Albion

**Albion** is one of the very first Mobian city-states to be created following the Xorda's destructive attack on the ancient world. Founded by the Echidnas as the birthplace of their civilization, Albion's development grew at an exponential rate, becoming the pinnacle of development for thousands of years until its development stagnated and populations developed technology of a similar kind. In recent Mobius history though, Albion was completely destroyed by the Eggman Empire when its hidden location was provided by the rogue Dr. Finitevus and its defenses sabotaged. Its ruins became the home of many of the few surviving Echidnas, who were transported there by the new Enerjak.

## History

### Creation and Early Development

Following the Xorda's attack on the planet millennia ago, the Gene Bombs used by the violent alien race resulted in the rapid evolution of the animal kingdom and the devolution of the homo sapiens species. Of the various Mobian races emerging, the Echidnas were the fastest to develop, learn and adapt, following the extinction of the Mobosaurs. Realizing this, the Echidnas came together and isolated themselves from the rest of the planet's population. They soon established the city of Albion off the coast of Mercia, where their development grew at an unparalleled rate. Two of the city's inhabitants took on an enduring role in the history of their people: the Chaos Force researchers Aurora-La and the original Enerjak. The pair were approached by the Ancient Walkers in their research, and were granted access to the Chaos Force in order to further their knowledge. Unfortunately, Enerjak was corrupted by his taste of power, and his former love-who shortened her name to Aurora-and the Ancient Walkers scattered his spirit across the Chaos Force. (StH: #124, #148, KtE: #12; CSE)

 File:AlbionKnights.png
When the Mobian Mammoth Mogul had received nearly god-like powers, a result of a Chaos Emerald embedding itself in his chest, he formed the wizard caste known as the Order of Ixis to act as his loyal minions. Shortly thereafter he began his campaign of world domination. Despite the Order of Ixis' great powers, the well developed Echidnas of Albion posed a serious resistance. In the end, the Albion Knights of Aurora's technology proved superior, and the Order of Ixis was all but wiped out during the Forgotten War. Sadly, at least some of Albion's inhabitants resorted to horrible acts to secure their victory, such as mutating the Tasmanian Devils into mindless animals, possibly creating the Mutates, and the rise of another Enerjak. Albion even put aside its war with the Order for a time in order to deal with the last of these evils, dubbing Enerjak a greater threat. (StH: #163, SMM; SU: #43; SSSM: #2; CSE)

Thousands of years later, the Mobian Alexander realized that much could be accomplished if the various Mobian species began working together for a common goal. While he managed to unite the majority of the Mobian races, the Echidnas chose not to join as their development was still millennia ahead. By this point in time, Albion scientists had already enabled their astronauts to venture out into Mobius' orbit, as well as visit distant worlds within the solar system such as Saturn its moon Europa. (StH: #71, KtE: #12, #30)

### Population Schism

*"Driven by their need to strive for higher levels of achievement"*, a group of Echidnas left Albion to search for new adventures and a land to call their own. Those that left consisted of the warrior caste known as the Knuckles Clan, the high-tech caste the Nocturnus Clan, and a large group of scientists and intellectuals. Eventually the three factions split when they encountered the Felidae of the Mysterious Cat Country and the Knuckles Tribe and Nocturnus Clan insisted on fighting to conquer the land. The intellectuals went on to form the city of Echidnaopolis in the continent of Downunda, while the Knuckles Tribe was completely wiped out by Chaos. This destruction occurred after a grueling three way war between the two Echidna Tribes and the Felidae, and the Nocturnus ended up being exiled to the Twilight Cage. (StH: #82, KtE: #12, CSE)

### Interactions with the rest of Mobius

 File:Albion.png
Following the population split, Albion primarily remained isolated just offshore of Eurish and hidden from the rest of Mobius. During the reign of Dr. Ivo Robotnik and subsequently Dr. Eggman, Albion used Rob O' the Hedge as their sentry in the Mercia region. This continued a long alliance between the Albionites and the royal family of Mercia, which also included sharing the secret of Little Planet. (StH: #89, KtE: #12, CSE)

