History of the Caladarian Galaxy

The Caladarian Galaxy, the galaxy that has in recent years been dominated by the Laurasian Empire, has a long and extensive history. The Caladarian Galaxy, one of many billions of galaxies in the Universe, is believed to have formed c. 13 billion BH. The Galaxy emerged out of the gradual consolidation of leftover particles, dust, and universal masses, which had emerged from the Big Bang, the event which created the Universe, which is believed by scientists and astronomers to have occurred as early as c. 15 billion BH, maybe slightly less. Within one billion years of the Galaxy's formation, globular clusters, the central super massive black hole, and a galactic bulge of metal poor Population II stars began to form. Over the next two billion years, this accumulated matter had settled into a galactic disc. Eventually, c. 8 billion BH, the galaxy had cooled down. Over the next several billion years, the Caladarian Galaxy's star systems cooled down, rotating, contracting, and gaining angular momentum. The Laurasia Prime star system was one of those which went through this process. Eventually, primitive bacteria developed, and by c. 5 million BH, the ancestors to the Huntites, Rasdallans, and Kalbachans had made their appearance. In c. 100,000 BH, the Founders of the Crones Galaxy appeared in the Caladarian Galaxy, the most technologically advanced species to ever dwell in the Caladarian Galaxy, subjugated many of the ancient civilizations in existence at that time, whose names have been lost to the mists of time, and using their labor, created technological wonders that spoke of their name throughout the Caladarian Galaxy. These included the Mauryan Warp, the Horacian system, the Rogerian Cluster, and the Galactic Barrier. Besides this, they also manipulated or transplanted the DNA of numerous worlds throughout the Galaxy. Eventually, the Founders disappeared from the Caladarian Galaxy, although exactly why they disappeared is unknown. During the 97,000 years following their disappearance, the lifeforms which they had manipulated, such as the Laurasians, evolved and went through a Stone Age, and ultimately, their period of Antiquity. Some species developed faster then others: the Crees, Paulines, and Shapeshifters arose as galactic civilizations by c. 3000 BH, being followed shortly afterwards by the Metasians.....The sections below describe the civilizations of the Caladarian Galaxy in order, providing information about their leaders, major events of their species, and ultimately, their downfall and how awareness of them was garnered. This will lead up all the way to the Laurasian Empire.

=History of the Civilizations of the Caladarian Galaxy=

Early Galactic History (c. 13 billion-700 BH)
The Caladarian Galaxy, which is one of the billions of galaxies in the known Universe, originated from the Big Bang, the event, according to modern-day historians and scholars, taking place c. 13,500,000,000 BH. The Galaxy, however, gradually consolidated from leftover particles, universal masses, and stellar dust which had been generated by that same Big Bang. Such a process took many billions of years: it was not until c. 8,000,000,000 BH that the Caladarian Galaxy, as it is known now, fully consolidated and cooled down from the processes of the Big Bang. The Galaxy's two satellite galaxies, the Great Tesmanian Cloud and the Angelina Spiral, both consolidated later then the actual Caladarian Galaxy itself: their formation had taken place by about c. 5 billion BH. By that time also, the galactic disk had fully consolidated itself, and a bulge of metal poor Population II stars, globular clusters, and the central super massive black hole had all established themselves. By about c. 4 billion BH, numerous star systems throughout the Caladarian Galaxy, including what would become Laurasia Prime, Caladaria, Briannia, Venasia Prime, and others, had begun to form from the process of angular momentum. It is believed that the first simple bacterial life within the confines of the Caladarian Galaxy appeared towards c. 3.8 billion BH, according to evidence garnered by scientists on Laurasia Prime and on other Core Worlds. Over the next three billion years, the planets of the Caladarian Galaxy continued to evolve and to develop into their proper forms: life had appeared on Laurasia Prime by 2.7 billion BH, and by 2 billion BH, the planet had developed a defined atmosphere. On Venasia Prime, life had appeared by 1.6 billion BH, and the world obtained its gravitational fields by 1 billion BH. Similar processes were repeated in millions of other star systems throughout the still relatively young Galaxy. Nevertheless, intelligent life did not yet develop, and none of the galaxy's star systems came to the point of bearing civilizations which had even progressed to a Stone Age level of development.

