Timeline

World War 3 starts. Problems that were boiling over the first half of the 21st century with regional wars, such as dwindling resources, climate change, overpopulation, and cultural differences, finally reached their zenith with a World War.

Around 3.6 billion people died. An estimated 40% of urban areas of the world are destroyed. Several nations cease to exist. It is officially declared by historians to be the Lowest Point in Human History. The unofficial, but truthful, reason for the end of hostilities is exhaustion, and fear of Human extinction.

The remaining leaders of the world sign a new charter for a renewed United Nations. Humbled by the horrors of the war, and the current state of the planet, they decide to unite the world under the guidance of an independent world government to settle disputes through a common set of laws and a higher court. The new United Nations of Earth makes Wellington, New Zealand, their headquarters.

Unlimited energy sources are discovered. Twin scientific achievements that year: reliable and stable fusion energy, and a feasible process to create large amounts of antimatter. Humanity celebrates the discoveries as miracles that bring much needed respite to the world, and this year is considered the beginning of a new Golden Age for Humanity. These world-changing discoveries make scientific interest and research highly acclaimed priorities for Humanity.

Faster Than Light space travel becomes a reality. A scientific project funded by the UN proves successful with the engineering of functional Alcubierre Drive engines. The first superluminal voyage takes place when a robotic probe manages to reach the orbit of Saturn in minutes.

Humanity celebrates the dawn of a new century with the first manned trip to another star. The journey takes only 2 weeks to reach Proxima Centauri. The first Human interstellar travelers are celebrated as heroes upon their return to Earth. As a side note, it was very interesting for the astronauts that they could see themselves traveling to Proxima Centauri for the next 4 years after they returned to Earth.

By this time, Humans are spreading across the galaxy, discovering and colonizing habitable worlds. After a year and eleven months of travel, the Colonial Expeditions ship UNS Asimov reached the HD 546288 Star, renamed Victoria by Captain Boris Nikolsky.  The Victoria System is 190.4 Light Years away from the Solar System. Thus, in the astronomical charts of the Colonial Expeditions, it was considered a Far-Star. (for the Star Trek fans, that’s about a speed of Warp Factor 3.9).

A unique Planetary System, Victoria is blessed with the  presence of two planets in its Habitable Zone that are therefore hospitable to Human Life. They were given the names of Erebus and Elysium.

The Astraea Corporation is granted proprietary rights for the planet Erebus. They immediately start mining operations which include the construction of vast underground settlements for their work force.

Nova Aurora, the first settlement on Elysium, has a population of around 5,000 colonists. It became the official headquarters of the United Nations of Earth Colonial government.

The last transmission from an Earth vessel was received at 21:16 hours on an otherwise non-eventful Thursday on December 13, 2184. It was the last one the colonies would receive. Warp capable starships from Earth or other colonized star systems failed to arrive as scheduled.  Days passed and a sense of dread spread through the populace as the news sweep the colonies. It was decided that the two remaining warp capable ships in the Victorian system would travel back to Earth to investigate the delay in arrivals. It was a decision the colonies would regret later after they realized the ships were not coming back for them. The Victorian System was on its own. No one knew why. To this day, the fate of Earth and the rest of Humanity's colonies in the stars remains a mystery.

The following century would be a time of chaos and misery, the colonies where not self sufficient and still relied on imported goods to survive. Many colonists felt abandoned and marooned in a wild environment, resources where dwindling quickly and factions formed to prey on the weak. Civilization on the colonies was on the verge of collapse.

That year, on the planet Elysium, the lack of interstellar imports with necessary and vital resources heightened civil unrest. Open revolts ignited that expanded further into deadly clashes between different settler factions. The central United Nations of Earth Colonial Government deemed it necessary to enact emergency gubernatorial measures and curfews that proved to be highly unpopular. Rumors of revolution and secession started to spread at this point.

