Post by EmperorMyric on Dec 16, 2017 18:00:22 GMT
The Golden Expanse
One of the most desolate yet strangely inviting areas of the Ancerious Galaxy, the Golden Expanse stretches for several hundred light years as a foreboding frontier to otherwise unclaimed regions of space. It is not known just how far the Golden Expanse stretches in the direction of the galactic core, but its borders are undeniable; a perimeter of dead and desolate worlds, generally desert like, but with signs that dozens of primitive civilizations once lived there in better times, though the traces of their existence are generally reserved to cave art and limited subterranean ruins. Surface sites are incredibly rare to locate, and on the rare occasions when they are found there is very little in terms of artifacts worth mentioning. It is notable that very few if any of these civilizations survived long enough to develop the wheel.
Initially penetrated by the 1st and 2nd Koller Expeditions, the border worlds of the Golden Expanse feature a notable lack of mineral or biological wealth, “and are for all intents and purposes,” Jericho Koller noted during his first expedition, “the stellar equivalent of the Outback.” referring to a desolate desert on Old Earth’s Australian continent. Its name might appear to be contradictory on account of its utter lack of wealths, but makes considerably more sense when observed from substantial distances; the aging yellow and red giants along this perimeter-notably older than other stars on the more inhabitable side of the border-cast a distinct golden glow to the region.
During his first two expeditions into the Expanse, Koller documented an unusual similarity in the cave art of these dead civilizations; all visually exhibited multiple entites coming and laying waste to their civilizations and cities-the ruins of which Koller was unable to locate. “It would appear,” Koller recounted during a meeting to shareholders as he prepared to depart on his third and final expedition into the Golden Expanse, “that a substantially stronger civilization methodically annihilated the intelligent life on these worlds.” Of further note was that these cave paintings traditionally described substantially more Earthlike environments, often with abundant plant and animal life, and a more beneficial ecosystem with rain and weather patterns more accommodating for the rise of civilizations.
Koller’s 3rd Expedition into the Golden Expanse proved the dangers in underestimating the hostility of the region-for all its empty desolation, the lifeless Expanse has been reportedly a place of refuge for brigands and other criminal elements hiding from the law. Presumably, the 3rd Expedition perished to these elements shortly after penetrating the Expanse. Despite rumours of the recovery of artifacts from the 3rd Koller Expedition, no traces of it have ever been confirmed.
Koller’s notes up to his presumed untimely end indicated a distinct curiosity towards the lack of mineral wealth to be found in the Golden Expanse, and it suggests that his time in the Expanse may have been hazardous to his mental health. Shortly before his final departure from civilization, he postulated to potential finders that, as he put it, “the planets of the Golden Expanse suggest that they were quite thoroughly strip mined, as it were, of anything anyone could have hoped to use.” Koller’s notes-which allude quite heavily to the content of his journal, which went missing along with the rest of his 3rd expedition-suggest that he suspected this to by the sign of some ancient civilization residing beyond the Golden Expanse. Along with Koller, no signs of his expedition, or his mysterious civilization, have ever been reputably found.
One of the most desolate yet strangely inviting areas of the Ancerious Galaxy, the Golden Expanse stretches for several hundred light years as a foreboding frontier to otherwise unclaimed regions of space. It is not known just how far the Golden Expanse stretches in the direction of the galactic core, but its borders are undeniable; a perimeter of dead and desolate worlds, generally desert like, but with signs that dozens of primitive civilizations once lived there in better times, though the traces of their existence are generally reserved to cave art and limited subterranean ruins. Surface sites are incredibly rare to locate, and on the rare occasions when they are found there is very little in terms of artifacts worth mentioning. It is notable that very few if any of these civilizations survived long enough to develop the wheel.
Initially penetrated by the 1st and 2nd Koller Expeditions, the border worlds of the Golden Expanse feature a notable lack of mineral or biological wealth, “and are for all intents and purposes,” Jericho Koller noted during his first expedition, “the stellar equivalent of the Outback.” referring to a desolate desert on Old Earth’s Australian continent. Its name might appear to be contradictory on account of its utter lack of wealths, but makes considerably more sense when observed from substantial distances; the aging yellow and red giants along this perimeter-notably older than other stars on the more inhabitable side of the border-cast a distinct golden glow to the region.
During his first two expeditions into the Expanse, Koller documented an unusual similarity in the cave art of these dead civilizations; all visually exhibited multiple entites coming and laying waste to their civilizations and cities-the ruins of which Koller was unable to locate. “It would appear,” Koller recounted during a meeting to shareholders as he prepared to depart on his third and final expedition into the Golden Expanse, “that a substantially stronger civilization methodically annihilated the intelligent life on these worlds.” Of further note was that these cave paintings traditionally described substantially more Earthlike environments, often with abundant plant and animal life, and a more beneficial ecosystem with rain and weather patterns more accommodating for the rise of civilizations.
Koller’s 3rd Expedition into the Golden Expanse proved the dangers in underestimating the hostility of the region-for all its empty desolation, the lifeless Expanse has been reportedly a place of refuge for brigands and other criminal elements hiding from the law. Presumably, the 3rd Expedition perished to these elements shortly after penetrating the Expanse. Despite rumours of the recovery of artifacts from the 3rd Koller Expedition, no traces of it have ever been confirmed.
Koller’s notes up to his presumed untimely end indicated a distinct curiosity towards the lack of mineral wealth to be found in the Golden Expanse, and it suggests that his time in the Expanse may have been hazardous to his mental health. Shortly before his final departure from civilization, he postulated to potential finders that, as he put it, “the planets of the Golden Expanse suggest that they were quite thoroughly strip mined, as it were, of anything anyone could have hoped to use.” Koller’s notes-which allude quite heavily to the content of his journal, which went missing along with the rest of his 3rd expedition-suggest that he suspected this to by the sign of some ancient civilization residing beyond the Golden Expanse. Along with Koller, no signs of his expedition, or his mysterious civilization, have ever been reputably found.