Tassalid

The Tassalid are children of the Sapient Sun, created by the living star for purposes now long lost to oblivion. They were once masters of the inner sphere, leaving relics of their reign strewn in ruins across the shell. But their empire of old fell victim to a slow decline, before descending further into a dormant state, barely sustaining their own continued existence.

## The Empire of Old

At the height of their power, the Tassalid controlled the greater part of the entire system Calax, an empire greater than any in solar history. No single force ever united the many powers of Sol to form a singular entity as vast or populous as the Tassalid's Empire of Old.

However, the number and scope of ruins found throughout the shells suggest the Tassalid were always spread thin, leaving vast parts of the system's megastructure unattended. The reasoning behind the positioning of their outposts, as well as the purpose for their original creation, remain mysteries to the Pioneers.

## Forsaken Ruins

Artifacts buried in the rubble of The Tassalid's abandoned worlds hold the key to high technologies still and are sought after by lone soldiers of fortune and entire expeditions of the Pioneers. To disturb their tombs, however, is to take an incalculable risk, because the Tassalid gave up nothing peacefully. Somewhere in the distant past, they fought and lost a war against an unseen enemy. Even in their retreat the Tassalid would spite the encroaching foe and cursed their worlds and treasures with feats of the most dangerous technologies. Ancient spells and monsters slumber where the Tassalid once walked, and echoes of their wrath can still be heard by those falling victim to those slumbering guardians.

The condition of many ruins is a mystery to the Pioneers. Despite evidence of the war on ancient battlefields and visual depictions, countless sites of the Tassalid's power appear simply abandoned. While they fell victim to scavengers in later periods, entire formations of Tassalid combat vessels, army bases and fortresses seemed to have been spared by the unseen enemy and left to decay on their own.

## The Remnant Shard

All remaining activity of modern Tassalid appears to be confined to a single separated plate between the inner fourth and fifth shell of Calax. This remnant of a now-abandoned process of construction has been dubbed the Remnant Shard by the Pioneers and is surrounded by a vast quarantine zone. Any approach of settler vessels in those regions was met by violent responses from awakened Tassalid, and permanent heat signatures suggest on-going activity all over the Remnant Shard. To which extend the shard represents a surviving remnant of the Tassalid's old civilization, or whether it is simply a hub of surviving, autonomous war machines, is as of yet unknown.

## The Origins and Nature of the Tassalid

Little to no information about the origins of the Tassalid has been found, and little more is known about their true nature. Recovered documents and reconstructed plans of their vessels have shown the Tassalid to be of some organic nature. Consequently, the most widely accepted theory places the Tassalid as a long-lost artificial lineage of human descent. However, several discrepancies between historical records and current findings suggest at least heavy augmentation, if not the existence of at least other parallel or symbiotic species.