CDC-41-Gamma

**CDC-41-Gamma**, known as the **"Sanctum of Advar"** to its native species, is a sizeable nebula approximately 3,000 light-years from the Tantalus Cluster on the edge of the Morgana Galaxy. Home to its own, independent civilisation for thousands for years, it was discovered by the civilisations of the Tantalus Cluster in the year 0301 PCU, and formally described by the Centran astrophysicist Doctor Sadavar Edric. Long-range scans suggest an abundance of resources present across numerous star systems within the nebula.

The discovery of CDC-41-G, which took place during the Great Famine in the Tantalus Cluster, ultimately led to the creation of Edric's Gate and the Avalon Exploratory Initiative to explore the nebula. The Expedition has discovered numerous astrophysical anomalies within the nebula, and made a violent first contact with the Holy Advari Empire.

## Astrography

> "*The Sanctum of Advar is vast and bountiful, but its bounty is fed by faith, and by sacrifice.*"
> - Empress Valendra the Sixth.
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CDC-41-Gamma has been extensively settled by a technologically-advanced, space-faring theocratic empire, which knows the nebula as "the Sanctum of Advar", or simply "Advar's Sanctum". This empire achieves faster-than-light travel across the nebula through Lauralyn Conduits, permanently-warped regions of space found throughout the nebula that are conceptually similar to Tantalus Drift Gates, but are directionally fixed, analogous to a two-way road or street.

Anesidora, Deacon's Post, and Advar Primaris are among a number of planets within the nebula controlled by the empire. The nebula itself is surrounded by a large, dense ice belt known to the empire as the Callandra Nimbus. The belt's extreme density and size, at least eight light-years in radius, was considered scientifically impossible by the Tantalus Avalon Expedition.

## History

### Discovery

> "*Astral body CDC-41-Gamma has shown to have unique properties, with several potentially habitable exoplanets and rich in much needed resources across multiple non-habitable systems. Proposed location for expedition and establishment of Drift lane with latest advancements in gate range.*"
> - Research notes by Doctor Sadavar Edric following his discovery of CDC-41-G.
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CDC-41-Gamma is an anomalous nebula that seems to have manifested almost instantly over three thousand years ago. In that time, it developed its own native intelligent species known as the Advari. Physically similar in some aspects to Tantalus humans, the Advari established a theocratic civilisation under the rule of a royal family.

CDC-41-G's light reached the Tantalus Cluster in the year 0301 PCU. It was first studied by the Centran astrophysicist Doctor Sadavar Edric of the Carina Observatory. CDC-41-G's discovery took place during the Great Famine, a time of intense resource scarcity within the Tantalus Cluster following the Frontier War. The discovery of several potentially-habitable planets within the nebula prompted the Centrum Assembly, the Frontier Union, and the Merician Freehold to jointly establish the Avalon Exploratory Initiative with the aim of making a long-term expedition to the nebula.

### The Avalon Expedition

> "*This place isn't playing by any astronomical rules I know about...*"
> - Director Elizabeth Ancelet, in discussion with Captain Cassandra Farren aboard the *Avalon*.
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By 0304 PCU according to the Tantalus Cluster calendar, the Holy Advari Empire was ruled by Empress Valendra the Sixth.

The Drift Gate required to reach CDC-41-Gamma, named Edric's Gate in Sadavar Edric's honour, was completed in Tantalus that year. The Avalon Expedition, led by Edric's adopted daughter Doctor Elizabeth Ancelet aboard the *Wanderer*-class explorer platform *Avalon*, deployed through Edric's Gate and was badly scattered upon its arrival in the nebula, arriving in a large, anomalous ice belt. The Frontier Union ship *Mariana*, damaged in the jump, made first contact with the *Cloak of Mercy*, a native Advari ship that destroyed the *Mariana*. Owing to the religious implications of the discovery of life beyond the nebula, Revion Jedrish Carradin reported the *Cloak of Mercy's* encounter directly to Lord Cardinal Hastus Arvannis. However, the Advari Imperial Household was mistakenly also informed, and Inquisitor Castian Vadric was subsequently tasked by Empress Valendra to investigate the reports from the nebula's rim.

In only three days after arriving in CDC-41-G, there were enough observations for the expedition fleet to re-evaluate many of Tantalus' theories about the universe. The ice belt the fleet had arrived in was found to extend for at least eight light-years in radius across multiple star systems, something considered impossible according to Tantalus' understanding of science.

According to Elizabeth Ancelet, the nebula consists of regions that are highly disruptive to Tantalus' scanners, which led to the imprecise measurements and observations for Drift jumps from Tantalus, as well as for ordinary spatial information. These highly disruptive regions were subsequently found to be Lauralyn Conduits, a theoretical construct for faster-than-light travel. These conduits can be found throughout CDC-41-Gamma and are likely the main reason behind the scattering of the Avalon Expedition Fleet. Following a successful first traverse of a Lauralyn Conduit, the Avalon Expedition recovered a critical Drift Gate component from the wrecked gatehauler GH-0007-VG, allowing it to begin preparations for a return gate to the Tantalus Cluster.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 *Inclement Weather*
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 *The Cold Divide*
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2  The Sojourn: Drift and Drift Gates - Avalon Archives
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1  *The Sojourn Visual Dictionary - Edition One*