Cerlus Cluster

## THE CERLUS CLUSTER

The Cerlus Cluster, home to a thousand species

The Cerlus Cluster is the largest globular cluster in the Silky Way, located in the sparse space between the Core and the Rim, high above the galactic plane. Unlike almost all globular clusters, the Cerlus Cluster is planet-rich, with almost all stars hosting at least one planet. It is unknown why this is, but is theorised to be the result of an ancient civilizations' stellar engineering. This hypothesis also suggests that the Cerlus Cluster was assembled, hypothesised to be around 7 billion years ago.

## Timeline

### ~7 000 000 000 years ago

* The **Cerlus Cluster** either forms or is assembled, around the time of the Star-Engineers
* Ukardra forms
* Afarr either forms of is moved into the Cluster
* Afarr is seeded with life

### ~6 550 000 000 years ago

* Ukardra develops life
* Ukardra is hit by a meteorite, inciting the development of multicellular life and establishing the Green Belt

### ~5 320 000 000 years ago

* The Cerlus Cluster interacts with another cluster, ripping a large portion of its stars from its clutches

### ~2 000 000 000 years ago

* Jelan forms
* Jelan develops life

### ~1 500 000 000 years ago

* Betn Kilos forms
* Betn Kilos develops life

### ~1 283 000 000 years ago

* First documented Cerlusian civilization, the Olorand Stellar Authority

### ~910 000 000 years ago

* The Cache of the Ancients is constructed by an unknown civilization

### ~900 000 000 years ago

* The builders of the Cache disappear leaving no trace

### ~823 000 000 years ago

* The Cerlus Cluster interacts with another cluster, flinging it high above the galactic plane and inciting star formation

### ~800 000 000 years ago

* The Society rises on Cache of the Ancients
* The Society conquers most of Cerlus
* The Society is destroyed by an outside invasion from a "Dark Forest" empire
* Kildathu is constructed on Cache of the Ancients

### ~20 000 000 years ago

* The Seddrath evolve into their current form

### ~5 600 000 years ago

* The Yitarul develop civilization on Huygar

### 5 585 032 years ago

* The Yitarul vanish onto their homeworld, and disappear from Cerlus

### ~200 000 years ago

* The Akuri evolve into their most recent form and develop sentience
* The Bontarardi evolve into their pre-war form

### ~100 000 years ago

* The Bontarardi develop self awareness and intelligence

### ~30 000 years ago

* The Confederacy is born as a defensive pact between three nations

### 28 932 years ago

* The Civil War begins in The Confederacy

### 28 599 years ago

* Kimnora Selsevoris is exiled from The Confederacy and the Cerlus Cluster, marking the conclusion of the Civil War in the Confederacy

### 18 343 years ago

* The Gelfora Imperii is permitted admission to The Confederacy
* Beginning of the Expansion Era of the Confederacy
* End of the **Purging Era**

### 17 092 years ago

* Conclusion of the Expansion Era of the Confederacy
* The Confederacy encounters the Regime of Domain Ortan, sparking a massive war between them

### 16 873 years ago

* The Defenders of Omaro force Klankiro into submission, prompting a nuclear war that sets the civilization back two thousand years

### 14 640 years ago

* The Republican States of Klankiro establishes contact with The Confederacy, and is granted almost immediate membership
* **The Pax Confederia period begins**

### 14 214 years ago

* Bontarardi and Akuri forces clash in the first open hostilities on Afarr

### 13 995 years ago

* Afarran civilization is revolutionized, transitioning from a hunter-gatherer existence to a feudalistic existence
* Feudal Period begins on Afarr

### 13 382 years ago

* Feudal Period ends with the unification of the Bontarardi and Akuri in two separate global superpowers on Afarr
* Beginning of the Dual Cold War

### 13 174 years ago

* The Akuri develop steam power and industrialize their nation
* Beginning of the First Great Afarran War

### 13 112 years ago

* The First Afarran war ends with an Akuri victory
* Blood Years begins

### 12 991 years ago

* Beginning of the Second Great Afarran War
* Nuclear devastation of Afarr
* Beginning of The Shameful Years

### 12 970 years ago

* The Akuri become extinct

* Beginning of The New Dark Ages

### 1 998 years ago

* **Pax Confederia is ended with the advent of the First Confederate Coalition War**
* The Confederacy begins to shrink as many nations declare independence

### 972 years ago

* End of The New Dark Ages
* The Imperium of Afarr unifies Afarr after a twelve-thousand year long Dark Age

### 662 years ago

* The Imperium of Afarr colonises the Erula System
* Discovery of Cache of the Ancients

### 645 years ago

* The Nu'kalash discovers an Alcubierre Drive on Cache of the Ancients
* The Imperial Civil War begins

### 624 years ago

* The Imperial Civil War ends
* Proclamation of the Imperium of Cerlus

### 622 years ago

* Beginning of the Campaign for Supremacy with the deceleration of war by the Imperium on the FSSY

### 368 years ago

* Conclusion of the Campaign for Supremacy after an Imperial defeat at the hands of The Confederacy

### 332 years ago

* Admission of Alkataha Asterresi to The Confederacy, sparking hopes of a regenerative era for the Confederates

### 63 years ago

* Last major territorial acquisition by the Imperium of Cerlus

## Astrogeography

The Cerlus Cluster is relatively uniform in structure, with the densest concentration of stars at the centre (average separation reaching around 100 AU), and the cluster fading into the Halo of The Silky Way towards the edges. At the very centre of the cluster, there is the black hole Cerlusia, which is relatively dormant allowing civilizations to tentatively reach into the core.

## Nations

The Cerlus Cluster holds many nations, some reaching sizes approaching hundreds of even thousands of the stars contained within.

 The Confederacy |  | Dedra | -

## Intelligent Species

The Cerlus Cluster is especially rich in life, as panspermia is incredibly common. Most species have not grown to expand outside of their homeworld yet, but are still recognised as sapient and intelligent life and are therefore protected under the almost universally recognised Act for Non-Technologically Advanced Life.