Meanwhile, on the planet Erebus, when resources started to become scarce, panic overcame the population and riots broke out in all the Erebian colonial districts. Immediately, the planetary administration of Astraea Corp enacted protocols put in place to deal with such an occurrence. The Astraea Security Forces imposed martial law and quickly managed to stop the riots. 20% of the laborers population was eliminated in order to maintain the peace. The enacted protocols and martial law still remain in effect to this day.

Contact between the two planets is sparse. Although the UNE Colonial Government on Elysium is technically the higher gubernatorial office on the Victoria star System, the Astraea Corporation keeps communication sporadic in order to follow their own protocols.

Due to a navigation error, and lack of active maintenance, the EGN Satellite, which served as the main database repository and primary hub for communications and computer networks for the planet Elysium, loses it's orbit. Attempts to correct the error fail due to the lack of expertise and resources. The satellite burns on the atmosphere and it's remains fall on the Tangaroa ocean. The great loss of data and communications greatly exacerbates the strife on Elysium.

The settlement of Ruritania is the first one to declare independence from the UNE Colonial Government. After five years of waiting for interstellar vessels to return and for conditions to improve, the leaders of Ruritania lead by a former UNE soldier named Ionus Nicolae, declared themselves their own sovereign nation. The Colonial Government's inability to properly assist the many settlements due to dwindling resources and lack of communication finally broke the last shreds of unity among the different forming factions after The Event. Specially with settlements that were farther away from the headquarters of the Colonial Government, such as Ruritania which was an ocean away in a different continent. 

The leaders of the Colonial Government didn't accepted what they considered to be a rebellion. This starts a bitter war between the UNE Colonial Government forces and the Ruritanian rebels. 

A kraken descends upon the city of Nova Aurora during a lighting storm. The gargantuan beast is destroyed after a valiant effort by the city's defenders, but they paid a terrible price. Several of the more advanced military vehicles were destroyed along with indispensable technological civilian equipment, but most tragically, a team of engineers that was sent to safeguard and repair a critical and vital power generator were killed by the angry creature, taking their knowledge with them to the grave. 

All of Humanity on the planet Elysium is humbled by the experience and it's significance. They are truly alone and undefended in a dangerous world.

Citing their own list of problems and diminishing resources after The Event, Astraea Corporation withholds technical and humanitarian assistance to Elysium. Later that year, one of the few UNE subluminal spaceships on Elysium is sent to Erebus on a diplomatic mission. It never arrives to it's destination. An Astraea Corp. subluminal spaceship reports finding a debris field consistent with an asteroid impact. 

In what would be known as the Battle of Kitezh, the Ruritanian separatists lead by Ionus Nicolae manage to rout UNE forces sent to bring back Ruritania into the UNE Government's fold. The result of this battle forces the UNE Colonial Government to accept Ruritania's claim of of independence, which in turn creates a domino effect with other settlements looking to cut their ties with the central government. 

After the military defeat against Ruritanian forces, and the mounting catastrophes, humanitarian emergencies, natural disasters, riots, and insurrections, the UNE Colonial Government collapses. At this point, only the cities of Nova Aurora, Grayfield, and New Albion remain under UNE government law. Several of the settlements that are located farther away from the UNE central government officially declare themselves independent nations. Among them, Kalahari, Arcadia, Amareidonia, and Morrigan. Many other settlements are either lost to the chaos or under contested warfare by different factions.

After the collapse of the UNE Colonial Government, Astraea Corporation decides to focus on keeping control of Erebus and retaining civilization there. They predict that the eventual total crash of civilization on Elysium in just a few decades will allow The Corporation to claim the planet Elysium in order to restore order. Therefore, they stop all communication and travel to Elysium.

Erebus, that was so far spared the worst of the aftereffects of The Event, suffers a catastrophic misfortune as their anti-matter reactor suffers critical containment collapse. The resulting explosion destroys most of their essential industrial and manufacturing sectors. The Corporation blames antigovernmental dissenters for the disaster.

