Dark Ages UNRECORDED - 10,000 BCE
Early Givosion society did not have much in the way of formal writing, so little is known other than oral stories that have since been recorded. Although many would consider Givious a cold planet, it did have good habitable zones near the equator of the planet. On the shores one group began to thrive, and on the tundras and Steppes that lead up to the colder poles. While those on the shores would create smaller villages and not move often, while those on the steppes moved around constantly; living a very nomadic life. The nomads took to raiding the fishing villages during the dry seasons, while the fishers would destroy entire tribes that came close to their lands if given the chance. Both sides valued the dasse, a horse like creature, but the nomads lived in the saddle, preferring it for warfare while the fishers preferred infantry combat. Wars during dry seasons between the two were fast and brutal, leaving entire tribes or villages decimated; sometimes both. This constant warfare kept the Givosion race from expanding, but it honed them into good warriors; only the strongest surviving. As the years crept by, they eventually found themselves below the boot of a great race; the Ancients.
Ancient Empire 10,000 BCE - 1 BCE
It is not known if the ancient Givosion people were engineered by the Ancients or if the Ancients found them the way they were, but the end result was the same. The Ancients controlled a massive sprawling galactic empire, and with that Empire they needed a large army. The Ancients would go to the worlds of lesser races and cull from their populations warriors capable of fighting. After breaking the warriors to their will, they would use them in their wars of expansion; in shock troop battalions that would be the first into the fray and take the most casualties. They had a multitude of species under their control, but the Givosions were one in particular that Ancient commanders preferred. Taking countless generations, scientists and generals engineered the Givosions to be stronger, live longer, and be more aggressive; the perfect soldier for their armies. They also subjected some of the population to tests, testing their aptitude in areas they deemed "extra-ordinary". In this they created a warrior caste that was sensitive to the living force, and could manipulate it, and serve as warriors to hunt down those who would be too much for basic soldiers and create an elite leadership within the Shock trooper ranks. After a few hundred years of war with an invading force, the Ancients were forced to fully uplift the Givosions due to losses in their own ranks and a need for more than just mindless shock troops. They opened up their academies to the brightest of the Givosions, sending men who would be commanders, scientist, engineers, and doctors to learn their trades. In a matter of two hundred years, the Givosion race was propelled thousands of years forward, and with a legion of real soldiers at their command the Ancients began to turn the tide of the war. Not much is known about the fall of the Ancient Empire, but it was vicious and near instant. Many of the technologies stayed in Givosion territory, but the highways the Ancients had built across the universe fell apart. Moving between worlds failed, and for a thousand years, Givosion society fell apart.
Givosion Dark and Golden Age 1 CE - 1,260 CE & 1,261 CE - 2,650 CE
After returning to their home Galaxy, the Givosions slowly began to expand. They were not the only race uplifted by the Ancients, but they were the primary race used in warfare. Still a very aggressive and violence based culture, the Givosion's used their highly advanced fleets to begin raiding nearby star systems and eventually conquering them through force or by making them as a tributary faction within their now growing empire. Within the Empire factions began to form behind powerful commanders, who carved out mini kingdoms within the Empire. The Warlords eventually began to war with each other over Tributary States and planets, and open war wreaked the Empire to its core. A peace was declared by a few of the Warlords, who came together knowing that the continual war would be the end of the Empire. With their combined strength, the Warlord alliance put down the remaining forces and created the Council of the System Lords, dividing up the Empire between themselves and their underlings. The Council signed a pact, one that stated that should any System Lord attack another, the combined might of the remaining lords would take down the aggressor. With this nine joined the council, each one taking a second; normally being a son but some taking a strong commander, who would replace them. The use of the second made it so a rival lord couldn't assassinate another and put a puppet in his place. With this the Second Golden Age of the Empire began, with each Lord vying for more territory but being held back from fighting one another they turned their gaze outwards. The Givosion expansion created mass amounts of wealth as the military not only invaded, but plundered planets and lesser civilizations in neighboring star systems bring home wealth and slaves.
During this time The Order also was created. The experiments of the Ancients had created powerful warriors that were sensitive to the living force, giving them unnatural powers. Many feared these users, as did some of the members, and so they were locked away on the planet Skarios, where the first of the Temples was founded. There, those who had the gift were brought together and taught to control it. Those who could not control it, were dealt with swiftly as a powerful user could bring great destruction. Rouge were hunted down by select and fanatical members of The Order, the Verestigi. The Order ended up finding its calling during the massive war between the Warlords, controlling select planets near theirs as peacekeepers, and stepping in when a warlord became too brutal. They were seen as a voice of reason within the Empire, a received a non voting seat on the Council where they could voice their opinion.
During this time The Order also was created. The experiments of the Ancients had created powerful warriors that were sensitive to the living force, giving them unnatural powers. Many feared these users, as did some of the members, and so they were locked away on the planet Skarios, where the first of the Temples was founded. There, those who had the gift were brought together and taught to control it. Those who could not control it, were dealt with swiftly as a powerful user could bring great destruction. Rouge were hunted down by select and fanatical members of The Order, the Verestigi. The Order ended up finding its calling during the massive war between the Warlords, controlling select planets near theirs as peacekeepers, and stepping in when a warlord became too brutal. They were seen as a voice of reason within the Empire, a received a non voting seat on the Council where they could voice their opinion.
