Frontier

Written by Amaker

The Frontier is a region of space located relatively close to the edge of the galaxy. It is home to a number of nations, including two great powers: the Valdar and the Confederation of Derahs. Over the years, other great powers have also established themselves in the region, including the now-defunct Empire of Sol, the Teruzan state of Adriar, and most recently, the Empire of Galdera. The sector is best known for being home to a large number of Old World artifacts, most notably the Ulkathi installations, large complexes that contain some of the best-preserved ancient relics and the only known 'record' of Old World history and culture, the Ulkathui Murals.
The history of the Frontier is marred by near-constant war. The minor powers, in their attempt to build up their strength, fought one another for control of Ryakshi technology. The Ogvyr fought for dominance among themselves in the Long War, which persisted for over eight hundred years, and against both foreign invaders and ancient robotic guardians for the Hezrudahl's artifacts. Sol's invasion of the sector and their subjugation of the minor powers ushered in two centuries of peace and stability, but was achieved through their oppressive treatment of non-humans and the Valdar and Ogvyr's unwillingness to fight. Sol's reign ended following the Galderan-Human War, the bloodiest conflict in the sector's history, which was subsequently followed by a cold war between the Galderans, the Coalition of Independent Nations (CIN), an alliance of several Frontier races founded by the Ogvyr, and the Teruzar. Tension within Valdar society reached its peak during this time, leading to the Valdar Insurrection and the eventual breakdown of relations between the Galderans and CIN, sparking the modern Frontier Crisis.
The Frontier is also known for its history of mysterious paranormal occurrences. Throughout the sector, particularly in the outer reaches, exists tales of strange ghost ships, spectral entities, inexplicable beasts, and conspiracies of government coverups. Most are willing to write off such tales as nothing more than superstition or natural occurrences that have simply not yet been explained, and may perhaps be caused by Old World artifacts. But there are a small few who place spiritual significance in these events, some even going as far as to say they are messages and signs from on high. In the face of constant strife, few are interested in studying such events to uncover the truth.

Geography

The exact boundaries of the Frontier have not been fully defined and vary between nation to nation. What is certain is that the sector is home to at least several hundred star systems, many of which contain habitable or near-habitable worlds, some of which have long been terraformed into a livable state. Being rich in resources, those who reside in the Frontier suffer no shortages in food or materials unless it is through a failure of their infrastructure, such as what took place for many following the collapse of the Sol empire, which saw many die of starvation and disease.
The most significant geographic landmarks, rather than being any particular natural formation, are instead considered to be the Old World installations left behind by the ancients. The Ulkathi built vast, sprawling facilities across several dozen worlds, with many seemingly serving a particular set of functions, such as habitation, construction, research, burial grounds, and even religious ceremonies. The Ryakshi left behind the ruins of many bunkers and fortresses containing what was once a vast trove of armor and weapons. The Hezrudahl's legacy lies chiefly in their vast manufacturing facilities that were buried deep beneath mountains and were guarded and maintained by a sentry of autonomous machines that have since been eliminated by the occupying Ogvyr. The technology the Ogvyr recovered and reverse-engineered from here would be used in their vast autonomous armies that would come to fruition during the CIN-Galderan cold war.
One partial exception is the Orolas sub-sector, a region located in the northwestern-most reaches of Valdar space. As well as being the site of some Ulkathi facilities, this sector has also gained an infamous reputation among many for being 'haunted' due to the many stories of ships going missing and sightings of spectral entities. Prior to the Valdar consolidating their control in the sub-sector and the invasion of Sol, explorers would risk it all to explore the region, though some of them never returned. Outsiders and even most Valdar are not allowed in, leading to much speculation among the denizens of the Frontier.

Notable Planets

The Frontier is also home to a large number of noteworthy planets which are significant either politically, historically, or because of artifacts.

Valdar

* Yulaira - Yulaira is the homeworld of the Valdar and the capitol of the Valdar Loyalist under Levani'desatha.
* Zhagavia - Zhagavia was the first Valdar colony to secede during the schism. It soon became the capital of the Zhagavian Republic, which swore its allegiance to the Empire of Galdera.
* Pordolva - Pordolva is the capitol of a small, unnamed Valdar breakaway state that promptly joined the Coalition of Independent Nations during the schism. Though they were the first to join the CIN, Pordolva and its members found themselves overshadowed once the Loyalist joined the coalition.
* Altregon - Altregon is the capitol of the Ulrasni Enclaves, Valdar who joined general Ulrasni'iltomoya and sided with the Teruzan state of Adriar during the schism. It is best known for the large shipyards located in the planet's orbit.
* Epitaph - Epitaph is a Valdar colony named after the large Ulkathi installation located on its surface, a sprawling installation believed to have been used to cremate, bury, and memorialize the dead.

