Protiun Empire

Overview

The Protiun Empire was one of the first two empires to come out of its system and into the Wider Universe. They developed extremely powerful technology alongside their territorial opponent, the Empire Desimun, but ultimately collapsed when the conflict came to a head in a battle over the Earth.

History

Protiun Civilization Cycle

Little is known about the Protiun Empire beyond larger-than-life stories passed down from those that survived the end of Era-1. However, it's consensus that elements of the Protiun Empire were as mysterious to the final inheritors of it as they are now to those living in Era-4. From the moment that the empire began to leave the planet to the moment that they left their star system, their civilization faced several cataclysms that wiped out much of the progress that was made. With each instance of the Cycle, the Protiun Empire would achieve feats greater than ever before, then fall further than any previous disaster. The loss of vital information from one instance of the Cycle to the next leads even previous versions of the empire opaque to more modern ones, and the history and lore of the Protiun Empire as a whole completely impenetrable to anyone who was not there for it.

Start of Era-1

Countless instances of the Protiun Civilization Cycle had come and gone prior to the start of Era-1. These yielded technology that appears to work like magic even to Protiuns living in later instances of the Cycle. After the empire had grown to fill its entire star system, a crisis of energy caused them to develop a powerful solution in the form of the Light. A nearly limitless planet-sized power source, the Light provided the power to the entire system for generations, but its method of creation and most efficient use were lost in the transition into the final instance of the Civilization Cycle.

After the Protiun Empire's recovery and full emergence into the final instance of the Cycle, the Light allowed them to move beyond the edges of their star system, coincidentally doing so at the same time as another empire in a distant system. The simultaneous emergence of these superpowers, as well as the start of the conflict between them, marked the start of Era-1

War with Desim

Conflict Beginning

The Emprie Desimun faced off against the Protiun Empire from the first moments they encountered each other. Both were aiming to hold a controlling share of the universe, taking inhabited and uninhabited planets alike as key strategic points to gain more territory. The Protiun Empire had a significant advantage, as they didn't need to create a robust power infrastructure among specific planets, instead extracting other resources from inhabited planets to keep their empire afloat. They spread themselves thin intentionally to force the Empire Desimun to do the same, initially gaining themselves the upper-hand in the conflict.

The Invictus

The Protiun Empire began to overestimate their abilities, though, and through loss of strategic pinch-points were beginning to be outmaneuvered by the Empire Desimun. As a result, they created a bio-technology that interfaced with the Light and allowed a certain amount of combatants extreme abilities like enhanced strength, near invulnerability, effective immortality, and others. These combatants were known as the Invictus, and deployed across each front to tip the tide of battle back in their own favor.

The End of Era-1

The Protiun Empire, after having lost so much valuable territory, held on to the worlds they did control much more tightly. One of these planets was the Earth. It was the final border world that allowed them to keep the Empire Desimun from advancing forward, and became the site of the final cataclysm that faced the Protiun Empire.

The Empire Desimun hoped to take the world after a single swift attack with the full force of their home system, finally breaking the Protiun hold on the wide swath of territory the Earth granted access to. Anticipating something like this, the Protiun Empire developed an extremely powerful version of a device used to transport ships or fleets across space. To hold off the attack until the Transit device could be properly deployed, they called a full-force attack of the Invictus to counter the assault from the Empire Desimun.

The empires clashed over the Earth and its territory, and with the Empire Desimun's home system brought directly into the battle, the Protiun Empire was poised to end the entire conflict in one strike. The Transit device, powered with the full energy of the Light, pushed the Empire Desimun into an empty dimension, and pushed the Earth into another. The use of the Transit device in this way overpowered the Light, causing it to fracture and be lost into the hands of the Empire Desimun, and releasing so much energy it erased the Protiun Empire from the universe, scarring all planets within range of the blast and scattering shards of itself across the rest of the Universe. The fall of these empires marked the end of Era-1 and the beginning of Era-2.

The Start of Era-2

The territory formerly held by both the Empire Desimun and the Protiun Empire became desolate, as the loss of both imperial authorities and the immense damage the fracturing of the Light inflicted left much of the territory aimless and unliveable. This immense and desolate collection of systems is now known as the Outerverse, with the planets directly controlled by one empire or the other referred to as Protiun or Desim Exoplanets.

