Looking back, they called those turbulent times simply: the Troubles. A period of chaotic upheaval and destruction that sent the Republic reeling through successive crises, each growing more desperate as the galaxy spun out of control.
Exactly when the Troubles started… that was open to interpretation. After the Savage Wars were thought to have ended, said some. Others claimed that period of death and war began with the Republic’s action on Psydon. Still others pointed to the Republic’s forced migration of the zhee, or even the arrival of the Mid-Core Rebellion, culminating in victories against the Legion at Kublar and the genocidal atrocities extending as far as Rhysis Whan.
But no matter when they began, the galaxy-shaking events of the Troubles were well remembered by those who suffered through them, and the scars of those upheavals would leave their indelible mark for years, and perhaps lifetimes, to come.
The brazen and open government corruption infesting the former capital planet of Utopion.
The arrival of the tyrant Goth Sullus, who briefly united opposition to the Republic before falling prey to the vanity of the title… the Emperor.
The Legion invoking Article Nineteen of the Republic Constitution, bringing an all-consuming flame to a simmering cold war that had long been stewing between the rulers and those forced to fight their needless wars.
The sudden unexpected attack by an alien race known as the Cybar. Relentless. Cruel. Inhuman in the extreme.
And finally, the long-planned return of a tribe of lost Savages, led by their messiah… the Golden King.
In the aftermath, this battered galaxy now longs for peace and stability. The Republic, now reformed, seeks to govern by rule of law. But no matter how sincere the reform, how earnest and well-meaning the ruler, some worlds refuse to place their destiny in the hands of others.