When the High Council of Echidnaopolis voted to use the Chaos Emeralds to lift their city into the sky to avoid destruction by the White comet, a group of Echidnas led by Arakkis decided to remain on the surface of Mobius. This group, known as the Lost Tribe, later chose to search for the city of Albion and reunite with their brethren. For hundreds of years the Lost Tribe searched without success, suffering betrayal and abuse at the hands of other Mobian species. Some were even captured and roboticized by the forces of Dr. Robotnik. In 3235 however, under the leadership of Knuckles the Echidna and with help from Rob O' the Hedge, the Lost Tribe finally found Albion and were welcomed by High Councilor Gala-Na. (KtE: #10, #11, #12)

 File:Albion - Before Destruction.jpg
When Dr. Eggman took the place of the late Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the latter's enforcer over the Kingdom of Mercia, the High Sheriff, became active once again. He was subsequently captured and brought to Albion, where he was to be deactivated. Around that time, the Dark Legion had transported everyone off of Angel Island using the Quantum Beam, with only Knuckles remaining in the prime zone. Thus, Knuckles travelled to Albion to find out what happened to the Echidnas on Angel Island. He was also accompanied by Amy Rose, Bunnie Rabbot, Antoine D'Coolette and Rob O' the Hedge, as Antoine was searching to discovered what happened to his father—the High Sheriff. After arriving in Albion, it was discovered the Albion High Council had ordered the dismantling of the High Sheriff in the name of the greater good. However, the High Sheriff managed to break free of his captivity and began destroying Albion from within. Shortly afterwards he was stopped by Knuckles and brought back to Knothole by Antoine, Bunnie and Amy to restore his free will. (StH: #88, #89, #90, SSS: #14)

 File:Albion4.png
While in Albion, Knuckles underwent a rapid evolution, becoming the nearly-omnipotent Chaos Knuckles. The Albion Council under Gala-Na decided that with this amount of power Knuckles posed too much of a threat to the safety of the planet. They voted that Knuckles vast powers should be drained from him in order to ensure their safety. The brilliant Albion scientist Dr. Finitevus used his creation the Chaos Siphon Suit in an attempt to absorb Knuckles' vast power. This resulted in Knuckles only becoming more powerful and Finitevus becoming corrupted and altered by the Chaos radiation he did manage to absorb. (StH: #90, #182)

With the failure of the Chaos Siphon Suit, Gala-Na hired the bounty hunters Nic and Nack to capture Knuckles so they could once again attempt to drain him of his new powers. While the weasel siblings managed to capture him, the draining process was interrupted by Charmy Bee and Saffron, which allowed Knuckles to maintain his new powers. After a brief confrontation with Turbo Tails, Knuckles left Albion in search of answers to his evolution. (StH: #91, #93, #94, #96, #97, #99)

### Destruction and Reconstruction

 File:Albiondestroyed.png
As a result of Dr. Finitevus' own evolution when he used the Chaos Siphon Suit, he became powerful in the arts of Chaos powers and magic. His personality also changed—he now desired to cleanse the world of everything he saw to be evil. As a result, the Albion Council voted to have Dr. Finitevus euthanized. Using his creation, the Warp Ring, Dr. Finitevus managed to escape. Some time later, Dr. Finitevus provided the Eggman Empire with Albion's secret location, as well as sabotaged its defenses. The city was completely destroyed by Eggman's forces. (StH: #182)

When Knuckles became the Chaos-demigod Enerjak under the persuasion of Dr. Finitevius, one of his acts was to send the few surviving Echidnas of Angel Island to the ruins of Albion. From there, the Echidnas began to rebuild the city and their civilization under the leadership of the restored E.S.T. leader Remington and matriarch Lara-Le. (StH: #181, #186, CSE)

### Attacked by Two Enemies

When Team Fighters themselves were captured, the Chaotix arrived, rescued the populace, and helped defeat Lien-Da. Shotly afterwards, it was attacked by another foe--Thrash the Tasmanian Devil and his Devil Dog army. (KES #1)