A community of scientists located in the continent of Jotunheim, undeterred by The Event, continues their banned experiments in genetics with the goal of uplifting the Human race to a higher level of intelligence. They see it as a way to overcome the crisis brought forth by The Event. After an explosion that was heard for miles and strange atmospheric phenomena, Ruritanian scouts found the destroyed laboratory facilities in Darwinburg and the residents of the community, now warped into a Post-Human race now commonly known as Gnomes due to their appearance. Rumors of other even stranger, or dangerous, humanoids in the surrounding Chernobog forest still endure to this day. 

The once prosperous settlement of Solus, once one of the larger settlements located north on the continent of Vanaheim, is destroyed by fire resulting from the infighting by different factions competing for resources. This makes for another milestone in the downward spiral of civilization on the planet Elysium as roving gangs, factions, and communities fight for survival. In the following decade, more settlements meet a similar fate.

In an effort to boost their workforce, the leadership of Astraea Corp orders their subsidiary biochemical company, Vitatech Labs, with the creation of a post-human race that they can use as menial laborers. The result is a race of hardy and robust workers that are indoctrinated into a life of servitude. The lead geneticist of the project, dr. Thorleif Hansen names them the "Dweorg". 

The last known Pre-Event computer data center in the planet Elysium is destroyed by a fire that consumes several blocks of the city of New Albion after a dragon attack. Although some of it's content is copied by hand, such as written works, Earth history, and some scientific knowledge, it still remains a terrible loss of Human knowledge. 

At this time, the technological level of most settlements on the planet Elysium has devolved somewhat similar to the Middle Ages, if not worst in the case of outposts that were located far away from the rest of civilization.

After over a decade of democracy in Ruritania, a military coup d'état lead by war hero Ionus Nicolae takes over the country. Immediately, Nicolae has the Ruritanian government officials eliminated and declares himself king Ionus Nicolae I of Ruritania.

An experimental gene-changing virus is released after an explosion in a Vitatech Lab facility. The resulting biological disaster is particularly devastating for the Erebian underground farms. Thousands of subterranean acres of cultivated edible plants and fungi are mutated into shriveled refuse. This leads to the First Great Famine on Erebus. The Obsidian Plague will end up having a long lasting legacy.

The Corporation blames antigovernmental dissenters for the disaster.

The king of Ruritania dies under mysterious circumstances. His first born son is crowned as the new king, Ionus Nicolae the Second of Ruritania. The young man proves himself to be a very cunning and ambitious tyrant.

After conquering the neighboring city-state kingdoms of Ulyaninsk, Aeristrad, and Ironstead, and claiming large swaths of Chernobog forest, Ionus Nucolae the 2nd has the Patriarch of the Holy Church of Revelation crown him Emperor of Ruritania and Protector of the Faith. Thus, the Ruritanian Empire is born.

On a cold November evening of the year 2272, a mighty earthquake hit the lands around the Kostroma sea. A great tsunami swallowed the coasts of the island of Hy-Brasil and the continent of Jotunheim, dragging many unfortunate seaside settlements and ports back into the deeps of the sea. But the worst was yet to come. Just a few hours later, a creature like none other seen by Humanity appeared. The gargantuan monster known as the Tarrasque carved a trail of destruction through the lands of the nation of Morrigan, the kingdom of Arcadia, and the Empire of Ruritania. Morrigan took the brunt of it as the town of Callaird was completely destroyed. 

The beast made it's way back into the sea after Arcadian forces deployed an old high-tech weapon, scavenged from a broken down military vehicle. The weapon sent a blinding light that burned a hole in the creature. Many called it a miracle from god or Earth magic coming to save them, even after the weapon exploded following it's use.

The creature haven't attacked again since, but now and then there's an explorer that swear they have seen it out there in the uncharted expanses of the planet.

Even though their technological decline was somewhat slower than on Elysium, the breakdown of machinery and the consequences of the Obsidian Plague start to severely strain the resources of Astraea Corporation, especially when it comes to food for their population. Some sectors see no other alternative than to start recycling all possible nutrient resources.

Riots become more and more frequent. The Corporation blames antigovernmental dissenters for the adverse circumstances.

