Vaena Askari
Lady Cadalthor
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Image Source: Here.
- Canon Link: N/A.
- Development Thread: N/A
- Primary Source: N/A.
- Corporation Name: Righteous Way
- Headquarters: Pious Deliverance – an Asur Worldship
- Locations: Arkas, Tygara, Mobile Operation Centres.
- Operations: Religious broadcasting, publication of religious-themed literature and holomovies, political/religious propaganda, humanitarian services.
Righteous Way is primarily a religious broadcasting service, meaning it focuses on the disseminatin of media content that is intentionally of a religious nature. To this end it makes extensive use of the HoloNet and other media. It also creates holodramas, publishes leaflets, holojournals and books that support its message. Several holodramas and novels produced by the company deal with important events in Eldorai history and mythology, though those of the cousin races are also covered to a lesser extent.
The religious ideals it seeks to propagate are those of the Goddess Ashira, who is regarded by religious Eldorai as their creator. As a result Eldorai and their cousins are its primary target audience. It maintains several broadcasting stations and online forums. It is extremely opposed to groups such as the Sith Empire and the First Order. In that regard, the Righteous Way serves as a propaganda platform for irredentist Eldorai ambitions. Hence propaganda broadcasts are aimed towards Eldorai on Kaeshana. The group maintains a number of hyperwave relay stations and communications ships.
Righteous Way has been controlled by Vaena since she bought out the original owners. It helped that they were under investigation for alleged involvement in treasonous conspiracies against the Crown. Vaena is no businesswoman and delegates a lot of the management. However, she is a deeply religious woman and thus heavily involved in the 'product' that Righteous Way is peddling.
RATIONALE
Righteous Way came into being after Kaeshana's natives made tentative steps towards engaging the rest of the Galaxy. Messaline Nenaias, a charismatic Eldorai cleric, was highly critical of what she perceived as a dilution of the true message of the Great Goddess Ashira. So she used her connections and substantial capital to found the Righteous Way. Henceforth its network would serve as a platform for her to propagate her political and religious ideals.
She used it to attack atheism, relationships between Eldorai and humans/aliens, the emancipation of the Kar'zun, Kaeshana's integration into the Omega Protectorate, the male rights movement and what she called 'Cultural Maerksism'. No one was ever able to produce a proper definition of the last point, except that it represented everything that was believed to be at variance with pure Eldorai culture. Seed prayer soon became part of the Righteous Way's business model. This helped Messaline grow fabulously rich. Despite heaping scorn on foreigners, she had no trouble using donations to purchase foreign luxury products for herself. This included a state-of-the-art luxury star yacht. She was one of the prelates Sahome Tyral, an exiled Ashiran priestess and radical reformist, attacked in her sermons.
Unsurprisingly, the organisation did not get on well with Firemane. Firemane soldiers once raided the HQ of the Righteous Way. However, Messaline was always able to bounce back somehow and avoid being associated too closely with reactionary conspirators. Though a reactionary herself, she had a survival instinct. Her rhetoric was incendiary, but she did not wish to lose her head. Ironically, she was a financial backer of the Eldorai exodus from Kaeshana. Her wealth ensured that she was guaranteed a seat on an exodus ship. This was extremely ironic since the fleet had been built by Firemane. Without this foreign support, the Eldorai would have survived.
Messaline blamed the desolation of Kaeshana on the fact that the Eldorai had lost their way and forsaken the wisdom of their ancestors. She was later assassinated by a Dashdae Eldorai terrorist after publicly writing off the Forsaken who had been left behind on Kaeshana as demon-worshipping trash. Later several figures associated with the Righteous Way were arrested following Tarissa Cadalthor's failed putsch. The Righteous Way's future seemed grim, then Tarissa's cousin and successor Vaena stepped in. Vaena had become Tarissa's successor after the latter's execution. Born a bastard, she had spent most of her life in the army and lacked experience in politics. Moreover, many members of her family resented her being elevated above them. However, she wanted to restore her house to its old glory days. Despite her own distaste for politicking, she grasped the importance of the media. So she simply bought the Righteous Way.
Some strong-arming was necessary to push out holdouts who did not get on board with her programme. Several clerics associated with the Righteous Way had been found guilty of embezzlement and misappropriating donations from believers, so Vaena seized their assets. As a result of the anti-corruption investigation, a number of officials were sentenced to jail or heavy labour. In at least one case, force had to be used to remove reactionaries who had occupied a broadcasting studio. From now on the news services would serve her interests. She used her funds to upgrade its communications capabilities and extend its reach. The Eldorai were scattering across the stars and becoming a nomadic people, so the corporation had to become less parochial. This became particularly pertinent in the aftermath of the Matriarchy's decision to move beyond Tygara and go off to colonise other worlds. The young Cadalthor was still rather shocked when she discovered how much money the corporation had been making.
The organisation also expanded its portfolio to include humanitarian aid work. Much of this was directed towards refugees from Kaeshana, as well as freed Qadiri and Xioquo slaves. Vaena lacks the racism of many of her family members and is more socially liberal, but rather conservative politically. She also seeks to chart an increasingly independent course. Righteous Way toned down its rampant racism and has moved towards a pan-Asuran message, but became increasingly critical of the Eldorai Matriarchy's dependence on Firemane, perceiving it as vassalage. It is opposed to secularism, atheism and very nationalistic. This is reflected in the content the Righteous Way produces. Vaena has cultivated a personal reputation for piousness and personal austerity. In her case this is genuine.
Subsidiaries: N/A.
Parent Corporation:N/A.
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