01. the History of Xim and the Tion Cluster

8/20/2019 01. the History of Xim and the Tion Cluster

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The History of Xim and the Tion Cluster

Introduction

By Jason Fry; illustrations by modi; Special thanks to Michael Kogge

The tales of Xim the Despot reach back so far in galactic memory that the lines beteen ancient chronicles and

long!held myths ha"e become too blurred to e"er redra# $nd as he has receded in history% Xim has come to

mean &uite di'erent things to di'erent species# To much of galactic society he is a sa"age (gure but also a

mythic one% the impact of his atrocities dulled by the passage of eons# To the Tionese% he is a melancholy

symbol of "anished might and betrayal# To the )utts% he is an e*ample of humans+ brutish poer and )utt

"engeance# To those hose ancestors ere his sla"es% he is a story to spook children% but one hinting at a

terrible truth, Space is full of horrors that could ruin e"erything one considers eternal and holds dear#

-ecent decades ha"e seen a renaissance in Xim scholarship# The .e -epublic has granted unprecedentedaccess to /mperial archi"es% alloing the restoration of material thought erased in data purges# The reborn Jedi

0ouncil has shared historical records reco"ered from its secret storehouses# Species such as the 0olumi ha"e

released in"aluable chronicles dating back eons# The end of the 1mpire and the diminution of )utt poer ha"e

alloed e*ploration of orlds long unreachable# $nd progressi"e entities ithin the Tion itself ha"e cooperated

ith historical in&uiries% hoping to shake o' the ancient resentments and conspiracy theories that ha"e kept

their region a backater#

This is not to say that the history of the Despot is no clear, Xim remains a di"isi"e (gure among historians%

ith respected scholars continuing to argue about the chronology of his rule% hich deeds should properly be

attributed to his father Xer% and hether or not the many tales of The Despotica% that epic ork of drama% ha"e

a basis in historical reality# But hether one champions the theories of Bleys )arand% Sal -ansen% S#2# Skyn* or

other Xim scholars% this much is clear, Many of Xim+s accomplishments are as ae!inspiring as the ildest tales

of The Despotica# Xim+s monstrous ambitions may ha"e claimed much of hat he built% but his name ill

endure as long as galactic ci"ili3ation itself#

Before Xim: The Pirate-King of Argai

Most every child knows that Xim the Despot was the child of Xer VIII -- "Son of Xer!" remains a common expression of amazement in

parts of the ter im# $t what Xer did to %ild the &ion into an empire has %een lar'ely o%scred %y his son(s deeds#

&oday the planet )r'ai is mch as it was in Xer(s time* a chilly rock with little to see except scattered rins and the %laze of the Ihala Spiral

+now known as the Indrex, in its ni'ht skies# &he )r'aians have %een renowned +and crsed, since the first days of the &ion as hard-%itten

traders and darin' pilots with a ha%it of trnin' to piracy when it sits them# Xer -- 'enerally said to have %een %orn arond ./00 $$1 --was a pirate chieftain whose fleets explored the Ihala(s chrnin' 'ases and dst clods/ carvin' ot %oltholes and secret rotes# 2rom these

hidin' places/ they harried shippin' in the %ackwater re'ions of the 3in'dom of 4ron and raided worlds as far from home as dri' and

4alla# In this a'e %efore relia%le navicompters/ ships plyin' the Ihala ote 5mped thro'h hyperspace %etween navi'ational %eacons/with only the most darin' pilots strayin' %eyond this "li'hthose network#" Xer(s raiders sed a wealth of navi'ational data to await ships in

the interstellar dark %etween systems# &he pirates liked to litter the spacelanes with chnks of ice that wold tri''er ships( collision-

avoidance systems/ droppin' them into realspace6 these hazards cold later %e melted with a fsillade of laser %lasts#


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Made rich %y plnder/ Xer(s am%itions expanded accordin'ly# )lready hailed the lord of )r'ai/ he seized Dravione to create his own pocket

realm# )r'ai was nominally part of the 3in'dom of 4ron/ then centered arond an arc of worlds from 7anilis to )l'or/ %t 4ron wasconvlsed %y its own intri'es/ and the cort on 4handaar paid little intention to Xer(s 'rowin' power# 8m%oldened/ he moved his forces

down the Ihala ote/ dismantlin' satrapies rled %y feckless 4ronese yon'er sons and faded families fonded %y lon'-dead warlords#

