Not much is known of the early history of the Tyler system. Annunaki ruins have been discovered in the northern mountains of Tylera, the continent on which the human colony lies.
For complete information on Felrota and maps see Redbeard's Page.
System Name: Tyler / Felrota
Ruler: Tyler Confederation / Tyran Empire
Cathedral: Orthodox
Agora: None
Garrison: 5
Capital: Olympus
Jumps: 4
Adjacent Worlds: Artemis (Dayside), Miternome (Nightside)
Solar System: Tyler 1 / ?, Tyler 2 / Jaranod, Tyler 3 (Luna Primus, Luna Secundus) / Felrota (Jonas, Zebulus), Tyler 4 (Lyracae) / Mons (Plotare), Tyler 5 (Mertus 1 - 19) / Lucae (Dotuakardo, Ketretmutra), Tyler 6 / Darto, Tyler 7 / ?
Tech: 5 (some 7) / 4
Human Population: 97 million
Alien Population: 2.3 billion
Resources: Agriculture, technology
Exports: Agriculture, goods
Not much is known of the early history of the Tyler system. Annunaki ruins have been discovered in the northern mountains of Tylera, the continent on which the human colony lies. The "Wincing Gargoyle" guards the entrance to an underground passage, which is blocked by huge stone boulders. It is suspected that an Annunaki city lays under the mountains, but every attempt to uncover it has ended in tragedy.
Besides the Annunaki ruins, evidence has been discovered of another ancient race, different from any in the Known Worlds. Ruins of these alien's cities have been discovered in South Tylera. Many of the colonists believe that the builders live on the planet, hidden away by the Felrotians themselves. It has been suggested that the ruins belong to the ancestors of the Felrotians, but no evidence can be found to support these claims.
In 3657, Jonas Sebastian Tyler flew into a previously unexplored system, claimed its discovery, and promptly named it after himself. He explored the system, and determined that the third planet would be suitable for colonization. After surveying the surface, he decided Tylera would be best suited for a human colony. He mapped out the continent and placed the cities. Before returning to the Republic, he decided to explore the remainder of the planet. What he found there amazed him and his crew.
Tyler finally decided to return home after two years of exploration. He never made it past Artemis. His ship came through the jumpgate spinning uncontrollably and severely damaged. Before losing total control of the ship, he launched a probe with data and maps of Tyler 3. Tyler's ship exploded shortly after the probe was launched, and the garrison could do nothing to save him and his crew. The tragedy was excused as a accident, and they assumed that his ship had clipped the jumpgate on his way through.
The data was sent to Tyler's employers, who decided to set up a colony and a research facility in the system. Work began immediately. Cities were built across the continent. The capital city Olympus was constructed around the research facility. Other cities, such as Mylee, were constructed along the coast. The fields were seeded with self-maintaining Agribots, which planted and harvested crops. Mines were constructed in the mountains, run entirely by robots. Automated factories were set up to manufacture everything the colonists needed. Life was grand for the five million inhabitants of Tylera.
The main law in the colony was not to leave the continent, which was established by Tyler himself after his discoveries. The colony was controlled by the Tyleran Council, to which members were elected. To serve on the Council was considered a great honor to all citizens. When the construction of the major cities was completed, the Council organized the Tyler Confederation. Every five years, a new president would be elected to lead the colonists. Each president was allowed a maximum of two terms of office.
Life in the colony was the best in the Known Worlds. Surplus amounts of grain were produced yearly, allowing for export. The colonists kept the Agribots working at full capacity, to produce enough food for the rest of the Known Worlds. Factories produced hovercraft and spaceships for export to the Republic. The colonists went about their daily lives, in their chosen places. The scientists and engineers continued their secretive research. This was the status quo for a hundred years. Then the unthinkable happened.
A group of colonists decided that they wanted to return to the Known Worlds. Nearly a thousand colonists marched to Olympus demanding access to the rest of the planet, or transport out of the system. The president allowed them to take the Tylera, a prototype cruise ship, back to Republic space.
Unfortunately, the Tylera never made it to the Known Worlds. The pilots had set course for the jumpgate, and the ship began its acceleration phase, but something happened. In mid thrust the ship ceased its acceleration and coasted at seven percent of light speed. As it rocketed towards the gate, the garrison cleared all traffic and dispatched a rescue ship, hoping they wouldn't need it. And they wouldn't have, had the ship had been two meters closer to the center of the gate. It grazed the superstructure of the gate, causing the gate to tilt and ripping a whole in the ship. The ship spun through the gate, and exploded shortly thereafter, killing everyone on board the vessel.