Ogvyr

* Derahs - Derahs is the homeworld of the Ogvyr and the capitol of the Confederation of Derahs and CIN. Within the Confederation, Derahs is considered a neutral planet; all states share control over the planet, with no state being more or less important than the others.
* Ulythia - Ulythia is the capitol of the Republic of Derahs, which established the world as its headquarters once it lost control of Derahs at the start of the Long War. It was briefly considered as the site to place the CIN's headquarters, but it was ultimately decided to instead place it on Derahs.
* Velisia - Velisia is the capitol of the Velisian Commonwealth. Once a heavily militarized world, the Velisians have spent a great deal of time renovating the world to reflect their change in ideals. Now, most would never know that the Velisians were once warmongers unless they looked into a museum.
* Alkna - Alkna is the capitol of the Alknan Union. A lifeless rock when initially found, the Ogvyr have terraformed the world into a cold, dry planet. The headquarters of many of the Alknan's guilds are located here.
* Volisdav - Volisdav is the capitol of Feltis. While Velisia has strived to remove memories of the past, Volisdav embraces it. The planet more closely resembles a fortress world than a colony. In the frigid, unforgiving northern tundras, the Feltans train their soldiers for arctic warfare.
* Alkeosis - Known as the planet of temples, Alkeosis is the capitol of the Velisian Union. Many different religious sects call this world home, including Fulgnivyr.
* Ferldagh - Ferldagh is, fittingly, the capitol of the Ogvyr nation of Ferldagh. In modern times, it is best known fo its unique blend of Ferldaghan, Velisian, and Feltan culture.

Minor Powers

* Eratana - Eratana is the homeworld of the Cikarsians. During Sol's occupation of the Frontier, mankind forced the residents to leave their underground settlements and instead reside on the surface. Since Sol's collapse, the Cikarsians have promptly returned underground and have salvaged the human-built cities.
* Ilvyani - Ilvyani is the oxygen-rich homeworld of the Ulvuga. Though the Ulvuga themselves are a predominantly docile, many avoid the planet due to its reputation of housing sometimes predatory giant insects and arachnicds. Sol maintained a garrison here, but otherwise had little interest in the world beyond administration.
* Kolrokarka - Kolrokarka is the homeworld of the Erisy. It was spared the chaos of the Sol Wars thanks to the Erisy surrendering following Sol's threat to render the world uninhabitable through nuclear bombardment. Due to the Erisy's nature, Sol maintained a particularly strong garrison here in order to keep order, and emphasized relocating Erisy from Kolrokarka to other areas of Sol space.
* Talkogaia - Talkogaia is the homeworld of the Nelrosargans. A predominantly aquatic world, most of the settlements here are either underwater or located on the various small continents and islands. Like the Cikarsians, Sol forced the Nelrosargans to live in their surface cities. Humanity occupied the underwater settlements up until the empire's collapse, when the cities were finally returned to their rightful owners.
* Ak'nerka - Ak'nerka is the Olg'nerok homeworld. Having been rendered uninhabitable due to over-industrialization, much of the planet is covered in abandoned infastructure that naturehas since reclaimed. Severe and violent weather conditions deter visitors. Attempts to restore the world have been attempted, but with Sol's occupation, the Cold War, and the ongoing conflict, these efforts have been indefinitely put on hold.

Empire of Galdera

* Setralkyus - Once known as 'New Constantinople', Setralkyus was the homeworld of the Empire of Sol. When Sol fled the core worlds, it left almost all of the infastructure in the core worlds intact, albeit a great deal of pilfering had taken place. As a result, New Constantinople and other worlds contained a valuable trove of information as well as still-standing cities that the Galderans could use after some retrofitting. In modern times, the majority of the infastructure built by humanity still stands today, and the Galderans seek to actively preserve it both as a symbol of their triump and for its historical significance. Researchers continue to study Setralkyus and other core planets.
* Varhos - Formerly known as Cynthia, Varhos was a factory world built by Sol to produce military equipment. During the evacuation, Sol had deliberately sabotaged some of the factories, though they did not have time to completely destroy the facilities. The Galderans have since repaired what they could of the facilities and have put them back to use.

Type

Galactic Sector