Part IV: The Golden Age

 

It is the year 224 Billion.  The 224 Hundred Millionth Millennium (Hmm).  

Through fierce determination and endless sacrifice, humanity has survived its tumultuous rise from the backwaters of the milky way, spreading itself across the galaxies.  Racing against he expansion of space, we gather many galaxies together into the Super Galactic Cluster, held together by the supermassive black hole in the Galactic Core.  

Humanity has mastered the singularity, nano technology, fusion, technological immortality and genetic engineering.  We have created Artilects, artificial intelligence that are self aware.  We have made the Symorphics, humans genetically mixed in any number of ways with plants and animals.  And we have made the Metamorphics, beings who's bodies are replaced with nanites, giving them the ability to shapeshift at will.

We have gone to the stars, and now the galaxies, we have become immortal and capable of harnessing the powers of the universe.  But how did we get here?  And what is life like in this world beyond the far far future?  What is The Great Universe?

History Began At Queldaria

We are not alone.  Early in our journey to the stars humanity discovered there were a vast number of sentient alien species.  Few however, had achieved the power of interstellar travel and technological immortality as humanity had.

Then, we encountered the ancient and nearly god like Queldari species who's civilization existed for a billion years preceding humanities first voyages into space.  Humbled yet willing, humanity embraces their xenos neighbors and quickly work to absorb all the technology, knowledge and culture they can from the Elves.  

Through the Queldari, humanity learns of three other organic super technological species, The Saurians, war like reptilians originating in the Draconis system.  The Mantis, Insectoid beings originating in the Cerronian System, and the Lychanids, fungal hive organisms originating on the planet Lychan Prime.  

The Elves also told humanity of the great threat to all Organic life;  The Silicates.  Silicone based lifeforms who don't consider organics to be alive, who will thoughtlessly slaughter any living world.  Immune to most conventional weapons, able to naturally hack and manipulate electronic networks, disciplined and strategic, as ancient and cunning as the Queldari.  

Technology Of The Golden Age

In the Golden Age, humanity and it's allies live in a vast and interconnected intergalactic society.  Using the power of Gravity Lasers, over 100 billion galaxies have been assembled into the Super Galactic Cluster, a vast structure that comprises the whole of the known universe.

Many of the Important worlds are connected by Star Bridges, these are pathways created by stringing together black holes to compress space, vastly shortening the pathway between star systems.  This can allow travel between systems and even galaxies in a matter of hours and makes an intergalactic internet possible.

Travel between worlds is a time consuming prospect, as no faster than light travel is possible.  However, this is mitigated by life extension which allows people to live for billions of years, meaning a million year voyage is reasonable in some circumstances.  This creates a vastly slower unfolding of events, with civilizations remaining stable for hundreds of billions of years, wars and even battles lasting for millions of years.

The most powerful military structures are known as War Stars, they are super weaponized dyson spheres capable of incredible powers, including the ability to incinerate entire star systems.  War Stars will often be accompanied by fleets of millions of War Planets, planets that have been transformed into battle fortresses.  Beyond that each War Star would have fleets of hundreds of billions of ships, massive titanic destroyers hundreds of miles across in diameter.  They deploy all manner of munition weapons including lasers, nukes, antimatter and singularity charges and nanites.  The most powerful way destroyers can damage each other however, is ramming, and so most ships are shaped like massive torpedoes with huge blade like ramming caps attached to the nose.

The Golden Emperor

Billions of years had passed, there rose from humanity an Empire so powerful it began to effortlessly topple its neighbors and spread like wildfire through the systems and galaxies.  It was the Golden Empire, led by an indomitable giant know only as "The Golden Emperor"  At the height of super galactic technology, the Golden Empire launched a massive crusade and overthrew all the leaders of humanity, uniting all humans under a single banner for the first time, even threatening to spread into Queldari space, these ambitions where quickly checked, and finally the Golden Emperor declared an end to the crusade.

For 100 billion years the Golden Empire would rain supreme over all humanity, it would go on to found the great alliance between Humans, Elves, Saurian and Mantis, this would become known as the classical age, seen as the high point of culture and technology in the ancient universe.

The elite warriors of the Golden Empire are feared beyond any even to this day, they appear as giants one and all, their smallest stature is twenty feet with the tallest standing at over forty.  Their armor is of pure Golden-Mithranium alloy, which shines like the white hot sun, they wear golden masks that show emotionless faces devoid of but the most basic feature, giving them a serene almost deity like composure.

