“The hatred, the rich addicted to putrid excess while the poor are crushed beneath them...it's a horrible place.”
- - Unknown Mushrum
The galaxy as viewed from deep space.
Lyan Major, usually known simply as Lyan, is a dystopian, mineral-rich spiral galaxy in the Xanthrus Megaquadrant of the First Gigaquadrant. The galaxy is famous for its endless periods of warfare, barbarism and decadence that have spanned billions of years. In its most ancient periods it is thought to have once been in the domains of the Ravenrii's extinct Raev Imperium, but all trace of this civilization in the galaxy other than the Imperium's stellar constructs was apparently destroyed around five billenia ago. The subsequent governments were idealist republics and confederations that eventually learned the lesson of the hardness of life and perished in the midst of conflict. Even the galaxy's name speaks of billenia of injustice and prejudice; it is a corruption of the Goldem Lyyr'rian, which means divided. The current galaxy is torn netween warring barbarian factions, criminal syndicates, dying civilizations and ruthless economic powerhouses that only spur severe social segregation. Its central territories are all that exists of modern civilization, with over half the galaxy officially owned by the Goldem Imperium megacorporation and its lawless edges all but descending into madness.
Traits and History[]
The galaxy has a long, war-filled history that has left most of its population in utter poverty. Paradoxically, most the galaxy itself is embedded in vast amounts of mineral riches, possessing reserves of every ore from gold to geodites to Centrinium. It's riches have been left unexplored by many of its civilizations, and those who have exploited it have become exceedingly obsessed with keeping them from the rest of the galactic population. The galaxy also has several universal oddities in its domains, among them the famed Gem Worlds, the Celestial Ruins of Fyylhourine, and the invaluable Great Spice Mines of Uumtuu. With absolute power shifting from criminal empires to cruel megacorporations, Lyan has seen more warfare than most any other galaxy in the Gigaquadrant. Social inequality is estimated at 800% more than galaxies such as Cyrannus and Xanthrus, making unconnected regions the seat of unimaginable wealth while keeping those mere light years outside destitute.
History[]
The History of Lyan began with the first recorded local documents, scripts belonging to the ancient Raev Imperium more than five billenia ago; this implies that the galaxy was once a vast Imperium stronghold, which mysteriously disappeared along with the civilization at the end of its billenia of reign in the area. the scripts declare the galaxy a peaceful and verdant location, a vision that has been replaced by industrial expansion and planets so exploited they are now bare rock. after the imperium's disappearance, the galaxy was allegedly left without life other than primitive planetary tribes weaved throughout the celestial body. At a point in time around three billenia ago, it is believed that the first of these tribes becamea space-faring civilization, initiating the era of space travel for the rest of the galaxy. The first interstellar empires where too small to sustain a large territory, and most centered around no more than fifty systems. Eventually technology was developed enough to permit widespread, continual colonization, and the first great civilizations emerged. The history of these nations remains ofr the most part unknown, though it is widely believed that they were peaceful yet idealistic governments. As has happened to many governments in the universe, the excessive expansion of the First Nations eventually made their systems collapse; entire civilizations cringed under a period of civil wars, known as the Fifteen Cryyanaan Conflicts, as hardship proved to much to bear for the corrupted ideals of these dying nations.
History since then has been plagued by perpetual war, decadence and corruption> the disappearence of the First Nations gave a rise to a new generation of squabbling mini-empires and barbarian lords, fighting for control of the galaxy once more during a barbaric period known as The Great Anarchy. As chaos eventually took control of the galaxy at large, independent nations used power and money as brusque methods to get ahold of power. Most civilizations evolved on their own, some turning wild and suspicious of others to the point of isolationism and xenophobia. With the first manufacturing of spice around twelve millienia ago, vast criminal empires grew in the shadowy lawlessness of the galaxy's shadows. As most of the galactic population grew addicted to spice, the riches of the Goldems imcreased and turf wars devastated the planets in the galaxy's rim. Eventually a single criminal empire ruled Lyan's now vast underworld, selling illegal wares and spices and trafficking the most foull of products.
Astropolitical Divisions[]
The galaxy had four loosely separate regions, which often change and are subject to constant abuse from most of the galaxy's inhabitants. The center of the galaxy, sometimes dubbed the Highlands, is the center of one of the galaxy's dominant empires, the Goldem Imperium. the Imperium is