The accident was not the tragedy of the day, though. After cleaning up the wreckage of the Tylera, the Council decided to send a ship to the republic to relay the news. When the courier reached the jumpgate, it refused to activate. He double checked the coordinates and tried again. Nothing. The Council sent engineers to the gate in an attempt to bring it back online. They had no success. It was determined that collision had tilted the gate too much, and the impact caused the gate to shutdown, sealing the system from the Republic.
Not much changed after the accident. Grain production was reduced to the minimum required for the colony, and mass production of the many exported goods stopped. The colony continued to grow and expand until it filled the continent. Demonstrations in Olympus became common, as more people wanted to leave the continent. Riots broke out in the coastal cities as people threatened to leave on their own. Then the scientists made the announcement.
When the public learned that their own star was fading, they panicked. Riots broke out across the continent. In a last ditch effort to save the Confederation, the Council allowed people to travel to the continent directly south of Tylera, named South Tylera. A mass exodus ensued, and wars broke out over who would live where. The eastern cities believed that they should be allowed to take the entire continent, since they were the first cities on the planet. In an attempt to control the colonization of South Tylera, the Council sent in troops.
The eastern cities, which had become extremely displeased with the Confederation, broke off and formed the Eastern Alliance. In 3942 the Eastern Alliance declared war on the Confederation and invaded South Tylera, forcefully removing everyone opposed to their rule. On top of the raging civil war, the scientists refused to continue their research, and the labs were sealed.
Then the greatest tragedy of the war occurred. Renegade engineers sabotaged the Agribots belonging to the Eastern Alliance. Instead of keeping the fields productive and irrigated, the bots began stripping off the topsoil. The east only noticed when it was too late to reverse the damage. The Alliance desert spread across the eastern half of the continent. The Alliance immediately destroyed all of the Agribots in their country, and put workers in the fields. These workers became serfs, trading their freedom for survival. This gave the East even more incentive to capture South Tylera.
To everyone it seemed that life on Tyler 3 was grinding to a halt. But then something amazing happened.
The reason the colonists were not permitted to leave the continent was to keep them from overrunning the Felrotian people. Discovered by Tyler himself while exploring the planet, he understood that if human colonization began, and the Felrotians were discovered, they would be enslaved as were the Shantor. So he demanded in his notes on the system that no one ever be allowed to leave the continent of Tylera. He hoped that by the time of First Contact, the Felrotians would be able to defend themselves.
In 3956, Earth Date, the Tyran Empire decided to prove to the rest of their race that the world was round. They organized a fleet of their best ships to carry the leaders of all their world's leaders around Felrota. They believed that by sailing around the world, they would end up in lands controlled by the Felrot Regime. Instead they landed on South Tylera. Convinced that they had traveled around their globe, they ordered their ships north to travel around the continent and reach Tyra. They were surprised when the coast began curved nothing like their maps of Felrot. They could also spot cities where there should be none. They decided to land and determine exactly where they had sailed.
What they found on South Tylera surprised them more then anything. They found huge buildings of stone and metal. And the people which walked in the streets looked like the lesser gods of their legends. They were convinced that they had died and entered the land of the gods. The Regime leaders argued that they had sailed off of the end of the Felrot and passed away. The Tyran leaders knew differently. They attempted to communicate with the strange god-like beings, but were unsuccessful. They assumed that these must be the ignorant gods, since they could only stare and scream. The Felrots kept asking where their leaders were, but they received no response. Then Otyruuk, the leader of the Felrotian Assembly, a small theocratic nation on the west coast of Tyra, decided to speak to them in the language of Jonas, the greatest of the lesser gods.
Otyruuk thought back to his childhood, when he spent hours reading over the stories of Jonas of the lesser gods. He remembered how Jonas commanded the Felrotians to learn his language, because they would need it in the future. He remembered how Jonas wrote a great book which could be used to teach the Felrotians his language, for the time when the gods walked amongst Felrotians again. He remembered learning the language of Jonas, and his four great words.
When Jonas first landed in the city of Tyra, riding in his silver bird, he spoke four words. These four words have been inscribed on every holy book since Jonas left them. They are used as a greeting between Felrotians. To say these four words to a friend is to give them the blessing of Jonas and his fellow gods. It was these four words which Otyruuk decided to speak to the gods which stood staring at them now.
