Lyncisian Sphere
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(WIP)
Many, if not most spacefaring species represent a single, united force. They worked together with their peers to achieve spaceflight, after all, so why would you suddenly turn on them? Well, possible reasons could be found if one looked at perhaps the most volatile region in all of Via Aylathia - the Lyncisian Sphere. A friend of mine once described it as a [CENSORED BY AUTHOR], and now that I have visited it myself, I cannot say I blame him for his assessment.
This region, often shortened to the Sphere, is a large region in central Via Aylathia encompassing around 1.5 billion star systems. As the name suggests, its primary inhabitants are the Lyncisians, who originally hail from the moon Ralteyo. This is about the only thing they have in common, as one would be hard-pressed to find a more divided region and people in the entire galaxy. The Lyncisians have split into thousands of states and countless cultures. Far from working together to achieve a common goal, these Lyncisian States, as they are known to outsiders, spend their time fighting one another for dominance over scraps of space, in an ever-perpetuating cycle of destruction and violence. Its political landscape is always in flux, and no one would blame a casual observer for losing track of the changes taking place.
As mentioned above, the Lyncisians have only one thing in common: Their physical appearance. For almost all of their spacefaring history, they have been divided into countless of states, both large and small, and as a result have splintered into several culture groups that vary greatly in customs, practices, religion and even language. This status quo is widely accepted: during my voyage to write this account, I have not met a single Lyncisian who seemed even remotely interested in the idea of mending their species‘ divisions. Even the term „Lyncisian“, commonly used by outsiders to describe their species, is rejected by most or even considered an insult. Their split has transformed this region of space into a culturally diverse and ever-shifting landscape. No two cultural spheres are alike, and things that are accepted in one are considered taboo or even sacrilegious in another.
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
Origins
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. At one point, some 15.000 years ago, they achieved spaceflight and quickly started to spread across several colonies within one hundred light years of their home system. Most, if not all of them appear to have been largely independent from one another: Little to no evidence points towards the existence of a powerful, 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)