BU (BEFORE UNIFICATION)
Galactic history is written on a galactic level, incorporating records of planetary history as necessary into the larger whole. Hence, it is far more difficult to find a comprehensive and unbiased historical account of smaller details at the galactic level than at the planetary one. Nevertheless, a few facts are known of Aesgar’s history prior to the beginning of accepted intergalactic civilization.
Chorodemarii are believed to have been the first humanoids to explore space and colonize other worlds. A proud and beautiful race of humanoids from Chorodemos, they were a peaceful people with strong morals and discipline. The means by which they expanded to the stars has been lost, but the achievement itself is not in doubt – their colonies were found on alien worlds when Terra Nova made its own exploratory ventures hundreds or perhaps thousands of years later. But at some point undetermined, and for reasons unknown, Chorodemarii society fractured. According to Chorodemarii legend, the fracturing was quite literal – oral tales tell of a conflict with the dragons that destroyed Chorodemos itself. Whatever the cause, the effect was quite real. The many colonies they had established suddenly lost cohesion and contact with one another, many simply dying out or succumbing to invaders. Those that did survive never recovered as a galactic power, or even as a singular Chorodemarii society.
One of the Chorodemarii colony worlds chose a different route. Colonists and perhaps other survivors of the Chorodemarii collapse coalesced into groups of tribes that would later become a branching species – the Elan.
For many thousands of years, well into the modern era, the Elan existed primarily as an interstellar species of nomads. The breadth of their exploration included virtually all of Aesgar. Unfortunately, they keep few records themselves of a distinct, scientific nature. As a result, stories of their exploits come across as anachronistic, mythical, or contradictory to modern records. Still, the Elan represent one of the few successful interstellar civilizations predating Terra Nova.
The world of Terra Nova was originally little more than an average planet. Vaguely remembered histories state that both dragons and basic humans, known as Terrans, migrated to the world long ago. They existed alongside there in a tribal state, constantly at war with each other, until the two groups eventually formed an alliance and learned to coexist. The world would remain ignorant of events outside its own star system for years.
A similar human species, Elurians, also attempted galactic civilization. Their range of territory was significantly smaller than that of the Elan, but unlike their contemporaries, Elurians were sedentary, and established a network of colonies and fortifications to control foreign worlds. Unfortunately, like the Chorodemarii, some catastrophe – perhaps ineffective communications or infrastructure – caused a collapse of the Elurian civilization into singular worlds or systems. Some worlds show signs of warfare, which may point to civil strife as the cause. Unfortunately, few records remain from the period, and those that do have been deemed unreliable afterthoughts.
Perhaps the most noteworthy event in pre-galactic history is what is called the Kresh Invasion, believed to have occurred between ten and one hundred years before Terra Novan ascendance to a galactic power. Many records that do exist during this time make mention of an invading force – either from the heavens in primitive tradition, or from beyond known space in more advanced cultures. Kresh was the Elurian designation of the invading force, and the one that has stuck; various names similar to or derived from Kresh can be found throughout known Aesgar. According to both oral and written records, the Kresh were like the Elan – an interstellar race of humanoid nomads. But unlike the more passive Elan, the Kresh were a species of brutal conquerors. The deaths of planets and entire civilizations are often attributed to them, though such claims are hotly disputed. Yet the exact extent of their conquests remains a mystery, as does their ultimate fate. The Kresh appeared suddenly and spread their reign of terror, then vanished from history just as suddenly. No direct trace of their civilization has been found, outside of cultural impact (the word kresh is now synonymous with destruction and barbarity, and survives as a curse word).
The Kresh have been put forth as the theoretical cause of a dark age in galactic history, and blamed for the loss of most pre-Unification records. They are also credited by some historians for the dissolution of the Chorodemarii civilization and destruction of the Elurian state. All of this remains highly theoretical, even improbable, due to the limited nature of populations in the prehistoric age and limitations on interstellar travel.
Further contrary to the theory of a catastrophic invasion are the Graedians and Soltari. The Graedian sector, populated by an assortment of related humans, has no record of a devastating invasion affecting it. And the Soltari civilization – a powerful race of humans to galactic northeast – flourished before and after the supposed Kresh invasion without apparent decline.