It had started as an ordinary day in Altaire. The markets were open and the streets filled with shoppers. The war had passed to the south many years ago, and this region was now under Eastern Alliance control. But the citizens could care less. They were on their own, doing what they wanted to do. Most of the people in town were farmers from the region surrounding the city.
Then, a few minutes past noon, a group of strange, green scaled aliens with long, thin tails walked into the city. Some of them were dressed in robes, some in nice clothing, the rest in armor. The people around them had grown quiet and were staring at the strange new aliens. They could be heard talking to each other in an unintelligible language over the noise of the marketplace. Yet everyone stopped what they were doing when one of the robed creatures said in plain English "I come in peace."
The group was immediately taken to the city's mayor. He then informed the governor of South Tylera, who in turn informed the Emperor of the Alliance. The Emperor had them travel around his kingdom, witnessing the works of their gods. He had them examined, researched, and had their language translated. After he was done with them, he turned them over to the Council, who showed them their side of the world, and did their own research.
In the end, the leaders, priests and warriors were tired of living with the gods and wished to return home. The Council had transport arranged, and they returned, with representatives from the Tyleran Council. They arranged treaties to guarantee peace between their races for many years.
After the initial shock spread throughout both societies, life returned to normal. The Alliance and the Confederation returned to their war, and the Felrots to their struggles. The two forces saw little of each other until the 4900's.
The jumpgate reopened in 4546, again allowing travel from Artemis. No one on the planet noticed until a Hawkwood ship landed in the long abandoned Olympus spaceport. A Hawkwood noble who had discovered a jumpkey to the system and decided to use it had apparently sent the ship here. The ship returned to the Known Worlds to tell of the rediscovery. In 4547 the ship returned with a Hawkwood war fleet. Count Marcus Hawkwood landed in Olympus, approached the president and claimed the system for House Hawkwood. He was looking for a base of operations to attack the Vuldrok Barbarians. He believed that the Vuldroks controlled the next system, Miternome. If he could attack them from behind the lines, the Vuldrok, now threatened from three fronts, might surrender.
The Count rested for a time, then left for Miternome. While his fleet was away, the scientists offered their assistance to the Council. They proposed destroying the Hawkwood fleet when it returned from Miternome and sealing the jumpgate again. The Council members were skeptical of the plan, since they possessed no warships. The scientists said they would take care of the ships. Reluctantly, the Council agreed.
The Scientists, who for nearly one thousand years had been researching spacecraft and warships, prepared their fleet for launch. They had many prototypes of ships, from luxury liners to Dreadnoughts, to fleet defense fighters, or FDF's. They recruited citizens to pilot these vessels, and trained them in the little time they had. When they felt prepared, they set out for the jumpgate. Half way to the gate, the Hawkwood fleet returned. The fleet stayed at the gate, waiting to intercept the approaching ships. When the Confederation ships arrived at the gate, they discovered the real reason why the ships had waited. Something had destroyed the fleet before they could arrive.
They could find no survivors, whatever had attacked them had killed everything. They sealed the gate, afraid that they would be attacked by whatever destroyed the Hawkwood fleet. They returned Tyler 3 as victors. While they proved that they were not responsible for the destruction of the fleet, they were still credited with saving the system from the invading nobles.
Life went on as normal after the closure. The Felrotians advanced their culture by secretly stealing human technology. The Felrot Regime had devised a plan to conquer the planet once and for all. Using technology provided to them by human sympathizers, the Regime launched an attack against the Tyran Empire. They moved swiftly across the rolling plains and through the forest, crushing all resistance. Then they reached Tyra. The Tyrans held them here, refusing to let the holiest of cities fall into the hands of their enemies. They begged for help from the Council, but received none. They could not interfere with the affairs of a lesser race.
Then the Regime began phase two of their plan. They allowed the Council to discover the fact that the Eastern Alliance had provided technology to them. The Council declared war against the Alliance immediately. The desert sands turned red with the blood of the colonists. Then phase three began. The Regime attacked the Alliance cities on the east coast of Tylera. Expecting the Alliance to surrender, the Regime invaded full force. Instead something totally unexpected happened.
Realizing who the true enemy was, the Confederation and the Alliance ended their war temporarily and turned against the Regime. Together the two forces force the Regime off of Tylera and South Tylera, and helped the Tyrans reclaim their lands. After they realized defeat, the Regime leaders committed suicide, and their government made peace with their enemies. But many of their lands had been given to both the Felrotian Assembly and the Tyrans. They prepared for another war to reclaim their lands.
The peace, though uneasy, has lasted since 4967.