Coriusian Galaxy

The Coriusian Galaxy is a small 4 armed spiral galaxy which is a satellite of the much larger Selten. It received its name from its oldest conquerors, the Corlinians, who’s glory days have long since passed them. The obscurity of the galaxy allowed the first of Coriusian’s societies to develop without interference from powers outside the galaxy. Over time, this would see the Corlinians take over the small galaxy in the form of direct rulership and vassal states. They reigned from their capital planet, Plenaya, lasting for thousands of years before the Aoshanti conquests brought them down.

The Aoshanti conquests would result in the formation of the First Imperium of Coriusian, a vassal state composed of the galaxy’s civilizations. While many of the galaxy’s native religions would dwindle as Rhyanism took over, only recovering after the fall of the First Imperium of Coriusian, Aoshanti rule also connected Coriusian to the rest of the Aegis Cluster, brought a technological golden age and created a temporary sense of unity between the galaxy’s inhabitants. With the Old Aoshanti Empire’s decline however, the First Imperium of Coriusian grew decadent alongside it. Discontent brewed within Coriusian as the galaxy was increasingly squeezed for funds by the Old Aoshanti Empire. Eventually, ambitious leaders would tear the state apart amongst themselves, shattering the galaxy’s unity.

Since the fall of the First Imperium of Coriusian, uniting the galaxy has been an ambition of many, most attempts falling short. However, in recent years the galaxy has been reunited under the 3rd Imperium, doing so with hopes of recreating a Pan-Coriusian state and reasserting Coriusian into the politics of the Aegis Cluster.

## History

### Prehistory of Coriusian

8 BYA - 75,000 BNAC

Though the exact date the galaxy formed is unknown, it is generally accepted that it formed roughly 8 billion years ago as a satellite of Selten. Native religions such as Hakatorism believe the galaxy is the creation of Hakator, the core of Coriusian, while others such as Cayulmism believe the stars themselves to be divine, existing as servants of a wide pantheon. Hakatorism would grow to become the most prominent of Coriusian’s religions before the Aoshanti’s arrival

When the Aoshanti took over, the First Imperium of Coriusian would press Hakatorans that Hakator was a brother of Rhya and tell Cayulmists that the stars and members of their pantheon were servants of Rhya. Eventually, the denominations of Rhyanism formed by this would almost completely replace the original religions, remaining so until the Resurgence Period.

### Tranquil Era

75,000 - 63,570 BNAC

The Tranquil Era would see the emergence of space faring civilizations within Coriusian. With the exception of what became the Batorok Union, Coriusian’s civilizations wouldn’t initially interact with one another until later in the era. Two of the most prominent to rise during this era would be the Calitanan Stargazers and Federation of Grenas, the latter acting more akin to an empire despite its name. The Federation of Grenas had emerged in early 75,000 BNAC while the Calitanans had taken to the stars around 71,000 BNAC, both existing for thousands of years before other Coriusian civilizations. Due to this, they would have time to expand their borders far more than any others, the Calitanan Stargazers taking much of the Kajlitenan Arm while Madchjam Coriusian became the base of Grenas’ power.

### Reign of the Opulent

63,570 - 43,000 BNAC

Both the Calitanan Stargazers and Federation of Grenas sought to uproot the other, placing others in the unfortunate crossfire. War would be waged for thousands of years, usually confined to one or two regions of the galaxy at a time. Although the exact date is unknown, a Corlinian ruler by the name Feni would be responsible for the eventual victory of the Federation of Grenas. The Reign of the Opulent would begin with the fall of the Calitanan Stargazers around 58,500 BNAC, who found themselves made a vassal state. Before their death, Feni would design a robot with the non-subtle title of Coriusian's Official Robotic Emperor, the C.O.R.E. The robotic ruler would set about organizing the galaxy around their nation, being the galaxy’s ruler of the era.

Views of the time period differ, with those from Central Coriusian generally holding fond memories. Many outside of Central Coriusian however, held nuanced opinions about being puppets of Grenas and its robotic ruler. With Coriusian under Grenas' influence, they would decide the names of much of the galaxy and began spreading their religion of Hakatorism. Though wishing to uproot Coriusian’s other cultures and extracting exorbitant tributes from their vassal states, the Federation of Grenas would also bring an age of much needed peace and helped form most of the galaxy’s etherlanes. Coriusian would arguably find itself in an age of prosperity, as life under the C.O.R.E’s rule was one of stability and security. The age would end with the Aoshanti invasion however, with the Opulent being swiftly deposed in favor of the Golden Realm’s reigning power.

