industrial sector, and they are a longtime producer of weapons, armor and various other materiel. Today, they are the largest armorer in the Chikri-Merkaa Conflux. The world is self-sufficient in terms of foodstuffs and even sells some surplus to nearby worlds. Some clans on Glorious Proclamation are almost entirely specialized in craftsmanship to the point of forming a kind of distinct aristocratic subclass. The moon has several gravitic sky-lifts while ferry both raw materials and products to and from orbital warehouses. The moon's clans and guilds engage in trade with various groups across the Chikri-Merkaa Strand and beyond, even having supplied some materiel (largely combat harnesses) for the Covenant ministries at times.

Sangheili comprise the bulk of the moon's population, and Glorious Proclamation has fewer subject species inhabiting it than the other major worlds of the Chikri-Merkaa Strand. A number of Unggoy subjects are present as serfs and menials, as well as Lekgolo colonies operating heavy machinery. The system's other colonies are more diverse, and Kig-Yar and Unggoy in particular call several trade ports and mining outposts home. Still, the relatively low percentage of client species has led to Glorious Proclamation having a larger Sangheili commoner class than on more cosmopolitan worlds such as Radiant Zenith, with a larger number of Sangheili working in jobs those on other worlds might consider beneath them. This likewise reflects the world's overall nature as a time capsule of sorts, as its species demographics are fairly reflective of the Covenant's makeup well over a millennium ago.

Culture
Glorious Proclamation's culture is deeply traditionalist within their respective cultural continuum. The people of the world are still heavily influenced by their unique origins among the populations of the Chikri-Merkaa Strand, and having gone to great lengths to preserve Vaal Kettar's culture, even by oft-conservative Sangheili standards, Proclamates are often viewed as curiosities. Though change has happened, it has happened slower than for the other worlds of the Strand, and Glorious Proclamation's customs are seen as old-fashioned, if mostly harmless. This also applies to their dialect, which differs from the Ikanoro variants spoken on many other worlds of the Strand and retains many archaic features that have long disappeared elsewhere. While during the Covenant's reign, the world was nominally part of the Siakar Expanse ordinariate, most of the prominent churches there retained the ancient liturgical rites of Vaal Kettar, carried over from the even older Helian traditions of Yuchurn. This distinguishes them from Radiant Zenith and Amaranthine Resplendence as well as most other worlds of the Strand, whose seed-worlds were in the Qerkossian Shore of the Spinward Median. The Proclamates still very much see themselves as the "other" among the Strand's peoples, though over later centuries this has decreased somewhat with more intermarriage and various conciliatory arrangements and the strengthening of economic ties between the worlds. A fairly tight-knit political alliance like the Chikri-Merkaa Conflux would most likely not have worked for them just half a millennium ago, so proud and contentious were they in those times. Nowadays, the Proclamates are known for being stubborn and prideful, but are generally respected.

The collective cultural narrative of the Proclamates is tinged by melancholy of long-lost glory mixed with pride over their resurgence from ignominy and shame. Poems and songs speak of their long-lost home of Vaal Kettar with longing; though the clans who survived the Ruin of Vaal Kettar did recover admirably, they would never return to such greatness as they had on their ancestral homeworld. This cultural origin story is shared by much of the planet despite the fact only a relatively small portion of the colony's populace can trace their ancestry back to the original Jaren Exodus, multiple large settler groups having arrived in the centuries since. Some exceptions to this include the nomadic steppe-wanderers and some of the rural groups who lead simpler lives upon the world. Due to the world's unique traits, it has been the frequent subject of scholars both Sangheili and San'Shyuum, most recently the wandering traveler-monk Nor Khebhka. In addition, a cadet-chapter of the Ascetics has a monastery-fortress in an isolated mountain region of Glorious Proclamation's Ruugon Highlands.

Proclamate Sangheili names are some of the most traditional in the Strand. Many of the nobility are named after legendary heroes, often ones from their own bloodlines. As a quirk common to some Sangheili cultural groups in the extreme end of the civilization's meritocratic side, females are allowed in combat and kaidonship through the same vetting process males are subjected to; this has been a common practice among the Jaren clan at least since the 19th Age of Conflict. Contrary to first impressions, such a practice is not regarded as especially progressive among Sangheili at large, and may even be considered archaic or atavistic to some, as it was more common over a millennium ago in some regions of the Sangheili sphere. Still, traditions vary, and though less common now, such traditions are not unique even in the present.

Proclamates wear distinctive styles of clothing, considered old-fashioned and very different to many of those found within the Siakar Expanse. The world's heraldic colors are emerald, for resurgent honor; and bronze, for tradition and lineage. Architecture and design native to Glorious Proclamation are likewise the most conservative of all the key worlds in the Chikri-Merkaa Strand, in keeping with traditions all the way back to the cherished Vaal Kettar. Proclamate energy blade designs are traditionally asymmetrical and have noticeable angular parts with fewer curves than ministry-standard swords, a tradition going back over a millennium. There is a popular local fighting style practiced with staff-weapons such as dual-blade plasma lances, and polearms are more common on their world than swords. Proclamate weapons (mostly those manufactured by Jaren Armories) often incorporate ornamental bronze or copper components, and the blades used by the key Jaren troops have a green tint to them. The munnu isma fighting style, which favors deliberate, strong attacks, was perfected by the ancient Vaal Kettar swordmaster Usu 'Gaiken, and is still practiced by many Proclamate swordsmen.

