Update One
Life has already thrived in our galaxy for hundreds of millions, and likely billions of years. Countless civilizations, most of them unknown to us in the present day, have risen and traced their course through history. Some have been destroyed in their entireties, others have ascended beyond the concerns of those such as we- one imagines that they’re still out there, as unconcerned with our existences as we would be of those of the simplest and most unobtrusive insects, crawling beneath our feet.
There are a few cases where the elders take interest, for varying reasons. The Wera, gargantuan beasts who, by their explanations, were old when the planets themselves were young, continue to wander across the galaxy. A small handful of them can be found in our little region of space, sailing through the void or basking in the light of countless suns and watching the tiny dramas on their planets play themselves out.
Also an ancient force are the nomadic Yjogl- vast, light-distorting beasts- and their vast flocks of riders, the Yplein. These psychically-sensitive creatures are capable of rotary atmospheric flight, and possess toxins capable of inflicting maddening pain on their victims, though this power is seldom exercised. Indeed, any sort of organization at all between these associated species is only a comparatively recent development. The Association of Fplinmy has been established as a psychic link between some of the herds, but as of yet very little has come of this new order, and the partnership of Yplein and Yjogl continues on as it has for all of the grand history of their species.
Though the Zan have not spoken with a truly united voice for eons, since their great cataclysm, scattered remains remain to uphold its legacy. In our neighbourhood, the Empire of the Zan Shamai exists in comfortable stability. Shamai himself commands a vast force of slaves and robotic machines of war from his eponymous factory world, and from there controls a grand number of dead, but resource-rich worlds in the middle of what most nearby species consider to be an unappealing and empty tract of space. His forces ever-growing, Shamai has begun to eye the ‘squatters’ neighbouring his empire: the primitive Kog’Vlad and the burgeoning Zaff Dominion as a potential new territory of the Zan Galactic Hegemony.
The Kog’Vlad are vicious carnivores, and bloodthirsty in the truest sense of the word. Recently arisen from a planet-wide dark age, their civilization is in a state of strong union and rapid advance, under the leadership of their absolutist Emperor. With a powerful and loyal population, the prognosis for the Kog’Vlad looks good- but they still require much time to mature, and they have some very dangerous neighbours of which they still know nothing.
The Zaff themselves are a rather young species, but already one of the dominant forces in the local neighbourhood. Corpulent parasitic amphibians, the Zaff thrive off of the psychic dominations of others, and engage in ceaseless expansion to ensure a constant source of technology to reverse-engineer and new minds to and drain. With their elite slave corps, the Branigan, and a vast army of biological war machines, the Council of Ten has forged the Zaff Dominion into a potent and terrifying force.
At the outer verges of Zaff spaces live two races, the Ullau and Fudirunins. The Ullau have established themselves as an eager group of spacefarers and explorers, having developed a surprisingly effective, albeit primitive, warp drive. Repeated surveys of their near surroundings have not revealed any alien life, though quite recently, a very large anomaly has been found in the inner system of their home star, Ollu, which causes strange distortions on the spectrum of light produced from the star when viewed from certain angles. Investigations into this mysterious phenomenon are only beginning.
The Fudirunins are a species of what would appear to most to be an undifferentiated, fuzzy magenta ball, which occasionally extrudes poisonous spikes when threatened. Their behaviour seems to be equally simplistic- a singular Fudirunin is cowardly, but a mass of Fudirunin is a fearless, shapeless form of destruction. However, they are, in fact, a highly-advanced civilization. With highly-developed technology and a near-complete automation of industry, the Fudirunins are able to lead an egalitarian and, in their view, utopian lifestyle of research, and sporting competition, which serves as a sort of military training, although the need for a military has been absent ever since the unification of the planet. They have for some time possessed an ‘Elastic Drive’ for interstellar travel, but proper colonial behaviour would have to wait for the development of more advanced technologies to perform cost-effective jumps in less time than it would take to simply travel somewhere directly on sublight engines. With this done, the Fudirunin have begun a brazen era of heavy expansion and exploration, bringing them into contact with the United Republics of Hedge.