9ithin a decade the 3in'dom of )r'ai extended from Dravione to :anna/ and Xer cold no lon'er %e i'nored#

&he 3in' of 4ron/ 2erece/ smmoned Xer to 4handaar/ where he so'ht to %y off the pirate-lord with more no%le titles in retrn for an

oath of fealty# ;e'end has it Xer 'lowered at the slmp-sholdered 2erece and his simperin'/ vain cli


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The Despot Triumphant

Taking the 0handaar Throne upon Xer+s retirement% Xim immediately sent his forces to Jhantoria% here they

smashed the 4i"ien 4eague# )e mo"ed to ra3e Dese"ro% but as dissuaded by the planet+s military ruler%

Maslo"ar Tiatio"# Dese"rar history says Tiatio" took Xim on a tour of Dese"ro+s (ghting academies and

go"ernment halls% shoing the ne 0ronese king a bureaucracy e"en more able than his on# $nd Xim as

impressed by the Dese"rars+ tradition of training the sons of outlying orlds as 5anissaries and ci"il ser"ants#

/nstead of making an e*ample of Dese"ro for daring to oppose his father% Xim decided the Fourth Throne ould

dri"e territorial con&uests that ould make his father+s ambitions seem small# 6ith the Four Thrones under one

cron% the Kingdom of 0ron became the 1mpire of Xim#

/t as the beginning of Xim+s 1*pansionist 7eriod% a decade!long e'ort that as simultaneously an enlightened

program of coloni3ation and imperial integration and a terrifying rampage# $ ci"ili3ation that had something to

interest the 1mperor could hope for the former; one that dared oppose him% or seemed unlikely to sell his

co'ers% could only aait the latter#

Xim+s legions (rst mo"ed spinard% con&uering orlds% building ne beacons for the empire+s na"igational

netork and aaiting a a"e of Tionese colonists# /n this fashion the empire gobbled up "ast tracts of space#

86orthy8 species such as the 2urk and Stena* ere ensla"ed; others ere e*terminated and their names

erased from history# 6here Xim+s forces found empty orlds 9or emptied them:% Tionese colonists mo"ed in%

their numbers steadily increasing as part of Xim+s strategy of con&uest# The Thanium 6orlds% hich took their

name from a military head&uarters established early in Xim+s spinard push% became the largest and richest of

Xim+s ne pro"inces#


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/n the rimard reaches of the Thanium% Xim met a (erce challenge at -anroon% hose &ueen+s forces fought his

in"ading 5anissaries bra"ely% bitterly and ultimately "ainly# .o character in The Despotica !! not e"en Xim

himself !! is as "i"id as /ndre*u% the legendary ueen of -anroon% and no historical (gure is more argued about#

Some scholars contend she is a literary in"ention of later dramatists; others belie"e she e*isted% but argue

about her role in Xim+s empire and her ultimate fate# To some she is a minor (gure% a (*ture at Xim+s court

hose name has endured; to others she is the pi"ot around hich the empire turned% her merest glance the

spark that lit the (res of the 0ronese 6ars% Xim+s e*pansion and e"erything thereafter# 6hate"er the truth% the

/hala Spiral as renamed in her honor% and the Far /ndre*u became the si*th pro"ince of Xim+s empire% ith


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)utt legends hold that the sack of Ko 2ari as singularly brutal; both )utt and Tionese accounts admit that

Xim+s dri"e toard Sleheyron failed, The Despot+s arships ere dri"en back to Xo+s 1ye 9later knon as

Kessel:% here many ere lost in a nest of black holes# But despite this "ictory% the )utts reali3ed they had

badly underestimated this ne species and its leader !! the Tionese controlled many orlds% bred like "ermin%

and turned out ne arships ith frightening speed#

The )utts stalled for time% defending Sleheyron and paying pri"ateers of all species to harass Xim+s borders#

