Astrography of Known Space

**Known space**, known as **explored space**, the **Explored Sphere**, or the **Sphere**, is the vast interstellar medium wherein humanity has exerted its influence and includes stellar volumes that are both extensively and poorly explored, surveyed, and analyzed. This includes the outer shell fringe systems, the region of space that is still in the beginnings of concentrated exploration that exists, that exists between the Known and the Unknown.

Beyond the Weald is the Fade and the vast unknown it bleeds into. Where one begins and the other ends is hotly contested amongst Chronate historators and archivists, but what is certain that no ansible network or infrastructure appears to exist in outside of the periphery.

## Astrographic Orientation

The Known Sphere's starmap is fixed upon the Afa-Settaari star system (capital of the Afa-Settaari Genetic Impyrriad) for simplicity. Furthermore, to achieve an rudimentary understanding of the starmap's orientation in relation to the rest of the galaxy, a number of star systems have been utilized to make sense of this three-dimensional stellar dominion and were chosen because of their proximity to a XY-plane parallel with the Galactic Disc. Using Afa-Settaari as a reference point, each of the following stars offer the four XY-planar directions **coreward** (toward the Galactic Core), **rimward** (toward the Galactic Rim), **spinward** (toward the galaxy's directional spin), and **trailward** (away from the galaxy's directional spin), as well as what is considered the sphere's **zenith** and **nadir**.

* Natara, within the Holy Kaatoliche Empire, faces coreward
* Cheonn Or'ryon (*unclaimed*) faces rimward
* Narris, again within the Holy Kaatoliche Empire, and Xutr, of the Alfssandic Kingdoms, face spinward
* Leckk'il, within the Impyrriad, faces trailward

The stars closes to the Sphere's zenith, which is considered "vertical" and "above" Afa-Settaari, are Jhaoud of the Empire of Zhuyaai and Ortalieu of the Tū'reine Republic.

The stars closes to the Sphere's nadir, which is considered "vertical" and "below" Afa-Settaari, are the unclaimed Nuuh-Fiin Es'uus and Fiin Es'uus 43-91.

## Dividing Known Space

The Known Sphere is separated into ten regions: the Altkorr, the eight Octants, and the O'mekkaan Shell with the Afa-Settaari star system acting as its center.

The Sphere is hypothesized to possess a total expanse bearing at least a radial distance of 68,72 ± 4,43 light years (ly), or 6,5•1014 ± 4,19•1013 kilometers (km), and potentially occupies a volume of 1,36•106 ± 364,17 ly3 (1,29•1019 ± 3,44•1015 km3). This total volume contains nearly 1.700 star systems and 2.500 stars. Despite the incredible quantity of star systems within the Sphere, only some 250 star systems are logged as having any significant economic or focused colonial potential. The vast majority of solar systems remain unused by currently existing recognized international powers, organizations, or peoples, providing those who value their privacy an abundance of choice.

### Altkorr

The **Altkorr**, dominated by the Impyrriad, possesses a radius that is at least 12,45 ly (1,18•1014 km) and a volume of 8.083,45 ly3 (7,65•1016 km3).

### The Octants

All eight octants are in truth a shell surrounding the Altkorr, and possesses a radius that is 41,25 ± 1,5 ly (3.90•1014 ± 1,42•1013 km) with a volume of 2.94•105 ± 14,14 ly3 (2.36•1018 ± 1,34•1014 km3). Octants are then divided equally around the Altkorr with radii of 5,16 ± 0,19 ly (4.88•1013 ± 1.8•1012 km) and volumes of 575.49 ± 0.01 ly3 (5.44•1014 ± 9,46•1010 km3).

The trailward octants are labeled counter-clockwise away from the Galactic Core, starting closest to the Core and "above" the XY-plane toward the Sphere's zenith while ending closest to the Core and "below" the XY-plane toward the Sphere's nadir: **Affa** (known as **Tantalus Reach** by its inhabitants and neighbors), **Baett-An**, **Dell’tat**, and **Gammaar**.

The spinward octants, also labeled counter-clockwise away from the Galactic Core in the same fashion as before: **Eppsel-Onne**, **Zaett**, **Aett-Ar**, and **Tettaat**. Of these four, Eppsel-Onne, Tettaat, and Aett-Ar are known collectively as the **Glittering Hinterlands**.

### O'mekkaan Shell

Outside the Sphere resides the **O'mekkaan Shell**, better-known as the **Weald** (/ˈwiːld/) as well as the **Periphery**, a largely unexplored region of wildspace suggested to be a 15,02 ± 2,93 ly (1,42•1014 ± 2,77•1013 km) deep shell and possess a volume of 431.000 ± 105,36 ly3 (4,08•1018 ± 9.97•1016 km3). It is sparsely populated with settlements of varying technological and social development. This sweeping and little-understood region is known by cultural and dialectic variations of the Weald, though the meaning remains the same: wilderspace.

Much like the overlooked stars within the Sphere, the Weald holds little interest with powerful nations closer to the Altkorr as well as organizations and peoples which dominate the inner stars. Exploration in the Periphery is often left to peripheral nations and organizations like the Chronate, though independent explorer-adventurers are consistently lured by its mysteriousness to uncover the region's secrets despite what dangers may await them.

#### The Fade

Despite being a total unknown to humanity, the secrets out in the Black do not attract the curious as readily as the Weald which is closer and safer in comparison.

## Civilization Density

**Civilization density**, the density in which civilization may or may not be in abundance, drops as one travels away from Afa-Settaari. The rate of this decline, however, is inconsistent and largely depends on the direction said traveler ventures. For instance, Eppsel-Onne, Zaett, and Tettaat have markedly more fully-settled systems than Dell'tat Octant.

Similarly, the level of technological and societal advancement seems to be generally dictated by the distance between a colony and the Sphere's centrum, though as with the density of human inhabitance before, this trend is incongruent.