The Beginning
Eons ago, the universe emerged from a vast cosmic ocean called the Orcus. For countless years the creator gods had drifted asleep in the primordial sea, waiting to awake and forge life.
After much time had passed, the stars of Genesis rose out of the chaos, and the primeval Gods awoke from their ancient slumber.
Only few systems were chosen to house the creations of these Gods, and in the centre of the universe, where the Orcus was at its most refined, lay 2 planets of complete paradise. One of those was inhabited by a species known as ‘Homo’.
After many global wars it was not long before almost all ‘Homo’ life on the planet was overcome with evil. Even some of the Gods had abandoned their creations or died.
The remaining sentient Homo species devised a plan to breed the ultimate versions of themselves: the strongest, the most intelligent, the ones who could survive the plague of evil.
And so, with a blessing from the Gods, they sent primitive spacecrafts of 12 Adams and 12 Eves to leave ‘Mars’ and scatter upon other planets… The remnants of these spacecraft remain of unknown whereabouts, but the suspected locations are sacred sites today.
The First Empire
It is said that the oldest empire to ever exist was that of the planet Atlantis. The Atlantic empire possessed immense power over their ocean planet, but after conquering the waters, the monarchs looked towards the stars to expand. This interplanetary colonisation would be impossible, without a source of energy that could propel them across great distances: and so they turned to supernatural means.
The priests began the occult ceremonies amongst the population, hoping to find individuals that were able to harness a higher power. Atlantis became a planet of greed and suspicion, destroying itself through internal warfare. The conflicts were enhanced by the dangerous use of psychic and supernatural powers that were held by few inhabitants.
One successful ceremony was achieved. But not without corruption. A group of women gave themselves to the Gods and were able to open an Orcus rift, a pathway to other worlds. But it was too strong, too unrefined. With deafening haste, the Atlas Mountain was pulled into the rift, and lost from Atlantis forever. Much of the capital city was taken with it. The mountain travelled a huge distance, ending up in the centre of the House of Geb, the middle of the universe.
Years of weathering caused the mountain to push through the surface of the planet, and reach towards the sky. It was a landmark that could be seen for great distances. But would not be discovered for some time…
The Ihah
The ‘Empire for humanity’. Founded by a young boy named Hardraada, who grew up on the moon Ihah. The moon was constantly bombarded by asteroids and meteorites, littered with relics and ruins from other worlds. It was one day when Hardraada came across a large section of an Atlantean building, that he became obsessed with Atlantis and its people. Hardraada admired their philosopher monarchy. He found the history fascinating, and their telling of how things should be. This resulted in his strong beliefs about the supreme nature of Homo Sapien Sapiens from an early age.
It was when the boy turned 12, that the first drawing was done of the infamous Ihah symbol. Some say he discovered a helmet with the symbol embellished, and it made him feel empowered when he put it on.
His father had influence as the head of the richest family on the moon, which gave Hardraada enough wealth to begin carving out what he dreamed of.
Hardraada put together a small group of his friends and followers, and they left the moon via spacecraft forever.
Later, it had occurred that an asteroid destroyed the moon not long after he left. All that resided there had been killed, including Hardraada’s family. All artfiacts that were not taken were lost.
This new Ihah group embarked on a quest to find the great Atlas Mountain as their primary objective, with hope that they could find other lost civilisations like the Atlanteans that could join the Ihah.
However, it was not long before the group split. Conflict arose as the Ihah travelled the Orcus space, and the group grew massively. They conquered and collaborated- with Hardraada still at the centre. But the new power had fed into his head. Still unable to find the Atlas mountain, the Ihah became less and less about uniting humanity across the stars, and more about Orcus power and control for Hardraada.
In his utterly obsessed state, Hardraada was blinded to uprising within the Ihah. A group of radical expressionists had stolen Hardraada’s mask. The mask became ‘the mask of expression’, and this new group took it and left the Ihah. They felt there was too little emphasis on self-expression, and that the Ihah had become too legalistic. The expressionists ripped, cut and dyed their Ihah uniforms, stole all they could and escaped into the darkness of the universe- questing to spread their message.
The Mapping Syndicate
The Mapping Syndicate exist as a collective of mapmakers and shapers. Being a relatively small syndicate, they are able to keep a close eye on the mapping out of the universe- which due to it ever-expanding, is a near impossible job for most. To keep a ‘clean’ map, they Mapping Syndicate choose to wipe out places in the universes. Cities, countries, even planets at a time. This enables a level of control over an always changing world.
Most large factions collaborate and purchase from the Mapping Syndicate, as although they may try change the reality, their maps are simply the greatest for warmakers and empires.
Homo Venificus
‘Wizard man’. Homo Venificus are a haunting variant of human life. Tortured and overcome with thoughts from the Orcus, they are able to hear whispers and secrets of normally unattainable knowledge. This makes Homo Venificus incredibly valuable to every faction, much like members of the Mapping Syndicate.
Their distinctive robes and beaked masks provide sacred covering from their scarred bodies, as well as being filled with herbs and spices in hope to refine their minds, damaging them less from Orcus thoughts.
Although Homo Venificus are born with the ability to tap into the Orcus. To further enhance their abilities requires many lifetimes. To do this, Homo Venificus have figured a way of reincarnating back into their old minds and bodies- so that they can access their previous knowledge and attain more.
Return to the House of Geb
For years, there has been a prophesied event known as the ‘Impetum Regnorum’. This was said to be when the Orcus would first start to split and connect the universe together, making travel easier. And it became true. Calendars changed and the standardised calendar became aligned with the event.
On the House of Geb, in the year 3000 PIR (Post Impetum Regnorum), there was another prophecy in place. At this time, the largest empire on the planet was the Kemeti empire- and so it had been written for thousands of years that in the year 3000, a greater leader would descend from the heavens, leading the world as the God of Gods.