$nd the leader of the )utts% Kossak% manipulated the Daritha rather ably% demanding to kno hat kind ofleader hid behind sheer numbers% instead of pro"ing his bra"ery in ritual combat#

$fter repeated taunts% Xim accepted the )utt lord+s in"itation to (ght at 2ontor !! a site long used for )utt ritual

combats% and a rich source of increasingly scarce kiirium#

$s ith all of Xim+s deeds% accounts of the clashes at 2ontor greatly depending on ho tells the tale# Scholars of

the First Battle of 2ontor agree on this much, 0ombat as 5oined around C%EE BBthers suggested it reached back to some long!

ago cataclysm that sundered the Tionese from the rest of humanity% or that it as older still !! a racial memory

of ser"itude to the -akata% perhaps# -e"isionist scholars% meanhile% contended it as neer !! a garbled

retelling of the Tion+s defeat by the young -epublic#


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Today the generally accepted theory is that (rst put forth some E years ago by the 0orellian merchant%

philosopher and historian Bleys )arand#

For eons% the star systems to trailing of the Tion 0luster ha"e been called the $sh 6orlds !! a name so idely

knon that the -epublic adopted it for that sector of space# Fe hyperspace routes end through these lonely

precincts of space% and thousands upon thousands of orlds there are barren% many still bearing the in"isible

scars of radiation# $stronomers ha"e scoured the area searching for the remnants of a superno"a or some other

natural e"ent% but nothing has e"er been found#

)arand sent his students 9including his protGgG )enrietya $ntilles : on secret e*peditions to the $sh 6orlds%

then part of 6ild Space# They reported that radiation le"els on many of those forlorn planets (t the pro(le of

(ssion attacks some C millennia before# The )utts ere knon for carelessly poisoning orlds and for

e*terminating sla"e species% hich had led most scholars to suggest that the $sh 6orlds ere a )utt domain

used up in eons past# )arand argued that the $sh 6orlds ere a remnant of the Kiirium -eaches% and the

De"ouring as a memory of a genocidal campaign aged by the )utts against the Tionese#

The neborn 1mpire interdicted many of the $sh 6orlds% using them for eapons testing and other acti"ities

best conducted far from the 0ore# 6ith further e*plorations impossible% )arand+s folloers searched tirelessly

for sur"i"ing records in the Tion# $ntilles+ disco"ery of the =reat Duinarbulon Mausoleum 9and her ork to

decipher the tomes inside: pro"ing )arand correct, The $ntilles Map found in the Mausoleum shoed that the

hostile orld of 6yndigal // as once )uronom% hile anonymous >)SHI!E had been $stigone#

$ccording to the Duinarbulon $rchi"es and records reco"ered by -uurian archaeologists on Dellalt % the

"ictorious )utts raided the Kiirium -eaches for sla"es and regarded them as fair game for the ambitions of

young )utt princelings% but left the orlds more or less unharmed for centuries after the Daritha+s death# But all

that changed around I%CEE BBnly along the 6arriors+ Trace ere the old beacons left intact and a fe Tionese orlds spared !! and that as

only to preser"e a )utt in"asion corridor to the Tion and make sure there ere hostages to take along the ay#

Some of those beacons still e*ist today in the "icinity of hat is no knon as the Salin 0orridor !! mute relics

of a "anished empire#

The Hand of Xim

9hile many &ionese claim descent from the Despot/ Xim is %elieved to have died with no le'itimate heirs# )fter Xim(s death/ the center of

his empire held to'ether for nearly a centry -- a testament to the stren'th of the instittions he and Xer had %ilt# $t %y the time of the

Devorin'/ the empire had fra'mented into %rawlin' states* the 3in'dom of 4ron/ the 7aminere Marches/ the Indrex 4onfederation/ the3eldrath )li'nment/ the &hanim 9orlds and the =onora%le ?nion of Desevro and &ion wold spend centries str''lin' a'ainst each

other/ the 4ore and the =tts/ ntil their ancient 'lories were little more than le'ends to enliven a dreary %ackwater#

In the ep%lic(s final years/ the 4lster(s disparate states 5oined p to form two tattered dominions* the &ion =e'emony and the 3in'dom of