The Protiun Empire's near total destruction left very few planets at the edge of their empire behind. Those planets, now free from their place in the Protiun Empire, began to develop further. They inherited a form of the Protiun Civilization Cycle, but through cooperation these planets overcame many of the cataclysms that faced the Protiuns, but still find themselves plagued with the same issues that brought the downfall of the Protiun Empire. This new emerging imperial force became the Argan Empire, whose emergence marked the beginning of Era-3.

Protiuns in Eras 3 and 4

Remaining Influences

Protiun technology is highly sought-after, as its power and complexity make it more similar to magic than technology in the modern Eras. Machines like the Transit device or materials like the Light Shards become major influences on the development of worlds and conflicts as new empires and civilizations grow.

Protiun Exoplanets

Over the millenia, planets that were wiped clean by the aftermath of the Light's fracturing have begun to recover. Many simply have plant ecosystems, very few have developed animal life, and almost none have gained inhabitants (native or otherwise). Some choose to live in the Outerverse to escape the conflicts or constraints of the Wider Universe, but the heavy scarring on the planets make them inhospitable to any residents. Some do still choose to live on Protiun Exoplanets, but mostly live in total isolation from each other and the rest of the universe.

These Protiun Exoplanets are still visited despite their danger and isolation, however, as those furthest out from the blast still contain Era-1 Artifacts. These can be literature, architecture, art, or even technology that miraculously survived the apocalypse that ended Era-1. Those that find these can sell them for enourmous sums of money, or can use them for their own personal gain. These artifacts are very rare, and so anyone willing to risk venturing into the Outerverse for extended periods of time can come back with great reward.

Modern Invictus

Not all Invictus were lost in the Ending of Era-1. Many survived the blast and remained in the Wider Universe. Without a connection to the Light, most lived out the rest of their lives in quiet anonymity. Some who were able to get their hands on a Light Shard still remain, but generally keep to themselves. Maia, an original Invictus who survived the fall of the Protiun Empire, lives on a Protiun Exoplanet found close to the boundaries of the Outerverse.

Several of the Invictus present for the Ending of Era-1 were cast into the other dimensions along with the Earth and the Empire Desimun. Those trapped with the Empire Desimun were assimilated into it, having their connection to the newly Desim-held Light studied and recreated until the secret to their effective immortality could be recreated. These Invictus have long-since lived out their lives cut off from the light, and their abilities were recreated to grant the Emperor Desimun effective immortality and all other traits of an Invictus.

The Invictus that were trapped on the Earth during the Ending of Era-1 remained there, cut off from their connection to the Light. Though it's possible that a few may have chanced upon a Light Shard, it's almost certain that all the Invictus present for the fall of the Protiun Empire have long-since lived out the rest of their lives. Their descendents, though, have inherited the bionic abilities that made them what they are, and have continued to pass the power down through generations to several modern humans. Kris Larzelere is the main example.

Protiun Technology

The Light

The most well-known piece of technology developed by the Protiun Empire is the Light. It's a nearly endless source of energy stored within a planet-sized crystalline structure. It provided power to the entire Protiun Empire through its final iteration of the Civilization Cycle. During the Ending of Era-1, it was partially destroyed and lost to the Empire Desimun, with the fractured portion of it being scattered across the Wider Universe.

The Invictus

The Protiun Empire developed a fusion of biological and technological enhancements that allowed individuals implanted with it the ability to interface with the Light and use its power to enhance their natural abilities. The invictus have enhanced strength, near invulnerability, effective immortality, and several other abilities when in range of the Light, or in contact with a Light Shard.

The Transit Device

This is a machine capable of essentially teleporting objects through space. Its reality remained a debated topic until a notebook recovered from a Protiun Exoplanet found its way into the hands of Emi Navarro, who used others' translations to piece it together and create a functioning Transit device for the Argan Empire during Era-3. The machine is incredibly powerful and requires careful tuning, as its misuse can have disastrous consequences. Misuse of the Transit device nearly tore the universe to pieces when the Argan Empire used it for a second time, an event that led to the return of the Empire Desimun and the near destruction of the Earth.