The Great Silence

Then came The Great Silence.  In the 192nd millionth millennium, a great calamity befell super galactic civilization.  Some horrific event now lost to history and time which so shook the foundations of the Empire that all its legions withdrew to the core systems and went silent, abandoning the vast empire it had conquered.  

It is said also that the Queldari know something of the nature of this event, but are sworn to an oath of silence about its truth.  Whatever the case, some calamitous events occurred which shattered the very foundations of super galactic civilization.  

With the Empire gone silent, forces began to emerge which had lay dormant or suppressed for billions of years.  Lords and vassals of local systems, realizing over millions of years that Imperial representatives had ceased contact, military deployments had withdrawn and even trade convoys had gone missing, rose up and took back authority for themselves.  

The Eternal Foundation

A sect of heretical Scionists, a religion based originally on the bible of old Terra, had long hidden in secret from the Golden Empire.  The founder of their religion had, upon his death, transformed himself into an artilect, living within a vast hidden computer network beneath the surface of a barren world.  Upon this world the cult, calling itself the Eternal Foundation, worshiped the artilect, now called the Eternal Authority.  Upon each priests death, their mind, the sum of all their wisdom and knowledge would be added to the Eternal Authority.

Over hundreds of billions of years, the Authority grew in strength and intelligence, it spread itself over millions of worlds and the cult grew with it.  Finally, when the Great Silence arrived, the Authority took action.  Mobilizing it's massive cult into an army, they launched a devastating war of conquest.  Finally, conquering three billion galaxies before momentum was lost;  The Eternal Foundation was born.

Basillica Prime

At the same time as the Foundation was pursuing its campaign, an Ecumenopolis world on the other side of the galactic super cluster was preparing its own ambitions.  The majestic city world of Basillica Prime, ruled by the despotic autocrat Emperor Justinius had realized the Golden Empire was no longer active, and so he launched his own war of conquest and Arbasillica, with all its cultural, military and industrial might, gained a massive empire of it's own, soon rivaling and outpacing even the Foundation as their boarders came crashing together.  It seemed war between the two rivals was inevitable, but soon, an uneasy peace came and for a great while, there was stability.

The Republic Of Nordica

The next great power to emerge was the Republic of Nordican Systems.  Upon the planet Nordica IV there was a great council between the leaders of a thousand systems, all now aware of the great silence there was a feeling of vulnerability and mistrust about everything, each wondering who would be the next Foundation, the next Arbasillica.  But the leaders of the Nordican System called a meeting and instead proposed the formation of an intergalactic republic, which became known as the Nordican Republic.  

The Planet of Nordica IV was chosen as the Senate World, in the future, its whole surface and structures would come to be devoted to the function of the Senate, a vast body with over 100 trillion representatives, each hailing back to an entire star system.  At the height of its power, the Republic of Nordican Systems would come to control over six billion galaxies.

The Wrath Of Jundar

As time went on, a System within the Empire of Arbasillica began to harbor a deep and profound wrath and hatred for their Imperial lords.  The Jundar system had always maintained a strict militaristic culture and every member of their society was forced into conscription.

Jundar was ruled by the despotic Blood Empress who had come to power in a series of unification wars.  Now she planned to seize the whole of Arbasillica and the Foundation as well if she could, without warning Jundar unleashed a furious crusade, striking across the galactic cluster and taking their enemies by surprise.  

The victory, though sweeping, was short lived, for the forces of Arbasillica and the Foundation were vastly superior in numbers and technology, as the Imperials raised their battle forces the Jundar were pushed back into a long thing belt of territory now known as the Jundar Region, including some three billion galaxies.  

The Common Wealth Of Maritain

A small region of Arbasillica known as Maritain which would have fallen to the Jundar successfully mounted an ingenious defense and held out when all Basillican forces had been defeated or fled.  Strategically located near the Galactic Core, Maritain had always enjoyed a level of economic and political independence from the Empire due to it's self sufficiency and neutrality during wider conflict.  

After the Jundar wars, the Emperor Justinius practically begged Mauritain to declare independence, which they did, creating the Common Wealth of Maritain under The House Parliaments.  

