The Zeissreich Cluster

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**The Zeissreich Cluster**, also known as **"The Gentle Kingdom"** or just **Zeissreich**, is an open star cluster, situated within the Andromeda galaxy. It is a large section of space, clustered around the Core, with a population in the tens of trillions of people, settled within thousands of star systems, and tens of thousands of planets and moons.

## History

### The Cataclysm

The days of Zeissreich begin a long long time ago. The first inhabitants of Zeissreich were known as the Nord. They are believed to be the first to have arrived in the area of space known as the Zeissreich cluster. They brought with them technology, information, and knowledge, fleeing an event known as the Cataclysm. Though the exact time and date at which the Cataclsym took place, it is generally agreed to have taken place approximately 5123 years ago, based on ancient texts and carvings. *Caum cataclysm*, or *cc* is considered to be a starting point for the history of Zeissreich, and the first time that humans began to live within it. The Cataclysm is generally believed to represent the destruction of the homeworld of the Nords, and therefore the homeworld of all humanity. However, although the legend of the Cataclysm is known about by practically every inhabitant of the Zeissreich Cluster, the location of the event, or the location of the Nordic homeworld, or even the exact nature of the catastrophic event, is unknown.

It is believed that the Nord lived concentrated within Zeissreich for a few decades before they began to scatter and their civilization broke up into wandering colonization attempts. This scattered humanity throughout Zeissreich, far and wide. Around 147.cc, The Nord had seemingly dissappeared, leaving behind only a few scattered human colonies that remained among the stars. Millennia passed. Soon, the ancestors of the Nord began to reach for the stars once more. Nordic technology, discovered thousands of years after the cataclysm, aided many fledgling space-faring nations in developing travel via inter-dimensional shifting. Suddenly, Zeissreich was alive with activity. The nations of Zeissreich spread slowly, and eventually came in contact with each other. The first intergalactic wars were waged in 4120.cc, and for the first time, blood was spilled into the cold blackness of space.

### The Manifest of Jordi

It was not until the destruction of Jordi in 4860.cc, that the Zeissreich Cluster would begin to become united. The great Jordic State, expanding ever outwards in a manifest destiny of sorrow colonized hundreds of worlds, and claimed untold lightyears of territory, in an event known as the Manifest of Jordi. The Viceroy of Jordi, a believer of peace, sought to find brotherhood in the dark depths of Zeissreich. However, where brotherhood could not be found, conflict arose. The Jordic State quickly rose to militarize the Zeissreich Cluster, and unite space for all humans, by force if necessary. Many nations fell to the State, only to rise again as vassals. Huge expanses of uninhabited space were marked for colonization, and were seeded with thousands of colony vessels laden with eager volunteers for a new age. Even darker space, unexplored to man, known as *Locus Obscura*, or Obscure Space, was flocked to by those wishing to expand the fog of mystery.

### The Transdimensional Barrier

In the 51st millennia caum cataclysmos, the borders of Zeissreich were discovered. Vast regions of space, designated Void Space, marked the edge of the Gentle Kingdom. Upon approaching these reaches, the venerable technology that carrie mankind through space for thousands of years begins to fail. For decades, nothing seemed capable of piercing this veil. This effect was called "coterminal disturbance" and it has since hampered any permanent attempts at colonization within Void Space. Until, one day, a new nation was discovered. A highly technologically advanced race, known as the Ethnoid, emerged from the blackness to wage war on Zeissreich.

### Discovery of the Ethnoid

In 5115.cc, an ancient race was revived. Though some parts of the cluster had suffered from Ethnoid attacks in the past, their exact nature was unknown, and they appeared rarely and often without warning. However, in the seventh month of 5115.cc, the Ethnoid were fully revealed in what would become to be known as the First Ethnoid War.

It was discovered that the mysterious raiders spotted across the cluster were not mere pirates, but in fact a huge and technologically advanced stellar empire that spanned from beyond Void Space. The existance of such a powerful force beyond Void Space stunned and frightened many, and when the First Ethnoid War ended, countless millions were dead. Yet, the great State declared a victory, as it was believed that the Ethnoid had been driven back into Void Space. Though rumors arose that a truce was reached, the State kept the events of the war's conclusion tightly under wraps.

## Astrography

### The Cluster

The Zeissreich Cluster is an open-type star cluster. Open clusters are very different from globular clusters. Unlike the spherically distributed globulars, open-type clusters are confined to the galactic plane, and are almost always found within spiral arms. This means that the Zeissreich Cluster must reside within one of the spiral arms of the Andromeda galaxy. They are generally young objects, up to a few tens of millions of years old. Being much less densely populated than globular clusters, they are much less tightly gravitationally bound, and over time, are disrupted by the gravity of giant molecular clouds and other clusters. Close encounters between cluster members can also result in the ejection of stars, a process known as 'evaporation'.

