Koltrent

An urban world of the UTC heavily oriented towards military production and training. In addition, it is the homeworld of the Cynn. The world was integrated into the Commonwealth for its aid in cleansing the world of the fallout from a previous global chemical war, referred to as The desolation of the Valleys.

Today the world hosts around 30 billion, mainly Cynn, inhabitants. The prominent role the Cynn have had in the Grand Army of the Commonwealth has caused Koltrent to be the home of the UTC's most prestigious officer academies as well as a sizable millitary-industrial complex. Koltrent is furthermore a renowned tourist destination due to its famed architecture of the mountain cities, which have been the inspiration for numerous prominent constructions throughout the Commonwealth.

## **History**

### **Before and during the desolation**

**"*In the mountains, we store our flesh, in the valleys, we dispense our blood"***

*-Ancient religious text found on Koltrent*

The early history of Koltrent and the Cynn largely revolves around the two most important biomes found on Koltrent, the expansive valleys which served as the center of food production, and the mountains within which the Cynn built impressive subterranean cities. Civilizations generally revolved around the competition between mountain-cities for control of the valleys on which they depended. especially in pre-modern times, the cities were practically untakeable. Whilst some degree of consolidation occurred across the centuries, states generally remained small. Conflicts over the valleys never ceased and would eventually bring ruin to Koltrent and the Cynn. The discovery of Chemical weapons caused a horrific escalation of these perpetual conflicts and swiftly turned virtually all valleys into poisonous wastelands. The Desolation of the Valleys, as it came to be known, led to widespread famine and in turn the collapse of most states. Many of the great mountain cities died out completely, with other only surviving by converting a large portion of living space into farms for subterranean fungus. It is estimated that by the time Koltrent was encountered only 400 million Cynn lived, either inside the surviving mountain cities or subsisting in the hill-lands between the mountains. Had it not been for outside intervention, the world might have remained poisoned for centuries.

### **Lytalk and the 'sky creatures'**

**"For you: glory, for your people: justice, for your species: salvation."**

*-UTC emmisary to Cyvqar Lytalk when asked what they wished to offer*

In the year 243 AC, post-Desolation Koltrent was discovered by UTC explorers. These explorers were initially puzzled by the planet's lacking biosphere despite its suitable climate, though the situation quickly became clear when atmospheric tests showed the abundant presence of non-natural chemicals. Within a year a full observation base was established and ground missions were being undertaken to uncover how the planet had gotten to its current state. These missions were occasionally encountered by local Cynn, who quickly spread the news of these 'sky creatures' as they called them.

After about two years of research, the UTC decided to mount an intervention on the planet to end the anarchy and cleanse the planet of its fallout. To achieve this it was decided to aid one of the local warlords: Cyvqar Lytalk. Lytalk was among those cursed to live outside the great mountain cities and forced to subsist in the perilous hill-lands. She had been noted by UTC researchers as a conscientious and capable leader who, unlike most other warlords, maintained a largely meritocratic approach to appointing leadership in her band, making her the most suitable Leader in the eyes of the UTC. The UTC approached Lytalk with the offer of aid, promising military equipment, technical support and, perhaps most importantly, to clean up the fallout that lingered in the valleys. Though initially bewildered, and later sceptical of these promises, Lytalk and her clique decided to accept the offer considering they had little to lose in their current state.

Over the following months, Lytalk's band was outfitted with UTC weaponry and the first valley had been cleansed. This valley was swiftly claimed by Lytalk before the neighbouring cities learned of this development. When news reached that life had returned to the valley finally reached the cities they scrambled their forces to claim it for themselves. When the forces of these cities arrived they were in for an unpleasant surprise, as they were torn apart by the advanced arms provided by the UTC and driven back to the mountains. News of Lytalk's achievement spread quickly and soon thousands flocked to Lytalk's valley. Several years later Lytalk's fame was catapulted even further as she managed to take one of the mountain cities by force, a feat few in history had achieved, and swiftly took the neighbouring cities as well. Lytalk rapidly came to control more territory than any state in Cynn history, ruling through a peculiar mix of stratocratic warlordism and Epochian principles provided by her now numerous Xer advisors.

