Prologue

A thousand years after humanity first set foot on their home world's moon, an empire had risen. The Imperium of Humanity spanned across the galaxy. Millions of systems owed their loyalty to the Imperium. Humanity had firmly placed itself as the largest, most powerful species within the galaxy.

To be truly human was rare, especially the further from Earth you traveled, as to colonize these harsh new worlds, humanity sacrificed its own genetics. With each world conquered, a new breed of Lessers was born within the laboratories of Earth, genetically modified, to inhabit and rule whatever world had found itself a member of the Imperium. The Lessers were seen as less then human, but were still given status over the alien colonies they ruled.

Throughout the centuries, humanity had waged countless wars on the frontier of its growing empire. While intelligent life is rare within the galaxy, thousands of intelligent species have been discovered, many of which were spacefaring as well, with most setting up their own empires. The ruthless nature of the Imperium saw these species either join or be exterminated.

While the inner Imperium saw peace and prosperity, the further out one went from Earth, the more humanity's virtues were dimmed and distorted by the vast distance and genetic modifications that were placed upon the ruling Lessers.

As humanity thinned itself, both in an expansion and genetic sense, war and corruption began to infest. Then all communication from the inner Imperium vanished in a single moment. The inner systems' sudden disappearance became known as the great collapse. Within that moment, what little light the outer Imperium saw from Earth was extinguished, and the infestation became all-consuming.

Humanity had fallen, and the outer Imperium collapsed with it in an instant. War broke out among the remaining systems of the Imperium. A power vacuum had been created as each system fought to either conquer and reinstate their version of the Imperium, or dug in and defended what little they truly had.

With the fall of Earth and the inner Imperium, a darkness is spreading throughout the galaxy. A new threat to all intelligent life has risen. While what little of humanity is left squabbles amongst themselves, it grows ever closer. Humanity has already fallen.

Karnage, Cult of Thorne

The Karnage hailed from the planet Thorne, a volcanic wasteland rich in rare minerals used by the Imperium to create their warships. The newly born Karnage that settled Thorne were a genetic offshoot of the Lessers that had discovered the volcanic world. This practice of using already genetically altered humans to create new Lessers had become the norm within the outer Imperium.

The Thorne were a stout, rugged race that barely resembled humanity. Their rough skin was more akin to rock. They had glowing red eyes that were more suited for their dim, lava-lit world. The far-off red dwarf star Thorne orbited gave little in the way of light.

The carrier ships that bore the hundreds of millions of Karnage to their new home were just landing when the Great Collapse occurred. Because of this, Thorne was spared from outside influence for hundreds of years, as few knew of their existence, and those who did thought Karnage long extinct.

This left the Karnage with few resources to work with. The carrier ships were dismantled and used to start their colonies, leaving the Karnage no way to leave, trapped upon the desolate Thorne. For a few generations, they tried to settle the untamable Thorne. But the lack of resources soon drove the Karnage to war amongst themselves. This war nearly wiped out the Karnage and left them bitter towards all life.

Seventy-five years after the first carrier ships landed, a new group of outsiders began their assault on Thorne and the Karnage. They called themselves the Yorions. They brought with them spacefaring technology. They quickly failed to conquer Thorne, and many of their ships were taken by the Karnage.

With this new hope of leaving Thorne, the warmongering Karnage used their new ships to invade the Yorions. Within a few years, the Yorions were wiped from the galaxy, and the Karnage began their new war, with the goal of destroying all life.


Alliance of Ramus

The Lessers of the planet Ramus were one of the few worlds in the far outer Imperium to be able to trace their genetic alters directly back to Earth. Because of this, Ramus was one of the strongest, most well-supplied worlds in the outer Imperium and directly ruled many of its neighboring systems.

Ramus had a dark past, however. The original inhabitants of Ramus chose to fight the Imperium. A long and arduous war between the Raminites and the Imperium ended when Imperium forces were withdrawn from the planet. The Imperium then proceeded to carpet bomb Ramus with unchecked ferocity. All life on the planet was vaporized, and half the planet was destroyed and rendered uninhabitable.