This remained the situation until about 150,000 BH, when the first advanced alien civilizations on record appeared within the Caladarian Galaxy. The passage of over 100,000 years has meant that little is known to modern-day scientists, scholars, and archaeologists about these civilizations, but some of the earliest space-faring species are believed to have emerged on Monasis V, Peeler, and Monney in the Wild Marshes. One of these civilizations, which has been called "the Temple Builders" by modern archaeologists, is believed to have established its presence in nearly fifty star systems spread across a one thousand light year basis, c. 120,000 BH. Another ancient civilization, known only as the Mount Upholders, is believed to be responsible for the construction of a mysterious temple complex on Nicole, c. 100,000 BH. It is possible that they may have originated from Monney. Whatever the case maybe with these civilizations, they ranged throughout many star systems and traveled through the stars for thousands of years. Their time, however, was due to end, for another, far more advanced species now made its appearance within the Caladarian Galaxy: the Founders. Exactly who the Founders were have befuddled historians and archaeologists throughout the centuries: the fifth century Marauder chronicler A'status stated his belief that the Founders were the incarnation of the "ancient Gods of our race", and that they had descended from above in order to impose a civilized rule upon the Caladarian Galaxy. The eighth century Kalbachan historian, I'sill of Roger Major, asserted his belief that the Founders were from a different universe or a different dimension and that by some "advanced means", they had made their descent in the Caladarian Galaxy. The eighteenth century Laurasian historian, the Count Demetrius Monompahlaus, in his important Galactic Antiquities, declared that the Founders hailed from the Crones Galaxy, although he provided no evidence for this claim.

Nevertheless, because of contacts with the Xaronese and the other civilizations of the Teggedon Spiral, more has come to be known about the Founders then previously. The Count's claim that they hailed from the Crones Galaxy is generally accepted, and it is believed by Laurasian historians that they were also present in the Felix Galaxy (located about seventy million light years away from the Caladarian Galaxy), the Calathrinan Galaxy (the belief in this coming from Arachosian raids on worlds there, during their long journey in space, which bore monuments very similar to Founder edifices which have been found in the Galaxy), Andromeda, Angelina Spiral (a Founder-constructed monument was discovered on Tacloban, a obscure mining colony there, in 1745), Ursa Major Cloud, Vorstes Galaxy, Great Tesmanian Cloud (Founder artifacts at Rigus VII near the Triagulent Wormhole were identified there in 1799), and the Milky Way Galaxy, alongside many others. They are also believed to have been present in the Teggedon Spiral, where a species known as the Chthonians were known to be responsible for planting life there and were alleged to come from an alternate reality. The Founders, also known as the Ancients, the Preservers, the Architects, or as the Elders or Lifegivers in older texts, were the most technologically advanced species to ever exist in the Caladarian Galaxy. They are known to have had a presence in at least a million star systems throughout the Caladarian Galaxy, being identified by the colossal objects and massive holograms which they left behind. These holograms contained basic information about the object and its purpose: however, they reveal nothing of the Founders themselves, and consequently, we know nothing of their appearance, culture, or background before entering the Caladarian Galaxy. It is known, however, that the early civilizations in the Caladarian Galaxy, such as the Mount Upholders and the Temple Builders, were subjugated by the Founders, and that they used these species as slave labor. These species, who are believed to have served the Founders as subject races, helped them to construct astonishing technological projects, ranging from the assembly of entire star systems to the engineering of the Rogerian Cluster and the Mauryan Warp. The achievements of the Founders included the Rogerian Cluster, the Mauryan Warp, the Horacian system, the Orion Star Cluster, the Durant Cluster, and the Galactic Barrier. It is estimated that Horacia and her sister planets were dragged by massive hyperspace beams and other devices some 110,000 light years from the Outer Borderlands, and that they had originally been located in the vicinity of what is now Hunt Major. The Galactic Barrier may have been constructed by the Founders as a means to delineate the western boundary of the Caladarian Galaxy, or it may have been a barrier set up against unknown enemies. In either case, the Founders had a lasting impact on the Caladarian Galaxy, for they also manipulated or transplanted the DNA of numerous lifeforms in tens of thousands of star systems throughout the Caladarian Galaxy. The species that eventually became known as the Laurasians, Venasians, Briannians, Goldarians, Horacians, Robertians, etc. descended from the lifeforms which had been transplanted by the Founders, who are believed to have brought them from the Crones Galaxy or even the Milky Way Galaxy.