The lifeforms on Hedge were not even recognized as alive by the Fudirunins, at first, though repeated near-violent confrontations and a few very confused contact attempts have since familiarized them with the locals, and enabled a thriving trading relationship to arise. The Verthommes, the native sentients of Hedge, all display a variety of plant and animal-like traits. They form a tripartite civilization, composed of the Carvers, who serve as warriors and diplomats; Framers, the labourers; and Vengarians, who wield all of the power in political and cultural activities. Together, the Verthommes have build a significant interstellar civilization, and possess a highly-developed navy containing numerous specialized vessels.
Just beyond the space known to the Verthommes is the fearsome world of Tenodera. Home of a massive hyperorganism composed of billions of insectoid creatures, this area is avoided even by some of the galaxy’s elder races- though their relationship with the Tenoderans isn’t necessarily one of fear- rather, it is more similar to the attitude that a human being might hold towards a small wasp’s nest in the far corner of his backyard. Very little is understood of the Tenoderans by outsiders, even the current level of their technology is not entirely clear. For instance, great surprise was expressed by the galaxy’s non-interventionist observers when they, apparently with no precedent, built a collection of ships with faster than light capabilities and began bee-lining towards the nearest inhabited system.
That system holds the planet Cherwyn, home of Cherwel civilization. Six-limbed beings with a snake-like body, the Cherwels run an egalitarian civilization and have a fondness for visual artistry. While technologically stagnant, they have developed a fledgling space program, but it has been largely neglected in recent history due to a lack of impetus for any sort of expansion or exploration.
Also nearby is the region of space frequented by the Choon. Giant gas-giant dwellers, these creatures have been wandering largely at random through space, making a few contacts with other species. On Wasir, a Choon by the name of ‘The Hunter’ has established himself as a god-like entity, hovering above the primitive native civilizations, feeding off sacrifices, and occasionally communicating by sending down ‘prophets’, Wasiris who have been eaten then reconstituted after having spent time within the Hunter’s inner mind. Meanwhile, The Watcher has arrived on the colony of Uex, initiating a first contact with the Lauki-Maus which is still ongoing.
The Lauki and Maus are two species, insects and trees, tied together in Ma’Autra, eternal union. After their initial escape from the confines of their homeworld, they quickly came upon the Uex, an intelligent, industrial species, and were horrified to see the wanton environmental destruction caused by these aliens. In order to end the devastation, the Lauki-Maus made landfall on Uex and began a terrible, protracted war with the natives. The tides of war would shift from one side to the other throughout the war, but eventually the sheer numbers of Lauki, combined with some clever biological attacks devised by the Maus, led to the natives of Uex being overrun and exterminated to the last. Their entire civilization was posthumously dismantled as the planet was brought into Ma’Autra, and by the time of the Watcher’s Arrival, no traces remained to anyone but the most determined observers and excavators. The Lauki-Maus would also have a brief run-in with one of the galaxy’s elder entities, which ended rather embarrassingly for them- but really, when dealing with the figure known as ‘One’, that is to be expected.
Hundreds of light years beyond Choon space is the planet Zarr, home of the predatory Skriv. Whether a collection of these bloodthirsty, bipedal reptilians could really be called a ‘civilization’ is debatable, but the presence of derelict alien spacecraft in the planet’s orbit and scattered across its surface suggests that it is a bad idea to ask. Exactly why these vessels are present, and how the Skriv are able to pilot them remains a troubling mystery, along with much of this species’ history. Some have theorized that they are descended from ill-fated colonists from the same civilization that built the ships, others believe that they are the results of genetic engineering by a long-lost elder race, while many more suggest that they have simply defeated multiple colonization attempts and claimed these spoils for their own. At any rate, they presently live in a violent, highly-divided and tribal society, so the chance of sudden unity is quite unlikely. However, the potential for small numbers in a single tribe to leave for new worlds remains a very real concern.
