Capulum

Capulum is an inhabited world in the Space Era of HILT.

## Background

Centuries ago when humanity was leaving Earth and terraforming the solar systems nearby, numerous pockets of people arose leading an anti-technology movement. Technology, they argued, was responsible for all the evils plaguing humankind. The Great Accident which nearly wiped out life as we know it; the Civil War in which Los Lobos tried to exterminate everyone who wasn’t with them; the Maelstrom, and the Rift at the center of it which threatened to rip apart the universe itself; all of these were caused by technology. This faction reasoned, then, that life would be better (not to mention safer) if we simply discarded all technology. The various national heads agreed. Sort of. They decided that, as the galaxy was terraformed, a small number of planets would be set aside for anti-tech people. Different planets for different desired levels of mechanization, or lack thereof. Race and national identity aside, when these people chose what level they wished to live at, they would be delivered to the appropriate planet and left to live out their days in a society they felt at peace with.

These worlds came to be known as Outside planets.

## History

Capulum was one of the most well-populated Outside planets. It had an overabundance of natural resources, which Niiz K and Bastion repeatedly tried finding ways to exploit, only to be stopped at every turn by galactic law which continued to uphold it as a protected reserve for the people living on the planet. During initial colonization, Capulum was selected as the world which would have a nearly medieval level of development. That era of human development appealed to many people weary of space age devices, interstellar travel, and the wars that inevitably came along with them. To have basic machines like levers, pulleys, and such afforded a degree of ease in life, while still preventing the population from becoming dependent on such machinery. As the generations passed, the approximately one hundred thousand pilgrims to that world grew into the many millions. No one knew exactly how many people there were on Capulum since nobody bothered to orchestrate a planet wide census. As these thousands became millions, nations and governments formed, each with their conflicting ideologies, making any sort of planet wide cooperation even more difficult. Soon enough, Capulum was subject to just as many conflicts as any other place in the galaxy, but the populace had never known any other way of life, so no return to a modernized lifestyle was ever considered. By the masses that is.

## Osmian Kingdom

While most of Capulum was made up of medieval kingdoms, a notable faction became the Osmians, who take their name from the Old Earth Empire.

On Old Earth, before the Great Accident came and nearly wiped out humanity, many nations were scattered over the globe. Some of them survived the Great Accident and continued flourishing afterward, strengthened by the trials. Shandücha, Brewtan, Tsukonia, Los Lobos, and so on. Others were wiped out and forgotten forever. Others, however, had left behind such a legacy that even though they were destroyed in the Accident, legends of them lingered on. History books of dubious quality dedicated chapter upon chapter to their supposed exploits, even though real scholars debated the truthfulness of these accounts, even questioning if some of these “nations” had ever existed at all. One of these was called the Osmian Empire.

Wedged tightly between the borders of Bastion and the Holy Robison Empire was a stretch of rocky hills, all but ignored by its neighbors. Even throughout the fearsome wars waged between Bastion and HRE, nobody cared about the seemingly barren hills. They had no strategic or economic value whatsoever. Or so it seemed. For nestled in those hills, many small nations popped up, and due to being ignored, were able to strengthen themselves to unbelievable degrees. Over time, through minor yet endless wars fought within those mountains, one stood above all others, the Osmian Empire. By time they ventured outside their region, they struck terror into the hearts of even the most hardened of soldiers from the sheer ferocity of their combat. Bastion become so afraid that they stooped to hiring mercenaries from Los Lobos to defend themselves, for they knew the Lobians were the only soldiers in the world who could hope to match these new Osmians.

In these enlightened days, of course, no one believes a word of it.

Except, of course, for a small faction of pilgrims who were among the first to land on Capulum. They idolized the Osmians as the perfect society, pillars of strength, unstoppable in the face of any threat. All but immediately they splintered off and began trying to establish what they were sure would become the true successor to the original Osmian Empire.

And, terrifyingly enough, they did.

## Tourism

On occasion, a resident of Capulum would hear tales of life in the stars, and with their imagination piqued, they had the opportunity of flying out and seeing the universe for themselves. A spaceport had been erected to allow travelers to and from Capulum, albeit stationed a far distance from a metropolitan center called Chelyth. Once a week a ship would land to drop off visitors and pick up anyone leaving. Visitors were welcome as long as they didn’t bring technology with them and they agreed to abide by the rules and customs of the people on Capulum. When one of the locals had their fancy captured by tales from the other worlds, they had the freedom to go and see it, but many times they would find themselves quickly taken advantage of, robbed, or worse. It was not uncommon for them to never make it back home. All this led to residents of Capulum feeling very suspicious of any visitor who did not immediately assimilate into the local culture, or who spoke of the things beyond the planet’s realm of knowledge.

## Appearances

Capulum and the Osmian Kingdom are central elements in the short story Outside, and currently is the only place in HILT canon they appear.