Regnum Lucis
The Regnum Lucis, is the name for the era of Humanity when Lucy ruled as king of Earth. The name of Regnum Lucis means "Kingdom of Lucy" although it is also meant to strike one as "Kingdom of Light." The reason being the perceived light and security which Lucy brought to Humanity at the time.
Lucy's reign began shortly following the Shattering. The shock and grief shared by Humanity caused the Express rifts in Human space to freeze, greatly diminishing faster than light travel within it. The Turunz fleet stationed above Earth thus found itself in a curious position. Initially determined simply to punish and demolish the growing Human civilization, when the Express froze, the Turunz found themselves stranded in Sol countless lightyears away from their homes. They had the option to remain in Sol. They could have chosen to dominate the planet which had already been put to their mercy. However, with ftl travel severely hampered, they would have essentially have been left as kings of a dung-heap. Rulers of a single planet, with greater prospects unlikely, seemed unappealing. Thus, they made way for the long journey back to their home. Once they had left Human space they would have been able to use the Express normally again. However, their pride would not allow them to just leave. However pointless it might be in the political scheme of things, the Turunz decided to establish on Earth a ruler- a puppet of sorts, although without any threat of repercussion. To this end, the seers of the Turunz scoured Earth until they found a candidate of their liking. This person, Lucy, would be raised up to rule Earth as its king, while the Turunz left on their odyssey for home. Crowned as the ruler of the near-wrecked heap that was what was left of Earth, Lucy would reign over local Humanity for a thousand years while attempting to provide whatever semblance of unity outside of it that she could.
The rebuilding of Earth would be along road, as would the reparation of the rest of the solar system. Orbital stations and off-planet habitats were largely destroyed. The settlements on other planets, too, such as Mars, were also in poor state. Of great concern was the disruption of interstellar trade which had been facilitated by the Express up to that point. Sol itself was not the most reliant on imports, but it produced many goods of great concern to the frontier planets. Such revenue had long since dissipated due to the course of the war, although its absence in the recovery period would be sorely missed. Fortunately, enough food was produced in-system in order to sustain the population of Sol, and so starvation was not as much an issue as it would become elsewhere. Yet it is from these ashes which Solar society would arise anew. The extensive off-planet habitation of the modern day finds its beginnings here. With the disorder on Earth and the strife of post-war terrestrial life, the move off planet was seen as a worthwhile alternative. Of course, a greater collection of the sun's light led to greater energy resources for the system, and so expansion into space helped to continue itself in a sort of feedback loop.
After the failure of the Express, the fastest that anyone from Sol could reach an outside system was many, many times slower. Alpha Centauri was 4.2 lightyears away and, such being, it was that messages and transmissions would take several years at least in most cases throughout Humanity. Under Lucy's rule, neighboring systems were recollected into the fold of Sol, largely through great fleets of resource-bearing ships sent out as aid to surely-struggling systems. Her emissaries, on these sometimes several decades-long sojourns, would help to rebuild their destinations' planets and populations. These systems would swear renewed loyalty to Sol, with an understandably great amount of autonomy. However many other ships were sent out with less focus on diplomacy. As Sol grew and grew, even to the point of surpassing its pre-war level of strength, more and more resources were able to be sent outside of the system. Many independent parties would gather resources to themselves and set out, with formal approval from Lucy, into the stars to find their lost brothers and sisters. Rebuilding was the main priority for these parties, however they were not always so amiable as there are more than a few examples of such parties claiming rulership of their destinations- especially given the time that it would take to arrive and however many generations might pass on. Notably, during this time period many of such parties were Christians who also sought to evangelize in the stars. It is from these parties which Christendom would start to form, although the bonds between systems that define it nowadays did not and could not not exist back then.
Lucy's rule was beloved by the people of Sol, even despite its occasional dictatorial nature. During her rule, and especially following it, she gained a cult following who worshipped her. To many whom worshipped her she was seen as an emanation of Humanity. Having appeared from out of nowhere at Humanity's greatest time of need and having brought it back from the brink of destruction, Lucy appeared as if she had stepped out of the ether in order to defend Humanity. By the modern day, the Human Union has outlawed the worship of Lucy, as it has done for most religion, although Lucy still remains highly honored.
Lucy's reign would ultimately come to an end. One thousand years after her rule began, Lucy disappeared without a trace. Although she had left behind a prosperous state, peace would not last indefinitely. It is possible that Lucy, abnormality that she was, maintained some sort of soothing spell over Humanity. Once she left, however, it, too, left. Whatever the case, unity surrounding Sol would eventually fade. Unwillingness for extra-solar systems to submit to Earth would lead to a fracturing of the overall political order of the larger region. On many occasions, the powers that be in Sol would attempt to reimpose control, with mixed results. There were even occurrences wherein foreign powers would take over Sol. Following Lucy's departure, such was the state of affairs for near another millennium.
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