As I gaze upon the Empyreal, I find myself feeling the divinity of the universe, of creation. The beauty of it is truly inspiring.
—Empyreal King Dracon Alikestra
The Empyrean Kingdom of Folstarum, also known as the Nebular Kingdom of Folstarum and, rarely, as the Alikestra Kingdom, was a government in the Ethereal Demesnes based on Folstarum. It was a Theocratic Demesne in the Diet of the Ethereal Demesnes since before the Great Galactic War, but was originally an Autocratic Demesne under the rule of House Alikestra. At some point, the Alikestra family became deeply spiritual, inspired to their beliefs by the Empyreal Nebula that dominated much of the Folstaran night sky. Subsequently, they granted their theocratic estates greater proportionate power in the state.
Initially, Folstarum was a small colony founded primarily to exert control over the nearby Empyreal Nebula. For several centuries, its population and power barely grew. Then, the title to the small colony was given over to House Alikestra as compensation for losing their holdings elsewhere in the Demesnes as part of the peace treaty following the War of the Ten Houses. At this time, the Alikestras successfully attracted a much greater number of colonists than the previous administration, and, with approval of the Diet, became the primary government authority for the whole Empyreal Nebula and uncolonized territories around it.
In time, the Alikestras, along with many of their Folstaran subjects, became spiritually and artistically inspired by the nebula, marveling in the beauty of its presence in their skies at night. Their paintings, tapestries, music, and even ceremonial weapons and armor began taking inspiration from astronomy, and, in particular, the nebula. It was around this period that the Demesne was recategorized from Autocratic to Theocratic, as the Temple of the Empyreal Nebula took on a leading role in Folstaran society.
Some time later, by the era of the Galactic Civil War, Folstarum was viewed by many Demesnes natives as a "kingdom of artists who see the gods in the stars". Naturally, their astrographical fixations led them to getting along well with Demesnes who had similar cultural fixations, such as the most powerful of all the Demesnes, House Valdayn's Kingdom of Luctanem. In fact, the twins Arius and Atheria Valdayn once attended a wedding between their cousin, Haephrasion Valdayn-Deridan, and a scion of House Alikestra, Kastus Alikestra. Less than a century later, after the discovery of the Genesis-class Arkship Trinity, Folstaran assistance was crucial in settling the surviving Kalendin aboard on their new homeworld located at the opposite side of the Empyreal Nebula, Kalenda Nokha.