Rounding out the civilizations of the ‘down-arm’ half of known space is the Collectivity of Sanath. Emerging from a devastating war which left their homeworld of Nept a dangerous, uninhabitable mass of radiation and storms, the slight, amphibian Qii, the mighty Kasekral and the adept Nitha desperately build a fleet of 7 vast cityships, to ensure the continued survival of their species. Now faced with a stark Universe before them, they exist as a union of reason, force and faith, and have dedicated themselves to preventing a similar annihilation from occurring at a galactic scale.
The region we refer to as ‘known space’ is actually quite well divided into two separate sections by the rather intimidating obstacles presented by the Zaff Dominion and Zan Shamai Empire. Let us now proceed to those who are further ‘up-arm’.
The avian-descended Allentryen have been fairly recently making their first steps out into interstellar space. Their starship Assani has made the momentous first discovery of extrasolar bodies bearing life, on the two moons of the Gas Giant Nuxue. The discovery has stirred up great excitement about the possibilities of following up the expedition with the creation of the extrasolar colonies, but for now the Senate continues to debate the pros, cons and morality of expanding to this new world.
Now, we reach one of the areas of the greatest density of civilizations. Based on the stormy planet Zephyr, the Democratic Autarchy of Akari finds itself in very much the same situation it has been in since time immemorial- in a state of intense economic competition between the city-states, united under the Democratic Autarchy. The Akarians are hectic, restless schemers, and thus thrive in this environment, although the lack of any external targets for trading and other interaction has resulted in the civilization possessing a distinct lack of an outward focus. However, all it will take is one contact to entirely reverse this trend.
A short distance from Zephyr is the planet Catifah, where the armoured Karron are as defensive and circumspect as the Akarians are open and extroverted. Until recently, the Karron were caught up in a multi-way cold war, fought between heavily entrenched fortresses and swarms of covert operatives, but the arrival of the very first Fehan spacecraft brought a rather abrupt end to these longstanding conflicts, as the Karron did what came naturally: they united, aimed their defensive weapons towards the new threat, and curled up into a protective ball. The feared alien invasion did not take place, but the Karron have by no means lightened their defenses. The sheer arsenal of defensive weapons aimed skywards has turned Catifah into a fortress the likes of which few species have ever seen, and massive sunken fortresses dating back to the old cold wars remain for any invader who manages to penetrate to the planetary surface. Beyond this, the Karron raced to develop a working space program, and have recently commissioned the First Karronic Expeditionary Group, a heavily-armed multi-purpose vessel with a primitive warp drive. The ship has been tasked with the mission to evaluate any and all alien threats, to locate worlds for future Karronic expansion and to report all findings back to Karronic command. Some tensions from the unresolved cold wars remain between the Karron, but racial survival easily trumps the petty conflicts behind the old wars.
The Fehan are a species who have now successfully made their first steps into the galactic ocean, and are now ready to swim. They are heavily-armoured tree climbers by ancestry; and firm and ruthless in their behaviour. At the same time, however, they have a great willingness to self-sacrifice and rarely get into conflicts over territory and possession. The Fehan remain very enigmatic to their neighbours, who still struggle to get even the faintest grip on what they might be thinking.
The Fehan also possessed a great head start in terms of the chronology of their development in comparison to their neighbours. They were in outer space when the Karron were still digging out burrowed fortresses of dirt with their bare claws, while the Akarians and their unfortunate celestial neighbours the Sadhilim have still yet to travel a significant distance away from their homeworlds under their own power.
