You know how, in many fantasy stories, there's always ruins of an ancient empire and/or ancient heroic weapons, but the ancients are never around?
You know how, in many sci-fi stories, there's always a big, evil empire that exists solely to ruin the protagonists' day?
This empire is none of those things.
Welcome to the Milky Way in 3200 A.D. Back in the year 2500 or so, Earth's sole colony on 55 Cancri B declared its independence from the United Nations, forming the very first extra-terrestrial civilization in history. They named themselves Crescent, after the ancient Fertile Crescent, the birthplace of human civilization. The revolution sparked a frantic race to colonize as many planets as possible. Both habitable and uninhabitable planets were up for grabs, and within a few centuries time, the whole galaxy was settled. With the discovery of mana on planet Aion, and with it the wonders of magic, the Crescent Empire monopolized this power, and went from technological parity with the U.N. to far and away the most advanced faction in the galaxy.
Unlike their communist neighbors, however, the Crescents had higher ideals to use their newfound powers for. Inspired by the example set by the ancient United States, they brought freedom to every world they colonized. Their civilization flourished during several centuries of relative peace (punctuated, of course, by occasional conflicts brought on by cultural upheavals). This peace ground to a halt, however, when both the Crescent and Terran factions made a move to colonize Charon.
Charon was possibly the most dangerous habitable world in all of known space. Frequent solar flares, a caustic nebula, vast asteroid fields, and gravitic storms made it treacherous for even the most durable starships to traverse. But what made it valuable was its near-limitless quantities of titanium, the preferred resource for starship construction. Both factions settled the world, sparking a brutal territorial war that left both sides reeling.
In the decades after, the dust eventually settled and a narrow border formed between the two factions, dividing the planet in two. While the Empire and the U.N. are still technically at war, neither side is willing to make a move on the other, allowing an uneasy peace to set in. Your character is native to this world, a descendant of stranded soldiers whom the Crescent Empire was unable to bring home. With the benefits of magic and futuristic technology at their fingertips, life has become relatively easy for the Empire's citizens on this side of the border.
But for those living in U.N. territory on the other side of the border, only the horrors of tyranny await. The intrusive surveillance state stuck its fingers into every part of life, deciding everyone's place in society through psychological analysis and racial prejudice. Genocidal massacres against an arbitrary Evil Race of the Week made every waking moment a terrifying one, and perpetual starvation drives many to inhumane depths no living soul should ever endure. When they aren't scraping a living in this hell-hole, they're fleeing for the border, praying for a swift death they would otherwise never enjoy. The majority never make it across.
Few Crescents even think about their fellow humans on the other side of the border, let alone try to help them in any way. You don't either, at first; you're too busy enjoying a budding romance with your beautiful neighbor. But when a couple of lucky migrants show up at your doorstep hungry, naked, and sick, you're dragged into a struggle that threatens to reignite an old war and break the uneasy peace millions gave their lives to create.
Cunning enemies, unexpected allies, political intrigue, and a secret operation of unprecedented scope will turn your ordinary sci-fi life into an epic tale to be retold for generations to come.
Who's writing it?
You know how, in many sci-fi stories, there's always a big, evil empire that exists solely to ruin the protagonists' day?
This empire is none of those things.
Welcome to the Milky Way in 3200 A.D. Back in the year 2500 or so, Earth's sole colony on 55 Cancri B declared its independence from the United Nations, forming the very first extra-terrestrial civilization in history. They named themselves Crescent, after the ancient Fertile Crescent, the birthplace of human civilization. The revolution sparked a frantic race to colonize as many planets as possible. Both habitable and uninhabitable planets were up for grabs, and within a few centuries time, the whole galaxy was settled. With the discovery of mana on planet Aion, and with it the wonders of magic, the Crescent Empire monopolized this power, and went from technological parity with the U.N. to far and away the most advanced faction in the galaxy.
Unlike their communist neighbors, however, the Crescents had higher ideals to use their newfound powers for. Inspired by the example set by the ancient United States, they brought freedom to every world they colonized. Their civilization flourished during several centuries of relative peace (punctuated, of course, by occasional conflicts brought on by cultural upheavals). This peace ground to a halt, however, when both the Crescent and Terran factions made a move to colonize Charon.
Charon was possibly the most dangerous habitable world in all of known space. Frequent solar flares, a caustic nebula, vast asteroid fields, and gravitic storms made it treacherous for even the most durable starships to traverse. But what made it valuable was its near-limitless quantities of titanium, the preferred resource for starship construction. Both factions settled the world, sparking a brutal territorial war that left both sides reeling.
In the decades after, the dust eventually settled and a narrow border formed between the two factions, dividing the planet in two. While the Empire and the U.N. are still technically at war, neither side is willing to make a move on the other, allowing an uneasy peace to set in. Your character is native to this world, a descendant of stranded soldiers whom the Crescent Empire was unable to bring home. With the benefits of magic and futuristic technology at their fingertips, life has become relatively easy for the Empire's citizens on this side of the border.
But for those living in U.N. territory on the other side of the border, only the horrors of tyranny await. The intrusive surveillance state stuck its fingers into every part of life, deciding everyone's place in society through psychological analysis and racial prejudice. Genocidal massacres against an arbitrary Evil Race of the Week made every waking moment a terrifying one, and perpetual starvation drives many to inhumane depths no living soul should ever endure. When they aren't scraping a living in this hell-hole, they're fleeing for the border, praying for a swift death they would otherwise never enjoy. The majority never make it across.
Few Crescents even think about their fellow humans on the other side of the border, let alone try to help them in any way. You don't either, at first; you're too busy enjoying a budding romance with your beautiful neighbor. But when a couple of lucky migrants show up at your doorstep hungry, naked, and sick, you're dragged into a struggle that threatens to reignite an old war and break the uneasy peace millions gave their lives to create.
Cunning enemies, unexpected allies, political intrigue, and a secret operation of unprecedented scope will turn your ordinary sci-fi life into an epic tale to be retold for generations to come.
Who's writing it?