Arcean Empire

The **Arcean Empire** is a major race in Galactic Civilizations III introduced with  and later made available with .

The Arcean Empire is a noble race with a rich history of neutrality. Liberated by the Terran Alliance, they now strive to rebuild their Empire. Vowing to never be subjugated again, they now honor their warriors above all others.

## Description

The Arcean race was pushed to the brink of destruction by the Drengin. Yet, with the help of the Terran Alliance, they have regained their home world and the chance to rebuild their once mighty Empire.

In the years of the Drengin occupation, the Arcean Resistance never stopped fighting. Their leader, Lord Verga, became a legend whose name struck fear into even the most brutal Drengin soldiers.

## Traits

The Arcean Empire was not left with many assets, just their home world and a few precious resources they liberated from the Drengin. They have come back from the brink, tougher, and more resilient than ever.

The Arcean people have a long history of nobility and neutrality, but the occupation has left them much less willing to forgive offenses or tolerate threats to their freedom.

## Backstory

The **Arcean Empire** was one of the oldest spacefaring civilizations by the 23rd century.

The Arceans had a long history of conflict with the Drengin Empire. Prior to the Dread Lord War the Arcean Empire was considered the most powerful state in the coalition opposing the Drengin.

The Arceans suffered massive losses when the Drengin launched a surprise attack on them in 2225. Weakened by this and then by the Dread Lords the Arceans were unable to prevent the fall of their Empire and the conquest of their homeworld, Arcea, by the Drengin in 2226.

In 2242, the Terran Alliance liberated Arcea from Drengin occupation, freeing millions of enslaved Arceans. However after 16 years of brutal occupation the Arcean civilizations was a mere shadow of its former self and whether it can rise up to be worthy of the name 'Arcean Empire' remains to be seen.

### Databank entry

The Arcean Empire is one of the oldest civilizations in the known galaxy. Their industrial civilization thrived long before humans evolved on Earth. The twelve-foot-tall Arceans are epic warriors. Prior to the Dread Lord War of 2225, they had put their warrior talents into carving out a significant interstellar empire.

The Arceans helped humans reach the stars in the form of the stargate technology an automated probe shared with Earth in 2117. The advances in theory that stargates gave human scientists allowed mankind to leapfrog the Arceans and develop hyperdrive technology, which revolutionized interstellar travel for the entire galaxy – after the humans naively shared it from Arcea to Drengi, anyway.

The new era of warfare brought on by the spread of hyperdrive visited a series of bloody wars on the Arceans, which suited the militaristic race just fine. Unfortunately for Arcea, the Drengin Empire held back its navies during the Dread Lord War and used their fresh troops to pounce on the weakened Arceans after the Dread Lord menace was finally defeated. The weary and weakened Arcean forces were swiftly defeated, and the Drengin used the opportunity to crush their old foes with massive orbital bombardments.

### Current Status

Despite the Drengin’s best efforts, the Arceans are not extinct. With their major power centers in rubble and many worlds’ worth of Arceans slaughtered by the bloodthirsty Drengin, however, the Arceans are not a major force in galactic affairs as of 2242.