Skrell Early History

= Early History =

Prehistoric Era
Largely considered lost to the ravages of time, it is only through archaeological evidence excavated from numerous locations across Qerrbalak that the Skrell are able to gather even minuscule amounts of factual information. Through a combination of both archaeological excavations, and a bit of oral history passed through the generations, it is believed that Ranaera Skrellis (the first Skrell) diverged from a primarily sea-dwelling creature. It is at some point in the development of the Ranaera Skrellis that specific circumstances tailored the evolutionary path of the species to begin developing the ability to use psionics; mostly as a method of continued survival.

Ranaera Skrellis really only expanded onto the surface of Qerrbalak after several extinction events that proved to be in skrellian favor. It was here that the Ranaera Skrellis split into Axioris Ranaera and Xiialtus Ranaera. Whilst viewed upon as ethnicities in the modern-day, they are both in fact subspecies of the Ranaera Skrellis that developed separately to live either primarily within the shallows and depths or along the coasts and dryer regions of the Homeworld.

Evidence gathered by archaeologists points to an atoll with an area called "Arqo-Wohai" or "Birthplace of Life" in Nral'Malic being the origin-point of the Skrell. An asteroid collided with Qerrbalak, and with it the building blocks of life necessary for evolution to commence. Several pieces of oral history passed down through the generations, alongside reconstructions of what it may have looked liked millions of years ago, have created a picture of an oceanic basin with almost magical qualities. Stories persist that creates within the region glowed, almost blinding the ancestors of the Skrell when compared to the darkness of the depths of the oceans. It is believed that the asteroid prompted the development of psionics within the ancient Skrell, however, little evidence supports such a belief.

Rise of the Skrell
Millions of years passed since Proto-Skrell first took their steps onto the surface of Qerrbalak, where they subsequently began developing tools crafted of nearby resources (often crude, and rudimentary) that aimed to facilitate easier transition into dryer regions. It was during this period that the various shoals of Skrell developed into tribes; with several rising and subsequently falling. This period is often remarked by skrellian scholars as to the Great Exodus-- in reference to the expansion of Skrell across the surface of their Homeworld; with several tribal groups relocating in all possible directions. Whilst skirmishes were common, large-scale warfare amongst tribes was rare and often frowned upon as a careless method of solving disputes.

It wasn't until the discovery of metallurgy believed to have been somewhere in 12000 BCE, that the Skrell truly began to advance. The maintenance required to keep a stable population plummeted, allowing for rapid expansion of tribes into the crevices of Qerrbalak. Tribal behemoths slowly began to emerge; primarily that of the Heshyu, Tzqul, and Weashqi Tribes. It was only after several millennia that the three tribes were capable of expanding themselves across their regions, dominating other Skrell and utilizing various methods to do so; diplomacy, stealth, and even the threat of military action. It is believed that despite these threats, stealth and diplomacy were amongst the two most popular methods, with military action continuing to be seen as a rather careless method of solving disputes.

During the growth of the species across their homeworld, many began to question both themselves and the world around them. This further prompted additional advancements in skrellian society, leading to the development of several skrellian written languages. It was after the ability to develop written records, that the questions posed began to form into a proto-religion of sorts called Qe'qlak or Star-Seers. Qe'qlak was dedicated to the usage of psionics with particularly strong psionics often being seen as divinity, in congruency with the observation of the stars which were believed to be divine.

Written records also reflect the usage of executive dominance amongst tribes, whereupon a singular Skrell was selected to guide them until their death. Notably, scholars have dwelled on these records for millennia, with several key pieces of evidence suggesting that many of the tribal leaders were, more often than not, powerful psionic listeners. This amplifies the speculation that Skrell from this period had the belief that those born with powerful psionic abilities, alongside being a listener, were inherently meant to lead. Genealogists have since disproved that "any particular Skrell is not inherently better than another" and have since labeled this to just be an archaic belief of ancient Skrell.

