Vendetta Online

The Chronicles of Exile

AD3173

Itan and its people have flourished in the past few hundred years. The planet is beautiful and green, with much wildlife on the land and in the sea. The people continue to advance technologically, constructing new types of spaceships and exploring the nearby wormhole areas. The schools of Eo have become integrated into the overall social and cultural structure of the people. Everyone participates in them to some extent, most leaving after several years to pursue jobs or technological research elsewhere. Some men and women, however, dedicate their lives to the schools and to the monastic life. These people research and practice internal energy, meditation, and ponder the meaning of life and death. Ancient martial forms, inspired by the animals of Earth, are researched and studied. New martial forms, inspired by the movements of wind and water, are discussed and refined. Much thought is given to the ideal of becoming one with one's actions, mind and body. Whether applied to ancient swordsmanship forms or modern spaceship piloting, the results are impressive. Prospective pilots that have been taught the advanced meditation techniques are shown to have unusual reflexes and timing. The monastic upper levels of the school see these intriguing results and resolve to further their meditative research.

AD3461

The culture of Itan progresses apace. The teachers and luminaries of the Schools of Eo become known as brothers or sisters of the Order of Eo. The Order is led by an abbot and a loose democratic organization of the rest of the Order. By this point, the Itani Senate has mostly ceased to exist, and the Itani people are largely guided by the Order. There is no strict governmental hierarchy so much as a group of elected officials from various towns, all of whom look to the Order for overall direction and guidance. Much emphasis is placed on personal responsibility, both to one's own actions and to one's community. Most community tasks are distributed on a volunteer basis, and the various duties periodically migrate around the community.

Technologically, the Itani continue to advance, mostly perfecting and honing that which they already know, rather than making great leaps forward in knowledge. The efficiency and safety of the fusion power systems and grivitic pulse propulsion are greatly increased, and the Itani begin to explore further into the wormhole areas near them. As the population increases, there is an overall desire to spread out rather than condense in cities. Short-range planetary transportation is not a serious issue, as both energy for transport ships and some short-range matter transference are available. The Order maintains that a certain balance of human population should not be exceeded, lest it begin to damage their delicate and hard-wrought world. Thus, a search begins for new homes of future generations.

The Order themselves continue to delve into the mysteries of the mind, body, and soul. New theories and advances in meditation occur frequently. A certain number of standard practices are common throughout the Order and emulated by much of the rest of the Itani population. These practices of diet, exercise, meditation, and martial study have begun to result in considerably extended lifetimes for the practitioners. It is not uncommon for members of the order, along with other studious and motivated individuals, to reach an age of 150 years or more still in able-bodied health. Additionally, the medical needs of these practitioners are often markedly less than that of those who chose not to practice with regularity. Sickness and disease have become very rare within the Order.

AD3537

A well-respected member of the Order, Erum the Blind, is given to moments of prophecy and clarity during deep meditation. The accuracy of these prophecies, or at least their common interpretations, is largely uncontested, as he has foretold major unusual events within his lifetime. Towards the end of his span, at age one hundred and thirty nine, he suddenly lapses into a prophetic state while in the midst of a martial demonstration for several upper-level students. He speaks of a hidden evil within the Itani people, of a thread of hatred long held in secret, which could spell the doom of the Itani. So saying, he abruptly expires, to the anguish of his students. His words disturb the Order to its foundations, as Itan has experienced little conflict and few problems in the last five hundred years. The elders ponder the meaning of this new threat, and how (and when) it may affect them.

AD3624

The Itani begin to investigate a new branch of technology. It is found that sensors can be constructed which can react to the will and energies of a meditatively trained individual. It is even theorized that the technology could be crafted to amplify the energies of a monk, with many possible applications. The Order has long studied the link between thought and action, and many test pilots have been martially trained towards this end. When combined with the new technology, even more impressive results are realized. Sufficiently trained pilots can now fly with mere thought, while "feeling" the response of their ship in great detail. All data recorded by the shipboard computer can be filtered into their consciousness, understood, and acted upon, while in the required meditative state. Training to achieve this state, however, is a long and difficult process. Additionally, in a world of transports which can autopilot from place to place without incident, there is little need for this technology. For now, it is mainly used by the Order to provide displays of aerobatic skill during large festivals.

AD3718

The Itani have had much success in their colonization projects. A number of planets suitable for colonization and terraforming (now greatly advanced) are found within a few wormhole-jumps of Itan. The planets of Eo and Divinia are founded, and by AD3600 are well terraformed and populated. Temples, seats of the Order of Eo, are constructed on all the new planets, with planet-wide Abbots elected to direct the local affairs of the Order. All temples frequently consult with the home temple for guidance.

AD3804

A proposal is made to expand exploration in the direction of the wormholes through which the Ark had passed on its fateful journey to Itan. Some are curious to see what has become of their ancient brethren and learn more of their history. Others even dream of perhaps rediscovering a route to that aboriginal home of humankind, Earth. Four hundred years earlier, when the Itani began to explore their spatial surroundings in earnest, the Order had placed a ban on passing beyond the furthest of the known wormhole areas in the direction of Terra II. Past Abbots had asked that explorers remember why their forefathers had fled, risking life to found a new home where their children might live in peace. The Itani have no illusions about their past, or the horrible deeds perpetrated by their ancestors that caused the war and eventually led to the Exile of the Ark. However, the Itani people believe that much has changed in the last thousand years since the Exile, and in many respects they are correct. Itan gives all signs of an ideal human society, where concern for survival is a thing only dimly remembered. The populace instead strives to create works of beauty and thought, only for the delight of creation. Exploring the fringes of their universe and their minds, while cradled in the lush beauty of their planets, the Itani people have forgotten their ancient hatreds. Much historical study is given to the Serco and their ways. Although the idea of melding man with machine, or diverging from the blueprint of nature, holds little personal appeal to the Itani people, it is now considered to be the ways of a different culture, no doubt as unique, beautiful, and interesting as their own.

The exploration proposal meets some resistance in the upper levels of the Order, with those who believe it was unwise to seek the ancient enemy. However, the idea quickly gains ground with many of the more curious and scientifically minded, and is much debated throughout the Itani planets. After several years of discussions, enough pressure has built to cause the Abbot of Itan, with some misgivings, to lift the Ban.

AD3816

The technology of monitoring and focusing the energy of a meditative monk has been further refined to produce an intriguing device. The so-called "Energy Focus" can be used by a highly trained monk to produce a seemingly impenetrable field, formed from a variety of spiritual life energies. The form of this field is adaptable by the thoughts of the monk, depending on the skill and abilities of the individual. The discovery is hailed as opening a new field of science, but few immediate applications are found. Many of the upper level members of the Order acquire Energy Focus devices for experimentation and as teaching tools, to give form to thought and aid in conceptual description.

AD3827

Although exploration through the wormholes near Terra II commences immediately after the lifting of the Ban, it is done as discreetly as possible. Reconnaissance information is gathered on the Serco and Terra II in order to develop a cautious plan to make contact with their historical foe. So, for some years, observations of the Serco are made at long range. In the seventh month of 3827, an Itani exploration ship and its crew are captured by the Serco.