### The Golden Era

43,000 - 18,500 BNAC

With the sweeping Aoshanti invasion of 43,000 BNAC, Opulent fell with ease. Eager to depose their old overlord, those such as the Calitanan Stargazers pledged fealty to the Old Aoshanti Empire in hopes of more cultural freedom than Grenas’ authorities would permit. The C.O.R.E would surrender swiftly, being deposed from power and replaced by an Aoshanti. When the galaxy was firmly under Aoshanti influence, the entirety of Coriusian would be turned into the First Imperium of Coriusian, which would serve as a tributary state of the Aoshanti. Their leadership would be one of Aoshanti nobility, though Coriusian nobles would be allowed to hold some control over their respective sections of the new state. The formation of the Pan-Coriusian state would have major implications.

Unlike during Grenas’ reign, the entire galaxy was one entity opposed to multiple states. The creation of the state would form the basis for later ideas of Pan-Coriusianism, an ideology which would influence its future history. Aside from this, the Aoshanti would also connect Coriusian to Aoshtai and Selten by building the gates. Simultaneously, Rhyanist preachers were soon to arrive in Coriusian and the First Imperium of Coriusian would partake in many religious campaigns to convert Coriusian’s populace to Rhya’s faith. This would result in religious denominations such as Hatakorist Rhyanism and Cayulmist Rhyanism, which would nearly replace their original religions. For stability’s sake, the First Imperium of Coriusian would strive to build a sense of collective identity among its inhabitants, bringing its peoples closer to one another than before.

The First Imperium wouldn’t last however, decaying with its overlord, the Old Aoshanti Empire. In its last centuries, the region was increasingly squeezed for funds, sparking a turbulent period of unrest within the state. Coriusian’s lower nobility grew spiteful of the Aoshanti above them, seeking to end their rule. By 18,500 BNAC, the First Imperium of Coriusian fragmented into various states, the Aoshanti leadership fleeing. Under normal circumstances, the Old Aoshanti Empire would’ve returned to restore their influence, but times had changed. With the Old Aoshanti Empire succumbing to decay and too preoccupied with what it saw as more important holdings, they would let Coriusian slip out of their hands. The following era would witness the aftermath, the Age of Disunity.

### Age of Disunity

18,500 - 16,000 BNAC

The collapse of Aoshanti rule would be followed by a period of bickering and fighting to determine the borders of the once more independent nations. The Calitanan Stargazers made major gains on the Kajlitenan Arm and Vielkovijan Arm, earning the title “Masters of the Silver Star”. Meanwhile the Federation of Grenas arose once more, with the C.O.R.E returning to restore Grenas’ hold on Madchjam Coriusian and taking control of the Fieni Ka Arm. The Batorok Union would also be among those to initially rise, posing as a growing power of the Batorak Arm. Both the Calitanans and Grenas would hold control of one gate, Grenas held the gate to Aoshtai while the Calitanans controlled the gate to Selten. The two main powers would struggle for control over both gates to no avail.

During 18,329 BNAC, the Resurgence Period would occur as well, with many theologians preaching for a return to native religions from before the Golden Era. The Calitanans were the first to take hold of Resurgence ideals, promoting the return of Cayulmism and other non-Rhyanist faiths by instituting laws such as the Faith Taxes. These taxes, as well as general promotion of non-Rhyanist religions, resulted in the decline of Rhyanism’s many denominations. The Batorok Union and Federation of Grenas followed soon after, albeit with harsher, shorter-lived vigor. The Resurgence Period would last for roughly two centuries, ending in the 18,100s BNAC as Coriusian, with the exception of the Calitanan Stargazers, declared their religious efforts fulfilled.

New nations would come later in the era as well. 17,576 BNAC saw the Union of Mogina form after a peaceful secession from the Federation of Grenas. Meanwhile, in 17,234 BNAC, the Calitanan Stargazers lost some of their holdings in the Vielkovijan Arm to Grand Velcovia after the Velcovians won their independence with the support of Grenas. After these initial conflicts and turbulence however, the tension would momentarily simmer down. With the coming peace, the rivalry between the Calitanans and Grenas would grow though, as both wished to diminish the other's influence. Simultaneously, the Federation of Grenas would rise above the Calitanans in influence over the galaxy.

