The following is an extract from the diary of Peter, father of Finn.
A scientific man, Peter has been studying the history of Terra 5 for the majority of his adult life. He has collated some facts which may prove useful in the future:
The HV world you currently know – that of Terra 5 – is one of several worlds our ancestors inhabited. In fact, there is some debate as to whether Terra 5 really IS the fifth planet that has been inhabited or whether that is just an educated guess. Regardless of what’s been said and not said, I shall go into the history and give you some of the facts. How you chose to use your newfound knowledge is up to you.
First Terra
Around 3000 years ago – again, just an educated guess and very hard to prove – society as we know formed. We had lawgivers, serfs, nobles, we had fairly primitive technology however space flight was one rather unexpected development which occurred due to several factors.
King Areelia Drakemoor was a noble king, however in his lifetime he found himself in an almost unimaginable situation. Overfarming and failure to plan in the future resulted in a near extinction situation which called into question the way of life of just about everyone on the planet. With little hope of starting anew, they decided to dedicate all their time and resources in finding a way to escape the planet. The first exodus out of the planet was a treacherous one: of the three flagships to venture out into space only two made it. This was the end of the planet Terra.
Second Terra
The ships converged on a single location, a new habitable planet. They christened this Terra 2 in honour of their previous homeworld. Around 1200 years passed. During this time, Terran society grew and flourished. Terra 2 was larger than Terra 1 by a factor of three. The Terrans however, were not alone. The Darai called Terra 2 their homeworld, having lived there for at least 5000 years. Within 100 years the Darai and Terrans came to understand each other’s culture and language barriers gradually broke down.
I am sad to report that this peace did not last. An already uneasy truce was made nearly impossible to maintain after the Darai chieftain lost his leadership battle with another Darai warrior. This war-hungry ruler had grown up in a harsh land and knew that he could not allow his people to return to squalor and misery. It began in earnest with the pillaging of Iggdale, a small village near a large oasis. Over decades of conflict the amount of war crimes and casualties made this a bad time to grow up, many war orphans had short and painful lives.
This culminated in the battle of Podonal Plains. An otherwise unremarkable battle if not for the fact that the Terran forces managed an impressive flanking maneuver. This was made possible by thousands of flags waving over a hilltop, unfortunately for the Darai army this was a decoy meant to distract them. It worked perfectly. The battle swung in favour for the Terrans so they could live on.
Regrettably for both sides, this would not matter for long. Repeated planet-quakes finally grew so violent that there was no way to prepare and nowhere to hide. Once again the Terrans and Darai took to the sky. With the Terran flagship unable to fly, the Terrans begged for safe passage inside the Darai spacecraft. While initially reluctant, the Darai leader had no choice after a people’s vote and much clamouring for peace after so much war.
Decades of space travel allowed the Terran and Darai people to achieve a lasting peace, though some bitter rivalries persisted.
Third Terra
With Terra 3 there was an enlightenment. 1200 years after the colonisation of Terra 2, abilities relating to elements began flourishing at an alarming rate. From the original five elemental powers grew many more ones, some forbidden lest they lead to devastation and desolation.
Technology advanced, there were great hulking golems capable of extreme strength and machines that could generate a years worth of electricity in a single day. This age of plenty led to neglect and Terra 3 became inhospitable due to greed and sapping all the nutrients from the soils. On this exodus, there were hundreds of space ships ferrying all the passengers to a new planet. This voyage was treacherous, two ships were lost in the chaos. 43,000 presumed missing, their lives lost to space and their loved ones without closure. A dark day for Terrans and Darai.
Fourth Terra
The fourth planet proved an interesting one. 350 years after Terra 3, a new race was discovered to have already inhabited the planet. This new race, the Orkren were a fiercely proud warrior race who initially shunned all contact. Lord Whispafish ruled with an iron fist, there was a skirmish at Boorfeld that then led to a bloody war siege and Dowbrook. It was a dark time. There was talk of dark forces everywhere, spies, demons and foul magic being performed. War took it’s toll on the population.
After bloodshed on both side and negociations, a truce was formed which then developed into a long-lasting alliance. The increasing number of meteor showers and the scale of devastation again led to another mass exodus.
Present Day
So, now you know the history. It’s up to my son and the rest of Terra 5 to make sure the planet is kept healthy. We have an entire industry build on maintaining and monitoring the health of the planet. It’s not been easy, we lost most of the prey animals due to a catastrophic infection which spread rapidly. Hostile weather made things difficult too. We found a way to fight the weather but it’s a losing battle and we frequently need to ask for assistance from others to cope. We’re hoping there won’t be another exodus within our lifetime, but at this point nothing is certain. I just hope our descendants don’t suffer for the sins of our ancestors.
~ Peter, Sustainability Administrator – Darai, Orkren & Terran Initiative
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