4ron# $oth %ecame Separatist hot%eds drin' the 4lone 9ars/ and paid the price after the rise of the 8mpire# &he 8mpire allowed the

=e'emony a hmiliatin'ly nominal independence/ %t carved ot the )llied &ion/ Indrex and 3eldrath into sectors/ alon'side the renamed4ronese Mandate and the shrnken =e'emony# &alk of renification proceeded %y fits and starts after the 8mpire(s demise/ with the >ew

ep%lic seemin'ly showin' little interest in the re'ion# &he 1zhan Von' raided the 4lster(s %order worlds/ %t did s%stantial dama'e

only to 4alla# &he &ion(s time has lon' since passed/ the name of Xim remains powerfl -- an evocation of a period of 'alactic history atonce %ar%aric and heroic/ many of whose trimphs/ horrors and mysteries are yet to %e investi'ated#


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Signicant Worlds of the Tion Cluster and the Historicalreater Tion

The Cronese !andate

The 0ronese Mandate includes hundreds and hundreds of populated orlds alongside numerous uninhabited

ones# The 0ronese tend to aloofness% mindful of their imperial past and often dismissing their Tionese neighbors

as unsophisticated peasants !! 0ron has alays looked to the rest of the gala*y in a ay the rest of the Tion

hasn+t# /ts principal orlds are along the 0ronese $rc; the Kismaano Bypass and the /ndre*u -oute connect it to

the $llied Tion% hile some traders follo the $rc to Saheelindeel and the orlds of the Tion )egemony+s Back

Spiral#

"rcan !! $ busy port on the 7erlemian for millennia% $rcan /2 is the 0ronese Mandate+s principal

spaceport and a fairly prosperous system ith numerous mining concerns#

#anilis !! $lready old in Xim+s time% Janilis 2// as one of the cradles of 0ronese ci"ili3ation% a lush

planet fa"ored by 0ron+s nobles# /t remains populous today% but is a rundon orld ith a subsistence

economy# The 0ronese charge e*orbitant rates to researchers ho ant to poke through its archi"es in

search of lost documents from Xim+s era#

Chandaar !! The capital of the 0ronese Mandate% 0handaar as the original throneorld of 0ron and

the second of the Xim Thrones# /t remains the royal seat of 0ron% no ruled by (gureheads# Today

0handaar is a polluted% decaying urban orld% home to many 0ronese mining companies# /ts surface is

dotted ith soulless modern cityscapes and ancient ruins attesting to its ancient glories#

$or !! /n ancient times >or 2// as a humming factory orld% but millennia of en"ironmental

degradation ha"e left it parched and thinly populated#


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%arancar !! >riginally a thri"ing merchant port% Barancar as ringed ith orbital shipyards in Xim+s

day# Millennia of ar and decay ha"e left most of the yards derelict% but (tful industry still struggles

along here and there# Many of the ancient docks are no the lairs of smugglers and outlas#

Soruus !! During Xim+s reign Soruus as a booming tradeorld famous for gladiatorial spectacles% a

tradition that has continued to thri"e e"en as most other commerce has ebbed#

&asmin !! $ tradeorld in Xim+s time% 7asmin remains knon for its skilled ea"ers% ho labor at their

craft much as their distant ancestors did#

"rraman' !! $ laless urban orld% $rraman*+s slums are notorious throughout the Tion# 4a!abiding

star!hoppers from the $llied Tion do their business at a number of scu33y but ser"iceable orbital

stations% hile those carrying illegal cargoes try their luck planetside#

Duinar(ulon !! >ne of the eldest 0ronese orlds% Duinarbulon+s proud arriors ser"ed Xer and Xim as

a"idly as they had the 0ron lords# The mightiest Duin aspired to become Duinarbulon 4ancers% ho

ser"ed Xim on countless orlds before their defeat at the Second Battle of 2ontor# 4egend has it that

se"en massi"e stones of polished ebon% no long!"anished% marked the 4ancers+ parade grounds#

Duinarbulon is a pastoral orld relati"ely unscathed by the 0luster+s long history of unrest#

Derellium !! $ leading agricultural orld of the Tion% Derellium is famous locally for its ines# Some