After some four thousand years, however, the Founders mysteriously disappeared from the Caladarian Galaxy (c. 96,000 BH). Why they disappeared remains a mystery. Laurasian historians, including the Count Monompahlaus, have speculated that it was because of a massive multi-dimensional war, which perhaps distracted their attention and eliminated their interest in the species and star systems of the Galaxy. This theory, however, cannot be confirmed. The last monuments and artifacts which can with near-certainty identified as being from the Founders were constructed about that time, and appear, from examinations conducted by engineers and specialized construction droids, to have been hastily constructed. It has also been presumed that civil war or even the invasion of another, more powerful species were what compelled the Founders to retreat from the Caladarian Galaxy. In any case, the actual truth of what happened to them will never be known. Also, around this time, the earlier ancient civilizations of the Caladarian Galaxy also disappeared, for no trace can be found of them after 96,000 BH. It is believed that the Founders may have exterminated them, or that they may have been engulfed in the turmoils of war or plague. Regardless, the Caladarian Galaxy was now left once again without advanced alien civilizations, and this remained the case for well over 90,000 years. During that time, however, the worlds of the Caladarian Galaxy continued their development, while the lifeforms implanted by the Founders evolved further and eventually reached their maturity. The Laurasians, for example, had obtained behavioral modernity by 45,000 BH, and shortly after obtained skills in such fields as refined toolmaking, sophisticated weaponry, sculpture, cave paintings, body ornaments, and long-distance trade. Iego, on its part, experienced a severe Ice Age from 40,000 to 8000 BH; Lacia was ravaged by a series of volcanic explosions c. 7000 BH, which influenced the development of the Lacian species and forever scarred the planet's surface. Jeanne was flooded c. 10,000 BH, and the Jeannians there were forced to establish their settlements above sea-level. All of these developments influenced these species and formed the background to their later history. In some quarters, however, some species evolved faster than did others: these were to be the Crees, the Shapeshifters, and the Paulines. All three of these species had existed in the Caladarian Galaxy before the Founders had arrived, but had been mired in primitivism and had never progressed to an advanced level. They also were among the few races which managed to escape the attention of the Founders and their servant races.

