TESS - Lexicon

Note that this is a prototype of a Lexicon. And believe it or not, this IS the short version. The other one ? I got started and ended up writing 3 pages on the Federation's internal politics and dynamics, plus a whole dissertation about the origin of the term 'the Verge' including a summary of the founding of the Federation (because it's related to that). So yeah I had to start over to summarize and make it actually readable XD . Don't hesitate to give me your opinion about it !

Also, note that this lexicon does cover topics that haven't been broached in the story yet (like the Protectorate Periphery and Fringe), so if you prefer to discover those while reading the story, you might want to skip this. There are no spoilers, this is just general background and lore, plus what I hope is a handy referrence. I'm working on a similar one for The Fallen World : A Dungeon's Story, although once again making it short and readable is proving more challenging than anticipated.

Lexicon (short version).

Astra :

A term coined by the Empire of Mara, and widely used throughout the Known Universe, an astra is an interstellar distance measurement unit precisely equaling a single old Terran light year.

The Verge :

A general term used for all territories outside of the Infinite Systems Federation.

The Infinite Systems Federation :

An organization, partway sovereign nation and partway economic alliance that comprises the most advanced and powerful nations in the Known Universe in some capacity or another.

The Empire of Mara :

A member nation of the Infinite Systems Federation, and one of it's founding members. Considered to be the military and industrial powerhouse of the Federation.

The Hyperdimensional Republic :

A member nation of the Infinite Systems Federation, and one of it's founding members. Considered to be the scientific powerhouse of the Federation.

The United Human Sovereignties :

A vast power bloc comprising many nations within the Infinite Systems Federation, and comprises several founding members. It is the most populous power bloc in the Federation and thus has the largest voting power. Is generally considered a nation by Federation outsiders, although the reality is far more complicated.

The Seltari Star Dominion :

A relatively young nation originating from the Elkator galaxy, the Seltari Star Dominion has existed for barely a millenia and a half, over the course of which it united the Elkator galaxy under it's banner through various means, before leading the colonization efforts in the Thaumor galaxy. Suffered a catastrophic civil war 65 years ago, that ended 50 years ago, but left the Dominion Navy badly depleted, and the Dominion as a whole highly unstable as a result. It also forced the Dominion to cede direct sovereignty over it's colonies in Thaumor, establishing a Protectorate.

The Thaumor Protectorate :

An organization that was created at the end of the Dominion's civil war, this quasi-nation technically englobes all of the Dominion's old colonies. It unifies them under a single currency, trade policies, and officially at least a single constitution and military. Interstellar security is supposed to be insured by the Dominion Navy, but it's power in Protectorate worlds has been severely limited. The Protectorate is considered by many to be doomed to fail, and highly volatile at best.

The Protectorate Core :

The original arrival site for the Dominion's colonization expedition, and a star cluster containing one of the highest concentrations of Divinium ever found. These systems have been colonized in some form or another for centuries, and are considered the most advanced and industrialized systems in Thaumor. All of these systems are firmly under the Dominion's authority and fiercely defended by the Dominion Navy.

The Protectorate Periphery :

A vast and rather vague disk surrounding the Core, approximately 6 thousand astras in radius, the Periphery contains a variety of systems that have been colonized and developing for long enough to be considered fully self sufficient and capable of volume industrial production.

The Protectorate Fringe :

A small disk englobing the Periphery, approximately 2 thousand astras in radius, the Fringe contains star systems that have been colonized relatively recently, and are still effectively dependent on supplies from the rest of the galaxy for effective development and sometimes even outright survival. Fringe systems are often lightly defended, if at all, and make prime targets for pirate and raiders.

The Protectorate Boundary :

The official line that delimits the end of the Protectorate's influence, the boundary is generally considered the be the end of inhabited space in the Thaumor galaxy. It isn't strictly true, but the frequency of inhabited star systems drops massively afterwards, and peters to nothing after a few hundred astras.