0ronese ine collections include centuries!old Derellium "intages#

)i(on !! >ne of 0ron+s eldest and most!poerful orlds% 1ibon has been knon for millennia for its

proud% independent people% hom e"en Xer and Xim treated ith respect# The 1ibon Scimitar% one of

Xim+s Aagships% as destroyed at the First Battle of 2ontor#


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"lgor !! $lgorians are famed for their disputatiousness% hich is the sub5ect of many a 5oke in the

0luster% and their ferocity as pirates# Many early tales of Xim and Xer celebrate their "ictories o"er

$lgorian raiders% though such tales are less popular on grimy% urban $lgor#

*oran Tutha !! $ barren orld on the edge of the Tion 0luster% Foran Tutha ould be 5ust another

anonymous rock if not for the disco"ery of the Foran Tutha star probe# Scholars ha"e argued for ("e

centuries hether the fragments of this unimaginably ancient starship are remnants of 0elestial%

-akatan or early 0ore technology; they seem certain to argue for ("e centuries more#

+ismaano !! $ rich mining orld on the Kismaano Bypass% Kismaano has long stood apart from the

rest of 0ron% hich has ne"er trusted its canny merchants# Kismaano+s surface is sept by high inds%

and its eldest settlements ere built in the sides of canyons and rifts# These cli'side dellings ha"e

been tourist attractions for millennia#

adon !! $ mining orld% =adon has long chafed at the domination of its poerful neighbor Kismaano#

&anna !! The 7anna system is a tangle of asteroid belts surrounding a trio of gas giants% home to bold

prospectors% hardscrabble traders% pirates and outlas# /ts best!knon settlement is 7anna 0ity% a

battered spaceport on 7anna 7rime% a moon notable for its thick% gelid seas#

Corlass !! $s ith the other 0ronese systems huddled against the /ndre*u Spiral% 0orlass has a long

history of piracy% interrupted by periods of sullen lafulness compelled by strong 0ronesego"ernments# Xim admired the 0orlassi for their bra"ery and skill as spacers% and former 0orlassi

buccaneers captained many of his arships#

"rgai !! The homeorld of Xer and Xim% $rgai as the site of the Despot+s grandest palace% no little

more than scattered stones rounded by the eons#

,uswatta !! The last grisly sacri(ces ere performed unimaginably long ago% and the hierophants of

Xo are long gone% but .usatta remains an ob5ect of curiosity to a gala*y raised on tales of the ghastly

doings here# /n theory only 0ronese may "isit .usatta and "ie the ruins of its fabled =ardens%

though in practice most humans can bribe their ay onto the planet# .onhumans face considerable

danger trying to tra"el there% hoe"er% as nearly all 0ronese 9and many Tionese: consider aliens+

presence on .usatta taboo#

The "llied Tion

The $llied Tion has little historical identity% ha"ing been car"ed out of the Tion )egemony by the 1mpire#

Traditionally% this area as a bu'er beteen the )egemony and 0ron% ith 4ianna% Barseg% 0adinth and

Jaminere 5ostling for inAuence# Today the $llied Tion is knon for its manufacturing and trade# The 0adinth -un

sees a great deal of tra?c% though little of that passes beyond Jaminere to the /ndre*u -oute and the Dese"ran

Trace#

Lianna !! >ne of the busiest ports in the Tion 0luster% 4ianna is the head&uarters of SantheSienar

Technologies# 4ianna prides itself on its independence and poer% but such airs arouse snickers among

many Tionese# The &uestionable 4iannan claim ne"er to ha"e been ruled by Xim is much mocked% as

during the Despot+s reign 4ianna as a bleak agricultural orld ith a fe thousand inhabitants#

%arseg !! 7erhaps the most arrogant of all Tionese% the Barsegi regard their neighbors ith ill!

concealed contempt% loftily informing any ho ask 9and many ho don+t: that Barseg as aninterstellar poer before the 0handaarians e"en reached the stars# Barseg+s castes are ancient and

stunningly rigid% ith many on the grim tradeorld performing the same duties their distant ancestors

did#

Lorrad !! This grimy urban orld as ensla"ed by Barseg for millennia% ith many 4orradians li"ing in

harroing conditions# The planet has been free of its neighbor since the -epublic brought Barseg to

heel around EE BB


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-enoned as the Third Throne of Xim% it is dotted ith gloomy% sharp!featured cities that self!