By c. 6000 BH, it is believed that the Cree had entered their Industrial Age, and within two thousand years, they had developed interstellar spaceflight. The Cree, whose system of origin has been lost to the mists of time, were to be the first civilization in over 90,000 years to establish themselves among the stars. What little is known about their culture and appearance derives from the chronicles and records of their greatest enemies, the Metasians, who were ultimately responsible for their destruction. The Metasian Great Chronicle (c. 1000 BH), described the average Cree as being "a creature with about eight tentacles extending from their body. They had grey skin, large eyes, and tall foreheads, with an immense brain sac which hang from the back of their heads....From their sac derived their filth and their lies, but also their great ingenuity and intelligence...." The Metasians, although they were hostile to the Cree, did acknowledge the fact that they were technologically adept and determined to explore the stars. Bree technology developed rapidly in the thousand years after their first spaceflight. It is believed that by c. 3500 BH, the Cree had spread to four hundred other star systems outside of their own, somewhere in the northwestern Galactic Borderlands (possibly near Lavella and the Outposts of the Galactic Barrier), and that they had managed to reach those star systems through use of "hyper-acceleration cannons", devices which propelled their ships into hyperspace and which relied upon drag-induced techniques in order to bring them back into realspace. Such cannons were massive and unwieldy, and required much time and effort to operate. The range within which they could fling a ship was also limited, being limited to no more then sixty light years. The Cree, however, had developed social sophistication, for the Great Chronicle reports that "those beasts organized their society along the lines of four castes, being of nearly equal size: of the Crafters, the Researchers, the Operators, and the Administrators....each of whom had certain tasks and certain responsibilities...." The Crafters were responsible for the production of new devices and technologies; the Researchers, for the development of new technologies and the refinement of existing ones; the Operators, for the maintenance and operation of the machines; and the Administrators, for the operations of the government, space exploration, military command, and guild leadership boards. "These beasts, ultimately, acknowledged the authority of what they called the Obermaster, who held control over their guilds and their lives; the Obermaster was one who relied upon his control of the Great Council and his supervision of the guilds in order to maintain his power..."

With such a organized and sophisticated society, the Cree were able to improve upon their technology; by the end of the 4th millennium BH, the range of their hyper-acceleration cannons had increased to nearly a thousand light years, and they now controlled some 1,500 systems in the Galactic Borderlands. The Cree developed some of the most sophisticated navigation computers of their time and became masters at stellar engineering, dimensional engineering, and quanta-technology. At the height of their power c. 2300 BH, under the Obermaster Guais (who is the only Obermaster whose name has come down to us, for the Metasians did not deem the other Obermasters worthy of mention), the Cree Empire encompassed, according to the Great Chronicle, "some three thousand outposts (star systems?) ranging from their capital world and governed by them in their greed and selfishness...", extending from the Galactic Barrier to the outskirts of what are now known as the Tof Borderland Provinces. Of these, however, only one, the T'Clai System, located near the Galactic Barrier, is still known. The location of the remainder of the Empire's star systems have been lost to the mists of time. It was by this time that the Shapeshifters had also began to emerge into outer space. Like the Cree, the only written records which we have of the Shapeshifters derive from those of their exterminators, the Metasians. The Shapeshifters are believed to have been beings capable of modifying their facial patterns and of morphing their faces, as could be judged from their name. Metasian sources described on how the Shapeshifters "deceived" their soldiers through such means, and that their "trickery was what made them so formidable an enemy of our Empire and our civilization". The Shapeshifters, whose system of origin has also been lost to time, are nevertheless believed to have emerged somewhere in the Inner Territories, possibly around c. 2600 BH, and within three centuries, they had spread to surrounding star systems. The Shapeshifters were also known for their technological sophistication and their development of the star systems which they ruled. Metasian sources mention that the Shapeshifters were responsible for the construction of one of the earliest "and most powerful" android models within known space; that they installed force-field technology onboard their vessels; and that they constructed massive edifices, including temples and shrines, in order to honor their numerous gods. We know that Shapeshifter society was also organized into castes, similar to that of the Crees, but that such castes were based upon racial and ethnic differences. The highest-ranking figure in the Shapeshifter Empire was the "Great Coordinator", of whom we know the names of only four: Casdor (c. 2450 BH), Litus (possibly 2100 BH), Mardo (c. 1890 BH), and Brego (near 1200 BH). The Coordinator was "hailed by all of the Shapeshifters as their greatest master, and he was invested with absolute authority over the operations of their government", according to the Great Chronicle. The Shapeshifters, once they had established themselves in space, quickly developed and spread their reach yet further. Casdor himself was reputed by Metasian sources to be a "great patron of space exploration"; the Great Chronicle even claims that he personally involved himself in one of the exploration expeditions launched by the Shapeshifter Government.