Estabishment of Civilization
Commencing around the 9900s BCE, the establishment of proto-civilizations is largely considered to be the roots of modern skrellian society. Often referred to as the "Era of Enlightenment" due to the fantastic strides in various topics; calculus, utilization of beasts of burden, astronomy, and even the establishment of organized religion. Whilst perhaps other species underwent a period in their history called the "dark ages", the Skrell had seemingly done the opposite -- instead experiencing several millennia-long renaissances. It is believed that such occurred in part due to the intense rivalrous relationship between the three tribes, which instead of bubbling into planet-spanning wars, developed into a technological race.



By the 5500s BCE various skrellian astronomers had managed to discover every celestial body within their solar system with the help of telescopes, with many soon coming to the realization that the stars which they worshipped since they have first crawled from the waters of the Homeworld could be fully understood with math and science, prompting what is now known as the "Great Schism". The Great Schism is marked by a period in skrellian history in which there was a legitimacy crisis in regards to the religion which they followed, Qe'qlak. It was through several key debates, alongside the use of political maneuvering and stealthy intrusions, that Qeblak was formed. For a while after its formation, many believed that Qeblak was a heresy, and for centuries after, skrellian scholars debated such. It was only through a mixture of both Nlom and Srom interference, Qeblak was eventually adopted as the primary faith of the Skrell.

It wasn't until the 2890s BCE that the tribes formalized their unions; Tzqul Republic, Heishyu Council, and the Weishqi Republic. This was largely considered ceremonial, as for the last dozen centuries, the city-states existed on Qerrbalak. Shortly after their unification, the Skrell had managed to make several revolutionary advances, mostly around machinery and utilization of various species across the Homeworld (flora and fauna). The skrellian Industrial Revolution spanned over the course of six centuries and involved transforming their primarily agrarian lifestyle to that dependant on resource harvesting, and manufacturing of tertiary goods. The first automobile was invented in 2644 BCE, designed to facilitate both grounded and aquatic travel. This subsequently lead to the creation of vehicles capable of traversing both the deepest trenches and highest winds of Qerrbalak in 2586 BCE.

Advancement of Skrellkind
Despite an intense rivalry existing between the three nation-states, it is only believed to have developed into a Cold War during the 2450s BCE. Contemporary scholars within skrellian society recognized such as the "War of the Tides" which lasted almost two millennia between the three governments.

It initially existed in part due to the beginning of an arms race which focused on overhauling the military capabilities of each nation, however, dissimilar to other species within the Orion Spur the Skrell focused their capabilities on intelligence gathering, subterfuge, infiltration, and other operations that relied on stealthy techniques. Technological advancements during this period of the War of the Tides consisted primarily of apparatus relating to intrigue. At several points during the arms race, Qerrbalak was close to being encapsulated with a planet-destroying war; intelligence officers regularly crossed the border of "brinkmanship", and were it not for mutually-assured-destruction life on Qerrbalak likely would have ended numerous times over. The Heshyu Council is the recognized victor of the arms race that engulfed Qerrbalak for a little over three hundred years, after the development of surveillance drones that could sustain themselves within low-orbit.

The arms race eventually prompted the formation of "Consultant Agencies" -- Skrell dedicated to improving the image of artists, politicians, scientists and other wealthy enough clients, employing disciplines ranging from psychoanalysis, blackmail, bribes, and even the occasional psionic nudge. These individuals are often referred to as the primary reason for which the Kala exists.

The conclusion of the arms race began yet another; one focused on exploring the stars. It was only after the development of technology capable of surviving the atmospheric breach of Qerrbalak that the Skrell truly began to broaden their horizons. The War of the Tides was no longer about their Homeworld, but instead that of interstellar proportions. Research and development were solely focused on creating technology able to propel the individual nations across the stars (alongside stealth technology that would assist the sovereign states in stealing or hindering their rivals). Despite initial victory from the Heshyu Council in establishing themselves within low-orbit, by the end of 2093 BCE, each nation-state had developed low-orbit capable machinery (ranging from telescopes, surveillance drones, and meteorological devices). It took approximately a century, due to intelligence operations aimed at destroying, stealing, or hindering the progress of their rivals, before the Tzqul Republic successfully launched a spacecraft that landed on Qerr'Malic in 1980 BCE. The other nations subsequently developed, or stole, the technology and completed the same feat; however, the Tzqul Republic is largely considered the victor of the space race.