After a century of social decline and technological devolution, a young brilliant technologist named Rolland Turner starts a movement to restore civilization. Born in Nova Aurora, Rolland Turner became a charismatic leader of men. With a silver tongue and skilled tactical genius, he managed to bring several settlements together under the aegis of a new government based on mutual protection and assistance. Established as the successor of the previous United Nations of Earth Colonial Government, this new centralized government is named The Colonial Alliance. The five major settlements of Nova Aurora, Grayfield, New Albion, Houssa, and Ix join in this alliance. Surrounding smaller settlements are quick to follow during the ensuing months. 

After losing one of his children in a riot, and having an attempt on his life by one of the members of the board of directors due to the continual food shortage crisis, the CEO of Astraea Corporation at the time, Zhou Xiuying, decides to abandon their policy of isolationism and reconnect with the planet Elysium in order to acquire food. Even though some of the senior members of the Astraea Security Force recommended invading Elysium, Xiuying decides that trade in good faith might better benefit everyone involved, particularly since the Erebian population wasn't in any condition to wage war. They still agreed on one caveat; They will provide Elysium with minerals and any other available natural resources, but under no circumstances would they share their technology.

Later that year, the governments of the larger nations at the time, The Colonial Alliance, The Ruritanian Empire, and the Sovereign Nation of Kalahari received diplomats from Erebus. Many stood in awe as the shinning, but old, spaceships made their way into their skies. 

An Erebian cargo ship crash-lands just west of the Ironholde mountains in the continent of Vanaheim. The passengers of the ship were a large group of dwarves that escaped slavery on Erebus. They sought shelter in the cave systems of the Ironholde mountains. They were eventually found by explorers from the Colonial Alliance, which promptly sent for humanitarian help for the displaced refugees.

Even though the Dweorg were deeply grateful for the help they received from their Colonial Alliance neighbors, they decided to remain an independent community, but with close ties with the Colonial Alliance. As time passed, their population grew quickly and they colonized the nearby unclaimed lands, creating the nation of Freiheitland.

Looking to make contact with lost settlements in order to try to bring them into the Alliance, a group of Colonial Alliance naval ships set forth to find the island of Kobayashi. The survivors of this voyage return with tales of a great monster attacking them as they got close to Kobayashi island.

Weeks later, a delegation of diplomats from the Kobayashi Shogunate make their way to Nova Aurora, the capital of the Colonial Alliance. Wearing strange clothes and speaking a language that very few in the continent of Vanaheim could recognize, they claimed that they represented the honorable Shogun of Kobayashi, and brought with them evidence that the Alliance ships were ravaged by a roaming dragon that they destroyed. 

They explained that their nation preferred to keep their culture free from influence of outsiders, but also wanted to keep themselves informed about the rest of the world. So a treaty was created, The Colonial Alliance would be the only nation allowed to trade, on a limited fashion, with the Kobayashi Shogunate, and in exchange, the Colonial Alliance is honor bound to protect the boundaries of the Shogunate from outsiders. 

The particularly beneficial nature of this agreement towards the Alliance has lead to many rumors that there might be other secret arrangements that were never made public.

Even though Erebus has been trading with the nations of Elysium for some decades, bringing rare natural resources, and more importantly, Etherium, to Elysium, it wasn't until around this point in time that new discoveries came to light with experimentation with this new element. Even though it was known to be a great source of energy, the civilizations of Elysium lacked the scientific and mechanical expertise to properly put to good use. But that changed with the invention of the Steam engine, a technologically primitive but highly efficient engine that could power machines by using relatively small quantities of refined Etherium, commonly known as Steam due to it's gaseous byproduct. 

Just a couple of years later, it was discovered that the gaseous Steam byproduct was incredibly buoyant, many times more so than hydrogen or helium, able to lift great weights. Therefore, little by little, brave technologists started to successfully experiment with airship designs.

Tension haves grown between the two planets, as they deal with their domestic problems of rebel factions, societal instability and lack of resources, they also deal with mutual accusations that may disrupt their long held treaty of bilateral help. Interplanetary war looms in the horizon… Only the brave, the cunning and the knowledgeable can bring any hope to the civilization of Far-Star Victoria.