Part 3: The Concordance
The Concordance is a time where written history flourishes. The stability under the great powers that arise in this era allowed for information to be stored far more permanently than before. While it brings my sightless eyes tears of joy to have access to these records, it is tinged with the pain of how much has been lost.
But such is the way of history and archaeology.
The Editor.
The Concordance begins with 4 great powers smelting themselves from the heat of the conflagration. The Caspian Federation, The Rechlavsky-Laris Combine (RLC), The Mechanist Assembly, and the Great Khazaraki Host. These states held an uneasy peace for nearly 600 years (Editors Note: For those hard of counting, this era starts more than 1000 years after the founding) as they held onto specific territories within the Void Network.
Editor’s Note: On Void Geography: for those who have spent most of their lives on one planet there is something to be said about understanding the geography of the Hyperuranion. Distance by foot or road or by interplanetary travel is irrelevant compared to the distance and availability of Void Gates. 2 planets in a geosynchronous orbit around each other may be geographically close and yet are difficult to reach (or possibly even inaccessible) due to the amount of void gate jumps to go from one planet to another. Although IN GENERAL the closer you get to the core the harder it is to find active void gates.
The Khazeraki Host claimed several planets on the edge of the Hyperuranion known as The Marches, far from the galactic core and they live a nomadic existence in the skies, venturing from their sky-ships to hunt and supply or raid their neighbours.
The Caspian Federation trod ground very similar to the Morrowan League and reaped the bounties of such easy to access planets with so many resources and well mapped gates. They focused on industry and scientific endeavour and revolutionised arcane knowledge with the invention of the first Cyphers and developments in Warjacks.
The Rechlavsky-Laris combine were peace-brokers, diplomats, and traders. Truly this age would not have been possible without their diligent work. Idealists would say that they believed that peace was its own reward. The fact that during this period they held some of the richest arc-mines in all the galaxy is the response of the cynic.34
The Mechanist Assembly was secretive and attracted those of a mindset dedicated to the truth, which made them a natural ally of the Aeternus Continuum of old. There is much debate about whether this marriage was one of convenience or if they were ideologically aligned. It is not my place to speculate (Editors Note: And you would do well to keep out of those debates, Vassal, until you have attained some more rank).
The defining event of The Concordance was the first Great Khazaraki Horde. Records are scattered, but it seems that some…event or threat pushed the Khazaraki to abandon their homeworlds and invade Caspian space. (Editors Note: The Khazaraki were feared for their warlike disposition. The lack of information on the threat that caused them to wholesale abandon their homes is troubling). The Khazaraki slammed into Caspian lands like an invading army, destroying cities, stealing resources (especially Arc), and moving on.
While organised enough to escape, it was still a roving band of people carrying their families and possessions on their back. When they went into Mechanist Assembly territory, they faced mighty terror weapons to the front and a vengeance-drunk Caspian federation on their heels. The Host was smashed into splinters, with the remains scattering and escaping beyond the RLC into another corner of the Hyperuranion. Finally, having escaped the threat behind them and the forces of the other great nations, the host settled their new lands, abandoning their nomadic way of life and disbanded into smaller tribes.
The Caspian’s, always willing to claim territory, colonised the area the Khazaraki escaped from with an apparent indifference to the threat that they had faced (which had apparently disappeared during their exodus). The vast, untapped, resources of the frontier brought in RLC and Caspian settlers by the thousands. They delved greedily into the territory, far further than the Khazaraki ever existed.
This era of relative peace and organisation had to come to an end, like all eras of their time do. Eventually the informal borders between these nations broke down and we enter the Era of The Shadows.