The Condor Sector :

One of the 3 Protectorate sectors to have lead the fight against the Dominion during the civil war, the Condor sector is particular in that it contained a cluster of exceptionally habitable and mineral rich worlds, thought to be an old Terran nature preserve. This has made the sector exceptionally fast developing and eventually extremely rich and powerful. It has also used to house several rival colonies attempting to exploit the resources of the sector, a rivalry that exploded into outright military conflict. Oddly enough, the conflict reached a diplomatic resolution before the Dominon Navy was able to mobilize, as the colonial navies effectively annihilated each other. Nowadays Condor has the industrial power and population to rival the Protectorate Core, and quite possibly possesses the largest standing navy in the galaxy outside of the Dominion Navy itself.

The Alientia Sector :

One of the 3 Protectorate sectors to have lead the fight against the Dominion during the civil war, the Alientia sector is a strange anomaly in industrial development. In theory this sector, which had a distinct lack of inhabitable worlds, should have been poorly developed and a forgotten backwater. In practice however it's inhabitants refused to back down, and constructed an impressive space based industry spanning the whole sector, producing entire fleets of homemade ships, and evolving as an almost entirely space based civilization. This wealth of ships allowed for plentiful commerce...And unquestioning shipyards made them the hub of pirate and mercenary activity in the galaxy. Not for fighting, but for selling their catches and buying new ships. The sector was eventually blockaded by the Dominion Navy, nearly driving it to starvation and complete ruin, before the fleets enforcing the blockade were recalled when the civil war began. Ever since the Alientia sector has positively hated the Dominion, and barely tolerates the Dominion Navy's massively reduced presence in it's space.

The Sortor Sector :

One of the 3 Protectorate sectors to have lead the fight against the Dominion during the civil war, the Sortor sector is an oddity in that it was not actually founded by the Dominion. Rather the sector was colonized a few decades after the Dominion began establishing itself in Thaumor by a refugee fleet from the Averan Empire, a collapsing Low Verge nation from a nearby galaxy. The colonist brought their tech base with them, unfortunately they were ill prepared for colonizing such uncharted space, and their colonies nearly collapsed into barbarity and slaughter, until the Dominion came to their rescue. This has resulted in the Dominion and Sortor having a close relationship....Right up until the civil war, where the Sortor sector was reluctantly forced to fight against the Dominion.

Near Verge :

The Near Verge is simultaneously a technology level and a geographical situation. It designates the oldest, most technologically advanced nations of the Verge, which are usually very near or outright bordering the Infinite Systems Federation. The Near Verge technology level is characterized by interdimensional travel, either through jump drives and portals, as well as the ability to effectively and massively colonize shattered star systems. It is also considered to be the highest possible level of technology without being invited to join the Federation, an invitation that is rarely refused.

High Verge :

High Verge designates a technology level, which is characterized by fast intergalactic travel, dimensional interference drives for ships and the appearance of the first super-capital ships like super-dreadnoughts.

Mid Verge :

Mid Verge designates a technology level, which is characterized by the appearance of slow intergalactic travel, dimensional interference drives for missiles, and the first man portable gauss weapons.

Low Verge :

Low Verge designates a technology level, which is characterized by the essential technologies for an interstellar power : hyperdrives, grav drives, artificial gravity generators, ect. The upper end of the Low Verge also sees the appearance of capital ships like battleships, and sometimes even dreadnoughts.

Primitive :

Primitive designates a technology level which is characterized by it's inability for fast interstellar travel. Most primitive worlds are either interdicted by the Infinite Systems Federation or newly contacted worlds still implementing the Low Verge technology from the universal first contact package.

The Imperial Frontier Fleet :

A vast organization built by the Empire of Mara specifically to project force and exert influence outside of it's borders. The original frontier fleet's mandate was restricted to neighboring territories, making sure to suppress piracy and generally stabilize the regions to prevent unrest and pirate fleets from spilling over into imperial space. Nowadays the frontier fleet's mandate has been vastly expanded, and they are one of the most common Infinite Systems organizations operating in the Verge. It should be noted that the frontier fleet's reputation is...mixed. In some areas they are seen as saviors, while in others they are seen as genocidal monsters. This is mainly due to the Imperial Doctrine of Eradication, applied especially harshly to slavery, where complete annihilation of the offenders is a recommended solution. Usually considered to be vastly harsher and more dangerous than other Infinite Systems military organizations, they are nonetheless extremely effective and generally well thought of in areas they set up fleet bases in, thanks to their extremely thorough and effective anti piracy campaigns as well as humanitarian assistance.