Wasting no time, Maritain used it's newfound freedom to further grow it's fledgling navy and their already vast trade networks.  Soon, Maritain was prosperous like no other nation, it's average citizens living in wealth beyond anything imagined by the toiling masses of peasants and surfs bound to feudal lords and emperors throughout the rest of human civilization.

The Trade Wars

Under the loose protection of Arbasillica, Maritain was able to survive and thrive, eventually building more wealth per capita than even it's mighty benefactor, always allowing itself to be taxed and paying tithe to keep their independence more beneficial than would be their colonization.  

The boarder between Jundar and Maritain was patrolled by the Third Armada under Admiral Daynin, a renowned war hero with thousands of battles under his belt.  It was his ambition that first saw the opportunity to open trade and diplomatic relations with the Nordican Republic, located beyond the territory of Jundar.  Indeed, Jundar cut the galactic super cluster neatly in half, separating many of the powerful nations of humanity.

Without warning Maritain launched a series of military ventures into the territory of Jundar, their ultimate goal to create a corridor between Maritain and Nordica, this became known as the Daynin Corridor.  Knowing the fledgling Maritain Navy was no match for the military juggernaut of Jundar, Daynin instead sought to force the hand of Arbasillica, which inevitably had to respond to the imminent retaliation of Jundar, the Trade Wars had begun.

The might of Arbasillica once again prevailed against the threat of Jundar, but at high cost.  The relationship between Maritain and Arbasillica was somewhat soured for a time, but with the Daynin Corridor achieved, Emperor Justinius quickly saw the boon to his Empire.  With the trade route to Nordica secure, the allies would go on to build even more wealth and power and Jundar would be crippled beyond recovery for a great period of time.

Borea Is A Harsh Mistress

The remote Borea system always had a reputation for it's harsh environments and unique hazards.  So when Emperor Justinius needed a location for the massive number of prisoners captured during the trade wars, it was decided that the whole Borea system was to be designated a penal colony.  And so it was that trillions of prisoners of war, murderers, debtors, heretics, degenerates and revolutionaries found themselves trapped together in a desperate situation.

The surface of Borea is a patchwork of instability, wracked by tectonic instability, climate chaos, twin suns that lead to a chaotic day night cycle, four moons creating chaotic tides, harsh, poisonous and dangerous plants with little to offer, lean, hungry and ruthless animals that offer little in the way of reward for their hunting.  It was in all of this that the Borean's found themselves forced to survive and thrive.  But thrive they eventually did.

It was in these unique conditions, outside of direct Imperial supervision, that the Federation of Borea was born, in it's beginning, a free collective of peoples, in defiance of the feudal warlords who fought over the scraps of the plant, instead, the new Federation had wider goals in mind.

The Servile Wars

The soldiers of Borea were uniquely rugged and adaptable, coming from the harshest conditions and overcoming the greatest of obstacles.  In the early days, Warlords ruled the cities of Borea with an iron fist, fighting among themselves with what limited technology they could develop.  Eventually there was a series of revolutions toppling many of the warlords and leading to the founding of the Federation, a collective of local councils that quickly grew and was able to defeat all opposition, uniting the planet of Borea for the first time.

Before the Empire could become aware of what had happened, the Borean's launched a series of attacks against imperial positions in the system, wiping out the occupying force and gaining control of the entire system.  Then began a feverish labor as massive star ports, ship factories, and fortresses had to be constructed before the Arbasillicans noticed the rebellion and the inevitable Imperial wrath came down on their heads.

As it turned out, Emperor Justinius was occupied by other pressing matters and so the disappearance of a single fleet slipped under his wider gaze, this mistake would be analyzed, poured over, excused, blame would be pointed at any number of bureaucrats, military leaders, even the soldiers and technicians on the ground.  After a million years of work, the Borean fleet erupted onto the scene and carved out a vast swath of territory.

Caught unawares, both Arbasillica and The Foundation lost huge reaches of territory, unprepared against such an aggressive attack, they quickly recovered and with the Imperial fleet's mobilized put a swift and brutal end to the Borean's ambitions.  However the damage was done and the Federation of Borea had seized control of six billion galaxies.

The Scion's Assassins

It was understandable that Emperor Justinius was distracted during the Borean revolution.  All was not well within Arbasillica, deep stirrings of unrest were bubbling up to the surface.  A cult of mercenaries known as the Scion's Assassins had been gaining prominence within the Empire, they were considered heretics as they held Scionist beliefs and operated outside imperial control, they also practiced the art of Artimancy, the collection and control of Rogue Artilect Servitors, a powerful but dangerous technique forbidden in the Basillica Faith.