Ah, the Sadhilim. Ever ones to be confrontational. Prior to first contact with the Fehan, the Sadhilim were ruled by a variety of warlords, who all theoretically paid their respects to a de jure confederated government. Stagnant technologically, the only thing capable of provoking a change, it seemed, was the arrival of an outside force. For the Sadhilim, this was the arrival of the first Fehan expeditions to their world. Dismissive and generally disrespectful of these newcomers, their aggressive nature got the better of them as they ramped up their posturing and threats towards the seemingly implacable Fehan, ultimately instigating the fight themselves. While their warrior heritage did them well in a few cases, the Sadhilim were defeated by the ever-increasing numbers of the invaders, who possessed a massive technological advantage. Unable or unwilling to put up a united front against the Fehan, the Sadhilim were pacified. The Fehan would decide after considering the results of some depopulation measures to permit the Sadhilim to live, mostly due to the difficulties that entail from having to fight such a vigorous foe on its home turf. Nonetheless, the Sadhilim were forced into an underclass on the world which would ultimately bear the name ‘Sathan’- a Fehan corruption of the Sadhilim name for themselves. However, while occupied, the Sadhilim have not been utterly crushed and shamed- there is light yet in their future.
Finally, we come to the three closely-spaced species living at the outer edge of the arm: The Sgligatiki, the Nurm, and the Amur.
The Sgligatiki are a rather small, unimposing race, and by their own declaration, nothing important happened before the coming of Izoza. A great metal god from the stars, Izoza blessed the lowly Sgligatiki with technology, and they responded to his gifts with absolute devotion. Izoza taught his chosen followers the secrets of creating terrible weapons of death, mechanical labourers in the shape of the god, great tools of agriculture and civilization, and all else that was needed to run an advanced civilization. With these advantages, the Worshippers of Izoza spread their faith around their planet of Athre. With a very real god to show off, most bowed down immediately. Others required a light peppering of lethal force before submitting- others, a slightly heavier dose of lethal force. All others who refuse to follow Izoza, or who hold on to their own old, heretical beliefs have been forced into secrecy, or have fled to the most remote and inhospitable reaches of their homeworld. Since the beginning of these interesting times, the Sgligatiki have continued to develop, but are beginning to plateau as Athre reaches its carrying capacity. Rumor has it that Izoza is going to lead them into the stars, but the truth of these hushed words remains unclear, and Izoza has said nothing of the matter.
The Nurm are the sole sentient residents of Nurm-Tok, a sparsely-populated group of cylindrical intertidal armoured creatures. In recent times, they have developed a network connecting all of their once far-fledged settlements, which is hooked up directly on their facial apparatuses. The ubiquity of this network has rapidly accelerated the development of the species, and allows for stupendous feats of cooperated activity. Hess’peh, one particular networked organization from the community of Nurmtin Seven, has been struggling to devise a method for faster than light travel, but thus far their efforts have proven fruitless. However, the potential for a breakthrough has just arrived right on their doorstep.
This opportunity has come in the form a mysterious edifice which arrived quite suddenly along with a group of robotic construction drones from parts unknown. It is, in fact, an incomplete Amur research station, which has been dispatched to prepare for the arrival of a major scientific vessel at some point in the near future.
The recent history of the Amur has been one of dramatic decline, and at the present the long recovery is only beginning. Over two hundred Amur years ago, their civilization was at its peak. A faster than light drive based on very similar principles to that used by the distant Fudirunins was in regular use, a grand collection of biodomes were beginning to terraform the myriad worlds of their home system, and a great fleet ensured the place of the Amur as a regional power. However, all of this collapsed with the appearance of a deadly infestation by a toxic plant known simply as ‘The Vine’. The infestation laid waste to the ecosystem of the homeworld, and killed off upwards of ninety five percent of the population. An antitoxin was devised in time to save the last remnants of the species, but the results of sustained exposure to the Vine would have bizarre effects on Amur anatomy. Activating a strange form of neotenic development, the Vine would cause fetal features which were lost during early development to become expressed in adults, resulting a radical transformation of the victim from the reformation of the feet, the reappearance of a vestigial tertiary leg, partial collapse of the spine, and the development of auxiliary ocular systems. The Vine itself remains a terrible enemy of the Amur, who have only recently managed to reform an effective government after generations of disorder. Deformed though they feel themselves to be, the Amur continue to move forwards, to reclaim what has been lost to them.
The stage is set. A grand new period of discovery and conflict is dawning on our little neighbourhood in space. The Galaxy is watching.
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