consciously e"oke the distant past#

)m(aril !! >ne of the Tion+s least!spoiled orlds% 1mbaril+s green hills and crystalline lakes attract

ealthy nobles from throughout the 0luster and e"en some parts beyond#

-oss !! The 1mpire poured credits into this unremarkable mining orld hen it created the $llied Tion#

/mperial hopes of creating an industrial poerhouse to balance the inAuence of 4ianna soon faded%hoe"er% as 2oss &uickly fell under the say of corrupt Tionese clans#

#aminere !! The capital of the $llied Tion% Jaminere is a poerful manufacturing orld admired for its

rather un!Tionese e?ciency# /n the centuries after Xim+s death Jaminere+s rule stretched from 1mbaril

and Desargorr to $marin and $rgai% and its inAuence remains strong in the sector#

Dravione !! 4ong ago supplanted by Jaminere% Dra"ione is a bleak agricultural orld notable for a

handful of Xim!era aeries that are remarkably ell!preser"ed by the thin air#

Corla' !! $n unremarkable industrial orld% 0orla* spent millennia changing hands beteen Dese"ro

and Jaminere before becoming one of the Separatists+ leading sources of ar materiel during the 0lone

6ars#

"marin !! >ne of the Tion+s busiest agri!orlds% $marin as a hunting reser"e during Xim+s time% andtradition has preser"ed its thick% cool forests e"er since% o'ering a small respite from the reckage of

so much else in the 0luster#

Desargorr !! $ mountainous orld rich in minerals% Desargorr is pitted by millennia of ruthless mining%

as are the system+s numerous moons% asteroids and comets#

The Tion Hegemony

The )egemony is di"ided into to &uite di'erent regions, the cluster of systems at the head of the Dese"ran

-un% and the string of systems beyond the /ndre*u% along the Tion Trade -oute in hat+s knon as the Back

Spiral# The former rose to prominence as the 4i"ien 4eague; often called the 4i"ien 6orlds% they include some of

humanity+s eldest cultures# The Back Spiral orlds are mostly poor% and ha"e little to do economically or

culturally ith the 4i"ien 6orlds#

Desevro !! This ancient% rotted city!planet has a long% bitter history, /t began as the leading orld of

the 4i"ien 4eague% pro"ided Xim+s empire ith military discipline and Aaless organi3ation as his

Fourth Throne% and then led the )onorable nion of Dese"ro and Tion into ar against the young

-epublic# But it became a backater ages ago% and no is steeped in millennia of bitterness#

Livien !! The founding orld of the ancient 4i"ien 4eague% 4i"ien no barely e"en has its lost glories to

sustain it% ha"ing stumbled into a long tilight as a subsistence agricultural orld pocked ith ruins#

+anaver !! $n ancient 4i"ien orld% Kana"er has shaken o' centuries of torpor to re!engage ith the

gala*y% becoming a busy port ser"ing the rimard systems of the 7erlemian% the )egemony orlds of

the Back Spiral% and the planets of the Mon 0al!dominated trade route knon as the >"eric =riplink#

*olende !! $ middling agri!orld for centuries% Folende upped its production substantially in the (nal

decades of the -epublic under mysterious circumstances% becoming a pro"ider of staples to theimpo"erished orlds of the Far 7erlemian#

$mman !! $n agricultural competitor of Folende+s% >mman became an /mperial garrison after the fall

of the -epublic% ith the 1mpire using the planet as a base from hich it could keep an eye on the Mon

0alamari and -ebel rumblings in the resti"e Back Spiral#

"(ra'in !! $ misty orld tucked into a fold in the /ndre*u Spiral% $bra*in has long had a dubious

reputation among the Tionese% ho as children hear spooky stories of the planet+s marsh haunts and

then gro up to (nd $bra*in+s soothsayers and poets are itchy% too# The planet is knon for spirits of

the li&uid "ariety as ell#

.a'us !! /n Xer+s time -a*us as dubbed the 0irclet of the Tion% its shorelines croned ith marble

palaces and the Aoors of its arm lagoons decorated ith colorful tiles# /t en5oyed a renaissance

around I%EE BB< as the central orld of the realm knon as .ikato+s Bootheel% ith the Machinistsof .ikato making its earlier adornments seem paltry# But in later millennia -a*us became a dank hell