The Imperial Rise 6,400 CE - 6,412 CE
Hydan II was an inner rim planet that was the home of a Heska, a high ranking warrior in the employ of a System Lord or one of his Tengins. Where as minor Heska's would be given command of sections of an army or fleet, some were given control of planets. This Heska, by the name of Renor Desmond of Clan Meslandir, was a great warrior in the service of his System Lord, and had saved his life to earn his lordship of a planet. Renor had four sons, and by Givosion tradition the eldest inherited the entire claim of the father, leading two of his younger sons to become raiders with their System Lord's fleet. His youngest son, however, was born sickly and if his father had not been as powerful a man as he was, would of been killed at birth. He was his mothers love however, which stayed his fathers hand who accepted the embarrassment of having a weak son to placate his wife. At the age of 5 however, his mother learned that he was in touch with the living force, and tried desperately to cover it up. She paid a rouge to train her young son in the ways to conceal his power, and by the time he was 12 the boy had learned all he could from the rouge. Using the force, he was able to invigorate his body; matching the stamina and strength of his other brothers. Tragedy struck the family three years later, with all three of his brothers falling during a battle against a slave revolt. At the age of 15, Renor was forced to begin grooming his youngest son to become his heir.
At the age of 23, Markos Desmond took over for his father as Heska to System Lord Soyok. Quickly make a name for himself within the ranks of the army, Markos led victory after victory against his lords enemies. His battlefield brilliance earned him the name "The Dragon of the Core". During all of his victories, while others grabbed at the riches, he was the first to claim slaves; taking the lesser treasures home. Many guessed on why he always chose slaves over gold, and his slave of choice was young boys. Rumors spread, and for fifteen years this continued. The truth of the matter, however, was almost as dark as the rumors. He claimed boys between the ages of 6 and 18 to train. On Hydan II, the trainees were put through gruesome training, but those that survived became some of the strongest soldiers he could command. Hydan II was also one of the largest commerce planets and shipyards in the core worlds, giving him access to vast wealth he was missing out on by selecting his soldiers, and ships to man them with. He plotted with other Heska's, promising great power if they would support him when the time was right. That time came when he was 47, and it came with a whirlwind. In one fell swoop, Markos killed off his System Lord, his second, and all his rivals within Soyok's army. In this act he claimed the role of System Lord, but put a target on his back as the other lords could not allow him to get away with his act. Utilizing his ships, he quickly defeated and adsorbed the remaining forces of Soyok, putting pressure on the Capital of the Givosion Empire to surrender under his banner. The System Lords rallied a force to strike back at Markos, but they soon found the depth of his deception when many Heska's rallied their forces to Markos, betraying their long held oaths. Markos had brought in some Heska's with bribery, others he convinced to join him using other tactics. His alliance quickly defeated two of the remaining eight System Lords, driving them from their territories to be at the mercy of the remaining lords. With only six lords remaining, they received another blow as multiple systems began to rebel against the tyranny of the System Lords, lead by a underworld boss who had been given strength by Markos. With a war on one front, and an insurgent war on another, many of the System Lords looked for a diplomatic way out of the conflict. Bringing the remaining lords together, Markos promised their seconds peace and that they could keep some of their former territories if they killed their lords and bent the knee to him as Overlord of the System Lords, or Emperor. All of the seconds accepted, and while the System Lords slepts, their throats were slit. A new dawn had arrived,
At the age of 23, Markos Desmond took over for his father as Heska to System Lord Soyok. Quickly make a name for himself within the ranks of the army, Markos led victory after victory against his lords enemies. His battlefield brilliance earned him the name "The Dragon of the Core". During all of his victories, while others grabbed at the riches, he was the first to claim slaves; taking the lesser treasures home. Many guessed on why he always chose slaves over gold, and his slave of choice was young boys. Rumors spread, and for fifteen years this continued. The truth of the matter, however, was almost as dark as the rumors. He claimed boys between the ages of 6 and 18 to train. On Hydan II, the trainees were put through gruesome training, but those that survived became some of the strongest soldiers he could command. Hydan II was also one of the largest commerce planets and shipyards in the core worlds, giving him access to vast wealth he was missing out on by selecting his soldiers, and ships to man them with. He plotted with other Heska's, promising great power if they would support him when the time was right. That time came when he was 47, and it came with a whirlwind. In one fell swoop, Markos killed off his System Lord, his second, and all his rivals within Soyok's army. In this act he claimed the role of System Lord, but put a target on his back as the other lords could not allow him to get away with his act. Utilizing his ships, he quickly defeated and adsorbed the remaining forces of Soyok, putting pressure on the Capital of the Givosion Empire to surrender under his banner. The System Lords rallied a force to strike back at Markos, but they soon found the depth of his deception when many Heska's rallied their forces to Markos, betraying their long held oaths. Markos had brought in some Heska's with bribery, others he convinced to join him using other tactics. His alliance quickly defeated two of the remaining eight System Lords, driving them from their territories to be at the mercy of the remaining lords. With only six lords remaining, they received another blow as multiple systems began to rebel against the tyranny of the System Lords, lead by a underworld boss who had been given strength by Markos. With a war on one front, and an insurgent war on another, many of the System Lords looked for a diplomatic way out of the conflict. Bringing the remaining lords together, Markos promised their seconds peace and that they could keep some of their former territories if they killed their lords and bent the knee to him as Overlord of the System Lords, or Emperor. All of the seconds accepted, and while the System Lords slepts, their throats were slit. A new dawn had arrived,