History

Little perception of a common history exists among the Myriad Humanities of the Heliopolis. Written by countless chroniclers, their memory of time and ancestry fades into a convoluted labyrinth of forgotten time and misinterpretation. Schools of the Cosmic Absurd teach that there may be neither absolute fact nor objective truth. As such, history is written much like in the times of classical antiquity and the epics of Homer's Iliad.

"*History, the illusion of a common thread, is what gives humanity the impression of moving forward"* - Savant of the School of Myria

## Centuries agone

In 2500 Anno Domini, the final century to be measured by the Gregorian Calendar was begun. Now, the past centuries are labeled by the memories of the Symposium's pantheon.

* 19th Century of Revolution
* 20th Century of Cumulation
* 21st Century of Respite
* 22nd Century of Demise
* 23rd Century of Departure
* 24th Century of Absolution
* 25th Century of Scission
* 26th The Final Century

### The 22nd Century of Demise

The Century of Revolution set humanity on a path of rapid advancement and to the stars at the cost of responsibility. After three centuries of a price unpaid, humanity's debt was unveiled.

The Demise emerged slowly, measured in human lifetimes and lives. Holding its breath throughout the Century of Respite, humanity awaited a thundering finale. In its stead, the construct of civilization slowly unraveled without granting any ending in poetic tragedy.

Forces of nature ruled the years of chaotic reign, sowing disaster, flood and drought alike. By the mid of the century, the fields of earth were salted by the ocean, the cities sunk and the sky enveloped in the eternal dusk of ash and smoke.

A generation lost faith and wisdom and produced from its decrepit memory the heritage of centuries of war. As if to force the annihilation the planet would not give, the nation-states of the old world uttered thunder and end times. Some found success in their quest for inferno and were razed from the memories of the world. Others were overthrown by the masses, acting on the pure instinct of the human tribe.

A new generation was born in resentment of all things old and lost and when the new leaders of the world gathered in the first Symposium, it was their first decision that the world that was, would never return.

Thus, the old cities and nations were left to ruin, while new civilizations and megalopolises arose from ashen plains. The world was left to its own, the disasters were endured and nature returned, an uncaring goddess creating the beauty of the cradle Earth once more, not for the eyes of humans.

### The final Century

As humanity ventures into the celestial spheres of the Solar System, the illusion of coherent time lost value to many of the scattered lineages and cultures dwelling among the planets and Jovian moons of the Heliopolis. As the twenty-sixth century dawned, it was decided to be the last of its kind by the Symposium.

Unnoticed by many, the Gregorian Calendar approaches its end and gives way to the age of metric time.

## Fundaments of the present world

### Fusion Fire

All there is within the Solar System owes its existence solely and completely to Sol. The light of Earth's own star has illuminated the dawn of civilization, the passage of time and will shine until the end of planet earth.

It is from this star that the grandest achievement of technology was derived: Power through the flames of fusion. Energy from the most common elements of the universe, the same from which the sun was formed.

As the light of fusion enveloped civilization, humanity was changed at its very core. From there on, the possibilities of technology and progress were only limited by the advance of the human mind. Through fusion, humanity wields the torch that may one day illuminate the galaxy. Once more, responsibility weighs heavily on civilization.

### Schism

All throughout history, humanity fostered the dream of unification. During the Century of Respite, such dreams were all but in its grasp, as technology and society connected the cradle planet whole.

And yet, such dreams were scattered and humanity ventured outward bound. All throughout the world, it had seen into mirrors of itself and, despite all well-intent, despised what it had seen.

The Schism of the Myriad Humanities, was no conscious decision, no disaster which had struck. The divergence of progress and increasing complexity made human peoples branches of a sprawling tree, sharing memories of the almost unified world and the freedom of isolation.

Among the shards of unity, the Symposium stands alone. Formed at the height of unification, it is but a last remnant of ages lost, invaluable to the Heliopolis, but at the same time necessary evil to many.