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of industrial (lth% a birthplace of foul eapons and dark plots that pro"ed attracti"e to numerous

enemies of the -epublic% from the Sith to the Separatists#

Tion !! The orld that gi"es the 0luster its name is actually one of its minor planets% a placid

aterorld circling a pair of brilliant cyan stars at a distance 9and "isible far beyond the 0luster+s

borders:# Tion+s trio of moons house industrial operations and an une*ceptional spaceport#

"rgoon !! $ motley manufacturing orld% $rgoon is typical of the Back Spiral in ha"ing long looked tothe more!prosperous orlds of the Keldrath and 7akuuni sectors rather than to the 4i"ien 6orlds#

.udrig !! This lush planet has long been the home of the ni"ersity of -udrig% hich dras promising

students from orlds as distant as $rda and 0entares# 6hile some of its departments are la3y and

reactionary% others o'er a rare chance to consider the future ithout being oppressed by the Tion+s

past#

Clariv !! $ busy shipyard% 0lari" conducts much of its business for Keldrath and 7akuuni interests# /t

as the target of brutal /mperial sub5ugation shortly before the Battle of rion /2 is a run!of!the!mill manufacturing orld that tipped into near!open rebellion shortly

before the Battle of


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)staria !! This spaceport is a crossroads for tra?c going beteen the Far 7erlemian and the Tion% and

is only moderately corrupt by Tionese standards#

)ndregaad !! $ backater e"en for the Back Spiral% 1ndregaad is a nearly!forgotten orld ith a

subsistence economy#

+eldrath Sector

This sector as also car"ed out of the )egemony in an e'ort to create a bu'er% in this case beteen the

7akuuni domination of their sector and the Tionese# The e'ort as ill!researched and back(red !! that part of

the )egemony had alays gra"itated to 7akuuni anyay% and the ne sector immediately fell under its

neighbor+s say#

(u !! $ high!gra"ity orld% =bu is home to the 2eubgri% an insect species pri3ed as "aluable laborers

able to ork in highly pressuri3ed atmospheres#

!ullan !! )istory seems to ha"e skipped Mullan% hich has long been knon for its placid people and

steady Ao of good% simple ines and hearty foodstu's#

The Thanium Worlds

These far!Aung orlds ere remade by Xim+s forces during the 1*pansionist 7eriod and formed the industrialengine of his empire# They once stretched to the edges of the -adama 2oid% including orlds later knon as

part of the Sith 1mpire and the =ordian -each# The rimard portions of the Thanium 6orlds ere knon in

Xim+s time as the Far /ndre*u# 6hile the Thanium 6orlds sur"i"e as the name of a modern sector% the eons

ha"e remade these planets so utterly that they bear fe traces of Xim+s rule#

Thanium !! >nce an industrial orld synonymous ith military might and capable of striking fear in

Xim+s enemies% the Fifth Throne remains a commercial orld !! but one distinguishable from its

neighbors only because of its name#

2utus/ !! The Si*th Throne is no a &uiet orld in the Morte* sector knon primarily for its farms%

ith its ancient fame likely to elicit ry shrugs from locals#

.anroon !! -anroon% at least% retains some of the feel of the rancorous% matriarchal orld that bitterly

opposed Xim+s forces# /t+s a orld of di33ying peaks and cli'top aeries% here ancient traditions areproudly held and outsiders regarded ith deep suspicion#

LLL

Jason Fry is the author of The Clone Wars Visual Guide and co!author 9ith Daniel 6allace: of Star Wars: The

Essential Atlas# )e has also ritten for 6i3ards of the 0oast% theStar Wars Insider and Star Wars Gamer # )e

shares space in Brooklyn% .#

01. the History of Xim and the Tion Cluster

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Transcript of 01. the History of Xim and the Tion Cluster