### Stars

While there is a significant coterminal disturbance outside of the Zeissreich Cluster, the DS drive and the ansible made it possible *within* the cluster to have an enormous and diverse civilization. Of the cluster's roughly 1550 stars, around 1200 of them are orbited by a system of planets. 95% of the stars of the cluster fall within the Main Sequence (the other 5% comprised protostars or stellar remnants like white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes). The larger blue and white stars of the sequence - the O-, B-, and A-type stars have lived for a few million years and rarely possess life since they had too little time to evolve. The most habitable stars were G- and K-type yellow and orange dwarfs, which had lifespans of tens of billions of years giving life plenty of time to evolve before man arrived in Zeissreich. G- and K-types between them make up 60% of the cluster's stars, and 75% of them are habitable. Zeissreich has been found to possess an unusually high amount of G- and K-types compared to the rest of the galaxy. The second common stars in the cluster, however, are M-type red dwarfs. Many red dwarfs were settled: though most were surveyed by probes in the early years of the Manifest of Jordi and were typically left abandoned unless they possessed mineable resources.

## Political Geography

### Sectors

The basic political unit for much of Zeissreich's history was the sector, or sectum - largely artificial divisions of space organized for political, military and economic reasons. After the first years of the Manifest of Jordi, the star systems of the State were organized into sectors limited to fifty systems with substantial populations. As the State expanded, the huge number of sectors led to gridlock within the Senate, and some sectors swelled to include hundreds of inhabited worlds.

### Regions

The cluster's largest territorial entities were the regions. These are large entities, designated by their distance from the Core, and are made up of many sectors, and generally corresponded to stages of galactic exploration and settlement. As of 5123.cc, Zeissreich has been divided into 35 sectors, which are separated into four regions generally referred to as the Core, the Central Ring, the Middle Ring, and the Outer Ring. Casual phraseology usually split the cluster into "the Core" and "the Rings", with the latter consisting of Colonial Space, Obscure Space, and parts beyond. Though some sectors are referred to as "regions", they are in reality the basis of yet-recognized extra-stellar regions believed to exist partially or entirely within Void Space.

#### *The Core*

Residing at the center of the Zeissreich cluster, it is comprised of six small but major sectors. The Core is the center of power in Zeissreich. It is the capital of the Jordic State, and possesses the highest population density of the Cluster. The sectors of the Core are the Core sector itself, the Capitol Sector, the Hintercore, the Outer Core, the Inner Core, and the highly restricted Jordi Sector.

#### *The Central Ring*

Surrounding the Core, it is comprised of ten sectors. The Central Ring is generally considered to be a center of wealth in Zeissreich. The most power, population, and resources, are situated within the Central Ring of the cluster. Sectors included in the Central Ring are, Marza, Vec, Urban, Commet, Viva, Union, Friske, Citadel, Ko, and the Frezian Corridor.

#### *The Middle Ring*

It is generally considered to be the border to civilized space, and it is comprised of the sectors Sabast, Jaspet, Arya, Pine, Junction, Colossus, Gate, Phos, Orbis, Wekka, Rika, and Frezia Minor.

#### *The Outer Ring*

Comprised mostly of void space, obscure space, and outer colonies, and is widely considered the "backwater" of Zeissreich. It is extremely dangerous, difficult to navigate, and contested in many areas. The Outer Ring consists of the sectors Ruze, Cecc, Fringe, Hepp, and Eth, and the Abyssal and Vidic regions.

### Spacial Depths

Different types of space are designated as various "Spacial Depths" relating to their distance from the nearest State border. So far, there are four spacial depths, each getting "deeper" from the borders of the State.

#### *State Space*

State Space controlled by the Jordic State or a member State of the Jordic hegemony. This space is administrated and controlled by Jordic State laws and protocols, in addition to any laws of the region. However, regional or vassal laws cannot usurp federal State laws.

#### *Colony Space*

Colony Space is not technically governed by the State. Worlds controlled by the State are administrated according to State laws. However, Colony Space does not reside within the sovereign borders of the State. Despite this, the State conducts frequent patrols within Colony Space to prevent incursions from hostile or illegal entities. Colony Space is also home to dozens of independent non-stellar states. Vessels without State registered transponders in Colony Space are subject to boarding and inspection.

#### *Obscure Space*

Uncontrolled by any single entity, obscure space is lawless. Despite the fact that sovereign entities are not legally permitted to colonize or operate militarily in Obscure Space, laws of sovereignty have no power in Obscure Space, and so these interstellar laws are often ignored. Vessels without State Navy transponders in Obscure Space are subject to boarding and inspection. Piracy is common in Obscure Space, and as such is extremely dangerous

#### *Void Space*

Void space is extremely dangerous, and Void Space is 99% unexplored. Void Space is a type of space that is has reached such a high level of Quantum Instability that they are rendered useless.