Rumors had long spread that Justinus's twin brother, Darius had connection to high ranking Assassins, but no proof ever surfaced.  As it turned out, Darius was indeed a secret high ranking Assassin who was deeply involved in Artimancy.  He attempted to trap and control a powerful Rogue Artilect called Golothus, but failed to properly contain the A.I. demon and was corrupted by its power.

Through Darius, the whole order of Assassins was corrupted and fell under the control of Golothus, who now turned their ambitions toward the Empire and Justinius.  

War Of The Twins

Using the Scion's Assassins as a personal army, Daruis undertook what came to be known as "The Night Of The Long Rifles", a massive wave of assassinations of political officials across the Empire.  Justinius himself barely avoided death and retaliated with fury against the cult, seizing their assets and ruthlessly executing anyone remotely affiliated with there operations.

However, Golothus, through Darius, had made preparation far ahead of time, and by the time of the purge most of their valuable assets had been moved to remote outposts which were now busy producing a massive navy.  Despite scouring the galaxy, Justinius was unable to discover where his brother had fled until it was to late, the black ships poured out from thousands of systems in the outer regions, the War of the Twins had begun.  

Conquering billions of galaxies, the twisted armies of Golothus pillaged and corrupted everything they touched.  Known now just as "The Dark Lord", he had bred massive armies of horrific mutant soldiers, each a different kind of unique terror, some small and fast, spraying plague spores and breathing acid.  Others colossal hulks towering a hundred feet over the battlefield.  To the Assassins was granted the finest of armor and weapons, each had their bodies twisted and augmented by Grothus to their individual liking, transformed into grotesque killing machines. granted the roll of warhorses to this new Evil Empire, now known as The Knights Assassins, they pushed forward the Dark Crusade and drove the Evil Empire deep into the heart of their enemies.

Finally, there was a great alliance of all the nations, Arbasillica under siege, called for aid from all possible allies.  Nordica, Maritain, The Foundation, even Borea and Jundar came together in a massive alliance to resist The Evil Empire, and in a great battle routed the greatest of Golothos's armies and broke the Knights Assassins.  Thus ended the War of the Twins.

An Uneasy Truce

The Evil Empire is finally pushed back and held within it's boarders, three billion galaxies held within their grasp.  The fragile alliance created by the Dark Crusade shatters in the uneasy calm as all camps prepare for the unknown.  There are rumors of movements along the boarders of Quel'thon, shadows of doubt lay across everything.  

Emperor Justinius nurses his wounds, holding fast to the fortress world of Arbasillica Prime, his followers steadfast in their devotion to the Basillica Faith.  Enemies close in from all sides.  

The Foundation sits enigmatic and silent as ever, its warriors both fierce and pious, the Eternal Authority now the combined knowledge and experience of over a trillion priests of the order.

The Republic of Nordica struggles to make an impossible choice.  Ignore the revolutionary stirrings of their populace and back the Imperial war effort, or see to local affairs and appease the republican leanings of the Senate.  

Jundar sits upon a razors edge, under constant threat from all sides, the ruling class has given in to paranoia and conspiracy.  Full blown battles in the streets are common and whole systems regularly declare revolution against the Empress only to be ruthlessly incinerated.  Still, her grace the Blood Empress sees fit even so to devote the vast majority of Jundars Navy to the war against the Evil Empire.

Maritain gains even more riches and has turned its fleets to dealing arms to the combatants in the war against the Evil Empire.  With only limited territory, they struggle to maintain relevance despite their vast wealth.

Borea repels constant invasion.  Always a soft target with few allies, they struggle to hold out against ubiquitous encroachment upon their every boarder.  Seen as a threat to the ruling class of every major empire, they are subjected to almost constant vilification and subterfuge from within.  Still, the Federation holds on to power in the vast majority of galaxies under its control, and those systems are marked by the relative freedom of those living within it's boarders.

In total humanity has made its home in over 30 billion galaxies, we are divided, yet, we come together when the need arises.  We encountered threats, but we overcome them.  We have encountered uncertainty and fear, but we have conquered that fear and push on.  We have found allies and friends, and we will uncover more secrets and wisdom as we continue to move ever further out into the universe.