BACKROUND
You are the Overlord of the Shades, bringer of the 9th legion. For thousands of millenia you have fought for to bring your people, the Akari, back into the world to reclaim their rightful place as masters of the universe. Thousands upon thousands of years ago, before many of the current races even existed, the Ankari ruled the entire known universe and beyond. The Ankari were beatiful red demons who roamed the stars destroying any who opposed them. The Ankari created a vast empire, one larger and more powerful than any in the known history of the universe. However, beings of such immense power made mighty enemies. Umong the most ferocious of these enemies were the Pyrexians. Like the Ankari, the Pyrexians were beings of pure energy, capable of immense power. However, while the Ankari drew their power from the red stars; stars which granted immense physical and psionic powers, the Pyrexians draw their power from blue stars; stars which grant powers of creation and life. The Pyrexians, seeking to create their own civilization of beings which they themselves were to father, decided to wage an immense war upon the Akari. For a thousand years the Akari and Pyrexians fought in a war that rocked the cosmos. The primitive vassal races of the Akari fought against the crudely desinged barbarians of the Pyrexians. The Pyrexians, being no match in physical prowess with the Akari, died in droves. But in the end, the superior creation of the Pyrexians won out. The Pyrexians created a portal of immense power, a portal which was capable of sucking in the Akari, trapping them forever. Or so it seemed. For even across the dimensional gap, the Akari could still wield significant psionic influence. The Akari now turned to the only race still loyal to them, a race of twisted and deformed servents, the thralls. Using the thralls, the Akari were able to harness the psionic power to create the Shades. The Shades represent the captured essence of the Akari in the physical world. Their are ten Shades total, each with its own unique psionic powers. Each shade can give birth to the other shades, and so the cycle continues. The Pyrexians, broken and weakened from their long wars, were unable to muster the forces to root out the thralls, and so the thralls and shades escaped. For millenia, the shades have lay in waiting on the distant swamp worlds of the Geldaran system. The shades have watched with increasing unease as the Pyrexians created race after race, each more powerful than the last. Finally, when the Pyrexians created the Aldarians, a race bred for war, a wepon to be used against the Akari, the Shades knew they had to strike. The Shades extended their power and touched the Aldarians as they were spawned, and in turn infused them with the desire to conquer and to rule. It appears, however, that the Shades plan worked too well. The Aldarians not only obtained the Akari's drive to conquer, they acquired some of their psionic powers as well. Combined with the Pyrexians energy, the Akari were able to wield powers the Akari had only dreamed of. Very soon, the Aldarians had turned upon their creators and enslaved not only the Pyrexians, but their created races as well. It was at this time that the Shades truly feared that they would never be able to reclaim their lost heritage. But then, fortune took a hand. With the human rebellion, the Aldarians were finally checked, and their empire destroyed. Even better, after hundreds of years of mental enslavement, Pyrexian studies have stagnated, and their is no telling how many tales of the ancient histories were lost. Now, when the races of the universe no longer remember the Akari, it is time for the Shades to reveal their true purpose. The shades are the only beings capable of opening the portal that contains the Akari. If all ten of the Shades were allowed to swell to its full potential, the gate would be open, and the Akari would return to the universe, ready for conquest. Although you will be forced to rely upon degenerate races as your warriors, surprise is your biggest advantage. Your true powers are suspected by no one outside the Pyrexians. But beware, the Aldarians were crafted to battle the Akari, and with their newfound powers, who knows what they can do. The Shades themselves fear the Aldarians. Avoid them if possible, but do not let them stand in the way of destiny.
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