Raptoria
From Acw
Raptoria is one of the most terrifying results of the application of reason. Specifically the reason of one man, it's founder, the Great Captain Drake. Drake was the leader of a sizeable but unaligned pirate fleet when he landed on the system of (can't remember what it used to be called) and forecably persuaded them to accept a new form of government.
Agaist the threat of several galaxy spanning empires, Drake sought defensive advantage wherever he could.While also improving the military resources of the newly christened Raptoria Drake applied another asset that would bring his people together and strengthen their resolve against the enemy: Religion. In fact, two religions.
The church of the Rapture, a group of offworld christians who believed the rapture had arrived and they had been left behind, preached a passionate and hedonistic approach to life to defy the neglect of God. Drake gave them a home. Secondly, a chuch formed that wanted to worship the greatest witnessed power in the Universe, but first the needed to find it. The grail seekers where also given a home.
Over the decades these two religions merged into one that encompasses all the Raptorian people.
A terrifying exhaltant faith, dedicated to seeking grails to bring a war against the god who abandoned them.
Drake watched as Reptoria's power grew, but saw the population pushed to the limit. He decided to institute a way of managing the population and "the quest" was born.
Prompted by their fierce belief and faith, Raptorians feel a calling in their middle years to go searching for the Grail. They band together with others who have also felt the recent call, choose a vector and set off in a battle ship and search the universe. None have ever returned to Raptoria, but some have been encountered by other nations, who experienced a fevered attack by those Questing, with no prisoners taken.
Drake is long dead and the logical reason for these institutions has died with him. All that remains is a ferverent belief in them.
Raptoria encounters in general are feared by the more civilised nations. They attack unprovoked, steal what they can and then cheerily organise encounters to trade them back.