In all circumstances, the Shapeshifter Empire expanded rapidly; around 2400 BH, possibly during the latter half of Casdor's reign, they developed the tumble-drive, which was one of the early precursors to the modern hyperdrive and upon which, the Metasians themselves took inspiration from for their FTL drive designs. The tumble-drive, also known as the tumble hyperdrive, allowed for jumps of variable distance and duration; it had to be used with great caution, and the Shapeshifter engineers knew that they would not be able to accurately predict a course for Shapeshifter exploration and colonization vessels. The tumble-drive, however, marked a great step forward, and allowed the Shapeshifters to expand to more star systems then they ever had before. By 2300 BH, when the Cree Empire had obtained its greatest territorial extent, the Shapeshifter Empire had expanded to encompass nearly three hundred star systems throughout the Caladarian Galaxy. Of these star systems, twenty, according to Metasian astrographical charts, formed the "Shapeshifter Home Region", located somewhere near Ka, Organia, and Permis. These were the star systems which had been colonized in the two hundred years before the invention of the tumble-drive. The remainder of the Empire's star systems were scattered "all throughout galactic space", spanning from the Galactic Barrier regions to the Outer Territories. One hundred and ninety-five of these star systems are known to us, and consequently, we have a better idea of the Shapeshifter Empire's geographical composition and position then that of the Cree Empire. Among the star systems controlled by the Shapeshifters were Macromannia, Angel, Constipex, Filorean, Dickinson, Brenda, and Loyall, names which are prominent in later galactic history or were later colonized by successive species. The Shapeshifter Empire also governed Pardur and Vesmania, which were to eventually become Lavellan worlds. As a result of the Shapeshifter Empire's great territorial expansion, it came into contact with the Cree. The Great Chronicle is silent about the circumstances of this first contact, but, judging by information gleaned from Shapeshifter architectural remains in the Galactic Borderlands, it is believed that the two Empires first encountered each other c. 2200 BH. By that point, the Cree Empire had existed in a prosperous and stable state for approximately a century, and the Cree government had focused their efforts on developing the territories which they had explored. It is possible that a short war took place between Cree and Shapeshifter forces; Metasian accounts merely state that the two species "distrusted each other and sought for each other's death". By 2150 BH, however, diplomatic relations had been established between the two Empires, and a exchange of technology took place. The Shapeshifters acquired Cree navigation, bioengineering, and nano technology; the Cree, on their part, acquired Shapeshifter starships, reactor technology, and a prototype tumble-drive. By the end of the 22nd century BH, the Shapeshifters had begun to construct StarGates on Loyall, Brenda, Dickinson, and within the Shapeshifter Home Region. These devices, which relied upon adaption of Cree navigation technologies, would allow for Shapeshifter vessels to traverse between the Empire's star systems, and across thousands of light years, in a matter of hours or days, instead of the weeks or months it had taken previously. The Cree themselves developed such technology shortly afterwards; the Metasians make no mention of the Cree StarGates, but such a device, very similar to the Shapeshifter edifices which have been found, was uncovered on T'Clai. A peace then ensued, and during the next century, both Empires remained at peace. By 2010 BH, the Shapeshifter Empire had colonized Sejucia and had sent expeditions to survey the worlds of the Durant Cluster. The Cree, likewise, sent survey expeditions to the Tof Borderlands and the Rogerian Cluster. Another galactic power, however, emerged: that of the Paulines. Unlike with the Cree and Shapeshifters, we have in our possession the archives and records made by the Paulines themselves. The Paulines, who were nevertheless still described in Metasian accounts, hailed from Paulina; their world, located in the Middle Territories about three thousand light years north of Shenandoah, is the first capital star system of a Galactic Empire in the history of the Caladarian Galaxy known to us. For almost four hundred years, the Pauline nation-states had been engaged in the Heroic Wars, a series of long and bitter civil conflicts which caused much devastation and led to the deaths of millions. Finally, c. 2000 BH, they were unified by the legendary Praetor of Kelly, Harshar, who declared himself "Lord of Paulina" and established the Pauline Empire.