On September 16th, 2448 the Sword of Terra, the most powerful weapon ever crafted by man,
fired its primary weapon.
In a single instant, the homeworld of the Tyrum, the race that centuries before had
threatened humanity with extinction, was shattered.
Vengeance against the Tyrum had been the overriding purpose of the Greater Terran Union, a single
defining act to which entire generations had committed themselves wholly.
Yet while there was never a day in which the Tyrum were absent from the collective consciousness
of mankind, precious little was actually known of their motives or history.
It would take another hundred years before the first materials related to their homeworld
were declassified.
Amongst the information released to the public was that prior to its destruction, scans and
surveys had been conducted of the planet’s surface.
What was truly shocking however was the revelation that manned expeditions had taken place and
the Greater Terran Union had made remarkable discoveries on the world of Byrum.
In many ways, Byrum was comparable to Earth.
Much of its surface was covered in warm, shallow oceans, marked by extensive continents and
scattered island chains.
The makeup of its atmosphere, while lethal to humans, still comprised the same basic
elements, oxygen, nitrogen, and argon, among others.
Had Byrum been discovered free of any sentient life, it would have been an ideal terraforming
candidate, requiring only the barest of atmospheric processing.
Such similarities perhaps give insight into the Tyrum’s interest in Earth, and what
the result of their own terraforming efforts during the war might have yielded, had they
been allowed to continue.
The planet’s native life, however, is where Byrum was truly distinct from Earth.
Captured alien organisms and remains studied during the war on Earth had provided a great
deal of clarity into the Tyum race, but it was on Byrum that their true nature was finally
proven.
It had long been theorized that the Tyrum were a type of hive-mind, yet distinct from
any other encountered across the galaxy.
While others had simply attempted to propagate their own species, sometimes mindlessly, the
Tyrum were able to infect other living creatures and subsume them into their whole.
The spores its organisms released on death were thought to be a part of their procreation.
On Earth, the local climate had proven unamenable to their spread, but on Byrum, such spores
had disseminated for centuries, likely millennia.
Every organism, every surface on Byrum had been coated in a fine layer of the Tyrum’s
crimson, golden spores.
They covered its oceans like an oil slick while the air was thick with them.
Studied in their native environment, these were now understood not simply to be a means
of reproduction, but likely the purest embodiment of the Tyrum themselves.
Neither living nor dead by traditional definitions, these particles, when ingested or absorbed
through the skin, imbued an organism with a kind of extrasensory perception.
Any affected animal, or plant, became linked with the Tyrum Consciousness and within days
or sometimes even hours, a smaller part within a greater whole.
The myriad of creatures that appeared on Earth therefore, were likely not native sub-species
of the Tyrum race per se, but rather organisms taken from Byrum or many other worlds, and
adapted by the Hive Mind to serve as tools or weapons.
This explained, at least in part, the great disparity between the organisms encountered
during the initial conflict, from insect-like creatures with chitinous skeletons, to multi-limbed
behemoths.
The entire planet itself could be construed to be a type of Tyrum organism - maybe the
ultimate evolution of the Tyrum, its component flora and fauna utilized in the same way the
human body employs living cells.
Perhaps the destruction of Byrum was more akin to a single act of murder, than the genocide
of an entire race.
While the brief exploration of Byrum yielded many answers to lingering questions, it has
raised many more.
Ruins were evident across the planet’s surface, ancient structures and derelict starships.
Many of these resembled or were identical to some of the fighting machines utilized
on Earth, while others were bizarre creations, entirely alien.
It is likely that the Tyrum was not responsible for any of the technology it possessed, but
merely found the means to grasp them from the ruins of the so called “old ones”.
Whether these “Old Ones” were native to Byrum, perhaps its formerly dominant species,
remains unknown.
In the aftermath of the planet’s destruction, every organism infected with the Tyrum Consciousness
was reduced to a mindlessly violent animal.
They slaughtered each other on what worlds the Tyrum still possessed, and eventually
were driven extinct.
Even within the Greater Terran Union today, they are an increasingly distant historical
footnote, of little interest to the common citizen.
But whenever a new Marshall is appointed to the National Council, their first duty is
to review a document, classified at the highest level.
Within lies the reports of the research facilities, military installations, and black sites in
possession of Tyrum spores at the time of their homeworld’s destruction.
Like the rest of the Tyrum organisms across the galaxy, they died out within days - with
one exception.
In Styx, a star system located in the extra-galactic cluster colonized by the Greater Terran Union,
every Tyrum spore is still alive.
Attention Citizens of the Greater Terran Union!
The Ministry of Public Enlightenment is pleased to announce the introduction of the new limited
edition Greater Terran Union Ugly Christmas sweater.
Based on a design first knitted in the trenches of the Xani homeworld during the War in Heaven,
this special holiday sweater depicts the Greater Terran Union's values and history in a stunning,
commemorative, and comfy design.
But hurry, it’s only available until December 16th.
As an added holiday bonus, every Citizen Tier 7 or higher will receive free shipping!
See if you apply by following the link below!