Another local trait of note is Glorious Proclamation's cuisine, owing partly to their ancient traditions, unique fauna, and a mix of spices jealously guarded by the Uzbul clan for generations. While said by some to be an acquired taste, the local food is regarded as a fascinating curiosity by the peoples of the Chikri-Merkaa Strand and its neighborhood.

Physical characteristics and system
Glorious Proclamation is a massive natural satellite orbiting the sub-Neptunian gas dwarf Telib's Eye. Telib's Eye orbits Qurehaar, the secondary and smaller component of the binary Ruuqkho-Qurehaar star system. Qurehaar is a F-type yellow-white dwarf star, whereas the primary, Ruuqkho, is a more massive white star of the A spectral class. Glorious Proclamation orbits Telib's Eye relatively rapidly and spins on its axis in a 2:1 spin-orbit resonance, resulting in a roughly 37-hour day, though the moon also passes into the shadow of Telib's Eye regularly, affecting the local day-night cycle. Similar to a practice on many moon-based colonies, a local "year" is generally considered to be one orbit of Telib's Eye around Qurehaar.

An old world, Glorious Proclamation is suspected to have formed as a planet that Telib's Eye later captured in its orbit. Since Telib's Eye orbits within Qurehaar's habitable zone, it likely formed further outward and migrated in-system later, capturing most of the system's former rocky planets; atmospheric escape of light gases from the microgiant is also fairly substantial due to its position inside the snow line, and its relatively low escape velocity makes fusion fuel harvesting easy. Complex life appears to have evolved relatively recently in geological timescales, perhaps after Glorious Proclamation stabilized into its current orbital position. While plate tectonics are present on the moon, its core has been cooling for some time, slowing down continental drift over the last hundreds of millions of years. Volcanism is still present, however, exacerbated by tidal forces from Telib's Eye; tidal heating additionally contributes to the moon's surface temperature, and water bodies experience considerable tides.

Glorious Proclamation is a largely oceanic world, hosting a single large supercontinent, Tuq'ooro, which is in the slow process of drifting apart into three distinct continents. A wide variety of biomes are present, ranging from frozen highlands to expansive steppes, arid deserts and tundras, boreal and temperate forests, innumerable lakes and swamps, and rocky coastal regions. Climate conditions vary, though rough weather is common. Though the coastal regions are known for being rainy, the highlands and steppes are much more arid. Much of the wilderness is undeveloped and provides ample recreational opportunities for the populace and even outsiders, with the hunting preserves of Glorious Proclamation being famed across the entire Siakar Expanse for their diversity of both environments and beasts.

Glorious Proclamation is the hub for a number of lesser colonies around Telib's Eye and in the overall Qurehaar system, of which the most notable are the port-station of Shun Korbaato and the mining world of Rin Huas. Many of these colonies are bound to the planetary clans as fiefdoms and serve their industrial interests in various ways, mostly raw materials extraction and logistical support.

A sliplane from the system connects Glorious Proclamation to the Chikri-Merkaa Conflux's other major industrial world Amaranthine Resplendence. In the other direction, the same slipway links to the tributary colonies of the Tamale system and through it, all the way to the Shikran Moons and the Golden Worlds of the Firmament's Apex. While this route sees a fair amount of traffic as a trade corridor, especially between the Conflux and the Compact, it is not as trafficked as the Strand's central arterial route, the Gentle Trail.

Locations
Dohun Haur, the City Above the Mist, is Glorious Proclamation's nominal capital city, located in a large bay within the equatorial east coast of Tuq'ooro. It is built in the valley of Drimin-Haur, which is where the legendary Ottal 'Jaren first landed a millennium ago. As a result of various geological and ecological changes in the area, the greater Drimih River delta, the lower levels of the city-towers have long ago become shrouded in a thick, nigh-perpetual mist where they were an expansive beach at the time of Ottal's first landing. Only some mountains and the robust towers of Dohun Haur can often be seen when approaching the city from a distance.
 * Dohun Haur

An industrial and port city nestled deep within the Askal mountain range; it is a tributary city of Dohun Haur, and though the latter has more political and historic importance, the Zhuur mountain-citadel is larger, more populated, and the most key port and trading hub. It is located relatively proximate to the greater Nuursin Coast.
 * Zhuuro

Located near Dohun Haur along the Nuursin Coast, the Shoals of Kenare are known for their windswept sandbanks and limestone sea stacks. The shoals also host the world's most notable Forerunner ruins, the long-crumbled remnants of a stone city that must have existed before the area was taken over by the ocean.
 * Shoals of Kenare


 * Moors of Zohannor


 * Unsori Woods

Home to various semi-rural keeps and lesser states.
 * Suwar Uplands

Vast plains upon which the nomadic Steppe-People, the descendants of an old ascetic religious commune, live simple lives.
 * The Great Steppes

A city on the great plains surrounded by craggy outcrops and mountains, and one of the moon's major industrial centers.
 * Ihun Haas


 * Marshes of Runajo