Lyncisian Sphere

"A friend of mine once described the Lyncisian Sphere as a [CENSORED BY AUTHOR]. Now that I have actually visited it, I cannot say I blame him for his assessment."- The Exile's Journal, 99.949 CE

(WIP)

The Lyncisian Sphere, often shortened to The Sphere, is a large region in central Via Aylathia encompassing around 1.5 billion star systems. It is primarily inhabited by the Lyncisians, after whom the region is named.

A deeply divided region politically, culturally and socially, the Sphere has been a powder keg ready to explode for thousands of years. It encompasses thousands of bickering states competing for dominance over one another, as well as several major powers that aim to establish dominion over large swathes of the sphere. All of these states have a majority-Lyncisian population, subsequently making them known to others as the Lyncisian states - a term they would never use themselves. Their divisions date back to the earliest days of Lyncisian space travel, and the Lyncisians by and large do not seem interested in mending them.

Multiple political systems exist within the Sphere, ranging from military dictatorships, over republics and aristocracies, to theocracies. The vast majority of Lyncisian states are ruled by autocrats, however, many of which are known to severely mistreat non-Lyncisians. Indeed, minority rights are only found in a few, select areas of the Sphere, and it is seen by many outsiders as a largely hostile place. The so-called „minority species“ are frequently plotted against one another by the states in attempts to gain advantages over their respective rivals. In contrast, and irrespective of political maneuvers, almost all Lyncisians have copied and adopted other species’ cultural aspects, giving them a reputation as a cosmopolitan and open, if not at times condescending, people.

History

Early history

Most compemporary writings detailing the Lyncisian’s early space age have been lost, and only few things are known about this time period for certain. What is certain is that the Lyncisians originally hail from the moon Ralteyo in the Lyncisian system. Some 15.000 years ago, they started to spread across several colonies within one hundred light years of their home system, all of which appear to have been largely independent from one another: Little to no evidence points towards the existence of a united Lyncisian state at the time. A fragile balance of power appears to have been maintained for roughly 200 years, during which the Lyncisians enjoyed widespread technological and cultural achievements - including, but not limited to, the lengthening of their lifespan to today’s average of 500 years.

Then, for reasons yet unknown, a large number of them left the established Lyncisian systems for new worlds. Today known as the First Wave of Lyncisian Migration, the Lyncisians spread much farther than they originally had, colonizing millions of systems all across the local galaxy. It is very likely that this first wave was a refugee wave - all archeological evidence of this time period points towards a large-scale conflict as the cause. If true, this conflict permanently divided the Lyncisians into several different cultures, countless of states and laid the foundation for one of the most volatile regions of Via Aylathia.

Recorded history

The first certain historic records date back some 14.000 years and were written towards the end of this first wave. They describe the state of the emerging Lyncisian Sphere as highly volatile: Ralteyo had completely lost control over most Lyncisian worlds, and the emerging independent colonies struggled for dominance over one another. As the first wave of migration died down around 800 years after it began, the Lyncisians had been transformed into a divided species, full of hatred for their neighbors with whom they shared ancestry - which has been accepted as a possible explanation for their openness towards non-Lyncisian influences.

„Alien“ influences have existed since well before the first wave of migration, but never were they as intertwined with the Lyncisians as they were now. Many Lyncisians simply adopted the customs and habits of their non-Lyncisian neighbors and vice versa, causing their cultures to mix, which in turn meant the Lyncisian cultures split further apart. (WIP)