After the Imperium claimed the world, and the Lessers of Ramus claimed their name as the War Born. Hundreds of years passed. The glory of the battle that had claimed Ramus for the Imperium began to sour in the minds of the War Born. A new sect was born. Calling themselves the Church of the Specter, they honor the Raminites who lost their lives in the bombing of Ramus.

Not all joined this new religion. Many of the War Born stuck with the old ways, and Ramus became divided. Then the Great Collapse hit without warning, and Ramus was thrust into war once again. They fought to keep control of their vassal systems. Years of war and turmoil later, a respite of peace has fallen upon the small empire of the Ramus.

With this peace, the Specters once again have gained footing within the War Born. But peace will not last. Already, the furthest systems of the Ramus Empire have reported warships on their borders, and the War Born are once again called to fight.

Psychic Union of Illusuar

The Psikers are an ancient race, stemming back to when Earth was first expanding and encountered their first alien race. The alien empire quickly threatened the fledgling Imperium. In order to combat this new threat, humanity created a new species.

This species was an adherent abomination of mechanical and heavily genetically modified flesh. Their brains were more artificial intelligence than living tissue. This new species was created to help humanity by analyzing and then predicting the alien threats' next moves.

This worked too well, and once the alien threat was abolished, the Psikers were sent into hibernation for hundreds of years. After the Imperium's golden age of expansion, however, they were re-awakened and sent to the world of Illusuar in the outer Imperium to help quell some of the rebellious systems.

Once again, they proved their worth, quickly taking control over systems. Because of this, they were granted the luxury of ruling over the star cluster they had conquered. With this freedom, the Psikers went on to improve their species' intelligence, warping their appearance and culture into something far alien to humanity.

They predicted the Great Collapse and were prepared for it. Theirs was one of the first empires to emerge from it. They immediately put into action hundreds of years-old plans for the Fleet Final. A last-ditch effort to save the galaxy from impending doom, though not even they know what the cause of the threat.

Soon, however, the Psiker leadership fractured as they grew jealous of each other. Many sub-factions of the Psikers now claim the title of Fleet Final as they war amongst each other for power and the glory of saving a galaxy, a prophecy they will never fulfill.

Trade Coalition of Corinth

The City World of Corinth was the capital of one of the few systems under alien rule that was still part of the Imperium. The Imperium’s first encounter with the Coalition of Corinth was surprisingly peaceful. The Coalition was made up of dozens of species joined in loose trade agreements. These species welcomed the Imperium with open arms, and quickly, both sides found profit to be made from the other. And so the Coalition joined happily with the Imperium.

While the Imperium boasted this as the only reason for the peaceful union with the Coalition, a darker side was known to those who originally swore allegiance to Corinth. The Coalition had been under threat of raiders for hundreds of years. These raiders had soon become bolder, and many of the Coalition's outer systems fell, with many worlds ravaged and laid to waste.

This soon threatened the inner systems of the Coalition and Corinth itself. When the Imperium arrived, they were welcomed as saviors. In exchange for a peaceful surrender, the Imperium wiped the Coalition's enemies from the galaxy in a brutal conflict that ended in genocide.

In the following years, the Coalition proved a loyal vassal and was allowed to govern itself. While the Imperium would never admit it, this was due in part to the overextension of their borders and the lack of resources left to spend on providing Lessers to govern the sector after the extermination of the Coalition’s enemy.

The Coalition began to build war fleets in the guise of mercenaries to help protect the Imperium’s trade routes. Before these fleets could be turned on the Imperium, however, the Great Collapse freed the Coalition.

With their newfound freedom, the Coalition began a new campaign with the goal of controlling what's left of the Imperium by providing weapons and mercenary war fleets to fight against enemies of planets too weak to pose a threat. Much like the Coalition once saw the Imperium, these systems now see the Coalition as saviors. And much like the Imperium, the Coalition is using them to expand its empire.