### The Second Tranquil Era

16,000 - 40 BNAC

As borders grew more defined, fighting would cease. Despite the name, the Second Tranquil Era would see war against Atasarid invasion as well as internal fighting over diplomacy and commerce. Both the Calitanans and Grenas would try to sway Coriusian’s nations to support them, ending with Grenas winning over the Calitanans. Soon after it shifted to trade and economics as the two began competing against one another. Though the Federation of Grenas had successfully befriended many of their neighbors, to the C.O.R.E’s disappointment, said nations would be resistant to become allies, wishing to not be the vassals or tributary states they had been during the Reign of the Opulent. To the C.O.R.E’s luck though, by the next age, the belligerence of the Calitanans would result in the formation of the Second Imperium of Coriusian, despite its short life span.

### The Second and Third Imperium Wars

40 BNAC - 19 NAC

The Second and Third Imperium Wars would see Coriusian unified under a Pan-Coriusian state once more. By 40 BNAC, tensions flared between the Calitanans and Grenas as Calisar prepared the Calitanan Stargazers for war. In 20 BNAC, the Second Imperium War ignited suddenly after a skirmish within the Federation of Grenas’ occured. The incident had been a result of misunderstandings. Calitanan vessels had exchanged fire with a few commerce ships after they refused to pay the Calitanan border toll, the Calitanans thinking they were in Calitanan space. In response, the Federation of Grenas sent outrageous demands to Calisar, who immediately rejected such terms as Grenas declared a state of war. Seeing the Calitanans as belligerent aggressors, and outraged by the fact that their citizens were on board of said attacked trade vessels, Grand Velcovia, the Batorok Union, and Union of Mogina would rally to the side of Grenas.

The alliance between Grenas and its allies would be named the Second Imperium of Coriusian. Despite the name, the organization was far from the centralized First Imperium of Coriusian of the past, instead being a slightly disorganized coalition. Though Calisar exploited the coalition’s disorderly nature, he would eventually meet defeat after attacking the Federation of Grenas at its heart, the system of Grenas. 16 BNAC, the Battle of Plenaya resulted in the death of Calisar and the severe injury and capture of the heir of the Calitanan Stargazers, Ghuv’al Kanth. The defeat saw the Stargazers humiliated, beaten back, and forced to follow restrictions limiting the construction of ships, with peace being made the same year. Ghuv’al would prepare his vengeance soon after his return to his homeland, with him using his newfound power as Grand Stargazer to enact his plans.

The C.O.R.E meanwhile, sought to secure its gains and unsuccessfully tried to consolidate the Second Imperium. As it did, Ghuv’al prepared for a second war, using shipyards from desolate backwaters of the nation to build his new fleet. The C.O.R.E was wary of the Grand Stargazer, yet its suspicions were ridiculed. The build up of Calitanan ships was swiftly dismissed as merely the construction of lightly armed commerce vessels. The ships were also made to comply with size restrictions, furthering doubt that the Calitanans truly intended to wage war. 13 NAC, Ghuv’al would formally announce a state of war against Grenas, followed by his forces invading Grenas’ space.

Towards the Third Imperium War’s start, the numbers of ships had completely astonished the Second Imperium’s members and the initial attack broke through their defenses. Despite this, the hasty arrival of reinforcements from all its members would soon hold the line. To Ghuv’al and the C.O.R.E’s frustration, the war stalled. Much of the Second Imperium relied on lighter ships to harass Ghuv’al’s forces, yet couldn’t directly engage them. Meanwhile, Ghuv’al’s forces couldn’t stray too far from their supply lines, lest the Second Imperium cut them off and harry them with barrages of missiles. Ghuv’al’s saving grace would be a contract with the Coriusian Mercantile War League, a coalition of private military organizations. With the additional forces, Ghuv’al would finally manage to decisively face the Second Imperium of Coriusian, crippling their forces in 18 NAC. With the Federation of Grenas capitulating, the rest of the Second Imperium followed despite sparse resistance in the form of ground fighting alongside a few Velcovian and Batorok warships.

### The Third Imperium of Coriusian

19 NAC - current

With his victory, Ghuv’al would bring Coriusian under the banner of the Calitanan Stargazers before announcing the formation of the Third Imperium of Coriusian. Figures such as the C.O.R.E would be shown clemency and given positions in his new government in hopes of further cementing Pan-Coriusianism. With its formation, Calitanan was made the national language with regional tongues being permitted to exist, as well, the Coriusian Decimi was made the nation’s currency. Ghuv’al would set forth to establish unity and uniform law within Coriusian, dreaming of a Pan-Coriusian state which could outlive him. Due to Coriusian’s unification, the Grand Stargazer has looked forward to involving the nation in the wider politics of the Aegis Cluster. Whether vain or not, the Grand Stargazer intends to mold Coriusian into a respectable power.