In 251 Lytalk declared the All Koltrent Regime, claiming sovereignty over the entire planet and all Cynn, and herself lady-protector of the Cynn. This new state was swiftly recognized by the UTC, which pledged to aid in rooting out any 'seditious elements that reject the regime's legitimacy over Koltrent'. Over the next five years, Lytalk would claim all of Koltrent. Many cities willingly surrendered yearning for the return of life to the valleys in the wake of Lytalk's conquests and fearing Lytalk's infamy of martial strength. The only noteworthy opposition faced was 'The Coalition Against The Sky Creatures', an alliance between several dozen cities who claimed that Lytalk had sold out the Cynn to the skyborne aliens. The Coalition managed to successfully resist Lytalk for a short time but ultimately stood no chance. In 256 AC the unification of Koltrent was complete and Lytalk was heralded as the 'glorious unifier'. The burdens of global governance proved to difficult for Lytalk and her clique to handle, however, being heavily reliant on UTC advisors for daily rulership and even more so for the modernization effort now being undertaken on Koltrent. This, in combination with the gratitude over UTC aid in restoring Koltrent ultimately led to the 'treaty of dues' in 258 AC, in which it was agreed that Koltrent would be gradually integrated into the UTC, though it would retain the position of lord/lady-protector as the martial and symbolic leader of the planet. Koltrents ascension into the Commonwealth was the first instance of an alien world being incorporated, as well as the first instance of a substantial non-Xer population existing in the UTC.

### **The spearhead of the Commonwealth**

**"It is today that we pay our first dues, to the debt we hold forevermore!"**

*-Exerpt from Cyvqar Lytalk's speech preceding the battle of Arrkar.*

As Koltrent was being integrated into the UTC, the world underwent a rapid transformation as space-age technology was introduced at an impressive rate. The crash-education program implemented to prepare the first generation of Cynn intellectuals capable of handling the Epochian system was particularly uprooting, as most who underwent it had to be transported to UTC worlds to undergo their education. By 265 AC the integration of Koltrent had been completed as the first formal commissarial-counsel of Koltrent was installed and the administration formally linked to Jura.

Barely a year after the Koltrent's integration the Endurgan War broke out over Endurgan Slave-raids into Rozol territory, triggering the Treaty of Avv Civa and drawing the Commonwealth into the war. Whilst now officially part of the Commonwealth, Koltrent was offered an exemption from the war effort due to its state of development. Lytalk, whose role had become ceremonial but still held immense personal influence, insisted on participating, however. She thus started a recruitment campaign which eventually drew 2 million volunteers, many veterans of the unification conflicts, to form the Legion of Koltrent. After participating in minor skirmishes over orbital facilities the Legion would enter its first major deployment during the infamous battle of Arrkar. During the 2 year struggle for the planet, the UTC took severe casualties as the flaws in existing battle doctrine and the unsuitability of Xer for modern combat roles became clear. The Legion of Koltrent performed exceptionally well by contrast and gained widespread fame across the UTC. After the Kurandal-Reform of the UTC military was enacted following the battle, the Legion was permanently incorporated into the new 'Grand Army of the Commonwealth' whilst most Xer units were decommissioned. The Battle of Endurga, a joint operation by all three allies against the Endurgans to make an end to the war, would once again prove the merit of the Legion of Koltrent. With the conclusion of the Endurgan War, the legion was granted the honorary duty of guarding the Directors on Jura, which would definitively cement the Cynn as the face of the Grand Army, alongside the battle-droids.

Due to the significant role of the Cynn in the UTC-military Koltrent has developed to be a martially oriented world, hosting many military academies and robust military production. The population would gradually grow to be around 30 billion, thus hosting a middling population, never growing faster due to the consistent emigration from the world. During the more recent formation of political movements across the UTC Koltrent swiftly became a centralist stronghold, being one of the few planets to host a significant presence of the radical Hierarchist faction.