The Galaxy entwined
For one hundred millennia mankind has held the stars
Eons untold gave rise to the twin civilizations
two galactic powers guided by one celestial, sibyl to the union, queen to the empire.
As one they hold onto the light, onto order in a cosmos of ever encroaching darkness,
where fell gods dream beyond all comprehension.
Spirit, flesh, and steel they work as instruments of their creation,
so that they may persist as living kind, where it would otherwise unravel.
This is a universe of ancients,
of a million worlds and unsung histories,
of realms brought low and peoples ascendant,
of perpetual change
as the great wheel ever turns,
keeping oblivion at bay.
Of the 101st Millennium
For a hundred thousand years the children of Terra have made the stars their own. Scattered across innumerable worlds, their cultures and peoples have grown plentiful, distant and even alien to one another.
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In the 101st Millennium, the Known Galaxy is ruled by two hyper-civilizations, each comprised of untold millions of lesser nations and factions: The Terran Empire, and the Mechanist Union.
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They persist, whilst every society outside of them appears to inevitably fracture into strange and savage peoples. Beyond their bounds lies wilderness, the realms of sleeping gods and dragons, and of intelligences stranger still.
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Rumors and dogma speak of a Darkness lurking in the shadows between stars.
Faith is ever-present, faith in the Light, Cosmos, an Order to the universe, that which binds humankind together. To the Empire, it is the Celestial Queen, to the mechanists the Arcane Unity, and to every human realm an idol of the two.
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In pursuit of the Light, human minds and physiology have greatly grown by means of bio-engineering, nanites, cybernetics and mental alteration. Two distinct paths of augmentation have become apparent in this way.
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Some branches of humanity tap into the shared dream of the universe, the Witchspace beyond the veil of sentient minds. From this stem Psionic abilities, powerful arts and magic, reaching as far as unlocking the preeminent way of interstellar travel.
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Others engage with the ephemeral sphere of technological singularity, nanomachines and metal-inductive phenomena, the Noosphere enveloping all worlds touched by humankind. They wield the arts of Technomancy, and are masters of high technology.
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The two great powers of humankind are ever-entwined, inseparable in their eternal struggle, united above all in their vigilance against all that lies beyond the shared light they uphold.