Fleet Breakdown
      Imperial Forces
      1    Atlas Beetle
      40  Galleons
      20  Hammerheads
      13  Vodoni Werewolves
      5    Vodoni Hunter-Killers
      24  Wasp Ships
      28  Tradesmen
      2    Whale Ships
      4    Cuttle Commands
      2    Man-O-Wars with cloaking helms
          Most fleet ships are either converted Aklannish vessels or ships captured in battle against the Vodoni.  The others are purchased cheap and in bulk.  The Atlas Beetle is the one ship constructed by the Drydock on the Underside of Kilvrock and is in testing at the moment.  The Arcane have approached Fedral, however he does not trust the blue skinned giants and has instead purchased almost solely from the Dohwar. Great in number, but not so strong, his fleets are beginning to get some of the heavier ships.  The  Man-O-Wars he possesses are cloaked at ALL times and follow the Elven Armada about at all times.  He  is not quite at war with the elves, but he fears that soon they will assert themselves in force and is ready.  He allows the Scro to court him, but experience has taught him that no empire is benevelant to others and will most likely not truly entertain thoughts of aiding them unless the Elves do something foolish.
       

      Gnomish Yacht Club
      3    Death Glories
      12  Sidewheelers
      8    Yawls
      2    Millipedes
          The Gnomes are based primarily in Kilvrock, their fleet is closely allied with Fedral.  In return for space and supplies, they provide Yawls to tug supplies from base to base, as well as the mighty Millipede class Leviathon.  One of which is assigned to Kilvrock itself, the other on scout duty around the sphere.  These behemoths were developed at Kilvrock by gnomish engineers given the wealth of the Empire to work with.  This is one reason more Atlas Beetles have not been constructed as the materials that would go into them went instead into Millipedes.
       

      Elves
      1    Armada
      4    Man-O-Wars
      2    Radiant Ships
      3    Shrikes
      12  Flitters
          Regardless of the animosity Fedral holds for them, the Imperial Elven Navy remains a small force here, primarily to monitor Vodoni activity, as well as to protect the elven settlements on Blackash and Jalintas.  Any meeting between Elves and Aklanner forces is tense and best avoided by any and all.  They have managed to avoid outright war with one another, as Fedral is unsure he wants to tangle with the IEN.  For their own part, the IEN admiral stationed here wishes he could gain an advantage and defeat the fledgeling empire and his first attempt was a failure and the source of animosity between their forces.  It is also the reason for his shrunken fleet, his superiors have not sent the reinforcements he has requested as they are tied up elsewhere with Scro forces.

      Scro
      1   Mammoth
      2   Mantis Ships
      4   Vipers
      8   Arrows
      3   Eel Ships
      2   Shrike Ships
          The Scro and their Unhuman allies also have a small presence here, mainly as a show of good will to Fedral, whom they are courting for an alliance.  As Tidespace is on the opposite side of the IEN as current hostilities, Scro tacticians believe a rapid assault from within this sphere would guarantee a
      better footing, maybe even victory, in their war against the elves.  Fedrals fleets are small, as he believes in light taxation, but the Scro know that should the Emperor be inclined, he could add several large ships to his fleet in months, maybe weeks.

      Personalities
      Empire

      Fedral
          The Emperor Fedral was born on Aklann many years ago, during the peak of Vodoni raiding.  He was a boy gifted more greatly than any his tribe had seen before and by the age of 10 was thought of as the finishing touch of an ancient prophesy.  Given before Paddle sank beneath the waves by an ancient elven mage (who actually had the vision in his youth but was near death at the time and felt he was beyond mockery after proclaiming such a silly notion as a human from another land mass rising to the stars to smite wolf laden ships.)  At 16, he crossed the mountains and teamed up with a Were Cave bear named Kea'Laber (female) to seek the lost Ice Palace of Salace.  Discovered within were several magical items, one of which turned out to be a major spelljamming helm complete with ship as well as scrolls entailing their use.  Thus began a long series of battles between Vodoni raiders and a rapidly growing fleet of Aklannish ships.  Vodoni tactics generally centered on boarding enemy ships and tearing them apart with their lycanthropic crews, however no werewolf is a match for were cave bears and Kea'Labers people though rare joined up to aid in bringing down the Vodoni tyranny (they went back to their homes after the wars, content to live in the wilds without threat from above).  It took many years but Fedral
      won and his fleet spread throughout the sphere, establishing bases on every landmass, as well as several asteroid bases.  After the Kingdoms of Myrshak and Hambasal swore fealty to Fedral, the Empire was officially created.  Thus began three hundred years of peace with sporadic wars fought on various worlds.  Fedral is an unmeasurably strong Psionicist and still appears youthful despite being several hundred years old.  During the coronation ceremony officially entitling him as Emperor, Fedral married Kea'Laber and his powers have sustained her youth as well.  No children yet, but who knows what the future may bring?  As a result, all 4 personal guardsmen are Lycanthropic Cave Bears

      Kea'Laber
          Queen if Aklann and warrior wife of Fedral, Kea'Laber is only slightly younger than Fedral.  She is taller and stronger than most men, yet she has the grace of a lady.  The might she possesses is a result of her lycanthropic nature, that of a Cave Bear.  This is a rare but not unheard of trait amongst Aklannish tribes.  Those born who exhibit these tendencies are usually raised to a young age and then released amongst cave bears.  Aklann people are not being cruel, they simply cannot provide for such people as control of the lycanthropy takes years to perfect and while young cave bears are not too much trouble, as they mature, an uncontrolled lycanthrope is a danger to all.  For the most part, these gifted people are allowed to return to their tribes upon controlling their skill and when they do, they often rise to positions of great power.  To be able to transform into such a mighty creature is a skill that most Aklann natives wish they had.  It was at this maturing stage that Kea'Laber met up with Fedral and she fell into step with him almost immediately.  She is a shrewd thinker and loyal to a fault.  It is unwise to anger her, for she never forgets a slight.  In the empire, her voice carries nearly as much weight as her husbands, more so when Aklann natives are involved.  In times when he is not to be found, her decisions are generally along the same lines as his own, with only one difference, Vodoni.  Whereas Fedral is content to repel raiding parties, in private she pushes him constantly to make war on them.