It took almost two centuries for the Skrell to develop a method that allowed for spacecraft to sustain a relatively small population of Skrell. It was the creation of this technology that would eventually prompt the colonization of Aliose in 1741 BCE after information gathered through the usage of manned probes proved that the arctic planet was viable of skrellian habitation, despite its coldness. Despite several failures, Aliose would eventually see itself first colonized by a small group of Skrell from the Weashqi Republic. Whilst being the first to establish a colony, it was, unfortunately, the first to succumb to the ravages of the planet's frigid wastelands. Despite the sizeable failure in regards to the colonization of Aliose, the Skrell persisted in their efforts and eventually managed to colonize both Qerr'Malic and Aliose by the end of 1100 BCE.

Throughout the colonization attempts, the species' Homeworld had begun to show signs of ecological collapse. The intense resource harvesting of the Skrell had drained the planet, which further prompted the Skrell to look to the stars to solve their growing mineral shortage crisis. Whilst extraction operations had begun sprouting across Nralakk, the growth of the Skrell was unsustainable, leading to the first instances of open warfare amongst the Skrell. Compared to planet-engulfing wars across the Orion Spur, majority of the operations undertaken sought so undermine the other nations across Qerrbalak. Despite it being labeled as a war, casualties were kept to a minimum and mostly consisted of spies caught in hostile territories. Whilst it concluded officially shortly after most military operations ceased around 984 BCE -- upon which an agreement was brokered that pushed scientific minds across the Homeworld together to invent the warpdrive a mere decade later.

The invention of the warpdrive in 971 BCE brought forth limitless opportunities. The ability to venture outside of their solar system, and seek undiscovered resources fill with untapped potential that would alleviate the crippling mineral crisis across the three nations. Despite a brief period of cooperation, it failed to continue as the nation-states sought to expand themselves across the stars in opposition of one another.

Colonization of foreign solar systems continued for over eight centuries and marked by a massive propagation of Skrell. Twenty light-years in any direction would eventually find themselves claimed by the now interstellar nations. This brought forth a several centuries-long period of prosperity, which eventually lead to several colonial conflicts amongst the other edges -- prompting (rather forcefully) the collaboration of the three nation-states which formed the "Commonwealth of the Three" in an attempt to create a monolithic approach to dealing with the colonial conflicts occurring amongst the boundaries.

Expansion was put on hold, with a majority of the bureaucratic efforts being focused on dealing with the surging independence movements engulfing the outer colonies. Several stealth operations ensued as all available resources were poured into securing the stability of each commonwealth nation. Whilst several operations were deemed successful, much more were failures and elongated the process of the colonial separatism conflicts. It would only end around 878 CE upon which the unification of the Commonwealth allowed for the formalization of the Jargon Federation.

Unity of Skrell
Alongside the creation of the Jargon Federation came several concepts meant to revolutionize the Jargon Federation; State-Owned-Enterprises and the establishment of a supreme political force, the Grand Council. Both dominated the skrellian political landscape during their beginning years, often piggy-backing off the early successes of one another. In the matter of a decade, unemployment had ceased to exist within the Jargon Federation, with the bipartisanship of both the State-Owned-Enterprises and the Grand Council being seen as the primary reasons for such. Legislation introduced state-allocated careers, based on a variety of factors, and even went so far as to bring legal discrimination into play against those who chose to remain unemployed.

Several key concepts also originated during this period, mostly revolving around creating more monolithic ideas aiming to bring the Skrell together through closely devised unity. Various reformations sprung up; including the creation of an interstellar standard that would dismantle the language barriers and connotations of words (including psionic connotations). It was here that Nral'Malic was introduced to skrellian society, and reinforced through numerous crucial laws that essentially gave way to official discrimination against individuals that were incapable, or not willing, to adopt Nral'Malic.

As the years moved on, the Skrell became closer and closer to a reckoning that many never foresaw...