      Malik Ironblood
          Little is known of Malik, yet he is the Emperors trusted advisor.  He is a humanoid, but it is difficult to pinpoint his race.  If one stares at him long enough, he might not even appear male any longer.  Every glance at Malik reveals a characteristic common to any species, including some undead!  If one stares at him for more than a moment, that possibly ludicrous image disappears to be replaced by a vague impression of contentment.  Truth be told, not even Fedral knows what species Malik Ironblood belongs to.  This is a unique Psychometabolic power he has developed and put into use and practiced to the point where it is second nature for him to have it 'turned on'.  He is in fact a very common creature indeed, an Arcane who having fallen upon hard times and thus the ill favor of the Arcane Trading house, disguised himself thus and ingratiated himself to Fedral.  None know his motives or desires but perhaps Fedral places too much trust in one who hides his history thus.  Either he seeks to regain his fellows' trust by edging out the Dohwar trading interests or seeks personal wealth, both are plausible.

      Namimsal Stoneflower
          Namimsal is a towering human that has been many things in his life.  He is many times older than Fedral himself, having been so far extended by his patron, Larjana, Goddess of Night. He is a high level priest of hers, however at one time he was just another assassin working in Blackash.  With the advent of the Faith Wars of that land he was personally approached by Larjana.  None know what she gave him, but part of it is nearly life eternal, the other part is a secret shared between goddess and man.  In return, Namimsal began shaping about himself a false image.  He is a devout follower (if not worshipper, again, they have a strange relationship) of Larjana and protects her interests in all things.  Upon the creation of the Empire, he aided Fedral greatly (at the behest of his Lady) and soon became an advisor of notable stature.  A member of the Chosen Council, he has Fedrals ear at nearly all times, though he must share it with the other Chosen (who all seem to have agendas of their own and rarely convince Fedral to sway one way or another).  He is untrustworthy as he will do anything to support his Goddess should she desire it.  None know his clerical abilities and few even suspect his past of murder and pillaging.

      Gnomish Yacht Club

      Grand Admiral Caldwell
          Caldwells actual name is extraordinarily short, for a gnomes, but Fedral was incapable of saying the whole thing and so Caldwell had it shortened.  Born a giff in the body of a Tinker Gnome, Caldwell always loved blowing things up and so his life's project became to form a new and better smoke powder.  He oversees this developement but as yet has found no significant enhancements, he's a gnome however and while he might never find a better smoke powder, he probably will end up making the Known Spheres a bit more innocuously dangerous for everyone.  One is advised never to ask him about his lack of eyebrows, he will go on for ages about that one time he created the perfect smoke powder, only to have some nefarious individual cast a spell near it, igniting the powder and the kegs of powder and the work benches and his clothes and his eyebrows, sending a flaming naked admiral three hundred yards into Lake Seethrough at 2 bells.  He does not see any humor in this and any who laugh might end up in the Xenological Examination Department.

      Grand Admiral Bastcalabaron
          Grand Admiral Bas is a typical Tinker Gnome, average in almost all ways, he is the Yacht Clubs Secrecy Enforcing Message Carrying Quick Minded Overseer Of All Yacht Meetings.  In other words, he's head of security for the Gnomes on Kilvrock.  He has devised the best plan so far for dealng with those nefarious persons which might want to steal, look at, or otherwise be aware of secret plans.  Every morning he wakes up and after beard combing, shuffles around all the papers on his desk, making absolutely sure to put the secret plans right in the middle of the pile!  Thus discouraging idle viewers and also avoiding those seeking plans and such deep in safes.  In his safe he usually keeps a briefcase right full of silly notions, which often appear to a non Gnome of course, as legitimate plans (some of which include working plans for horseless carriages *bah* without a horse it just wouldn't be a carriage now would it? and underwater ships, what's the point really of sailing under the water where there's no wind?)  To a would be spy, these plans are irresistable and to date none of the REAL secret plans have been stolen.

      Grand Admiral Slowtalker
          A rarity amongst Gnomes, he always speaks slowly with short and to the point statements that make every bit of sense to every type of creature hearing them. This has earned him the deplorable role as envoy to the Emperor, as far from the rest of the Grand Admirals as they can put him.  Additionally, he finished his lifes goal when he was but 12 years old which left him rather trackless until signing up for this position (noone else showed up for the auditions so he got the part).  He is a close personal friend of Emperor Fedral and Kea'Laber.  Both of them enjoy his company and his wonderfully ribald jokes about all manner of species.  In a crowded room of all different species, he can usually keep the peace with his repertoire of baudy haiku.  He is a rather short gnome but as quick as they come.  It was he who aided Fedral in the design process of the Atlas Beetle, picking out appropriate gnomish technicians for the job.  He has an irrational fear of Giant Space Hamsters and will never be found anywhere near them (The childhood trauma of being stuffed in one of their cheeks and carried around for several days is also what most Gnomes blame his slow speech for, behind his back that is)